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RESEARCH:
There are two main avenues of research in my laboratory both pertaining to the development and assessment of molecularly targeted interventions in malignant brain tumors.
Survivin is a gene with structural and functional similarities to both the inhibitor of apoptosis family of genes that specifically block the downstream effectors of apoptosis, and to the chromosomal passenger proteins that play an essential role in cell division and cytokinesis. Survivin is also highly expressed in many different types of cancer. My laboratory is interested in exploring the functions of the members of the Survivin gene family in cancer and the modulation of these functions as potential therapeutic interventions to combat cancer growth.
Another interest of my laboratory is the exploitation of the tumor microenvironment for in situ delivery of anticancer agents to tumors. We utilize human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells, which have the attractive property of migrating to and integrating within the microenvironment of tumors in vivo, to locally produce anticancer agents facilitating delivery of these agents into the tumor. We are currently exploring this approach in the delivery of an oncolytic poxvirus to experimental brain tumor models (intracranially established in mice either from widely available cell lines or from tumor material obtained from patients undergoing resection in the department of Neurosurgery at WFUBMC) , and intend to expand the repertoire of agents in the near future.
Recent Publications:
Caldas H, Fangusaro JR, Boue DR, Holloway MP, Altura RA. Dissecting the role of endothelial SURVIVIN DeltaEx3 in angiogenesis. Blood. 2007 Feb 15;109(4):1479-89. Epub 2006 Oct 12.
Caldas H, Jaynes FO, Boyer MW, Hammond S, Altura RA. Survivin and Granzyme B-induced apoptosis, a novel anticancer therapy. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006 Mar;5(3):693-703.
Fangusaro JR, Caldas H, Jiang Y, Altura RA. Survivin: an inhibitor of apoptosis in pediatric cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2006 Jul;47(1):4-13.
Jiang Y, de Bruin A, Caldas H, Fangusaro J, Hayes J, Conway EM, Robinson ML, Altura RA. Essential role for survivin in early brain development. J Neurosci. 2005 Jul 27;25(30):6962-70.
Caldas H, Holloway MP, Hall BM, Qualman SJ, Altura RA. Survivin-directed RNA interference cocktail is a potent suppressor of tumour growth in vivo. J Med Genet. 2006 Feb;43(2):119-28. Epub 2005 May 20. Erratum in: J Med Genet. 2006 May;43(5):418.
Publications:
For a listing of additional publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine |