Our
research interests lie in the area of breast cancer progression and
invasion. We use transgenic mouse models of spontaneous carcinoma to
understand the molecular mechanisms of primary tumor development and
metastatic progression. Tumor growth and invasion is a complex process
involving not only the transformed cells of the primary tumor, but also
contributions from blood and lymph vessels, extracellular matrix components,
cells in the surrounding tissues which provide growth factors, and distant
organs which provide hormones. All these contributing factors require
the use of animal models to accurately recapitulate tumor formation
and spread so that we can properly investigate the molecular mechanisms
of cancer.

We are specifically interested in understanding the interactions between
the erbB family of transmembrane receptors and other proteins that may
modulate their function in neoplasia. Our work focuses on investigating
the interactions between the erbB and Wnt signaling cascades, as well
as interactions between EGFR (erbB1) and the tumor antigen, MUC1. To
fully understand the molecular changes that occur in cancer, our research
also focuses on these molecules as they affect the development and function
of the normal mammary gland. Through the elucidation of these molecular
pathways as they effect breast cancer development, we can expand our
understanding of the basic biology of the disease as well as work towards
developing effective treatments.
Any link on the below references will take you off
of the BMCB site and to an abstract of that particular paper.
Pochampalli, M.R., Bejjani, R.M., and Schroeder, J.A. 2006. MUC1 is a novel regulator of erbB receptor trafficking. Oncogene in press.
Lopez, J.I., T.D. Camenisch, M.A. Stevens, B.J. Sands, J. McDonald, and J.A. Schroeder. 2005. CD44 attenuates metastatic invasion during breast cancer progression. Cancer Research 65: 6755-6763.
Schroeder, J.A., M.C. Adriance, E.J. McConnell, M.C. Thompson, B.A.
Pockaj, and S.J. Gendler. 2002. ErbB/b-catenin complexes are associated
with human infiltrating ductal breast and MMTV-Wnt-1 and MMTV-c-neu
transgenic carcinomas. Journal
of Biological Chemistry 277: 22692-22698.
Schroeder, J.A., K. Troyer, and D.C. Lee. 2000. Cooperative induction
of mammary tumorigenesis by TGFa and Wnts. Oncogene 19: 3193-3199.
Schroeder, J.A., and D.C. Lee. 1997. Transgenic mice reveal roles
for TGFa and EGF receptor in mammary gland development and neoplasia. Journal
of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia 2: 119-129.