Research

Srivastava, Rakesh, Ph.D.

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Contact: rakesh.srivastava@uthct.edu

Education:
1994, Ph.D. Endocrinology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
1990, M.S. Biochemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NF, Canada.

Research Interest:
Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in cancer; drug discovery and development of novel compounds for human diseases; chromatin modification and its effect on pathogenesis; mitochondrial functions and cellular homeostasis; cancer prevention by naturally occuring compounds.

Current Projects:

  1. Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential of TRAIL.
  2. Clinical significance of histone deacetylase inhibitors in cancer.
  3. Regulation of death receptor pathway of apoptosis by small molecular weight compounds for the treatment of human diseases.
  4. Molecular mechansims and preclinical evaluations of chemopreventive agents.
  5. Cigarette smoke and lung cancer pathogenesis.


Lay Summary:
Apoptosis is a form of cell death which occurs during both physiological and pathological conditions. It plays a major role in tissue homeostasis, removal of activated immune cells after an infection, and deletion of oncogenitically or virally transformed cells. Accordingly, disturbances in the execution and processing of apoptosis can lead to many human diseases such as cancer, HIV and neurodegenerative disorders. Apoptosis is tightly regulated by the ratio of proapoptotic and antiapoptotic proteins, deviations from normal equilibrium of these regulatory proteins are often an improtant contributing factor in tumorigenesis. Failure in the execution of apoptotic pathway by anticancer therapy may result in tumor escape.

Research Overview:
Apoptosis can be initiated by an intrinsic pathway involving mitochondrial activation or by an extrinsic pathway (death receptor pathway) through the binding of specific protein ligands to transmembrane receptors belonging to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily to death receptors. The death receptorathways plays amajor role during organ development, in the immune system, and also in tumorigenesis. Resistance to apoptosis is generally a result of constitutive or regulated expression of an array of proteins (e.g. Bcl-2 family members, death receptors, kinases, IAPs) that target these apoptotic signaling pathways. The main goals of my research are: (1) to examine the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis; (2) to develop new therapies for human diseases such as cancer; (3) to develop cancer chemopreventive agents; and (4) to examine the effects of cigarette smoke on lung pathogenesis.

Selected Papers and Abstracts: