Development of a novel therapy targeting tumor microenvironment of malignant pleural mesothelioma

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25861255
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Respiratory surgery
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Morodomi Yosuke 九州大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (60645365)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 悪性胸膜中皮腫 / ウロキナーゼ / ウロキナーゼ受容体

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We examined the relationship between the expression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and the clinicopathologic features of malignant pleural mesothelioma. As a result, the patients with high expression of uPAR had significantly shorter prognosis than the low expression patients. Additionally, we found hypoxic condition promote the expression of uPAR in mesothelioma cell lines, suggesting that the condition facilitate the invasiveness of mesothelioma. Therefore, suppressing uPAR may be a novel target of malignant pleural mesothelioma for treatment or diagnosis.

Free Research Field

呼吸器外科