Search results for "epidermal growth factor"

Targeted Therapies for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

2015

The discovery of new oncogenic driver mutations and the clinical development of targeted therapies have completely changed the paradigm treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs), erlotinib, gefitinib, afatinib, ALK-inhibitors, crizotinib, and ceritinib, have been already approved for clinical use, benefiting many patients whose tumors harbor, respectively, EGFR or EML4-ALK molecular alterations. However, despite an initial benefit, tumor progression inevitably occurs, due to the development of acquired resistance to the targeted treatments. Several mechanisms of resistance have been identified, such as the seco…

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors and Downstream Signalling Pathways as Cancer Treatment Targets for Medicinal Plants

2015

Entrapment of an EGFR inhibitor into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) improves its antitumor activity against human hepatocarcinoma cells

2014

Background: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), different signaling pathways are de-regulated, and among them, the expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Tyrphostin AG-1478 is a lipophilic low molecular weight inhibitor of EGFR, preferentially acting on liver tumor cells. In order to overcome its poor drug solubility and thus improving its anticancer activity, it was entrapped into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) by using safe ingredients for parenteral delivery. Results: Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) carrying tyrphostin AG-1478 were prepared by using the nanoprecipitation method and different matrix compositions. The best system in terms of mean size, PDI, zeta…

Gefitinib in lung cancer therapy. Clinical results, predictive markers of response and future perspectives.

2009

Over the past few years, epidermal growth factor receptor has emerged as one of the most important targets in tumorgenesis and several drugs targeting signal transduction pathways have been developed. The first among these agents to be approved for the treatment of NSCLC was gefitinib, a potent, selective and reversible inhibitor of HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase activity. The review summarizes its clinical development and the new therapeutic options, with particular focus on predictive markers of susceptibility to this drug.

Selected Secondary Plant Metabolites for Cancer Therapy

2015

Secondary plant metabolites reveal numerous biological activities making them attractive as resource for drug development of human diseases. As the majority of cancer drugs clinically established during the past half century is derived from nature, cancer researchers worldwide try to identify novel natural products as lead compounds for cancer therapy. Natural products are considered as promising cancer therapeutics, either as single agents or in combination protocols, to enhance the antitumor activity of additional therapeutic modalities. Most natural compounds exert pleotrophic effects and modulate various signal transduction pathways. A better understanding of the complex mechanisms of a…

Unjamming overcomes kinetic and proliferation arrest in terminally differentiated cells and promotes collective motility of carcinoma.

2019

During wound repair, branching morphogenesis and carcinoma dissemination, cellular rearrangements are fostered by a solid-to-liquid transition, known as unjamming. The biomolecular machinery behind unjamming and its pathophysiological relevance remain, however, unclear. Here, we study unjamming in a variety of normal and tumorigenic epithelial two-dimensional (2D) and 3D collectives. Biologically, the increased level of the small GTPase RAB5A sparks unjamming by promoting non-clathrin-dependent internalization of epidermal growth factor receptor that leads to hyperactivation of the kinase ERK1/2 and phosphorylation of the actin nucleator WAVE2. This cascade triggers collective motility effe…

γ2-Adaptin, a Ubiquitin-interacting Adaptor, Is a Substrate to Coupled Ubiquitination by the Ubiquitin Ligase Nedd4 and Functions in the Endosomal Pa…

2008

gamma2-Adaptin is a putative member of the clathrin adaptor protein family with unknown physiological function. We previously reported that gamma2-adaptin acts as a ubiquitin receptor by virtue of its ubiquitin-interacting motif. Here we demonstrate that this motif mediates a specific physical interaction with the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 and promotes ubiquitination of gamma2-adaptin. By mapping regions of Nedd4 involved in binding to gamma2-adaptin, we identified its C2 domain to be essential, whereas the WW and HECT domains are dispensable. Consistent with this, we uncovered that the C2 domain of Nedd4 is ubiquitinated itself and as such is recruited by the ubiquitin-interacting motif of ga…

Angiogenesis, immune system and growth factors: new targets in colorectal cancer therapy.

2005

Colorectal cancer is the second most common malignant human neoplasia. Over recent years, many efforts have been performed in order to develop and improve therapeutic protocols, and many advances have been accomplished in both the field of adjuvant and palliative therapy. Most of the chemotherapic agents currently used in the clinical setting are the products of decades of research aimed at inhibiting the uncontrolled growth of dysplastic cells. However, new frontiers in this field have recently been opened, with the identification of key molecules involved in physiologic mechanisms that are of fundamental importance for cancer development and progression. Tumor-induced angiogenesis, the ca…

The Exosomes-derived EGFR Ligand Amphiregulin (AREG) is a new key player in Multiple Myeloma Bone Destruction

Il Mieloma Multiplo (MM) è caratterizzato dalla presenza di aree osteolitiche dovute alla presenza di plasmacellule (PC) neoplastiche che causano l'interruzione della normale omeostasi ossea, promuovendo l'attività degli osteoclasti (OC) ed inibendo la funzione degli (OB). Al momento, uno dei campi di ricerca nella fisiopatologia del MM è proprio lo studio dei meccanismi che regolano l’attività degli OC e degli OB così come l’identificazione di target terapeutici per la prevenzione ed il trattamento delle lesioni osteolitiche. Negli ultimi anni è emerso che le vescicole extracellulari (EV), ed in particolare gli esosomi, giocano un ruolo fondamentale nel mediare il cross-talk tra le cellule…

Configurable low-cost plotter device for fabrication of multi-color sub-cellular scale microarrays.

2014

We report on the construction and operation of a low-cost plotter for fabrication of microarrays for multiplexed single-cell analyses. The printing head consists of polymeric pyramidal pens mounted on a rotation stage installed on an aluminium frame. This construction enables printing of microarrays onto glass substrates mounted on a tilt stage, controlled by a Lab-View operated user interface. The plotter can be assembled by typical academic workshops from components of less than 15 000 Euro. The functionality of the instrument is demonstrated by printing DNA microarrays on the area of 0.5 squared centimeters using up to three different oligonucleotides. Typical feature sizes are 5 μm diam…