SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004 - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

T U M O R C E L L B I O L O G Y P R O G R A M
• Development of a novel thermodynamically
balanced inside-out method of polymerase
chain reaction (PCR)-based synthesis to generate
codon-optimized human kinase genes
(T. Harris).
• VegT, a T-box transcription factor, is essential
for three important steps in development (M.
L. King).
• Glycolytic inhibitors can be used to specifically
target the hypoxic slow-growing cells of solid
tumors and thereby increase the efficacy of current
chemotherapeutic and irradiation protocols
designed to kill rapidly dividing cells (T.
Lampidis).
• In osteosarcoma, the addition of the glycolytic
inhibitor 2-Deoxyglucose (2-DG) increases the
efficacy of Adriamycin in reducing tumor size
and prolonging survival (T. Lampidis).
• In non-small cell lung cancer, the addition of 2-
DG increases the effectiveness of taxol (T.
Lampidis).
• Microvascular endothelial cells produce two
extracellular matrix proteins, laminin-8 and
laminin-10, which play important roles in tumor
angiogenesis (J. Li).
• Discovery of an imbalance between the levels of
matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (overproduction)
and their natural inhibitors (underproduction)
in invasive prostate cancer cells (B.
Lokeshwar).
• Identification of a novel chemically modified
non-antimicrobial tetracycline (COL-3) as an
effective anti-metastatic drug with the potential
to treat prostate cancer metastatic to bone;
completion of NCI phase I trial of this drug (B.
Lokeshwar).
• Development of the HA-HAase urine test, a
non-invasive test that is about 90 percent accurate
in detecting bladder cancer and monitoring
its recurrence (V. Lokeshwar).
• Development of HA and HAase tests that are
greater than 85 percent accurate prognostic
indicators for prostate cancer (V. Lokeshwar).
• Demonstration of the function of tumor-derived
HAase in bladder tumor growth and
muscle invasion (V. Lokeshwar).
• Splicing activator RNPS1 is incorporated in the
early splicing complex, stimulating formation of
the ATP-dependent splicing complex, and subsequently
increasing generation of both intermediate
and final spliced products (A. Mayeda).
• Cells with defective mitochondrial respiration
can be more resistant to cell death, which might
explain the presence of mtDNA mutations in
some cancers (C. Moraes).
• Mitochondrial defects stimulate the production
of metalloproteases, which in turn promotes
tissue invasion (C. Moraes).
• Up-regulation of ErbB2 ligand Muc4 expression
correlates with the overexpression of transcription
factor PEA3 and the receptor tyrosine
kinase ErbB2 (A. Perez).
• Observation of the attachment of centrosomes
to intermediate filaments (P. Salas).
• Nerve growth factor (NGF) mediates the invasiveness
of melanoma cells in vitro by inducing
the coupling of the intracellular domain of the
p75 neurotrophin receptor with the actin cytoskeleton
(O. Shonukan).
• Neurotrophin-induced melanoma invasiveness
is mediated by signals generated through PI-3
kinase (O. Shonukan).
• NGF induces the disruption of cadherin-mediated
cell-cell adhesion, thereby permitting melanoma
cells to dissociate from the keratinocytes
in the epidermis, and invade the dermis, from
whence they metastasize to distant sites (O.
Shonukan).
• Aberrant p27 in breast cancer cells causes them
to be unable to respond to antiestrogen therapies
such as Tamoxifen (J. Slingerland).
• Activation of the Src pathway is linked with
both the lack of detectable estrogen receptor
(ER) and clinically aggressive behavior of breast
cancers (J. Slingerland).
UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Report 2004 67