Caspase-2 function in cell death and disease

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/453482

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Cell death by a specialised process known apoptosis is a way of deleting unwanted and harmful cells from the body. As such, aberrant apoptosis is associated with a wide array of diseases including cancer. For example, abnormal levels of proteins that suppress apoptosis or enhance cell survival can result in cancer and often produce resistance to chemotherapy. To understand and treat cancers that result from aberrant apoptosis we need to know at a molecular level how apoptosis is regulated. Central to the apoptosis execution are a group of enzymes called caspases that target many cellular proteins for specific cleavage. In this proposal, we will investigate the function of one of the caspases (called caspase-2), in order to better understand its potential role in the apoptosis of cancer cells. A number of recent reports suggest that caspase-2 levels are reduced in many cancer cells. The human caspase-2 gene localizes to a chromosomal region frequently affected- deleted in leukaemia, and caspase-2 levels have been proposed to be predictors of remission and survival in patients with some types of leukaemia. We will study if loss of caspase-2 in cancer cells makes them resistant to killing by drugs and if mice lacking caspase-2 have an increased potential to develop cancer. Understanding caspase-2 function and its regulation is likely to provide new therapeutic opportunities and potential targets for cancer therapy.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $529,565.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Cell Development, Proliferation and Death

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

blood disorders | cancer cell biology | caspases | cell biology | cell death | cell death/apoptosis | cell siganalling | cell survival | death signalling | molecular mechanisms

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