Sophie Ketchen

University of Leeds · School of Cellular and Molecular Biology

Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid cultures are generating increasing interest in cancer research, e.g. for the evaluation of pharmacological effects of novel small molecule inhibitors. This is mainly due to the fact that such 3D structures reflect physiological characteristics of tumours and the cellular microenvironments they reside in more faithful...

Activation of RAS is crucial in driving cellular outcomes including proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis via the MAPK pathway. This is initiated on recruitment of Grb2, as part of a Grb2-Sos complex, to an up-regulated receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), enabling subsequent interaction of Sos with the plasma membrane-localised RAS. A...

Cancer cell invasion is a precondition for tumour metastasis and represents one of the most devastating characteristics of cancer. The development of drugs targeting cell migration, known as migrastatics, may improve the treatment of highly invasive tumours such as glioblastoma (GBM). In this study, investigations into the role of the cell adhesion...

The limitations of two-dimensional analysis in three-dimensional (3D) cellular imaging impair the accuracy of research findings in biological studies. Here, we report a novel 3D approach to acquisition, analysis and interpretation of tumour spheroid images. Our research interest in mesenchymal–amoeboid transition led to the development of a workflo...

Cell migration is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Cancer cells can adopt two main migratory strategies displaying either a mesenchymal or amoeboid phenotype. Targeting cell migration presents an opportunity in improving treatment of invasive and migratory tumours, however the cellular mechanisms that control the cell migration phenotypes in high-gr...

One of the most devastating hallmarks of cancer is cell migration/invasion, a prerequisite for tumour metastasis. Targeting this cellular phenomenon offers an opportunity to improve the treatment of invasive and highly migratory tumours such as Glioblastoma multiforme, and to better understand the cellular mechanisms controlling cell migration. Pre...

INTRODUCTION Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) has been implicated as a potential target in glioblastoma migration and invasion. Here we investigated the effects of GSK-3 inhibition on downstream effector genes and discovered a novel GSK-3 /b-catenin/ARHGAP migration axis that drives glioblastoma invasion. METHODS Expression arrays of glioblastom...

INTRODUCTION: A highly invasive phenotype is a hallmark of the malignant process in Glioblastoma multiforme, which remains a poorly understood field. The diffuse and infiltrative nature of these cancers presents a need for novel, anti-migratory treatment to prevent tumour cells migrating to healthy parts of the brain and to improve the success of t...