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Research Interests
Our research makes use of several strategies to investigate the mechanisms of breast cancer development. Innovative new tissue culture methods have been used extensively in these studies. We have recently identified a new type of transforming growth factor that influences the earliest steps in tumor development; this molecule is being characterized in detail. This type of molecule is produced by connective tissue cells. Its production can be modulated by several hormones, including estrogens. Interestingly, the production of this and related growth factors is distinctly different in older individuals. This observation may provide a significant clue as to why most cancer is a disease of old age.
Representative Publications
Kintner, R., and H. L. Hosick, 1998. A ribozyme that eliminates synthesis of the transforming growth factor cripto-1 eliminates the tumorigenic phenotype of breast cancer cells and reveals an extended family of cripto-like proteins. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 245: 774-779.
McIntyre, B. S., K. P. Briski, H. L. Hosick, and P. W. Sylvester, 1998. Effects of protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors on EGF-and insulin-dependent mammary epithelial cell growth. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 217: 180-187.
Herrington, E. E., T. G. Ram, D. S. Salomon, G. R. Johnson, W. J. Gullick, N. Kenney, and H. L. Hosick, 1997. Age-dependent changes in the expression of epidermal growth factor-related proteins in the mouse mammary gland and its relationship to mammary tumorigenesis. J. Cell. Physiology 170: 47-56.