Newcastle University

Roles and Responsibilities

Director of International Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Medical Sciences.
Deputy Director, Institute of Cellular Medicine.

Qualifications

BSc Hons (First Class) in Biochemistry, University of Dundee, 1973.
PhD in Biochemistry (Supervisor Prof Sir Philip Cohen) University of Dundee, 1976

Previous Positions

Professor of Molecular Enzymology

Honours and Awards

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1996
Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, 2002

Research Interests

My major research interest is the hormonal control of metabolic enzymes. I have worked extensively on adipose tissue, macrophages and muscle, with recent work focussing on the use of human skeletal muscle cells in culture as a model system. This has been used to both study insulin signalling mechanisms and also to investigate how metabolic parameters such as carbohydrate and lipid content of the cells can influence the signalling pathways, leading to insulin resistance as is observed in type 2 diabetes.
I am Deputy Director of the Institute of Cellular Medicine and Director of International Postgraduate Studies for the Faculty of Medical Sciences.

Industrial Relevance

Co-founder of Xcellsyz Ltd, a biotech company utilising conditionally-immortalised human cells for drug discovery. The assets of Xcellsyz were purchased by Cambrex in 2004.

• Brown AE, Elstner M, Yeaman SJ, Turnbull DM, Walker M. Does impaired mitochondrial function affect insulin signaling and action in cultured human skeletal muscle cells?. American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism 2008, 294(1), E97-E102.
• Walden HR, Kirby JA, Yeaman SJ, Gray J, Jones DE, Palmer JM. Xenobiotic Incorporation into Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Can Occur Via the Exogenous Lipoylation Pathway. Hepatology 2008, 48(6), 1874-1884.
• Pickersgill L, Litherland GJ, Greenberg AS, Walker M, Yeaman SJ. Key role for ceramides in mediating insulin resistance in human muscle cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2007, 282(17), 12583-12589.
• Litherland GJ, Morris NJ, Walker M, Yeaman SJ. Role of glycogen content in insulin resistance in human muscle cells. Journal of Cellular Physiology 2007, 211(2), 344-352.
• Logie LJ, Brown AE, Yeaman SJ, Walker M. Calpain inhibition and insulin action in cultured human muscle cells. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 2005, 85(1), 54-60.
• Abbot EL, McCormack JG, Reynet C, Hassall DG, Buchan KW, Yeaman SJ. Diverging regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoform gene expression in cultured human muscle cells. FEBS Journal 2005,272 12 3004-3014.
• McIntyre EA, Halse R, Yeaman SJ, Walker M. Cultured muscle cells from insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes patients have impaired insulin, but normal 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside-stimulated, glucose uptake. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2004,89 7 3440-3448.
• Elabbadi N, Day CP, Gamouh A, Zyad A, Yeaman SJ. Relationship between the inhibition of phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase-1 by oleate and oleoyl-CoA ester and its apparent translocation. Biochimie 2005,87 5 437-443.
• Yeaman SJ. Hormone-sensitive lipase - New roles for an old enzyme. Biochemical Journal 2004. ,379 1 11-22.
• Halse R, Fryer LGD, McCormack JG, Carling D, Yeaman SJ. Regulation of glycogen synthase by glucose and glycogen: A possible role for AMP-activated protein kinase. Diabetes 2003,52 1 9-15.
• O'Rourke L, Gronning LM, Yeaman SJ, Shepherd PR. Glucose-dependent regulation of cholesterol ester metabolism in macrophages by insulin and leptin. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2002,277 45 42557-42562.
• Halse R, Bonavaud SM, Armstrong JL, McCormack JG, Yeaman SJ. Control of glycogen synthesis by glucose, glycogen, and insulin in cultured human muscle cells. Diabetes 2001, 50(4), 720-726.
• Armstrong JL, Bonavaud SM, Toole BJ, Yeaman SJ. Regulation of glycogen synthesis by amino acids in cultured human muscle cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2001, 276(2), 952-956.
• Yeaman SJ, Armstrong JL, Bonavaud SM, Poinasamy D, Pickersgill L, Halse R. Regulation of glycogen synthesis in human muscle cells. Biochemical Society Transactions 2001, 29(part 4), 537-541.
