Faculty Detail
Jonathan D. Holz
Title: Visiting Assistant Professor
Office: Skalny 235C
Phone: (585) 385-8383
Email: jholz@sjfc.edu
Education: Ph.D., M.S., University of Rochester
B.A., Washington University in St. Louis
At the University of Rochester my graduate research was conducted at the intersection of toxicology and orthopedics, focusing on the effects of heavy metals on the development of osteoarthritis. Since then, I have enjoyed using the skills and knowledge garnered there to teach a broad range of students how implementation of the scientific process may enrich their lives.
Teaching:
BIOL 127-General Biology Lab
BIOL 422-Biopharmacology
Research:
Heavy metal toxicology, Osteoarthritis
Currently, my research focuses on exploring the connection between two significant health problems. The first is osteoarthritis which affects nearly 80% of people over the age of 55, and the second is Pb exposure, the prevalence of which is on the decline (in America, not the world at large) but remains a significant risk in the environment. Building upon clinical case-studies that showed joint degeneration in individuals with retained Pb fragments and epidemiological studies that linked Pb exposure in smelter workers to joint pain, I formulated the hypothesis that Pb could disrupt articular chondrocyte function and ultimately result in osteoarthritis. Initially my research explored and characterized the ability of Pb to disrupt TGF-ß signaling, the pathway responsible for articular chondrocyte maintenance. Recently however, my research has investigated the ability of Pb to generate reactive oxygen species by increasing ROS production and disrupting the ROS scavenging milieu. We are exploring ROS as a mediator in Pb’s disruption of articular chondrocyte function and the possibility that ROS may be a unifying intermediate in the many different etiologies of osteoarthritis. The goal of this project has been to better understand these mechanisms behind the generation of osteoarthritis to improve treatments and clinical outcomes. Additional experiments have confirmed a link between Pb exposure and joint degeneration in vivo, and experiments evaluating therapeutic antioxidant treatments are currently underway.
Publications:
Meina Wang, Hongting Jin, Ryan Tierney, Jonathan D. Holz, Jie Shen, and Di Chen. Activation of ß-Catenin Induces Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis (in submission).
De-Zhi Tang, Hao Xu, Jonathan Holz, Shao-Dan Cheng, Qi Shi, Di Chen, and Yong-Jun Wang. Icariin Increases Bone Mass and Bone Strength in Osteoprotegerin-deficient Mice through the Activation of Wnt/ß-Catenin Signaling (in submission).
Jonathan D. Holz, Eric Beier, J. Edward Puzas. Effects of Lead Deposition on the Musculoskeletal System, Current Topics in Toxicology (in press).
De-Zhi Tang, Zhou Yang, Xiao-Jian Ye, Jonathan Holz, Shu Cai, Wen Yuan, Yong-Jun Wang, Guo-Hua Xu. Biphasic calcium phosphate nano-composite scaffolds reinforced with bioglass provide a synthetic alternative to autograft in a canine tibiofibula defect model (In submission).
Jonathan D. Holz, Eric E. Beier, Tzong-Jen Sheu, Jonathan Malecki, Yuriy Shapovalov, Resika Ubayawardena, Erik R. Sampson, Michael J. Zuscik, J. Edward Puzas. Lead Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species Disrupts TGF-ß Signaling in Articular Chondrocytes (in review).
Mi M, Shi S, Li T, Holz J, Lee YJ, Sheu TJ, Liao Q, Xiao T. TIMP2 deficient mice develop accelerated osteoarthritis via promotion of angiogenesis upon destabilization of the medial meniscus. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Jun 29;423(2):366-72.
Jonathan D. Holz, Eric Beier, Tzong-Jen Sheu, Resika Ubayawardena, Erik R. Sampson, Michael Zuscik, J. Edward Puzas. Lead Induces Osteoarthritis-like Phenotype in Articular Chondrocytes through Disruption of TGF-ß signaling J Orthop Res. 2012 Apr 19. doi: 10.1002/jor.22117.
Peijian Tong, Chengliang Wu, Hongting Jin, Qiang Mao, Nanze Yu, Jonathan D. Holz, Hui Liu, Luwei Xiao. Gene Expression Profile of Steroid Induced Necrosis of Femoral Head of Rats. Calcified Tissue International Calcif Tissue Int. 2011 Oct;89(4):271-84. doi: 10.1007/s00223-011-9516-y.
Feng Yang, De-Zhi Tang, Xue-Jun Cui, Jonathan D. Holz, Qin Bian , Qi Shi, and Yong-Jun Wang. Study protocol: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of Classic Yin and Yang Tonic Formula for osteopenia. Trials 2011, 12:187
De-Zhi Tang, Wei Hou, Quan Zhou, Minjie Zhang, Jonathan Holz, Tzong-Jen Sheu, Tian-Fang Li, Shao-Dan Cheng, Qi Shi, Di Chen, and Yong-Jun Wang. Osthole Stimulates Bone Formation by Increasing the Expression and Activity of BMP-2. J Bone Miner Res. 2010 Jun;25(6):1234-45.
Mitsuhiro Matsuzawa, Tzong-Jen Sheu, Yi-Jang Lee, Mo Chen, Tian-Fang Li, Chia Taw Huang, Jonathan Holz, J. Edward Puzas Putative Signaling Action of Amelogenin Utilizes the Wnt/beta-Catenin Pathway. Journal of Periodontal Research 2009 Jun;44(3):289-96.
M. Zhang Ph.D., Q. Zhou M.D., Ph.D., Q.-Q. Liang Ph.D., C.-G. Li M.D., J. D. Holz, D. Tang M.D., T.-J. Sheu Ph.D., T.-F. Li M.D., Ph.D., Q. Shi M.D. and Y.-J. Wang M.D., Ph.D., IGF-1 regulation of type II collagen and MMP-13 expression in rat endplate chondrocytes via distinct signaling pathways Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 17 100-106 (2009).
Zhan-Ying Tang, Bing Shu, Xue-Jun Cui, Chong-Jian Zhou, Qi Shi, Jonathan Holz, and Yong-Jun Wang, Changes of Cervical Dorsal Root Ganglia Induced by Compression Injury and Decompression Procedure: A Novel Rat Model of Cervical Radiculoneuropathy, Journal of Neurotrauma 26:1–7 (2009)
Jonathan D. Holz, Tzong-Jen Sheu, Hicham Drissi, Mitsuhiro Matsuzawa,Michael J. Zuscik, and J. Edward Puzas, Environmental Agents Affect Skeletal Growth and Development, Birth Defects Research (Part C) 81:41–50 (2007).
Ryan EP, Holz JD, Mulcahey M, Sheu TJ, Gasiewicz TA, Puzas JE. Environmental toxicants may modulate osteoblast differentiation by a mechanism involving the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. J Bone Miner Res. Oct;22(10):1571-80. (2007)
Jonathan Holz, The Development of a New Sub-Field to Study Novel Areas of Environmental Concern: Ingestive Behavioral Teratology, Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology (U of R local press) (2006)