Development and Cancer Scientific Program

发展与癌症科学计划

• 批准号: 8180817
• 负责人: JAMES K. WILLSON
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-03 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8180817
• 关键词: Development; Cancer; Scientific; Program

Our current understanding of human cancers highlights the importance of aberrant developmental programs in cancer pathogenesis. The Development and Cancer Scientific Program (DCSP) brings together invesfigators in the related fields of cancer biology, stem cell biology and developmental biology as a means of exploiting and focusing upon cancer the diverse strengths at UT Southwestern (UTSW) in developmental biology. The three scientific goals of the program are to: 1) Define the interactions between malignant tumor cells and their local environment: Clinicians have long appreciated that particular tumors metastasize to particular sites, suggesfing that tumor cells depend upon specific interactions with normal tissues for their establishment, growth and survival. In addition, epidemiological evidence suggests that other host factors such as obesity are linked with increased cancer risk, through unknown mechanisms. Emerging discoveries are beginning to highlight interacfions between cancer cells and normal host tissues, and a major goal of the DCSP is to define these host-tumor cell interactions at a molecular level with the goal of developing novel and more effective treatments. Program interest is focused in three areas: adiposity and breast cancer, host-tumor interacfion in gliomagenesis and neurofibromatosis, and targefing tumor vasculature. 2) Reveal the molecular mechanisms that confer upon stem cells and cancer stem cells their unique and remarkable properties of self-renewal and pluripotency: There is growing expertise in stem cell biology at UTSW that is harnessed within the program to define the genefic, epigenefic and cell-signaling mechanisms that confer upon stem cells and cancer stem cells their essential characterisfics of pluripotency and capacity for self-renewal. Within the broader research topics represented in the Scientific Programs, the particular strength of the DCSP is its focus on study in living animals, including mouse models. 3) Enhance scientific interactions between clinical investigators and basic scientists to stimulate cancer-focused basic research and clinical translation of research discoveries: Insights revealed by basic research drive new approaches towards cancer treatment, and clinical observations and materials provide opportunifies for important discoveries that will improve treatment of cancer. Physician-scientists within the DCSP are leading projects that focus upon in vivo models of cancer, and choose their research questions with first-hand knowledge of clinical relevance. The Cancer Center leadership and the DCSP lower the acfivation energy of productive interacfion between clinical invesfigators and basic scientists to generate cancer-focused discoveries.

我们目前对人类癌症的理解凸显了异常发育的重要性 癌症发病机制的计划。发展与癌症科学计划 (DCSP) 汇集了 癌症生物学、干细胞生物学和发育生物学相关领域的研究人员 开发和关注癌症 UT Southwestern (UTSW) 在发展方面的多样化优势 生物学。该计划的三个科学目标是：1）定义恶性肿瘤之间的相互作用 细胞及其局部环境：临床医生长期以来一直认识到特定的肿瘤会转移到 特定位点，表明肿瘤细胞依赖于与正常组织的特定相互作用 建立、成长和生存。此外，流行病学证据表明其他宿主因素 肥胖等疾病通过未知的机制与癌症风险增加相关。新兴发现 开始强调癌细胞和正常宿主组织之间的相互作用，这是该研究的一个主要目标 DCSP 旨在在分子水平上定义这些宿主-肿瘤细胞相互作用，目标是开发新的 以及更有效的治疗方法。项目兴趣集中在三个领域：肥胖和乳腺癌， 胶质瘤发生和神经纤维瘤病中宿主-肿瘤相互作用，以及靶向肿瘤脉管系统。 2) 揭示 赋予干细胞和癌症干细胞独特而卓越的分子机制 自我更新和多能性的特性：UTSW 在干细胞生物学方面的专业知识不断增长， 在该计划中利用来定义遗传、表观遗传和细胞信号传导机制，从而赋予 干细胞和癌症干细胞的多能性和能力的基本特征 自我更新。在科学计划所代表的更广泛的研究主题中，特定的 DCSP 的优势在于其专注于活体动物（包括小鼠模型）的研究。 3）增强科学性 临床研究人员和基础科学家之间的互动，以促进以癌症为重点的基础研究 研究发现的临床转化：基础研究揭示的见解推动新方法 癌症治疗，临床观察和材料提供了重要的机会 将改善癌症治疗的发现。 DCSP 内的医师科学家正在主导项目 专注于癌症的体内模型，并根据第一手知识选择研究问题 临床相关性。癌症中心领导层和 DCSP 降低了生产性的激活能量 临床研究人员和基础科学家之间的互动，以产生以癌症为中心的发现。