Mauricio Reginato

Mauricio Reginato, PhD

Professor and Chair; Director, Graduate Program in Cancer Biology


Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School
  • PhD - Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania
  • BS – Biology, Penn State University

Awards & Honors

  • Edith Mitchell Mentoring Award, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Consortium (2025)
  • Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award for the STAR Undergraduate Scholars, Drexel University (2023)
  • Julian Marsh Faculty Scholar Award, Drexel University College of Medicine (2021)
  • Elias Abrutyn Mentoring Award, Drexel University College of Medicine (2018)
  • Faculty Mentoring Award, MS Research Intensive Programs, Graduate Student Association, Drexel University College of Medicine (2016)
  • Young Investigator Award, Drexel University College of Medicine (2010)
  • Professional Enrichment and Growth Award, Drexel University College of Medicine (2010)

Memberships / Professional Affiliations

  • American Association of Cancer Research
  • American Society of Cell Biology
  • American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Dr. Reginato is a professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and director of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Reginato also serves as program leader of the Translational Cellular Oncology Program at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Research Consortium with Drexel University.

Research Overview

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms regulating breast cancer growth and metastasis and understanding interplay between signaling and metabolic pathways to identify novel cancer therapies.

Research

Our lab is interested in understanding altered signaling pathways that lead to cancer initiation and progression and metastasis. Identifying and understanding these pathways will lead to development of novel therapies. Our lab is interested in understanding how signaling pathways regulate metabolic reprograming in cancer cells.

We are particularly interested in breast cancer. Every year approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed, and 40,000 women are expected to die from this disease in the U.S. alone. Our labs long-term goal is to identify novel therapeutic targets for treatment of breast cancer. We are trying to understand alterations in cellular signaling pathways between normal and cancer cells and exploit these differences for possible therapeutic gain.

Our lab has two major areas of interest:

1. Our lab is interested in understanding how oncogenes alter metabolic reprogramming in cancer cell. Tumor cells take up ten times more glucose then normal cells and switch to glycolysis to meet energy needs. Our lab was the first to show that a nutrient-sensing pathway that regulates sugar-based protein modification, called O-GlcNAcylation, is highly elevated in cancer. Our lab has shown that reducing O-GlcNAcylation in breast and prostate cancer cells inhibits growth, invasion and metastasis thus targeting the enzyme that regulates O-GlcNAcylation, O-GlcNAc transferase, may provide novel way of to treat cancers. We are currently investigating how O-GlcNAcylation regulates oncogenic signaling pathways using in vitro and in vivo breast cancer models. In addition, we are analyzing how cancer cells alter the O-GlcNAcome.

Targeting OGT levels in breast cancer cells blocks growth and invasion in 3D organoid culture.

3D Organoids: MDA-MB-231

Targeting OGT levels in breast cancer cells blocks growth and invasion in 3D organoid culture. Human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) expressing control or OGT RNAi were cultured in three-dimensional (3D) culture. Organoids were imaged after eight days in culture by light (top) or confocal microscopy with indicated antibodies (bottom) (from Caldwell, et al., Oncogene 2010)

2. Breast cancer brain metastases remains incurable as more than 80% of patients will die within a year which is usually due to intracranial disease progression. Our lab is also interested in understanding how breast cancer cells adapt to the brain environment to survive and grow. We have developed novel ex vivo cancer slice model to quickly identify pathways and drugs that block cancer growth in the brain.

Breast Cancer Cells in the Brain Parenchyma

Ex vivo Brain Tumor Slice Model

Breast Cancer Cells in the Brain Parenchyma. Ex vivo mouse brain slices containing human breast cancer cells (green/blue) within brain parenchyma surrounded by activated astrocytes (red). Lab is using this model system to test new therapies for targeting breast cancer brain metastatic growth. Image provided by Lorela Ciraku & M. Reginato.

