Muscle Research Unit - Honours in 2009
An Honours project undertaken in this lab would be administered by the Discipline of Anatomy & Histology.
The dos Remedios laboratory engages in research in the following fields:
- Molecular defects in human heart failure;
- Effects of age on the molecular changes in non-failing human hearts;
- Analyzing leukocytes surface protein markers in Acute Coronary Syndrome;
- Detecting toxic chemicals in water; and
- The role of cytoskeleton in cardiomyocyte function.
The tools we use include: transcriptomics, proteomics, tissue Microarrays, protein microarrays, vibrational spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.
Breast cancer: how the cellular immune system responds to metastasis
Supervisor + contact details:
- Professor Cristobal Dos Remedios
- Dr Andrew Spillane
This is a collaborative project with Dr Andrew Spillane, of the Breast Cancer Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. We will isolate mononuclear cells from 5 mL of the whole blood from breast cancer patients. These cells will be examined by applying them to a microarray of antibodies directed against leukocyte antigens. The pattern of leukocyte capture tells the story.
We will ask:
- Is there a characteristic pattern of leukocyte immobilization from breast cancer patients that differs distinct from that of healthy blood donors?
- Does breast cancer induce a specific response in the surface CD antigens (for example cluster of differentiation antigens) patient's leukocytes that differs from other malignant conditions (melanoma, bowel and prostate cancers)?
- Can we detect a difference in leukocyte CD antigens that tell us whether a patient with breast cancer is likely to develop or has developed a metastasis (secondary cancer) either local (axillary nodes) or some distance from primary lesion in the breast.
The project will involve collection of blood samples from the clinic, isolating mononuclear cells from whole blood and applying them to the arrays in the Anatomy Department.
