Adjunct Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Contact Information
Email:Biosketch
Timothy Garrow earned a BS in Nutrition Science, an MS in Nutrition, an MS in Exercise Physiology, and a PhD in Biochemistry. In 1994, he joined the faculty in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and earned the rank of Professor in 2005. He served four years as FSHN’s Associate Head for Graduate Programs (2007-2011), and two years as FSHN's Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs (2014-2016).
While at UIUC, Dr. Garrow's research program focused on sulfur amino acid and one carbon metabolism, and in particular on the structure and function of the betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase (BHMT) and BHMT-2 enzymes, and the molecular biology of the bhmt gene including the effects of nutrition on bhmt gene expression. He has publications in a wide breadth of journals including the Journal of Nutrition, American Journal of Physiology, Metabolism, Biochemistry, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Structure, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), among others. At UIUC, he received college, national and international recognition as an outstanding researcher, and has presented invited lectures at national and international conferences on sulfur amino acid and one carbon metabolism, including presentations at the biennial FASEB Summer Research Conference on Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 and One Carbon Metabolism. Dr. Garrow has authored or co-authored two US patents, four book chapters, 61 original research articles, 12 serial and conference proceedings and obtained multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
At WMed, Dr. Garrow is the Course Director for Molecular Foundations of Medicine, and does considerable teaching in the Genetics and Metabolic Disorders course. He is the Biochemistry Discipline Director, and the Nutrition Thread co-Director. He also is the Director of the MS program in Biomedical Sciences.
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Education and Training
- MS 2014, Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- PhD 1992, Comparative Biochemistry, University of California-Berkeley
- MS 1988, Nutrition, University of California-Davis
- BS 1986, Nutrition Science, University of California-Davis
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Publications
Zhou Z., Garrow T.A., Dong X., Luchini D.N., Loor J.J. Hepatic activity and transcription of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase, methionine synthase, and cystathionine synthase in periparturient dairy cows are altered to different extents by supply of methionine and choline Journal of Nutrition. 2017;147:11-19.
Ganu R., Ishida Y., Koutmos M., Kolokotronis S.O., Roca A.L., Garrow T.A., Schook L.B. Evolutionary analyses and natural selection of Betaine-Homocysteine Smethyltransferase (BHMT) and BHMT2 Genes PLoS ONE. 2015;10
Garrow T.A. Betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase Food and Nutritional Components in Focus. 2015;2015-January:90-101.
Mládková J., Hladílková J., Diamond C.E., Tryon K., Yamada K., Garrow T.A., Jungwirth P., Koutmos M., Jiráček J. Specific potassium ion interactions facilitate homocysteine binding to betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase Proteins: Structure, Function and Bioinformatics. 2014;82:2552-2564.
Ganu R., Garrow T., Koutmos M., Rund L., Schook L.B. Splicing variants of the porcine betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase gene: Implications for mammalian metabolism Gene. 2013;529:228-237.
Pićha J., Vaňek V., Budě̌́sińsky M., Mlad́ková J., Garrow T.A., Jiŕ̌acek J. The development of a new class of inhibitors for betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2013;65:256-275.
Lee M.B., Kooistra M., Zhang B., Slow S., Fortier A.L., Garrow T.A., Lever M., Trasler J.M., Baltz J.M. Betaine homocysteine methyltransferase is active in the mouse blastocyst and promotes inner cell mass development Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2012;287:33094-33103.
Mládková J., Vanêk V., Budêŝínský M., Elbert T., Demianová Z., Garrow T., Jiráĉek J. Erratum: Double-headed sulfur-linked amino acids as first inhibitors for betaine-homocysteine s -methyltransferase 2 (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2012) 55 (6822-6831) DOI:10.1021/jm300571h) Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2012;55:8974.
Mládková J., Vaněk V., Buděšínský M., Elbert T., Demianová Z., Garrow T., Jiráček J. Double-headed sulfur-linked amino acids as first inhibitors for betaine-homocysteine S -methyltransferase 2 Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2012;55:6822-6831.
Ganu R., Garrow T.A., Sodhi M., Rund L.A., Schook L.B. Molecular characterization and analysis of the porcine betaine homocysteine methyltransferase and betaine homocysteine methyltransferase-2 genes Gene. 2011;473:133-138.
Strakova J., Gupta S., Kruger W., Dilger R., Tryon K., Li L., Garrow T. Inhibition of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase in rats causes hyperhomocysteinemia and reduces liver cystathionine β-synthase activity and methylation capacity Nutrition Research. 2011;31:563-571.
