無細胞生命科学部門主催PROSセミナーを開催しました

◆講　師：小澤　彰 彦　先生

(Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Senior Scientist)

◆タイトル：Augurin, a tumor suppressor candidate

◆日　時：平成25年12月26日（木） 午後５時から

◆場　所：ベンチャー・ビジネス・ラボラトリー４階会議室

【要　旨】　※講演は日本語で行います

Augurin, also called esophageal cancer related gene 4 (ECRG4), is a secretory molecule highly conserved among all vertebrates. Augurin has been reported to function as a tumor suppressor gene, as a neuropeptide and as a differentiation factor. Our current study has focused on how this molecule acts as a tumor suppressor. Just as other tumor suppressor genes, the promoter of augurin gene is hypermethylated in many cancer cell lines. These data imply that the expression of proaugurin or a proaugurin-derived peptide functions as a tumor suppressor. So far, the endogenous forms of proaugurin-derived peptides, which can act in tumor suppression, have yet to be determined. Our report has shown that a major proaugurin-derived peptide is generated by the action of furin, a member of the proprotein convertase family, and that proaugurin undergoes tyrosine sulfation. The goals of this project are 1) to understand the posttranslational modifications required of augurin to act as a tumor suppressor; and 2) to clarify the pathogenical correspondence between the expression of augurin and the generation of glioblastoma.

In this talk, I will walk you through this project with my previous and recent data, then I will conclude with highlighting the future direction of this study.