In the Media

“Advancing Cancer Research Through Innovation: Dr. Emily Esquea’s Journey From Lab To Real-world Impact - Stories Of Impact Series”
Stories of Impact, Drexel Applied Innovation (July 2024)

“Drug-Like Molecules Show Promise Against Metastatic Breast Cancer Brain Tumors”
Inside Precision Medicine (July 22, 2024)

“Drexel Team Identifies Drug-like Molecules That Show Early Success in Targeting Breast Cancer Brain Metastases”
Drexel News Blog (July 12, 2024)

“Awards Ceremony Celebrates Graduate School Class of 2024”
(May 14, 2024)

“Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Research Consortium: Committed to Changing the Cancer Landscape in Philadelphia”
Pulse (Spring 2024)

"Starving Breast Cancer in the Brain"
EXEL - Drexel University Research Magazine (2023)

Additional articles...

Publications

Selected Publications

See all of Dr. Reginato's publications in ResearchGate.

“Fructose promotes liver cancer via microbial acetate-induced O-GlcNAcylation”
Esquea EM, Young RG, and Reginato MJ
Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2023 Dec 13:S1043-2760 (23)00247-3

“On a sugar high: Role of O-GlcNAcylation in cancer”
Le Minh, G, Esquea EM, Young RG, Huang, J, and Reginato MJ
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2023 Oct 12, 105344

“Kruppel-like factor 8 regulates triple negative breast cancer stem cell-like activity”
Le Minh G, Esquea EM, Dhameliya TT, Merzy J, Lee MH, Ball LE, Reginato MJ
Frontiers in Oncolology. 2023 Apr 19;13:1141834

“Role of O-GlcNAcylation on cancer stem cells: Connecting nutrient sensing to cell plasticity”
Le Minh G, Reginato MJ
Advanced Cancer Research. 2023;157:195-228

“O-GlcNAc Transferase Regulates Glioblastoma Acetate Metabolism via Regulation of CDK5-dependent ACSS2 phosphorylation”
Ciraku, L., Bacigalupa, Z. A., Ju, J., Moeller, R. A., Le Minh, G., Lee, R. H., Smith, M. D., Ferrer, C. M., Trefely, S., Izzo, L. T., Doan, M. T., Gocal, W. A., D'Agostino, L., Shi, W., Jackson, J. G., Katsetos, C. D., Wellen, K. E., Snyder, N. W., and Reginato, M. J.
Oncogene 2022 Apr;41(14):2122-2136

Additional publications...

Presentations

“On a sugar high: O-GlcNAc regulation of cancer”
Fels Cancer Institute for Personalized Medicine, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa. (Nov. 2023)

“Nutrient sensor O-GlcNAcylation: Linking signaling and metabolism in cancer & beyond”
ASBMB Symposium: O-GlcNAc regulation of cellular physiology and pathophysiology, Athens, Ga. (Jul. 2022)

“Role of O-GlcNAcome in breast cancer”
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Retreat, Philadelphia, Pa. (Feb. 2022)

“O-GlcNAcylation: Linking metabolism & signaling in cancers”
Keynote Speaker, Cancer Symposium, 6th Latin American Congress of Glycobiology, Mexico City, Mexico (Oct. 2021)

“Nutrient sensor O-GlcNAcylation: Linking signaling and acetate metabolism in brain tumors”
NIH Symposium: The Glycobiology of Cancer (Sep. 2021)

“Signaling and metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer”
Community of Scholars Meeting, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia Pa. (Mar. 2021)

“O-GlcNAcylation: Linking metabolism & signaling in cancers”
Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center, Translational Cellular Oncology Program Meeting, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia Pa. (Nov. 2020)

“Role of O-GlcNAcome on breast cancer initiating cells”
NCI - The Alliance of Glycobiologists for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Rockville Md. (Feb. 2020)


Contact Information


Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
245 North 15th Street
Mail Stop 497
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 215.762.3554
Fax: 215.762.4452