Program Co-leader, Women's Cancer Research Program
Professor, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology
Tickle Family Land Grant Endowed Chair in Breast Cancer Research

lange047@umn.edu
612-626-0621 — office
612-624-1971 — lab
Preferred method of contact: e-mail

Dr. Lange is co-leader of the Masonic Cancer Center's Women's Cancer Research Program and holds the Tickle Family Land Grant Endowed Chair in Breast Cancer Research. She is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lange received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy in 1991. She holds memberships in The Endocrine Society (Full Member) and Women in Endocrinology. Dr. Lange serves as teaching faculty in the Department of Pharmacology Graduate Program, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology Graduate Program and MD/PhD Combined Training Program, where she also serves on the steering committee. She has served on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) Study Sections including Biochemical Endocrinology and Metabolic Physiology. Dr. Lange is a current and charter member of the NIH Molecular Oncogenesis Study Section.

Research Interests

Signal Transduction in Breast Cancer: Dr. Lange's laboratory is focused on the study of cross-talk between peptide growth factors and steroid hormone receptors in human breast cancer cells. The ovarian steroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone, as well as growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase-initiated signaling pathways are required for normal breast development, and these pathways also interact to influence breast tumorigenesis and breast cancer progression. Ongoing research projects in the laboratory include the study of the role of protein tyrosine kinases and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades in human breast cancer cell proliferation and survival, and their contribution to mechanisms of steroid hormone resistance in human breast cancer. In order to study problems in breast cancer cell biology, techniques in signal transduction, endocrinology, protein biochemistry and molecular biology are employed. Understanding the role of signaling cross-talk in cell growth control will provide useful information for the development of better strategies for the treatment of breast and other hormonally influenced and/or epithelial cell-derived cancers.

Selected Publications

Pierson-Mullany, L. and Lange, C.A. Phosphorylation of progesterone receptor serine 400 mediates ligand-independent transcriptional activity in response to activation of cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2). Mol Cell Biol. 2004;24:10542-10557.

Faivre, E., Skildum, A., Pierson-Mullany L., and Lange, CA. Integration of progesterone receptor-mediated rapid signaling and nuclear actions in breast cancer Mmodels: Role of Mmitogen-activated protein kinases and cell cycle regulators. Steroids 2005;70:418-426.

Skildum A., Faivre, E., and Lange C.A. Progesterone receptors induce cell cycle progression via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Mol Endo. 2005;19:327-339.

Watson, C.S. and Lange, C.A. Steadying the boat — integrating mechanisms of membrane and nuclear steroid receptor signalling. EMBO Reports 2005;6:116-119.

Zhang, P., Hanson, J., Faivre, E., Olsen, A., Fitsimmons, D., and Lange, C.A. Regulated association of Akt/PKB with Bbreast tumor kinase (Brk). J Biol Chem.2005;280:1982-1991.

Leslie K.K., Lange C.A. Breast cancer and pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2005;32:547-58. Review.

Daniel, A.R., Qiu, M., Faivre, E.J., Hanson-Ostrander, J., Skildum, A., Lange, C.A. Linkage of Progestin and Epidermal Growth Factor Signaling: Phosphorylation of Human Progesterone Receptors Mediates Transcriptional Hypersensitivity and Increased Ligand-Independent Breast Cancer Cell Growth. Steroids. 72(2): 188-201, 2007.

Faivre, E. and Lange, C.A. Progesterone Receptors Upregulate Wnt-1 to Induce EGFR Transactivation and c-Src-depedenent Sustained Activation of ERK1/2 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Breast Cancer Cells. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27(2); 466-480, 2007 (Epub 2006).

Hanson Ostrander, J., Daniel A.R., Lofgren, K., and Lange, C.A. Breast Tumor Kinase (Brk/PTK6) Regulates Heregulin-induced ERK5 and p38 MAP Kinases in breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 67 (9); 4199-4209, 2007.

Lange, C.A., Gioeli, D., Hammes, S.. and Marker, P. Integration of Rapid Signaling Events with Steroid Hormone Receptor Action: Role of Progesterone and Androgen Receptor Cross-talk with Signaling Pathways in Breast and Prostate Cancer Models. Ann. Rev. Physiol. 2007, In Press (Review).

Daniel, A.R., Faivre, E.J., and Lange, C.A. Phosphorylation-Dependent Antagonism of Sumoylation De-represses Progesterone Receptor Action in Breast Cancer Cells. Molecular Endocrinology, 21(12): 2890-2906, 2007

Faivre EJ, Daniel AR, Hillard CJ, Lange CA. Progesterone receptor rapid signaling mediates serine 345 phosphorylation and tethering to specificity protein 1 transcription factors. Mol Endocrinol. 2008 Apr;22(4):823-37. Epub 2008 Jan 17.

Lange CA. Challenges to defining a role for progesterone in breast cancer. Steroids. 2008 Oct;73(9-10):914-21. Epub 2007 Dec 28.

Lange CA. Integration of progesterone receptor action with rapid signaling events in breast cancer models. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2008 Feb;108(3-5):203-12. Epub 2007 Sep 14. Review.