Research at Oslo University Hospital

In a recent paper in Nature Cell Biology, an international team led by scientists at Institute for Cancer Research and Institute of Basic Medical Sciences shows that uncontrolled repair of micronuclear membranes causes chromosome shattering associated with cancer.

The incidence of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) has increased dramatically in parallel with widespread implementation of screening mammography and comprises today about 20% of newly diagnosed breast cancers. These non-invasive breast tumors are heterogeneous and many will never progress to invasive cancer.
In an article published in npj Breast Cancer 17. June 2020, Helga Bergholtz, Tonje Lien and colleagues in Therese Sørlie’s group present a comprehensive analysis of gene expression, DNA methylation and copy number data in DCIS and invasive breast cancer and found distinct molecular subtype-specific differences. 

On this web page you will find an overview over planned and ongoing clinical trials and other research projects at Oslo University Hospital related to COVID-19 and SARS CoV-2 infection. The information has been retrieved from applications to the regional ethics committee, the Norwegian Research Council, other funding sources, or directly from the researchers behind the projects.

On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Care Services, the four regional health authorities have prepared a report on research and innovation in hospitals in 2019 that presents patient-related research projects from all over the country in a popular science form. One of the selected projects is "Anabolic steroids and effects on cognition, brain- and cardiovascular health". Project leader is Astrid Bjørnebekk, head of the "The Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Research Group" at the Division of Mental Health & Addiction.

The membrane lipids diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphatidic acid (PA) can regulate membrane transport by recruiting proteins to the membrane and by altering biophysical membrane properties. The Sandvig group (first two authors Anne Berit Dyve Lingelem and Simona Kavaliauskiene) recently published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences how changes in these lipids affect regulation of intracellular transport from endosomes to the Golgi apparatus.

Oslo University Hospital are presenting interesting research projects in a popular science form, chosen from the annual national research report. Julian Hamfjord and Elin M. Kure, from the "Translational studies with a special focus on pancreatic cancer" project group at the Department of Cancer Genetics, led by Kure, has been interviewed about their exciting ongoing research on circulating biomarkers. 

Metastases are the major cause of cancer related deaths. One important characteristic of disseminating cancer cells is that they develop invadopodia. Invadopodia are actin rich plasma membrane protrusions, which secrete matrix metalloproteinases that degrade the extracellular matrix, allowing the cancer cells to escape the primary tumour site.

In a recent article in Journal of Cell Biology, published online on the 1st of June, 2020, scientist Nina Marie Pedersen and her coworkers in Camilla Raiborg’s project group at Institute for Cancer Research and Centre for Cancer Cell Reprogramming (CanCell), identify a new mechanism of how cancer cells grow invadopodia. Moreover, they show how the matrix metalloproteinase MT1-MMP is transported to the invadopodial tip.

In order to stimulate excellent research and draw attention to the hospital's research activity, Oslo University Hospital reward outstanding publications every half-year. Six research groups were awarded for their excellent papers published during the second half-year of 2019 on May 29th. Each group received NOK 50.000 for use in further research. The prize winners then gave short presentations of their important findings.

This spring's awards ceremony was marked by the pandemic situation with only a limited number present. In return, the entire ceremony could be followed directly via web TV, and the recording is available.

Gunnveig Grødeland, leader of the "Influenza and Adaptive Immunity research group at the Department of Immunology, the Division of Laboratory Medicine, has recently been interviewed for Uniforum, the digital newspaper for the University of Oslo. In the article - entitled "Gunnveig Grødeland is trying to avert the next pandemic" - she talks about vaccines, pandemics and how she got interested in immunology.