Hypoxia and Tumor Metabolism in Whistler

Information on an upcoming exhibition in Whistler for HypOxygen. Words by Dr Burga Kalz Fuller.

At 2140 feet in Whistler, BC, the air will be getting thinner at the Keystone Symposia on “Adaptations to Hypoxia in Physiology and Disease” joint with the meeting on “Tumour Metabolism: Mechanisms and Targets”. But after all, hypoxia is what we do at HypOxygen, so we are very excited to be spending time at altitude with old friends and new ones on March 5-9.

At the Keystone Symposia in Whistler, HypOxygen will be exhibiting Whitley Hypoxystations for low oxygen cell culture under in vivo conditions. Conceived as an incubator workstation, but allowing gloveless access “to avoid spikes of normoxia” for cancer cells accustomed to very low oxygen, the Hypoxystation enables researchers to culture and manipulate cells growing at consistent oxygen, CO₂, humidity and temperature. Another member of the Hypoxystation family, the i2 Instrument Workstation, was developed specifically to house instrumentation such as the Agilent Seahorse XF Analyzer for metabolism assays at hypoxia.

Since seeing is believing, we are greatly looking forward to talks and posters by a number of researchers who use Hypoxystations for their hypoxic cell culture. The broad range of these researchers’ presentations clearly illustrates how closely oxygen availability is linked to cancer cell behavior and metabolism, as the Hallmarks of Cancer are influenced and even determined by hypoxia in the tumour environment. These Hypoxystation users will be presenting data in Whistler:

• Nicholas Denko, Ohio State University, USA
  Hypoxic Regulation of Mitochondrial Function
• Almut Schulze, University of Würzburg/Theodor-Boveri Institute, Germany
  Targeting Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Cancer
• Janine T. Erler, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  Hypoxia-Driven ECM Remodelling during Cancer Progression
• Navdeep S. Chandel, Northwestern University, USA
  Why Mammalian Cells Respire?
• Sara M. Timpano, University of Guelph, Canada
  Human Cells Cultured Under Physiological Oxygen Utilize a Different Mode of Translation Initiation, Have Higher Proliferation Rates, Less Oxidized DNA and More Tubular Mitochondria
• Karen H. Vousden, Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, UK
  A Role for p53 in the Adaptation to Metabolic Stress
• Cormac Taylor, University College Dublin, Ireland
  The Role of Hypoxia in Immunity and Inflammation
• Eyal Gottlieb, Technion Integrated Cancer Center, Israel
  Metabolic Dependencies of Leukemic Stem Cells
• Bradly G. Wouters, University Health Network, Canada
  ULK1 Regulates Oxygen Metabolism, Hypoxia Tolerance and Is a Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Cancer
• Ester M. Hammond, University of Oxford, UK
  Ribonucleotide Reductase Favors the RRM2B Subunit to Maintain DNA Replication in Hypoxia

 

Please stop by our exhibit at the Whistler Conference Center to learn more about the ways the Hypoxystation can recreate the tumour environment for your cancer research. We also have a “heart-warming” gift for you!