Grant: CIHR New Investigator

In response to environmental stresses such as exposure to toxic components, to high or cold temperature, and to low oxygen conditions, the cell uses a defense mechanism to fight the stress and survive. Stress can also be produced during anti-cancer treatment. Exposure to patients to prolonged chemical or radiation treatment can induce stress conditions to which cancer cells will respond by mobilizing a defense mechanism. This will allow cancer cells to resist to treatment and grow. The resistance of cancer cells to anti-cancer treatment is one of the major obstacles in treating patients suffering from cancer. Our objective is to understand how cancer cells managed to resist treatment I have been investigating the role of a novel cellular bodies recently identified as important players in mediating the resistance of the cell to stress. These cellular bodies, named stress granules, form within the cell only under stress conditions and their formation promotes cell survival and cancer cells resistance to treatment. We believe that these cellular bodies are sites where specific gene products that are essential for cell survival and growth are protected during treatment. My research focuses its activities on defining the molecular mechanisms that lead to the formation of these cellular bodies, mediating cancer cell resistance to therapy. To achieve our goal, my team is using cancer cells in culture as well as mice models. We investigate how stress granules are formed and how their formation aids cancer cells to resist treatment. Our first objective is to identify the genes involved in their formation. Our second objective is to determine whether targeting these genes can prevent cancer cells resistance to treatment, reducing tumor growth. Our studies will contribute to establish specific strategies to prevent the formation of stress granules, reducing the occurrence of cancer cell resistance when used in combination with conventional cancer therapy.