Downregulated expression of Cdc25A gene in MCF-7 breast cancer cell

BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants of uncertain clinical significance and their implications for genetic counseling

The Interplay between Metabolism, PPAR Signaling Pathway, and Cancer

BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in sicilian breast and/or ovarian cancer families and their association with familial profiles

EGF Induces STAT3-Dependent VEGF Expression in HT-29 colon cancer cells

79 VUS VARIANTS IN BRCA GENES OF HEREDITARY BREAST/OVARIAN CANCER

Role of miR-126 shuttled by exosomes in the crosstalk between chronic myelogenus leukemia and endothelial cells.

Genetic and Molecular Characterization of The Human Osteosarcoma 3AB-OS Cancer Stem Cell Line: A Possible Model For Studying Osteosarcoma Origin and Stemness

Finding new treatments targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor seems to be critical to halt cancer and improve patient survival. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive tumor affecting adolescents, for which there is no second-line chemotherapy. Uncovering new molecular mechanisms underlying the development of osteosarcoma and origin of CSCs is crucial to identify new possible therapeutic strategies. Here, we aimed to characterize genetically and molecularly the human osteosarcoma 3AB-OS CSC line, previously selected from MG63 cells and which proved to have both in vitro and in vivo features of CSCs. Classic cytogenetic studies demonstrated that 3AB-OS cells have hypertriploid karyotype wit…

Analysis of Germline Gene Copy Number Variants of Patients with Sporadic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Reveals Specific Variations

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The rapid fatality of pancreatic cancer is, in large part, the result of diagnosis at an advanced stage in the majority of patients. Identification of individuals at risk of developing pancreatic adenocarcinoma would be useful to improve the prognosis of this disease. There is presently no biological or genetic indicator allowing the detection of patients at risk. Our main goal was to identify copy number variants (CNVs) common to all patients with sporadic pancreatic cancer. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We analyzed gene CNVs in leukocyte DNA from 31 patients with sporadic pancreatic adenocarcinoma and from 93 matched contr…

Effects of anti-miR-182 on TSP-1 expression in human colon cancer cells: there is a sense in antisense?

Abstract: Objective: miRNAs are attractive molecules for cancer treatment, including colon rectal cancer (CRC). We investigate on the molecular mechanism by which miR-182 could regulate thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) expression, a protein down-regulated in CRC and inversely correlated with tumor vascularity and metastasis. Background: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of different genes, involved in cancer progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. miR-182, over-expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), has like predictive target thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a protein inversely correlated with tumor vascularity and metastasis that results downregulated in different types of…

Circulating miR-22, miR-24 and miR-34a as novel predictive biomarkers to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in advanced non small cell lung cancer

Pemetrexed has been widely used in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The clinical relevance of polymorphisms of folate pathway genes for pemetrexed metabolism have not been fully elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of circulating miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a, possibly involved in folate pathway, in NSCLC patients treated with pemetrexed compared with healthy controls and to investigate their impact on patient clinical outcomes. A total of 22 consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC, treated with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy and 27 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this preliminary analysis. miR-22, miR-24, …

Exosomal shuttling of miR-126 in endothelial cells modulates adhesive and migratory abilities of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells.

BACKGROUND: Recent findings indicate that exosomes released from cancer cells contain microRNAs (miRNAs) that may be delivered to cells of tumor microenvironment. RESULTS: To elucidate whether miRNAs secreted from chronic myelogenous leukemia cells (CML) are shuttled into endothelial cells thus affecting their phenotype, we first analysed miRNAs content in LAMA84 exosomes. Among the 124 miRNAs identified in LAMA84 exosomes, we focused our attention on miR-126 which was found to be over-overexpressed in exosomes compared with producing parental cells. Transfection of LAMA84 with Cy3-labelled miR-126 and co-culture of leukemia cells with endothelial cells (EC) confirmed that miR-126 is shuttl…

Effects of PPARγ agonists on the expression of leptin and vascular endothelial growth factor in breast cancer cells.

