Byron W Kemper
byronkem@illinois.edu
395a Burrill Hall
Office: (217) 333-1146
Mail to: Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology
524 Burrill Hall
407 S. Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Emeritus Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Education
B.A. 1965 Wabash College
PhD. 1969 Stanford
Postdoc. 1969-72 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Present: Role of nuclear receptors in regulation metabolism. Past: Gene regulation and cellular localization mechanisms of cytrochromes P450.
Since retirement in 2012, I have been collaborating with Jongsook (Kim) Kemper on studies that examine the role of nuclear receptors and epigenomic factors in the regulation of metabolism in liver and adipose tissue. See the Jongsook Kemper site for details.
Prior to retirement I studied the cytochromes P450 (P450) which comprise a superfamily of hemoproteins which are involved in the oxidative metabolism of many endogenous and exogenous compounds. My primary interests were the mechanisms by which the expression of these genes are regulated, particularly by phenobarbital, and the mechanisms of targeting and retention of P450s in the endoplasmic reticulum.
Representative Publications
Hu G, Johnson EF, Kemper B. (2010) CYP2C8 exists as a dimer in natural membranes. Drug Metab Dispos. 38:1976-83.PMC2967391
Szczesna-Skorupa, E. and Kemper, B (2011) Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) inhibits the activity of drug-metabolizing cytochromes P450 and binds to cytochrome P450 reductase. Mol. Pharmacol. 79:340-50. PMC3061357
Szczesna-Skorupa, E. and Kemper, B. (2011) The signal-anchor sequence of CYP2C1 inserts into the membrane as a hairpin structure. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 415:405-09. PMC3221809
Choi, S.E., Fu T., Seok S.M., Kim D.H., Yu E., Lee K., Kang Y., Li X., Kemper B., and Kemper J.K. (2013). Elevated microRNA-34a in obesity reduces NAD+ levels and SIRT1 activity by directly targeting NAMPT, Aging Cell, 12:1062-72. PMC3838500
Seok SM*, Fu T*, Choi SE, Li Y, Zhu R, Kumar, S, Sun X, Yoon G, Kang Y, Zhong W, Ma, J, Kemper B, and Kemper JK (2014) (Seok and Fu equally contributed to this study), Transcriptional regulation of autophagy by an FXR/CREB axis. Nature, 516, 108–111. PMC4257899.
Kim DH, Xiao Z, Kwon S, Sun X, Tkac D, Ryerson D, Choi SE, Ma P, Wi S, Chiang CM, Palvimo J, Chen LF, Kemper B, and Kemper JK (2015) A dysregulated Acetyl/SUMO switch of FXR promotes hepatic inflammation in obesity. EMBO Journal, 13, 184-199. PMC4337071.
Fu T, Seok S, Choi S, Huang Z, Suino-Powell K, Xu E, Kemper B, and Kemper JK (2014) MiR-34a inhibits beige and brown fat formation in obesity in part by suppressing adipocyte FGF21 signaling and SIRT1 function, Molecular and Cellular Biology, 15;34(22):4130-42. PMC4248715
Kim YC, Fang S, Byun S, Seok S, Kemper B, and Kemper JK (2015) FXR-induced lysine-specific histone demethylase, LSD1, reduces hepatic bile acid levels and protects the liver against bile acid toxicity. Hepatology, in press. doi: 10.1002/hep.27677. PMC in progress