Influence of extracellular matrix elements on the sensitivity of prostatic tumor cells to paclitaxel

• Grant number: 18/11710-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2018
• End date: September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Karina Delella
• Grantee: Isabelle Mira da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cell migration is an important process for morphogenesis, immunological surveillance, and wound repair. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a molecular complex that provides support for the cells and signaling molecules responsible for tissue homeostasis, such as fibronectin (FN), a multiadhesive glycoprotein fundamental to cell integrity. During pathological processes like cancer, the migratory activity of neoplastic cells increases, being a critical step for the dissemination of these cells to distant organs. The migratory process is a multi-step model, which depends, among other conditions, on the formation of cytoplasmic protrusions (called invadopodes in neoplastic cells) and on the growth of actin filaments. Recent results from our research group have shown that exposure to soluble FN decreased the migration of neoplastic tumor cells LNCaP and PC-3 in the first 24 hours of exposure (data not yet published). Thus, this project aims to evaluate how a microenvironment rich in FN and basement membrane components influence the response of LNCaP tumor cells to the antitumor drug Paclitaxel. For this, LNCaP cells will be divided into the following groups: I) Control Group; II) Paclitaxel group; III) Paclitaxel + soluble FN group; iv) Paclitaxel + soluble FN + Geltrex (synthetic basement membrane) group. Then, the viability of the cells of the different experimental groups and the study of cell migration will be verified.