Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine

Hongwu Chen, Ph.D.

Hongwu Chen, Ph.D.

Professor and Vice Chair of Research
Research III Bldg.,
Room 1400B
Sacramento Campus
Ph: 916-734-7743
Fax: 916-734-0190
e-mail

Research Interests

Chromatin, epigenetics and gene regulation in hormone signaling and in cancer.

Research in my lab focuses on identification and functional elucidation of key epigenetic regulators and nuclear hormone receptors in cancer and in hormone signaling, with the following goals:

  1. Identification of new cancer therapeutic targets;
  2. Better understanding of molecular mechanisms and pathways underlying cancer progression such as therapeutics resistance;
  3. Development of new cancer therapeutics or strategies for standalone or combination treatment;
  4. Development of cancer therapeutics-companion/predictive biomarkers.

We employ functional genomics (e.g. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq), metabolomics, bioinformatics, genetics and pharmacological approaches in determining the physiological and pathological functions and action mechanisms of the key regulators, and in elucidating the mechanisms of action (MOA) of the new therapeutics.

Graduate Group Affiliations

Zhang X, Yang Yatian, Zou H, Yang Yang, Zheng X, Corey E, Zoubeidi A, Mitsiades N, Yu AM, Li Y and Chen HW. "Effective therapeutic targeting of tumor lineage plasticity in neuroendocrine prostate cancer by BRD4 inhibitors". Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2025; 15(3):1415-1429

Yang Y, Zhang X, Cai D, Zheng X, Zhao X, Zou JX, Zhang J, Borowsky AD, Dall'Era MA, Corey E, Mitsiades N, Kung HJ, Chen X, Li JJ, Downes M, Evans RM, Chen HW. "Functional inversion of circadian regulator REV-ERBα leads to tumorigenic gene reprogramming". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Oct 15;121(42):e2411321121. PMID: 39383000

Jiang N, Xie B, Xiao W, Fan M, Xu S, Duan Y, Hamsafar Y, Evans AC, Huang J, Zhou W, Lin X, Ye N, Wanggou S, Chen W, Jing D, Fragoso RC, Dugger BN, Wilson PF, Coleman MA, Xia S, Li X, Sun LQ, Monjazeb AM, Wang A, Murphy WJ, Kung HJ, Lam KS, Chen HW, Li JJ. "Fatty acid oxidation fuels glioblastoma radioresistance with CD47-mediated immune evasion". Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 21;13(1):1511. PMID: 35314680

Wang H, Wang Q, Cai G, Duan Z, Nugent Z, Huang J, Zheng J, Borowsky AD, Li JJ, Liu P, Kung HJ, Murphy L, Chen HW, Wang J. "Nuclear TIGAR mediates an epigenetic and metabolic autoregulatory loop via NRF2 in cancer therapeutic resistance". Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 2022 Apr 12(4):1871-1884. PMID: 35847493

Zou H, Yang Y, Shi Z, Wu X, Liu R, Yu AM, Chen HW. "Nuclear receptor RORγ inverse agonists/antagonists display tissue- and gene-context selectivity through distinct activities in altering chromatin accessibility and master regulator SREBP2 occupancy". Pharmacol Res. 2022 Jun 21;182:106324. PMID: 35750301

Wang Y, Huang Z, Chen CZ, Liu C, Evans CP, Gao AC, Zhou F, Chen HW. "Therapeutic Targeting of MDR1 Expression by RORγ Antagonists Resensitizes Cross-Resistant CRPC to Taxane via Coordinated Induction of Cell Death Programs". Mol Cancer Ther. 2020 Feb;19(2):364-374. PMID: 31712394.

Cai D, Wang J, Gao B, Li J, Wu F, Zou JX, Xu J, Jiang Y, Zou H, Huang Z, Borowsky AD, Bold RJ, Lara PN, Li JJ, Chen X, Lam KS, To KF, Kung HJ, Fiehn O, Zhao R, Evans RM, Chen HW. "RORγ is a targetable master regulator of cholesterol biosynthesis in a cancer subtype". Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 11;10(1):4621. PMID: 31604910

Zhang Y, Wu X, Xue X, Li C, Wang J, Wang R, Zhang C, Wang C, Shi Y, Zou L, Li Q, Huang Z, Hao X, Loomes K, Wu D, Chen HW, Xu J, Xu Y. "Discovery and Characterization of XY101, a Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable RORγ Inverse Agonist for Treatment of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer". J Med Chem. 2019 May 9;62(9):4716-4730. PMID: 30964293

Wang J, Zou JX, Wang H, Duan ZJ, Wang HB, Chen P, Liu PQ, Xu JZ, Chen HW. "Histone methyltransferase NSD2 mediates the survival and invasion of triple-negative breast cancer cells via stimulating ADAM9-EGFR-AKT signaling". Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2019 Aug;40(8):1067-1075. PMID: 30670815

Wang J, Wang H, Wang LY, Cai D, Duan Z, Zhang Y, Chen P, Zou JX, Xu J, Chen X, Kung HJ, Chen HW. "Silencing the epigenetic silencer KDM4A for TRAIL and DR5 induction and antitumor therapy". Cell Death Differ. 2016 Nov 1;23(11):1886-1896. PMID: 27612013

Wang J, Zou JX, Xue X, Cai D, Zhang Y, Duan Z, Xiang Q, Yang JC, Louie MC, Borowsky AD, Gao AC, Evans CP, Lam KS, Xu J, Kung HJ, Evans RM, Xu Y, Chen HW. "ROR-γ drives androgen receptor expression and represents a therapeutic target in castration-resistant prostate cancer". Nat Med. 2016 May;22(5):488-96. PMID: 27019329

Kalashnikova EV, Revenko AS, Gemo AT, Andrews NP, Tepper CG, Zou JX, Cardiff RD, Borowsky AD, Chen HW. "ANCCA/ATAD2 Overexpression Identifies Breast Cancer Patients with Poor Prognosis, Acting to Drive Proliferation and Survival of Triple-Negative Cells through Control of B-Myb and EZH2". Cancer Res. 2010 Nov 15;70(22):9402-12. PMID: 20864510

Upper Division Courses

  • 199 Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates

Graduate Courses

  • BCM299 Research
  • MCB257 Cell Proliferation and Cancer Genes

Professional Courses for Medical Students

  • BCM410A Medical Biochemistry
  • BCM410B Cell Biology and Metabolism
  • American Cancer Society Fellowship, 1999
  • UC Davis School of Medicine Faculty Research Award, 2010
  • Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Challenge Award, 2016

Additional Links

Additional Links

Core Facilities

Core Facilities