Mechanisms of Brain Tumor Chemoresistance

Neurological Disorders And Stroke

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

During this fiscal year, we reported that stathmin, a microtubule destabilizer required for the progression of cells through the cell cycle, is a 1p encoded protein that is relatively underexpressed in anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (AO) with 1p loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Examination of patient outcomes indicated that low tumor expression of stathmin is significantly associated with improved survival of AO patients and wih 1p LOH. Functional and biochemical studies revealed that reduced cellular stathmin levels can decrease the resistance of tumor cells to nitrosourea chemotherapies in particular. We plan to explore further the mechanisms by which stathmin levels and function can be decreased in order to devise therapeutic strategies to make tumor cells less resistant to chemotherapies.