Research Programs: Carcinogenesis & Chemoprevention
Professor; Section Leader, Cancer Biology: University of Minnesota Hormel Institute

jlu@hi.umn.edu
507-437-9680 — office
507-437-9681 — lab

Dr. Lu received his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition in 1988 from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He conducted postdoctoral training at Cornell in Nutritional Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology. He was an assistant professor (1992-1999) and associate professor (1999-2002) at the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver before coming in 2002 to the University of Minnesota Hormel Institute, where he is a professor and leader of the Cancer Biology Research Section.

Research Interests

Cancer is a complex host of diseases characterized by multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations. Our long-term goals are to understand the biochemical, cellular, and molecular processes crucial for the genesis of cancer and to develop mechanism-based cancer prevention and therapeutic strategies for implementation through supplements, functional and medicinal foods, or drug approaches. Our research projects are focused on the following two areas:

• sustaining our research excellence in selenium and cancer chemoprevention
• developing a research program for identification and development of novel cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic agents based on Chinese and Oriental medicinal herbs

In terms of the biological processes, our research work involves apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, angiogenesis, protein kinase signal transduction pathways, and steroid hormone function in prostate and breast cancer.

Selected Publications

Li GX, Hu H, Jiang C, Schuster T, Lu J. Differential involvement of reactive oxygen species in apoptosis induced by two classes of selenium compounds in human prostate cancer cells. Int J Cancer. 2007 May 1;120(9):2034-43.

Guo J, Jiang C, Wang Z, Lee HJ, Hu H, Malewicz B, Lee HJ, Lee JH, Baek NI, Jeong JH, Kim DK, Kang KS, Kim SH, Lu J. A novel class of pyranocoumarin anti-androgen receptor signaling compounds. Mol Cancer Ther. 2007 Mar;6(3):907-17.

Lee HJ, Lee HJ, Song GY, Li G, Lee JH, Lu J, Kim SH. 6-(1-Oxobutyl)-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone inhibits lewis lung cancer by antiangiogenesis and apoptosis. Int J Cancer. 2007 Jun 1;120(11):2481-90.

Jiang C, Lee HJ, Li GX, Guo J, Malewicz B, Zhao Y, Lee EO, Lee HJ, Lee JH, Kim MS, Kim SH, Lu J. Potent antiandrogen and androgen receptor activities of an Angelica gigas-containing herbal formulation: identification of decursin as a novel and active compound with implications for prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. Cancer Res. 2006 Jan 1;66(1):453-63.

Malewicz B, Wang Z, Jiang C, Guo J, Cleary MP, Grande JP, Lu J. Enhancement of mammary carcinogenesis in two rodent models by silymarin dietary supplements. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Sep;27(9):1739-47. Epub 2006 Apr 5.

Hu H, Jiang C, Schuster T, Li GX, Daniel PT, Lu J. Inorganic selenium sensitizes prostate cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis through superoxide/p53/Bax-mediated activation of mitochondrial pathway. Mol Cancer Ther. 2006 Jul;5(7):1873-82.

Lee HJ, Lee EO, Rhee YH, Ahn KS, Li GX, Jiang C, Lu J, Kim SH. An oriental herbal cocktail, ka-mi-kae-kyuk-tang, exerts anti-cancer activities by targeting angiogenesis, apoptosis and metastasis. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Jun 15; [Epub ahead of print]

Lee EO, Lee HJ, Hwang HS, Ahn KS, Chae C, Kang KS, Lu J, Kim SH. Potent inhibition of Lewis lung cancer growth by heyneanol A from the roots of Vitis amurensis through apoptotic and anti-angiogenic activities. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Oct;27(10):2059-69. Epub 2006 May 4.

Junming Guo, Cheng Jiang, Zhe Wang, Barbara Malewicz, Hyo-Jeong Lee, Hongbo Hu, Nam-In Baek, Kyung-Sun Kang, Sung-Hoon Kim and Junxuan Lu. A novel class of pyranocoumarin anti-androgen receptor signaling compounds. 2006 Mol Cancer Thereap. accepted

Lu J, Jiang C. Selenium and cancer chemoprevention: hypotheses integrating the actions of selenoproteins and selenium metabolites in epithelial and non-epithelial target cells. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2005 Nov-Dec;7(11-12): 1715-1727. Invited review.

Cho SD, Li G, Hu H, Jiang C, Kang KS, Lee YS, Kim SH, Lu J. Involvement of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in G2/M arrest and caspase-mediated apoptosis induced by sulforaphane in DU145 prostate cancer cells. Nutr Cancer. 2005;52(2):213-24.

Hu H, Jiang C, Li G, Lu J. PKB/AKT and ERK regulation of caspase-mediated apoptosis by methylseleninic acid in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Carcinogenesis. 2005 Aug;26(8):1374-81.

Hu H, Jiang C, Ip C, Rustum YM, Lu J. Methylseleninic acid potentiates apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic drugs in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. Clin Cancer Res. 2005 Mar 15;11(6):2379-88.

Jiang C, Kim KH, Wang Z, Lu J. Methyl selenium-induced vascular endothelial apoptosis is executed by caspases and principally mediated by p38 MAPK pathway. Nutr Cancer. 2004; 49:174-83.

Jiang C, Hu H, Malewicz B, Wang Z, Lu J. Selenite-induced p53 Ser-15 phosphorylation and caspase-mediated apoptosis in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. Mol Cancer Therap. 2004 Jul; 3 (7): 877-884.

Cho SD, Jiang C, Malewicz B, Dong Y, Young CY, Kang KS, Lee YS, Ip C, Lu J. Methyl selenium metabolites decrease prostate-specific antigen expression by inducing protein degradation and suppressing androgen-stimulated transcription. Mol Cancer Therap. 2004 May; 3(5): 605-611.

Jiang, C. Wang, Z., Ganther, H. and Lu, J. Distinct effects of methylselenic acid vs. selenite on apoptosis, cell cycle and protein kinase pathways in DU145 prostate cancer cells. Mol Cancer Therap. 1: 1059-1066, 2002.

Wang, Z. Jiang, C. and Lu J. Induction of caspase-mediated apoptosis and cell-cycle G1 arrest by selenium metabolite methylselenol. Mol Carcinog. 2002. 34: 113-120.