Sharon Persinger Shriver Assistant Professor of Biology, Instructor Human Molecular Genetics; Cancer Genetics
	Office: 116 Mueller Lab
	Phone: 865-5686
	Email: SPS10@psu.edu

Research Interests:
	Role of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor in lung cancer: Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer for men and women in the U.S. The lung cancer epidemic is primarily due to cigarette smoking, which is responsible for at least 80% of lung cancer cases. The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) and its ligand, gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), have been implicated as growth factors in human lung cancer. We have shown that there is an increased likelihood of expression of GRP receptor mRNA in the airway of individuals with a history of prolonged tobacco exposure. This increase in GRPR gene expression was observed regardless of whether the individuals were active smokers at the time of analysis, and elevated gene expression persisted following smoking cessation. Expression of the GRP receptor mRNA is correlated with growth response of airway cells to GRP, suggesting that GRPR expression may be an early step in the pathway of tobacco-induced lung carcinogenesis. Although many molecular alterations have been identified and characterized in lung tumors, there are still no effective clinical markers for early diagnosis or to aid prognosis. This work may lead to the development of important tools to identify early lesions and individuals at high risk for developing lung cancer following tobacco use. Increased risk of women for lung cancer: The risk for major lung cancer types is consistently higher for women than men at every level of exposure to cigarette smoke. This increased risk is likely due to genetic factors, including a higher susceptibility to the effects of tobacco carcinogens in women. The GRP receptor gene is located on the X chromosome, and has been shown to escape X-inactivation in women. The additional copy of the GRPR gene in women may be a cause of the increased susceptibility of females to lung cancer. We have shown that the GRPR gene is expressed more frequently in women in the absence of smoking, and/or that expression is activated earlier in response to tobacco exposure compared to men [see figure]. This effect may be mediated by nicotine. The second expressed copy of the GRPR gene in females may be a factor in the increased susceptibility of women to tobacco-induced lung cancer. Our analysis of the GRPR gene and the molecular mechanisms of GRP receptor activation is designed to evaluate the GRP receptor as an indicator of lung cancer risk, especially in women; elucidate the mechanisms which control expression of GRPR in the human airway; and determine the roles of gene dosage and tobacco use in activation of receptor expression.
Education:
	§ B.A., Indiana University § Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University § Postdoctoral Fellow, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; § Medical genetics fellow, Baylor College of Medicine
Honors and Awards:
	§ C.I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching, Pennsylvania State University, 2004 § American Lung Association research grant, "GRP Receptor Activation in Women and Role in Lung Cancer," § American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant § NIH postdoctoral fellowship § NIH postdoctoral traineeship § NIH predoctoral traineeship
Courses Taught:
	§ Biology 461, Contemporary Issues in Science and Medicine § BMB 464, Molecular Medicine § Biol/Anth 460 and 460H, Human Genetics § Biology 341, Biology of Sex § Biology 33, Human Genetics
Selected Publications:
	Books Kristen Hessler, Ross Whetten, Carol Loopstra, Karen Pesaresi Penner, Sharon Shriver, Robert Zeigler, Jacqueline Fletcher, Melanie Torrie, and Gary L. Comstock. "Golden Rice: A Case Study" inLife Science Ethics, Gary L. Comstock, editor. Iowa State Press, 2002. Dimensions of Human Sexuality, Curtis O. Byer, Louis W. Shainberg, Grace Galliano. Sixth edition by Sharon P. Shriver. McGraw-Hill, 2002 Research Articles Shriver, S.P., H.A. Bourdeau, C.T. Gubish, D.L. Tirpak, A.L. Gaither Davis, J.D. Luketich, and J.M. Siegfried. 2000. Sex-specific expression of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor: Relationship to smoking history and risk of lung cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute92:24-33. News about this article J.M. Siegfried, H.A. Bourdeau, A.L. Gaither Davis, J.D. Luketich, and S.P. Shriver. 2000. Expression of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor, but not neuromedin B receptor, is related to sex, smoking history, and risk for lung cancer. Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res.41:147. K. Dyer, S.P. Shriver, J.M. Siegfried, and J.R. Grandis. 2000. GRPR expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinogenesis. Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res.41:1310. Siegfried, J.M., N. Krishnamachary, A. Gaither Davis, C. Gubish, J.D. Hunt, and S.P. Shriver. 1999. Evidence for autocrine actions of neuromedin B and gastrin-releasing peptide in non-small cell lung cancer. Pulmonary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 12:291-302. Shriver SP, Shriver MD, Tirpak DL, Bloch LM, Hunt JD, Ferrell RE, Siegfried JM. 1998. Trinucleotide repeat length variation in the human ribosomal protein L14 gene (RPL14): localization to3p21.3 and loss of heterozygosity in lung and oral cancers. Mutation Research 406:9-23 Kassis ES, Nguyen N, Shriver SP, Siegfried JM, Schauer PR, Luketich JD. 1998. Detection of occult lymph node metastases in esophageal cancer by minimally invasive staging combined with molecular diagnostic techniques. J. Soc. Laparoendoscopic Surg. 2:331-336 Luketich JD, Kassis ES, Shriver SP, Nguyen NT, Schauer PR, Weigel TL, Yousem SA, Siegfried JM. 1998. Detection of micrometastases in histologically negative lymph nodes in esophageal cancer. Annals of Thoracic Surgery 1998 66:1715-1718 Town, C.D., Campell. B.C., Persinger, S.M., and Campanella, J.J. (1993) Use of radiation-induced tumors to study growth control in Arabidopsis. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. 52:120-125. Persinger, S.M. and Town, C.D. (1991) Isolation and characterization of hormone-autonomous tumors of Arabidopsis thaliana. J. Exp. Botany 42:1363-1370. Dr. Shriver has published in the following journals: Journal of the National Cancer Institute Pulmonary Pharmacology and Therapeutics Mutation Research Annals of Thoracic Surgery Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology Journal of Experimental Botany For other scientific journals, visit our Journals Web page Search the MEDLINE database at PubMed for articles by S. P. Shriver.