Hongbin Wang, PharmBS, MS, PhD

Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Assistant Dean of Research

Phone: (916) 686-8034
Fax: (916) 686-8142
Hongbin.Wang@cnsu.edu

About

Dr. Hongbin Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Sciences at California Northstate University College of Pharmacy (CNUCOP). Before joining CNUCOP, he served as a Senior Research Investigator in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He earned his B.Med. (Pharmacy) and M.Med. (Pharmacology) degrees in Shanghai, China, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Pharmacological Sciences. Dr. Wang was also a recipient of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) NIH T32 Research Fellowship.

Scholarship

Publications (Google Scholar citations: 2644; h-index=26; elected from 53 NCBI indexed publications: Publications)

• Hudgins H, Molina V, Wiernicki S, Okwuegbe K, Feng X, Wang H*. Targeting C3a and C5a Signaling-A Game Changer for Cancer Therapy? Biology (Basel) 2025 Oct 25;14(11):1491. doi: 10.3390/biology 14111491. PMID: 41300283.
• Mia C Borlongan, Thomas Rodriguez, Napasiri Putthanbut, Hongbin Wang, Jea-Young Lee. Modeling of cancer stem cells and the tumor microenvironment Via NT2/D1 cells to probe pathology and treatment for cancer and beyond. Discov Oncol. 2025 Apr 24;16(1):605. doi: 10.1007/s12672-025-02158-2. PMID: 40272656.
• Darin Cheung, Mohammad Ali Hassan, Tri Huynh, Xiaodong Feng, Hongbin Wang*. Shedding light on the role of complement C4 activation in cancer. Hum Immunol. 2024 Dec 27;86(1):111226. doi: 10.1016/j.humimm.2024.111226. PMID: 39732132.
• Hongbin Wang, Mia Borlongan, Howard L. Kaufman, Uyen Le, Hans J. Nauwynck, Samuel D. Rabkin, Dipongkor Saha. Cytokine-armed oncolytic herpes simplex viruses: A game-changer in cancer immunotherapy? J Immunother Cancer. 2024 May 31;12(5):e008025. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008025. PMID: 38821716.
• Xin Wei, Ye Tu, Shuhong Bu, Guimei Guo, Hongbin Wang*, Zhibin Wang*. Unraveling the Intricate Web: Complement Activation Shapes the Pathogenesis of Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy. Journal of Innate Immunity. 2024 May 30. doi: 10.1159/000539502. PMID: 38815564
• Mengyao Liu, Vy Tran Luu, Hongbin Wang*. C4a, C4adesArg, and thrombin differentially regulate platelet aggregation and endothelial barrier functions. bioRxiv 2024.03.13.584877; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.13.584877
• Borlongan MC, Saha D, Wang H*. Tumor Microenvironment: A Niche for Cancer Stem Cell Immunotherapy. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2023 Oct 20. doi: 10.1007/s12015-023-10639-6. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37861969.
• Wang H, Borlongan M, Hemminki A, Basnet S, Sah N, Kaufman HL, Rabkin SD, Saha D. Viral Vectors Expressing Interleukin 2 for Cancer Immunotherapy. Hum Gene Ther. 2023 Sep;34(17-18):878-895. doi: 10.1089/hum.2023.099. PMID: 37578106.
• Borlongan MC, Wang H*. Profiling and targeting cancer stem cell signaling pathways for cancer therapeutics. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 May 25; 11:1125174. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1125174. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37305676 Free PMC article.
• Wang H, Tran TT, Duong KT, Nguyen T, Le UM. Options of Therapeutics and Novel Delivery Systems of Drugs for the Treatment of Melanoma. Mol Pharm. 2022 Dec 5;19(12):4487-4505. PMID: 36305753
• Begum R, Papia SA, Begum MM, Wang H, Karim R, Sultana R, Das PR, Begum T, Islam MR, Manwar N, Rahman MS. Evaluation of Hepatoprotective Potential of Polyherbal Preparations in CCl4-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice. Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci. doi: 10.1155/2022/3169500. PMID: 35265845
• Hongbin Wang* and Mengyao Liu. Complement C4, infection and auttoimmune disorders. Frontiers in Immunology. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.694928 PMCID: PMC8317844; PMID: 34335607
• Ronia Mostofa; Rayhana Begum; Hongbin Wang; Mst. Marium Begum; Rubaba Karim; Taslima Begum; Nur Alam Siddiquee; Rebeka Sultana; Sonia Sultana; A K Lutful Kabir; Sumaiya Alam; Tasnova Tasnim Nova. Promising antidiabetic potential of Cuscuta reflexa leaves methanol extract in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Clinical Phytoscience. (2020) 6:26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40816-020-00169-w
• Shim K, Begum R, Yang C, and Wang H*. Complement activation in obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. World J Diabetes 2020; 11(1): 1-12. PMID: 31938469
• Wang H, Daniel Ricklin, and John D. Lambris. Complement-activation fragment C4a mediates effector functions by binding as untethered agonist to protease-activated receptors 1 and 4. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017; 114(41): 10948-10953. PMID: 28973891
• Wang H, Gutierrez-Uzquiza A, Garg R, Barrio-Real L, Abera MB, Lopez-Haber C, Rosemblit C, Lu H, Abba M, Kazanietz MG. Transcriptional Regulation of Oncogenic Protein Kinase C Epsilon (PKC ) by Stat1 and Sp1. J Biol Chem. 2014; 289(28): 19823-38. PMID: 24825907
