Cell Signalling in Cancer

Errors in signalling and intracellular trafficking of mitogenic receptors are often associated with cancer. An important collaborative effort between translational cancer scientists, bioinformaticists and cell biologists within CCB will therefore involve the comprehensive analysis of cancer relevant gene products associated with receptor signalling and trafficking. Among these are signalling pathways downstream of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) and phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase.

Central activities in this programme are the following:

• Elucidation of the membrane/nuclear translocation mechanism for FGF-1

• Identification of intracellular targets of FGF1

• Detection of the spatial distribution of PI 3-kinase products during EGF signalling

• Assessment of the function of known effectors of 3-phosphoinositides in membrane traffic

• Detailed functional analyses of the PI 3-kinase pathway