000-0002-9540-247XMaría Vivanco graduated from the University of the Basque Country, worked at Sandoz (Basel) and carried out her PhD thesis at EMBL (Heidelberg). After her post-doctoral studies at UCSF (San Francisco), María started her own lab at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, where she identified mammary stem/progenitor cells in the human breast. She has directed her group at CIC bioGUNE since 2005, characterising mammary stem cells and examining their role in resistance to therapy. She is currently studying cancer stem cells as new therapeutic targets. She is on the committee of the European Network for Breast Development and Cancer and has worked with breast cancer charities, including Breakthrough (UK) and Acambi (Spain).
Latest Publications
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The Cancer Heterogeneity Lab seeks to understand tumor heterogeneity and use this knowledge to deliver new approaches to treatment of patients. Breast cancer is a particularly heterogeneous disease. The identification and characterization of cells with stem-like properties (cancer stem/progenitor cells, CSCs) in breast cancer has opened new possibilities for anti-cancer therapies. Furthermore, CSCs have been implicated in tumor initiation and resistance to current treatments, including hormone therapy. In addition, characterization of the regulation of normal epithelial cell differentiation is fundamental to understanding breast cancer heterogeneity.
A major objective of the laboratory is to gain further insight into the roles of steroid hormone receptors in normal breast tissue and during breast cancer development. Thus, the influences of hormones, other signaling factors and the microenvironment on breast stem cells and on their transformation into cancer initiating cells are being explored, particularly focusing on their effects during development of resistance to hormone therapy. Recent work from the lab has revealed the role of CSCs in resistance to tamoxifen and has highlighted the molecular heterogeneity observed in response to the cell environment. Presently, studies are in progress to improve further our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms regulating stem and cancer stem cells with the final aims of (1) identifying biomarkers of resistance to therapy and (2) progressing our understanding of breast cancer biology. Recent studies have focused on the transcription factors SOX2 and SOX9, which play key roles in CSCs in many tumor types.
The group also maintains a strong interest in secreted factors whose expression is altered in metastatic and treatment-resistant disease, such as Wnt-11, which is found upregulated in prostate and colorectal cancers. We identified FZD8 as a major Wnt-11 receptor in prostate cancer that integrates Wnt and TGF-beta signals and we have developed Wnt-11 function-blocking antibody nanoparticles, in collaboration with A. Cortajarena at CIC biomaGUNE. In addition, we study Dkk-3, which regulates the tumor microenvironment. We have identified Dkk-3 effectors and are using epigenetic approaches to restore Dkk-3 levels expression in cancer, in collaboration with colleagues at Imperial College London.
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Associate Principal Investigator
Robert Kypta
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Isabel Gris Cardenas
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Miriam Rábano
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Saray Sánchez
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Julia San Millan
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Irantzu Gorroño
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Martín Parga Pazos
Members
Latest Publications
SOX11 promotes epithelial/mesenchymal hybrid state and alters tropism of invasive breast cancer cells
Oliemuller, E;Newman, R;Tsang, SM;Foe, S;Muirhead, G;Noor, F;Haider, S;Aurrekoetxea-Rodriguez, I;Vivanco, MD;Howard, BA
ELIFE
2020-09-10
OMTX705, a Novel FAP-Targeting ADC Demonstrates Activity in Chemotherapy and Pembrolizumab-Resistant Solid Tumor Models
Fabre, M;Ferrer, C;Dominguez-Hormaetxe, S;Bockorny, B;Murias, L;Seifert, O;Eisler, SA;Kontermann, RE;Pfizenmaier, K;Lee, SY;Vivanco, MD;Lopez-Casas, PP;Perea, S;Abbas, M;Richter, W;Simon, L;Hidalgo, ...
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
2020-07-01
The Major Pre- and Postmenopausal Estrogens Play Opposing Roles in Obesity-Driven Mammary Inflammation and Breast Cancer Development
Qureshi, R;Picon-Ruiz, M;Aurrekoetxea-Rodriguez, I;de Paiva, VN;D'Amico, M;Yoon, H;Radhakrishnan, R;Morata-Tarifa, C;Ince, T;Lippman, ME;Thaller, SR;Rodgers, SE;Kesmodel, S;Vivanco, MD;Slingerland, ...
CELL METABOLISM
2020-06-02
Single-Cell Probe Force Studies to Identify Sox2 Overexpression-Promoted Cell Adhesion in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells
Iturri, J;Weber, A;Vivanco, MD;Toca-Herrera, JL
CELLS
2020-04-01
Targeting PML in triple negative breast cancer elicits growth suppression and senescence
Arreal, L;Piva, M;Fernandez, S;Revandkar, A;Clerigue, AS;Villanueva, J;Zabala-Letona, A;Pujana, M;Astobiza, I;Cortazar, AR;Hermanova, I;Bozal-Basterra, L;Arruabarrena-Aristorena, A;Crespo, JR;Valcarcel-Jimenez, ...
Cell death and differentiation
2019-10-01
Resveratrol-Induced Temporal Variation in the Mechanical Properties of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells Investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy
Iturri, J;Weber, A;Moreno-Cencerrado, A;Vivanco, MD;Benitez, R;Leporatti, S;Toca-Herrera, JL
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
2019-07-01
Wnt-11 as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Colorectal Cancer
Gorrono-Etxebarria, I;Aguirre, U;Sanchez, S;Gonzalez, N;Escobar, A;Zabalza, I;Quintana, JM;Vivanco, MD;Waxman, J;Kypta, RM
CANCERS
2019-06-26
Chitosan nanogels as nanocarriers of polyoxometalates for breast cancer therapies
Perez-Alvarez, L;Ruiz-Rubio, L;Artetxe, B;Vivanco, MDM;Gutierrez-Zorrilla, JM;Vilas-Vilela, JL
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
2019-06-01
The Tumor Suppressor ING5 Is a Dimeric, Bivalent Recognition Molecule of the Histone H3K4me3 Mark
Ormaza, G;Rodriguez, JA;de Opakua, AI;Merino, N;Villate, M;Gorrono, I;Rabano, M;Palmero, I;Vilaseca, M;Kypta, R;Vivanco, MDM;Rojas, AL;Blanco, FJ
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
2019-05-31
A Sox2-Sox9 signalling axis maintains human breast luminal progenitor and breast cancer stem cells
Domenici, G;Aurrekoetxea-Rodriguez, I;Simoes, BM;Rabano, M;Lee, SY;San Millan, J;Comaills, V;Oliemuller, E;Lopez-Ruiz, JA;Zabalza, I;Howard, BA;Kypta, RM;Vivanco, MD
Oncogene
2019-04-25