Publication Alert: Dr. Ronit Ilouz on Prostate Cancer Progression

Former ICRF grantee Dr. Ronit Ilouz of Bar-Ilan University, who received a Research Career Development Award (RDCA), recently published new research in Oncogene examining how changes in the molecular organization of Protein Kinase A (PKA) may help identify prostate cancer progression.

In the study, “Disassembly of PKA holoenzyme organization marks prostate cancer progression,” Dr. Ilouz and her colleagues uncovered a previously unrecognized change in how PKA, a protein involved in regulating cell growth and activity, is organized within prostate tumors as the disease advances.

Their findings revealed that as prostate cancer progresses, the regulatory subunit RIβ is progressively lost, while catalytic PKA levels increase and redistribute to proliferating tumor cells. This shift is accompanied by increased activity in the PKA signaling pathway.

To investigate these changes, the researchers analyzed MRI-guided biopsies from 40 patients, comparing suspicious and non-suspicious regions within the same prostate. They identified changes in the balance between PKA’s regulatory and catalytic subunits that may go undetected through conventional bulk tissue analysis.

The findings identify a potential new molecular signature of prostate cancer progression and lay the groundwork for developing PKA-based biomarkers that could improve prostate cancer risk assessment and help distinguish more aggressive disease.

“A special thank you to Israel Cancer Research Fund, whose support was instrumental in enabling our laboratory to expand into cancer research and establish this new scientific direction.”

Dr. Ronit Ilouz

Read a Scientist Spotlight about Dr. Ilouz and learn about her ICRF Research Career Development Award.