Department Name

Vita Golubovskaya Ph.D.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Dr. Golubovskaya is interested in the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction, survival pathways and the roles of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes during carcinogenesis. Also, she is interested in the way FAK controls cellular responses to extracellular matrix integrin receptors, such as spreading, motility, survival and proliferation. Recently, findings have shown that FAK/EGFR and FAK/Src pathways control survival in cancer cell lines.
Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) gene encodes focal adhesion kinase that localizes at the contact points of cells with extracellular matrix. It was shown that FAK expression is increased in a variety of malignancies. To understand the mechanisms of FAK gene expression and regulation, we cloned and characterized the 5'regulatory region of the FAK gene. Dr. Golubovskaya is interested in performing detail analysis of p53 and other transcription factors and genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in regulation of FAK expression and activity that affects cell signaling. 

Funding:

RO-1 NIH 2005-2009 -
2-RO1-CA65910-09-13 7/1/05 6/30/10
National Cancer Institute
Focal Adhesion Kinase Tumor Biology and Therapeutics
20.00 % effort
National Cancer Institute $250,000.00

PUBLICATIONS:

1. Kuzmin I.A., Golubovskaya V.M., Aprelikova O.N. 1988. Purification and certain properties of uracil- DNA-glycosilase from the human placenta. Biochemistry (Russian), 53, 6:1002-1008.

2. Tomilin N.V., Golubovskaya V.M., Aprelikova O.N. 1989. Targetting of frameshift mismatch correction during excision repair of DNA uracil. J. Cell. Biochem., Suppl. 13 D, p. 162.

3. Aprelikova O.N., Golubovskaya V.M., Kuzmin I.A., Tomilin N.V. 1989. Changes in the size of pulse- labelled DNA fragments induced in human cells by inhibitors of uracil-DNA-glycosilase and DNA methylation. Mutation Research, 213: 135-140.

4. Golubovskaya V.M., Aprelikova O.N., Tomilin N.V. 1989. UDG-dependent correction of molecular DNA phage M13 heteroduplexes in E. coli cells. Mol. Genet. Microbiol. and Virol. (Russian) 7: 24-29.

5. Golubovskaya V.M., Presnell S.C., Hooth M. J., Smith G.J., Kaufmann W.K. 1997 Expression of telomerase in normal and malignant rat hepatic epithelia. Oncogene, 15, 1233-1240.

6. Filatov L., Golubovskaya VM, Hurt J, Byrd L and Kaufmann. 1998. Chromosomal instability is correlated with telomere erosion and inactivation of G2 checkpoint function in human fibroblasts expressing human papillomavirus type 16 E6 oncoprotein. Oncogene, 16, 1828-1838. 

7. Kaufmann WK , Behe CI, Golubovskaya VM, Byrd L, Chi-Lang Y, Smith GJ and. 2000. Defective cell cycle checkpoint function at stages of rat hepatocarcinogenesis. Carcinogenesis, 8, 1257-1269.

8. Golubovskaya VM, Filatov LV, Behe CR, Hooth MJ, Smith GJ and Kaufmann WK 1999. Telomere shortening, telomerase expression and chromosome instability in rat hepatic epithelial stem-like cells. Molecular Carcinogenesis, 24: 209-217.

9. Watson J., Hurding T., Golubovskaya VM., Hunter D., Li X, Earp HS and Haskill JS, 2000. CADTK is critical for monocyte spreading and motility. J Biol Chem. 2001 Feb 2;276(5):3536-42.

10. Golubovskaya V, Beviglia L, Xu LH, Earp HS 3rd, Craven R, Cance W. Dual inhibition of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways cooperatively induces death receptor-mediated apoptosis in human breast cancer cells. J Biol Chem. 2002 Oct 11; 277(41): 38978-87.

11. Beviglia L*, Golubovskaya VM*, (* equal contr.) Xu L, Yang X, Craven RJ, Cance WG. Focal Adhesion Kinase amino-terminus in breast carcinoma cells induces a loss of adhesion and apoptosis. 2003 Biochem J., Jul 1, 201-210.

12. Vita Golubovskaya, Steven Gross, Aparna S. Kaur, Richard Wilson, Li-Hui Xu, William G. Cance. Simultaneous Inhibition of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and Src Enhances Detachment and Apoptosis in Colon Cancer Cell Lines. Mol. Cancer Research, 2003, August 1(10), Biochem J. 755-764.

13. Park HB*, Golubovskaya VM*(* equal contr.), Xu L, Yang X, Lee JW, Scully II S, Craven RJ, Cance WG. Activated Src elevates adhesion, survival and alpha 2-integrin expression in human breast cancer cells. 2004. Biochem J. Mar 1,378(Pt 2): 559-567. 

14. Vita Golubovskaya, Aparna Kaur, and William Cance. Cloning and characterization of the promoter region of human Focal Adhesion Kinase gene: nuclear factor kappa B and p53 binding sites. 2004, BBA, 111-125.

15. 15. Smith C.S.,   Golubovskaya V.M., Peck E.,  Xu L.-H,  Monia B.P,  Yang X. and  Cance W.G.  Effect of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) down-regulation with FAK antisense oligonucleotides and 5-fluorouracil on the viability of melanoma cell lines. 2005. Melanoma Research, 5, 357-362.

16. Golubovskaya VM, Finch R, Cance WG.  Direct Interaction of the N-terminal domain of focal adhesion kinase with the N-terminal transactivation domain of p53. 2005. J Biol Chem., 280, 25008-25021.

17. Golubovskaya V. and Cance W.G. Focal Adhesion Kinase and Cancer. 2005.  Austral. As. J. of Cancer, In press.

18. Garces C.A., Kurenova EV, Golubovskaya V.M., Cance W.G. 2005. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Bind and Suppress Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells. Cancer Res., 2006, In press.

Book chapters

1.  Hochwald, S.N., Bloom, D., Golubovskaya, V., Cance W. Fundamentals of Cancer Biology and Molecular Therapeutics; in press, 2005.