Daniel Tamae

EDUCATION

Ph.D. (Biological Sciences), Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, 2011
B.S. (Biochemistry), California State University, Los Angeles, 2001

POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENT

University of Pennsylvania, 2011-2016

COURSES TAUGHT

Chemistry 101, General Chemistry I
Chemistry 464, Principles of Biochemistry
Chemistry 464L, Principles of Biochemistry Laboratory

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Biochemistry
Research in the Tamae Lab applies the principles and tools of biochemistry, analytical chemistry, molecular biology and develop novel quantitative methods, when needed, to address the molecular mechanisms of disease.  Dr. Tamae's primary research interests are guided by a desire to understand the metabolic milieu of the cell and interrogate the intersection of cellular metabolism and cancer using bioanalytical techniques such as liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.  His broader interests include understanding adaptive mechanisms that cancer cells employ to become resistant to treatment.

Cancer Biology and Metabolism

1. Glucose metabolism: Breast, lung and colon cancer, among others, have been shown to metabolize large amounts of glucose relative to normal tissue.  This hallmark has come to be known as the Warburg effect.  This phenotype is used in the clinic to image tumors using ¹⁸F-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography.  The Tamae lab is investigating the variety of molecular mechanisms that these cancer cells utilize to adapt to endogenous toxic by-products that are generated by such high levels of glucose metabolism.  The ultimate goal is to gain therapeutic insight from these studies.

2. Hormone metabolism: Breast and prostate cancer are the most frequently diagnosed cancers in the developed world.  Both cancers are hormone-driven.  Hormone biosynthesis and signaling are thus a rich area for therapeutic targeting and form a cornerstone in treatment.  These therapies are effective and increase survival in many patients, but a subset of patients have tumors display resistance and fail to respond to available therapies.  Triple negative breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer are two such examples of difficult to treat subsets that have poor patient prognosis.  The Tamae lab is interrogating hormone metabolism and compensatory mechanisms in response to therapy in appropriate model systems.

3. Metabolic syndrome and cancer risk: The metabolic syndrome encompasses obesity and diabetes, both of which are a growing burden on healthcare systems world-wide.  While the primary risk associated with the metabolic syndrome is cardiovascular disease, a growing body of research suggests that the hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia may also increase one's relative risk for certain cancers.  Separate epidemiological data also indicates that the affordable and regularly prescribed anti-diabetic drug, metformin reduces one's relative risk for certain cancers.  Teasing out the underlying mechanisms between the metabolic syndrome and cancer is interesting as there may be multiple layers of cross-talk between a variety of signaling and metabolic pathways such as that of glucose and hormone metabolism.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS 

