| title: | Role and regulation of haemostatic receptors in cancer cells |
|---|---|
| reg no: | ETF5834 |
| project type: | Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
3.1. Basic Medicine |
| status: | completed |
| institution: | TU Faculty of Medicine |
| head of project: | Taavo Tenno |
| duration: | 01.01.2004 - 31.12.2005 |
| description: | Patients with haematological tumours and metastatic solid tumours often evolve thrombotic complications, including disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Tissue factor (TF) has been considered to play the key role in cancer-related DIC. Although, the function of TF has been mainly associated with activation of blood coagulation, recent findings have demonstrated that this protein plays an important role for cell migration, cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. Thus, TF seems to play an important role in pathogenesis of cancer and understanding the nature, role and regulation of the receptor is of great importance. The general aim of the project is to enlighten the understanding in cancer progression. The project is aiming at three main issues. (1) How are the regulators of haemostasis involved in cancer progression? To explain this issue, we plan to conduct a retrospective immunohistrochemistry study in prostate cancer. We plan to label prostate cancer specimens for expression of receptors, usually known to be involved in the regulation of haemostatic system, and some markers for different functions of tumour cells. The analysis of these data would give as information how is the haemostatic system involved in tumour angiogenesis, metastasis, progression or histological stage. (2) To investigate how we affect cancer cells to suppress TF and make them more "benign"? Such a strategy might have impact on treatment of cancer patients. (3) We plan to study the signal transduction mechanisms that result in constitutive TF expression in cancer cells. This study may have implications not only for the treatment of cancer-related thrombotic complications, but may also provide strategies for intervention of cancer pathogenesis. |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Olav Tammik | TÜ, HOK | doktorant, arst | |
| 2. | Taavo Tenno | TU Faculty of Medicine | Post doc | |