Search results for "asm"

The organoid era permits the development of new applications to study glioblastoma

2020

Simple Summary Glioblastoma is the most lethal primary adult brain tumor. The great number of mutations involved and the aggressiveness of glioblastoma render this type of cancer especially difficult to investigate. To address this problem, cerebral organoids have emerged as promising tools to investigate brain biology and to recapitulates the major steps involved in glioblastoma tumorigenesis. This review focuses on methods of cerebral organoid development, describes the protocols used for inducing glioblastoma, the approach used to derive glioblastoma organoids directly from patients’ biopsies and discusses their limitations and potential future direction. Abstract Glioblastoma (GB) is th…

NOTCH3 expression is linked to breast cancer seeding and distant metastasis

2018

Background Development of distant metastases involves a complex multistep biological process termed the invasion-metastasis cascade, which includes dissemination of cancer cells from the primary tumor to secondary organs. NOTCH developmental signaling plays a critical role in promoting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, tumor stemness, and metastasis. Although all four NOTCH receptors show oncogenic properties, the unique role of each of these receptors in the sequential stepwise events that typify the invasion-metastasis cascade remains elusive. Methods We have established metastatic xenografts expressing high endogenous levels of NOTCH3 using estrogen receptor alpha-positive (ERα+) MCF…

Potential Molecular Players of the Tumor Microenvironment in Extracranial Pediatric Solid Tumors

2020

Pediatric cancers are rare malignancies worldwide and represent around 1% of all new cancer diagnoses [...]

Inhibition of colon cancer growth by docosahexaenoic acid involves autocrine production of TNFα

2016

IF 7.932; International audience; The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Among pro-inflammatory mediators, tumor necrosis factor a (TNF alpha) plays a paradoxical role in cancer biology with induction of cancer cell death or survival depending on the cellular context. The objective of the study was to evaluate the role of TNFa in DHA-mediated tumor growth inhibition and colon cancer cell death. The treatment of human colorectal cancer cells, HCT-116 and HCT-8 cells, with DHA triggered apoptosis in autocrine TNF alpha-dependent manner. We demonstrated that DHA-induced increased content of TNF alpha mRNA occurred thr…

Relevance of the natural HDAC inhibitor sulforaphane as a chemopreventive agent in urologic tumors.

2018

Due to an increased understanding of molecular biology and the genomics of cancer, new and potent agents have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight this disease. However, all of these drugs cause severe side effects and resistance inevitably develops, re-activating tumor growth and dissemination. For this reason, patients turn to natural compounds as alternative or complementary treatment options, since it has been found that natural plant products may block, inhibit, or reverse cancer development. The present review focusses on the role of the natural compound sulforaphane (SFN) as an anti-tumor agent in urologic cancer. SFN is a natural compound found in crucife…

The importance of transmembrane domain interactions in the viral control of apoptosis

2021

Viral control of apoptosis occurs through the expression of viral encoded anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) analogs. These proteins are thought to restrain apoptosis by interacting with cellular BCL2 family members. We identified that protein-protein interactions between cellular and viral BCL2 transmembrane domains are crucial for the viral protein’s function.

Editorial: Cell Stress, Metabolic Reprogramming, and Cancer

2018

Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Activity as a Switch for Glioblastoma Responsiveness to Temozolomide

2018

Rationale: The activity of the transcription factor, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1?, is a common driver of a number of the pathways involved in the aggressiveness of glioblastomas (GBMs), and it has been suggested that the reduction in this activity observed, soon after the administration of temozolomide (TMZ), can be a biomarker of an early response in GBM models. As HIF-1? is a tightly regulated protein, studying the processes involved in its downregulation could shed new light on the mechanisms underlying GBM sensitivity or resistance to TMZ. Methods: The effect of HIF-1? silencing on cell responsiveness to TMZ was assessed in four genetically different human GBM cell lines by evaluat…

Targeting Immune Modulators in Glioma While Avoiding Autoimmune Conditions

2021

Simple Summary Glioblastoma multiforme is a futile disease usually leading to the patient’s death within one year post-diagnosis; therefore, novel treatment options are desperately needed. In this regard, activation of the inert immune system has moved into focus in recent years. Malignant brain tumors, as well as autoimmune diseases, elicit aberrant immune responses. In this way, glioma escapes the host’s immune system and, thus, activation of the immune response in order to reduce tumor tolerance can serve as an alternative treatment option. Immune checkpoint modulators in combination with traditional therapies have gained attention in both glioma and autoimmune diseases. In this review, …

Hormone Involvement in Tissue Development, Physiology and Oncogenesis: A Preface to the Special Issue

2020

Hormones, i.e., the products of specialized endocrine cells which spread throughout the body via the bloodstream, control the normal development and growth of organisms at the embryo-fetal stage and, in adult life, regulate, integrate, and coordinate a range of different physiological processes which concern virtually all body tissues. They exert their biological effects by interacting with either surface or intracellular receptors, thereby activating signalization pathways [1]. For example, steroid hormones, such as those released by the adrenal glands, testes and ovaries, once freely crossed through the plasmalemma, bind to receptors that act as ligand-dependent transcriptional regulators…