Pierce Tumor Glycomics Laboratory
Principal Investigator: J. Michael Pierce, Ph.D.
Institution: University of Georgia, Athens, GA
The Pierce laboratory is focused on developing serum assays for detection of pancreatic cancer or risk of developing this cancer.
In collaboration with Dr. Dan von Hoff and other scientists at TGen, Phoenix, and the University of Arizona at Tucson, they are studying pancreatic ductal fluid to identify potential markers, using both proteomic and glycoproteomic analyses. They have samples from patients with pancreatic ductal carcinoma, pancreatitis, benign disease, and those with no pancreatic disease.
In addition, they are performing an analysis of the glycotranscriptome expressed in control and pancreatic cancer tissues to identify potential glycan changes. These investigators have identified two glycoproteins in particular that show significant changes in pancreatic cancer, and are preparing reagents and assays to measure their levels in serum of control and cancer patients.
Many of their glycoproteomics technologies have been developed in their NCRR Center for Biomedical Glycomics at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center . They have state-of-the-art instrumentation and expertise to analyze glycan and glycopeptide structures and the expression of transcripts that regulate and bind to mouse and human glycans, over 800, using qRT-PCR. The Glycomics Center is focused on understanding the regulation of the glycome during embryonic stem cell differentiation. The laboratory also has a vigorous analytical service program, and offers workshops on analysis of glycan structure.
Publications:
- Guo HB, Johnson H, Randolph M, Nagy T, Blalock R, Pierce M. Specific posttranslational modification regulates early events in mammary carcinoma formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010; 107(49):21116-21
- Abbott KL, Lim JM, Wells L, Benigno BB, McDonald JF, Pierce M. Identification of candidate biomarkers with cancer-specific glycosylation in the tissue and serum of endometrioid ovarian cancer patients by glycoproteomic analysis. Proteomics. 2010; 10(3):470-81.
- Guo HB, Johnson H, Randolph M, Pierce M. Regulation of homotypic cell-cell adhesion by branched N-glycosylation of N-cadherin extracellular EC2 and EC3 domains. J Biol Chem. 2009; 284:34986-97.
- Abbott KL, Aoki K, Lim JM, Porterfield M, Johnson R, O'Regan RM, Wells L, Tiemeyer M, Pierce M. Targeted glycoproteomic identification of biomarkers for human breast carcinoma. J Proteome Res. 2008; 7(4):1470-80.
- Abbott KL, Nairn AV, Hall EM, Horton MB, McDonald JF, Moremen KW, Dinulescu DM, Pierce M. Focused glycomic analysis of the N-linked glycan biosynthetic pathway in ovarian cancer. Proteomics. 2008; 8(16): p. 3210-20.
- Pierce JM. "Cancer Glycomics" in Handbook of Glycomics. Ed R.D. Cummings, J.M. Pierce. Academic Press: 2009, San Diego. p. 399-430.
- Wells L, et al. Proteomic and glycoproteomic analysis of pancreatic ductal fluid for identification of potential diagnostic cancer markers. In preparation.
In the Media:
"Tracking a killer," Maximizing Research Opportunities,online feature, Aug 22, 2007.
Survivor a beacon in cancer research . Ken Foskett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 22, 2007.
Patents
Methods to Identify and Quantify Oligosaccharide Modifications of Glycoproteins (US 7,351,544).
Provisional Application: Glycoprotein Cancer Biomarkers Filed: June 11, 2010. (serial # 12/814,184).
Provisional Application: Cancer-specific Glycans and Glycopeptides Filed: July 13, 2010 (serial# 61/363,782).
Provisional Application: Alpha Toxin Detection of GPI Anchored Proteins Filed: August 6, 2010 (serial# 61/371,326).
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