Insertional mutagenesis identifies Dph3 as a novel regulator of melanoma migration and invasion.

• Main Author: Yeo, Siok Ping.
• Other Authors: Feng Zhiwei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Molecular biology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/39405
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Malignant melanoma is the most deadly skin cancer in the world, yet there is no effective first-line treatment for metastatic melanoma. Thus, there is a need to look for new treatment options. Using insertional mutagenesis, we identified Rnf11, Dph3, Zmynd10 and Prdm5 as potential regulators of melanoma metastasis. Here, we showed that the invasiveness of Dph3mut cells was higher than wild-type, possibly due to the increased level of pCREB, leading to upregulation of MMP-2 expression. However, the attachment of Dph3mut cells to collagen IV was weaker and its migration rate was lowered, as compared to wild-type cells. It was observed that the levels of pERK and pAkt, which are involved in tumour migration, were decreased. While work on Dph3 is still little, we hope that it could be used as a target for treatment of metastatic melanoma in the future.