Jeffrey M. Peters, PhD

Jeffrey M. Peters, PhD

  • Distinguished Professor of Molecular Toxicology & Carcinogenesis
  • Deputy Director, The Penn State Cancer Institute
312 Life Sciences Building
University Park, PA 16802

Areas of Expertise

  • Molecular toxicology and carcinogenesis
  • Nuclear receptors
  • Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors
  • Cancer
  • Lipid metabolism

Education

  • Postdoctoral fellowship, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
  • Postdoctoral fellowship, Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Health, University of California, Davis, CA
  • PhD, Nutrition Science, University of California, Davis, CA
  • BS, Dietetics, University of California, Davis, CA

Graduate Programs

  • Molecular Cellular Integrative Biosciences (MCIBS)
  • Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology
  • Pathobiology

Research

Our laboratory studies the role of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in the regulation of homeostasis, toxicology and carcinogenesis. PPARs are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily and are critical modulators of environmental and dietary stimulii. For example fatty acids and metabolic derivatives of fatty acids derived primarily from dietary sources are known ligands that can activate PPARs. Moreover, environmental chemicals can also activate PPARs, such as perfluorinated chemicals and phthalate monesters that are currently a major health concern. Acting as regulatory transcription factors, the PPARs modulate gene expression of target genes containing peroxisome proliferator responsive elements in response to ligand activation. Numerous genes that modulate lipid metabolism are regulated by PPARα, PPARβ/δ and PPARγ ligands/activators, and are clinically relevant for a number of diseases including diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis and cancer. In addition to transcriptional regulation, PPARs can also epigenetically regulate transcription by interacting with other proteins including NF-κB. Our laboratory uses “knockout", transgenic mouse models, and high affinity agonists and antagonists to delineate the roles of PPARs, with a particular interest in epithelial and liver cancer. Through our studies, we are elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which exogenous (dietary) and endogenous (metabolic sources) lipids specifically modulate human health. We are particularly interested in delineating how natural compounds found in dietary constituents can activate PPARs with the goal of identifying new molecules/proteins that can be targeted with existing approaches to improve the efficacy of chemoprevention and chemotherapy. Our studies will likely lead to the identification of specific macronutrients that will effectively activate PPARs so that dietary formulations of agricultural products can be developed that will improve human and animal health and prevent serious diseases.

Publications

Accumulation of Linoleic Acid by Altered Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-α Signaling Is Associated with Age-Dependent Hepatocarcinogenesis in Ppara Transgenic Mice
Metabolites, Zhu, Xiaoyang, Liu, Qing, Patterson, Andrew D., Sharma, Arun K., Amin, Shantu G., Cohen, Samuel M., Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2023

2021-2022 Toxicological Sciences paper of the year
Toxicological Sciences, Guo, Lei, Peters, Jeffrey, 2023

Cannabidiolic acid activates the expression of the PPARβ/δ target genes in MDA-MB-231 cells
Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Hirao-Suzuki, Masayo, Takayuki, Koga, Takiguchi, Masufumi, Peters, Jeffrey M., Takeda, Shuso, 2022

The role of mouse and human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α in modulating the hepatic effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate in mice
Toxicology, Su, S, Billy, Laura, Chang, Sue, Gonzalez, Frank, Patterson, Andrew D., Peters, Jeffrey, 2022

Diminished Hepatocarcinogenesis by a Potent, High-Affinity Human PPARα Agonist in PPARA-Humanized Mice
Toxicological Sciences, Foreman, Jennifer E., Koga, Takayuki, Kosyk, Oksana, Kang, Boo Hyon, Zhu, Xiaoyang, Cohen, Samuel M., Billy, Laura J., Sharma, Arun K., Amin, Shantu, Gonzalez, Frank J., Rusyn, Ivan, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2021

Species Differences between Mouse and Human PPARα in Modulating the Hepatocarcinogenic Effects of Perinatal Exposure to a High-Affinity Human PPARα Agonist in Mice
Toxicological Sciences, Foreman, Jennifer E., Koga, Takayuki, Kosyk, Oksana, Kang, Boo Hyon, Zhu, Xiaoyang, Cohen, Samuel M., Billy, Laura J., Sharma, Arun K., Amin, Shantu, Gonzalez, Frank J., Rusyn, Ivan, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2021

Current Challenges and Recent Developments in Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics
Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, Collins, Stephanie, Koo, Imhoi, Peters, Jeffrey, Smith, Philip B., Patterson, Andrew D., 2021

Moving forward with ToxSci
Toxicological Sciences, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2020

Change is Good: What is New for ToxSci?
Toxicological Sciences, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2020

Perfluorooctane sulfonate alters gut microbiota-host metabolic homeostasis in mice
Toxicology, Zhang, Limin, Rimal, Bipin, Nichols, Robert, Tian, Yuan, Smith, Philip B., Hatzakis, Emmanuel, Chang, Shu-Ching, Butenhoff, John, Peters, Jeffrey, Patterson, Andrew D., 2020

