FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

 

Assistant Professor Roderick Hori of

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

 Receives $112,266 Grant for Prostate Cancer Research

__________________________________________

 

            Memphis, Tenn. (April 18, 2012) – Roderick Hori, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has received an award of $112,266 from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity for a study titled, “Delineation of Methyl-DNA Binding Protein Interactions in the Prostate Cancer Genome.”  The award will fund a one-year study to further prostate cancer research.

            Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men. About one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and about one in 36 men will die from prostate cancer.  This study will analyze the activity of DNA of both prostate cancer and normal cells, which are regulated in part by methylation -- the addition of a small chemical group.  The pattern of DNA methylation differs between prostate cancer cells and normal cells.  These differences lead to the improper expression of critical genes.   Methylated DNA can be bound by a family of proteins -- known as MBD proteins -- which determine the eventual consequence of DNA methylation.

            The primary goal of Dr. Hori’s research is to define and compare the binding of MBD proteins throughout the entire genome of prostate cancer and normal tissues, and identify the differences in MBD protein binding.   This information will allow Dr. Hori and his team to identify novel genes regulated by DNA methylation and MBD binding during prostate cancer progression, which could lead to the development of new biomarkers.

            “When DNA becomes methylated, it is bound by MBD proteins and results in altered gene expression, which contributes to cancer,” said Dr. Hori.  “This study will both unravel the steps that lead from DNA methylation to altered gene expression and identify new genes that are inappropriately expressed in prostate cancer due to MBD proteins.”

These studies could also provide insight into understanding the steps that regulate genes during prostate cancer progression and lead to designing new directions in therapy.

The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity is the contracting element of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and provides support to the Command headquarters and its worldwide network of laboratories and medical logistics organizations.  For more information, please visit http://www.usamraa.army.mil/index.cfm.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrated its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

###