1. Penning T.M. and Tamae D. (2016) "Current advances in intratumoral androgen metabolism in castration-resistant prostate cancer" Current Opinions in Endocrinology Diabetes and Obesity, 23(3):264-270.
2. Tamae D., Mostaghel E., Montgomery B., Nelson P.S., Balk S.P., Kantoff P.W., Taplin M.E. and Penning T.M. (2015) "The DHEA-sulfate depot following P450c17 inhibition supports the case for AKR1C3 inhibition in high risk localized and advanced castration resistant prostate cancer" Chemical Biological Interactions, 234:332-338.
3. Taplin M.E., Montgomery B., Logothetis C.J., Bubley G.J., Richie J.P., Dalkin B.L., Sanda M.G., Davis J.W., Loda M., True L.D., Troncoso P., Ye H., Lis R.T., Marck B.T., Matsumoto A.M., Balk S.P., Mostaghel E.A., Penning T.M., Nelson P.S., Xie W., Jiang Z., Haqq C.M., Tamae D., Tran N., Peng W., Kheoh T., Molina A. and Kantoff P.W. (2014) "Intense androgen-deprivation therapy with abiraterone acetate plus leuprolide acetate in patients with localized high-risk prostate cancer: results of a randomized Phase II neoadjuvant study" Journal of Clinical Oncology, 32(33):3705-3715.
4. Mostaghel E.A., Nelson P.S., Lange P., Lin D.W., Taplin M.E., Balk S., Ellis W., Kantoff P., Marck B., Tamae D., Matsumoto A.M., True L.D., Vessella R., Penning T., Hunter Merrill R., Gluati R. and Montgomery B. (2014) "Targeted androgen pathway suppression in localized prostate cancer: a pilot study" Journal of Clinical Oncology, 32(3):229-237.
5. Tamae D., Byrns M., Marck B., Mostaghel E.A., Nelson P.S., Lange P., Lin D., Taplin M.E., Balk S., Ellis W., True L., Vessella R., Montgomery B., Blair I.A. and Penning T.M. (2013) "Development, validation and application of a stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography electrospray ionization/selected reaction monitoring/mass spectrometry (SID-LC/ESI/SRM/MS) method for quantification of keto-androgens in human serum" Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 138:281-289.
6. Diaz A.J., Tamae D., Yen Y., Li J. and Wang T. (2013) "Enhanced radiation response in radioresistant MCF-7 cells by targeting peroxiredoxin II" Breast Cancer, 5:87-101.
7. Tamae D., Lim P., Wuenschell G.E. and Termini J. (2011) "Mutagenesis and repair induced by the DNA advanced glycation end product N2-(1-carboxyethyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine in human cells" Biochemistry, 50(12):2321-2329.
8. Wuenschell G.E., Tamae D., Cercillieux A., Yamanaka R., Yu C. and Termini J. (2010) "Mutagenic potential of DNA glycation: miscoding by (R)- and (S)-N(2)-(1-carboxyethyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine" Biochemistry, 49(9):1814-1821.
9. Synold T., Xi B., Wuenschell G.E., Tamae D., Figarola J.L., Rahbar S. and Termini J. (2008) "Advanced glycation end products of DNA: quantification of N2-(1-Carboxyethyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine in biological samples by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry" Chemical Research in Toxicology, 21(11):2148-2155.
10. Ito J.I., Lyons J.M., Hong T.B., Tamae D., Liu Y.K., Wilczynski S.P. and Kalkum M. (2006) "Vaccinations with recombinant variants of Aspergillus fumigatus allergen Asp f 3 protect mice against invasive aspergillosis" Infection and Immunity, 74(9):5075-5084.
11. Wang T., Tamae D., LeBon T., Shively J.E., Yen Y. and Li J.J. (2005) "The role of peroxiredoxin II in radiation-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells" Cancer Research, 65(22):10338-10346.
12. Wang T., Hu Y.C., Dong S., Fan M., Tamae D., Ozeki M., Gao Q., Gius D. and Li J.J. (2005) "Co-activation of ERK, NF-kappaB and GADD45beta in response to ionizing radiation" Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280(13):12593-12601.
13. Ozeki M., Tamae D., Hou D.X., Wang T., LeBon T., Spitz D.R. and Li J.J. (2004) "Response of cyclin B1 to ionizing radiation: regulation by NF-kappaB and mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme MnSOD" Anticancer Research, 24(5A):2657-2663.
14. Guo G., Wang T., Gao Q., Tamae D., Wong P., Chen T., Chen W.C., Shively J.E., Wong J.Y. and Li J.J. (2004) "Expression of ErbB2 enhances radiation-induced NF-kappaB activation" Oncogene, 23(2):535-545.
15. Guo G., Yan-Sanders Y., Lyn-Cook B.D., Wang T., Tamae D., Ogi J., Khaletskiy A., Li Z., Weydert C., Longmate J.A., Huang T.T., Spitz D.R., Oberley L.W. and Li J.J. (2003) "Manganese superoxide dismutase-mediated gene expression in radiation-induced adaptive responses" Molecular and Cellular Biology, 23(7):2362-2378.