Dr. David Blask
Professor, Structural & Cellular Biology
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dr. David E. Blask, Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Chrono-Neuroendocrine Oncology in the Dept. of Structural & Cellular Biology at TUSOM, is an internationally-recognized leader in research on the chronobiological and neuroendocrine mechanisms by which the central circadian system in the brain regulates human cancer growth and metabolism and the host/cancer balance via the nighttime circadian production and actions of the pineal gland hormone melatonin. His research with co-workers has led to the discovery of a novel metabolic pathway by which the nocturnal circadian melatonin signal inhibits the growth of human cancers via the suppression of cAMP-dependent tumor uptake of dietary linoleic acid and its metabolism to its mitogenic metabolite 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid. His research has also uncovered melatonin's ability to suppress the tumor uptake of glucose and the production of lactic acid, a process known as aerobic glycolysis or the Warburg effect. Furthermore, his laboratory has demonstrated that the host/cancer balance in metabolism and tumor growth is a dynamic circadian-regulated process mediated by the nocturnal melatonin signal that is disrupted by exposure to light at night-induced melatonin suppression. His research with co-workers has pioneered the perfusion of tissue-isolated human cancer breast cancer xenografts with blood collected from human female subjects collected at different times of the day and night to demonstrate the circadian melatonin signal to be the first circadian anti-cancer signal in humans to directly inhibit tumor growth and metabolism. Moreover, he and his colleagues have shown for the first time that exposure of human female subjects to bright polychromatic light at night induces circadian disruption by suppressing the nocturnal melatonin signal leading to the stimulation of human cancer growth progression and metabolism. Dr. Blask has received a number of awards recognizing his research accomplishments, most notably, the Aaron B. Lerner (discoverer of melatonin) Pioneer Medal for Outstanding and Sustained Contributions to Melatonin Research.
Articles
Declining melatonin levels and MT1 receptor expression in aging rats is associated with enhanced mammary tumor growth and decreased sensitivity to melatonin
2011
Serum melatonin (MLT) levels have been reported to diminish significantly by the 5th and 6th decades of life as the incidence of breast cancer increases. Given MLT's anti-cancer activity, we hypothesize that age-related decline in pineal MLT production leads to enhanced breast cancer development and growth as women age. In this study, we sought to determine whether the growth of tissue-isolated mammary tumors in young, adult, and old female Buffalo rats relates to the age-related changes in MLT and its MT1 receptor.
Antineoplastic effects of melatonin on a rare malignancy of mesenchymal origin...
2009
Melatonin provides a circadian signal that regulates linoleic acid (LA)-dependent tumor growth. In rodent and human cancer xenografts of epithelial origin in vivo, melatonin suppresses the growth-stimulatory effects of linoleic acid (LA) by blocking its uptake and metabolism to the mitogenic agent, 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE).
Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk
2009
The pineal hormone melatonin is involved in the circadian regulation and facilitation of sleep, the inhibition of cancer development and growth, and the enhancement of immune function. Individuals, such as night shift workers, who are exposed to light at night on a regular basis experience biological rhythm (i.e., circadian) disruption including circadian phase shifts, nocturnal melatonin suppression, and sleep disturbances.
Circadian stage-dependent inhibition of human breast cancer metabolism and growth by the nocturnal melatonin signal: consequences of its disruption by light at night in rats and women
2009
The circadian production of melatonin by the pineal gland during the night provides an inhibitory signal to tissue-isolated steroid receptor SR+ and - MCF-7 human breast cancer xenografts in female nude rats. A pivotal mechanism for melatonin's anticancer effects in vivo involves a melatonin receptor-mediated inhibition of linoleic acid (LA) uptake and its metabolism to mitogenically active 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE).
In this issue: circadian disruption and cancer
2009
Media Appearances
Weight Loss Wednesday: Sleeping with TV on could cause weight gain, new study says
"What this study is saying is that there's an association between exposure to light at night, artificial light at night, and weight gain and obesity," said Dr. Blask, Structural and Cellular biologist at Tulane Medical School.
Seeing Blue: Will Chicago's New LED Streetlights Do More Harm Than Good?
All this leads Tulane oncology professor Dr. David Blask to conclude there is “a strong case that outdoor lighting may contribute to [cancer] risk.”
For Our Own Good, Let There Be Dark
“We evolved to see bright blue, full-spectrum light during the day and to have complete blackness at night,” Blask says. “Both are really healthy for your circadian system. It’s all about this oscillatory balance under natural conditions between light and dark.”
