Grant: Project Grant

Cancer cells are coated with sugar molecules that play important roles in cell-cell communication as well as cell-to-cell signaling. Tumor cells have the ability to reconfigure the sugar coat to support various aspects of disease progression. In prostate cancer, a portion of the sugar coat consists of chondroitin sulfate that is regulated by the male sex hormone androgen. Chondroitin sulfate becomes particularly important in the context of androgen-deprivation therapy and seems to be essential for tumor cell proliferation and motility under these conditions. This provides a strong rationale for studying chondroitin sulfate sugars in prostate cancer. In this project, we aim to investigate the role of the chondroitin sulfate coat during prostate cancer progression.