Regulatory mechanisms mediated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ in skin cancer
Molecular Carcinogenesis, Peters, Jeffrey M., Kim, Dae J., Bility, Moses T., Borland, Michael G., Zhu, Bokai, Gonzalez, Frank J., 2019

Continuing a Legacy: Adapting to Ensure the Bright Future of ToxSci
Toxicological Sciences, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2019

Interplay Between the Host, the Human Microbiome, and Drug Metabolism
Human Genomics, Nichols, Robert, Peters, Jeffrey, Patterson, Andrew D., 2019

Unraveling the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ (PPARβ/δ) expression in colon carcinogenesis
npj Precision Oncology, Peters, Jeffrey, Walter, Vonn, Patterson, Andrew David, Gonzalez, Frank, 2019

The Evolution of Carcinogenesis
Toxicological Sciences, Peters, Jeffrey M., Gonzalez, Frank J., 2018

Inhibition of tumorigenesis by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-dependent cell cycle blocks in human skin carcinoma cells
Toxicology, Borland, Michael, Kehres, Ellen, Lee, C, Wagner, Ashley, Shannon, Brooke, Albrecht, Prajakta, Zhu, Bokai, Gonzalez, Frank, Peters, Jeffrey, 2018

Lipid metabolism and lipophagy in cancer
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Maan, Meenu, Peters, Jeffrey, Dutta, Mainak, Patterson, Andrew D., 2018

Molecular Regulation of Carcinogenesis: Friend and Foe
Toxicological Sciences, Patterson, Andrew D., Gonzalez, Frank, Perdew, Gary, Peters, Jeffrey, 2018

The PPARα-dependent rodent liver tumor response is not relevant to humans: addressing misconceptions
Archiv fur Toxikologie, Corton, J. Christopher, Peters, Jeffrey M., Klaunig, James E., 2018

Perfluorooctane sulfonate-induced hepatic steatosis in male sprague dawley rats is not attenuated by dietary choline supplementation
Toxicological Sciences, Bagley, Bradford D., Chang, Shu Ching, Ehresman, David J., Eveland, Alan, Zitzow, Jeremiah D., Parker, George A., Peters, Jeffrey M., Wallace, Kendall B., Butenhoff, John L., 2017

Four-week dietary supplementation with 10- and/or 15-fold basal choline caused decreased body weight in Sprague Dawley rats
Toxicology and Industrial Health, Bagley, Bradford D., Chang, Shu Ching, Ehresman, David J., Eveland, Alan, Parker, George A., Peters, Jeffrey M., Butenhoff, John L., 2017

PPARβ/δ and PPARγ inhibit melanoma tumorigenicity by modulating inflammation and apoptosis
Toxicological Sciences, Borland, Michael G., Yao, Pei Li, Kehres, Ellen M., Lee, Christina, Pritzlaff, Amanda M., Ola, Elizabeth, Wagner, Ashley L., Shannon, Brooke E., Albrecht, Prajakta P., Zhu, Bokai, Kang, Boo Hyon, Robertson, Gavin P., Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2017

Flipping a citrate switch on liver cancer cells
Journal of Biological Chemistry, Peters, Jeffrey M., 2017

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ inhibits human neuroblastoma cell tumorigenesis by inducing p53- and SOX2-mediated cell differentiation
Molecular Carcinogenesis, Yao, Pei Li, Chen, Liping, Dobrzański, Tomasz P., Zhu, Bokai, Kang, Boo Hyon, Müller, Rolf, Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2017

Isolation, characterization, and purification of macrophages from tissues affected by obesity-related inflammation
Journal of Visualized Experiments, Allen, Joselyn N., Dey, Adwitia, Nissly, Ruth, Fraser, James, Yu, Shan, Balandaram, Gayathri, Peters, Jeffrey M., Hankey-Giblin, Pamela A., 2017

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ modulates mast cell phenotype
Immunology, Yao, Pei Li, Morales, Jose L., Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2017

अलगाव, विशेषता, और मोटापे से संबंधित सूजन से प्रभावित ऊतकों से मैक्रोफेज की शुद्धि, Allen, Joselyn, Dey, Adwitia, Nissly, Ruth, Fraser, James, Yu, Shan, Balandaram, Gayathri, Peters, Jeffrey, Hankey-Giblin, Pamela, 2017

비만 관련 염증에 의해 영향을받는 조직에서 분리, 특성, 및대 식세포의 정제, Allen, Joselyn, Dey, Adwitia, Nissly, Ruth, Fraser, James, Yu, Shan, Balandaram, Gayathri, Peters, Jeffrey, Hankey-Giblin, Pamela, 2017

