LABORATORY ONCOLOGY
TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
RNDr. Jan Škoda, Ph.D.
E-mail: jan.skoda@fnusa.cz
LABORATORY ONCOLOGY
Research focus
- Laboratory translational research – with main focus on pediatric oncology – in close cooperation with clinicians and pathologists represents an important approach bringing new information concerning tumor biology from bench to bedside. This strategy encompasses especially the identification of activated signaling molecules within tumors that can be targeted by specific low-molecular-weight inhibitors.
- Research of cancer stem cell phenotype in relation to the tumorigenicity and resistance to the conventional therapy.
- Main partners: Michael Hogarty (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dr. Lucília Saraiva (University of Porto, Portugalsko); Dr. Patric Jan Jansson (University of Sydney, Austrálie); Prof. Dr. Igor Adameyko (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Švédsko / Medical University of Vienna, Rakousko)
Main goals
- Identification of activated RTK and downstream signaling pathways as druggable molecular targets in relapsed / refractory pediatric solid tumors and giant cell tumor of bone.
- Analysis of the expression of key stemness factors and p53 family proteins in relation to the tumorigenicity of sarcoma cells.
- Deciphering the role of mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy in acquisition of stemness using clinically relevant models of resistance development in pediatric solid tumors.
Technological equipment
- Cell Culture Unit (BSL-2 level) for primary cultures and established cell lines including GMOs
- Microscopy Unit for immunofluorescence imaging and image analyses
- 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA)
- Azure 600 Western Blot Imaging System (Azure Biosystems, Dublin, CA, USA)
- CytoFLEX S flow cytometer (Beckman Coulter, Indianapolis, IN, USA)
- IncuCyte SX1 live-cell imaging system (Sartorius, Goettingen, Germany)
Team members
- MUDr. Vasileios Apostolopoulos, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Researcher
- Mgr. Lucie Curylová – Ph.D. Student
- Bc. Kateřina Dorúšková – Research Technician
- Mgr. Adna Goralija – Ph.D. Student
- RNDr. Petr Chlapek, Ph.D., DiS. – Senior Postdoctoral Researcher
- Mgr. Blanka Jančeková, Ph.D. – Lab Manager
- Mgr. Veronika Knechtová – Ph.D. Student
- MUDr. Michal Mahdal, Ph.D. – Researcher
- doc. RNDr. Jakub Neradil, Ph.D. – Senior Research Specialist
- Mgr. Lukáš Sourada – Ph.D. Student
- MUDr. Iva Staniczková Zambo, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Researcher
- RNDr. Jan Škoda, Ph.D. – Senior Research Team Leader
- Dagmar Štodtová – Research Technician
- doc. MUDr. Tomáš Tomáš, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Researcher
Assistant
Mgr. Blanka Jančeková, Ph.D.
Lab Manager
blanka.jancekova@fnusa.cz
Selected results
Kameneva P, Melnikova VI, Kastriti ME, Kurtova A, Kryukov E, Murtazina A, Faure L, Poverennaya I, Artemov AV, Kalinina TS, Kudryashov NV, Bader M, Skoda J, Chlapek P, Curylova L, Sourada L, Neradil J, Tesarova M, Pasqualetti M, Gaspar P, Yakushov VD, Sheftel BI, Zikmund T, Kaiser J, Fried K, Alenina N, Voronezhskaya EE, Adameyko I. Serotonin limits generation of chromaffin cells during adrenal organ development. Nat Commun. 2022, 13(1):2901.
Çoku J, Booth DM, Skoda J, Pedrotty MC, Vogel J, Liu K, Vu A, Carpenter EL, Ye JC, Chen MA, Dunbar P, Scadden E, Yun TD, Nakamaru-Ogiso E, Area-Gomez E, Li Y, Goldsmith KC, Reynolds CP, Hajnoczky G, Hogarty MD. Reduced ER-mitochondria connectivity promotes neuroblastoma multidrug resistance. EMBO J. 2022, 41:e108272.
Skoda J, Borankova K, Jansson PJ, Huang ML, Veselska R, Richardson DR. Pharmacological targeting of mitochondria in cancer stem cells: An ancient organelle at the crossroad of novel anti-cancer therapies. Pharmacol Res. 2019, 139:298-313.
Curylova L, Ramos H, Saraiva L, Skoda J. Noncanonical roles of p53 in cancer stemness and their implications in sarcomas. Cancer Letters. 2022, 525:131-145.
Skoda J, Neradil J, Staniczkova Zambo I, Nunukova A, Macsek P, Borankova K, Dobrotkova V, Nemec P, Sterba J, Veselska R. Serial Xenotransplantation in NSG Mice Promotes a Hybrid Epithelial /Mesenchymal Gene Expression Signature and Stemness in Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells. Cancers. 2020, 12(1):196.
Paukovcekova S, Skoda J, Neradil J, Mikulenkova E, Chlapek P, Sterba J, Richardson DR, Veselska R. Novel Thiosemicarbazones Sensitize Pediatric Solid Tumor Cell-Types to Conventional Chemotherapeutics through Multiple Molecular Mechanisms. Cancers. 2020, 12(12):3781.
Macsek P, Skoda J, Krchniakova M, Neradil J, Veselska R. Iron-Chelation Treatment by Novel Thiosemicarbazone Targets Major Signaling Pathways in Neuroblastoma. Int J Mol Sci. 2021, 23(1):376.
Mahdal M, Neradil J, Mudry P, Paukovcekova S, Staniczkova Zambo I, Urban J, Macsek P, Pazourek L, Tomas T, Veselska R. New Target for Precision Medicine Treatment of Giant-Cell Tumor of Bone: Sunitinib Is Effective in the Treatment of Neoplastic Stromal Cells with Activated PDGFRβ Signaling. Cancers. 2021, 13(14):3543.
