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Nancy Ratner PhD


Nancy Ratner PhD
ProfessorCollege of Medicine--UCnancy.ratner@cchmc.org
Room R-2325, MLC 7013 3333 Burnet Ave Cincinnati OH 452293039
Phone:513-636-9469Fax: 513-636-3549
  • Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics

General Research Interest

Central- Brain and peripheral nerve tumors and Neurofibromatosis

Research Description

The long term interest of the Ratner laboratory is to define the interactions between glial cells and axons during nervous system development and how those interactions go awry in disease, with the goal of providing novel therapies to patients with nervous system diseases. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an inherited autosomal dominant disorder (1:3500 humans) that involves the formation of many nerve-associated tumors and other non-tumor related problems. Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) involves the development of Schwannomas, benign tumors composed of Schwann cells (peripheral glial cells). Elucidating the mechanisms by which the nerve-associated tumors arise in both diseases can not only lead to the development of therapy for NF1 and NF2 patients, but can also useful in providing information about non-inherited nervous system cancers.

Current Publications

  • Watson AL, Rahrmann EP, Moriarity BS, Choi K, Conboy CB, Greeley AD, Halfond AL, Anderson LK, Wahl BR, Keng VW, Rizzardi AE, Forster CL, Collins MH, Sarver A, Wallace MR, Schmechel SC, Ratner N, Largaespada DACanonical Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Drives Human Schwann Cell Transformation, Progression, and Tumor Maintenance.Cancer Discov in press 5/9/2013
  • Plotkin SR, Blakeley JO, Evans DG, Hanemann CO, Hulsebos TJ, Hunter-Schaedle K, Kalpana GV, Korf B, Messiaen L, Papi L, Ratner N, Sherman LS, Smith MJ, Stemmer-Rachamimov AO, Vitte J, Giovannini MUpdate from the 2011 International Schwannomatosis Workshop: From genetics to diagnostic criteria.Am J Med Genet A 161(3) 405-16 3/1/2013
  • Wu J, Patmore DM, Jousma E, Eaves DW, Breving K, Patel AV, Schwartz EB, Fuchs JR, Cripe TP, Stemmer-Rachamimov AO, Ratner NEGFR-STAT3 signaling promotes formation of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.Oncogene in press 1/14/2013
  • Jessen WJ, Miller SJ, Jousma E, Wu J, Rizvi TA, Brundage ME, Eaves D, Widemann B, Kim MO, Dombi E, Sabo J, Dudley AH, Niwa-Kawakita M, Page GP, Giovannini M, Aronow BJ, Cripe TP, Ratner NMEK inhibition exhibits efficacy in human and mouse neurofibromatosis tumors.J Clin Invest 123(1) 340-7 1/2/2013
  • Prada CE, Jousma E, Rizvi TA, Wu J, Dunn RS, Mayes DA, Cancelas JA, Dombi E, Kim MO, West BL, Bollag G, Ratner NNeurofibroma-associated macrophages play roles in tumor growth and response to pharmacological inhibition.Acta Neuropathol 125(1) 159-68 1/1/2013
  • Patmore DM, Welch S, Fulkerson PC, Wu J, Choi K, Eaves D, Kordich JJ, Collins MH, Cripe TP, Ratner NIn vivo regulation of TGF-β by R-Ras2 revealed through loss of the RasGAP protein NF1.Cancer Res 72(20) 5317-27 10/15/2012
  • Gutmann DH, Parada LF, Silva AJ, Ratner NNeurofibromatosis type 1: modeling CNS dysfunction.J Neurosci 32(41) 14087-93 10/10/2012
  • Patel AV, Eaves D, Jessen WJ, Rizvi TA, Ecsedy JA, Qian MG, Aronow B, Perentesis J, Serra E, Cripe T, Miller SC, Ratner NRas-driven transcriptome analysis identifies aurora kinase A as a potential malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor therapeutic target.Clin Cancer Res 18(18) 5020-30 9/15/2012
  • Acosta MT, Bearden CE, Castellanos XF, Cutting L, Elgersma Y, Gioia G, Gutmann DH, Lee YS, Legius E, Muenke M, North K, Parada LF, Ratner N, Hunter-Schaedle K, Silva AJThe Learning Disabilities Network (LeaDNet): using neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) as a paradigm for translational research.Am J Med Genet A 158A(9) 2225-32 9/1/2012
  • Keng VW, Rahrmann EP, Watson AL, Tschida BR, Moertel CL, Jessen WJ, Rizvi TA, Collins MH, Ratner N, Largaespada DAPTEN and NF1 inactivation in Schwann cells produces a severe phenotype in the peripheral nervous system that promotes the development and malignant progression of peripheral nerve sheath tumors.Cancer Res 72(13) 3405-13 7/1/2012
  • Kalamarides M, Acosta MT, Babovic-Vuksanovic D, Carpen O, Cichowski K, Gareth Evans D, Giancotti F, Oliver Hanemann C, Ingram D, Lloyd AC, Mayes DA, Messiaen L, Morrison H, North K, Packer R, Pan D, Stemmer-Rachamimov A, Upadhyaya M, Viskochil D, Wallace MR, Hunter-Schaedle K, Ratner NNeurofibromatosis 2011: a report of the Children's Tumor Foundation annual meeting.Acta Neuropathol 123(3) 369-80 3/1/2012
  • Wu J, Dombi E, Jousma E, Scott Dunn R, Lindquist D, Schnell BM, Kim MO, Kim A, Widemann BC, Cripe TP, Ratner NPreclincial testing of sorafenib and RAD001 in the Nf(flox/flox) ;DhhCre mouse model of plexiform neurofibroma using magnetic resonance imaging.Pediatr Blood Cancer 58(2) 173-80 2/1/2012
  • Keng VW, Watson AL, Rahrmann EP, Li H, Tschida BR, Moriarity BS, Choi K, Rizvi TA, Collins MH, Wallace MR, Ratner N, Largaespada DAConditional Inactivation of Pten with EGFR Overexpression in Schwann Cells Models Sporadic MPNST.Sarcoma 2012 620834 1/1/2012
  • Yang J, Ylipää A, Sun Y, Zheng H, Chen K, Nykter M, Trent JC, Ratner N, Lev DC, Zhang WGenomic and molecular characterization of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor identifies the IGF1R pathway as a primary target for treatment.Clin Cancer Res 17(24) 7563-73 12/15/2011
  • Wood M, Rawe M, Johansson G, Pang S, Soderquist RS, Patel AV, Nelson S, Seibel W, Ratner N, Sanchez YDiscovery of a small molecule targeting IRA2 deletion in budding yeast and neurofibromin loss in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cells.Mol Cancer Ther 10(9) 1740-50 9/1/2011
  • Shang X, Cancelas JA, Li L, Guo F, Liu W, Johnson JF, Ficker A, Daria D, Geiger H, Ratner N, Zheng YR-Ras and Rac GTPase cross-talk regulates hematopoietic progenitor cell migration, homing, and mobilization.J Biol Chem 286(27) 24068-78 7/8/2011
  • Mayes DA, Rizvi TA, Cancelas JA, Kolasinski NT, Ciraolo GM, Stemmer-Rachamimov AO, Ratner NPerinatal or adult Nf1 inactivation using tamoxifen-inducible PlpCre each cause neurofibroma formation.Cancer Res 71(13) 4675-85 7/1/2011