Yi-Ling Lin Lab

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Dr. Yi-Ling Lin is wearing a blouse and a jacket in an outdoor setting.

Principal Investigator

Yi-Ling Lin, DDS, DMSC

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About

Our lab currently focuses on two aspects of cancer research.

  1. Macrophages are the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and exert a profound influence over the immunologic state of the neoplastic tissue. During tumor bone invasion, macrophages also are recruited as osteoclast precursors and differentiate to osteoclasts onto the tumor-bone interface. Our lab uses a bone invasion mouse model to investigate the immune landscape in the tumor microenvironment during SCC bone invading.
  2. Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes 70% of oropharyngeal cancers in the United States. While the molecular mechanism and the stepwise progression of HPV-related cervical cancer have been well studied, oropharyngeal HPV carcinogenesis remains to be unraveled. Our lab has established a series of keratinocyte cell lines that can form varying degrees of malignancy in the syngenetic mice. These mice will be used as premalignant and malignant animal models to study the biology of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.

Current Projects and Grants

  1. To understand the impact of tumor bone invasion on tumor immune environment.
  2. To generate premalignant and malignant animal models for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.

Publications

  1. Yoon JH, Li M, Basile JR, Lin YL. Computer-assisted analysis of immunohistological parameters in oral giant cell granulomas. Oral Dis. 2019;25(3):796-802. doi: 10.1111/odi.13022. PubMed PMID: 30565380.
  2. Li M, McGhee EM, Shinno L, Lee K, Lin YL. Exposure to Microbial Metabolite Butyrate Prolongs the Survival Time and Changes the Growth Pattern of Human  Papillomavirus 16 E6/E7-Immortalized Keratinocytes in Vivo. Am J Pathol. 2021. Epub 2021/07/03. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2021.06.005. PubMed PMID: 34214507.
  3. Li M, Basile JR, Mallya S, Lin YL. The impact and outcomes of cancer-macrophage fusion. BMC Cancer. 2023;23(1):497. Epub 20230601. doi: 10.1186/s12885-023-10961-9. PubMed PMID: 37264310; PMCID: PMC10236829.

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Collaborators

List of collaborators within and outside of UCLA:
UCLA collaborators: Dr. Flavia Pirih, Dr. Mo Kang
UCLA Head and Neck Pathology 

Outside collaborators:
Dr. John Basile, Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland
Dr. Eva McGhee, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science,

List of Lab Members:
Mengtao Li, Adjunct Assistant Professor

Opportunities

We focus on pathological and immunological changes related to head and neck cancers. We use a variety of approaches for the studies, including molecular biology, virology, immunology, histology, and animal models.  

Contact Us

ylin@dentistry.ucla.edu