Yiqun Shellman, PhD

Research Interests

My research interests are cancer and aging of pigment-producing cell (melanocyte). We do both translational and basic research, with the ultimate goals to move some of our research from bench to bedside. We are developing rationale combination treatments for melanoma by targeting the cell death pathway, and exploring the treatment strategies by targeting both the tumor and tumor microenvironment. For more basic studies in the lab, we study how host factors influence antitumor immunity, as well as the molecular and cellular mechanisms for melanocyte stem cell maintenance. These studies are funded by R01, VA merit award, and foundation grants.

Publications

• Steven N. Reuland, Nathaniel B. Goldstein, Katie A. Partyka, Shilo Smith, Yuchun Luo, Mayumi Fujita, Rene Gonzalez, Karl Lewis, David A. Norris and Yiqun G. Shellman. ABT-737 synergizes with Bortezomib to kill melanoma cells. Biology Open 2012 1:92-100; doi:10.1242/bio.2011035
• Smith, S. M., Ribble, D., Goldstein, N. B., Norris, D. A., & Shellman, Y. G. (2012). A Simple Technique for Quantifying Apoptosis in 96-Well Plates. In P. M. Conn (Ed.), Laboratory Methods in Cell Biology (pp. 361?368). Elsevier Inc.
• Deng H, Liu J, Deng Y, Han G, Shellman YG, Robinson SE, Tentler JJ, Robinson WA, Norris DA, Wang XJ, Zhang Q.CtBP1 Is Expressed in Melanoma and Represses the Transcription of p16INK4a and Brca1. J Invest Dermatol. 2013. PMID: 23303449.
• Baldea I, Costin GE, Shellman Y, Kechris K, Olteanu ED, Filip A, Cosgarea MR, Norris DA, Birlea SA. Biphasic pro-melanogenic and pro-apoptotic effects of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) on human melanocytes: Time-course study. J Dermatol Sci. 2013 Jun 21. doi:pii: S0923-1811(13)00214-4.10.1016/j.jdermsci.2013.06.004. PMID: 23867358.
• Mukherjee N, Reuland SN, Lu Y, Luo Y, Lambert K, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Combining a BCL2 Inhibitor with the Retinoid Derivative Fenretinide Targets Melanoma Cells Including Melanoma Initiating Cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2015 Mar;135(3):842-50. doi: 10.1038/jid.2014.464. Epub 2014 Oct 28.PMID: 25350317
• Alhuwaidi, S.; Zubair, K.; Song, H.; Shellman, Y.; Robinson, W.; Robinson, S., "Disease diagnostics of biological tissues using free-space technique in terahertz frequency range," in Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS), 2015 IEEE , vol., no., pp.1-4, 22-24 Oct. 2015. doi: 10.1109/BioCAS.2015.7348378
• Chen X, Gui X, Zhang L, Huang F, Zhong H, Pang Z, Wang S, Tang L, Fu L, Peng Y, Shellman Y. Maternal anti-HBVs suppress the immune response of infants to hepatitis B vaccine. J Viral Hepat. 2016 Dec;23(12):955-960. PubMed PMID: 27469237
• Mukherjee N, Lu Y, Almeida A, Lambert K, Shiau CW, Su JC, Luo Y, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Use of a MCL-1 inhibitor alone to de-bulk melanoma and in combination to kill melanoma initiating cells. Oncotarget. 2016 Apr 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27086916
• Hintzsche J, Kim J, Yadav V, Amato C, Robinson SE, Seelenfreund E, Shellman Y, Wisell J, Applegate A, McCarter M, Box N, Tentler J, De S, Robinson WA, Tan AC. IMPACT: a whole-exome sequencing analysis pipeline for integrating molecular profiles with actionable therapeutics in clinical samples. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2016 Jul;23(4):721-30. PubMed PMID: 27026619
• Hintzsche JD, Gorden NT, Amato CM, Kim J, Wuensch KE, Robinson SE, Applegate AJ, Couts KL, Medina TM, Wells KR, Wisell JA, McCarter MD, Box NF, Shellman YG, Gonzalez RC, Lewis KD, Tentler JJ, Tan AC, Robinson WA. Whole-exome sequencing identifies recurrent SF3B1 R625 mutation and comutation of NF1 and KIT in mucosal melanoma. Melanoma Res. 2017 Jun;27(3):189-199. PubMed PMID: 28296713
