Titles

Instructor in Oncology

Schools\Degrees

M.D., Yichang Medical College, Yichang, Hubei, China Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China M.S., Biochemisty, Hubei Medical University, Wuhan Hubei, China

Training

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Research Summary

The Wang laboratory focuses on the role of polyamine catabolism in tumor cell drug responsiveness. Polyamine metabolism pathway is the target of several newly synthesized antitumor polyamine analogues. Although many of these reagents have demonstrated promising effects against important human tumors, the specific mechanism of their antitumor activity remain unclear. It has been proved that increased polyamine catabolism plays an important role in the antitumor toxicity of some most effect antitumor polyamine analogues. Although polyamine catabolism was assumed to be mediated through the activities of two enzymes: spermine/spermidine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) and polyamine oxidase (PAO), we have recently cloned a new human gene, polyamine/spermine oxidase (PAOh1/SMO) that also involves in the polyamine catabolism. Most importantly our preliminary results demonstrate this enzyme to be highly inducible in a cell type and tumor type specific manner in response to the treatment of polyamine analogues.

The specific goals of our research are designed to carefully investigate the characterization and regulation of PAOh1/SMO and its role in determining the sensitivity of human solid tumors to the important new class of anticancer polyamine analogues. The results of the proposed studies will not only increase our understanding of polyamine metabolism in cancer cells, but it should also improve our ability to more specifically target this pathway as a therapeutic strategy.

Journal Citations

Yanlin Wang, Tracy M. Stewart, Wendy Devereux, Army Hacker, Benjamin Frydman, Patrick M. Woster and Casero, R.A., Jr. Properties of purified recombinant human polyamine oxidase, PAOh1/SMO. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 304:605-61, 2003.



Devereux W, Yanlin Wang, Stewart TM, Hacker A, Smith R, Frydman B, Valasinas AL, Reddy VK, Marton LJ, Ward TD, Woster PM, Casero RA. Induction of PAOh1/SMO polyamine oxidase by polyamine analogues in human lung carcinoma cells. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 52:383-390, 2003.



R.A. Casero, Jr., Yanlin Wang, T.M. Stewart, W. Devereux, A.Hacker, Yanchun Wang, R. Smith and P.M. Woster. The role of polyamine catabolism in anti-tumour drug response. Biochemical Society Transactions. 31 (part 2):361-365, 2003.



Yanlin, Wang, Wendy Devereux, Patrick M. Woster, Tracy Murray Stewart, Amy Hacker, and Robert A. Casero. Cloning and Characterization of a human polyamine oxidase that is inducible by polyamine analogue exposure. Cancer Research 61:5370-5373,2001.