The obesity hormone leptin has been implicated in breast cancer development. Breast cancer cells express the leptin receptor and are able to synthesize leptin in response to obesity-related stimuli. Furthermore, leptin is a positive regulator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and high levels of both proteins are associated with worse prognosis in breast cancer patients. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) ligands are therapeutic agents used in patient with Type 2 diabetes and obesity which have recently been studied for their potential anti-tumor effect. Here, we studied if these compounds, ciglitazone and GW1929, can affect the expression of leptin and VEGF in b…

Breast cancer genome-wide association studies: there is strength in numbers.

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease that exhibits familial aggregation. Family linkage studies have identified high-penetrance genes, BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN and TP53, that are responsible for inherited BC syndromes. Moreover, a combination of family-based and population-based approaches indicated that genes involved in DNA repair, such as CHEK2, ATM, BRIP and PALB2, are associated with moderate risk. Therefore, all of these known genes account for only 25% of the familial aggregation cases. Recently, genome wide association studies (GWAS) in BC revealed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five novel genes associated to susceptibility: TNRC9, FGFR2, MAP3K1, H19 and lymphocyte-spe…

the proximal leptin gene promoter is regulated by ppar gamma agonist in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

VUS variants in BRCA genes of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer

The role of microRNAs in cancer: diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and targets of therapies

Introduction: miRNAs are noncoding RNAs that target specific mRNA with subsequent regulation of particular genes, implicated in various biological processes. In cancer, miRNAs could show a different expression from normal tissues. miRNAs have a role as oncogenes when they target tumor suppressor genes and similarly they are tumor suppressors when they target oncogenes. Areas covered: In this review, areas covered include the role of miRNAs in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and research for achievement of therapeutic strategies implicating miRNAs in oncology. As biogenesis of miRNAs is fundamental to understand their usefulness, this has also been discussed. Both miRNA expression profiles in ca…

33 EFFECT OF miR-21, miR-182 AND let-7i ON TSP-1 EXPRESSION IN COLON CANCER CELL LINE

miR-20b modulates VEGF expression by targeting HIF-1 alpha and STAT3 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of different genes, including genes involved in cancer progression. A functional link between hypoxia, a key feature of the tumor microenvironment, and miRNA expression has been documented. We investigated whether and how miR-20b can regulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells under normoxic and hypoxia-mimicking conditions (CoCl(2) exposure). Using immunoblotting, ELISA, and quantitative real-time PCR, we demonstrated that miR-20b decreased VEGF protein levels at 4 and 24 h following CoCl(2) treatment, and VEGF mRNA at 4 h of treatment. In addition, miR-20b reduce…

Effects of anti-miR-182 on Thrombospondin-1 expression in human colon cancer cells

ABSTRACT Background: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of different genes, involved in cancer progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. Bio-informatic statistical analysis indicated that miR-182, over-expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), has like predictive target Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a protein inversely correlated with tumor vascularity and metastasis that results downregulated in different types of cancer including CRC. Early Growth Response 1 (Erg-1) and Specificity Protein 1 (Sp-1) are transcriptional factors that bind consensus sequence on TSP-1 gene promoter and are putative target of miR-96/182/183 cluster. MiR-182 could target SMAD4, which expres…

Analysis of molecular mechanisms and anti-tumoural effects of zoledronic acid in breast cancer cells

Zoledronic acid (ZOL) is the most potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BPs) that strongly binds to bone mineral and acts as a powerful inhibitor of bone resorption, already clinically available for the treatment of patients with osteolytic metastases. Recent data also suggest that ZOL, used in breast cancer, may provide more than just supportive care modifying the course of the disease, though the possible molecular mechanism of action is still unclear. As breast cancer is one of the primary tumours with high propensity to metastasize to the bone, we investigated, for the first time, differential gene expression profile on Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) breast cancer cells tre…

Potential Role of ANGPTL4 in the Cross Talk between Metabolism and Cancer through PPAR Signaling Pathway

The angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) protein belongs to a superfamily of secreted proteins structurally related to factors modulating angiogenesis known as angiopoietins. At first, ANGPTL4 has been identified as an adipokine exclusively involved in lipid metabolism, because of its prevalent expression in liver and adipose tissue. This protein regulates lipid metabolism by inhibiting lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity and stimulating lipolysis of white adipose tissue (WAT), resulting in increased levels of plasma triglycerides (TG) and fatty acids. Subsequently, ANGPTL4 has been shown to be involved in several nonmetabolic and metabolic conditions, both physiological and pathological, including …