0000000000443153
AUTHOR
Rita Ferla
BRCA1/2 variants of uncertain clinical significance in patients with famlial and hereditary breast/ovarian cancer
Leptin and Its Receptor are Overexpressed in Brain Tumors and Correlate with the Degree of Malignancy
Although leptin and its receptor (ObR) have emerged as important cancer biomarkers, the role of the leptin system in brain tumor development remains unknown. We screened 87 human brain tumor biopsies using immunohistochemistry and detected leptin and ObR in 55.2% and 60.9% cases, respectively. In contrast, leptin and ObR were absent in 14 samples of normal brain tissue. The presence of leptin correlated with ObR with overall concordance 80.5%. The leptin/ObR system was highly expressed in glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytomas, while lower expression of both markers was noted in low-grade astrocytomas and gangliogliomas. The association between leptin/ObR and the degree of tumor malignan…
Analysis of TP53, Ki-Ras and P16INK4A promoter methylation as potential prognostic factors in patients with colorectal cancer
Acute loss of pRB function induces centrosome amplification and aneuploidy in human fibroblasts
GENOTYPE ANALYSIS OF COLORECTAL CARCINOMAS THROUGH LASER PRESSURE CATAPULTING (LPC)
BRCA 1/2 GENES MUTATIONAL SCREENING IN SICILIAN BREAST AND/OR OVARIAN CANCER FAMILIES
Expression of angiogenic regulators, VEGF and leptin, is regulated by the EGF/PI3K/STAT3 pathway in colorectal cancer cells.
Both leptin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are growth and angiogenic cytokines that are upregulated in different types of cancer and have been implicated in neoplastic progression. Here we investigated the molecular mechanism by which leptin and VEGF expression are regulated in colon cancer by epidermal growth factor (EGF). In colon cancer cell line HT-29, EGF induced the binding of signal transducer and activator transcription 3 (STAT3) to STAT3 consensus motifs within the VEGF and leptin promoters and stimulated leptin and VEGF mRNA and protein synthesis. All these EGF effects were significantly blocked when HT-29 cells were treated with an inhibitor of the phosphoinositide…
BRCA 1/2 VARIANTS OF UNCERTAIN CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN PATIENTS WITH FAMILIAL AND HEREDITARY BREAST/OVARIAN CANCER
Acute loss of pRB function induces centrosome amplification and aneuploidy both in murine and human fibroblasts
Aplotype analysis in four sicilian families with 5083del19bp-BRCA1.
Carcinoma ereditario dell'ovaio (Ereditary Ovarian Cancer)
Molecular analysis of TP53, Ki-Ras and P16 methylation status in tissue and plasma of subjects affected by gastrointestinal cancer
BRCA1/BRCA2 genes mutational screening in Sicilian breast and/or ovarian cancer families.
Genotype analysis of colorectal carcinomas through laser pressare catapulting (LPC)
Recently, new chemotherapy agents which target the non-structural components of mitosis have been developed. An important protein involved in several mitotic phases is the Aurora-A protein. By means of the phosphorylation of different substrates, Aurora-A regulates the correct development of the various phases of mitosis. The kinase activity of this protein makes Aurora-A an excellent candidate as an oncogene. The first data of Aurora-A involvement in cancer regarded the identification of Aurora-A overexpression in primary breast and colon tumour samples. With regard to the predictive role of Aurora-A, it has been shown that its overexpression disrupts the spindle checkpoint activated by pa…
Founder mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes
BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations contribute to a significant number of familial and hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancers. The proportion of high-risk families with breast and/or ovarian cancer cases due to mutations in these tumor suppressor genes varies widely among populations. In some population, a wide spectrum of different mutations in both genes are present, whereas in other groups specific mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been reported with high frequency. Most of these mutations are prevalent in restricted populations as consequence of a founder effect. The comparison of haplotypes between families with the same mutation can distinguish whether high-frequency alleles derive f…
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…
Molecular analysis of TP53, Ki-Ras and P16 methylation status in tissue and plasma of subjects affected by gastrointestinal cancer (GIC)
BACKGROUND: Despite the improvement in detection and surgical therapy in the last years, the outcome of patients affected by colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remains limited by metastatic relapse. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of free tumor DNA in the plasma of CRC patients in order to understand its possible prognostic role. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ki-Ras, TP53 mutations and p16(INK4A) methylation status were prospectively evaluated in tumor tissues and plasma of 66 CRC patients. RESULTS: In 50 of the 66 primitive tumor cases (76%) at least one significant alteration was identified in Ki-Ras and/or TP53 and/or p16(INK4A) genes. Eighteen of the 50 patients presented the same…