李勇

腫瘤轉移是一個多步驟複雜的過程，主要是指腫瘤細胞從原發灶組織轉移到在續發組織上存活且生長成惡性腫瘤的過程。腫瘤轉移（metastasis）是腫瘤病人死亡的主要原因，計占死亡總數的90%左右。因此，闡明腫瘤細胞轉移的分子機制具有非常重要的意義。

我研究的主要興趣是發現並闡明腫瘤的發病機制，特別是腫瘤細胞的轉移及侵潤機制。主要對腫瘤發展中一些基因的異常表達，以及這些基因的功能，轉錄及翻譯等的調控機制和信號通路等方面的研究，從而發現抑制這些基因表達和功能的方法。

1. 各種基因的轉錄增強子，抑制子和他們的調節因子是如何結合併共同調控癌基因的表達；

2. 腫瘤細胞是如何對胞外信號進行反應，胞外信號是如何傳遞的細胞內並調控基因的轉錄和翻譯；

3. 腫瘤細胞中癌基因是如何具體轉錄和翻譯的；

4. 腫瘤細胞的轉移及侵潤機制；

5. 腫瘤細胞的微環境是如何影響腫瘤的發展機理；

6. 腫瘤細胞的epithelia-mesenchymal transition機制。

目前，我從事的研究是闡明細胞外各種因子和信號是如何共同通過影響腫瘤細胞膜上的受體，從而改變細胞的骨架及胞內的信號傳遞途徑，並進一步使腫瘤細胞獲得轉移和侵潤的能力。

Metastasis is a complex process that involves the spread of a tumor or cancer to distant parts of the body from its original site. It is of great importance since most of the cancer deaths are caused by spread of the primary cancer to distant sites, and metastatic cancer is responsible for 90% of cancer deaths. Therefore, it is very important to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis.

My research interests center on dissecting the architecture and function of genes and their regulatory networks, and identifying the molecular mechanisms of gene expression regulation in cancer progression and metastasis. My research areas including:

1. How the multiple transcriptional enhancers, repressors and boundary elements connect to genes and orchestrate the expression of genes.

2. how cells receive extracellular signals and signal transduction,

3. genes transcription and translation,

4. gene mutations and altered gene expression in cancer,

5. tumor cell invasion and metastasis,

6. stromal cell/ tumor interactions and,tumor stem cells,

7. epithelia-mesenchymal transition study, etc.

Currently I am focusing on the molecular mechanisms how extracellular and oncogenic signals through coordinated changes in membrane traffic and the actin cytoskeleton promote the acquisition of a migratory / invasive phenotype characteristic of tumor cells.

主要成員

戎芳，晁鳳梅

闡明鈣粘附蛋白－11（cadherin 11）在乳腺癌細胞中的轉錄調控機制，以及鈣粘附蛋白－11促進腫瘤細胞轉移的分子機制。

1. Li Y, Guo Z, Chen H, Dong Z, Pan ZK, Ding H, Su SB, Huang S. HOXC8-dependent cadherin 11 expression facilitates breast cancer cell migration through Trio and Rac. Genes & Cancer, 2011 Sep;2(9):880-8

2. Li Y, Zhang M, Chen H, Dong Z, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M, Huang S. Ratio of miR-196s to HOXC8 messenger RNA correlates with breast cancer cell migration and metastasis. Cancer Res.

3. Li Y, Kimura T, Tuyck RW, Laity JH, Andrews GK, Zinc-induced formation of a co-activator complex containing the zinc-sensing transcription factor MTF-1, p300/CBP and Sp1. Mol. Cell. Biol.2008; 28: 4275-4284.

4. Li Y, Kimura T, Laity JH, Andrews GK, The zinc-sensing mechanism of mouse MTF-1 involves linker peptides between the zinc fingers. Mol Cell Biol. 2006 Aug; 26(15):5580-7.

5. Okumura F, Li Y, Itoh N, Nakanishi T, Isobe M, Andrews GK, Kimura T. The zinc-sensing transcription factor MTF-1 mediates zinc-induced epigenetic changes in chromatin of the mouse metallothionein-I promoter. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2011 Jan;1809(1):56-62

6. Chen H, Zhu G, Li Y, Padia RN, Dong Z, Pan ZK, Liu K, Huang S, Extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway regulates breast cancer cell migration by maintaining slug expression. Cancer Res

7. Kimura T, Li Y, Okumura F, Itoh N, Nakanishi T, Sone T, Isobe M, Andrews GK, Chromium (VI) inhibits mouse metallothionein-I gene transcription by preventing the zinc-dependent formation of an MTF-1-p300 complex. Biochem J. 2008 Nov 1; 415(3):477-82.