Dr. Sebastiano Gattoni-Celli, M.D., is a Professor of Radiation Oncology and Microbiology & Immunology. He has two main research foci:
cancer vaccines and prostate cancer
proteomics.
The central hypothesis of this research effort is that specific molecular factors or biomarkers underlie the different natural
history of prostate cancer (PCa) in African-Americans compared to Caucasians and that a differential proteomic approach is key to
identifying those factors or biomarkers. Frozen PCa tissue specimens, obtained from African-American males and Caucasians (used as
controls), stored in the Medical University of South Carolina Tumor Bank are being utilized for these studies. Homogeneous cell
populations are derived from each frozen specimen through laser capture microdissection, which has greatly improved the specificity
of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). 2D-PAGE in conjunction with matrix-assisted laser desorption
ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) fingerprinting will be utilized to identify membrane and cytoplasmic
proteins. The long-term goal of this research effort is to establish clinical (phospho)proteomics as a resource for the
investigation of altered signaling molecules in the pathogenesis of PCa as well as the identification of potential new targets for
treatment of PCa in African-American men.
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