Teng Y.W., Mehedint M.G., Garrow T.A., Zeisel S.H. Deletion of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase in mice perturbs choline and 1-carbon metabolism, resulting in fatty liver and hepatocellular carcinomas Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2011;286:36258-36267.
Liu H.H., Lu P., Guo Y., Farrell E., Zhang X., Zheng M., Bosano B., Zhang Z., Allard J., Liao G., Fu S., Chen J., Dolim K., Kuroda A., Usuka J., Cheng J., Tao W., Welch K., Liu Y., Pease J., De Keczer S.A., Masjedizadeh M., Hu J.S., Weller P., Garrow T., Peltz G. An integrative genomic analysis identifies Bhmt2 as a diet-dependent genetic factor protecting against acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity Genome Research. 2010;20:28-35.
Strakova J., Williams K.T., Gupta S., Schalinske K.L., Kruger W.D., Rozen R., Jiracek J., Li L., Garrow T.A. Dietary intake of S-(α-carboxybutyl)-dl-homocysteine induces hyperhomocysteinemia in rats Nutrition Research. 2010;30:492-500.
Vaněk V., Buděšínský M., Kabeleová P., Šanda M., Kozžíšek M., Hančlová I., Mládková J., Brynda J., Rosenberg I., Koutmos M., Garrow T.A., Jiráček J. Structure-activity study of new inhibitors of human betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2009;52:3652-3665.
Castro C., Millian N.S., Garrow T.A. Liver betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase activity undergoes a redox switch at the active site zinc Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2008;472:26-33.
Szegedi S.S., Castro C.C., Koutmos M., Garrow T.A. Betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase-2 is an S-methylmethionine- homocysteine methyltransferase Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2008;283:8939-8945.
Williams K.T., Garrow T.A., Schalinske K.L. Type I diabetes leads to tissue-specific DNA hypomethylation in male rats Journal of Nutrition. 2008;138:2064-2069.
Dilger R.N., Garrow T.A., Baker D.H. Betaine can partially spare choline in chicks but only when added to diets containing a minimal level of choline Journal of Nutrition. 2007;137:2224-2228.
Schäfer C., Hoffmann L., Heldt K., Lornejad-Schäfer M., Brauers G., Gehrmann T., Garrow T., Häussinger D., Mayatepek E., Schwahn B., Schliess F. Osmotic regulation of betaine homocysteine-S-methyltransferase expression in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. 2007;292
Collinsova M., Strakova J., Jiracek J., Garrow T.A. Inhibition of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase causes hyperhomocysteinemia in mice Journal of Nutrition. 2006;136:1493-1497.
Jiracek J., Collinsova M., Rosenberg I., Budesinsky M., Protivinska E., Netusilova H., Garrow T. S-alkylated homocysteine derivatives: New inhibitors of human betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2006;49:3982-3989.
Nieman K., Hartz C.S., Szegedi S.S., Garrow T.A., Sparks J.D., Schalinske K.L. Folate status modulates the induction of hepatic glycine N-methyltransferase and homocysteine metabolism in diabetic rats American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2006;291
Ratnam S., Wijekoon E.P., Hall B., Garrow T.A., Brosnan M.E., Brosnan J.T. Effects of diabetes and insulin on betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase expression in rat liver American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2006;290
Slow S., Garrow T.A. Liver choline dehydrogenase and kidney betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase expression are not affected by methionine or choline intake in growing rats Journal of Nutrition. 2006;136:2279-2283.
Augspurger N.R., Scherer C.S., Garrow T.A., Baker D.H. Dietary S-methylmethionine, a component of foods, has choline-sparing activity in chickens Journal of Nutrition. 2005;135:1712-1717.
Delgado-Reyes C., Garrow T. High sodium chloride intake decreases betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase expression in guinea pig liver and kidney American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2005;288
Miller C., Szegedi S.S., Garrow T.A. Conformation-dependent inactivation of human betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase by hydrogen peroxide in vitro Biochemical Journal. 2005;392:443-448.
Castro C., Gratson A.A., Evans J.C., Jiracek J., Collinsová M., Ludwig M.L., Garrow T.A. Dissecting the Catalytic Mechanism of Betaine-Homocysteine S-Methyltransferase by Use of Intrinsic Tryptophan Fluorescence and Site-Directed Mutagenesis Biochemistry. 2004;43:5341-5351.
Nieman K.M., Rowling M.J., Garrow T.A., Schalinske K.L. Modulation of methyl group metabolism by streptozotocin-induced diabetes and all-trans-retinoic acid Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2004;279:45708-45712.
