Division of Translational Oncology

The department staff conduct studies in the field of developing methods for predicting the course and drug sensitivity of various forms of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer.

• A method for assessing apoptosis in cell models has been developed, based on the analysis of intronic microRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes. Bioinformatic analysis identified 536 genes associated with apoptosis. In the introns of 30 of these genes, 38 pre-microRNAs encoding 41 mature microRNAs were found. Significant changes in the expression of hsa-miR-1244 and hsa-miR-4479 were observed in response to apoptosis induction in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. A correlation was also found between the expression levels of these microRNAs and the size of the primary tumor (stage of the process) in breast cancer patients.
• A set of reagents has been developed to determine the risk of recurrence of breast cancer, including primers and probes specific to the marker genes ELOVL5, IGFBP6, TXNDC9. The reagent kit provides for obtaining new diagnostic markers of breast cancer, allowing the assessment of the risk of recurrence after surgical treatment with comparable accuracy and specificity. Patent for the invention RU 2671557 C1.
• A method for the differential diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been developed. The method includes: obtaining a sample of the patient’s peripheral blood; isolating plasma from the blood sample; extracting RNA from the plasma; measuring the expression levels of microRNAs hsa-miR-155-5p, hsa-miR-619-5p, hsa-miR-6777-5p, followed by determining a probability value (F) characterizing the risk of PCa. Patent for the invention RU 2646790 C1.
• Studies have been conducted to investigate the functional role of microRNA isoforms and the peculiarities of their biogenesis in various pathologies. MicroRNA isoforms regulating the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 enzymes, which serve as entry points for the SARS-CoV-2 virus into cells, have been identified. Based on these findings, a method was proposed for pharmaceutical intervention on ACE2/TMPRSS2 by regulating the transcription of certain microRNA isoforms. It was also shown that the process of microRNA isoform formation, associated with the activity of Drosha and Dicer proteins, exhibits significant differences between healthy and tumor tissues of the colon: using microRNA isoform profile analysis, it was established that pathological cells undergo substantial changes in the function of Drosha and Dicer. Moreover, intranuclear processing of microRNA by the Drosha enzyme occurs with a lower percentage of inaccuracies compared to cytoplasmic processing by the Dicer enzyme. A significant change in the ratios of microRNA isoforms and their expression interactions was demonstrated.
• A new method has been developed for solving the problem of identifying combinations of genes that jointly contribute to the development of breast cancer recurrence. The method is based on the idea of exhaustively searching all possible gene combinations in a cell to find a combination that allows distinguishing healthy tissue cells from tumor cells. Considering that a cell expresses about 15,000 genes, exploring combinations of just five genes would take approximately 2,000 years on a cluster of 10,000 computing nodes. The proposed method of incremental expansion and cyclic component-wise optimization, reducing computational complexity by more than three orders of magnitude, made it possible to achieve an optimal balance between computational complexity and the informativeness of the resulting sets of genes, revealing the submerged part of the iceberg and uncovering subtle mechanisms of signal pathway regulation.
• Subsequently, the obtained approach was applied to microRNA data: it was shown that microRNAs and their targets can form effective predictive combinations for the recurrence of breast and colorectal cancer. Further study of the molecular mechanisms of the obtained results has been published in the paper.

1. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Makarova Yu.A., Poloznikov A.A. Intronic MicroRNAs of Apoptosis Genes as Indicators of the Level of Cell Death // Biotechnology. 2019. Vol. 35. No. 6. P. 108-113.
2. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Fomicheva K.A. Features of the MicroRNA Profile of an In Vitro Human Small Intestine Model for Studying the Bioavailability of Chemotherapeutic Drugs // Research and Practice in Medicine. 2019. Vol. 6. No. S. P. 297-298.
3. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Maltseva D.V., Knyazev E.N., Alekseev B.Ya. Expression of Stromal Components in Lymph Nodes Affected by Prostate Cancer Metastases // Molecular Biology. 2018. Vol. 52. No. 5. P. 810-816.
4. Fomicheva K.A., Kindeeva O.V., Petrov V.A., Ivanov A.A., Poloznikov A.A., Alekseev B.Ya., Shkurnikov M.Yu. FEATURES OF BUILDING A FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE FOR STUDYING EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL CELL TRANSFORMATION IN VITRO // Optics and Spectroscopy. 2018. Vol. 125. No. 1. Pp. 129-136.
5. Burmistrova O.A., Nikulin S.V., Zakharova G.S., Fomicheva K.A., Alekseev B.Ya., Shkurnikov M.Yu. NEW FLUORESCENT REPORTER SYSTEMS FOR ASSESSING THE EXPRESSION OF E- AND N-CADHERINS // Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2018. Vol. 165. No. 1. Pp. 104-109. 6. Nikulin S.V., Knyazev E.N., Gerasimenko T.N., Shilin S.A., Gazizov I.N., Zakharova G.S., Poloznikov A.A., Shkurnikov M.Yu. NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX OF INTESTINAL EPITHELIUM // Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2018. Vol. 166. No. 7. Pp. 41-45.
6. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Poloznikov A.A., Nikulin S.V., Schumacher U., Wicklein D., Stürken C., Galatenko V.V., Alekseev B.Ya. COMBINATION OF DRUGS SELECTED BASED ON TRANSCRIPTOME DATA INHIBITS BREAST CANCER CELL PROLIFERATION // Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2018. Vol. 166. No. 11. Pp. 603-608.

