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Dr Federica Sotgia - Understanding Why Lactation Prevents Breast Cancer

Federica Sotgia looks at the role played by changes in tumour metabolic pathways in the development of breast cancer.

Senior Lecturer

The University of Manchester

Wilmslow Road
Withington
Manchester
M20 4BX

Email: Federica.Sotgia@manchester.ac.uk

I obtained my PhD in Medical Genetics in 2001 from the University of Genova, Italy. I then moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, as a post-doctoral fellow, where I was promoted to Instructor. In 2006, I was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at the Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia. In September 2012, I started my new role at The University of Manchester as a Senior Lecturer. I have a background in skeletal muscle biology and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

As a PhD student, I was the first to discover that mutations in the caveolin-3 gene are the cause of a novel form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, named LGMD-1C. Later on in my career, I developed an interest in breast cancer, and I have applied the knowledge and expertise gained from studying mitochondrial metabolism to the breast cancer field.

Doxycycline and therapeutic targeting of the DNA damage response in cancer cells: old drug, new purpose.

Peiris-Pagès M, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncoscience. 2015 Aug 24;2(8):696-9. eCollection 2015.


Mitochondrial mass, a new metabolic biomarker for stem-like cancer cells: Understanding WNT/FGF-driven anabolic signaling.

Lamb R, Bonuccelli G, Ozsvári B, Peiris-Pagès M, Fiorillo M, Smith DL, Bevilacqua G, Mazzanti CM, McDonnell LA, Naccarato AG, Chiu M, Wynne L, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Sep 28. [Epub ahead of print]


High mitochondrial mass identifies a sub-population of stem-like cancer cells that are chemo-resistant.

Farnie G, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Sep 30. [Epub ahead of print]


Dissecting tumor metabolic heterogeneity: Telomerase and large cell size metabolically define a sub-population of stem-like, mitochondrial-rich, cancer cells.

Lamb R, Ozsvari B, Bonuccelli G, Smith DL, Pestell RG, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Clarke RB, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Sep 8;6(26):21892-905.


Estrogen related receptor a (ERRa) a promising target for the therapy of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).

Casaburi I, Avena P, De Luca A, Chimento A, Sirianni R, Malivindi R, Rago V, Fiorillo M, Domanico F, Campana C, Cappello AR, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP, Pezzi V.

Oncotarget. 2015 Sep 22;6(28):25135-48. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.4722.


Mitochondrial biogenesis is required for the anchorage-independent survival and propagation of stem-like cancer cells.

De Luca A, Fiorillo M, Peiris-Pagès M, Ozsvari B, Smith DL, Sanchez-Alvarez R, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Cappello AR, Pezzi V, Lisanti MP, Sotgia F.

Oncotarget. 2015 Jun 20;6(17):14777-95.


Doxycycline down-regulates DNA-PK and radiosensitizes tumor initiating cells: Implications for more effective radiation therapy.

Lamb R, Fiorillo M, Chadwick A, Ozsvari B, Reeves KJ, Smith DL, Clarke RB, Howell SJ, Cappello AR, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Peiris-Pagès M, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Jun 10;6(16):14005-25.


Monocytes and macrophages, implications for breast cancer migration and stem cell-like activity and treatment.

Ward R, Sims AH, Lee A, Lo C, Wynne L, Yusuf H, Gregson H, Lisanti MP, Sotgia F, Landberg G, Lamb R.

Oncotarget. 2015 Jun 10;6(16):14687-99.


Chemotherapy induces the cancer-associated fibroblast phenotype, activating paracrine Hedgehog-GLI signalling in breast cancer cells.

Peiris-Pagès M, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 May 10;6(13):10728-45.


Caveolae and signalling in cancer.

Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Nat Rev Cancer. 2015 Apr;15(4):225-37. doi: 10.1038/nrc3915. Review.


Graphene oxide selectively targets cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types: implications for non-toxic cancer treatment, via "differentiation-based nano-therapy".

Fiorillo M, Verre AF, Iliut M, Peiris-Pagés M, Ozsvari B, Gandara R, Cappello AR, Sotgia F, Vijayaraghavan A, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Feb 28;6(6):3553-62.


Targeting tumor-initiating cells: eliminating anabolic cancer stem cells with inhibitors of protein synthesis or by mimicking caloric restriction.

Lamb R, Harrison H, Smith DL, Townsend PA, Jackson T, Ozsvari B, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Pestell RG, Howell A, Lisanti MP, Sotgia F.

