Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancer in males. Although the majority of the patients can benefit from the present clinical treatments, 20%-30% of the patients who originally... Show moreProstate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancer in males. Although the majority of the patients can benefit from the present clinical treatments, 20%-30% of the patients who originally respond to the therapy still develop incurable, castration-resistance bone metastases, which is a main cause of death in PCa . In this thesis, I combined an advanced zebrafish xenograft model with in vitro cellular approaches and mice xenografts to study the early stage of PCa metastasis. Using this comprehensive esearch platform, I identified multiple key signaling pathways that play essential roles in promoting the onset of PCa metastatis. The pathways I discovered include Cripto-associated EMT plasticity, CDC-42-N-Wasp-Cortactin associated mechanosensing and mechanotransduction, microenvironment dependent NF-ĸB-Activin A signaling pathway, and AMPK-Autophagy dependent metabolic stress coping pathway. Show less
