Pradip Roy-Burman Professor Pathology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Keck School of Medicine

Education:
BSc 1956 Chemistry- Calcutta University, India
MSc 1958 Chemistry- Calcutta University, India
PhD 1963 Biochemistry- Calcutta University, India

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:
1963-1967 University of Southern California, School of Medicine

Started at USC: 1966

Research Topics: Cancer Cell Biology, Virology, Cell Cycle, Growth & Proliferation, Gene Therapy

Research Description

There is currently a strong interest on the genetic alterations in gene expression that are frequently encountered in human prostate cancer in the design of mouse models for the disease. The goal is to recapture the pathophysiologic characteristics of this human cancer in a “natural” manner in immuno-competent mice to facilitate exploration of the molecular mechanism underlying prostate cancer as well as for development or testing of new targeted therapies. We have contributed to major achievements in such modeling of human prostate cancer in mice. Global assessment of molecular changes in these models have led to identification of key gene functions implicated in human prostate cancer and its metastases. More recently, we have also refined our metastatic prostate cancer model by incorporating the capability of either to monitor tumor growth and site-specific metastases by in vivo bioluminescence, or to isolate cancer cells from primary tumor and organ-specific metastases. Our current focus is on a series of interconnected and parallel studies using the mouse model, and cancer and stromal cells derived from it, human prostate cancer cell lines, and osteoblasts and precursors to obtain insight into how candidate molecules identified to date may contribute to prostate cancer progression and to the mechanism of prostate cancer-mediated osteogenesis.

LEGEND TO FIGURE 1 (upper figure below):

Increased expression of osteopontin, a secreted glycosylated phosphoprotein is found to be associated with progression of prostate cancer in the mouse model with tissue-specific conditional and homozygous inactivation of the Pten tumor suppressor gene (cPten-/- model). In metastasis, almost all of the cancer cells immunohistochemically stain for osteopontin overexpresssion, as shown in foci of metastasis to lung.

LEGEND TO FIGURE 2 (lower figure below):

The Cre-loxP mouse model of prostate cancer based on prostate epithelium-specific deletion of the Pten tumor suppressor gene has been recently coupled to Cre-mediated activation of a luciferase reporter transgene in the same cells to allow longitudinal monitoring of tumor growth, regression and recurrence in live animals by bioluminescense imaging.

Selected Publications

Yang S, Pham LK, Liao CP, Frenkel B, Reddi AH, Roy-Burman P. - A novel bone morphogenetic protein signaling in heterotypic cell interactions in prostate cancer. - Cancer Res [ 2008 ] Jan 1;68(1):198-205 . PubMed

Liao CP, Zhong C, Saribekyan G, Bading J, Park R, Conti PS, Moats R, Berns A, Shi W, Zhou Z, Nikitin AY, Roy-Burman P. - Mouse models of prostate adenocarcinoma with the capacity to monitor spontaneous carcinogenesis by bioluminescence or fluorescence. - Cancer Res [ 2007 ] Aug 1;67(15):7525-33 . PubMed

Nikitin AY, Matoso A, Roy-Burman P. - Prostate stem cells and cancer. - Histol Histopathol [ 2007 ] Sep;22(9):1043-9 . PubMed

Bruxvoort KJ, Charbonneau HM, Giambernardi TA, Goolsby JC, Qian CN, Zylstra CR, Robinson DR, Roy-Burman P, Shaw AK, Buckner-Berghuis BD, Sigler RE, Resau JH, Sullivan R, Bushman W, Williams BO. - Inactivation of Apc in the mouse prostate causes prostate carcinoma. - Cancer Res [ 2007 ] Mar 15;67(6):2490-6 . PubMed

De Clerck YA, Weissman BE, Yu D, Parsons R, Bar-Eli M, Roy-Burman P, Seewaldt VL, Cress AE, Languino LR, Batra SK, Tang CK, Sheng S, Chen WT, Chellappan S, Cheng SY, Ladisch S, McCarthy JB, Coussens LM, Cohen MB. - Tumor progression and metastasis from genetic to microenvironmental determinants: a workshop of the tumor progression and metastasis NIH study section in honor of Dr. Martin L. Padarathsingh, May 31, 2006, Georgetown, Washington, DC. - Cancer Biol Ther [ 2006 ] Dec;5(12):1588-99 . PubMed

Roy-Burman P. - Not too contemplative but still amazing turns. - Cancer Biol Ther [ 2006 ] Oct;5(10):1416-9 . PubMed

Zhou Z, Flesken-Nikitin A, Corney DC, Wang W, Goodrich DW, Roy-Burman P, Nikitin AY. - Synergy of p53 and Rb deficiency in a conditional mouse model for metastatic prostate cancer. - Cancer Res [ 2006 ] Aug 15;66(16):7889-98 . PubMed

Yang S, Lim M, Pham LK, Kendall SE, Reddi AH, Altieri DC, Roy-Burman P. - Bone morphogenetic protein 7 protects prostate cancer cells from stress-induced apoptosis via both Smad and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathways. - Cancer Res [ 2006 ] Apr 15;66(8):4285-90 . PubMed

Zhong C, Saribekyan G, Liao CP, Cohen MB, Roy-Burman P. - Cooperation between FGF8b overexpression and PTEN deficiency in prostate tumorigenesis. - Cancer Res [ 2006 ] Feb 15;66(4):2188-94 . PubMed

Khodavirdi AC, Song Z, Yang S, Zhong C, Wang S, Wu H, Pritchard C, Nelson PS, Roy-Burman P. - Increased expression of osteopontin contributes to the progression of prostate cancer. - Cancer Res [ 2006 ] Jan 15;66(2):883-8 . PubMed