Oncogenic Transcription Laboratory - LICR Melbourne-Austin Branch

LICR MELBOURNE-AUSTIN BRANCH

Research > Oncogenic Transcription Lab

Oncogenic Transcription Laboratory

Our laboratory is interested in the mechanisms by which tumor suppressor gene expression is controlled in colon cancer cells. Particularly, we focus on the role played by Histone deacetylases (HDACs), which are a large family of transcriptional co-repressors. Inhibitors of HDACs (HDACi) induce growth arrest, differentiation and apoptosis in colon cancer and other cell lines, and are presently undergoing clinical trial for treatment of colon cancer. The focus of our research is to understand the role specific HDACs play in colon cancer progression using in vitro cell line systems as well as transgenic and knockout mouse models. We also investigate the molecular and biochemical mechanisms by which HDAC inhibitors induce growth arrest, differentiation and apoptosis in colon cancer cells.

A separate focus of our laboratory is the development and application of high throughput genomic technologies such as gene expression profiling, methylation profiling and mutation screening to understand the mechanisms of drug action, and to identify molecular signatures predictive of chemotherapeutic drug response.

Publications

1. Byun, D.S., N. Ahmed, S. Nasser, J. Shin, S. Al-Obaidi, S. Goel, G.A. Corner, A.J. Wilson, D.J. Flanagan, D.S. Williams, L.H. Augenlicht, E. Vincan, and J.M. Mariadason, Intestinal epithelial-specific PTEN inactivation results in tumor formation. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 2011.

2. Weickhardt, A.J., N.C. Tebbutt, and J.M. Mariadason, Strategies for Overcoming Inherent and Acquired Resistance to EGFR Inhibitors by Targeting Downstream Effectors in the RAS/PI3K Pathway. Curr Cancer Drug Targets, 2010. 10(8): p. 824-833.

3. Wilson, A.J., A.C. Chueh, L. Togel, G.A. Corner, N. Ahmed, S. Goel, D.S. Byun, S. Nasser, M.A. Houston, M. Jhawer, H.J. Smartt, L.B. Murray, C. Nicholas, B.G. Heerdt, D. Arango, L.H. Augenlicht, and J.M. Mariadason, Apoptotic sensitivity of colon cancer cells to histone deacetylase inhibitors is mediated by an Sp1/Sp3-activated transcriptional program involving immediate-early gene induction. Cancer Res, 2010. 70(2): p. 609-20.

4. Yuan, Z., J. Shin, A. Wilson, S. Goel, Y.H. Ling, N. Ahmed, H. Dopeso, M. Jhawer, S. Nasser, C. Montagna, K. Fordyce, L.H. Augenlicht, L.A. Aaltonen, D. Arango, T.K. Weber, and J.M. Mariadason, An A13 repeat within the 3'-untranslated region of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently mutated in microsatellite instability colon cancers and is associated with increased EGFR expression. Cancer Res, 2009. 69(19): p. 7811-8.

5. Wilson, A.J., D.S. Byun, S. Nasser, L.B. Murray, K. Ayyanar, D. Arango, M. Figueroa, A. Melnick, G.D. Kao, L.H. Augenlicht, and J.M. Mariadason, HDAC4 promotes growth of colon cancer cells via repression of p21. Mol Biol Cell, 2008. 19(10): p. 4062-75.

6. Jhawer, M., S. Goel, A.J. Wilson, C. Montagna, Y.H. Ling, D.S. Byun, S. Nasser, D. Arango, J. Shin, L. Klampfer, L.H. Augenlicht, R. Perez-Soler, and J.M. Mariadason, PIK3CA mutation/PTEN expression status predicts response of colon cancer cells to the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor cetuximab. Cancer Res, 2008. 68(6): p. 1953-61.

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Research Links

	Overview
	Tumour Targeting Laboratory
	Cancer Immunobiology Laboratory
	T Cell Laboratory
	Uro-Oncology Laboratory
	Oncogenic Transcription Laboratory
	Joint Austin Ludwig Oncology Unit
	Centre for PET
	Key Technologies

Oncogenic Transcription Lab Staff

Laboratory Head

A/Prof. John Mariadason
Email

Staff Directory

John Mariadason - Laboratory Head
Anderly Chueh - Postdoctoral Fellow
Lars Togel - Postdoctoral Fellow
Sheren Al-Obaidi - Research Assistant
Ian Luk - Research Assistant
Georgia Corner - Bioinformatics Officer
Fiona Chionh - Ph.D. Student
Janson Tse - Ph.D. Student
Yvonne Yeung - MD Student
Rui Wu - Honours Student

Of Note

Grants

John Mariadason:
Australia Research Council Future Fellowship 2009-2013
NH&MRC Project Grant 2011-2013
NH&MRC Project Grant 2012-2014
NIH R01 Grant 2007-2012

Fiona Chionh:
NH&MRC Postgraduate Scholarship 2011-2013
Pfizer Project Grant 2012

Jansen Tse:
Australian Postgraduate Award 2012-2014