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Overexpression of Serine Proteases in Ovarian Cancer

Overexpression of Serine Proteases in Ovarian Cancer. Figure 1. Female reproductive organs [Campbell, 1998]. Shelley Campeau Cellular and Developmental Biology Major University of California at Santa Barbara. Topics. • Overview of ovarian cancer.

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Overexpression of Serine Proteases in Ovarian Cancer

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  1. Overexpression of Serine Proteases in Ovarian Cancer Figure 1. Female reproductive organs [Campbell, 1998]. Shelley Campeau Cellular and Developmental Biology Major University of California at Santa Barbara

  2. Topics • Overview of ovarian cancer • Role of serine proteases in ovarian tumor growth • Two experiments showing serine protease expression in ovarian cancer

  3. Why Study Serine Proteases?  Allows growth and spread of ovarian cancer. • Produced early in tumor formation and can be detected early. • Inhibiting serine proteases may possibly stop ovarian tumor formation.

  4. Overview: Ovarian Cancer Cancer that forms in the cells surrounding the ovaries. Figure 2. Stains of a normal ovary and an ovarian tumor for serine proteases [Underwood, 2000]. 5 year survival rate for women with ovarian cancer is below 50%

  5. How Ovarian Cancer Invades Initiates development around ovaries. Tumor cells can break off and spread to other sites. Secondary tumors can form. Figure 3. Metastasis and the spreading of cancer [McKinnell, 1998].

  6. Role of Serine Proteases What are they? Enzymes involved in the breakdown of proteins in extracellular compartments. Function in tumor growth Breakdown extracellular components surrounding ovaries  Allows tumor cells to rapidly divide  Tumor cells can break off and travel to different locations to spread cancer

  7. Serine Proteases:Potential for Diagnosis and Treatment If: Normal cells Serine Proteases +  Tumor cell growth and progression of cancer. Then: PREVENT TUMOR GROWTH!  + Inhibited Serine Proteases Normal cells

  8. Experiment 1:Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Process  Amplify serine protease gene from ovarian tumor and normal ovary tissue.  Separate products obtained from experiment based on size.  Look for band size of serine protease expression: 180bp Figure 4. PCR for a serine protease. Normal ovary in left lane, ovarian tumor in right lane [Underwood, 2000]. Band size of serine protease expression is found in ovarian cancer tissue but not in normal ovary tissue. Results

  9. Experiment 2:Northern Blot Analyses Process:  Separates RNA fragments of a tissue sample based on size.  A probe for a specific region of RNA hybridizes to the corresponding fragment. TADG Testisin Figure 5. Northern blot analyses of serine proteases: TADG [Underwood, 2000] and Testisin [Shigemasa,2000]. Bands found in ovarian cancer tissue and not in significant levels in normal ovary tissue. Results:

  10. Conclusion  Serine proteases aid in the development of ovarian cancer.  Used as a tumor marker, serine proteases may be used to help identify cancer before it is too late.

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