• R. Halse, J. J. Rochford, J. G. McCormack, J. R. Vandenheede, B. A. Hemmings and S. J. Yeaman. Control of glycogen synthesis in cultured human muscle cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 1999, 274, 776-780.
• M. Dixon, L. Agius, S. J. Yeaman and C. P. Day. Inhibition of rat hepatocyte proliferation by transforming growth factor beta and glucagon is associated with inhibition of ERK2 and p70 S6 kinase. Hepatology 1999, 29, 1418-1424.
• D. E. J. Jones, J. M. Palmer, S. J. Yeaman, J. A. Kirby and M. F. Bassendine. Breakdown of tolerance to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in experimental autoimmune cholangitis (EAC), a murine model of primary biliary cirrhosis. Hepatology 1998, 28, 963.
• G. M. Clifford, D. K. T. McCormick, C. Londos, R. G. Vernon and S. J. Yeaman. Dephosphorylation of perilipin by protein phosphatases present in rat adipocytes. Febs Letters 1998, 435, 125-129.
• R. K. Thomson, Z. Davis, J. M. Palmer, S. J. Yeaman, M. J. P. Arthur and F. K. Stevenson. Human anti-PCD-E2/X monoclonal antibodies from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis evidence that the lipoate cofactor is an important antigenic determinant. Gut 1998, 42, TF346.
• R. K. Thomson, Z. Davis, J. M. Palmer, M. J. P. Arthur, S. J. Yeaman, C. J. Chapman, M. B. Spellerberg and F. K. Stevenson. Immunogenetic analysis of a panel of monoclonal IgG and IgM anti-PDC-E2/X antibodies derived from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Journal of Hepatology 1998, 28, 582-594.
• J. M. Palmer, D. E. J. Jones, M. Doshi, S. J. Yeaman, M. F. Bassendine and J. A. Kirby. Secretory IgA anti-PDC in saliva in primary biliary cirrhosis: A novel mechanism for tissue damage?. Hepatology 1998, 28, 1513.
• M. Peak, J. J. Rochford, A. C. Borthwick, S. J. Yeaman and L. Agius. Signalling pathways involved in the stimulation of glycogen synthesis by insulin in rat hepatocytes. Diabetologia 1998, 41, 16-25.
• M. F. Bassendine, D. E. J. Jones and S. J. Yeaman. Biochemistry and autoimmune response to the 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase complexes in primary biliary cirrhosis. Seminars in Liver Disease 1997, 17, 49-60.
• R. K. Thomson, Z. Davis, J. M. Palmer, M. J. P. Arthur, S. J. Yeaman, C. J. Chapman, M. B. Spellerberg and F. K. Stevenson. Immunogenetic analysis of human monoclonal antimitochondrial antibodies reveals a lambda light chain bias and evidence of antigen-driven affinity maturation. Hepatology 1997, 26, 1946-1946.
• R. E. Joplin, L. L. Wallace, J. G. Lindsay, J. M. Palmer, S. J. Yeaman and J. M. Neuberger. The human biliary epithelial cell plasma membrane antigen in primary biliary cirrhosis: Pyruvate dehydrogenase X?. Gastroenterology 1997, 113, 1727-1733.
• M. C. Dixon, S. J. Yeaman, L. Agius and C. P. Day. Transforming growth factor beta increases the activity of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase-1 in rat hepatocytes. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 1997, 230, 365-369.
• G. M. Clifford, D. K. T. McCormick, R. G. Vernon and S. J. Yeaman. Translocation of perilipin and hormone-sensitive lipase in response to lipolytic hormones. Biochemical Society Transactions 1997, 25, S672-S672.
• C. A. Jepson, J. A. Harrison, F. B. Kraemer and S. J. Yeaman. Down-regulation of hormone-sensitive lipase in sterol ester- laden J774.2 macrophages. Biochemical Journal 1996, 318, 173-177.
• R. A. Harte, S. J. Yeaman, J. McElhinney, C. J. Suckling, B. Jackson and K. E. Suckling. Effects of novel synthetic sterol probes on enzymes of cholesterol metabolism in cell-free and cellular systems. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 1996, 83, 45-59.
• A. Graham, A. D. R. Angell, C. A. Jepson, S. J. Yeaman and D. G. Hassall. Impaired mobilisation of cholesterol from stored cholesteryl esters in human (THP-1) macrophages. Atherosclerosis 1996, 120, 135-145.
• M. C. Dixon, M. Peak, L. Agius, S. J. Yeaman and C. P. Day. Inhibition of EGF-induced hepatocyte proliferation by TGF beta is not due to inhibition of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity. Hepatology 1996, 23, T15-T15.
• A. W. Christie, D. K. T. McCormick, N. Emmison, F. B. Kraemer, K. Alberti and S. J. Yeaman. Mechanism of anti-lipolytic action of acipimox in isolated rat adipocytes. Diabetologia 1996, 39, 45-53.
