Investigating Caveolin-1 in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Signal Transduction Pathway

Cancer has remained an unforgiving phenomenon whose etiology and corresponding network topology has continuously hindered researchers’ efforts to understand it and develop a cure. Commonly referred to as a malignant neoplasm, cancer is the result of uncontrolled cell growth with the ability to progress throughout regions of the body unchecked, negatively influencing essential bodily functions and processes. Signal transduction pathways are what ultimately govern cell growth and response on a molecular level via cell surface receptors and protein phosphorylation. Due to the complexity of cell signaling, we aim to map target pathways involving caveolin1 (CAV1), a cell signaling protein, in the context of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). CAV1 has a number of intracellular roles and modulates multiple upstream and downstream molecules. To identify key signal transduction pathways in CLL, biological networks are utilized. This approach uses a dynamic systems approach to understand networks and interactions amongst molecules. The major goal of this project includes developing a real-time, dynamic model that illustrates the relationship between CLL and the protein, CAV1