Vincent L. Cryns, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, Cell Death Regulation Laboratory
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2009-2010 BCRF Project:
(made possible by generous support from The Housewares Charity Foundation)
Co-Investigator:
William J. Gradishar, MD FACP, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Basal-like tumors are a newly recognized type of breast cancer which are clinically aggressive and lack targeted therapies because they are estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and HER2-negative. Dr. Cryns and colleagues have shown that a cell stress protein called áB-crystallin contributes to the aggressive behavior of basal-like tumors in part by making them resistant to chemotherapy.
During the past year, Dr. Cryns and coworkers have developed new in vivo models of basal-like breast cancer using fluorescently labeled breast cancer cells. The team has shown that turning off ("silencing") the aB-crystallin gene blocks metastasis to the lungs, suggesting that aB-crystallin may be a promising drug target for anti-metastatic therapies. These in vivo models are currently being used to explore the molecular mechanisms of metastasis and to develop new treatments for basal-like tumors.
In the next year, Dr. Cryns and his team will use these in vivo models to explore the molecular mechanisms of metastasis in basal-like breast cancer and to test promising therapies identified by the team. The researchers will also examine the prognostic value of aB-crystallin expression to predict brain metastasis and survival in women with breast cancer. In this way, these studies may lead to new prognostic biomarkers and treatments for poor prognosis basal-like breast tumors.
Mid-Year Progress Report:
Basal-like tumors are a newly recognized type of breast cancer (sometimes called "triple negative") which are clinically aggressive and lack targeted therapies because they are estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and HER2-negative. Dr. Cryns and colleagues have shown that a cell stress protein called aB-crystallin contributes to the aggressive behavior of basal-like tumors in part by making them resistant to chemotherapy. More recently, Dr. Cryns and coworkers have developed new in vivo models of basal-like breast cancer using fluorescently labeled breast cancer cells and shown that aB-crystallin promotes the spread ("metastasis") of breast cancer cells to distant organs.
During the current BCRF project period, Dr. Cryns and his team have been exploring the molecular mechanisms by which aB-crystallin promotes metastasis in basal-like breast cancer and testing promising therapies identified by the team. The researchers are also examining the prognostic value of aB-crystallin expression to predict metastasis and survival in women with breast cancer. In this way, these studies may lead to new prognostic biomarkers and treatments for poor prognosis basal-like breast tumors.
Bio:
Dr. Cryns received his bachelor's degree Summa cum laude in biochemistry from Harvard, his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and he did specialty training in endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital. His laboratory focuses on mechanisms of cell death. His lab was the first to report that a protein called αB-crystallin protects breast cancer cells from chemotherapy killing and elucidated the mechanism of this protection. Recently, Dr. Cryns' lab demonstrated that αB-crystallin plays an important role in an aggressive type of breast cancer (basal-like tumors) and predicts poor clinical outcomes. His research has been published in top medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. His work has also been featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and highlighted in Nature and Nature Reviews Cancer.
Dr. Cryns' research is funded by the NIH, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and other agencies. He has also served on numerous study sections at NIH and other agencies. Dr. Cryns is currently on the editorial board of Molecular Endocrinology. He has been the recipient of several awards, including an Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the Avon Foundation, and he is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
