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Home: Our Faculty: Brooklyn College Faculty:

Anjana D. Saxena

Assistant Professor   Department: Biology   Location: 416 Ingersoll Hall Extension   Phone: 718-951-5000 x2671   Fax: 718-951-4659   Email:

My laboratory is interested in the field of checkpoint-tumor suppressor signaling and to study the cell cycle regulators of future therapeutic values. Using nucleolin, an abundant nucleolar phosphoprotein, as a model molecule, we study nucleolar-stress and its influence on thep14ARF/p53 tumor suppressor pathway. Nucleolin is a critical factor in ribosome biogenesis that modulates the protein levels and/or activities of wild-type p53 and the p53-antagonist Hdm2. Nucleolin also interacts with the p14ARF (alternate reading frame) protein, an upstream controller of p53-mediated tumor suppression. Nucleolin itself is regulated by CK2-mediated phosphorylation and transcriptional activation by the proto-oncogene c-Myc. My lab is actively involved in dissecting growth-promoting and growth-retarding properties of nucleolin by understanding its role in the p14ARF/p53 tumor suppressor network, a key defense against cellular transformation and tumorigenesis. Education: Research Assistant Professor, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY - 2008 (Biochemistry of tumor suppressor pathways) Post-doctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University, New York, NY - 2003 (Protein Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology) Post doctoral fellow, College of Judea and Samaria, Ariel, Israel - 1999 (Molecular Genetics) Ph. D., University of Mumbai, India - 1997 (Applied Biology) M.S., M. S. University, Baroda, India - 1991 (Biochemistry) B.S., University of Mumbai, India - 1989 (Microbiology) Areas of Expertise: Nucleolin, a major phosphoprotein involved in ribosome biosynthesis, is often elevated in cancers and has been a useful marker for cancer diagnosis. We study the regulatory role of nucleolin on the tumor suppressor proteins (such as p14ARF and p53) as well as oncogenes (such as p53-antagonist Hdm2 and ARF-antagonist nucleophosmin). Doctoral Rotation Projects: Nucleolin, a major phosphoprotein involved in ribosome biosynthesis, is often elevated in cancers and has been a useful marker for cancer diagnosis. We study the regulatory role of nucleolin on the tumor suppressor proteins (such as p14ARF and p53) as well as oncogenes (such as p53-antagonist Hdm2 and ARF-antagonist nucleophosmin). Books and Publications Saxena, A. DNA Repair : Gallus Reactome Published online, 2009.(http://gallus.reactome.org/cgibin/eventbrowserDB=test_gallus_reactome_release_0&ID=353377&) (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Saxena, A., Rorie, C., Dimitrova, Daniely, Y. and Borowiec, J. Nucleolin inhibits Hdm2 by multiple pathways leading to p53 stabilization. Oncogene, 25 7274-88, 2006. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006 Kim, K., Dimitrova, D.D., Carta, K.M., Saxena, A., Daras, M., Borowiec, J. A. Novel checkpoint response to genotoxic stress mediated by nucleolin-replication protein a complex formation. Mol Cell Biol. 25 2463-74, 2005. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2005 Bhatt, P., Kadam, K., Saxena, A. and Natraj, U. Fertilization, embryonic development and oviductal environment: Role of estrogen induced oviductal glycoprotein. Indian J Exp Biol. 2004 Nov;42 :1043-55, 2004. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2004 Salas, M., John, R., Saxena, A., Barton, S., Frank, D., Fitzpatrick, G., Higgins, M. J., Tycko, B. Placental growth retardation due to loss of imprinting of Phlda2. Mech Dev. 121, 1199-1210, 2004. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2004 Tycko B, Lee JH, Ciappa A, Saxena A, Li CM, Feng L, Arriaga A, Stern Y, Lantigua R, Shachter N, Mayeux R. APOE and APOC1 promoter polymorphisms and the risk of Alzheimer disease in African American and Caribbean Hispanic individuals. Arch Neurol. 61, 1434-9, 2004. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2004 Saxena, A. Frank, D., Tycko, B. and Thakkar, H. The product of the imprinted gene Ipl marks human villous cytotrophoblast and is lost in hydatidiform mole. Placenta, 24, 835-42, 2003. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2003 Frank, D., Fortino, W., Clark, L., Musalo, R., Wang, W., Saxena, A., Li, C.M., Ludwig, T., Reik, W., and Tycko, B. Placental overgrowth in mice lacking the imprinted gene Ipl. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA), 99, 7490-5, 2002. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2002 Ottaviani, E., Franchini, A., Mandrioli, M., Saxena, A., Hanukoglu, A., Hanukoglu, I. Amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) subunits are expressed in human and mussel immunocytes. Dev. Comp. Immunol. 26:395-402, 2002. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2002 Saxena, A., Hanukoglu, I., Saxena, D., Thompson, R. J., Gardiner, R. M., and Hanukoglu, A. Novel Mutations in Amiloride-Sensitive Epithelial Sodium Channel Subunits Responsible for Multi-System Pseudohypoaldosteronism. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 87: 3344-50, 2002. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2002 Saxena, A., Morozov P., Frank D., Musalo R., Lemmon, M.A., Skolnik E. Y., and Tycko, B. Phosphoinositide binding by the pleckstrin homology domains of Ipl and Tih1. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 49935-44, 2002. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2002 Hanukoglu, A., Saxena, A., and Hanukoglu, I. Aldosterone insensitivity syndromes (pseudohypoaldosteronism): from clinic to molecular biology of sodium transport. Pol. J. Endocrinol. 52:27-37, 2001. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2001 Hanukoglu, A., Saxena, A., Gardiner, R. M., and Hanukoglu, I. 2000. Aldosterone unresponsiveness (pseudohypoaldosteronism) results from mutations in epithelial sodium channel subunits. p 369-70. In Molecular Steroidogenesis, (M. Okamoto, Y. Ishimura, H. Nawata, Eds.), Universal Academy Press, Tokyo, Japan. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2000 Shah, A., Nandedkar, T. D., Raghavan, V. P., Parulekar, S. V., and Natraj, U. Characterization and localization of estrogen and progesterone receptors of the human fallopian tube. Indian J. Experiment. Biol. 37: 893-9, 1999. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 1999 Saxena, A., Hanukoglu, I., Strautnieks, S. S., Thompson, R. J., Gardiner, R. M., and Hanukoglu A. Gene structure of the human amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel beta subunit. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 252: 208-213, 1998. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 1998 Shah, A., Kundale, S., Raghavan, V. P., Nandedkar, T. D., Hinduja, I., Parulekar S. V., and Natraj, U. Effect of estrogen and progesterone on newly synthesized and released human fallopian tube specific proteins. Indian J. Experiment. Biol. 36: 564-8, 1998. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 1998 Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums Saxena, A., Rorie, C., Dimitrova, Daniely, Y. and Borowiec, J. Nucleolin inhibits Hdm2 by multiple pathways leading to p53 stabilization. 12th Virus-Host Interactions Symposium at New York Academy of Sciences, NY, 2006. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006 Saxena, A. Frank, D., and Tycko, B. Properties of the PH-domain proteins encoded by the imprinted gene Ipl and its relative Tih1. Workshop presentation at the 3rd annual conference on Sex and gene Expression, Society for Women's Health Research, San Jose, CA, 2002. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2002 Saxena, A., Hanukoglu, I., Strautnieks, S. S., et al. Elucidation of the gene structure of the epithelial sodium channel beta subunit reveals a new mutation that causes unresponsiveness to aldosterone. Israel Endocrine Society, Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1999. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 1999 Shah, A., Raghavan, V. P., Moodbidri, S. B., et al. Hormonal regulation of the secreted proteins of the human Fallopian tube in-vitro. IXth World Congress on Human Reproduction and Vth Conference on Fallopian Tube in Health and Disease, WCHR, Philadelphia, PA., 1996. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 1996