Department of Biological Sciences: Leading the way to Prominence

Krishna Sarker, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Sarker

Phone: (302) 831-1224
Fax: (302) 831-2281
Email: kpsarker@udel.edu
Office: 256 Wolf Hall

Address:
Department of Biological Sciences
Wolf Hall
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716

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Education

B.Sc., M.Sc., M.Phil. - Rajshahi University (Bangladesh)
Ph.D., Postdoctoral - Kagoshima University School of Medicine (Japan)
Postdoctoral - University of Calgary (Canada)

Research Interests

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death of all mankind. Cancer cells not only display uncontrolled proliferation, but also develop the ability to migrate from their original site to other organs in the body. This event is known as metastasis, the hallmark of malignant cancers. During metastasis, cancer cells break numerous barriers to travel through the body’s circulatory system and invade other organs to form secondary tumors. Therefore, it is important to understand, the underlying mechanism of cancer metastasis to find a cure for cancer. Integrins, membrane protein receptors for extracellular matrix proteins, have been implicated in cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. In addition, focal adhesion kianse (FAK) has been shown to be pivotal for cell adhesion and migration. However, the involvement of effector molecules which lie in the integrin and FAK mediated signaling pathway is largely unknown. Our lab recently discovered an ubiquitously expressed calcium and integrin-binding protein 1 (CIB1) which interacts with a number of cellular proteins, including platelet specific integrin αIIbβ3. Further, CIB1 also interacts and co-localizes with FAK at the membraneous extensions and has been implicated in cell spreading and migration. The role of CIB1 in a pathophysiological condition such as cancer remains to be elucidated. Overexpression of CIB1 in CHO cells, showed increased cell migration on collagen matrix. I am interested in investigating:

the role of CIB1 in cancer cell invasion leading to metastasis,
the signaling pathways that CIB1 regulate in order to dictate the invasive behavior of breast cancer cells.

Selected Publications

Sarker KP, Kataoka H, Chan A, et al. ING2 as a novel mediator of transforming growth factor-beta-dependent responses in epithelial cells. J Biol Chem. 2008;283(19):13269–13279.
Rosales JL, Sarker K, Ho N, et al. ODF1 phosphorylation by Cdk5/p35 enhances ODF1-OIP1 interaction. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2007;20(5):311–318.
Biswas KK, Tancharoen S, Sarker KP, Kawahara K-ichi, Hashiguchi T, Maruyama I. Cepharanthine triggers apoptosis in a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HuH-7) through the activation of JNK1/2 and the downregulation of Akt. FEBS Lett. 2006;580(2):703–710.
Hsu Y-HR, Sarker KP, Pot I, Chan A, Netherton SJ, Bonni S. Sumoylated SnoN represses transcription in a promoter-specific manner. J Biol Chem. 2006;281(44):33008–33018.
Sarker KP, Wilson SM, Bonni S. SnoN is a cell type-specific mediator of transforming growth factor-beta responses. J Biol Chem. 2005;280(13):13037–13046.
Tancharoen S, Sarker KP, Imamura T, et al. Neuropeptide release from dental pulp cells by RgpB via proteinase-activated receptor-2 signaling. J Immunol. 2005;174(9):5796–5804.
Rosales JL, Lee B-C, Modarressi M, et al. Outer dense fibers serve as a functional target for Cdk5.p35 in the developing sperm tail. J Biol Chem. 2004;279(2):1224–1232.
Sarker KP, Lee K-Y. L6 myoblast differentiation is modulated by Cdk5 via the PI3K-AKT-p70S6K signaling pathway. Oncogene. 2004;23(36):6064–6070.
Arisato T, Hashiguchi T, Sarker KP, et al. Highly accumulated platelet vascular endothelial growth factor in coagulant thrombotic region. J Thromb Haemost. 2003;1(12):2589–2593.
Arisato T, Sarker KP, Kawahara K, et al. The agonist of the protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR) but not PAR3 mimics thrombin-induced vascular endothelial growth factor release in human smooth muscle cells. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2003;60(8):1716–1724.
Biswas KK, Sarker KP, Abeyama K, et al. Membrane cholesterol but not putative receptors mediates anandamide-induced hepatocyte apoptosis. Hepatology. 2003;38(5):1167–1177.
Sarker KP, Maruyama I. Anandamide induces cell death independently of cannabinoid receptors or vanilloid receptor 1: possible involvement of lipid rafts. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2003;60(6):1200–1208.
Sarker KP, Biswas KK, Rosales JL, et al. Ebselen inhibits NO-induced apoptosis of differentiated PC12 cells via inhibition of ASK1-p38 MAPK-p53 and JNK signaling and activation of p44/42 MAPK and Bcl-2. J Neurochem. 2003;87(6):1345–1353.
Sarker KP, Biswas KK, Yamakuchi M, et al. ASK1-p38 MAPK/JNK signaling cascade mediates anandamide-induced PC12 cell death. J Neurochem. 2003;85(1):50–61.
Yamaji K, Sarker KP, Kawahara K, et al. Anandamide induces apoptosis in human endothelial cells: its regulation system and clinical implications. Thromb Haemost. 2003;89(5):875–884.
Yamahata H, Takeshima H, Kuratsu J-I, et al. The role of thrombin in the neo-vascularization of malignant gliomas: an intrinsic modulator for the up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor. Int J Oncol. 2002;20(5):921–928.
Yokoyama S, Hirano H, Wakimaru N, Sarker KP, Kuratsu J. Inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin-gallate on brain tumor cell lines in vitro. Neuro Oncol. 2001;3(1):22–28.
Sarker KP, Nakata M, Kitajima I, Nakajima T, Maruyama I. Inhibition of caspase-3 activation by SB 203580, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor in nitric oxide-induced apoptosis of PC-12 cells. J Mol Neurosci. 2000;15(3):243–250.
Sarker KP, Obara S, Nakata M, Kitajima I, Maruyama I. Anandamide induces apoptosis of PC-12 cells: involvement of superoxide and caspase-3. FEBS Lett. 2000;472(1):39–44.
Wang Y, Liu Y, Sarker KP, et al. Polymyxin B binds to anandamide and inhibits its cytotoxic effect. FEBS Lett. 2000;470(2):151–155.
Sarker KP, Abeyama K, Nishi J, et al. Inhibition of thrombin-induced neuronal cell death by recombinant thrombomodulin and E5510, a synthetic thrombin receptor signaling inhibitor. Thromb Haemost. 1999;82(3):1071–1077.