Probing the interplay of CXCR7 and CXCR7 receptors in melanoma progression

This proposal aims at probing the nexus between SDF1/CXCR4/CXCR7 system and signaling partners (G protein vs beta arrestin) in the context of melanoma by using melanocytic murine cell lines. FRET measurements will be used to probe physical association between CXCR4 or CXCR7 and their signaling partners (G protein vs beta arrestin) in these cells. These measurements will be complemented by computational structural modeling...

Targeting brain-metastatic breast tumors with HER3-homing bioparticles

While the median survival for patients with metastatic breast cancer is ~2-5 years depending on the sub-type, metastasis to the brain predicts an average survival of less than one year and drastically reduces therapeutic options as most targeted therapies cannot cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Increased cell surface density of HER3 (or ErbB3) associates with tumor progression, therapeutic resistance and metastasis includi...