Schwahn B., Wendel U., Lussier-Cacan S., Mar M., Zeisel S., Leclerc D., Castro C., Garrow T., Rozen R. Effects of Betaine in a Murine Model of Mild Cystathionine-β-Synthase Deficiency Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental. 2004;53:594-599.
Schwahn B.C., Laryea M.D., Chen Z., Melnyk S., Pogribny I., Garrow T., James S.J., Rozen R. Betaine rescue of an animal model with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency Biochemical Journal. 2004;382:831-840.
Szegedi S., Garrow T. Oligomerization is required for betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase function Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2004;426:32-42.
Tanghe K.A., Garrow T.A., Schalinske K.L. Triiodothyronine treatment attenuates the induction of hepatic glycine N-methyltransferase by retinoic acid and elevates plasma homocysteine concentrations in rats Journal of Nutrition. 2004;134:2913-2918.
Collinsová M., Castro C., Garrow T., Yiotakis A., Dive V., Jiráček J. Combining combinatorial chemistry and affinity chromatography: Highly selective inhibitors of human betaine - Homocysteine S-methyltransferase Chemistry and Biology. 2003;10:113-122.
Morin I., Platt R., Weisberg I., Sabbaghian N., Wu Q., Garrow T.A., Rozen R. Common variant in betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) and risk for spina bifida American Journal of Medical Genetics. 2003;119 A:172-176.
Schwahn B.C., Chen Z., Laryea M.D., Wendel U., Lussier-Cacan S., Genest J., Mar M.H., Zeisel S.H., Castro C., Garrow T., Rozen R. Homocysteine-betaine interactions in a murine model of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency. The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 2003;17:512-514.
Weisberg I., Park E., Ballman K., Berger P., Nunn M., Suh D., Breksa A., Garrow T., Rozen R. Investigations of a common genetic variant in betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) in coronary artery disease Atherosclerosis. 2003;167:205-214.
Breksa A., Garrow T. Random mutagenesis of the zinc-binding motif of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase reveals that Gly 214 is essential Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2002;399:73-80.
Evans J.C., Huddler D.P., Jiracek J., Castro C., Millian N.S., Garrow T.A., Ludwig M.L. Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase: Zinc in a distorted barrel Structure. 2002;10:1159-1171.
Halsted C.H., Villanueva J.A., Devlin A.M., Niemelä O., Parkkila S., Garrow T.A., Wallock L.M., Shigenaga M.K., Melnyk S., James S.J. Folate deficiency disturbs hepatic methionine metabolism and promotes liver injury in the ethanol-fed micropig Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2002;99:10072-10077.
Koval D., Kašika V., Jiráek J., Collinsová M., Garrow T.A. Determination of dissociation constant of phosphinate group in phosphinic pseudopeptides by capillary zone electrophoresis Journal of Chromatography B: Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences. 2002;770:145-154.
Delgado-Reyes C., Wallig M., Garrow T. Immunohistochemical detection of Betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase in human, pig, and rat liver and kidney Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2001;393:184-186.
Neece D., Griffiths M., Garrow T. Isolation and characterization of a mouse betaine-homocysteine S- methyltransferase gene and pseudogene Gene. 2000;250:31-40.
Sandu C., Nick P., Hess D., Schiltz E., Garrow T., Brandsch R. Association of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase with microtubules Biological Chemistry. 2000;381:619-622.
Breksa A., Garrow T. Recombinant human liver betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase: Identification of three cysteine residues critical for zinc binding Biochemistry. 1999;38:13991-13998.
Chen P., Poddar R., Tipa E.V., Dibello P.M., Moravec C.D., Robinson K., Green R., Kruger W.D., Garrow T.A., Jacobsen D.W. Homocysteine metabolism in cardiovascular cells and tissues: Implications for hyperhomocysteinemia and cardiovascular disease Advances in Enzyme Regulation. 1999;39:93-109.
Park E.I., Garrow T.A. Interaction between dietary methionine and methyl donor intake on rat liver betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase gene expression and organization of the human gene Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1999;274:7816-7824.
Sowden M.P., Collins H.L., Smith H.C., Garrow T.A., Sparks J.D., Sparks C.E. Apolipoprotein B mRNA and lipoprotein secretion are increased in McArdle RH-7777 cells by expression of betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase Biochemical Journal. 1999;341:639-645.
Emmert J., Webel D., Biehl R., Griffiths M., Garrow L., Garrow T., Baker D. Hepatic and Renal Betaine-Homocysteine Methyltransferase Activity in Pigs as Affected by Dietary Intakes of Sulfur Amino Acids, Choline, and Betaine Journal of Animal Science. 1998;76:606-610.
