Chattopadhyay Laboratory
Chandrani Chattopadhyay, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Areas of Research
- Melanoma
- Eye Cancer
- Molecular Biology
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We are focused on studying the biology and molecular biology of uveal melanoma (UM), a rare melanoma of the eye, with an aim to develop therapeutic strategies for the treatment of metastatic UM. With only one approved therapy option for UM, there is an urgent need for developing new therapeutic avenues. Our research has shown for the first time that metastatic UM has a metabolic vulnerability of being strongly dependent on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation for energy production and survival. We are now trying to develop strategies for targeting mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and the effectors of this metabolic pathway in metastatic UM. We have developed and currently utilize multiple in vivo models of UM including chicken CAM model and orthotopic mouse model for liver metastasis of UM, to test and validate our in vitro findings and new therapeutic strategies so they can advance to clinical studies.
Recent Publications
Chattopadhyay C, Bhattacharya R, Roszik J, Khan FS, Wells GA, Villanueva H, Qin Y, Bhattacharya R, Patel SP, Grimm EA. Targeting IRS-1/2 in Uveal Melanoma Inhibits In Vitro Cell Growth, Survival and Migration, and In Vivo Tumor Growth. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Dec 19;14(24):6247. doi: 10.3390/cancers14246247. PMID: 36551732; PMCID: PMC9777326.
Chattopadhyay C, Oba J, Roszik J, Marszalek JR, Chen K, Qi Y, Eterovic K, Robertson AG, Burks JK, McCannel TA, Grimm EA, Woodman SE. Elevated Endogenous SDHA Drives Pathological Metabolism in Highly Metastatic Uveal Melanoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 60(13):4187-4195, 10/2019. PMCID: PMC6785781.
Oba J, Esmaeli B, Ellerhorst JA, Lyons GR, Milton DR, Wang WL, Macedo MP, Lazar AJ, Grimm EA, Chattopadhyay C. Trends in hepatocyte growth factor, insulin-like growth factor 1, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and leptin expression levels in uveal melanoma patient serum and tumor tissues: correlation to disease progression. Melanoma Res 27(2):126-133, 4/2017. PMID: 28118269.
Chattopadhyay C, Kim DW, Gombos DS, Oba J, Qin Y, Williams MD, Esmaeli B, Grimm EA, Wargo JA, Woodman SE, Patel SP. Uveal melanoma: From diagnosis to treatment and the science in between. Cancer 122(15):2299-312, 8/2016. e-Pub 3/2016. PMCID: PMC5567680.
Contact Us
Chandrani Chattopadhyay, Ph.D.
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Melanoma Medical Oncology
Email: cchattop@mdanderson.org