The overall hypothesis addressed in this project is that the gastrointestinal (Gl) peptide parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) plays an important regulatory role in the gut, and its dysregulation contributes to disease via aberrant regulation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. We show that PTHrP increases colon cancer cell xenograft growth in vivo. PTHrP expression is higher in metastatic vs. non-metastatic colon cancer cells, and there is a direct correlation of PTHrP levels with pro-invasive integrin expression and the migratory and invasive potential of these cells in vitro. We find that the PI3K pathway mediates these effects. The focus of this project is to understand the molecular mechanisms via which PTHrP promotes colon cancer cell invasion, by pursuing three Aims. (1) The mechanism(s) governing the upregulation of PI3K by PTHrP will be determined, by asking whether this occurs via an interaction between the PI3K p85
Showing the most recent 10 out of 438 publications