Scott Dehm, Ph.D.

Contact Information Phone: 612-625-1504 Fax: 612-626-4842 Email: dehm@umn.edu Address: MMC 806 Mayo 8806 420 Delaware Minneapolis, MN 55455

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

Research in the Dehm laboratory focuses on the role of the androgen receptor (AR) in prostate cancer development and progression.  The AR is a steroid hormone receptor transcription factor important for normal prostate function, as well as the growth of prostate cancer.  Because of the central importance of the AR in prostate cancer, the mainstay treatment for relapsed or metastatic disease is androgen depletion.  The primary limitation of androgen depletion is that prostate cancer will eventually develop therapy resistance and recur with a lethal androgen depletion-independent phenotype.  A wealth of clinical and experimental evidence has demonstrated that the AR is aberrantly re-activated at this stage of the disease and therefore remains a viable therapeutic target.  Our laboratory employs molecular, biochemical, cell biology, and genetic approaches to understand the mechanisms of AR transcriptional regulation of gene expression in cell- and xenograft-based models of prostate cancer progression.  We have identified alternative mechanisms of AR activation that are impervious to current modes of androgen depletion, and are studying whether these mechanisms of AR activation can be exploited to develop novel targeted therapies for advanced prostate cancer.

Educational Background

• University of Saskatchewan, Canada (1998), B.Sc., Biochemistry (High Honors)
• University of Saskatchewan, Canada (2003), Ph.D., Biochemistry

Professional Background

• Research Fellow, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Laboratory of Donald J. Tindall, Rochester, MN, 2003-2008
• Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Minneapolis, MN, 2008-Present
• Member, University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2008-Present

Professional Memberships

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• The Endocrine Society
• Canadian Cancer Society Biomedical Personnel Review Panel, 2009-Present

Professional Honors

• Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator, 2008-Present
• AACR-AFLAC Scholar-in-Training Award, 2006
• National Cancer Institute of Canada/Terry Fox Foundation Post-Ph.D. Fellowship, 2004-2007
• AACR-AstraZeneca Scholar-in-Training Award, 2002
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Ph.D. Studentship, 2000-2002
• Most Distinguished Graduate, Department of Biochemistry, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, 1998
• Merit Award, Society of Chemical Industry, Canadian Section, 1998
• Biochemistry Award, Chemical Institute of Canada, 1997

Publications

• Raclaw KA, Heemers HV, Kidd EM, Dehm SM, Tindall DJ.  Induction of FLIP expression by androgens protects prostate cancer cells from TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.  The Prostate, 68: 1696-706, 2008.
• Dehm SM, Schmidt LJ, Heemers HV, Vessella RL, Tindall DJ.  Splicing of a novel AR exon generates a constitutively active androgen receptor that mediates prostate cancer therapy resistance.  Cancer Res., 68: 5469-77, 2008.
• Heemers HV, Regan KM, Dehm SM, Tindall DJ.  Androgen induction of the androgen receptor co-activator FHL2: evidence for a role for serum response factor in prostate cancer.  Cancer Res., 67 :10592-9, 2007.
• Dehm SM, Regan KM, Schmidt, LJ, Tindall DJ.  Selective role of an NH2-terminal WxxLF motif for aberrant androgen receptor activation in androgen depletion-independent prostate cancer cells.  Cancer Res. 67: 10067-77, 2007.
• Dehm SM, Tindall DJ.  Androgen Receptor Structural and Functional Elements: Role and Regulation in Prostate Cancer.  Mol. Endocrinology.  2: 2855-63, 2007
• Dehm SM, Tindall DJ.  Ligand-independent androgen receptor activity is activation function-2-independent and resistant to antiandrogens in androgen refractory prostate cancer cells.  J. Biol. Chem.  28: 27882-93, 2006.
• Ellis JD, Dehm SM, Bonham K.  The modification of Sp3 isoforms by SUMOylation has differential effects on the SRC1A promoter.  Gene.  379: 68-78, 2006.
• Dehm SM, Tindall DJ. Molecular regulation of androgen action in prostate cancer.  J. Cell Biochem.  99:333-44, 2006.
• Debes JD, Comuzzi B, Schmidt LJ, Dehm SM, Culig Z, Tindall DJ.  p300 regulates androgen receptor-independent expression of prostate-specific antigen in prostate cancer cells treated chronically with interleukin-6.  Cancer Res. 65, 5965-73, 2005.
• Dehm SM, Tindall DJ.  Regulation of androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer.  Expert Rev. Anticancer Ther.  5: 63-74, 2005.
• Dehm SM, Bonham K.  Regulation of alternative SRC promoter usage in HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells.  Gene.  337: 141-150, 2004.
• Dehm SM, Bonham K.  Regulation of SRC expression and activity in human cancer.  Biochem. Cell Biol.  82: 263-274, 2004.
• Dehm SM, Hilton TL, Wang EH, and Bonham K.  SRC Proximal and core promoter elements dictate TAF1 dependence and transcriptional repression by histone deacetylase inhibitors.  Mol. Cell Biol.  24: 2296-2307, 2004.
• Kostyniuk CL, Dehm SM, Batten D, Bonham K.  The ubiquitous and tissue specific promoters of the human SRC gene are repressed by inhibitors of histone deacetylases.  Oncogene.  21: 6340-7, 2002. *Both authors contributed equally to this study.
• Chen Z, Dehm S, Bonham K, Kamencic H, Juurlink B, Zhang X, Gordon JR, Xiang J.  DNA array and biological characterization of the impact of the maturation status of mouse dendritic cells on their phenotype and antitumor vaccination efficacy.  Cell Immunol.  214: 60-71. 2001.
• Dehm S, Senger MA, Bonham K.  SRC transcriptional activation in a subset of human colon cancer cell lines.  FEBS Lett. 487, 367-71, 2001.
• Bonham K, Ritchie SA, Dehm SM, Snyder K, Boyd FM.  An alternative, human SRC promoter and its regulation by hepatic nuclear factor-1alpha.  J Biol Chem. 48: 37604-11, 2000.
• Rajala RV, Dehm S, Bi X, Bonham K, Sharma RK.  Expression of N-myristoyltransferase inhibitor protein and its relationship to c-Src levels in human colon cancer cell lines.  Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 273: 1116-20, 2000.