Staff Fellow — Division of Biochemical Toxicology

Si Chen, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7121
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov  

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About  |  Publications  |  Lab Members

Background

Dr. Si Chen graduated from Sun Yat-sen University (China) in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in preventive medicine, and then received a master’s degree in immunology in 2009. In 2012, she received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Nankai University (China). Dr. Chen joined the NCTR Division of Biochemical Toxicology as an ORISE Fellow in 2012. In 2015, she was recruited to be a member of the Over-the-counter (OTC) Monographs Team, a joint program between CDER and NCTR, and was converted to a staff fellow. During her research career, Dr. Chen has published 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals and four book chapters. Her work has been cited more than 1000 times, with an H-index of 18.
 

Research Interests

A major focus of Dr. Chen’s research is elucidating the molecular mechanisms of drug- and herbal dietary supplement-associated liver toxicity. Dr. Chen has completed several mechanistic studies on the hepatotoxic effects of FDA-regulated products, including goldenseal, Ginkgo biloba, usnic acid, sertraline, dronedarone, and nitroxides.  Another major focus of Dr. Chen’s research is the functional screens and mechanistic analysis of microRNAs that regulate chemotherapeutic resistance in ovarian cancer. The overall objectives of this project are to screen and identify the miRNAs that are responsible to drug resistance in ovarian cancer and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of candidate miRNAs using both bioinformatics and biochemical approaches.
 

Professional Societies/National and International Groups

Society of Toxicology
Member
2012 – Present
 

Select Publications

Publication titles are linked to text abstracts on PubMed.

Apoptosis Contributes to the Cytotoxicity Induced by Amodiaquine and its Major Metabolite N-desethylamodiaquine in Hepatic Cells.
Tang Y., Wu Q., Beland F.A., Chen S., and Fang J.L.
Toxicol In Vitro. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2019.104669. Epub 2019 Oct 16.

MicroRNAs hsa-miR-495-3p and hsa-miR-486-5p Suppress Basal and Rifampicin-induced Expression of Human Sulfotransferase 2A1 (SULT2A1) by Facilitating mRNA Degradation.
Li D., Knox B., Chen S., Wu L., Tolleson W.H., Liu Z., Yu D., Guo L., Tong W., and Ning B.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2019.08.019. Epub 2019 Aug 22.

The Role of Hepatic Cytochrome P450s in the Cytotoxicity of Dronedarone.
Chen S., Wu Q., Ning B., Bryant M., and Guo L.
Arch Toxicol. 2018, 92(6):1969-1981.

DNA Damage-induced Apoptosis and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway Contribute to the Toxicity of Dronedarone in Hepatic Cells.
Chen S., Ren Z., Yu D., Ning B., and Guo L.
Environ Mol Mutagen. 2018, 59(4):278-289.

ROS Generation and JNK Activation Contribute to 4-methoxy-TEMPO-induced Cytotoxicity, Autophagy, and DNA Damage in HepG2 Cells.
Zhang Z., Ren Z., Chen S., Guo X., Liu F., Guo L., and Mei N.
Arch Toxicol. 2018, 92(2):717-728.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and MAPK Signaling Pathway Activation Underlie Leflunomide-induced Toxicity in HepG2 Cells.
Ren Z., Chen S., Qing T., Xuan J., Couch L., Yu D., Ning B., Shi L., and Guo L.
Toxicology. 2017, 392:11-21.

Activation of the Nrf2 Signaling Pathway in Usnic Acid-induced Toxicity in HepG2 Cells.
Chen S., Zhang Z., Qing T., Ren Z., Yu D., Couch L., Ning B., Mei N., Shi L., Tolleson W.H., and Guo L.
Arch Toxicol. 2017, 91(3):1293-1307.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Induction and ERK1/2 Activation Contribute to Nefazodone-induced Toxicity in Hepatic Cells.
Ren Z., Chen S., Zhang J., Doshi U., Li A.P., and Guo L.
Toxicol Sci. 2016,154(2):368-380.

Development of HepG2-derived Cells Expressing Cytochrome P450s for Assessing Metabolism-associated Drug-induced Liver Toxicity.
Xuan J., Chen S., Ning B., Tolleson W., and Guo L.
Chem Biol Interact. 2016, 255:63-73.

MicroRNAs as Pharmacogenomic Biomarkers for Drug Efficacy and Drug Safety Assessment.
Koturbash I., Tolleson W.H., Guo L., Yu D., Chen S., Hong H., Mattes W., and Ning B.
Biomark Med. 2015, 9(11):1153-76.

Ginkgo biloba Leaf Extract Induces DNA Damage by Inhibiting Topoisomerase II Activity in Human Hepatic Cells.
Zhang Z., Chen S., Mei H., Xuan J., Guo X., Couch L., Guo L., and Mei N.
Sci Rep. 2015, 5:14633.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Store-operated Calcium Entry Contribute to Usnic Acid-induced Toxicity in Hepatic Cells.
Chen S., Zhang Z., Wu Y., Shi Q., Yan H., Mei N., Tolleson W.H., and Guo L.
Toxicol Sci. 2015,146(1):116-26.

Reactive Oxygen Species and c-Jun N-terminal Kinases Contribute to TEMPO-induced Apoptosis in L5178Y Cells.
Guo X., Chen S., Zhang Z., Dobrovolsky V.N., Dial S., Guo L., and Mei N.
Chem Biol Interact. 2015, 235:27-36.

Mechanisms of Tolvaptan-induced Toxicity in HepG2 Cells.
Wu Y., Beland F.A., Chen S., Liu F., Guo L., and Fang J.L.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2015, 95(4):324-36.

The Role of Autophagy in Usnic Acid-induced Toxicity in Hepatic Cells.
Chen S., Dobrovolsky V.N., Liu F., Wu Y., Mei N., and Guo L.
Toxicol Sci. 2014,142(1):33-44.

Sertraline Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Hepatic Cells.
Chen S., Xuan J., Couch L., Iyer A., Wu Y., Li Q., and Guo L.
Toxicology. 2014, 322:78-88.

Autophagy in Drug-induced Liver Toxicity.
Chen S., Melchior W.B., Jr., Wu Y., and Guo L.
J Food Drug Anal. 2014, 22(2):161–168.

Sertraline, an Antidepressant, Induces Apoptosis in Hepatic Cells Through the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway.
Chen S., Xuan J., Wan L., Lin H., Couch L., Mei N., Dobrovolsky V.N., and Guo L.
Toxicol Sci. 2014,137(2):404-15.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Drug- and Environmental Toxicant-induced Liver Toxicity.
Chen S., Melchior W.B., Jr., and Guo L.
J Environ Sci Health C Environ Carcinog Ecotoxicol Rev. 2014, 32(1):83-104.

Mechanism Study of Goldenseal-associated DNA Damage.
Chen S., Wan L., Couch L., Lin H., Li Y., Dobrovolsky V., Mei N., and Guo L.
Toxicol Lett. 2013, 221(1):64-72.
 

Lab Member

Contact information for all lab members:
(870) 543-7121
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov

Lei Guo, Ph.D.
Research Biologist

Zhen Ren, Ph.D.
Staff Fellow