| Grant number: | 14/27287-0 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct) |
| Start date: | March 01, 2016 |
| End date: | August 24, 2019 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Physiology - General Physiology |
| Principal Investigator: | Pedro Augusto Carlos Magno Fernandes |
| Grantee: | Gabriela Sarti Kinker |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 17/24287-8 - The role of tumor microenvironment elements in malignant cell plasticity and heterogeneity, BE.EP.DD |
Abstract Gliomas, the most frequent primary brain tumor in adults, are classified into four (I-IV) histological grades. Gliomas grade IV, known as glioblastomas, are highly aggressive tumors associated with a median survival of only 15 months. In vitro studies have shown that high concentrations of melatonin, a hormone synthesized mainly by the pineal gland, significantly reduce the migration and invasion of glioma cells lines. Additionally, in a preliminary study we observed a decreased expression of acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase (ASMT), the final enzyme of melatonin biosynthesis, in glioblastomas, compared to non-malignant tissue and low-grade gliomas. Based on these data, during my Scientific Initiation (SI) we demonstrated that the ability of human glioma cell lines (HOG, T98G and U87MG) to produce melatonin is inversely proportional to the grade of tumor invasiveness/aggressiveness. Moreover, the most aggressive cell line (U87MG) presented the highest expression of cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1), the gene encoding the main enzyme of melatonin metabolism in the central nervous system. Therefore, we raised the hypothesis that the melatonergic system of human gliomas is implicated on the determination of tumor invasiveness and aggressiveness. Accordingly, our aim is to: i) characterize the melatonergic system of glioma cell lines with different grades of invasiveness/aggressiveness (started in my SI) and human glioma biopsies; ii) evaluate the implication of glioma-synthesized melatonin on different aspects of tumor development and progression. Our future findings will not only contribute to the molecular pathology of gliomas, but will also lay some groundwork for the development of target therapies that consider the use of melatonin and analogous in the treatment of gliomas. (AU) | |
| News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship: | |
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