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Marco Garate, PhD, B.C. Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC. Melanoma is a severe and life-threatening skin cancer. Melanoma is very invasive and progresses rapidly and currently there is no cure for metastatic melanoma. The exact mechanisms for highly invasive property of melanoma is still unknown. Previously, we have shown that the expression of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and the nuclear factor kappaB is correlated with melanoma tumor thickness and patient survival. We recently found that NF-kB regulates the angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) by influencing the expression of IL-6. In this project, we will investigate in detail the role of ILK and NF-kB in melanoma angiogenesis, invasion and tumor growth. Our project will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for angiogenesis in melanoma. This project will also evaluate the therapeutic value of targeting pro-angiogenic factors in melanoma, which is critical for the development of innovative, more effective treatments for this disease. Peer-Reviewed Publications Supported by the Canadian Dermatology Foundation Garate M, Campos EI, Bush JA, Xiao H, and Li G. (2007). Phosphorylation of the Tumor Suppressor p33ING1b at Ser126 Influences its Protein Stability and Proliferation of Melanoma Cells. FASEB J. 21:3705-3716. Garate M, Wong R, Campos EI, Wang Y and Li G. (2008). NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 inhibits the proteasomal degradation of the tumour suppressor p33(ING1b). EMBO Rep. 9:576-581, 2008. Wang Y, Chen G, Garate M, Zhou, J and Li G. SCFSkp2-mediated ING3 Degradation Regulates Cell Cycle Control in Melanoma Cells. Submitted to Cancer Res. © 2009 |
