Munir Tanas, MD
Introduction
Our lab studies the role of the Hippo pathway in sarcomas. Sarcomas are difficult to treat cancers that arise in the bone and soft tissues (muscle, adipose tissue, peripheral nerve, blood vessels, connective tissue). Metastatic sarcoma has a poor prognosis, with a 5 year survival of approximately 15%. Additional therapeutic targets are needed for these cancers; our lab has focused on the Hippo pathway as a novel therapeutic target.
The Hippo pathway (https://tanas.lab.uiowa.edu/research) is composed of a series of serine/threonine kinases that negatively regulate TAZ and YAP. TAZ and YAP are closely related transcriptional co-activators and oncoproteins in many different cancers including sarcomas. We have previously shown that TAZ and YAP are activated in over 50% of sarcomas, making this pathway a central one for sarcomas.
Our current projects in the lab focus on: 1. Mechanisms of oncogene activation 2. Upstream signal transduction mechanisms 3. Epigenetics 4. Tumorigenesis and metastasis 5. Identification of new therapeutic drugs.
Our model systems include: 1. Clinical sarcoma samples including tissue microarrays 2. Sarcoma cell lines 3. Genetic and xenograft sarcoma mouse models.
Current Positions
- Associate Professor of Pathology
Education
- BS in Biochemistry, Whitworth College, Spokane, WA
- MD, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Resident in Anatomic Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Fellow in Surgical Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Fellow in Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
- Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Graduate Program Affiliations
Center, Program and Institute Affiliations
Research Interests
- Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma
- WWTR1-CAMTA1
Licenses & Certifications
- State of Iowa Medical License, Iowa Board of Medicine, Iowa, United States
- Board Certification in Anatomic Pathology, American Board of Pathology
Selected Publications
- Zaher A, Mapuskar KA, Petronek MS, Tanas MR, Isaacson AL, Dodd RD, Milhem M, Furqan M, Spitz DR, Miller BJ, Beardsley RA, Allen BG. (2024) Superoxide dismutase mimetic avosopasem manganese enhances radiation therapy effectiveness in soft tissue sarcomas and accelerates wound healing. Antioxidants (Basel) May 10; 13(5):587/ DOI: 10.3390/ANTIOX13050587. PMID: 38790692. PMCID: PMC11117842.
- Marchal MA, Moose DI, Varzavand A, Jordan NE, Taylor D, Tanas MR, Brown JA, Henry MD, Stipp CS. (2023) Abl kinases can function as suppressors of tumor progression and metastasis. Front Oncol. Sep 8; 13:1241056. DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1241056. PMID: 37746268. PMCID: PMC10514900.
- Kohlmeyer JL, Lingo JJ, Kaemmer CA, Scherer A, Warrier A, Voigt E,Raygoza Garay JA, McGivney GR, Brockman QR, Tang A, Calizo A, Pollard K, Zhang X, Hirbe AC, Pratilas CA, Leidinger M, Breheny P, Chimenti MS, Sieren JC, Monga V, Tanas MR, Meyerholz DK, Darbro BW, Dodd RD, Quelle DE. (2023) CDK4/6=MEK Inhibition in MPNSTs Causes Plasma Cell Infiltration, Sensitization to PD-L1 Blockade, and Tumor Regression. Clin Cancer Res. Sep 1; 29(17):3484-3497. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-0749. PMID: 37410426. PMCID: PMC10528807.
- Nör, F., Castro, J. P., Wongpattaraworakul, W., Buatti, J. M., Gordon, D., Powers, J. G., Terry, W., Hellstein, J., Tanas, M. & Stone, M. (2023). Cutaneous Metastasis of Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in a Child. Am J Dermatopathol. DOI: 10.1097/DAD.0000000000002382. PMID: 36728280.
- Day, J. R., Miller, B., Loeffler, B. T., Mott, S. L., Tanas, M., Curry, M., Davick, J., Milhem, M. & Monga, V. (2022). Patient reported quality of life in young adults with sarcoma receiving care at a sarcoma center. Front Psychol 13 871254. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.871254. PMID: 36248560. PMCID: PMC9559373.
- Garcia, K., Gingras, A. C., Harvey, K. F. & Tanas, M. R. (2022). TAZ/YAP fusion proteins: mechanistic insights and therapeutic opportunities. Trends Cancer S2405-8033. DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2022.08.002. PMID: 36096997.
- Brockman, Q. R., Scherer, A., McGivney, G. R., Gutierrez, W. R., Voigt, A. P., Isaacson, A. L., Laverty, E. A., Roughton, G., Knepper-Adrian, V., Darbro, B., Tanas, M. R., Stipp, C. S. & Dodd, R. D. (2022). PRC2 loss drives MPNST metastasis and matrix remodeling. JCI Insight 7 (20) e157502. DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.157502. PMID: 36066973. PMCID: PMC9714789.
- Kohlmeyer, J. L., Kaemmer, C. A., Lingo, J. J., Voigt, E., Leidinger, M. R., McGivney, G. R., Scherer, A., Koppenhafer, S. L., Gordon, D. J., Breheny, P., Meyerholz, D. K., Tanas, M. R., Dodd, R. D. & Quelle, D. E. (2022). Oncogenic RABL6A promotes NF1-associated MPNST progression in vivo. Neurooncol Adv 4 (1) vdac047. DOI: 10.1093/noajnl/vdac047. PMID: 35571990. PMCID: PMC9092646.
- Desai, C., Thomason, J., Kohlmeyer, J. L., Reisetter, A. C., Ahirwar, P., Jahanseir, K., Leidinger, M., Ofori-Amanfo, G., Fritchie, K., Velu, S. E., Breheny, P., Quelle, D. E. & Tanas, M. R. (2021). Prognostic and therapeutic value of the Hippo pathway, RABL6A, and p53-MDM2 axes in sarcomas. Oncotarget 12 (8) 740-755. DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.27928. PMID: 33889298. PMCID: PMC8057271.