Shedding Light on Kinase Functions During Cancer Development
Kinases are intracellular proteins that play a pivotal role in healthy cells. But when they malfunction, they are associated with diseases such as diabetes, immune deficiencies and cancer. In fact, deregulated kinases frequently cause tumours to grow, and can help cancer cells spread and survive.
Dr. Michael Leitges, Canada Research Chair in Cell Signaling and Translational Medicine, is studying signal transduction, with a focus on protein kinase C (PKC) signalling. He has spent more than two decades on the functional analysis of individual kinases belonging to the PKC family. He and his research team—in collaboration with other researchers—have already identified PKC functions that play a part in the development of diseases like cancer.
To provide new insights on PKC signalling during cancer development and to identify new cancer drugs with fewer side effects, Leitges and his team are using state-of-the-art molecular biological approaches in combination with mouse genetics. To develop new drugs, new signalling pathways must be identified and transferred to the human system in what is called “a bench-to-bedside” approach.
Leitges and his team have already identified previously unknown signalling pathways that are essential to tumour development and integrate the PKC or PKD signalling axis. They aim to further characterize these in their lab in order to someday provide new cancer treatment drugs that are more specific and cause fewer harmful side effects.