Cancer is a disease in which growth stimulatory pathways are excessively active. Considerable experimental evidence implicates Ras proteins as essential components of growth stimulatory signal transduction pathways. Moreover, oncogenic forms of Ras are expressed in a variety of human cancers with a strikingly high prevalance (>90%) in pancreatic cancer. The long term objective of this research project is to define the precise role that oncogenic Ras plays in tumorigene'sis. The combined efforts of many groups, including our own, have led to the identification of multiple effector pathways that are controlled by Ras. The goal of the studies proposed in this application is to characterize the cellular responses that are triggered by Ras-dependent effector pathways, and to assess the relevance of these responses to tumor initiation and progressioin.
Our specific aims are as follows: ; 1. To identify effector pathways that couple the oncogenic activation of Ras to the metastatic phenotype. 2. To define the mechanisms by which Ras controls tumor-stroma interactions. 3. To delineate the function of Ras in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Collectively, the studies to be pursued within the framework of this proposal will advance our mechanistic understanding of growth control perturbation that are critical for oncogenic transformation and, as such, may lead to the identification of new modalities for therapeutic intervention.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37CA055360-18
Application #
7227517
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (NSS)
Program Officer
Howcroft, Thomas K
Project Start
1991-07-01
Project End
2010-04-30
Budget Start
2008-05-01
Budget End
2010-04-30
Support Year
18
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$470,319
Indirect Cost
Name
New York University
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
121911077
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10016
Grabocka, Elda; Commisso, Cosimo; Bar-Sagi, Dafna (2015) Molecular pathways: targeting the dependence of mutant RAS cancers on the DNA damage response. Clin Cancer Res 21:1243-7
Grabocka, Elda; Pylayeva-Gupta, Yuliya; Jones, Mathew J K et al. (2014) Wild-type H- and N-Ras promote mutant K-Ras-driven tumorigenesis by modulating the DNA damage response. Cancer Cell 25:243-56
Pylayeva-Gupta, Yuliya; Lee, Kyoung Eun; Bar-Sagi, Dafna (2013) Microdissection and culture of murine pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Methods Mol Biol 980:267-79
Pylayeva-Gupta, Yuliya; Lee, Kyoung Eun; Hajdu, Cristina H et al. (2012) Oncogenic Kras-induced GM-CSF production promotes the development of pancreatic neoplasia. Cancer Cell 21:836-47
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Mallen-St Clair, Jon; Soydaner-Azeloglu, Rengin; Lee, Kyoung Eun et al. (2012) EZH2 couples pancreatic regeneration to neoplastic progression. Genes Dev 26:439-44
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Pylayeva-Gupta, Yuliya; Grabocka, Elda; Bar-Sagi, Dafna (2011) RAS oncogenes: weaving a tumorigenic web. Nat Rev Cancer 11:761-74
Lee, Kyoung Eun; Bar-Sagi, Dafna (2010) Oncogenic KRas suppresses inflammation-associated senescence of pancreatic ductal cells. Cancer Cell 18:448-58

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