Work done in the lab of Dr Mohit Kumar Jolly at the Centre for Biosystems Science and Engineering, IISc.
Subbalakshmi is a graduate student pursuing her PhD in Bioengineering at the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. She works with Dr. Mohit Kumar Jolly to understand the processes involved in cellular transitions during cancer progression. She is interested in understanding cellular plasticity and factors promoting cellular plasticity during cancer metastasis.
Metastasis of cancer cells and their resistance to therapy have been a major challenge, and which is why cancer is one of the leading causes of death due to non-communicable diseases. And one of the reasons for this is the ability of the cancer cells to undergo the process of epithelial mesenchymal plasticity (EMP), where they can reversibly switch between the epithelial, mesenchymal, and hybrid E/M phenotypes. And in our research we try to identify molecular factors that help the cancer cells undergo the process of EMP and also understand what factors stabilise the cells in a particular phenotype along the EMP spectrum. In this direction, the molecule E74-like factor 3 (ELF3) was identified as a factor that maintained the cell’s epithelial phenotype. Also, it inhibited the cells from undergoing the process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). It was also observed that when the cells underwent the process of EMT there was a reduction in the levels of ELF3. This was seen both in bulk and single cell data. All these observations indicate that ELF3 is a transcription factor that inhibits the cells from undergoing EMT and stabilise them in the epithelial phenotype.
Identifying molecular factors that stabilise the cancer cells in a particular phenotype along the EMP axis will help in the design of effective therapeutic strategies for cancer treatments. This can help us come up with targeted therapies to combat cancer cell metastasis and therapy resistance, which have been the major roadblocks when it comes to cancer treatment.
“ELF3 functions as a roadblock for cells undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)”
The most exciting part of the research was when we observed that the results we obtained using modelling approaches matched the results from patient data.
In future, I plan to combine multiple axes of metastasis and determine their inter-dependencies.
I got inspired to do science by observing the everyday things around me. I started to ask questions and wanted to understand them. As I progressed academically, I got fascinated by the elusiveness of cancer. I wanted to understand why it was difficult to treat cancer. On this journey I joined the lab of Dr. Jolly. He has been the one who further inspired me to continue my journey to understand cancer, even if that understanding was only a drop of water in the vast ocean of oncology.
After my post-doctoral studies, I plan on returning to India and continuing my work here to aid clinicians in better understanding and treating cancer.
Subbalakshmi AR, Sahoo S, Manjunatha P, Goyal S, Kasiviswanathan VA, Mahesh Y, Ramu S, McMullen I, Somarelli JA, Jolly MK. The ELF3 transcription factor is associated with an epithelial phenotype and represses epithelial-mesenchymal transition. J Biol Eng. 2023 Mar 2;17(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13036-023-00333-z
Ph.D. student at inStem Bangalore
Sukanya hails from a small town, kotdwara in Uttarakhand. She completed her Masters’ degree in Biotechnology from Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan. After this, she served as a graduate teacher for one year at P.G. College, Kotdwara, Uttarakhand. In 2014, she qualified for the JGEEBILS exam conducted by NCBS/TIFR and joined as a Research Scholar (Ph.D. student) in Dr. Tina Mukherjee’s lab at inStem. Currently, she continued working as a bridging post-doc in Dr. Tina Mukherjee’s lab. Besides work, she loves reading non-fiction books, enjoys gardening, and cooking delicious food.
For interview related queries, write to us at interview.biopatrika@gmail.com