0000000000241938
AUTHOR
Yasuhiro Ikeda
The mitotic kinase Aurora-A promotes distant metastases by inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ERα+ breast cancer cells
In this study, we demonstrate that constitutive activation of Raf-1 oncogenic signaling induces stabilization and accumulation of Aurora-A mitotic kinase that ultimately drives the transition from an epithelial to a highly invasive mesenchymal phenotype in estrogen receptor α-positive (ERα(+)) breast cancer cells. The transition from an epithelial- to a mesenchymal-like phenotype was characterized by reduced expression of ERα, HER-2/Neu overexpression and loss of CD24 surface receptor (CD24(-/low)). Importantly, expression of key epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and upregulation of the stemness gene SOX2 was linked to acquisition of stem cell-like properties such as the ab…
Human Hypertension Is Characterized by a Lack of Activation of the Antihypertensive Cardiac Hormones ANP and BNP
ObjectivesThis study sought to investigate plasma levels of circulating cardiac natriuretic peptides, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type or brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), in the general community, focusing on their relative differences in worsening human hypertension.BackgroundAlthough ANP and BNP are well-characterized regulators of blood pressure in humans, little is known at the population level about their relationship with hypertension. The authors hypothesized that hypertension is associated with a lack of activation of these hormones or their molecular precursors.MethodsThe study cohort (N = 2,082, age >45 years) was derived from a random sample from Rochester, Minnesota, …
Long-term cardiac pro-B-type natriuretic peptide gene delivery prevents the development of hypertensive heart disease in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Background— Diastolic dysfunction associated with high blood pressure (BP) leads to cardiac remodeling and fibrosis and progression to congestive heart failure. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has BP-lowering, antifibrotic, and antihypertrophic properties, which makes BNP an attractive agent for attenuating the adverse cardiac remodeling associated with hypertension. In the current study, we tested the effects of sustained cardiac proBNP gene delivery on BP, cardiac function, and remodeling in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods and Results— We used the myocardium-tropic adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) vector to achieve continuously enhanced cardiac rat proBNP expressi…