Menashe Bar-Eli, Ph.D.
Department of Cancer Biology, Division of Basic Sciences
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
The focus of my laboratory is to study the molecular biology of melanoma metastasis. The molecular changes associated with the transition of melanoma cells from radial growth phase (RGP) to vertical growth phase (VGP, metastatic phenotype) are not very well defined.
We found that the highly metastatic cells do not express the transcriptional factor AP-2. Since AP-2 regulates the expression of MCAM/MUC18, c-KIT and MMP-2, and since other important genes involved in the progression of human melanoma such as E-cadherin, HER-2, VEGF, FAS/APO-1, bcl-2 and Kai-1, are also regulated by AP-2, we hypothesized that loss of AP-2 could be a “major switch” in the development of malignant melanoma. We were able to demonstrate that loss of AP-2 expression resulted in loss of c-KIT and upregulation of MUC18. Furthermore, re-introduction of AP-2 into the highly metastatic cells caused inhibition of tumor growth and significant reduction in their metastatic potential in nude mice. Using cDNA microchip, we recently identified the thrombin receptor PAR-1 to be a target for regulation by AP-2. We found that loss of AP-2 resulted in overexpression of PAR-1 in metastatic melanoma cells, which in turn contributes, to invasion and metastasis. Based on our data, we propose the notion that AP-2 serves a key regulator of melanoma metastasis. Overexpression of PAR-1 contributes to the metastatic phenotype by regulating connexin-43, Maspin, and MCAM/MUC18.
In other studies we have recently demonstrated that dominant-negative CREB can inhibit growth and metastasis of melanoma via regulation of MMP-2 and MUC18 gene expression. In addition, we also demonstrated that CREB and its associated proteins act as survival factors for human melanoma cells, thus, providing a mechanism, for the first time, on how overexpression of CREB in melanoma cells may contribute to the acquisition of the metastatic phenotype. CREB also regulates the expression of the tumor suppressor gene CYR61.
In recent studies, we found that PAF, which is secreted by cells in the tumor microenvironment, stimulates the phosphorylation and activation of CREB in metastatic melanoma cells. Based on our data on the involvement of MUC18 and IL-8 in the progression of human melanoma, we recently developed two fully humanized antibodies to target these molecules. Treatment of melanoma bearing nude mice with fully human IL-8 (ABX-IL-8) or fully human anti-MUC18 (ABX-MA1) reduced melanoma growth and inhibited their metastatic potential.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1978 | Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, ISR, PHD, Immunology |
| 1974 | Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, ISR, MS, Microbiology/Immunology |
| 1972 | Hebrew University, Jerusalem, ISR, BS, Microbiology/Physiology |
Postgraduate Training
| 1979-1981 | Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, UCLA, Los Angeles |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Co-Director, CCSG Metastasis Program, Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2008 - Present
Institutional Committee Activities
Member, AACR, TME Steering Committee, 2014 - Present
Member, Advisory Panels; External Advisory Board, Wistar Institute PO1 and Skin SPORE; Rutgers University’s Skin SPORE; Reviewer NCI NIH Skin SPORES, 2012 - Present
Member, AACR Centennial Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Chair Committee Meeting on Tumor Microenvironment, 2007 - 2012
Member, Editorial Board of Cancer Research; Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research; Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, 2007 - Present
Member, NIH Tumor Progression & Metastasis (TPM) Study Section, 2006 - 2010
Chair and Member, The Scientific Advisory Board, The Melanoma Research Foundation; Treasurer and Member, Executive Scientific Board, Metastasis Research Society, 2005 - 2008
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Shoshan E, Mobley AK, Braeuer RR, Kamiya T, Huang L, Vasquez ME, Salameh A, Lee HJ, Kim SJ, Ivan C, Velazquez-Torres G, Nip KM, Zhu K, Brooks D, Jones SJ, Birol I, Mosqueda M, Wen YY, Eterovic AK, Sood AK, Hwu P, Gershenwald JE, Robertson AG, Calin GA, Markel G, Fidler IJ, Bar-Eli M. Reduced adenosine-to-inosine miR-455-5p editing promotes melanoma growth and metastasis. Nat Cell Biol 3(311):21, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25686251.
- Braeuer RR, Watson IR, Wu CJ, Mobley AK, Kamiya T, Shoshan E, Bar-Eli M.. Why is melanoma so metastatic?. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 27(1):19-36, 2014. PMID: 24106873.
- Kamiya T, Mobley AK, Bar-Eli M.. Crossing the junction in the gap of melanoma brain metastasis. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 26(4):435-7, 2013. PMID: 23923820.
- Nemlich Y, Greenberg E, Ortenberg R, Besser MJ, Barshack I, Jacob-Hirsch J, Jacoby E, Eyal E, Rivkin L, Prieto VG, Chakravarti N, Duncan LM, Kallenberg DM, Galun E, Bennett DC, Amariglio N, Bar-Eli M, Schachter J, Rechavi G, Markel G. MicroRNA-mediated loss of ADAR1 in metastatic melanoma promotes tumor growth. J Clin Invest 123(6):2703-18, 2013. PMID: 23728176.
