Profile
Colorectal cancer (CRC) the Fourth common cancer in India has an alarming rise in incidence across all Indian cancer registries, ranging from 20% to 124% per year. Being a grave burden for the past few years, catching it early is the sole challenge. Our lab pursues on cognizing the pathological paradigm of cancer stem cells in CRC surgical margins and discerning markers to predict prognosis of CRC. Following this, the inflammatory incipience of CRC by SERPINA3, the hierarchy of CRC by STIL genes, and their drug resistant attribute abides in our study. Since CRC prognostication has been linked to the Gut biome, modulation by dietary fibers and their Immunotherapeutic prospects has been the focus of our analyses. Interdisciplinary research on Photodynamic therapy and novel photosensitizers in breast cancer with chemists as collaborators has led us to intriguing aspects of biology. Also, anti-obesity molecule OSMOTIN from plants, its anticancer endeavors, with futuristic peptide based treatment in cancer is part of our program
Current Focus Areas
Role of STIL in CRC chemo resistance Targeting specific molecules and pathways involved in developing resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs can be an effective treatment approach in CRC. Understanding the role of STIL in CRC and in drug resistance can offer new therapeutic approaches
Role of SERPINA3 in CRC progression Understanding the role of SERPINA3 and its underlying molecular mechanisms will give us insights into its progression from initiation of inflammation to CRC.
Improving therapy by modulating gut microbiome dMMR/MSI-H- CRC are identified in approximately 15% of patients and large population of MSS CRC tumor are still unresponsive to the ICT (immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy) treatment. Hence research warrants novel strategies in combination with immunotherapy to augment the efficacy of ICT therapy.
PDT in Breast cancer: Novel photosensitizers like Avidin Biotin conjugated Aza Bodipys could effectively modulate and chemosensitize triple negative breast cancer cells MDA-MB231 anf further molecular manifestation could help develop possible therapy in TNBCs
Patient samples and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models serve as exceptional tools for investigating the progression and chemoresistance in CRC. They offer valuable insights into diverse nature of tumors and their reactions to different therapies. PDX models, specifically, enable the examination of tumor development, metastasis, and response to treatment in vivo.
Selected Publications
Chandramohan K., & Nair, S. A.* (2021). STIL Endows Oncogenic and Stem-Like Attributes to Colorectal Cancer Plausibly by Shh and Wnt Signaling. Frontiers in Oncology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc. 73. Anjana Soman and Nair AS* (2022) Unfolding the cascade of SERPINA3: Inflammation to cancer Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer 1877: 5, 188760, doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022 74. Dhiraj D, Nair R, Mangalath S, Nair AS*, Joseph J, Gogoi P * and Ramaiah D (2023)."Biocompatible Aza-BODIPY-Biotin Conjugates for Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer." ACS Omega (in press) https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c02416. 75. Dutta, Dhiraj, Rajshree R. Nair, Nasib Kayastha, Asha S. Nair, and Pranjal Gogoi (2023) "Avidin triggered turn-on NIR-fluorescent aza-BODIPY-biotin self-assemblies for cancer cell imaging." New J of Chemistry (in press)
Srikanth Barkeer, Ramesh Pothuraju, Pushkar Malakar, Tatiana Colombo Pimentel, Jawed A. Siddiqui, S. Asha Nair (2024) “Gum acacia dietary fiber: Significance in immunomodulation, inflammatory diseases, and cancer” “Phytotherapy Research 38(1)