Main focus
Oral cancer is a devastating disease with poor survival (5-years disease-specific survival is about 60%) and high mortality. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for >90% of oral cancer cases. OSCC progression depends on a vivid crosstalk between the carcinoma cells and the non-neoplastic tumour stroma.
To increase our understanding of OSCC development and progression, studies on how OSCC cells modify normal cells in their tumour microenvironment and how this modification can drive normal cells towards a cancer-supportive phenotype are needed. Such studies are expected to lead to the identification of molecules for example miRNAs and proteins that can be used as future biomarkers for earlier detection and prognostic prediction in oral cancer. These biomarkers may also aid in improving treatment approaches and establishing follow-up routines to reduce the risk for tumour recurrence.
The main research interest of our group is to investigate how miRNAs and proteins in extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from OSCC cells can influence morphology, function, and phenotype of various other oral cells. Our approach is a significant improvement of today’s research on OSCC biomarkers, that often does not include investigation of tumour-host interactions.
About the group
OPCG consists of researchers, post-doctoral fellows, PhD candidates, master, bachelor, research line students and bioengineers who are involved in various aspects of basic and translational oral cancer (OC) research at the Department Institute of Oral Biology, University of Oslo. The group has expertise in the following laboratory methods/models:
- Profiling of mRNA, miRNA, protein from cells and tissue specimens.
- In vitro (monolayer and 3D organotypic co-culture) and in vivo (mouse and rat) models of oral carcinogenesis.
- Extracellular vesicle isolation, characterization and functionality.
- Molecular profiling (immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization) of fixed/frozen specimens of human oral cancer mucosa.
- Functional assays of carcinogenesis (cell proliferation, apoptosis assay, migration and invasion assays, etc).
- Models for microbiome induced carcinogenesis.
- Electrophysiology and intracellular Ca2+ signaling.
- Murine model of irradiation-induced early and late side effects.