Exploring New Avenues in Breast Cancer Research:
Redox and Metabolic Reprogramming of Cancer and Associated Adipose Tissue
Redox and metabolic reprogramming are key hallmarks of neoplastic transformation that enable cancers’ adaptive behavior. These chief features are heavily dependent on the interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment. In breast cancer, the principal cellular component of the tumor milieu is the adipose tissue. A growing body of evidence suggests that disruption of cancer-adipose interactions can halt cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Exploring new research areas in cancer-adipose tissue cooperation is critical for understanding cancer progression and discovering novel therapeutic targets. Our recent work revealed that cancer-associated adipose tissue undergoes extensive redox regulation changes, strongly indicating the role of the master regulator of redox-driven metabolic reprogramming – Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) in this process. However, the concept of cancer-adipose tissue redox coupling is in its infancy, and their implications for cancer progression remain to be elucidated. REFRAME aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of cancer-adipose tissue redox and metabolic reprogramming and its dynamics. We will reach this goal by building on our expertise in redox regulation and adipose tissue morpho-functional plasticity through the state-of-the-art analysis of human breast cancer and adipose tissues and studies involving in vitro 3D cell co-culture model and in vivo orthotopic mouse model of breast cancer. We will use the latest biochemical and molecular techniques, including gene silencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, respirometry and light, confocal, and electron microscopy. Laying down the groundwork for a novel adipose tissue-based approach in the study of metabolic reprogramming will make REFRAME a paradigm-shifting research in a systematic effort to exploit redox regulation as a promising target for precision therapy in breast cancer.
*This research is supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, #7750238, Exploring New Avenues in Breast Cancer Research: Redox and Metabolic Reprogramming of Cancer and Associated Adipose Tissue – REFRAME
REFRAME sets out to lay the groundwork for new avenues in breast cancer research by investigating the role of redox-driven metabolic reprogramming of cancer-associated adipose tissue in breast cancer progression.
Laying down the groundwork for the redox-based mechanisms of cancer-stroma interactions will make this project a paradigm-shifting advance forward, in a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary effort to manipulate cancer-associated adipose tissue as a novel treatment target for breast cancer.
We are senior scientists and early career researchers with versatile yet complementary backgrounds making our cumulative skill set an unparalleled resource for tackling complex scientific problems.
Principal Investigator
Principal Research Fellow
Associate Professor
Full Professor
Senior Research Associate
Research Assistant
PhD student
Full Professor
Assistant Professor
Teaching Assistant
PhD student
PhD student
Junior Research Assistant
Institute for Biological Research "Sinisa Stankovic" - National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade
Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade
Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad
Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool
This research project is supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, #7750238, Exploring New Avenues in Breast Cancer Research: Redox and Metabolic Reprogramming of Cancer and Associated Adipose Tissue – REFRAME
