Trial lecture: 'Current and future screening options for personalized management of prostate cancer'
Time and place: Jan. 31, 2025 10:15 AM, Nucleus, Bikuben, Kristine Bonnevies hus
Main research findings:
In my PhD projects, I revealed key mechanisms that help prostate cancer cells survive under stress. When cancer cells grow rapidly, they experience internal stress from making too many proteins. We discovered two genes (MTHFD2 and MOCOS) that cancer cells rely on to manage this stress, and when we blocked these genes in prostate cancer cells, tumour growth slowed significantly both in vivo and in vitro. Through extensive analysis, we found that MTHFD2 was involved in and regulated many other pathways to maintain cancer cell survival, while MOCOS helps regulate cellular building blocks and antioxidant responses.
Using advanced techniques including RNA sequencing, protein analysis, and metabolic profiling, we uncovered how these proteins work in complex networks. We found that MTHFD2 influences cancer growth through multiple pathways, including regulation of key growth signals and stress responses. Similarly, blocking MOCOS disrupted DNA replication and weakened cancer cells' defences against damage. These findings are particularly significant as they suggest new treatment strategies, especially the possibility of combining MOCOS inhibition with other compounds, such as PARP inhibitors. Our comprehensive data reveals how stress responses control cancer metabolism at multiple levels, offering new therapeutic opportunities for prostate cancer treatment.
Adjudication committee
Assoc. Prof. May-Britt Tessem, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Prof. Jorma Palvimo, University of East Finland, Joensuu, Kuopio
Assoc. Prof. Pierre Chymkovitch, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Chair of defense
Prof. Rafal Ciosk, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Supervisors
Prof. Fahri Saatcioglu, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Researcher Omer Faruk Kuzu, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo