Previous studies have reported that telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes can predict the clinical outcome of several cancers. However, whether leukocyte telomere length is associated with the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be determined. In this study, relative telomere length (RTL) in peripheral blood leukocytes was measured using a real-time...
The oncoprotein ErbB3 is overexpressed in several human cancers, for example in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and in ovarian cancers, and ErbB3-containing heterodimers have been demonstrated to be potent signaling units in carcinogenesis. This especially applies to ErbB2–ErbB3 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)–ErbB3 heterodimers providing anti-apoptotic signaling...
Angiogenesis occurs not only during tissue growth and development but also during wound healing and tumor progression. Angiogenesis is a balanced process controlled by proangiogenic and antiangiogenic molecules. As a critical factor in the induction of angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has become an attractive target for antiangiogenic and cancer therapeutic...
Micro RNAs (miRNAs) play an important role during renal development and show a tissue-specific enrichment in the kidney. Nephroblastomas, embryonal renal neoplasms of childhood, are considered to develop from nephrogenic rests (NRs) and resemble morphologically and genetically developing kidney. We therefore investigated the role of kidney-enriched miRNAs in the pathogenesis of...
Chloride intracellular channel (CLIC) 4 is a member of a redox-regulated, metamorphic multifunctional protein family, first characterized as intracellular chloride channels. Current knowledge indicates that CLICs participate in signaling, cytoskeleton integrity and differentiation functions of multiple tissues. In metabolically stressed skin keratinocytes, cytoplasmic CLIC4 is S...
Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling regulates many diverse cellular activities through both canonical (SMAD-dependent) and non-canonical branches, which includes the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Rho-like guanosine triphosphatase and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/AKT pathways. Here, we demonstrate that miR-335 directly targets and downregulates genes in the...
Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive tumor arising from mesothelial cells of serous membranes. Src family kinases (SFKs) have a pivotal role in cell adhesion, proliferation, survival and apoptosis. Here, we examined the effect of SFK inhibitors in NCI-H2052, ACC-MESO-4 and NCI-H28 cells, mesothelioma cell lines and Met5A, a human non-malignant mesothelial cell line. We found...
Neutrophils play an established role in host defense and in killing invading microorganisms. Although neutrophils are traditionally considered in the context of their antibacterial functions, it is becoming increasingly clear that tumor-associated neutrophils (TAN) play a major role in cancer biology. Neutrophils make up a significant portion of the inflammatory cell infiltrate...
Nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV or CCN3) is a secreted matrix-associated protein that belongs to the CCN gene family and is involved in many cellular functions, including growth, differentiation and adhesion. The effect of CCN3 on human prostate cancer cells, however, is unknown. Here, we have shown that CCN3 increased cell migration and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM...
A close relationship between inflammation and colon cancer has been widely accepted, and interleukin (IL)-17A plays an important role in controlling colonic inflammation. However, the role of IL-17A has not yet been validated in colitis-associated cancer (CAC). This study aims to identify the effects of IL-17A in tumorigenesis utilizing IL-17A-deficient mice in an experimental...
Understanding the molecular pathways that contribute to the development of tamoxifen resistance is a critical research priority as acquired tamoxifen resistance is the principal cause of poor prognosis and death of patients with originally good prognosis hormone-responsive breast tumors. In this report, we provide evidence that Med1, an important subunit of mediator coactivator...
More than 85% of breast cancers are sporadic and attributable to long-term exposure to environmental carcinogens, such as those in the diet, through a multistep disease process progressing from non-cancerous to premalignant and malignant stages. The chemical carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is one of the most abundant heterocyclic amines found in...
Curcumin can induce p53 -independent apoptosis. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be defined. Here, we show that curcumin-induced apoptosis in a panel of tumor cells with mutant p53 . Curcumin rapidly induced activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) including extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK...
Since recent evidence indicates a requirement for epithelial nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling in lung tumorigenesis, we investigated the impact of the NF-κB inhibitor bortezomib on lung tumor promotion and growth. We used an experimental model in which wild-type mice or mice expressing an NF-κB reporter received intraperitoneal urethane (1 g/kg) followed by twice weekly...