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Associate Professor Yao Wang
Orthopaedic Research Institute, St George Hospital Clinical School
University of New South Wales
Kogarah, Sydney, NSW 2217
Email: Y.Wang@unsw.edu.au
Tel: +61-2-9350-1422
Fax: +61-2-9350-3967
Homepage:
| Research |
| The main interests of our research are focussed on the role and regulation of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor (uPAR) gene in prostate bone cancer metastasis. The uPAR is a specific cell surface receptor for uPA which catalyses the formation of plasmin from plasminogen to generate the proteolytic cascade that contributes to the breakdown of extracellular matrix. It has been implicated in many biological processes. We have previously cloned the 21.23 kb uPAR gene which contains seven exons. We have defined the uPAR promoter region in a 188bp fragment between bases -141 and +47 relative to the transcription start site. During the past few years, a collaborative effort between our laboratories and that of Professor D Boyd in the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas, USA) identified several cis-elements and trans-acting factors including a proximal AP-1, a distal AP-1, an AP-2 and a NF-kB. The signalling pathways by which uPAR expression is regulated has also been determined. Our antisense uPAR experiment demonstrated that uPAR may play a critical role in the process of colon cancer invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Currently, we are interested in novel signalling events after uPA binding to its receptor uPAR. Following uPA binding to its specific receptor it can induce a lot of cellular proteins and may initiate signalling cascades. We are in the process to characterise new proteins which can bind and interact with the uPAR. These studies may provide a novel therapeutic target for blocking cancer invasion and metastasis. |
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| Collaborations |
Professor Douglas Boyd
Department of Tumor Biology
Box 108, MD. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030, U.S.A.
Drs Nancy Colburn and Hsin-Sheng Yang
Gene Regulation laboratory, Bldg. 567, Rm 180
NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
Associate Professor Charles H. Graham, PhD
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Botterell Hall Room 859, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario
Canada K7L 3N6
Professor Mark S Baker
Director & CSO (Australian Proteomic Analysis Facility)
Division of Environmental & Life Sciences
Level 4, F7B Research Park Drive, Macquarie University
Sydney. 2109. AUSTRALIA
Professor Andrew P. Mazar, Ph. D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President, Research and Development
Attenuon, L.L.C., 10130 Sorrento Valley Rd
Suite B, San Diego, CA 92121
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| Publications |
Charles Edo de Bock and Yao Wang: Clinical significance of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) expression in cancer. Medicinal Research Reviews, 24: 13-39, 2004.
Heng Wang, J. Hicks, P. Khanbolooki, S-J. Kim, Yao Wang and Douglas Boyd: Transgenic mice demonstrate novel promoter regions for tissue-specific expression of the urokinase receptor gene. American Journal of Pathology, 163: 453-464, 2003.
Yao Wang: The role and regulation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor gene expression in cancer invasion and metastasis. Medicinal Research Reviews, 21: 146-170, 2001.
Yao Wang, Xiaoming Liang, Shanshan Wu, George Murrell and William Doe: Inhibition of Colon Cancer Metastasis by a 3prime-end Antisense uPAR mRNA in a Nude Mouse Model. International Journal of Cancer, 92, 257-262, 2001.
Yao Wang, Jinjun Dang, Heng Wang, Heike Allgayer, George A. C. Murrell, Douglas Boyd: Identification of a novel nuclear factor-kappaB sequence involved in expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor. European Journal of Biochemistry, 267: 3248-3254, 2000.
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