Nov 22, 2017 By: yunews
Dr. Marina Holz, The Doris and Ira Kukin Professor of Biology at , co-authored with scientists from the Link枚ping University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden as well as with Dr. Anya Alayev 鈥03S, 鈥10E, clinical assistant professor of biology, and Adi Berman 鈥16s, currently a PhD student in the Tri-Institutional Program in Chemical Biology, run by Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Sloan Kettering.
The paper, titled 鈥淩aptor localization predicts prognosis and tamoxifen response in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer,鈥 continues Holz鈥檚 investigation into a cellular signaling pathway called mTOR, which plays a critical role in breast cancer by promoting tumor growth and making the tumors resistant to endocrine (anti-estrogen) treatment. They have previously found in a paper published in that mTOR regulates the response of breast cancer cells to the hormone estrogen.
In this paper, the authors investigated how the cellular location of the protein called raptor, which binds mTOR and serves as its adaptor, contributes to disease severity and response to tamoxifen. The researchers were able to show that raptor鈥檚 subcellular presence in the cytoplasm or the nucleus of tumor cells correlates with the effectiveness of the tamoxifen treatment in a cohort of breast cancer patients.
This study is a continuation of the collaboration between the Holz lab and the two groups in Sweden. The team has previously investigating the response to tamoxifen in another sub-type of breast cancer called triple-negative breast cancer. 鈥淪cience is a collaborative international undertaking. In order to find solutions to complex problems like breast cancer, researchers from different career stages, scientific fields and countries need to work together,鈥 said Holz.