• Zhai Z, Liu W, Kaur M, Luo Y, Domenico J, Samson JM, Shellman YG, Norris DA, Dinarello CA, Spritz RA, Fujita M. NLRP1 promotes tumor growth by enhancing inflammasome activation and suppressing apoptosis in metastatic melanoma. Oncogene. 2017 Jul 6;36(27):3820-3830. PubMed PMID: 28263976
• Mukherjee N, Lu Y, Almeida A, Lambert K, Shiau CW, Su JC, Luo Y, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Use of a MCL-1 inhibitor alone to de-bulk melanoma and in combination to kill melanoma initiating cells. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 18;8(29):46801-46817. PubMed PMID: 27086916
• Mukherjee N, Strosnider A, Vagher B, Lambert KA, Slaven S, Robinson WA, Amato CM, Couts KL, Bemis JGT, Turner JA, Norris DA, Shellman YG. BH3 mimetics induce apoptosis independent of DRP-1 in melanoma. Cell Death Dis. 2018 Sep 5;9(9):907. PubMed PMID: 30185782
• Couts KL, Bemis J, Turner JA, Bagby SM, Murphy D, Christiansen J, Hintzsche JD, Le A, Pitts TM, Wells K, Applegate A, Amato C, Multani P, Chow-Maneval E, Tentler JJ, Shellman YG, Rioth MJ, Tan AC, Gonzalez R, Medina T, Doebele RC, Robinson WA. ALK Inhibitor Response in Melanomas Expressing EML4-ALK Fusions and Alternate ALK Isoforms. Mol Cancer Ther. 2018 Jan;17(1):222-231. PubMed PMID: 29054983
• Mukherjee N, Schwan JV, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Alternative Treatments For Melanoma: Targeting BCL-2 Family Members to De-Bulk and Kill Cancer Stem Cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2015 Sep;135(9):2155-2161. PubMed PMID: 25947358
• Shellman YG, Lambert KA, Brauweiler A, Fain P, Spritz RA, Martini M, Janssen KP, Box NF, Terzian T, Rewers M, Horvath A, Stratakis CA, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Norris DA, Artinger KB, Pacheco TR. SASH1 Is Involved in an Autosomal Dominant Lentiginous Phenotype. J Invest Dermatol. 2015 Dec;135(12):3192-3194. PubMed PMID: 26203640
• Bennett PE, Bemis L, Norris DA, Shellman YG. miR in melanoma development: miRNAs and acquired hallmarks of cancer in melanoma. Physiol Genomics. 2013 Nov 15;45(22):1049-59. PubMed PMID: 24046283
• Reuland SN, Smith SM, Bemis LT, Goldstein NB, Almeida AR, Partyka KA, Marquez VE, Zhang Q, Norris DA, Shellman YG. MicroRNA-26a is strongly downregulated in melanoma and induces cell death through repression of silencer of death domains (SODD). J Invest Dermatol. 2013 May;133(5):1286-93. PubMed PMID: 23190898
• Reuland SN, Goldstein NB, Partyka KA, Smith S, Luo Y, Fujita M, Gonzalez R, Lewis K, Norris DA, Shellman YG. ABT-737 synergizes with Bortezomib to kill melanoma cells. Biol Open. 2012 Feb 15;1(2):92-100. PubMed PMID: 23213401
• Tanaka A, Jensen JD, Prado R, Riemann H, Shellman YG, Norris DA, Chin L, Yee C, Fujita M. Whole recombinant yeast vaccine induces antitumor immunity and improves survival in a genetically engineered mouse model of melanoma. Gene Ther. 2011 Aug;18(8):827-34. PubMed PMID: 21390072
• Smith SM, Wunder MB, Norris DA, Shellman YG. A simple protocol for using a LDH-based cytotoxicity assay to assess the effects of death and growth inhibition at the same time. PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e26908. PubMed PMID: 22125603
• Reuland SN, Goldstein NB, Partyka KA, Cooper DA, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. The combination of BH3-mimetic ABT-737 with the alkylating agent temozolomide induces strong synergistic killing of melanoma cells independent of p53. PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e24294. PubMed PMID: 21897876
• Shellman MH, Shellman YG. Human against Machine? Machine Learning Identifies MicroRNA Ratios as Biomarkers for Melanoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2020 Jan;140(1):18-20. PubMed PMID: 31864430
