Collene R. Jeter, Ph.D.
Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Jeter
Dr. Jeter has ~15 years of experience performing detailed cell and molecular analyses of normal and tumor tissues contributing to our understanding of molecular oncogenesis. Her lab dissected the mechanisms underlying NANOG-mediated oncogenesis and prostate cancer progression to castration resistance. Other ongoing collaborative research includes studies of DNA damage repair, protein subcellular localization and dynamics, cancer cell metastasis and cell-fate specification. Her independent research aiming to ascertain how attributes of stem cells fuel tumorigenesis largely centered on confocal microscopy. Advanced confocal includes volumetric high-resolution multispectral imaging, protein-protein interaction assays, super-resolution imaging, biological phenotyping and time-lapse imaging. The recent addition of a Leica TCS SP8 DIVE multiphoton microscope has permitted the development of 3D volumetric and intravital imaging. Dr. Jeter currently manages the EMC departmental LSM880 laser scanning confocal and multiphoton microscopes and serves as Co-Director of the Science Park Flow Cytometry and Cell Imaging Core, trains all departmental users and continues to develop advanced confocal, multiphoton and supportive wet lab capabilities at her facility. User training, protocol development and collaborative confocal imaging requests are welcome.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX
Research Interests
Dr. Jeter's research aims to illuminate tumor heterogeneity and the stem cell attributes of cancer cells. Potentially encompassing both the cancer cell-of-origin and oncogenic reprogramming they apply laser scanning confocal microscopy to investigate neoplastic stem-like cells in situ and NextGen Sequencing to query gene expression profiles of purified candidate CSCs ex vivo. Using these cutting-edge methods, the pluripotency factor NANOG convergence on the master transcription factors AR and FOXA1 (Jeter et al., 2016) was recently discovered to underlie NANOG-mediated prostate cancer castration-resistance phenotypes and gene signatures (Jeter et al., 2011). Fluorescence-tagged transgenic mouse models are also being applied to query tumor development and cancer origins via confocal and RNA-Seq transcriptome profiling, such as a novel prostate-specific dox-repressible H2B-GFP label-retaining cell system utilized to characterize a luminal stem/progenitor cell implicated in prostate homeostasis and prostate cancer. Currently they are working to establish methods to interrogate cancer stem cell reprogramming of the bone marrow niche, an event that may presage or augment bone metastases. Other interests include: 3D reconstructions and imaging of thicker tissue/tumor specimens, time-lapse imaging and lineage tracing, molecular mechanisms of DNA damage repair, and protein proximity and dynamics (e.g., FRET/FRAP). As director of Cell Imaging (part of our Flow Cytometry and Cell Imaging Core) at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park, collaborative investigations in any of these imaging areas are welcome.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2004 | The University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA, PHD, Molecular and Cellular Biology |
| 1993 | The University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA, BS, Molecular Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2004-2009 | Research Fellowship, Molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis and cancer cell biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, TX |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Basu S, Dong Y, Kumar R, Jeter CR, Tang DG. Slow-cycling (dormant) cancer cells in therapy resistance, cancer relapse and metastasis. Semin Cancer Biol S1044-579X(21):90-103, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33979674.
- Li Q, Liu B, Chao HP, Ji Y, Lu Y, Mehmood R, Jeter CR, Chen T, Moore JR, Li W, Liu C, Rycaj K, Tracz A, Kirk J, Calhoun-Davis T, Xiong J, Deng Q, Huang J, Foster BA, Gokhale A, Chen X, Tang DG. LRIG1 is a pleiotropic androgen receptor-regulated feedback tumor suppressor in prostate cancer. Nat Commun 10(1):5494, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31792211.
- Koutelou E, Wang L, Schibler AC, Chao HP, Kuang X, Lin K, Lu Y, Shen J, Jeter CR, Salinger A, Wilson M, Chen YC, Atanassov BS, Tang DG, Dent SYR. USP22 controls multiple signaling pathways that are essential for vasculature formation in the mouse placenta. Development 146(4), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30718289.
- Li Q, Deng Q, Chao HP, Liu X, Lu Y, Lin K, Liu B, Tang GW, Zhang D, Tracz A, Jeter CR, Rycaj K, Calhoun-Davis T, Huang J, Rubin MA, Beltran H, Shen J, Chatta G, Puzanov I, Mohler JL, Wang J, Zhao R, Kirk J, Chen X, Tang DG. Linking prostate cancer cell AR heterogeneity to distinct castration and enzalutamide responses. Nat Commun 9(1):3600, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30190514.
- Wang L, Koutelou E, Hirsch C, McCarthy R, Schibler A, Lin K, Lu Y, Jeter CR, Shen J, Barton MC, Dent SYR. GCN5 Regulates FGF Signaling and Activates Selective MYC Target Genes during Early Embryoid Body Differentiation. Stem Cell Reports 10(1):287-299, 2018. e-Pub 2017.
- Zhang D, Jeter CR, Gong S, Tracz A, Lu Y, Shen J, Tang DG. Histone 2B-GFP Label-Retaining Prostate Luminal Cells Possess Progenitor Cell Properties and Are Intrinsically Resistant to Castration. Stem Cell Reports 10(1):228-242, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29276153.
