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David W.L. Ma, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Molecular and Cellular Biology of Lipids

The long term objective of my research program is to increase our fundamental knowledge of the role of dietary fatty acids in breast cancer which will lead to the development of new strategies to prevent and treat cancer.

 

Current research is focused on caveolae which are specialized compartments of the plasma membrane which are part of the membrane raft family. Membrane rafts have revolutionized our understanding of lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions involved in the spatial and temporal organization of many membrane bound proteins. In particular, many receptors and proteins involved signal transduction, cell growth and apoptosis are regulated through membrane rafts.

Given that lipids are important structural elements of membrane rafts, my lab is interested in studying the effect of bioactive fatty acids (i.e. omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids) as potential therapeutic agents that are able to modulate membrane raft structure and function.

We are using cell culture and transgenic mouse models to study mechanisms of action.  Research methods used in the lab include, gas chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, PCR, and microarray.

An important animal model used in my research program is the Fat-1 mouse, developed by Dr. Jing X. Kang (Harvard Medical School).  We believe this is an elegant genetic model in which to study molecular and cellular mechanisms because this novel transgenic mouse is able to endogenously synthesize omega-3 fatty acids.  This is unique because mammals lack the necessary enzymes to synthesize omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA, found in fish oil.  The Fat-1 mouse is a genetic tool that can be used to provide direct evidence for the molecular, cellular and physiological  effects of  omega-3 fatty acids.

 

Last updated: Dec 28 2011

Created August 30, 2005

Lyn Hillyer and Salma Abdelmagid present their work on omega-3s and breast cancer at the 1st Canadian Cancer Conference, Toronto, Nov 27, 2011.

Mira Maclennan wins travel award to present her research on omega-3 fatty acids and breast cancer at the International Society of Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics. Beijing, China.