Growth control and cancer metastasis
Roger Gomis
Group Leader
ICREA Researcher
Office Tel : +34 93 40 39959
Lab Tel : +34 93 403 99 61
e-mail : roger.gomis
irbbarcelona.org
Background
Intricate signalling networks control cell division, differentiation, movement, organization and death. Understanding how cells read and transform these signals into changes in cell behaviour is a major research focus of our group. Cancer cells disobey these signals during tumour progression and metastasis. Metastasis is the final step in 90% of all fatal solid tumours. It is therefore a grave public health problem and consequently a field of considerable pharmaceutical interest.
Research Interests
Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis
Our research centres on how growth factors, signalling pathways, and gene expression programmes control normal cell proliferation and cancer cell metastasis.
We study the ways in which cancer cells evade tumour suppressor mechanisms and engage in metastatic behaviour. We focus on a cytostatic programme involving the transcriptional activation of cell cycle inhibitors and the transcriptional repression of growth-promoting and anti-differentiation factors. Furthermore, we examine how tumour cells evade these gene responses in order to pursue metastatic behaviour. By combining in vivo selection of human metastatic cells, transcriptomic profiling and functional testing, we identify genes that selectively mediate breast metastasis to specific organs. Gene transfer techniques and RNAi-mediated gene silencing are used to functionally validate candidate genes. We are encouraged by the recent validation of these findings in clinical samples. Several of these genes encode products that are susceptible to therapeutic targeting.
Funding
The Growth control and cancer metastasis group receives financial support from the following sources:
- Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spanish Ministry of Science and Education)
- Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer
- ICREA (Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies)
More info
Growth control and cancer metastasis
Tumor-stroma interactions a trademark for metastasis
Morales M, Planet E, Arnal-Estape A, Pavlovic M, Tarragona M, Gomis RR
Breast, 3 (20), s50-s55 (2011)
HER2 silences tumor suppression in breast cancer cells by switching expression of C/EBPb isoforms
Arnal-Estapé A, Tarragona M, Morales M, Guiu M, Nadal C, Massagué J, Gomis RR.
Cancer Res, 70 (23), 9927-9936 (2010)
Accurate expression profiling of very small cell populations
Gonzalez-Roca E, Garcia-Albéniz X, Rodriguez-Mulero S, Gomis RR, Kornacker K and Auer H
PLoS ONE, 5 (12)-e14418 (2010)
TGFbeta primes breast tumors for lung metastasis seeding through angiopoietin-like 4
Padua D, Zhang XH, Wang Q, Nadal C, Gerald WL, Gomis RR and Massagué J
Cell, 133 (1), 66-77 (2008)
Mediators of vascular remodelling co-opted for sequential steps in lung metastasis
Gupta GP, Nguyen DX, Chiang AC, Bos PD, Kim JY, Nadal C, Gomis RR, Todorova-Manova K and Massagué J
Nature, 446 (7137), 765-770 (2007)
C/EBPbeta at the core of the TGFbeta cytostatic response and its evasion in metastatic breast cancer cells
Gomis RR, Alarcon C, Nadal C, Van Poznak C and Massagué J
Cancer Cell, 10 (3), 203-214 (2006)
The logic of TGFbeta signaling
Massagué J and Gomis RR
FEBS Lett, 580 (12), 2811-2820 (2006)
A FoxO-Smad synexpression group in human keratinocytes
Gomis RR, Alarcón C, He W, Wang Q, Seoane J, Lash A and Massagué J
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 103 (34), 12747-12752 (2006)
Growth control and cancer metastasis
© Photos by Gianluca Battista/Massimiliano Minocri
Roger Gomis
Group Leader
ICREA Researcher
Office Tel : +34 93 40 39959
Lab Tel : +34 93 403 99 61
e-mail : roger.gomis
irbbarcelona.org
Research Associates
Mònica Morales
tel +34 93 403 9961
e-mail: monica.morales
irbbarcelona.org
Postdoctoral Researchers
Cristina Nadal - Member of the Institut d'Investigacions Sanitàries IDIBAPS-Hopsital Clínic/IRB Barcelona
tel +34 93 40 39961
Postdoctoral Fellows
Jelena Urosevic
tel +34 93 40 39961
e-mail: jelena.urosevic
irbbarcelona.org
PhD Students
Milica Pavlovic
tel +34 93 40 39961
e-mail: milica.pavlovic
irbbarcelona.org
Sylwia Gawrzak
tel +34 93 40 39961
e-mail: sylwia.gawrzak
irbbarcelona.org
Lab Manager
Marc Guiu
tel +34 93 40 39961
e-mail: marc.guiu
irbbarcelona.org
Lab Technicians
Esther Fernández
tel +34 93 403 9961
e-mail: esther.fernandez
irbbarcelona.org