Targetable cell signaling pathways in cancer
Targetable cell signaling pathways in cancer
Cancer remains a major health challenge, and there is a need to develop more effective and less toxic treatments. This thesis of Haiying Mo investigated several proteins that may play important roles in cancer development and treatment response, with a particular focus on lymphoma and lung cancer.
The first part of the thesis studied WEE1, a protein that helps control how cells divide and repair damaged DNA. We found that blocking WEE1 with the drug MK1775 made lymphoma cells more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs that damage DNA. It also increased the effectiveness of lenalidomide, a drug used to treat some patients with lymphoma. By interfering with the cells' ability to control their division, MK1775 caused damaged cancer cells to die more easily. These findings suggest that combining WEE1 inhibitors with existing treatments may provide a promising strategy, particularly for patients whose lymphoma has returned or no longer responds well to standard therapies.
The second part focused on two proteins, CYP27C1 and CYP3A43, in lung cancer. Our results showed that reduced levels of these proteins were associated with more aggressive cancer behavior, including faster growth and greater ability of cancer cells to spread. We also found that these proteins can influence how cancer cells respond to certain anticancer drugs.
Overall, this thesis provides new insights into how cancer cells grow, survive, and respond to treatment. The findings suggest that WEE1, CYP27C1, and CYP3A43 may be useful as future treatment targets or biomarkers to help predict disease progression and treatment response.