• Kabuyama Y, Litman ES, Templeton PD, Metzner SI, Witze ES, Argast GM, Langer SJ, Polvinen K, Shellman Y, Chan D, Shabb JB, Fitzpatrick JE, Resing KA, Sousa MC, Ahn NG. A mediator of Rho-dependent invasion moonlights as a methionine salvage enzyme. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2009 Oct;8(10):2308-20. PubMed PMID: 19620624
• Goldstein NB, Johannes WU, Gadeliya AV, Green MR, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Active N-Ras and B-Raf inhibit anoikis by downregulating Bim expression in melanocytic cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2009 Feb;129(2):432-7. PubMed PMID: 18668139
• Miller LA, Goldstein NB, Johannes WU, Walton CH, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. BH3 mimetic ABT-737 and a proteasome inhibitor synergistically kill melanomas through Noxa-dependent apoptosis. J Invest Dermatol. 2009 Apr;129(4):964-71. PubMed PMID: 18987671
• Mukherjee N, Skees J, Todd KJ, West DA, Lambert KA, Robinson WA, Amato CM, Couts KL, Van Gulick R, MacBeth M, Nassar K, Tan AC, Zhai Z, Fujita M, Bagby SM, Dart CR, Lambert JR, Norris DA, Shellman YG. MCL1 inhibitors S63845/MIK665 plus Navitoclax synergistically kill difficult-to-treat melanoma cells. Cell Death Dis. 2020 Jun 8;11(6):443. PubMed PMID: 32513939
• Anwar A, Gu M, Brady S, Qamar L, Behbakht K, Shellman YG, Agarwal R, Norris DA, Horwitz LD, Fujita M. Photoprotective effects of bucillamine against UV-induced damage in an SKH-1 hairless mouse model. Photochem Photobiol. 2008 Mar-Apr;84(2):477-83. PubMed PMID: 18266821
• Mukherjee N, Amato CM, Skees J, Todd KJ, Lambert KA, Robinson WA, Van Gulick R, Weight RM, Dart CR, Tobin RP, McCarter MD, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Simultaneously Inhibiting BCL2 and MCL1 Is a Therapeutic Option for Patients with Advanced Melanoma. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Aug 5;12(8). PubMed PMID: 32764384
• Bemis LT, Chen R, Amato CM, Classen EH, Robinson SE, Coffey DG, Erickson PF, Shellman YG, Robinson WA. MicroRNA-137 targets microphthalmia-associated transcription factor in melanoma cell lines. Cancer Res. 2008 Mar 1;68(5):1362-8. PubMed PMID: 18316599
• Shellman YG, Howe WR, Miller LA, Goldstein NB, Pacheco TR, Mahajan RL, LaRue SM, Norris DA. Hyperthermia induces endoplasmic reticulum-mediated apoptosis in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2008 Apr;128(4):949-56. PubMed PMID: 17989736
• Riemann H, Takao J, Shellman YG, Hines WA, Edwards CK 3rd, Franzusoff A, Norris DA, Fujita M. Generation of a prophylactic melanoma vaccine using whole recombinant yeast expressing MART-1. Exp Dermatol. 2007 Oct;16(10):814-22. PubMed PMID: 17845213
• Shellman YG, Makela M, Norris DA. Induction of secreted matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity in human melanoma cells by extracellular matrix proteins and cytokines. Melanoma Res. 2006 Jun;16(3):207-11. PubMed PMID: 16718267
• Ruth MC, Xu Y, Maxwell IH, Ahn NG, Norris DA, Shellman YG. RhoC promotes human melanoma invasion in a PI3K/Akt-dependent pathway. J Invest Dermatol. 2006 Apr;126(4):862-8. PubMed PMID: 16470169
• Shellman YG, Ribble D, Miller L, Gendall J, Vanbuskirk K, Kelly D, Norris DA, Dellavalle RP. Lovastatin-induced apoptosis in human melanoma cell lines. Melanoma Res. 2005 Apr;15(2):83-9. PubMed PMID: 15846140
• Iwanaga R, Truong BT, Hsu JY, Lambert KA, Vyas R, Orlicky D, Shellman YG, Tan AC, Ceol C, Artinger KB. Loss of prdm1a accelerates melanoma onset and progression. Mol Carcinog. 2020 Sep;59(9):1052-1063. PubMed PMID: 32562448
• Filipp FV, Birlea S, Bosenberg MW, Brash D, Cassidy PB, Chen S, D'Orazio JA, Fujita M, Goh BK, Herlyn M, Indra AK, Larue L, Leachman SA, Le Poole C, Liu-Smith F, Manga P, Montoliu L, Norris DA, Shellman Y, Smalley KSM, Spritz RA, Sturm RA, Swetter SM, Terzian T, Wakamatsu K, Weber JS, Box NF. Frontiers in pigment cell and melanoma research. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2018 Nov;31(6):728-735. PubMed PMID: 30281213
