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Douglas A. Andres
Professor
B.S. University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ph.D. Purdue University
dandres@pop.uky.edu
859-257-6775

Research Interests  |  Selected References  |  PubMed

Characterization of a novel breast cancer tumor suppressor.

PICTURES: GFP image, Growth with RERG 

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the United States, affecting one in nine women. The high mortality rate associated with the disease is related to the ability of breast cancer cells to metastasize beyond the mammary gland and invade distant sites while the primary tumor is small and undetected. The progression of carcinogenic breast cells to a metastatic phenotype is typified by both genetic alterations but also by changes in gene expression that result in loss of normal cellular regulation. We have used gene microarray analysis to identify a unique Ras-superfamily gene, termed RERG whose expression is down regulated or lost in a significant percentage of primary breast tumors with a metastatic phenotype and a poor clinical prognosis. Importantly, elevated RERG expression in human breast tumors is associated with a slow rate of proliferation and a better prognosis for these cancer patients. In addition, we have demonstrated that expression of RERG in breast carcinoma cells results in a significant inhibition of cell growth and tumor formation. Taken together, these studies indicate that RERG acts to suppress uncontrolled cell proliferation, and that the loss of RERG contributes to breast cancer through the loss of a critical negative regulator of tumor cell growth. Our long-term goal is to understand the molecular details of how RERG controls breast tumor growth. We expect that these studies will provide fundamental insight into the progression of breast cancer and may eventually lead to novel treatment strategies.

Publications:

Finlin, B.S., Gau, C-L, Murphy, G.A., Shao, H., Kimel, T., Seitz, R.S., Chiu, Y-F., Botstein, D., Brown, P.O., Der, C.J., Tamanoi, F., Andres, D.A., and Perou, C.M. (2001) RERG is a novel Ras-related, estrogen-regulated and growth-inhibitory gene in breast cancer. J. Biol. Chem. 276, 42259-42267.