Mitch Cohen, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Cohen's laboratory is focused on elucidating mechanisms of intestinal secretion resulting from infectious, inflammatory or allergic responses. His laboratory has cloned the mouse genes for guanylin and uroguanylin and studied the function and expression of these members of the guanylin ligand family of intestinal peptides. These peptides activate guanylate cyclase C (GC-C), an intestinal receptor for E. coli heat stable enterotoxin (ST), and thereby begin a signal transduction cascade that culminates in electrolyte and fluid secretion. Current funded basic research projects include studies to determine the transcriptional regulation mechanisms for guanylin and uroguanylin, and to determine the physiologic effects and physiologic regulators of these peptides using gene targeted and transgenic over-expressing mice.

Representative Publications

Hochman JA, Sciaky D, Whitaker TL, Hawkins JA, Cohen MB. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1a (HNF-1a) regulates transcription of the guanylin gene. Am. J. Physiol. 273:G833-841, 1997.

Whitaker TL, Witte DP, Scott MC, Cohen, MB. Uroguanylin and guanylin: distinct but overlapping patterns of expression in mouse intestine. Gastroenterology 113:1000-1006, 1997

Whitaker TL, Steinbrecher KA, Copeland NG, Gilbert DJ, Jenkins NA, Cohen MB. The uroguanylin gene (Guca1b) is linked to guanylin (Guca2) on mouse chromosome 4. Genomics 45:348-354, 1997

Cohen MB, Hawkins JA, Witte DP. Guanylin mRNA expression in human intestine and in colorectal adenocarcinoma. Lab Investig,78:101-108, 1998