Pathology

Man-Sun Sy, Ph.D.

Professor

Mailing Address:
2103 Cornell Rd.
WRB 5131
Cleveland, OH 44106-7288

phone: (216) 368-1268
fax: (216) 368-0494
email: Man-Sun.Sy@Case.edu

Biography
Dr. Man-Sun Sy received his B.A. from the University of Colorado in 1973, continuing on to earn an M.A. and a Ph.D. in 1979. From 1979 until 1992, he was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, in the Department of Pathology, as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor. Presently, Dr. Sy is a Professor of Pathology and of Medical and Neurosciences at Case’s School of Medicine.

Research
The laboratory focuses on basic prion biology, pathogenesis of prion disease and the role prion plays in human cancer.


Publications
Prion in human cancers
Li, C.Y., Yu, S., Nakamura, F., Yin, S., Xu, J., Patrolla, A.A., Singh, N., Tartakoff, T., Abbott, D. W., X, Wei., and Sy, M.S. (2009). Binding of pro-prion to FLNa disrupts cytoskeleton and correlates with poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer. J. Clin. Invest. 119:2725-2736.

Biology of normal cellular prion and pathogenesis of prion diseases
Yin, S., Yu, S., Li, C.Y., Wong, P., Chang, B., Xiao, F., Kang, S.C., Yan, H., Xiao, G., Grassi, J., Tien, P., and Sy, M.S. (2006). Prion proteins with insertion mutations have altered N-terminal conformation, increased ligand-binding activity and are more susceptible to oxidative attack. J. Biol. Chem. 281:10698-10705.

Yu, S., Yin, S., Li, C., Wong, P., Chang, B., Xiao, F., Kang, S.C., Yan, H., Xia, G., Tein, P., and Sy, M.S. (2007). Aggregation of prion protein with insertion mutations is proportional to the number of inserts. Biochemical J. 403:343-351.

Yin S., Pham, N., Yu, S., Li, C.Y., Wong, P., Chang, B.G., Kang, S.C., Biasini, E., Harris, D. A., and Sy, M. S. (2007). A shared mechanism in inherited prion diseases: common conformational changes in the mutant PrP protein enhance binding to glycosaminoglycan. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 104:7546-7551.

Yin, S.M., Fan, X.G., Yu. S.L., Li., C.Y., and Sy, M.S. (2008). Binding of recombinant normal cellular prion protein to DAN results in DNA internalization and expression in mammalian cells. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 25446-25454.

Yu, S., Yin, S., Pham, N., Wong, P., Kang, S.C., Petersen, R. B., Li, C., and Sy, M. S. (2008). Ligand binding promotes prion protein aggregation-role of the octapeptide repeats. The FEBS, J. 275:5564-5575.

Sy M.S. (2009). The saga of prion: to cut or not to cut. Cell Research 19:1039-1040.