• Goldstein NB, Koster MI, Jones KL, Gao B, Hoaglin LG, Robinson SE, Wright MJ, Birlea SI, Luman A, Lambert KA, Shellman YG, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Roop DR, Norris DA, Birlea SA. Repigmentation of Human Vitiligo Skin by NBUVB Is Controlled by Transcription of GLI1 and Activation of the ß-Catenin Pathway in the Hair Follicle Bulge Stem Cells. J Invest Dermatol. 2018 Mar;138(3):657-668. PubMed PMID: 29054607
• Mukherjee N, Lu Y, Almeida A, Lambert K, Shiau CW, Su JC, Luo Y, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Use of a MCL-1 inhibitor alone to de-bulk melanoma and in combination to kill melanoma initiating cells. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 18;8(29):46801-46817. PubMed PMID: 27086916
• Mukherjee N, Almeida A, Partyka KA, Lu Y, Schwan JV, Lambert K, Rogers M, Robinson WA, Robinson SE, Applegate AJ, Amato CM, Luo Y, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Combining a GSI and BCL-2 inhibitor to overcome melanoma's resistance to current treatments. Oncotarget. 2016 Dec 20;7(51):84594-84607. PubMed PMID: 27829238
• Shellman YG, Ribble D, Yi M, Pacheco T, Hensley M, Finch D, Kreith F, Mahajan RL, Norris DA. Fast response temperature measurement and highly reproducible heating methods for 96-well plates. Biotechniques. 2004 Jun;36(6):968-72, 974-6. PubMed PMID: 15211747
• Marr DG, Poser I, Shellman YG, Bosserhoff AK, Norris DA. Ultraviolet radiation induces release of MIA: a new mechanism for UVR-induced progression of melanoma. Int J Oncol. 2004 Jul;25(1):105-11. PubMed PMID: 15201995
• Bernard K, Litman E, Fitzpatrick JL, Shellman YG, Argast G, Polvinen K, Everett AD, Fukasawa K, Norris DA, Ahn NG, Resing KA. Functional proteomic analysis of melanoma progression. Cancer Res. 2003 Oct 15;63(20):6716-25. PubMed PMID: 14583466
• Shellman YG, Park YL, Marr DG, Casper K, Xu Y, Fujita M, Swerlick R, Norris DA. Release of vascular endothelial growth factor from a human melanoma cell line, WM35, is induced by hypoxia but not ultraviolet radiation and is potentiated by activated Ras mutation. J Invest Dermatol. 2003 Oct;121(4):910-7. PubMed PMID: 14632212
• Urquhart JL, Meech SJ, Marr DG, Shellman YG, Duke RC, Norris DA. Regulation of Fas-mediated apoptosis by N-ras in melanoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2002 Sep;119(3):556-61. PubMed PMID: 12230495
• Shellman YG, Chapman JT, Fujita M, Norris DA, Maxwell IH. Expression of activated N-ras in a primary melanoma cell line counteracts growth inhibition by transforming growth factor-beta. J Invest Dermatol. 2000 Jun;114(6):1200-4. PubMed PMID: 10844567
• Shellman YG, Svee E, Sclafani RA, Langan TA. Identification and characterization of individual cyclin-dependent kinase complexes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast. 1999 Mar 15;15(4):295-309. PubMed PMID: 10206189
• Oshiro G, Owens JC, Shellman Y, Sclafani RA, Li JJ. Cell cycle control of Cdc7p kinase activity through regulation of Dbf4p stability. Mol Cell Biol. 1999 Jul;19(7):4888-96. PubMed PMID: 10373538
• Goldstein NB, Steel A, Barbulescu CC, Koster MI, Wright MJ, Jones KL, Gao B, Ward B, Woessner B, Trottier Z, Pakieser J, Hu J, Lambert KA, Shellman YG, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Roop DR, Norris DA, Birlea SA. Melanocyte Precursors in the Hair Follicle Bulge of Repigmented Vitiligo Skin Are Controlled by RHO-GTPase, KCTD10, and CTNNB1 Signaling. J Invest Dermatol. 2020 Aug 13. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32800877
• Amato CM, Hintzsche JD, Wells K, Applegate A, Gorden NT, Vorwald VM, Tobin RP, Nassar K, Shellman YG, Kim J, Medina TM, Rioth M, Lewis KD, McCarter MD, Gonzalez R, Tan AC, Robinson WA. Pre-Treatment Mutational and Transcriptomic Landscape of Responding Metastatic Melanoma Patients to Anti-PD1 Immunotherapy. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jul 17;12(7). PubMed PMID: 32708981
