Search results for "Neoplastic"
showing 10 items of 2901 documents
ΔNp73β is oncogenic in hepatocellular carcinoma by blocking apoptosis signaling via death receptors and mitochondria
2010
p73 belongs to the p53 family of transcription factors known to regulate cell cycle and apoptosis. The Trp73 gene has two promoters that drive the expression of two major p73 isoform subfamilies: TA and ΔN. In general, TAp73 isoforms show proapoptotic activities, whereas members of the N-terminally truncated (ΔN) p73 subfamily that lack the transactivation domain show antiapoptotic functions. We found that upregulation of ΔNp73 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) correlated with reduced survival. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms accounting for the oncogenic role of ΔNp73 in HCC.ΔNp73β can directly interfere with the transcriptional activation function of the TA (containing the t…
The “Janus” Role of C/EBPs Family Members in Cancer Progression
2020
CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs) constitute a family of transcription factors composed of six members that are critical for normal cellular differentiation in a variety of tissues. They promote the expression of genes through interaction with their promoters. Moreover, they have a key role in regulating cellular proliferation through interaction with cell cycle proteins. C/EBPs are considered to be tumor suppressor factors due to their ability to arrest cell growth (contributing to the terminal differentiation of several cell types) and for their role in cellular response to DNA damage, nutrient deprivation, hypoxia, and genotoxic agents. However, C/EBPs can elicit completely opposi…
HIF-1α induces MXI1 by alternate promoter usage in human neuroblastoma cells
2009
Adaptation to low oxygen conditions is essential for maintaining homeostasis and viability in oxygen-consuming multi-cellular tissues, including solid tumors. Central in these processes are the hypoxia-inducible transcription factors, HIF-1 and HIF-2, controlling genes involved in e.g. glucose metabolism and neovascularization. Tumor hypoxia and HIF expression have also been associated with a dedifferentiated phenotype and increased aggressiveness. In this report we show that the MAX interactor-1 (MXI1) gene is directly regulated by HIF proteins in neuroblastoma and breast cancer cells. HIF-binding and transactivation were detected within MXI1 gene regulatory sequences in the vicinity of th…
Efficient Expression and Crystallization System of Cancer-Associated Carbonic Anhydrase Isoform IX.
2015
Human carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is overexpressed in a number of solid tumors and is considered to be a marker for cellular hypoxia that it is not produced in most normal tissues. CA IX contributes to the acidification of the extracellular matrix, which, in turn, favors tumor growth and metastasis. Therefore, CA IX is considered to be a promising anti-cancer drug target. However, the ability to specifically target CA IX is challenging due to the fact that the human genome encodes 15 different carbonic anhydrase isoforms that have a high degree of homology. Furthermore, structure-based drug design of CA IX inhibitors so far has been largely unsuccessful due to technical difficulties regar…
p63 Isoforms Regulate Metabolism of Cancer Stem Cells
2014
p63 is an important regulator of epithelial development expressed in different variants containing (TA) or lacking (ΔN) the N-terminal transactivation domain. The different isoforms regulate stem-cell renewal and differentiation as well as cell senescence. Several studies indicate that p63 isoforms also play a role in cancer development; however, very little is known about the role played by p63 in regulating the cancer stem phenotype. Here we investigate the cellular signals regulated by TAp63 and ΔNp63 in a model of epithelial cancer stem cells. To this end, we used colon cancer stem cells, overexpressing either TAp63 or ΔNp63 isoforms, to carry out a proteomic study by chemical-labeling …
Selective Activation of Trophoblast-specific PLAC1 in Breast Cancer by CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein β (C/EBPβ) Isoform 2
2009
The trophoblast-specific gene PLAC1 (placenta-specific 1) is ectopically expressed in a wide range of human malignancies, most frequently in breast cancer, and is essentially involved in cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Here we show that basal activity of the PLAC1 promoter is selectively controlled by ubiquitous transcription factor SP1 and isoform 2 of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta that we found to be selectively expressed in placental tissue and cancer cells. Binding of both factors to their respective elements within the PLAC1 promoter was essential to attain full promoter activity. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) signaling further augmented transcription and …
Disparity between Inter-Patient Molecular Heterogeneity and Repertoires of Target Drugs Used for Different Types of Cancer in Clinical Oncology
2020
Inter-patient molecular heterogeneity is the major declared driver of an expanding variety of anticancer drugs and personalizing their prescriptions. Here, we compared interpatient molecular heterogeneities of tumors and repertoires of drugs or their molecular targets currently in use in clinical oncology. We estimated molecular heterogeneity using genomic (whole exome sequencing) and transcriptomic (RNA sequencing) data for 4890 tumors taken from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. For thirteen major cancer types, we compared heterogeneities at the levels of mutations and gene expression with the repertoires of targeted therapeutics and their molecular targets accepted by the current guideli…
Targeting Cancer Chemotherapy Resistance by Precision Medicine-Driven Nanoparticle-Formulated Cisplatin.
2021
Therapy resistance is the major cause of cancer death. As patients respond heterogeneously, precision/personalized medicine needs to be considered, including the application of nanoparticles (NPs). The success of therapeutic NPs requires to first identify clinically relevant resistance mechanisms and to define key players, followed by a rational design of biocompatible NPs capable to target resistance. Consequently, we employed a tiered experimental pipeline fromiin silico/ito analytical andiin vitro/ito overcome cisplatin resistance. First, we generated cisplatin-resistant cancer cells and used next-generation sequencing together with CRISPR/Cas9 knockout technology to identify the ion cha…
Role of Gadd45a in Wip1-dependent regulation of intestinal tumorigenesis.
2012
Conversion of intestinal stem cells into tumor-initiating cells is an early step in Apc(Min)-induced polyposis. Wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1)-dependent activation of a DNA damage response and p53 has a permanent role in suppression of stem cell conversion, and deletion of Wip1 lowers the tumor burden in Apc(Min) mice. Here we show that cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2a, checkpoint kinase 2, and growth arrest and DNA damage gene 45a (Gadd45a) exert critical functions in the tumor-resistant phenotype of Wip1-deficient mice. We further identified Gadd45a as a haploinsufficient gene in the regulation of Wip1-dependent tumor resistance in mice. Gadd45a appears to function through…
Lentivirus-induced dendritic cells for immunization against high-risk WT1(+) acute myeloid leukemia.
2013
Wilms' tumor 1 antigen (WT1) is overexpressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a high-risk neoplasm warranting development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches. Unfortunately, clinical immunotherapeutic use of WT1 peptides against AML has been inconclusive. With the rationale of stimulating multiantigenic responses against WT1, we genetically programmed long-lasting dendritic cells capable of producing and processing endogenous WT1 epitopes. A tricistronic lentiviral vector co-expressing a truncated form of WT1 (lacking the DNA-binding domain), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and interleukin-4 (IL-4) was used to transduce human monocytes ex vivo. Overnight transd…