CURRENT PUBLICATIONS

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Expression of Autotaxin and Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptors Increases Mammary Tumorigenesis, Invasion, and Metastases
Expression of ATX or each edg family LPA receptor in mammary epithelium of transgenic mice is sufficient to induce a high frequency of late-onset, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, invasive, and metastatic mammary cancer. [Cancer Cell]

A Pleiotropically Acting MicroRNA, miR-31, Inhibits Breast Cancer Metastasis
Scientists identify miR-31, whose expression correlates inversely with metastasis in human breast cancer patients.  Overexpression of miR-31 in otherwise-aggressive breast tumor cells suppresses metastasis.  [Cell]

The Par3/aPKC Interaction is Essential for End Bud Remodeling and Progenitor Differentiation during Mammary Gland Morphogenesis
Researchers identified a novel function for the atypical protein kinase C (aPKC)-binding domain of Par3 in restricting Par3 and aPKC to the apical region in mammary epithelia in vivo, and found that mammary morphogenesis is dependent on the ability of Par3 to directly bind aPKC. [Genes Dev]

Akt1 and Akt2 Play Distinct Roles in the Initiation and Metastatic Phases of Mammary Tumor Progression
Mammary-specific expression of Akt2 delayed mammary gland involution, however in contrast to Akt1, Akt2 co-expression markedly increased the incidence of pulmonary metastases in tumor models, demonstrating a unique role in tumor progression. [Cancer Res]

Notch Activation Induces Akt Signaling via an Autocrine Loop to Prevent Apoptosis in Breast Epithelial Cells
Scientists show that Notch signaling induced an autocrine signaling loop that activates Akt in breast epithelial cells. [Cancer Res]

TOB1 Is Regulated by EGF-Dependent HER2 and EGFR Signaling, Is Highly Phosphorylated, and Indicates Poor Prognosis in Node-Negative Breast Cancer
Using differential gene expression analysis, researchers identified TOB1 to be up-regulated depending on EGF stimulation and transduction through phosphorylation of HER2 tyrosine 1248. [Cancer Res]

Direct Targeting of the Mucin 1 Oncoprotein Blocks Survival and Tumorigenicity of Human Breast Carcinoma Cells
Findings show that targeting the MUC1 oncoprotein is effective in inducing death of human breast cancer cells in vitro and in tumor models. [Cancer Res]

Estrogen-Related Receptor Expression and Function is Associated with the Transcriptional Coregulator AIB1 in Breast Carcinoma
ERR-alpha/AIB1 complexes may control estradiol-regulated genes in a hormone-independent manner. [Cancer Res]

Suppression of HER2/HER3-Mediated Growth of Breast Cancer Cells with Combinations of GDC-0941 PI3K Inhibitor, Trastuzumab, and Pertuzumab
GDC-0941 is efficacious in preclinical models of breast cancer. The addition of GDC-0941 to HER2-directed treatment could augment clinical benefit in breast cancer patients. [Clin Cancer Res]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Extended Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy with Exemestane has No Detrimental Effect on the Lipid Profile of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients: Final Results of the ATENA Lipid Sub-Study
Exemestane lacks the beneficial effect of tamoxifen on lipids; however, sequential adjuvant treatment with exemestane in postmenopausal breast cancer patients following cessation of five to seven years of tamoxifen does not appear to significantly alter the lipid profile compared to an observational arm. [Breast Cancer Res]

Orally Active Alpha-Tocopheryloxyacetic Acid Suppresses Tumor Growth and Multiplicity of Spontaneous Murine Breast Cancer
Study shows the ability of orally administered Alpha-TEA to delay tumor onset and to inhibit the progression and metastatic spread of a clinically relevant model of spontaneous breast cancer. [Mol Cancer Ther]

POLICY NEWS

NIH Receives 20,000 Applications for Challenge Grants Through the Recovery Act
The Challenge Grant program is designed to spur new areas of research and trigger an influx of research dollars into communities across the nation.

Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls, Congressional Budget Office Says
Plan to expand health coverage to the uninsured is likely to dig the nation deeper into debt unless policymakers adopt politically painful controls on spending, congressional budget analysts said yesterday.

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