Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Metastasis occurs when a cancerous cell moves from one part of the body to another and forms a secondary tumour. The formation of secondary tumors is the cause of the majority of cancer related deaths. In order for cancer cells to metastasize, they must breakdown their surrounding extracellular matrix, which acts as barrier to the cell. Some cancerous cells have the ability to create structures that are able to breakdown their surrounding matrix, called invadopodia. In order for a cell to form invadopodia, the necessary proteins need to be delivered to the surface of the cell. Delivery of these proteins in cellular compartments, called vesicles, is carried out by another family of proteins, known as SNAREs. The activity of SNAREs is tightly controlled, partially through interactions with other regulatory proteins. SNARE regulators have been characterized in other human tissue types; however, it is not known if these regulators play a role in cancer invasion. This work will focus on determining the roles these SNARE regulators play in the formation of invadopodia, as well as potentially identifying new regulators. Understanding the function of these regulators could lead to potential therapeutic targets for cancer therapy.