Patrick Casey
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Overview
Research in this laboratory focuses on the area of transmembrane signaling mediated through guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins). Many of these signaling pathways are involved in control of cell growth; this property is highlighted by discoveries over the past decade that mutations in G proteins can lead to cell transformation. There are two major areas of research ongoing in the lab. The first is the covalent modification of G proteins by isoprenoid lipids and the role this modification, termed protein prenylation, plays in the membrane targeting and function of G proteins. Prenylation plays a crucial role oncogenic transformation by one class of G proteins, the Ras proteins. The enzymes that catalyze these modifications have been isolated and cloned and are being used to develop in vitro systems to both define the enzymes’ structures and molecular mechanisms and elucidate the role of prenylation in G protein function. The importance of this work is highlighted by the fact that several of these enzymes, most notably protein farnesyltransferase (FTase) and geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTase-1), a prenyl protein-specific protease termed Rce1, and a specific methyltransferase termed Icmt have become major targets in the development of anti-cancer therapeutics.
The second general area of research involves identification of the signaling pathways controlled by specific types of G proteins. One such protein, termed Gz, exhibits very limited tissue distribution that includes primarily neuronal and neuroendocrine cells. Gz exhibits several biochemical properties that suggest that this protein controls a unique signaling pathway, and we have recently linked Gz to control of important aspects of pancreatic beta-cell function. We have also have a program to identify molecular targets of G12 proteins. We have linked the G12 proteins to cell-surface cadherins and to activation of the GTPase Rho, and have obtained evidence that activation of G12 impacts on the cellular processes of of adhesion and migration and that aberrant activation of G12 contributes to metastatic progression of breast and prostate cancer.
Positions
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology in the School of Medicine
2002 School of Medicine
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology in the School of Medicine
1999 School of Medicine
Director of the Center for Chemical Biology in the School of Medicine
1999 School of Medicine
Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Medicine
1999 School of Medicine
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute in the School of Medicine
1990 School of Medicine
Education
Ph.D. 1987
1987 Brandeis University
Publications, Grants & Awards
- Grants (19)
- Awards (1)
- Academics Articles (195)
- Book Sections (2)
- Conference Pages (1)
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Science Foundation
American Association for the Advancement of Science, The
Breast Cancer Res
Life Science Alliance
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cancers
Oncogene
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
Plos One
Blood
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol
Curr Cancer Drug Targets
Molecular Cancer
Cancer Biol Ther
Experimental & Molecular Medicine
Mol Cell Neurosci
Journal of Molecular Signaling
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Eur J Med Chem
Cell Death & Disease
Cell Death & Disease
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cell Adh Migr
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Handbook of Cell Signaling, 2/e
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
British Journal of Pharmacology
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Journal of Chromatography. B, Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Genes & Development
Biochemistry
The Journal of Clinical Investigation
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Biochemistry
Molecular Pharmacology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Drugs of the Future
Methods in Enzymology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Molecular Cell
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Nature Reviews. Cancer
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Molecular and Cellular Neurosciences
Bmc Biochemistry
Molecular Pharmacology
Journal of Molecular Biology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Clinical Investigation
Methods in Enzymology
Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry
The Embo Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Biochemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Current Topics in Membranes
Molecular and Cellular Biology
The Biochemical Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Structure (London, England : 1993)
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Recent Progress in Hormone Research
Biochemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Biochemistry
Faseb Journal
Faseb Journal
Faseb Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Chemistry & Biology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Science (New York, N.Y.)
The Biochemical Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Faseb Journal
Faseb Journal
The Biochemical Journal
Analytical Biochemistry
Faseb Journal
Methods in Neurosciences
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cellular Signalling
Biochemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Annual Review of Biochemistry
Faseb Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Biochemistry
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Biochemical Society Transactions
Methods in Enzymology
Methods in Enzymology
Methods in Enzymology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Recent Progress in Hormone Research
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Journal of Lipid Research
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Science (New York, N.Y.)
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
European Journal of Biochemistry
Science (New York, N.Y.)
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Methods in Enzymology
The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Methods (San Diego, Calif.)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
The Biochemical Journal
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Biochemical Pharmacology
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Federation Proceedings
Handbook of Cell Signaling, Second Edition
Handbook of Cell Signaling: Volume 1-3
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology
Offices & Contact
Durham, NC
27708 Duke Box 3813
Durham, NC
27710