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Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men in the United States, and poses a great challenge to public health. Although usually treatable, prostate cancer may become aggressive and thus leads to many male deaths. Natural products are considered to be an excellent source for drug discovery.  My research primarily investigates dibenzoylmethane (DBM), a minor constituent of licorice that is widely used in sunscreens as an ultraviolet blocking agent. My laboratory was the first to show that DBM inhibits the proliferation of prostate cancer cells in vitro  in conjunction with an accumulation of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The mechanistic basis for these antiproliferative effects is unknown.  We were also the first research group to publish the qualitative confirmation of DBM as a minor constituent of Glycyrrhiza glabra.  My current work examines androgen receptor (AR) signaling in prostate cancer development and progression; and, the AR and its co-activators (such as heat shock proteins, cytokines and prostatic markers) as molecular targets of DBM for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer.

PUBLICATIONS (select few)
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Jackson, K.M., M.C. Frazier, M.D. Mancia, and R.N. Shaw.  Recent Advances in the Licorice Root Constituent Dibenzoylmethane as a Therapeutic Option for Cancer (manuscript accepted for Studies in Natural Products, 2018)

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Mancia, M.D., M.E. Reid*, E. DuBose*, J Campbell, K.M. Jackson. Characterization of Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Constituents by GC/MS, Natural Product Communications, 9 (1): 91-94 (2014).

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Bayse, G.S., L.P. Hammonds-Odie, K.M. Jackson, D.K. Tucker and W.G. Kirlin. Permeation of Roxarsone and its Metabolites Increases Caco-2 Cell Proliferation. Advances in Biological Chemistry, 3: 389-96 (2013).

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Odom, R. Y., M.Y. Dansby, A.M. Rollins-Hairston, K.M. Jackson, and W.G. Kirlin.  Phytochemical induction of cell cycle arrest by glutathione oxidation and reversal by N-acetylcysteine in human colon carcinoma cells. Nutrition and Cancer 61(3): 332-9 (2009).

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Jackson, K.M., M.C. Frazier, and W.B. Harris. Suppression of the Androgen Receptor in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells by Dibenzoylmethane. Anticancer Research 27: 1483-88 (2007).

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Frazier, M.C., K.M. Jackson, E. J-Stephens, M.G. Anderson, and W.B. Harris. Proteomic Analysis of Proteins Altered by Dibenzoylmethane in Human Prostatic Cancer LNCaP Cells. Proteomics 4: 2714-21 (2004).

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Jackson, K.M., M. DeLeon, C.R. Verret, and W.B. Harris. Dibenzoylmethane Induces Cell Cycle Deregulation in Prostate Cancer Cells.  Cancer Letters 178 (2): 161-5 (2002).

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