Research / Clinical Summary

Laurent Taupenot, PhD Assistant Adjunct Professor, Medicine Cancer Biology Program Contact by Email

The prohormone chromogranin A (CgA) is a member of the granin family of regulated secretory proteins distributed in secretory granules of endocrine, neuroendocrine and neuronal cells. CgA may also be detected in an array of endocrine, neuroendocrine or neuronal tumors, and that distribution generally correlates with its expression in the corresponding normal tissues.

While CgA is firmly established as a immunohistochemical and serum marker for diagnostic and prognostic of multiple neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine tumors, including pheochromocytoma, carcinoid tumors, endocrine pancreatic tumors, neuroblastoma, and prostate cancer, little is known on the effect of excessive CgA production and secretion on tumor physiology.

Dr. Taupenot's laboratory is focused on the biology and the pathobiology of CgA. Several of our previous studies regard the biochemistry of CgA and the cellular mechanisms underlying CgA gene transcription and catecholamines secretion in pheochromocytoma cells.

More recently, they have turned their attention to the mechanisms by which CgA is sorted within the secretory pathway, and modulates the formation of neuroendocrine secretory vesicles. Using novel fluorescent and chemiluminescent CgA chimeric proteins they have begun to identify and characterize determinants within the primary structure of the protein that influence sorting with the regulated (stimulus-inducible) secretory pathway and the biogenesis of secretory granules in normal and tumoral neuroendocrine cells.

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