• Wang H*, Xiao L and Kazanietz MG*. Tmp21/p23, an ER/Golgi cargo protein, regulates phorbol ester-induced apoptosis in LNCaP prostate cancer cells via direct association with PKC. J Biol Chem. 2011; 286:15821-15831. PMID: 21454541. (*Corresponding author).
• Wang H, Kazanietz MG. p23/Tmp21 differentially targets the Rac-GAP beta2-chimaerin and protein kinase C via their C1 domains. Mol Biol Cell. 2010; 21:1398-1408. PMID: 20164256
• Wang H, Yang C, Leskow FC, Sun J, Canagarajah B, Hurley JH, and Kazanietz MG. Phospholipase C /Diacylglycerol-dependent Activation of 2-Chimaerin Restricts EGF-Induced Rac Signaling. EMBO J. 2006; 25: 2062-2074. PMID: 16628218
• Wang H, and Kazanietz MG. The lipid second messenger diacylglycerol as a negative regulator of Rac signaling. Biochem Soc Trans. 2006; 34: 860-862. PMID: 17052214
• Caloca MJ*, Wang H*, Kazanietz MG. Characterization of the Rac-GAP (Rac-GTPase-activating protein) activity of beta2-chimaerin, a 'non-protein kinase C' phorbol ester receptor. Biochem J. 2003; 375: 313-321 (* Equal contribution). PMID: 12877655
• Wang H, Kazanietz MG. Chimaerins, novel non-protein kinase C phorbol ester receptors, associate with Tmp21-I (p23): evidence for a novel anchoring mechanism involving the chimaerin C1 domain. J Biol Chem. 2002; 277: 4541-4550. PMID: 1168955
• Rachana Garg, Lorena Benedetti, Mahlet Abera, HongBin Wang, Martin Abba, and Marcelo Kazanietz. Protein kinase C and cancer: what we know and what we do not. Oncogene 2013; PMID: 24336328
• Oxana M. Tsygankova, HongBin Wang, and Judy L. Meinkoth. RAP1GAP regulates tumor cell migration and invasion. J Biol Chem. 2013; 288:24636-46. PMID: 23864657
• Alvaro Gutierrez-Uzquiza, Francheska Colon-Gonzalez, Thomas A. Leonard, Bertram J. Canagarajah, HongBin Wang, Bruce J. Mayer, James H. Hurley, and Marcelo G. Kazanietz. Coordinated activation of the Rac-GAP (b2-chimaerin) by an atypical proline-rich domain and diacylglycerol. Nature Commun. 2013; 4:1849. PMID: 23673634
• Garg R, Blando J, Perez CJ, Wang H, Benavides FJ, Kazanietz MG. Activation of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B (NFkB) in Prostate Cancer is Mediated by PKC Epsilon (PKC{epsilon}). J. Biol. Chem. 2012; 287:37570-82. PMID: 22955280
• Riccomagno MM, Hurtado A, Wang H, Macopson JG, Griner EM, Betz A, Brose N, Kazanietz MG, Kolodkin AL. The RacGAP b2-Chimaerin selectively mediates axonal pruning in the hippocampus. Cell. 2012; 149:1594-606. PMID: 22726444
• Maria Soledad Sosa, Cynthia Lopez-Haber, Chengfeng Yang, Hongbin Wang, Mark A. Lemmon, John M. Busillo, Jiansong Luo, Jeffrey L. Benovic, Andres Klein-Szanto, Hiroshi Yagi, J. Silvio Gutkind, Ramon E. Parsons, and Marcelo G. Kazanietz. Identification of the Rac-GEF-P-Rex1 as an essential mediator of ErbB signaling in breast cancer. Mol Cell. 2010; 40:877-892. PMID: 21172654
• Oxana M. Tsygankova, Gregory V. Prendergast, Kanchan Puttaswamy, Yan Wang, Michael D. Feldman, Hongbin Wang, Marcia S. Brose and Judy L. Meinkoth. Downregulation of Rap1GAP contributes to Ras transformation. Mol. Cell. Biol. 2007; 27: 6647-6658. PMID: 17646383
• Leskow FC, Holloway BA, Wang H, Mullins MC, Kazanietz MG. The zebrafish homologue of mammalian chimaerin Rac-GAPs is implicated in epiboly progression during development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006; 103: 5373-5378. PMID: 16569702
• Zhang Z, Kostetskii I, Moss SB, Jones BH, Ho C, Wang H, Kishida T, Gerton GL, Radice GL, Strauss JF 3rd. Haploinsufficiency for the murine orthologue of Chlamydomonas PF20 disrupts spermatogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004; 101: 12946-12951. PMID: 15328412

Accomplishments and Awards

• California Northstate University College of Pharmacy Spring Seed Grant Cycle Award (2025): Exploring the functions of complement C4 in cancer cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. $10,000. Role: PI
• California Northstate University College of Medicine mini-Grant Cycle Award (2022): Endothelial barrier protective effect of C4a under endotoxic condition is mediated through PAR1/-arrestin-2 biased signaling pathway. $10,000. Role: PI
• California Northstate University College of Medicine mini-Grant Cycle Award (2021): C4a-PAR1 axis in metastatic property of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells in vitro. $10,000. Role: PI
• California Northstate University College of Pharmacy seed Grant (2021): Liposomal delivery of azadirachtin for the treatment of melanoma skin cancer. $ 7,000. Role: CoPI
• Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science Faculty Research of the Year. PBS Department, California Northstate University College of Pharmacy (2020).
• California Northstate University College of Pharmacy Spring Seed Grant Cycle Award (2020): C4a inhibits thrombin-induced diabetic vasculopathy in human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). $3,000. Role: PI
• California Northstate University College of Pharmacy Spring Seed Grant Cycle Award finalist: (May-December 2018) $10,000. Role: PI.