Protein binding to the non-coding regions of mRNAs is relatively well characterized and its functionality has been described in many examples. New results obtained by high-throughput methods indicate ...that binding to the coding sequence (CDS) by RNA-binding proteins is also quite common, but the functions thereof are more obscure. As described in this review, CDS binding has a role in the regulation of mRNA stability, but it has also a more intriguing role in the regulation of translational efficiency. Global approaches, which suggest the significance of CDS binding along with specific examples of CDS-binding RBPs and their modes of action, are outlined here, pointing to the existence of a relatively less-known regulatory network controlling mRNA stability and translation on yet another level.
To estimate the rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in BRCA1 mutation carriers according to chemotherapy regimen.
From a registry of 6,903 patients, we identified ...102 women who carried a BRCA1 founder mutation and who had been treated for breast cancer with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Pathologic complete response was evaluated using standard criteria.
Twenty-four (24%) of the 102 BRCA1 mutation carriers experienced a pCR. The response rate varied widely with treatment: a pCR was observed in one (7%) of 14 women treated with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF); in two (8%) of 25 women treated with doxorubicin and docetaxel (AT); in 11 (22%) of 51 women treated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) or fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC), and in 10 (83%) of 12 women treated with cisplatin.
A low rate of pCR was observed in women with breast cancer and a BRCA1 mutation who were treated with AT or CMF. A high rate of pCR was seen after treatment with cisplatin. An intermediate rate of PCR was associated with AC or FAC. The relative benefits of AC and platinum therapy need to be confirmed through follow-up of this and other cohorts.
In the search for new compounds with antitumor activity, new potential anticancer agents were designed as molecular hybrids containing the structures of a triazine ring and a sulfonamide fragment. ...Applying the synthesis in solution, a base of new sulfonamide derivatives 20–162 was obtained by the reaction of the corresponding esters 11–19 with appropriate biguanide hydrochlorides. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by spectroscopy (IR, NMR), mass spectrometry (HRMS or MALDI-TOF/TOF), elemental analysis (C,H,N) and X-ray crystallography. The cytotoxic activity of the obtained compounds toward three tumor cell lines, HCT-116, MCF-7 and HeLa, was examined. The results showed that some of the most active compounds belonged to the R1 = 4-trifluoromethylbenzyl and R1 = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl series and exhibited IC50 values ranging from 3.6 µM to 11.0 µM. The SAR relationships were described, indicating the key role of the R2 = 4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl substituent for the cytotoxic activity against the HCT-116 and MCF-7 lines. The studies regarding the mechanism of action of the active compounds included the assessment of the inhibition of MDM2-p53 interactions, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis induction examination. The results indicated that the studied compounds did not inhibit MDM2-p53 interactions but induced G0/G1 and G2/M cell cycle arrest in a p53-independent manner. Furthermore, the active compounds induced apoptosis in cells harboring wild-type and mutant p53. The compound design was conducted step by step and assisted by QSAR models that correlated the activity of the compounds against the HCT-116 cell line with molecular descriptors.
Abstract
The study describes a relationship between the 3′UTR variants, clinicopathological parameters and response to chemotherapy. We analyzed 33 germline polymorphisms in 3′UTRs of ADME genes in ...305 breast cancer women treated with FAC regime. Clinical endpoints of this study were: overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall response defined as treatment failure-free survival (TFFS). The shortened OS was connected with the presence of
NR1/2
rs3732359 AA,
SLC22A16
rs7756222 CC, as well as
SLC22A16
rs9487402 allele G and clinical factors belonging to TNM classification: tumor size >1 cm, nodal involvement and presence of metastases. PFS was related to two polymorphisms
PGR
rs1824125 GG,
PGR
rs12224560 CC and
SLC22A16
rs7756222 CC as well as preexisting metastases. The RFS was shortened due to the
DPYD
rs291593 CC,
AKR1C3
rs3209896 AG and negative expression of PGR. The presence of
ALDH5A1
rs1054899 allele A, lack of pre-chemotherapy surgery and negative status of PGR correlated with worse treatment response. The germline variants commonly present in the population are important factors determining the response to treatment. We observed the effect of the accumulation of genetic and clinical factors on poor survival prognosis and overall treatment response.
CRNDE, recently described as the lncRNA-coding gene, is overexpressed at RNA level in human malignancies. Its role in gametogenesis, cellular differentiation and pluripotency has been suggested as ...well. Herein, we aimed to verify our hypothesis that the CRNDE gene may encode a protein product, CRNDEP. By using bioinformatics methods, we identified the 84-amino acid ORF encoded by one of two CRNDE transcripts, previously described by our research team. This ORF was cloned into two expression vectors, subsequently utilized in localization studies in HeLa cells. We also developed a polyclonal antibody against CRNDEP. Its specificity was confirmed in immunohistochemical, cellular localization, Western blot and immunoprecipitation experiments, as well as by showing a statistically significant decrease of endogenous CRNDEP expression in the cells with transient shRNA-mediated knockdown of CRNDE. Endogenous CRNDEP localizes predominantly to the nucleus and its expression seems to be elevated in highly proliferating tissues, like the parabasal layer of the squamous epithelium, intestinal crypts or spermatocytes. After its artificial overexpression in HeLa cells, in a fusion with either the EGFP or DsRed Monomer fluorescent tag, CRNDEP seems to stimulate the formation of stress granules and localize to them. Although the exact role of CRNDEP is unknown, our preliminary results suggest that it may be involved in the regulation of the cell proliferation. Possibly, CRNDEP also participates in oxygen metabolism, considering our in silico results, and the correlation between its enforced overexpression and the formation of stress granules. This is the first report showing the existence of a peptide encoded by the CRNDE gene.
Many enteric pathogens employ a type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate effector proteins directly into the host cell cytoplasm, where they subvert signalling pathways of the intestinal ...epithelium. Here, we report that the anti‐apoptotic regulator HS1‐associated protein X1 (HAX‐1) is an interaction partner of the T3SS effectors EspO of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Citrobacter rodentium, OspE of Shigella flexneri and Osp1STYM of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. EspO, OspE and Osp1STYM have previously been reported to interact with the focal adhesions protein integrin linked kinase (ILK). We found that EspO localizes both to the focal adhesions (ILK localisation) and mitochondria (HAX‐1 localisation), and that increased expression of HAX‐1 leads to enhanced mitochondrial localisation of EspO. Ectopic expression of EspO, OspE and Osp1STYM protects cells from apoptosis induced by staurosporine and tunicamycin. Depleting cells of HAX‐1 indicates that the anti‐apoptotic activity of EspO is HAX‐1 dependent. Both HAX‐1 and ILK were further confirmed as EspO1‐interacting proteins during infection using T3SS‐delivered EspO1. Using cell detachment as a proxy for cell death we confirmed that T3SS‐delivered EspO1 could inhibit cell death induced during EPEC infection, to a similar extent as the anti‐apoptotic effector NleH, or treatment with the pan caspase inhibitor z‐VAD. In contrast, in cells lacking HAX‐1, EspO1 was no longer able to protect against cell detachment, while NleH1 and z‐VAD maintained their protective activity. Therefore, during both infection and ectopic expression EspO protects cells from cell death by interacting with HAX‐1. These results suggest that despite the differences between EHEC, C. rodentium, Shigella and S. typhimurium infections, hijacking HAX‐1 anti‐apoptotic signalling is a common strategy to maintain the viability of infected cells.
Take Away
EspO homologues are found in EHEC, Shigella, S. typhimurium and some EPEC.
EspO homologues interact with HAX‐1.
EspO protects infected cells from apoptosis.
EspO joins a growing list of T3SS effectors that manipulate cell death pathways.
Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli and related pathogens deliver the effector protein EspO into host cells. EspO interacts with HS1‐associated protein X1 (HAX‐1) to protect the infected host cell from apoptotic cell death. This interaction occurs independently from the previously described interaction of EspO with integrin‐linked kinase (ILK) which stabilises focal adhesions (FA).
HAX-1 has been described as a protein potentially involved in carcinogenesis and especially metastasis. Its involvement in regulation of apoptosis and cell migration along with some data indicating ...its overexpression in cancer cell lines and tumors suggests that HAX-1 may play a role in neoplastic transformation. Here we present the first systematic analysis of HAX-1 expression in several solid tumors.
Using quantitative RT-PCR, we have determined the mRNA levels of HAX1 splice variant I in several solid tumors. We have also analyzed by semiquantitative and quantitative RT-PCR the expression of five HAX-1 splice variants in breast cancer samples and in normal tissue from the same individuals. Quantitative PCR was also employed to analyze the effect of estrogen on HAX1 expression in breast cancer cell line. Immunohistochemical analysis of HAX-1 was performed on normal and breast cancer samples.
The results reveal statistically important HAX1 up-regulation in breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma, along with some minor variations in the splicing pattern. HAX-1 up-regulation in breast cancer samples was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis, which also revealed an intriguing HAX-1 localization in the nuclei of the tumor cells, associated with strong ER status.
HAX-1 elevated levels in cancer tissues point to its involvement in neoplastic transformation, especially in breast cancer. The connection between HAX-1 nuclear location and ER status in breast cancer samples remains to be clarified.
The CRNDE gene seems to play an oncogenic role in cancers, though its exact function remains unknown. Here, we tried to assess its usefulness as a molecular prognostic marker in ovarian cancer. Based ...on results of our microarray studies, CRNDE transcripts were further analyzed by Real-Time qPCR-based profiling of their expression. The qPCR study was conducted with the use of personally designed TaqMan assays on 135 frozen tissue sections of ovarian carcinomas from patients treated with platinum compounds and either cyclophosphamide (PC, N = 32) or taxanes (TP, N = 103). Elevated levels of two different CRNDE transcripts were a negative prognostic factor; they increased the risk of death and recurrence in the group of patients treated with TP, but not PC (DNA-damaging agents only). Higher associations were found for overexpression of the short CRNDE splice variant (FJ466686): HR 6.072, 95% CI 1.814-20.32, p = 0.003 (the risk of death); HR 15.53, 95% CI 3.812-63.28, p < 0.001 (the risk of recurrence). Additionally, accumulation of the TP53 protein correlated with decreased expression of both CRNDE transcripts in tumor cells. Our results depict CRNDE as a potential marker of poor prognosis in women with ovarian carcinomas, and suggest that its significance depends on the therapeutic regimen used.
The influence of the pH of the multicomponent cell medium on the performance of doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, was studied on the examples of cervical (HeLa) and kidney (A498) cancer cell ...lines. The change of pH of the cell medium to more acidic led to a decrease of DOX toxicity on both cell lines due to the change of drug permeability across the cell membrane as a result of drug protonation. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) studies and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release tests have shown low toxicity of the drug, especially in the case of A498 cells, which are characterized by an extremely high glycolytic metabolism. The behavior was ascribed primarily to the increased proton concentration in the peripheral blood follicle in the presence of products of the acidic glycolytic metabolism. It is not observed in the measurements performed in commercially available media since they usually have a neutral pH. In earlier reports on kidney cancer, several mechanisms were discussed, including the metabolism of DOX to its less toxic derivative, doxorubicinol, overexpression of ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) transporters, that remove DOX from the inside of cells; however, there was no focus on the simple but very important contribution of drug protonation described in the present study. Drug pH-dependent equilibria in the cell medium should be considered since changes in the drug form may be an additional reason for multidrug resistance.