From the Editor’s Desk, Editor’s Highlights, Campen, Matthew, Flaws, Jodi, Johanson, Gunnar, Peters, Jeffrey, 2017

Omics Approaches to Probe Microbiota and Drug Metabolism Interactions
Chemical Research in Toxicology, Nichols, Robert G., Hume, Nicole E., Smith, Philip B., Peters, Jeffrey M., Patterson, Andrew D., 2016

Regulation of cytochrome P450 2B10 (CYP2B10) expression in liver by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ modulation of SP1 promoter occupancy
Journal of Biological Chemistry, Koga, Takayuki, Yao, Pei Li, Goudarzi, Maryam, Murray, Iain A., Balandaram, Gayathri, Gonzalez, Frank J., Perdew, Gary H., Fornace, Albert J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2016

Perfluorooctane sulfonate-choline ion pair formation: A potential mechanism modulating hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress in mice
Toxicological Sciences, Zhang, Limin, Krishnan, Prasad, Ehresman, David J., Smith, Philip B., Dutta, Mainak, Bagley, Bradford D., Chang, Shu Ching, Butenhoff, John L., Patterson, Andrew D., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2016

Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ suppresses liver tumorigenesis in hepatitis B transgenic mice
Toxicology, Balandaram, Gayathri, Kramer, Lance R., Kang, Boo Hyon, Murray, Iain A., Perdew, Gary H., Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2016

The ron receptor tyrosine kinase regulates macrophage heterogeneity and plays a protective role in diet-induced obesity, atherosclerosis, and hepatosteatosis
Journal of Immunology, Yu, Shan, Allen, Joselyn N., Dey, Adwitia, Zhang, Limin, Balandaram, Gayathri, Kennett, Mary J., Xia, Mingcan, Xiong, Na, Peters, Jeffrey M., Patterson, Andrew, Hankey-Giblin, Pamela A., 2016

PPARβ/δ selectively regulates phenotypic features of age-related macular degeneration
Aging, Choudhary, Mayur, Ding, Jin dong, Qi, Xiaoping, Boulton, Michael E., Yao, Pei Li, Peters, Jeffrey M., Malek, Goldis, 2016

Ron receptor tyrosine kinase plays a protective role in diet induced obesity and associated steatohepatitis, Allen, Joselyn, Zhang, Limin, Yu, Shan, Balandaram, Gayathri, Peters, Jeffrey, Patterson, A, Hankey, P, 2016

Examining role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) in colon cancer
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Wang, X., Zhu, B., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2016

Ligand activation of PPAR?/? inhibits EMT in a human colon cancer cell line
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Consevage, K., Pramanik, K., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2016

A Nuclear Messenger Links Cannabinoid-1 (CB1) Signalling to Fatty Liver
Journal of Hepatology, Azar, Sandra, Drori, A, Knani, I, Udi, S, Hadar, R, Vemuri, KV, Makriyannis, A, Peters, JM, Tam, J, 2016

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?)-dependent inhibition of UVB-induced skin carcinogenesis: targeting p53 mutant cells
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Ralph, D., Pramanik, K., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2016

Establishing the Role of PPARβ/δ in Carcinogenesis
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Peters, Jeffrey M., Gonzalez, Frank J., Müller, Rolf, 2015

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-D (PPARD) coordinates mouse spermatogenesis by modulating extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent signaling
Journal of Biological Chemistry, Yao, Pei Li, Chen, Li Ping, Hess, Rex A., Müller, Rolf, Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2015

M-CSF from cancer cells induces fatty acid synthase and PPARβ/δ activation in tumor myeloid cells, leading to tumor progression
Cell Reports, Park, Jonghanne, Lee, Sang Eun, Hur, Jin, Hong, Eun Byeol, Choi, Jae Il, Yang, Ji Min, Kim, Ju Young, Kim, Young Chan, Cho, Hyun Jai, Peters, Jeffrey M., Ryoo, Seung Bum, Kim, Young Tae, Kim, Hyo Soo, 2015

Inhibition of testicular embryonal carcinoma cell tumorigenicity by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ- and retinoic acid receptor-dependent mechanisms
Oncotarget, Yao, Pei Li, Chen, Li Ping, Dobrzanski, Tomasz P., Phillips, Dylan A., Zhu, Bokai, Kang, Boo Hyon, Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2015

Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) inhibits UVB-induced skin cancer
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Krishnan, P., Pramanik, K., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2015

Ligand activation of PPAR?/? attenuates inflammation in both primary and KC13-2 Kupffer cells
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Balandaram, G., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2015

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) inhibits tumorigenesis by interfering with RAR?-mediated MMP2 activation and inducing cell differentiation in human testicular embryonal carcinoma cells
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Yao, P., Chen, L., Phillips, D., Zhu, B., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2015

