Erin M O'Leary

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Department of Comparative Biosciences

Genomic imprinting in the brain is theorized to provide parental control over offspring social behaviors. Noncanonical genomic imprinting is a form of epigenetic regulation in which one of a gene’s alleles, either that of maternal or paternal inheritance, exhibits a bias towards higher expression of one parental allele compared to the other. This b...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease characterized by the TGF-β-dependent differentiation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, leading to excessive deposition of collagen proteins and progressive scarring. We have previously shown that synthesis of collagen by myofibroblasts requires de novo synthesis of glycine, the most abundant a...

Macrophage effector function is dynamic in nature and largely dependent upon not only the type of immunological challenge, but also the tissue-specific environment and developmental origin of a given macrophage population. Recent research has highlighted the importance of glycolytic metabolism in the regulation of effector function as a common feat...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-dependent differentiation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, leading to excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, which distort lung architecture and function. Metabolic reprogramming in myofibroblasts is emerging as an important mechan...

Organ fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Since currently available therapies have limited effect, there is need to better understand the mechanisms by which organ fibrosis occurs. We have recently reported that TGF-β, a key cytokine which promotes fibrogenesis, induces th...

TGF-β promotes excessive collagen deposition in fibrotic diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The amino acid composition of collagen is unique due to its high (33%) glycine content. Here, we report that TGF-β induces expression of glycolytic genes and increases glycolytic flux. TGF-β also induces the expression of the enzymes of th...