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Survivin is a gene with structural and functional similarities to both the inhibitor of apoptosis family of genes that specifically block the downstream effectors of apoptosis, and to the chromosomal passenger proteins that play an essential role in cell division and cytokinesis. Survivin is also highly expressed in many different types of cancer. My laboratory is interested in exploring the functions of the members of the Survivin gene family in cancer and the modulation of these functions as potential therapeutic interventions to combat cancer growth.
Another interest of my laboratory is the exploitation of the tumor microenvironment for in situ delivery of anticancer agents to tumors. We utilize human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells, which have the attractive property of migrating to and integrating within the microenvironment of tumors in vivo, to locally produce anticancer agents facilitating delivery of these agents into the tumor. We are currently exploring this approach in the delivery of an oncolytic poxvirus to experimental brain tumor models, and intend to expand the repertoire of agents in the near future. |
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Recent Publications (selected):
Fangusaro J.R., Jiang Y., Holloway M.P., Caldas H., Singh V., Boué D.R., Hayes J. and Altura R.A. Survivin, Survivin-2B, and Survivin ΔExon-3 Expression in Medulloblastoma: Biologic Markers of Tumor Morphology and Clinical Outcome. Br. J. Cancer, 2005; 92(2):359-365
Caldas H., Jiang Y., Holloway M. P., Fangusaro J., Mahotka C., Conway E. and Altura R. A. Survivin Splice Variants Regulate the Balance Between Proliferation and Cell Death. Oncogene, 2005; 24(12):1994-2007
Caldas H., Holloway M. P., Hall B. M. and Altura R. A. Survivin-directed RNA interference cocktail is a potent suppressor of tumor growth in vivo. J. Med. Genet., 2006; 43(2):119-28 (First Edition release May 20, 2005)
Caldas H., Jaynes F. O., Boyer M., Hammond S. and Altura R. A. Survivin and Granzyme B-Induced Apoptosis (SAGA), a Novel Anticancer Therapy. Mol. Cancer Ther., 2006; 5(3):693-703
Caldas H., Fangusaro J., Holloway., Boué D. and Altura R. A. A. Dissecting the role of endothelial Survivin-ΔExon3 in angiogenesis (Blood, in press)
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