PPAR?/? and PPAR? modulate UV-induced apoptosis and cytokine secretion in a human melanoma cell line
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Wagner, A., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, Borland, M., 2015

Targeting the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR): Implications for dry and wet age-related macular degeneration
Presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Choudary, M., Johnson, L., Forrest, D., Qi, X., Boulton, M., Peters, Jeffrey, Malek, G., 2015

Hardware off-load memory garbage collection acceleration, Allen, Joseph, Matsa, Moshe, Maze, David, Peters, Jeffrey, 2015

Targeting Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-β/δ (PPARβ/δ) for Cancer Chemoprevention
Current Pharmacology Reports, Peters, Jeffrey, Yao, P, Gonzalez, F, 2015

Comparative in vivo and in vitro analysis of possible estrogenic effects of perfluorooctanoic acid
Toxicology, Yao, Pei Li, Ehresman, David J., Rae, Jessica M.Caverly, Chang, Shu Ching, Frame, Steven R., Butenhoff, John L., Kennedy, Gerald L., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2014

PPARβ/δ promotes HRAS-induced senescence and tumor suppression by potentiating p-ERK and repressing p-AKT signaling
Oncogene, Zhu, B., Ferry, C. H., Blazanin, N., Bility, M. T., Khozoie, C., Kang, B. H., Glick, A. B., Gonzalez, F. J., Peters, J. M., 2014

Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/δ (PPAR-β/δ) inhibits human breast cancer cell line tumorigenicity
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Yao, Pei Li, Morales, Jose L., Zhu, Bokai, Kang, Boo Hyon, Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2014

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonism attenuates growth factor expression, proliferation, and migration in fibroblast-like synoviocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Lahoti, Tejas S., Hughes, Jarod M., Kusnadi, Ann, John, Kaarthik, Zhu, Bokai, Murray, Iain A., Gowda, Krishne, Peters, Jeffrey M., Amin, Shantu G., Perdew, Gary H., 2014

Targeting estrogen receptor-β for the prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer
Cancer Prevention Research, Yao, Pei Li, Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2014

The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β/ δ (PPARβ/δ) promotes oncogene-induced cellular senescence through repression of endoplasmic reticulum stress
Journal of Biological Chemistry, Zhu, Bokai, Ferry, Christina H., Markell, Lauren K., Blazanin, Nicholas, Glick, Adam B., Gonzalez, Frank J., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2014

Modulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-dependent signaling by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ) in keratinocytes
Carcinogenesis, Borland, Michael G., Krishnan, Prasad, Lee, Christina, Albrecht, Prajakta P., Shan, Weiwei, Bility, Moses T., Marcus, Craig B., Lin, Jyh M., Amin, Shantu, Gonzalez, Frank J., Perdew, Gary H., Peters, Jeffrey M., 2014

Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-b/d (pparb/d) Regulates Spermatogenesis By Altering Cell-cycle Regulators In Mice
Andrology, Yao, Pei-li, Chen, Liping, Gonzalez, Frank, Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Mode of action framework analysis for receptor-mediated toxicity: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) as a case study
Critical Reviews in Toxicology, Corton, J. Christopher, Cunningham, Michael L., Hummer, B. Timothy, Lau, Christopher, Meek, Bette, Peters, Jeffrey M., Popp, James A., Rhomberg, Lorenz, Seed, Jennifer, Klaunig, James E., 2014

Compromised adaptive upregulation of mitochondrial metabolism and accumulation of hepatic lipids associate with alcoholic liver damage in Ppar?–/– mice
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Li, H.-H., Tyburski, J., Mak, T., Peters, Jeffrey, Florance, Jr., A., 2014

Ethanol-induced hepatic expression of cytochrome P450 (Cyp) 2b10 is dependent on PPAR?/?
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Koga, T., Balandaram, G., Goudarzi, M., Fornace, A., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Investigation of the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) in hepatitis C transgenic mice
Presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver, Balandaram, G., Kramer, L., Gonzalez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) attenuates liver tumorigenesis in HBV transgenic mice
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Balandaram, G., Kramer, L., Kang, B., Gonzlaez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Ligand activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) inhibits TGF?1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in a human lung cancer cell line
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Pramanik, K., Pidathala, A., Zhu, B., Gonzlaez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Ligand activation of PPAR?/? inhibits invasion and formation of three dimensional spheroids of the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Krishnan, P., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-?/? (PPAR?/?) inhibits cell proliferation and MMP-2-mediated tumorigenesis in human testicular embryonal carcinoma cells
Presented at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Yao, P., Chen, L., Zhu, B., Gonzlaez, F., Peters, Jeffrey, 2014

Divergent inositol-requiring enzyme 1 rnase activities dictate the senescence response of mouse keratinocytes to oncogenic RAS and are linked to tumor progression, Blazanin, N, John, C, Zhu, B, Peters, Jeffrey, Glick, A, 2014