Vera Chesnokova, PhD

Research Scientist, Pituitary Center
Email:vera.chesnokova@cshs.org
Phone:(310) 423-7659
Fax:(310) 423-0221

Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Medicine

Awards and Activities

Young Investigator Award2003
Young Investigator Award1999
Editorial Board : The Open Physiology Journal (Bentham Science)Current
The Endocrine Society1999
International Pituitary Society2005

Research Focus

Molecular and physiological mechanism of pituitary tumor development. Role of pituitary cell senescence in tumor growth. Mouse transgenic models of pituitary tumors.

Adult neurogenesis in hippocampus. Role of cell cycle proteins in generation of new neurons. Mechanisms underlying stimulation of adult neurogenesis by antidepressants.

Research Contributions

Found that expression of senescence-associated proteins restrain pituitary tumor development in mice, and may underlie slow growth of pituitary tumors in humans.

Discovered that cell cycle inhibitor p21 plays a key role in restraining neuronal proliferation in hippocampus, and the action of antidepressants on neurogenesis occurs via p21 suppression.

Current investigations include:

Transgenic models of pituitary tumors. Senescence markers in the pituitary cells.

The effects of stress, inflammation and antidepressants on cell cycle proteins and neurogenesis in hippocampus.

Selected Publications

  1. Kariagina A, Zonis S, Afkhami M, Romanenko D, Chesnokova V: Leukemia inhibitory factor regulates glucocorticoid receptor expression in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab., 289(5): E857-63, 2005
  2. Chesnokova V, Melmed S: Minireview: Neuro-immuno-endocrine modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by gp130 signaling molecules. Endocrinology, 143(5): 1571-4, 2002
  3. Kariagina A, Romanenko D, Ren SG, Chesnokova V: Hypothalamic-pituitary cytokine network. Endocrinology, 145(1): 104-12, 2003
  4. Chesnokova V, Kovacs K, Castro AV, Zonis S, Melmed S: Pituitary hypoplasia in Pttg-/- mice is protective for Rb+/- pituitary tumorigenesis. Mol. Endocrinol., 19(9): 2371-9, 2005
  5. Chesnokova V, Zonis S, Rubinek T, Yu R, Ben-Shlomo A, Kovacs K, Wawrowsky K, Melmed S: Senescence mediates pituitary hypoplasia and restrains pituitary tumor growth. Cancer Res., 67(21): 10564-72, 2007
  6. Pechnick RN, Zonis S, Wawrowsky K, Pourmorady J, Chesnokova V: p21Cip1 restricts neuronal proliferation in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 105(4): 1358-63, 2008