Katja Korelin

University of Helsinki | HY · Oral and Maxillofacial diseases

Introduction Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer with a five-year survival rate around 60%, indicating a need for new treatments. BH3 mimetics are small molecules that inhibit anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, resulting in apoptosis induction. Methods We performed a high-throughput screen using a Myogel matrix to i...

Syöpälääketutkimus etsii jatkuvasti uusia lääkkeitä, jotta suun ja nielun syöpää sairastavien potilaiden ennuste paranisi. Prekliiniset syöpälääketutkimukset ennustavat heikosti lääkkeen kliinistä hoitovastetta. Syöpäsoluja on kasvatettu muovialustalla ja lääkkeiden tehoa analysoitu solujen jakaantumisen estymisen ja apoptoosin lisääntymisen perust...

Objective Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly aggressive tumor with a 5-year mortality rate of ~ 50%. New in vitro methods are needed for testing patients’ cancer cell response to anti-cancer treatments. We aimed to investigate how the gene expression of fresh carcinoma tissue samples and freshly digested single cancer cells c...

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common cancer with a high heterogeneity and few approved treatments. OSCC is one of the least explored areas for precision oncology. In this study, we aimed to test the reliability of our three established rapid cancer systemic treatment-testing assays: human tumour-derived matrix (Myogel)-coate...

The incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is increasing and the conventional treatments for this form of cancer can be tough. Despite the success of existing immunotherapies in some HNSCC patients, many do not respond to this type of treatment. Thus, the development of novel anti-cancer therapies should be prioritized. In the c...

Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer with a high heterogeneity and few approved treatments. HNSCC is one of the least explored areas for precision oncology. In this study, we aimed to test the reliability of our three established rapid cancer systemic treatment-testing assays: human tumor-derived matrix (Myoge...

Objectives To integrate mRNA and miRNA expression profiles of mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) and normal salivary gland (NSGs) tissue samples and identify potential drivers. Material and Methods Gene and miRNA expression arrays were performed in 35 MECs and six NSGs. Results We found 46 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and 3,162 DE mRNAs. Su...

The primary treatment of breast cancer is the surgical removal of the tumor with an adequate healthy tissue margin. An intraoperative method for assessing surgical margins could optimize tumor resection. Differential ion mobility spectrometry (DMS) is applicable for tissue analysis and allows for the differentiation of malignant and benign tissues....

Head and neck cancer (HNSCC) is the 8th most common cancer globally. Despite improved therapy, the 5-year survival rate has remained stagnant, at approximately 50%. Current preclinical in vitro anticancer compound testing features a low predictive value. Traditionally, in vitro cancer cell studies are conducted on a plastic surface or using animal–...

Fascin 1 plays important pro-metastatic roles in head and neck carcinoma (HNSCC) migration, invasion, and metastasis. However, limited advancement in targeting metastasis remains a major obstacle in improving HNSCC patients’ survival. Therefore, we assessed the therapeutic potential of fascin 1 targeted inhibition and its potential prognostic value...

Conventional chemotherapeutic agents are nonselective, often resulting in severe side effects and the development of resistance. Therefore, new molecular-targeted therapies are urgently needed to be integrated into existing treatment regimens. Here, we performed a high-throughput compound screen to identify a synergistic interaction between ionizin...

Background: Tongue cancer is more common in men than in women. Yet the effects of sex steroid hormones on the behaviour of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) are not well known. Matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP8) is expressed in OTSCC and can degrade estrogen receptors (ERs). Materials and methods: Western blot was used to examine the le...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are commonly isolated from bone marrow and adipose tissue. Depending on the tissue of origin, MSCs have different characteristics and physiological effects. In various cancer studies, MSCs have been found to have either tumor-promoting or tumor-inhibiting action. This study investigated the effect of adipose tissue-MSC...

