The University of Texas System

Dihua Yu

Xiaoyan Zhou

Mien-Chie Hung

Ping Li

Hua Chen

Jun Yao

Wentao Yang

Jun Yang

Nina T Nguyen

Aysegul A Sahin

Christopher L Neal

Francisco J Esteva

Yoichi Nagata

Raphael E Pollock

Ralph Wilfred Paul

Aaron Garth Loomis

Daniel Nathan Andrew LaFoc

Chenyu Zhang

Mein-Chie Hung

Frank Lowery

Sunil Acharya

Provided herein are methods for the treatment of brain metastasis by administering a kinase inhibitor targeted to a metastasis-promoting kinase identified by an in vivo kinase screen.

Targeting kinases for the treatment of cancer metastasis

Patients with ErbB2-overexpressing cancers can be given an ErbB2 targeting agent as a therapeutic regimen but not all patients are responsive. The present invention concerns the diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic methods and compositions for evaluating potential efficacy of an ErbB2 targeting agent in an ErbB2-overexpressing cancers by evaluating PTEN expression, which is predictive of responsiveness or resistance to ErbB2 targeting agents such as trastuzumab. Low PTEN expression is predictive of a patient who will respond poorly to trastuzumab.

Diagnostic and therapeutic methods and compositions involving PTEN and breast cancer

Methods of determining prognosis in a subject with a hyperproliferative disease, including determining expression and/or function of 14-3-3 zeta in the subject, are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of making a pharmaceutical agent that modulates apoptosis, including the steps of obtaining one or more candidate, testing the one or more candidate substances to determine their ability to modulate the expression and/or function of 14-3-3 zeta, selecting a candidate substance determined to modulate the expression and/or function of 14-3-3 zeta, and making a pharmaceutical composition that includes the selected candidate substance. In addition, methods of treating a subject with a hyperproliferative disease, including making a pharmaceutical agent by the methods set forth herein, and administering the pharmaceutical agent to a subject, are disclosed. The hyperproliferative disease can be cancer, such as breast cancer.

14-3-3 Zeta over-expression as a poor prognosis factor, and a therapeutic target in multiple cancer type

14-3-3 zeta over-expression as a poor prognosis factor, and a therapeutic target in multiple cancer types

The present invention provides methods and compositions for the suppression of oncogenic transformation, tumorigenesis and metastasis. The present invention discloses functional domains of E1A responsible for the suppression of transformation, and provides mini-E1A constructs that can be used for tumor suppression. The invention also discloses methods for the novel use of mini-E1A in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs and/or tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Mini-E1A gene and gene products

The present invention relates to methods for the inhibition, of the gene product of the neu oncogene, p185 neu tyrosine kinase. Over-expression of the neu oncogene can lead to chemoresistance. The present invention discloses the functional domains of E1A responsible for the repression of neu-mediated transformation. Further the invention discloses methods for the novel use of mini-E1A in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs and/or tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Mini-E1A may be used in the treatment of cancer and other disease.

Suppression of neu overexpression using a mini-E1A gene

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Dihua Yu