ABOUT

The Ashur-Fabian Lab is affiliated to the Human Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry, faculty of medicine and health, Tel Aviv university. The lab is located at Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, ISRAEL.

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The lab researches the thyroid hormone (TH) axis in several aggressive solid malignancies, with a focus on ovarian cancer.  The biologically active thyroid hormone, T3, is considered a tumor suppressor by promoting cell differentiation and mitochondrial respiration. Tumors evolved a strategy to avoid these anticancer actions by expressing the TH catabolizing enzyme, Deiodinase type 3 (DIO3).

We identified DIO3 expression in HGSOC cell lines, tumor tissues from mice and human patients, fallopian tube (FT) premalignant lesion and secretory cells of normal FT, considered the disease site-of-origin. By gene editing methods, combined with multiple molecular assays, we established the involvement of DIO3 in the progression of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most lethal type of ovarian cancer.

 

Our team investigates the unique roles of TH/DIO3 in tumor proliferation, metabolism, DNA repair mechanisms and interaction within protein complexes. 

We are developing novel treatment approaches to to block the TH/DIO3 axis using in vitro and in-vivo platforms.