Ihmisen kohdun myoomasta valmistettu matriksi (Myogel) jäljittelee paremmin syöpäsolujen kasvuympäristöä kuin kaupallinen hiiren fibrosarkoomasta valmistettu matriksi (Matrigel) tai syöpälääkkeiden testauksessa tavanomaisesti käytetty muovialusta. Tässä tutkimuksessa osoitettiin, että ihmisen kohdun myoomasta valmistetun matriksin käyttö syöpäsoluj...

The interaction between squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a major role in cancer progression. Therefore, understanding the TME is essential for the development of cancer therapies. We used four (primary and metastatic) head and neck (HN) SCC cell lines and cultured them on top of or within 5 matrices (mo...

In vitro cancer drug testing carries a low predictive value. We developed the human leiomyoma-derived matrix "Myogel" to better mimic the human tumor microenvironment (TME). We hypothesized that Myogel could provide an appropriate microenvironment for cancer cells, thereby allowing more in vivo-relevant drug testing. We screened 19 anticancer compo...

Background: Currently, in vivo model for personalised cancer drug testing is challenging. A zebrafish larvae xenograft model has been applied in recent years to cancer research, particularly for drug testing purposes, showing promising results in drug testing against patient-derived tumour xenografts. Currently, these xenograft models apply imagin...

Objectives MEC is the most common salivary gland malignancy. Although prognosis is mostly based on TNM status, histologic grade is also used as a parameter to determine treatment. CAFs have been reported to influence worse behavior in several malignancies including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We noticed the presence of CAF-like cells, di...

Objectives Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Traditionally, cancer cell lines cultured in 2D are used to predict the efficacy of new anti-cancer compounds. However, this method has low predicting value for efficacy since more than 80% of the cancer drugs, which have promising effect in pre-clinical studi...

Objectives: Immunotherapy and personalized medicine therapeutics are emerging as promising approaches in the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In spite of that, there is yet no assay that could predict individual response to immunotherapy. Methods: We manufactured an in vitro 3D microfluidic chip to test the efficacy o...

Two-dimensional cell culture-based assays are commonly used in in vitro cancer research. However, they lack several basic elements that form the tumor microenvironment. To obtain more reliable in vitro results, several three-dimensional (3D) cell culture assays have been introduced. These assays allow cancer cells to interact with the extracellular...

The α2A-adrenoceptors (ARs) are Gi-coupled receptors, which prejunctionally inhibit the release of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (Epi), and postjunctionally insulin secretion and lipolysis. We have earlier shown that α2A-/- mice display sympathetic hyperactivity, hyperinsulinemia and improved glucose tolerance. Here we employed α2A-/- mice an...

We would like to draw to the attention of head and neck surgeons the following disease that can present first to head and neck specialists with either a head and neck lump or following an incidental finding on radiological imaging. Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary disease caused by a mutation in the APC gene on chromosome 5, whi...

Alongside cancer cells, tumours exhibit a complex stroma containing a repertoire of cells, matrix molecules and soluble factors that actively crosstalk between each other. Recognition of this multifaceted concept of the tumour microenvironment (TME) calls for authentic TME mimetics to study cancer in vitro. Traditionally, tumourigenesis has been in...

The crosstalk between immune cells, cancer cells, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by cancer cells remains poorly understood. We created three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models using human leiomyoma discs and Myogel to study the effects of immune cells on highly (HSC-3) and less (SCC-25) invasive oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTS...

A gain-of-function polymorphism in human neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene (rs16139) associates with metabolic disorders and earlier onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Similarly, mice overexpressing NPY in noradrenergic neurons (OE-NPY(DBH)) display obesity and impaired glucose metabolism. In this study, the metabolic syndrome -like phenotype was characterize...

Conclusion: Finnish head and neck cancer (HNC) patients show signs of severe malnutrition already at presentation, measured by bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). BIA may be a practical method to detect malnutrition, analyze body composition, and to identify high-risk patients in this population. Objectives: BIA is a validated method for evalu...