Oncotarget. 2015 Mar 10;6(7):4585-601.


Antibiotics that target mitochondria effectively eradicate cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types: treating cancer like an infectious disease.

Lamb R, Ozsvari B, Lisanti CL, Tanowitz HB, Howell A, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2015 Mar 10;6(7):4569-84.


The reverse Warburg effect in osteosarcoma.

Sotgia F, Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Lisanti MP.

Oncotarget. 2014 Sep 30;5(18):7982-3.


Mitochondria as new therapeutic targets for eradicating cancer stem cells: Quantitative proteomics and functional validation via MCT1/2 inhibition.

Lamb R, Harrison H, Hulit J, Smith DL, Lisanti MP, Sotgia F.

Oncotarget. 2014 Nov 30;5(22):11029-37.


Metabolic Asymmetry in Cancer: A “Balancing Act” that Promotes Tumor Growth

UE Martinez-Outschoorn, F Sotgia, MP Lisanti

Cancer cell, 2014


JNK1 stress signaling is hyper-activated in high breast density and the tumor stroma: Connecting fibrosis, inflammation, and stemness for cancer prevention

A Howell, UE Martinez-Outschoorn, F Sotgia

Cell …, 2013 - landesbioscience.com


Evidence for a stromal-epithelial “lactate shuttle” in human tumors: MCT4 is a marker of oxidative stress in cancer-associated fibroblasts

S Pavlides, R Gandara, RG Pestell, F Sotgia…

Cell …, 2011


Oxidative stress in cancer associated fibroblasts drives tumor-stroma co-evolution: A new paradigm for understanding tumor metabolism, the field effect and genomic instability in cancer cells.

Martinez-Outschoorn UE, Balliet RM, Rivadeneira DB, Chiavarina B, Pavlides S, Wang C, Whitaker-Menezes D, Daumer KM, Lin Z, Witkiewicz AK, Flomenberg N, Howell A, Pestell RG, Knudsen ES, Sotgia F, Lisanti MP.

Cell Cycle. 2010 Aug 15;9(16):3256-76. doi: 10.4161/cc.9.16.12553.


Ketones and lactate “fuel” tumor growth and metastasis: Evidence that epithelial cancer cells use oxidative mitochondrial metabolism

A Howell, UE Martinez-Outschoorn, F Sotgia

Cell cycle, 2010 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


Autophagy in cancer associated fibroblasts promotes tumor cell survival: Role of hypoxia, HIF1 induction and NF?B activation in the tumor stromal …

A Howell, RG Pestell, J Caro, MP Lisanti, F Sotgia

Cell cycle, 2010 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


The autophagic tumor stroma model of cancer: Role of oxidative stress and ketone production in fueling tumor cell metabolism

…, UE Martinez-Outschoorn, A Howell, F Sotgia

Cell Cycle, 2010 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


An absence of stromal caveolin-1 expression predicts early tumor recurrence and poor clinical outcome in human breast cancers

AK Witkiewicz, A Dasgupta, F Sotgia, I Mercier

The American journal of …, 2009 - Elsevier

The main focus of our research is to study the role of the tumour-microenvironment in breast cancer. More specifically, the main theme is studying how metabolic alterations in the tumour-microenvironment affect tumour growth. We have also recently provided genetic evidence that enhanced glycolysis in stromal cells favours tumourigenesis.

More recently, we have also developed a research program to understand how life-styles options, such as breast-feeding and lactation, may affect breast cancer risk. For that, we have employed an experimental model that displays constitutive lactation.

Absence of caveolin-1 sensitizes mouse skin to carcinogen-induced epidermal hyperplasia and tumor formation

…, W Schubert, S McClain, B Bouzahzah, F Sotgia

The American journal of …, 2003 - Elsevier


Caveolin-3 Directly Interacts with the C-terminal Tail of ß-Dystroglycan IDENTIFICATION OF A CENTRAL WW-LIKE DOMAIN WITHIN CAVEOLIN FAMILY MEMBERS

F Sotgia, JK Lee, K Das, M Bedford, TC Petrucci

Journal of Biological …, 2000 - ASBMB


Molecular genetics of the caveolin gene family: implications for human cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, and muscular dystrophy.

…, XL Zhang, F Galbiati, D Volonté, F Sotgia

American journal of …, 1998 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


Mutations in the caveolin-3 gene cause autosomal dominant limb-girdle muscular dystrophy

C Minetti, F Sotgia, C Bruno, P Scartezzini, P Broda

Nature …, 1998 - nature.com