Our research focuses on understanding how cancer cells adapt to centrosome and microtubule alterations and how these in turn impact cell physiology and tumour progression to develop better ways to combat cancer.
Centrosome amplification fine tunes tubulin acetylation to differentially control intracellular organization. EMBO J. (2023) Aug 15;42(16):e112812. PMID: 37403793
Centrosome amplification mediates small extracellular vesicle secretion via lysosome disruption. Current Biology (2021) 31(7):1403-1416.e7 PMID: 33592190
Oxidative Stress in Cells with Extra Centrosomes Drives Non-Cell-Autonomous Invasion. Developmental Cell (2018) 47(4): 409-424. PMID: 30458137
Loss of E-cadherin provides tolerance to centrosome amplification in epithelial cancer cells. Journal of Cell Biology (2018) 217(1):195-209. PMID: 29133484
Cancer cells often contain extra centrosomes. The centrosome is the main microtubule-organizing centre in animal cells, an essential component of the cytoskeleton. In normal cells, centrosome number is tightly regulated, however, cancer cells tend to have too many centrosomes, a characteristic associated with tumour aggressiveness. Yet little is known about the role of centrosome amplification in tumour progression.
We currently focus on breast and pancreatic cancers to investigate how centrosome amplification impacts tumorigenesis in a variety of model systems, including 2-D and 3-D cell culture, and mouse models. We also collaborate with clinical scientists to use primary human tissue samples from patients in order to validate our findings.
Current projects:
In order to avoid cell death, cancer cells need to cluster extra centrosomes into two poles during mitosis, enabling quasi-normal bipolar cell division. This observation has generated an enormous interest as it provides the basis for using the presence of extra centrosomes as a target for cancer therapies. We are currently developing novel strategies to assess how different cell types cope with extra centrosomes, allowing them to survive. We expect to use this knowledge to develop novel therapeutic strategies that specifically target cancer cells.
Unlike normal cells that are very intolerant to centrosome amplification, cancer cells frequently maintain extra centrosomes. This observation suggests that centrosome amplification is advantageous for the tumour. To address this question we use a variety of model systems to investigate how extra centrosomes affect cell physiology. Since our work suggests that centrosome amplification promotes invasive behaviour, we are currently investigating signalling pathways that are important in invasion/metastasis.
We are collaborating with experts in mouse genetics to develop new model systems to investigate the impact of extra centrosomes in tumour progression in vivo. We are particularly interested in understanding how cells with extra centrosomes communicate and influence the surrounding cells.
The Glucose Transporter 2 regulates CD8+ T cell function via environment sensing. Fu H, Vuononvirta J, Fanti S et al. Nature Metabolism (2023) (1)
Centrosome amplification fine tunes tubulin acetylation to differentially control intracellular organization Monteiro P, Yeon B, Wallis SS et al. The EMBO Journal (2023) 42(10) e112812
Low HER2 enables dedifferentiation and transformation of normal breast epithelial cells via chromatin opening Hayat A, Carter EP, King HW et al. Disease Models & Mechanisms (2023) 16(10) dmm049894
Regulation of microtubule acetylation during the DNA damage response promotes efficient repair Wallis SS, Godinho SA MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL (2023) 34(11) 336-337
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Too close for comfort? Endomembranes promote missegregation by enclosing lost chromosomes Donker L, Godinho SA Journal of Cell Biology (2022) 221(10) e202204114
Centrosome amplification mediates small extracellular vesicle secretion via lysosome disruption Adams SD, Csere J, D’angelo G et al. Current Biology (2021) 31(10) 1403-1416.e7
Centrosome amplification mediates small extracellular vesicles secretion via lysosome disruption Adams SD, Csere J, D’angelo G et al. (10) 2020.08.19.257162
Macrophages induce malignant traits in mammary epithelium via IKKε/TBK1 kinases and the serine biosynthesis pathway Wilcz‐Villega E, Carter E, Ironside A et al. EMBO Molecular Medicine (2020) 12(10) e10491
Early Career Advisory Board Journal of Cell Biology (2019) 218(10) 2813-2814
Early Career Advisory Board: Q&A on career and publishing Marat A Journal of Cell Biology (2019) 218(10) 2815-2818
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