Our laboratory is interested in studying genetic, epigenetic and functional changes involved in the earliest steps of epithelial cancers and how interactions between stromal components and epithelial cells collaborate to moderate carcinogenesis. Our research studies of human epithelial cells from healthy individuals are providing novel insights into how early molecular events affect genomic integrity and fuel carcinogenesis. Prior work from our laboratory has shown that surrounding stroma can dramatically influence tumorigenesis. We investigate how these changes are initiated and moderated, as well as their consequences for clinical disease. These insights are applied in risk assessment, early detection, and prognostic studies. Areas of particular interest include human breast carcinogenesis and the role of tumor suppressor genes in regulating premalignant phenotypes. Our studies use molecular, biochemical and cellular analyses to evaluate primary human cells, develop recombinant models of cell-cell interactions and apply novel information to intact human tissue.
Lab News
$26 Million ‘Grand Challenge’ Project Will Probe Role of Inflammation in Cancer
UC San Francisco Professor Thea Tlsty, PhD, is a winner of the “Grand Challenge” competition sponsored by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), an ambitious international funding initiative that aims to answer some of the biggest open questions in cancer. Tlsty’s international team will receive £20 Million (U.S. $26 million) to uncover how chronic inflammation causes cancer.
New Type of Pluripotent Cell Discovered In Adult Breast Tissue
UC San Francisco researchers have found that certain rare cells extracted from adult breast tissue can be instructed to become different types of cells – a discovery that could have important potential for regenerative medicine.
Cells That Don't Belong
Several years ago, biologist Thea Tlsty’s team at the University of California, San Francisco, was studying wound cells in breast tissue. These are adult cells that divide furiously in response to injury, helping to replace those that were damaged. The typical wound cell in the breast has the ability to turn into different kinds of breast cells, each specialized for a different role in the tissue, such as producing milk. But Tlsty’s team stumbled on a subset of repair cells that could do much, much more.