Lavrsen finds endless possibilities in PTMs
When she was an undergraduate at the University of Copenhagen, Kirstine Lavrsen became fascinated by the impact of posttranslational modifications, or PTMs, on cellular function. She was working with Hans Wandall’s group at the university’s glycomics center, researching the role of glycosylation in cancer and how cancer-associated changes in O-glycans could be used to target solid tumors.
The 2020 JBC Herbert Tabor Early Career Investigator Award winners will present their work at the 2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting, 1:45–3 p.m., Tuesday, April 27.
Find out about registering for the annual meeting here.
“So many protein glycosylations are modified in cancer,” she said. “The research possibilities were endless.”
A native of Denmark, Lavrsen earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in molecular biomedicine from the University of Copenhagen. Pursuing a Ph.D. in cellular and genetic medicine seemed like the natural and best next step, she said, and she continued her doctoral research in Wandall’s laboratory.
For her Ph.D., Lavrsen researched the role of O-glycosylation in colorectal carcinogenesis. She identified an important role for a PTM enzyme, GalNAc-T6, in conversion of normal colon tissue into cancerous tissue through its ability to O-glycosylate a small subset of proteins. She then used antibodies targeting cancer-specific O-glycans to distinguish between cancerous and normal tissue and to induce cancer-specific cell death.
“Recent findings show that PTMs have been playing a bigger role in cancer development than earlier thought,” Lavrsen said. She hopes that further understanding of PTMs in cancer cells will lead to improved early diagnostic tools, targeted drugs and immunotherapies.
PTMs continue to fascinate Lavrsen. She now works as a postdoctoral researcher in Marin Barisic’s lab at the Danish Cancer Society, investigating the role of another PTM, detyrosination of tubulin, during cancer development.
Lavrsen said she enjoys the analytic and creative blend of research work. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with her young children.
This time is an exciting phase in cancer research, she said, and she is optimistic about where the research will take her next.
Sugar-adding enzyme makes colonic cells cancerous
Epithelial cancers are characterized by aberrant expression of O-glycans sugar molecules in cancerous cells. Addition of these sugar molecules is mediated by a post-translational modification — O-glycosylation — through a large family of GalNAc transferases, or GalNAc-Ts.
Analyzing transcriptomic and immunohistochemistry data, Hans Wandall’s research group found that GalNAc-T6 was the only GalNAc-T that was highly expressed in colon cancer and was absent from healthy colon tissue. To investigate the specific role of GalNAc-T6 in the development of colon cancer, the group used CRISPR/Cas9 to develop isogenic colon cancer cell lines with a knockout/rescue system for GALNT6. GalNAc-T6 expression was associated with a cancerlike dysplastic growth pattern, whereas GALNT6 knockout cells showed a more normal differentiation and phenotype. Mass spectroscopy identified that GalNAc-T6 targeted a subset of proteins involved in cell-cell adhesion.
This study highlights the importance of a post-translational modification in cancer development, and its publication in the Journal of Biological Chemistry earned Kirstine Lavrsen a JBC Herbert Tabor Early Career Investigator Award. Lavrsen said she is excited and humbled to receive the award and looks forward to presenting her talk at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual meeting in April.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles
Redefining lipid biology from droplets to ferroptosis
James Olzmann will receive the ASBMB Avanti Award in Lipids at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, March 7–10, just outside of Washington, D.C.
Creating change in biochemistry education
Pamela Mertz will receive the ASBMB William C. Rose Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, March 7-10 in Washington, D.C.
Amacher, Pollock named Henry Dreyfus scholars
They were recognized for their outstanding research scholarship and a deep commitment to undergraduate education and each received $75,000 to fund their research.
Trainee mentorship as immortality
Suzanne Barbour will receive the ASBMB Sustained Leadership Award at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, March 7-10 in Washington, D.C.
Life in four dimensions: When biology outpaces the brain
Nobel laureate Eric Betzig will discuss his research on information transfer in biology from proteins to organisms at the 2026 ASBMB Annual Meeting.
Fasting, fat and the molecular switches that keep us alive
Nutritional biochemist and JLR AE Sander Kersten has spent decades uncovering how the body adapts to fasting. His discoveries on lipid metabolism and gene regulation reveal how our ancient survival mechanisms may hold keys to modern metabolic health.