Search results for "Translation"
showing 10 items of 1324 documents
Apoptotic Activity of MeCP2 Is Enhanced by C-Terminal Truncating Mutations.
2016
Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is a widely abundant, multifunctional protein most highly expressed in post-mitotic neurons. Mutations causing Rett syndrome and related neurodevelopmental disorders have been identified along the entire MECP2 locus, but symptoms vary depending on mutation type and location. C-terminal mutations are prevalent, but little is known about the function of the MeCP2 C-terminus. We employ the genetic efficiency of Drosophila to provide evidence that expression of p.Arg294* (more commonly identified as R294X), a human MECP2 E2 mutant allele causing truncation of the C-terminal domains, promotes apoptosis of identified neurons in vivo. We confirm this novel find…
Detection of Viral −RNA and +RNA Strands in Enterovirus-Infected Cells and Tissues
2020
The current methods to study the distribution and dynamics of viral RNA molecules inside infected cells are not ideal, as electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry can only detect mature virions, and quantitative real-time PCR does not reveal localized distribution of RNAs. We demonstrated here the branched DNA in situ hybridization (bDNA ISH) technology to study both the amount and location of the emerging &minus
Ribosome-Targeting Antibiotics Impair T Cell Effector Function and Ameliorate Autoimmunity by Blocking Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis
2019
Summary While antibiotics are intended to specifically target bacteria, most are known to affect host cell physiology. In addition, some antibiotic classes are reported as immunosuppressive for reasons that remain unclear. Here, we show that Linezolid, a ribosomal-targeting antibiotic (RAbo), effectively blocked the course of a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Linezolid and other RAbos were strong inhibitors of T helper-17 cell effector function in vitro, showing that this effect was independent of their antibiotic activity. Perturbing mitochondrial translation in differentiating T cells, either with RAbos or through the inhibition of mitochondrial elongation factor G1 (mEF-G1) progressi…
Rescuing the CFTR protein function: Introducing 1,3,4-oxadiazoles as translational readthrough inducing drugs.
2018
Nonsense mutations in the CFTR gene prematurely terminate translation of the CFTR mRNA leading to the production of a truncated protein that lacks normal function causing a more severe form of the cystic fibrosis (CF) disease. About 10% of patients affected by CF show a nonsense mutation. A potential treatment of this alteration is to promote translational readthrough of premature termination codons (PTCs) by Translational Readthrough Inducing Drugs (TRIDs) such as PTC124. In this context we aimed to compare the activity of PTC124 with analogues differing in the heteroatoms position in the central heterocyclic core. By a validated protocol consisting of computational screening, synthesis an…
The Anemonia viridis Venom: Coupling Biochemical Purification and RNA-Seq for Translational Research
2018
Blue biotechnologies implement marine bio-resources for addressing practical concerns. The isolation of biologically active molecules from marine animals is one of the main ways this field develops. Strikingly, cnidaria are considered as sustainable resources for this purpose, as they possess unique cells for attack and protection, producing an articulated cocktail of bioactive substances. The Mediterranean sea anemone Anemonia viridis has been studied extensively for years. In this short review, we summarize advances in bioprospecting of the A. viridis toxin arsenal. A. viridis RNA datasets and toxin data mining approaches are briefly described. Analysis reveals the major pool of neurotoxi…
Evaluation of tumor immune contexture among intrinsic molecular subtypes helps to predict outcome in early breast cancer
2021
BackgroundThe prognosis of early breast cancer is linked to clinic-pathological stage and the molecular characteristics of intrinsic tumor cells. In some patients, the amount and quality of tumor-infiltrating immune cells appear to affect long term outcome. We aimed to propose a new tool to estimate immune infiltrate, and link these factors to patient prognosis according to breast cancer molecular subtypes.MethodsWe performed in silico analyses in more than 2800 early breast cancer transcriptomes with corresponding clinical annotations. We first developed a new gene expression deconvolution algorithm that accurately estimates the quantity of immune cell populations (tumor immune contexture,…
Next-Generation Sequencing Identifies Potential Actionable Targets in Paediatric Sarcomas
2021
Background: Bone and soft-tissue sarcomas represent 13% of all paediatric malignancies. International contributions to introduce next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches into clinical application are currently developing. We present the results from the Precision Medicine program for children with sarcomas at a reference centre. Results: Samples of 70 paediatric sarcomas were processed for histopathological analysis, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a consensus gene panel. Pathogenic alterations were reported and, if existing, targeted recommendations were translated to the clinic. Seventy paediatric patients with sarcomas…
Human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 gene expression is associated with gemcitabine efficacy in advanced leiomyosarcoma and angiosarcoma
2017
Background: The expression of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1), the major gemcitabine transporter into cells, has been thoroughly investigated as a predictive marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer and biliary tract cancers. Since gemcitabine is widely used in the treatment of leiomyosarcoma and angiosarcoma, we investigated the correlation between hENT1 expression and gemcitabine efficacy in these sarcoma subtypes.Methods: We retrospectively identified 71 patients affected by advanced angiosarcoma (26) or leiomyosarcoma (45) treated within five Italian referral centres for sarcoma; among them, 49 patients (15 angiosarcoma, 34 leiomyosarcoma) were treated…
Immune checkpoint inhibition therapy for advanced skin cancer in patients with concomitant hematological malignancy: a retrospective multicenter DeCO…
2020
BackgroundSkin cancers are known for their strong immunogenicity, which may contribute to a high treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). However, a considerable proportion of patients with skin cancer is immuno-compromised by concomitant diseases. Due to their previous exclusion from clinical trials, the ICI treatment efficacy is poorly investigated in these patients. The present study analyzed the ICI treatment outcome in advanced patients with skin cancer with a concomitant hematological malignancy.MethodsThis retrospective multicenter study included patients who were treated with ICI for locally advanced or metastatic melanoma (MM), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cS…
Contribution of the Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Resistance
2017
The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis is an increasingly accepted concept in cancer research that provides a plausible explanation for the considerable phenotypic and molecular heterogeneities observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which hampers therapeutic progress. The hypothesis infers that CSCs share functional properties similar to adult stem cells, such as self-renewal and differentiation capacity, and are exclusively responsible for tumor evolution. By definition, CSCs are held responsible not only for tumor initiation and progression but also acquisition of chemoresistance and the fueling of relapse after therapy. Therefore, the CSC model has significant implications both for tr…