1. Alekseev B.Ya., Shkurnikov M.Yu. PLASMID FOR DETECTING THE MESENCHYMAL STATE OF A CELL // Patent for invention RU 2715643 C1, 02.03.2020. Application No. 2019119648 of 24.06.2019.
2. Alekseev B.Ya., Shkurnikov M.Yu. PLASMID FOR DETECTING THE EPITHELIAL STATE OF A HUMAN CELL // Patent for invention RU 2716054 C1, 05.03.2020. Application No. 2019119638 of 24.06.2019.
3. Alekseev B.Ya., Shkurnikov M.Yu. FLUORESCENT REPORTER SYSTEMS FOR ASSESSING THE EPITHELIAL AND/OR MESENCHYMAL STATE OF A CELL // Patent for invention RU 2705251 C2, 06.11.2019. Application No. 2017147027 of 29.12.2017.
4. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Galatenko V.V., Galatenko A.V., Tonevitsky A.G. REAGENT KIT FOR DETERMINING THE RISK OF RECURRENCE OF BREAST CANCER // Patent for invention RU 2671557 C1, 02.11.2018. Application No. 2017124372 dated 10.07.2017.
5. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Galatenko V.V., Knyazev E.N., Tonevitsky A.G. METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF PROSTATE CANCER AND BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA // Patent for invention RU 2646790 C1, 07.03.2018. Application No. 2016152529 dated 30.12.2016.
6. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Galatenko V.V., Knyazev E.N., Tonevitsky A.G. METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF PROSTATE CANCER AND BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA // Patent for invention RU 2647433 C1, 15.03.2018.
7. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Poloznikov A.A., Kindeev M.I. ADAPTER FOR PLACING A MICROFLUIDIC CHIP ON THE STAGE OF A FLUORESCENCE DEVICE OR MICROSCOPE // Utility Model Patent RU 182448 U1, 17.08.2018.
8. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Poloznikov A.A., Kindejeva O.V. ADAPTER FOR PLACING MICROFLUIDIC CHIPS ON THE STAGE OF A FLUORESCENCE DEVICE OR MICROSCOPE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES // Utility Model Patent RU 185479 U1, 06.12.2018. Application No. 2018114092 of 17.04.2018.
9. Maltseva D.V., Sakharov D.A., Shkurnikov M.Yu., Tonevitsky A.G. METHOD FOR OBTAINING THE PLANT LECTIN ML1 FROM VISCHOR MISTLETOE AND A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOSITION BASED ON IT (VARIANTS) // Invention Patent RU 2644332 C1, 08.02.2018. Application No. 2016152524 of 30.12.2016.
10. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Samatov T.R., Knyazev E.N., Alekseev B.Ya., Tonevitsky A.G. METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF PROSTATE CANCER BASED ON PLASMA MICRORNA ANALYSIS // Patent for invention RU 2618409 C, 03.05.2017. Application No. 2016100243 dated 12.01.2016.
11. Tonevitsky A.G., Khaustova S.A., Sakharov D.A., Shkurnikov M.Yu. METHOD FOR DETERMINING PURINES AND PYRIMIDINES IN HUMAN BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS // Patent for invention RU 2620155 C, 23.05.2017. Application No. 2012109719 dated 15.03.2012.
12. Shkurnikov M.Yu., Galatenko V.V., Galatenko A.V., Samatov T.R., Tonevitsky A.G. METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE RISK OF RECURRENCE OF ONCOLOGICAL DISEASES OF THE BREAST // Patent for invention RU 2626603, 28.07.2017. Application No. 2015157146 dated 31.12.2015.