Why we funded it
With a previous grant from The Prostate Cancer Charity Dr
Buluwela identified a new protein that may be playing a very
important role in prostate cancer. This new project will determine
what role this protein is playing and how it works. The project
will provide valuable knowledge about how prostate cancer works and
validate a new target for future prostate cancer inventions.
Scientific title: Androgen regulation of
methylation in prostate cancer.
Research project summary
Androgens, the male sex hormones, regulate the healthy prostate.
Androgens will also encourage prostate cancer cells to grow and
multiply. With a previous grant from The Prostate Cancer Charity Dr
Buluwela identified several hundred genes in prostate cells that
are controlled by androgens. They found that the Glycine
N-methyltransferase (GNMT) gene is highly affected by the presence
of androgens. Dr Buluwela's previous work also suggests that GNMT
plays a central role in prostate cancer. In this project a PhD
student will investigate what role the GNMT protein plays in
prostate cancer cells.