Metabolic flexibility in breast cancer progression

Dr. Julie St-Pierre
Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology
Friday, April 6, 2018 - 10:00am
MSB 4279
Invited Speaker Seminar
Abstract: 
The transformation of heathy cells into cancer cells necessitates major metabolic reorganizations specifically tailored to meet the high energy demands associated with rapid cell proliferation. We are using a combination of genomics and metabolomics approaches to define this transformation and uncover the metabolic adaptations that drive primary breast tumor growth, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. We discovered that a central regulator of metabolism, PGC-1α, promotes the growth of poor outcome breast cancers by controlling intra-tumoral glucose availability. Recently, we revealed that PGC-1α controls bioenergetic flexibility, which supports breast cancer progression and resistance to energy disruptors like metformin. In this talk, I will discuss the role of metabolism in breast cancer and highlight metabolic vulnerabilities that could be targeted for therapeutic purposes.
Host: 
Dr. Jason Moffat
Department of Molecular Genetics