Australian Prostate Cancer Collaboration (APCC) Bio-Resource
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,310,000.00
Summary
The Australian Prostate Cancer Collaboration (APCC), supported by the Commonwealth Bank, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Andrology Australia, has been developing an Australia-wide network of prostate tissue banks and associated clinical databases for the past 3 years. The concept of this innovative project is to establish “nodes” or branches of the tissue bank in each State where tissues are collected and to coordinate the use of this material from a central committee or “head office ....The Australian Prostate Cancer Collaboration (APCC), supported by the Commonwealth Bank, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Andrology Australia, has been developing an Australia-wide network of prostate tissue banks and associated clinical databases for the past 3 years. The concept of this innovative project is to establish “nodes” or branches of the tissue bank in each State where tissues are collected and to coordinate the use of this material from a central committee or “head office”. A website has been established (www.apccbioresource.org.au) that is the national face of this ‘virtual’ national tissue bank and 7 State-based tissue bank consortiums are participating in this venture. The goal of this ‘virtual bank’ or network is to further enhance the national research effort by facilitating greater collaboration nationally and providing better access to, and optimal utilisation of, the clinical material available to facilitate improvements in prostate cancer management. Operational support for the nodes is critical for the success of a national Bio-Resource.Read moreRead less
The Role Of The TGF-b Superfamily Cytokine MIC-1 In Prostate Cancer Pathogenesis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$579,138.00
Summary
We have discovered that a protein called MIC-1 is strongly linked to prostate cancer and is made in large amounts by this tumor. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that it is involved in the prostate cancer but the proof is missing. We propose to breed mice that are both prostate cancer prone and have genetically modified MIC-1 : mice either are unable to make MIC-1 , or make it in large amounts. We will determine how MIC-1 affects prostate cancer development.
Function Of FOR Gene Products In Normal And Cancer Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,310.00
Summary
Cancer cells usually exhibit the loss of control of normal cell functions. This involves the increase of proteins which promote growth and cell division and the decrease in proteins which inhibit growth and cell division. Loss of function may also occur in proteins that are normally involved in killing the cell when growth becomes uncontrolled. Many of these proteins interact with one another and in so doing establish pathways and networks of control which must be perturbed and overridden in the ....Cancer cells usually exhibit the loss of control of normal cell functions. This involves the increase of proteins which promote growth and cell division and the decrease in proteins which inhibit growth and cell division. Loss of function may also occur in proteins that are normally involved in killing the cell when growth becomes uncontrolled. Many of these proteins interact with one another and in so doing establish pathways and networks of control which must be perturbed and overridden in the cancer cell. Sometimes this is because the role of the protein is altered in the cancer cell compared to what it normally is in a normal cell. The main aim of this study is to understand the role that is played by a set of proteins that are coded by a single gene. This gene (which we refer to as the FOR gene) spans a region of the human genome which is sensitive to a particular type of mutation. This mutation takes place early in tumour development and therefore we believe that it has important role to play in determining the fate of the cell - helping to cause it to become a tumour cell. We will find out which other proteins in the cell the FOR proteins interact with. Where these proteins are known then this will help determine the pathways in the cell in which the FOR proteins participate. In another approach we will establish animal models (in mice and flies) of mutations in the FOR genes of these species. The transgenic mice will help us find out whether the mutations that we have observed in the FOR gene in various human cancers cause increased sensitivity to mutagens and in so doing aid in transforming normal cells into cancer cells. The transgenic flies will help us identify the metabolic pathways in which the FOR proteins participate. These studies will help understand the roles of the FOR proteins and their significance in cancer.Read moreRead less