Research

Overview

The goal of my laboratory is to uncover the mechanisms responsible for cancer development and progression at a molecular level, and subsequently to develop novel therapeutic approaches for effective treatment. In the past several years we have identified the PI3K/p110beta and its downstream targets AKT and SGK1 are involved in AR transactivation and prostate cancer progression. Based on these findings, we developed a novel p110beta-specific inhibitor BL140 to treat metastatic prostate cancers. Currently, the project is ongoing at the preclinical stage. In addition, a small peptide strategy has been developed to trigger AR protein degradation in prostate cancer cells. A startup biotech company “ARtide Therapeutics LLC” was established to commercialize this small peptide technology. The natural compound Alternol was purified from a fungi fermentation. We demonstrated that Alternol triggers ROS-dependent apoptotic cell death preferentially in malignant but not benign cells. We also identified 14 cellular proteins that are the Alternol-interacting proteins including 5 metabolic enzymes. Recently we determined that the metabolic enzyme XDH/XO is responsible for Alternol-induced ROS accumulation in prostate cancer cells. Further investigation is ongoing to fully elucidate Alternol action on human cancer cells.