• Ribble D, Goldstein NB, Norris DA, Shellman YG. A simple technique for quantifying apoptosis in 96-well plates. BMC Biotechnol. 2005 May 10;5:12. PubMed PMID: 15885144
• Mukherjee N, Dart CR, Amato CM, Honig-Frand A, Lambert JR, Lambert KA, Robinson WA, Tobin RP, McCarter MD, Couts KL, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Expression differences in BCL2 family members between uveal and cutaneous melanomas account for varying sensitivity to BH3 mimetics. J Invest Dermatol. 2021 Dec 20. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34942200
• Dart CR, Mukherjee N, Amato CM, Goulding A, MacBeth M, Van Gulick R, Couts KL, Lambert JR, Norris DA, Robinson WA, Shellman YG. A Novel Regimen for Treating Melanoma: MCL1 Inhibitors and Azacitidine. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2021 Jul 30;14(8). PubMed PMID: 34451846
• Mukherjee N, Lambert KA, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Enrichment of Melanoma Stem-Like Cells via Sphere Assays. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2265:185-199. PubMed PMID: 33704715
• Goldstein NB, Steel A, Barbulescu CC, Koster MI, Wright MJ, Jones KL, Gao B, Ward B, Woessner B, Trottier Z, Pakieser J, Hu J, Lambert KA, Shellman YG, Fujita M, Robinson WA, Roop DR, Norris DA, Birlea SA. Melanocyte Precursors in the Hair Follicle Bulge of Repigmented Vitiligo Skin Are Controlled by RHO-GTPase, KCTD10, and CTNNB1 Signaling. J Invest Dermatol. 2021 Mar;141(3):638-647.e13. PubMed PMID: 32800877
• Clements CM, Vögeli B, Shellman YG, Henen MA. SAM1 domain of SASH1 harbors distinctive structural heterogeneity. J Struct Biol. 2022 Dec;214(4):107914. PubMed PMID: 36341956
• Mukherjee N, Dart CR, Amato CM, Honig-Frand A, Lambert JR, Lambert KA, Robinson WA, Tobin RP, McCarter MD, Couts KL, Fujita M, Norris DA, Shellman YG. Expression Differences in BCL2 Family Members between Uveal and Cutaneous Melanomas Account for Varying Sensitivity to BH3 Mimetics. J Invest Dermatol. 2022 Jul;142(7):1912-1922.e7. PubMed PMID: 34942200
• Clements CM, Shellman SX, Shellman MH, Shellman YG. TBM Hunter: Identify and Score Canonical, Extended, and Unconventional Tankyrase-Binding Motifs in Any Protein. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Nov 30;24(23). PubMed PMID: 38069287
• Lambert KA, Clements CM, Mukherjee N, Pacheco TR, Shellman SX, Henen MA, Vögeli B, Goldstein NB, Birlea S, Hintzsche J, Tan AC, Zhao R, Norris DA, Robinson WA, Wang Y, VanTreeck JG, Shellman YG. SASH1 interacts with TNKS2 and promotes human melanocyte stem cell maintenance. bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 27. PubMed PMID: 37808724
• Clements CM, Henen MA, Vögeli B, Shellman YG. The Structural Dynamics, Complexity of Interactions, and Functions in Cancer of Multi-SAM Containing Proteins. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 1;15(11). PubMed PMID: 37296980
• Clements CM, Vögeli B, Shellman YG, Henen MA. Solution NMR backbone assignment of the SASH1 SLy proteins associated disordered region (SPIDER). Biomol NMR Assign. 2023 Jun;17(1):151-157. PubMed PMID: 37155029
• N Mukherjee, R Tobin, E Katsnelson, M McCarter, D Norris, Y Shellman. Immuno-apoptotic priming to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies in melanoma. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 143, 5, S216
• Clements CM, Shellman SX, Shellman MH, Shellman YG. 2023. A Computational Method for detecting and evaluating Tankyrase-Binding Motifs. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.n2bvj32xplk5/v1
• James Lambert, Steven K Nordeen, Yiqun G Shellman, M Scott Lucia. Method for treating melanoma, US patent. App. 18012975, 2023/8/3