• R. Joplin, L. L. Wallace, J. G. Lindsay, S. J. Yeaman, J. M. Palmer and J. M. Neuberger. Pyruvate dehydrogenase-X (PDH-X) is associated with the biliary epithelial cell (BEC) plasma membrane in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Hepatology 1996, 24, 154-154.
• McHugh A, Palmer JM, Yeaman SJ, Jones DEJ. Is PDC-E3BP (protein X) a T-cell autoantigen in primary biliary cirrhosis?. In: Hepatology: 54th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease. 2003, Boston, Massachusetts, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Wilson MO, McIntyre EA, Scougall KT, Shearing PA, Walker M, Yeaman SJ, Shaw JAM. Tetracycline-regulated (pro)insulin secretion and processing to mature insulin following plasmid-mediated transfection of human muscle. Diabetic Medicine 2003, 20(s2), 9.
• Daniele N, Halse R, Grinyo E, Yeaman SJ, Shepherd PR. Conditionally immortalized cell lines as model systems for high-throughput biology in drug discovery. In: Biochemical Society Transactions: Meeting on High-Throughput Screening - The Way Ahead. 2002, Bedford, UK: Portland Press Ltd.
• Elabbadi N, Day CP, Virden R, Yeaman SJ. Regulation of phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase 1 by fatty acids. Lipids 2002, 37(1), 69-73.
• Halse R, Pearson SL, McCormack JG, Yeaman SJ, Taylor R. Effects of tumor necrosis factor-α on insulin action in cultured human muscle cells. Diabetes 2001, 50(5), 1102-1109.
• Palmer JM, Yeaman SJ, Jones DEJ. Epitope specificity of anti-PDC E1 alpha antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). In: Journal of Hepatology. 2001, Elsevier BV.
• Bassendine MF, Palmer JM, Yeaman SJ, Kirby JA, Jones DEJ. Immunological aspects of chronic cholestatic liver diseases. In "FALK Workshop on Hepatobiliary Diseases: Cholestasis and Gallstones" pp 32-41 Eds. Acalovschi and Paumgartner Pub. Kluwer Academic Publishers<br>(Chapter) 2001.
• O'Rourke L, Yeaman SJ, Shepherd PR. Insulin and leptin acutely regulate cholesterol ester metabolism in macrophages by novel signaling pathways. Diabetes 2001, 50(5), 955-961.
• Clifford GM, Kraemer FB, Yeaman SJ, Vernon RG. Translocation of hormone-sensitive lipase and perilipin upon lipolytic stimulation during the lactation cycle of the rat. Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental 2001, 50(11), 1264-1269.
• Yeamon SJ, Kirby JA, Jones DEJ. Autoreactive responses to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis. Immunological Reviews 2000, 174(1), 238-249.
• Jackson S, Bagstaff SM, Lynn S, Yeaman SJ, Turnbull DM, Walker M. Decreased insulin responsiveness of glucose uptake in cultured human skeletal muscle cells: From insulin-resistant nondiabetic relatives of type 2 diabetic families. Diabetes 2000, 49(7), 1169-1177.
• Burt AD, Jones DEJ, Palmer JM, Kirby JA, Cruz DeDJ, McCaughan GW, Sedgewick JD, Yeaman SJ, Bassendine MF. Histopathology of experimental autoimmune cholangitis - a mouse model of primary biliary cirrhosis. Journal of Pathology 2000, 190, 3A-3A.
• Palmer JM, Doshi M, Kirby JA, Yeaman SJ, Bassendine MF, Jones DEJ. Secretory autoantibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Clinical and Experimental Immunology 2000, 122(3), 423-428.
• Gong X, Peng T, Yakhnin A, Zolkiewski M, Quinn J, Yeaman SJ, Roche TE. Specificity determinants for the pyruvate dehydrogenase component reaction mapped with mutated and prosthetic group modified lipoyl domains. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2000, 275(18), 13645-13653.
• Robe A, Palmer JM, Yeaman SJ, Jones DEJ. The E3BP (protein X) component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) is not a T-cell autoantigen in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). In: JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY. 2000.
• Jones DE, Robe AJ, Palmer JM, Yeaman SJ, Kirby JA. The role played by gender in breakdown of immune tolerance in experimental autoimmune cholangitis: A mouse model of primary biliary cirrhosis. In: HEPATOLOGY. 2000.
• Clifford GM, Londos C, Kraemer FB, Vernon RG, Yeaman SJ. Translocation of hormone-sensitive lipase and perilipin upon lipolytic stimulation of rat adipocytes. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2000, 275(7), 5011-5015.
• Palmer JM, Jones DEJ, Quinn J, McHugh A, Yeaman SJ. Characterization of the autoantibody responses to recombinant E3 binding protein (protein X) of pyruvate dehydrogenase in primary biliary cirrhosis. Hepatology 1999, 30(1), 21-26.