Dissertation defence (Cell Biology and Anatomy): MSc Nataliia Petruk
Time
16.12.2023 at 12.00 - 16.00
MSc Nataliia Petruk defends the dissertation in Cell Biology and Anatomy titled “CD73 in triple-negative breast cancer” at the University of Turku on 16 December 2023 at 12.00 (University of Turku, Medisiina C, Osmo Järvi lecture hall, Turku).
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/63241259015 (Meeting ID: 632 4125 9015, passcode: 077176).
Opponent: Professor Heikki Joensuu (University of Helsinki)
Custos: Adjunct Professor Jorma Määttä (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/176200
***
Tiivistelmä väitöstutkimuksesta:
Annually, there are an estimated 20 million cancer cases around the world. Breast cancer is accounted for 12 % from all cancer cases. This type of cancer can be divided into subtypes. The classification is based on the presence of hormone receptors like estrogen and progesterone and protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in cancer cells. However, some cancers do not have HER2 and are not affected by hormones. These are called triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). Due to the absence of these molecules, it has limited treatment options. Therefore, the special attention is paid for marker-based therapy. It is a type of treatment that based on specific indicators in the patient’s body and help to tailor therapy plan. These indicators or biomarkers can help to divide a group of people in smaller cohorts.
One of suggested markers for TNBC is CD73. It is an enzyme that produces adenosine. It was shown that patients with high amount of CD73 in tumors had significantly worse survival, than patients with low amount of CD73. High concentration of adenosine affects immune cells, causing a lower anti-cancer immune response. Immune cells have the ability to kill cancer cells. TNBC belongs to tumors with a high number of immune cells. Thus, patients with TNBC may benefit from immunotherapy. However, other drugs like nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) can also activate immune cells. Originally, these drugs were used to treat osteoporosis, but they have anti-cancer effects and, nowadays, given to reduce metastases or prevent cancer relapse. N-BPs have a high affinity to bones. A new delivery method has been suggested to increase the drug concentration in tumors. It is based on packing N-BPs inside a protective bubble called liposomes that showed less affinity to bones.
In clinical studies, special indicators are needed to plan better treatment strategies and pre-clinical studies assist with that. The results of this study highlight the importance of biomarker studies. In my thesis, I investigated cells with high and low amount of CD73 to understand the ability to those TNBC cells to form tumors and lung metastases. The aim of this work was also to investigate whether the different amount of CD73 in TNBC cells affect the infiltration of immune cells into tumors and metastases. Additionally, results of this work showed the effects of the reformulation of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate on infiltration of immune cells in tumors.
The audience can participate in the defence by remote access: https://utu.zoom.us/j/63241259015 (Meeting ID: 632 4125 9015, passcode: 077176).
Opponent: Professor Heikki Joensuu (University of Helsinki)
Custos: Adjunct Professor Jorma Määttä (University of Turku)
Doctoral Dissertation at UTUPub: https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/176200
***
Tiivistelmä väitöstutkimuksesta:
Annually, there are an estimated 20 million cancer cases around the world. Breast cancer is accounted for 12 % from all cancer cases. This type of cancer can be divided into subtypes. The classification is based on the presence of hormone receptors like estrogen and progesterone and protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in cancer cells. However, some cancers do not have HER2 and are not affected by hormones. These are called triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). Due to the absence of these molecules, it has limited treatment options. Therefore, the special attention is paid for marker-based therapy. It is a type of treatment that based on specific indicators in the patient’s body and help to tailor therapy plan. These indicators or biomarkers can help to divide a group of people in smaller cohorts.
One of suggested markers for TNBC is CD73. It is an enzyme that produces adenosine. It was shown that patients with high amount of CD73 in tumors had significantly worse survival, than patients with low amount of CD73. High concentration of adenosine affects immune cells, causing a lower anti-cancer immune response. Immune cells have the ability to kill cancer cells. TNBC belongs to tumors with a high number of immune cells. Thus, patients with TNBC may benefit from immunotherapy. However, other drugs like nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) can also activate immune cells. Originally, these drugs were used to treat osteoporosis, but they have anti-cancer effects and, nowadays, given to reduce metastases or prevent cancer relapse. N-BPs have a high affinity to bones. A new delivery method has been suggested to increase the drug concentration in tumors. It is based on packing N-BPs inside a protective bubble called liposomes that showed less affinity to bones.
In clinical studies, special indicators are needed to plan better treatment strategies and pre-clinical studies assist with that. The results of this study highlight the importance of biomarker studies. In my thesis, I investigated cells with high and low amount of CD73 to understand the ability to those TNBC cells to form tumors and lung metastases. The aim of this work was also to investigate whether the different amount of CD73 in TNBC cells affect the infiltration of immune cells into tumors and metastases. Additionally, results of this work showed the effects of the reformulation of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate on infiltration of immune cells in tumors.
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