Alison B. Kohan, Ph.D. FAHA

Alison B. Kohan, Ph.D. FAHA

Contact

Campus: Biomedical Science Tower, 203 Lothrop St

Office: W1059

Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Ph: 412-383-2546

akohan@pitt.edu

Website »

Education

  • B.S., University of Arizona, 2000
  • M.A., West Virginia University, 2003
  • Ph.D., West Virginia University, 2009

Academic Affiliation

  • Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
  • Associate Professor, Department of Immunology

About Research

Dr. Kohan’s expertise is in the areas of dietary fat absorption, lipoprotein metabolism, and CD4+Tregs. Dr. Kohan has made major contributions to identifying chylomicron triglyceride metabolism as a key instigator of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Atherosclerosis. Her lab has shown that apolipoprotein (apo) C-III, a significant cardiovascular risk factor, also regulates intracellular metabolism in enterocytes. Through this physiological mechanism, apoC-III also inhibits chylomicron secretion into the mesenteric lymphatics. Most recently, Dr. Kohan’s lab has discovered that chylomicrons containing apoC-III, or the inhibition of apoC-III’s major receptor Ldlr, shifts CD4+ Treg metabolism, accumulation in the gut, and Treg suppression in IBD. To make these discoveries, her lab has pioneered unique model systems. The Kohan Lab was the first lab to engineer primary intestinal organoid cultures for studies of dietary lipid absorption, and they have subsequently established a unique surgical mouse lymph cannulation model that enables the collection of flowing mesenteric lymph from live mice for 6-h after a duodenal nutrient infusion. This makes the Kohan Lab one of the only in the world to collect post-prandial lymph in >50ul quantities in a single day.  

Selected Publications

Li, D., Rodia, C. N., Johnson, Z. K., Bae, M., Muter, A., Heussinger, A. E., Tambini, N., Longo, A. M., Dong, H., Lee, J. Y., Kohan, A. B. Intestinal basolateral lipid substrate transport is linked to chylomicron secretion and is regulated by apoC-III. J Lipid Res. 2019; 60(9): 1503-1515.
 
Botteri, G., Montori, M., Gumà, A., Pizarro, J., Cedó, L., Escolà-Gil, J. C., Li, D., Barroso, E., Palomer, X., Kohan, A. B., Vázquez-Carrera, M. VLDL and apolipoprotein CIII induce ER stress and inflammation and attenuate insulin signalling via Toll-like receptor 2 in mouse skeletal muscle cells. Diabetologia. 2017; 60(11): 2262-2273.
 
West. G., Rodia, C., Li, D., Johnson, Z., Dong, H., Kohan, A. B. Key differences between apoC-III regulation and expression in intestine and liver. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2017; 491(3): 747-753.
 
Jattan, J., Rodia, C., Li, D., Diakhate, A., Dong, H., Bataille, A., Shroyer, N. F., Kohan, A. B. Using primary murine intestinal enteroids to study dietary TAG absorption, lipoprotein synthesis, and the role of apoC-III in the intestine. J Lipid Res. 2017; 58(5): 853-865.
 
Kohan, A. B., Yang, Q., Xu, M., Lee, D., Tso, P. Monosodium glutamate inhibits the lymphatic transport of lipids in the rat. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2016; 311(4): G648-G654.
 
Kohan, A. B. Apolipoprotein C-III: a potent modulator of hypertriglyceridemia and cardiovascular disease. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2015; 22(2): 119-25.
 
Kohan, A. B., Wang, F., Lo, C. M., Liu, M., Tso, P. ApoA-IV: current and emerging roles in intestinal lipid metabolism, glucose homeostasis, and satiety. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2015; 308(6): G472-81.
 
Wang, F., Kohan, A. B., Dong, H. H., Yang, Q., Xu, M., Huesman, S., Lou, D., Hui, D. Y., Tso, P. Overexpression of apolipoprotein C-III decreases secretion of dietary triglyceride into lymph. Physiol Rep. 2014; 2(3): e00247.
 
Kohan, A. B., Howles, P. N., Tso, P. Methods for studying rodent intestinal lipoprotein production and metabolism. Curr Protoc Mouse Biol. 2012; 2: 219-230.
 
Kohan, A. B., Wang, F., Li, X., Bradshaw, S., Yang, Q., Caldwell, J. L., Bullock, T. M., Tso, P. Apolipoprotein A-IV regulates chylomicron metabolism-mechanism and function. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2012; 302(6): G628-36.
 
Click here for a complete list of publications.