Logo for University of Iowa Health Care This logo represents the University of Iowa Health Care

Multi-disciplinary team of UI researchers receive Exemplar Genetics grant

A multi-disciplinary team of UI researchers led by Dawn Quelle and Jessica Sieren recently obtained a one-year grant from a local company, Exemplar Genetics, to develop and validate conditional porcine models of cancer. The goal of this pilot project is to establish the utility of a conditional KRAS/TP53 mutant pig model for translational cancer research by defining optimal conditions for Cre-mediated KRAS mutant induction and tumor development in the lung and pancreas. A majority of human lung and pancreatic tumors are defined by the combined activation of oncogenic KRAS and inactivating mutations of tumor suppressive TP53. While mouse models bearing those genetic changes develop cancers and are informative, such small animal tumor models possess significant limitations for translational oncology. By comparison, large animals such as pigs share greater similarities with humans in anatomy, physiology, genetics, lifespan and size, providing unique opportunities for developing clinically-relevant imaging approaches, biomarker validation, and pre-clinical testing of novel anti-cancer therapies. Each team member brings different expertise necessary for success of the study: Dawn Quelle (Pharmacology, molecular cancer biology), Jessica Sieren (Radiology, clinical CT and MR imaging), David Meyerholz (Pathology, histopathologic tissue/tumor analyses), Benjamin Darbro (Pediatrics, tumor genetics), Carlos Chan (Surgery, viral delivery to pancreas), Mahmoud Alaiwa (Internal Medicine, viral delivery to lung) and Christopher Rogers (Exemplar Genetics, CSO, genetic engineering pig models of human disease). This group, which recently developed the first pig model of cancer and showed its utility for non-invasive imaging of tumorigenesis (Sieren et al., Journal of Clinical Investigation 2014), is excited about the promise of these conditional pig tumor models for developing approaches that will facilitate earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment of human cancers. 

 

Date: 
Tuesday, November 24, 2015