- Liu B, Gong S, Li Q, Chen X, Moore J, Suraneni MV, Badeaux MD, Jeter, CR, Shen J, Mehmood R, Fan Q, Tang DG. Transgenic overexpression of NanogP8 in the mouse prostate is insufficient to initiate tumorigenesis but weakly promotes tumor development in the Hi-Myc mouse model. Oncotarget 8(32):52746-60, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Jeter CR, Liu B, Lu Y, Chao HP, Zhang D, Liu X, Chen X, Li Q, Rycaj K, Calhoun-Davis T, Yan L, Hu Q, Wang J, Shen J, Liu S, Tang DG. NANOG reprograms prostate cancer cells to castration resistance via dynamically repressing and engaging the AR/FOXA1 signaling axis. Cell Disc 2:16041, 2016.
- Chen X, Li Q, Liu X, Liu C, Liu R, Rycaj K, Zhang D, Liu B, Jeter CR, Calhoun-Davis T, Lin K, Lu Y, Chao HP, Shen J, Tang DG. Defining a population of stem-like human prostate cancer cells that can generate and propagate castration-resistant prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res 22(17):4505-16, 2016.
- Liu X, Chen X, Rycaj K, Chao HP, Deng Q, Jeter CR, Liu C, Honorio S, Li H, Davis T, Suraneni M, Laffin B, Qin J, Li Q, Yang T, Whitney P, Shen J, Huang J, Tang DG. Systematic dissection of phenotypic, functional, and tumorigenic heterogeneity of human prostate cancer cells. Oncotarget 6(27):23959-86, 2015.
- Ferguson BW, Gao X, Zelazowski MJ, Lee J, Jeter CR, Abba MC, Aldaz CM,. The cancer gene WWOX behaves as an inhibitor of SMAD3 transcriptional activity via direct binding. BMC Cancer 13:593, 2013.
- Badeaux MA, Jeter CR, Gong S, Liu B, Suraneni MV, Rundhaug J, Fischer SM, Yang T, Kusewitt D, Tang DG. In vivo functional studies of tumor-specific retrogene NanogP8 in transgenic animals. Cell Cycle 12(15):2395-408, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23839044.
- Qin J, Liu X, Laffin B, Chen X, Choy G, Jeter CR, Calhoun-Davis T, Li H, Palapattu GS, Pang S, Lin K, Huang J, Ivanov I, Li W, Suraneni MV, Tang DG. The PSA(-/lo) prostate cancer cell population harbors self-renewing long-term tumor-propagating cells that resist castration. Cell Stem Cell 10(5):556-69, 2012. PMID: 22560078.
- Jeter CR, Liu B, Liu X, Chen X, Liu C, Calhoun-Davis T, Repass J, Zaehres H, Shen JJ, Tang DG. NANOG promotes cancer stem cell characteristics and prostate cancer resistance to androgen deprivation. Oncogene 30(36):3833-3845, 2011.
- Liu C, Kelnar K, Liu B, Chen X, Calhoun-Davis T, Li H, Patrawala L, Yan H, Jeter CR, Honorio S, Wiggins JF, Bader AG, Fagin R, Brown D, Tang DG. The microRNA miR-34a inhibits prostate cancer stem cells and metastasis by directly repressing CD44. Nat Med 17(2):211-5, 2011.
- Jeter CR, Badeaux M, Choy G, Chandra D, Patrawala L, Liu C, Calhoun-Davis T, Zaehres H, Daley GQ, Tang DG. Functional evidence that the self-renewal gene NANOG regulates human tumor development. Stem Cells 27(5):993-1005, 2009. PMID: 19415763.
Invited Articles
- Gong S, Li Q, Jeter CR, Fan Q, Tang DG, Liu B. Regulation of NANOG in cancer cells. Mol Carcinog 54(9):679-87, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26013997.
- Jeter CR, Yang T, Wang J, Chao HP, Tang DG. Concise Review: NANOG in Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Development: An Update and Outstanding Questions. Stem Cells 33(8):2381-90, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25821200.
- Tang DG, Patrawala L, Calhoun T, Bhatia B, Choy G, Schneider-Broussard R, Jeter CR. Prostate cancer stem/progenitor cells: identification, characterization, and implications. Mol Carcinog 46(1):1-14, 2007. PMID: 16921491.
Book Chapters
- Jeter, CR. Investigating the Role of the Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal Gene NANOG in Neoplastic Processes. In: Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells. Springer: New York, 2013.
- Jeter, CR and Tang, DG. Prostate Tissue Stem Cells and Prostate Cancer Progression. In: Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine. Wiley-VCH, 2012.
- Jeter CR, Tang DG. Prostate cancer stem cells. In: Cancer Stem Cells. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | A Novel Strategy to Isolate Live Label-Retaining Cells from Prostate Tumors |
| Funding Source: | The American Urological Association Research Foundation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | A Novel Transgenic Mouse Model to Study the Impact of Environmental Xenoestrogens on Slow-Cycling Prostate Stem Cell Susceptibility to Transformation |
| Funding Source: | NIEHS/CRED |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Molecular Oncogenesis of NANOG in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Science Park Flow Cytometry and Cell Imaging Core |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Defining USP22 Functions During Mammalian Development |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NICHD |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified February 01, 2024