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Nurul H. Sarkar,
PhD
E-mail:
Research Emphasis:
The overall goal is to understand the genetic basis for the development of breast cancer and cancer metastasis in humans and to devise ways for prevention. In order to accomplish this objective, my laboratory is currently engaged in 4 projects:
- identify and molecularly characterize novel breast cancer-causing genes from wild mice,
- study the genetic basis of mammary tumor cell heterogeneity, tumor progression, and metastasis using a variety of mammary tumors from laboratory mouse strains,
- in vitro studies on the regulation of the expression of a number of oncogenes in mouse and human mammary tumor cells, and
- investigate the effect of caloric restriction in breast cancer development, and study the underlying mechanism using standard laboratory mice and transgenic mice.
Expertise:
- Analysis of mammary tumors using the techniques of molecular biology, histopathology and cell culture,
- cloning of cancer causing genes, their sequesce determination, and evaluating their biological functions following gene transfer procedures,
- viral and cellular protein synthesis, and
- electron microscopy.
Selected Publications:
Sarkar, N.H., Haga, S., Lehner, A.F., Zhao, W., Imai, S. and Moriwaki, K. Insertional mutation of int protooncogenes in the mammary tumors of Chinese wild mice: normal and tumor tissue specific expression of int-3 transcripts. Virology 203:52-62, 1994.
Li Huiwi, Zhao, W. and Sarkar, N.H. Dietary regulation of mammary tumorigenesis in RIII mice: A possible mechanism. Cancer Lett. 79:199-211, 1994.
Aguan, K., Scott, J., Gee, C.S., and Sarkar, N.H. Characterization and chromosomal localization of the human homologue of a rat AMP-activated protein kinase-encoding gene: a major regulator of lipid metabolism in mammals. Gene 149:345-350, 1994.
Xu, L., Haga, S., Imai, S., and Sarkar, N.H. Cloning in plasmid of an MMTV from wild Chinese mouse: sequencing of the viral LTR. Virus Res. 33:167-178, 1994.
Haga, S., Imai, S., Morimoto, J., Okumoto, M., Nishikawa, R., Mori, N., Kiyozuka, Y., Nagano, K., Nishino, T., Yamamoto, H., and Sarkar, N.H. Hormone-dependent human tumors express the fms gene product. Int. J. Oncology 5:769-733, 1994.
Haga, S., Imai, S., Morimoto, J., Okumoto, M., Iwai, M., Iwai, Y., Hiroishi, S., Mori, N., Nagano, K., Nishino, T., Yamamoto, H., and Sarkar, N.H. Mouse mammary tumor virus proviral integration in the DD/Tbr mice. Breast Cancer 1:11-16, 1994.
Nishio, M., Xu, L., Sasaki, M., Haga, S., Okumoto, M., Mori, N., Sarkar, N.H., Acha-Orbea, H., Enami, J., and Imai, S. Complete nucleotide sequence of mouse mammary tumor virus from JYG Chinese wild mice: absence of bacterial insertion sequences in the cloned viral gag gene. Breast Cancer 1:89-94, 1994.
Sarkar, N.H. and Reddy, B.S. Both dietary calorie and fat affect the growth of transplanted mammary tumors in RIII/Sa mice: the effect of calorie is more profound than the effect of fat. Int. J. Oncology 6:1149-1157, 1995.
Sarkar, N.H. Clonal variations among multiple primary mammary tumors and within a tumor of individual mice: insertion mutations of int oncogenes. Virology 212:490-499, 1995.
Lai X. and Sarkar, N.H. (1995). Subcloning of Poison Sequences into Phagemid Vectors by in Vivo Excision from the Lambda ZAP II Vector. Strategies (Strategene Newsletter) 8:54-55.