- Moreno-Smith M, Halder JB, Meltzer PS, Gonda TA, Mangala LS, Rupaimoole R, Lu C, Nagaraja AS, Gharpure KM, Kang Y, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Vivas-Mejia PE, Zand B, Schmandt R, Wang H, Langley RR, Jennings NB, Ivan C, Coffin JE, Armaiz GN, Bottsford-Miller J, Kim SB, Halleck MS, Hendrix MJ, Bornman W, Bar-Eli M, Lee JS, Siddik ZH, Lopez-Berestein G, Sood AK.. ATP11B mediates platinum resistance in ovarian cancer. J Clin Invest 123(5):2119-30, 2013. PMID: 23585472.
- Braeuer RR, Zigler M, Kamiya T, Dobroff AS, Huang L, Choi W, McConkey DJ, Shoshan E, Mobley AK, Song R, Raz A, Bar-Eli M.. Galectin-3 Contributes to Melanoma Growth and Metastasis via Regulation of NFAT1 and Autotaxin. Cancer Res. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22986745.
- Braeuer RR, Shoshan E, Kamiya T, Bar-Eli M. The sweet and bitter sides of galectins in melanoma progression. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res 25(5):592-601, 2012. PMID: 22672152.
- Mobley AK, Braeuer RR, Kamiya T, Shoshan E, Bar-Eli M. Driving transcriptional regulators in melanoma metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev 3:621-32, 2012. PMID: 22684365.
- Bar-Eli M. Searching for the melano-miRs:miR-214 drives melanoma metastasis. EMBO J 30(10):1880-1881, 2011. PMID: 21593728.
- Villares GJ, Zigler M, Dobroff AS, Wang H, Song R, Melnikova VO, Huang L, Braeuer RR, Bar-Eli M. Protease activated receptor-1 inhibits the Maspin tumor suppressor gene to determine the melanoma metastatic phenotype. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(2):626-31, 2011. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21187389.
- Zigler M, Villares GJ, Dobroff AS, Wang H, Melnikova OV, Huang L, Braeuer RR, Song R, Friedman R, Alani, RM, Bar-Eli M. Expression of Id-1 is regulated by MCAM/MUC18: A missing link in melanoma progression. Cancer Research 71:3494-3504, 2011. PMID: 21467165.
- Melnikova VO, Balasubramanian K, Villares GJ, Dobroff AS, Zigler M, Wang H, Petersson F, Price JE, Schroit A, Prieto VG, Hung MC, Bar-Eli M. Crosstalk between protease-activated receptor 1 and platelet-activating factor receptor regulates melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM/MUC18) expression and melanoma metastasis. J Biol Chem 284(42):28845-55, 2009. PMID: 19703903.
- Dobroff AS, Wang H, Melnikova VO, Villares GJ, Zigler M, Huang L, Bar-Eli M. Silencing cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) identifies CYR61 as a tumor suppressor gene in melanoma. J Biol Chem 284(38):26194-206, 2009. PMID: 19632997.
- Villares GJ, Zigler M, Wang H, Wu H, Melnikova VO, Friedman R, Leslie MC, Vivas-Mejias P, Lopez-Berestein G, Sood AK, Bar-Eli M. Targeting melanoma growth and metastasis with systemic delivery of liposomal incorporated PAR-1 SiRNA. Cancer Research 68:9078-9086, 2008. PMID: 18974154.
- Berger AJ, Davis DW, Tellez C, Prieto VG, Gershenwald JE, Johnson MM, Rimm DL, Bar-Eli M. Automated quantitative analysis of activator protein-2alpha subcellular expression in melanoma tissue microarrays correlates with survival prediction. Cancer Res 65(23):11185-92, 2005. PMID: 16322269.
- Nyormoi O, Wang Z, Doan D, Ruiz M, McConkey D, Bar-Eli M. Transcription factor AP-2alpha is preferentially cleaved by caspase 6 and degraded by proteasome during tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Mol Cell Biol 21(15):4856-67, 2001. PMID: 11438643.
- Jean D, Tellez C, Huang S, Davis DW, Bruns CJ, McConkey DJ, Hinrichs SH, Bar-Eli M. Inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis of human melanoma by intracellular anti-ATF-1 single chain Fv fragment. Oncogene 19(22):2721-30, 2000. PMID: 10851072.
- Jean D, Harbison M, McConkey DJ, Ronai Z, Bar-Eli M. CREB and its associated proteins act as survival factors for human melanoma cells. J Biol Chem 273(38):24884-90, 1998. PMID: 9733794.
- Huang S, Jean D, Luca M, Tainsky MA, Bar-Eli M. Loss of AP-2 results in downregulation of c-KIT and enhancement of melanoma tumorigenicity and metastasis. EMBO J 17(15):4358-69, 1998. PMID: 9687504.
Invited Articles
- Melnikova V, Bar-Eli M. Inflammation and melanoma growth and metastasis: the role of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and its receptor. Cancer Metastasis Rev 26(3-4):359-71, 2007. PMID: 17721743.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Role of Aurora A in bladder cancer metastasis |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Project Leader |
| Title: | RNA Editing and Melanoma Metastasis |
| Funding Source: | Center for Genetics and Genomics, MDACC |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | A-to-I miRs editing and melanoma metastasis |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | CCSG Cancer Biology and Metastasis Program |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Program Leader |