Grant: Operating Grant

The team has previously shown that certain scafolding proteins in tissues surrounding cells can "turn on" the growth factor receptor Met expressed on the surface of breast cancer cells, and they are now trying to learn more about this interaction. They have discovered that an oncogene (a cancer-causing gene) called Src helps control Met's activity. They have also learned that by interacting with a protein called ezrin (that tethers the outer cell membrane to internal cytoskeleton structures), Src can stimulate breast cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body (termed metastasis). Furthermore, ezrin is required for local invasion and distant metastasis of breast cancer cells. This proposal will investigate how Src and ezrin may regulate local tumour spreading and metastasis, using defined culture and animal models of human breast cancer. A better understanding of the Src and ezrin signalling pathways that regulate these processes may lead to new approaches to early detection and effective predictors for treatment response of breast cancer metastasis in the future.