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Volume 3
August 5-6, 2019 | Singapore
CANCER RESEARCH AND PHARMACOLOGY
STRUCTURAL BIOCHEMISTRY, STEM CELLS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
24
th
International Conference on
International Congress on
&
Cancer Research 2019 & Structural Biochemistry 2019
August 5-6, 2019
Journal of Cancer and Metastasis Research
The role of a complex oral pathogen in oral cancer progression and prevention
Meena Vanamala
University of Dundee, UK
W
orldwide Oral Cancer incidence rates have consistently placed the
disease among the top 10 most frequently occurring cancers. Amongst
the range of etiological agents implicated in its initiation and progression,
oral bacteria have only recently gained attention. The anaerobic Gram-
negative bacterium
Fusobacterium nucleatum
, found in the mouth and GI
tract is recognized as a mediator of periodontal disease, still births and a
subset of colorectal cancers. In the intestine model of carcinogenesis, the
distinctive adhesin FadA of
F
.
nucleatum
binds to E-Cadherin and induces
pro-inflammatory and oncogenic protein pathways. Our study involved the
investigation of cellular response of an oral dysplastic cell line, D20 to FadA
and a related protein FadB. The relative changes in cellular signaling of
four different markers NF-κB phosphor, C-myc, β-catenin and E-cadherin
(known markers of inflammation, cell proliferation, oncogenesis, adhesion
and invasion respectively) were measured using western blotting and the
recently developed systems level proteomics method, Digiwest. Analysis of
quantified data showed that FadA and FadB upregulate the same pathways
in a mildly dysplastic oral cancer cell line as have previously been described
for Colorectal cancer. Data from MTT and Trypan blue assays confirmed
that these two proteins promote increased cellular proliferation of the D20. This study gave us new insights into the potential
role of
F.nucleatum
FadA proteins in oral cancer, and in the process highlights the therapeutic possibilities of exploiting these
molecules to design diagnostic screens, to develop them as targets for small molecule inhibitors and potentially to use them as
vaccine candidates.
Biography
Meena Vanamala is a Dental Surgeon and a passionate young researcher. She received a Master of Research degree in Oral Cancer
from the University of Dundee, United Kingdom. Her research on role of
Fusobacterium nucleatum
in oral cancer progression has
garnered novel results and has extended the reach of this research to new horizons. She is currently working towards publishing her
work in this subject. She plans to pursue a PhD and broaden her experience and perspective with a hope to contribute to a meaningful
change. She loves reading and is fascinated by the cultural diversity across the globe.
meena.vanamala@gmail.comFigure1: Cellular responses of an oral dysplastic cell line to purified
proteins FadA and FadB of Fusobacterium nucleatum. (: increase/
upregulation)