Development and Evaluation of Therapeutics and Imaging Agents Targeting Chemokine Receptors
Speaker: Babak Behnam Azad, Johns Hopkins
Location: Auditorium
Time: 14:00
Overexpression of CXC-type chemokine receptors, reported for numerous human cancers, is typically correlated with cancer progression to metastasis and poor prognosis. The most well studied chemokine receptor (CXCR4) plays a key role in regulating normal biological functions as well as various pathological processes in inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders and more than 23 types of cancers. CXCR4 overexpression is correlated with the degree of lymph node metastasis, increased risk of local recurrence and overall poor survival rates in a number of malignancies including breast, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers. Several CXCR4 therapeutics are currently in clinical trials. The chemokine receptor 7 (CXCR7) is also overexpressed in a number of human cancers including breast, esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, lung squamous cell carcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, gastric, prostate, bladder and pancreatic cancers. This expression is correlated with tumor aggressiveness, metastasis and reduced survival rates. Chemokine receptor targeted therapies, guided by companion imaging tracers, may provide a more effective and optimal therapeutic strategy. This seminar will provide a research overview on development of inhibitors and imaging agents targeting CXCR4 and CXCR7 including their in vivo evaluation in various mouse models of human cancer.