Millian N., Garrow T. Human betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase is a zinc metalloenzyme Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 1998;356:93-98.
Mulligan J., Laurie T.J., Garrow T.A. An assay for betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase activity based on the microbiological detection of methionine Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 1998;9:351-354.
Park E.I., Garrow L.S., Mulligan J., Millan N.S., Renduchintala M.S., Griffiths M.A., Garrow T.A. The interaction of methionine (Met) deficiency and dietary methyl donors on hepatic betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) gene expression FASEB Journal. 1998;12
Rao P.V., Garrow T.A., John F., Garland D., Millian N.S., Zigler J.S. Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase is a developmentally regulated enzyme crystallin in rhesus monkey lens Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1998;273:30669-30674.
Atkinson I., Garrow T., Brenner A., Shane B. Human cytosolic folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthase Methods in Enzymology. 1997;281:134-140.
Park E., Garrow L., Renduchintala M., Garrow T. Methionine deficiency increases betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) activity and mRNA levels in rat liver FASEB Journal. 1997;11
Park E., Renduchintala M., Garrow T. Diet-induced changes in hepatic betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase activity are mediated by changes in the steady-state level of its mRNA Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 1997;8:541-545.
Renduchintala M., Sunden S., Park E., Miklasz S., Garrow T. Tissue specific expression of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT), and chromosomal localization of the human gene FASEB Journal. 1997;11
Sunden S., Renduchintala M., Park E., Miklasz S., Garrow T. Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase expression in porcine and human tissues and chromosomal localization of the human gene Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 1997;345:171-174.
Zigler J., Garrow T., John F., Rao P. High concentration of be' aine-homocysteine methyltransferase in rhesus monkey lens Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 1997;38
Chen L., Qi H., Korenberg J., Garrow T.A., Choi Y.J., Shane B. Purification and properties of human cytosolic folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase and organization, localization, and differential splicing of its gene Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1996;271:13077-13087.
Emmert J., Garrow T., Baker D. Development of an Experimental Diet for Determining Bioavailable Choline Concentration and its Application in Studies with Soybean Lecithin Journal of Animal Science. 1996;74:2738-2744.
Emmert J., Garrow T., Baker D. Hepatic betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase activity in the chicken is influenced by dietary intake of sulfur amino acids, choline and betaine Journal of Nutrition. 1996;126:2050-2058.
Garrow T.A. Purification, kinetic properties, and cDNA cloning of mammalian betaine- homocysteine methyltransferase Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1996;271:22831-22838.
Laune T., Garrow T. A microbiological assay for betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) using microtiter plates FASEB Journal. 1996;10
Lin B.F., Kim J.S., Hsu J.C., Osborne C., Lowe K., Garrow T., Shane B. Chapter 5 Molecular Biology In Nutrition Research: Modeling Of Folate Metabolism Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. 1996;40:95-106.
Egan M.G., Sirlin S., Rumberger B., Garrow T.A., Shane B., Sirotnak F.M. Rapid decline in folylpolyglutamate synthetase activity and gene expression during maturation of HL-60 cells: Nature of the effect, impact on folate compound polyglutamate pools, and evidence for programmed down-regulation during maturation Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1995;270:5462-5468.
Lenz H.J., Danenberg K., Schnieders B., Goeker E., Peters G.J., Garrow T., Shane B., Bertino J.R., Danenberg P.V. Quantitative analysis of folylpolyglutamate synthetase gene expression in tumor tissues by the polymerase chain reaction: Marked variation of expression among leukemia patients Oncology Research. 1994;6:329-335.
Garrow T.A., Brenner A.A., Whitehead V., Chen X.N., Duncan R.G., Korenberg J.R., Shane B. Cloning of human cDNAs encoding mitochondrial and cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferases and chromosomal localization Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1993;268:11910-11916.
Garrow T.A., Shane B. Purification and general properties of human folylpolyglutamase synthetase Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 1993;338:659-662.
Shane B., Garrow T., Brenner A., Chen L., Choi Y.J., Hsu J.C., Stover P. Folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 1993;338:629-634.
Garrow T.A., Admon A., Shane B. Expression cloning of a human cDNA encoding folylpoly(γ-glutamate) synthetase and determination of its primary structure Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1992;89:9151-9155.
Garrow T.A., Clegg M.S., Metzler G., Keen C.L. Influence of hypertension and dietary copper on indexes of copper status in rats Hypertension. 1991;17:793-797.