Search results for "Signaling pathway"
showing 10 items of 284 documents
The Hippo Show Must Go On: YAP Activation as a Therapeutic Strategy in Colorectal Cancer
2020
The role of Hippo pathway in colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation and progression has been controversial. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Cheung et al. (2020) shed new light on a distinct function of the transcriptional co-activator YAP as a tumor suppressor and Wnt pathway inhibitor in CRC.
Advanced mechanotherapy: Biotensegrity for governing metastatic tumor cell fate via modulating the extracellular matrix.
2021
Mechano-transduction is the procedure of mechanical stimulus translation via cells, among substrate shear flow, topography, and stiffness into a biochemical answer. TAZ and YAP are transcriptional coactivators which are recognized as relay proteins that promote mechano-transduction within the Hippo pathway. With regard to healthy cells in homeostasis, mechano-transduction regularly restricts proliferation, and TAZ and YAP are totally inactive. During cancer development a YAP/TAZ - stimulating positive response loop is formed between the growing tumor and the stiffening ECM. As tumor developments, local stromal and cancerous cells take advantage of mechanotransduction to enhance proliferatio…
Interfering with MIF-CD74 signalling on macrophages and dendritic cells with a peptide-based approach restores the immune response against metastatic…
2018
ABSTRACTMounting an effective immune response against cancer requires the activation of innate and adaptive immune cells. Metastatic melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Immunotherapies that boost the activity of effector T cells have shown a remarkable success in melanoma treatment. Patients, however, can develop resistance to such therapies by mechanisms that include the establishment of an immune suppressive tumour microenvironment. Understanding how metastatic melanoma cells suppress the immune system is vital to develop effective immunotherapies against this disease. In this study, we find that the innate immune cells, macrophages and dendritic cells are suppressed in m…
Self-organised symmetry breaking in zebrafish reveals feedback from morphogenesis to pattern formation
2019
A fundamental question in developmental biology is how the early embryo breaks initial symmetry to establish the spatial coordinate system later important for the organisation of the embryonic body plan. In zebrafish, this is thought to depend on the inheritance of maternal mRNAs [1–3], cortical rotation to generate a dorsal pole of beta-catenin activity [4–8] and the release of Nodal signals from the yolk syncytial layer (YSL) [9–12]. Recent work aggregating mouse embryonic stem cells has shown that symmetry breaking can occur in the absence of extra-embryonic tissue [19,20]. To test whether this is also true in zebrafish, we separated embryonic cells from the yolk and allowed them to deve…
Cytotoxicity of the indole alkaloid reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentina against drug-resistant tumor cells.
2015
Abstract Background: The antihypertensive reserpine is an indole alkaloid from Rauwolfia serpentina and exerts also profound activity against cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The present investigation was undertaken to investigate possible modes of action to explain its activity toward drug-resistant tumor cells. Material and methods: Sensitive and drug-resistant tumor cell lines overexpressing P-glycoprotein (ABCB1/MDR1), breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2/BCRP), mutation-activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), wild-type and p53-knockout cells as well as the NCI panel of cell lines from different tumor origin were analyzed. Reserpine's cytotoxicity was investigated by res…
STEM CELLS AND COLON CANCER
2012
The current concept of tumorigenesis suggests that cancers arise and are “driven” by cells with stem cell-like properties, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), which share many functional and molecular features with normal stem cells. Self-renewal key pathways (e.g., Wnt, Notch, and Hedgehog) are tightly regulated in normal stem cells, but are impaired in CSCs. For instance, active Wnt pathway plays a crucial role in colon cancer pathophysiology, where deregulation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, a negative regulator of Wnt signaling, represents one of the earliest alterations in the multistep process of colon carcinogenesis, causing early adenoma formation. Normal colon stem ce…
CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells and TGF-Beta in Mucosal Inflammation
2008
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine which plays a key role in the maintenance of the immune system homeostasis. Indeed the abrogation of the TGF-beta signaling in immune cells leads to autoimmunity and inflammation in several organs including the gut. TGF-beta acts at multiple levels to maintain the immune system in check. However, TGF-beta has been recently shown to play a key role in the peripheral generation and function of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, a subset of suppressive lymphocytes involved in the control of effector T cell activation and proliferation. Consistently abrogation of Tregs maturation as observed in different systems leads to a p…
Topical application of the Wnt/β-catenin activator methyl vanillate increases hair count and hair mass index in women with androgenetic alopecia
2016
Activation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway has emerged as a potential therapeutic target in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Methyl vanillate (MV) - a safe plant-derived ingredient - has been recently shown to activate the WNT/β-catenin signaling. Objectives Two distinct substudies were conducted. First, we designed a 6-month, uncontrolled, open-label clinical study to investigate whether topically applied MV may increase hair count and hair mass index (HMI) in female AGA. Second, we conducted a molecular study on the effect of MV on WNT10B mRNA expression in scalp biopsies of women with AGA. A total of 20 Caucasian women (age range: 25-57 years) with AGA (Sinclair grade 1-2) were included. The re…
Inhibition of tumor cell proliferation in human uterine leiomyomas by vitamin D via Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
2018
To assess the effect of vitamin D (VitD) on human uterine leiomyomas through Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibition, apoptosis induction, and cell growth arrest.A prospective study comparing leiomyoma vs. myometrium tissues. Paired design study comparing human uterine leiomyoma primary (HULP) cells treated with or without VitD.University hospital.Human uterine leiomyoma and myometrium were collected from women (aged 35-52 years) without hormonal treatment.Samples were collected from women undergoing surgery due to symptomatic uterine leiomyoma pathology.Uterine leiomyoma and myometrium tissues were analyzed by western blot (WB) to determine proliferation, Wnt/β-catenin, and apoptosis pathways. HU…
Vitamin D as an effective treatment in human uterine leiomyomas independent of mediator complex subunit 12 mutation.
2021
Objective To study whether vitamin D (VitD) inhibits cell proliferation and Wnt/β-catenin and transforming growth factor−β (TGFβ) signaling pathways in uterine leiomyomas independent of mediator complex subunit 12 (MED12) mutation status. Design Prospective study comparing leiomyoma vs. myometrial tissues and human uterine leiomyoma primary (HULP) cells treated with or without VitD and analyzed by MED12 mutation status. Setting Hospital and university laboratories. Patient(s) Women with uterine leiomyoma without any treatment (n = 37). Intervention(s) Uterine leiomyoma and myometrium samples were collected from women undergoing surgery because of symptomatic leiomyoma pathology. Main Outcom…