Influence of Tumor Microenvironment on the Molecular Regulation of Prostate Cancer Progression.

摘要

Metastasis is a multi-step process wherein tumor cells detach from the primary mass, migrate through barrier matrices, gain access to conduits to disseminate, and subsequently survive and proliferate in an ectopic site. During the initial invasion stage, prostate carcinoma cells undergo epithelial mesenchymal-like transition with gain of autocrine signaling and loss of E- cadherin, hallmarks that appear to enable invasion and dissemination. However, we have recently reported that some metastases express Ecadherin in bone or liver metastasis. These finding indicate that phenotypic plasticity occurs late in prostate cancer within the metastatic microenvironment. To determine the molecular signing mechanism responsible for this occurance, we have focused on Kaiso, a transcriptional repressor, is expressed in the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of cells. The objective of this award is to determine the influence of tumor microenvironment and the signaling mechanism through which tumor plasticity is accomplished.