siPGK1在调控黑色素瘤细胞对Vemurafenib敏感性中的作用及其机制

目的：研究磷酸甘油酸酯激酶1（PGK1）对BRAF^V600E突变型恶性黑色素瘤（MM）对Vemurafenib （Zelboraf^®）敏感性的影响及其机制。方法：采用分子生物学、细胞生物学、药理学相关实验方法（MTT、Western blot、FCM、Colongenic）探讨：①PGK1以及Vemurafenib对MM细胞的存活增殖能力的影响;②通过siPGK1基因增加Vemurafenib药敏感性的机制。结果：①沉默PGK1基因后再给以BRAF^V600E选择性抑制剂Vemurfenib,MM细胞系的存活率明显下降,并呈一定的剂量依赖性;②siPGK1增加MM细胞对Vemurafenib的药物敏感性与激活凋亡信号通路有关。结论：siPGK1通过激活凋亡信号通路增加MM细胞对Vemurafenib的药物敏感性,从而抑制细胞的存活和增殖能力。     

白介素-6在多发性骨髓瘤中的作用及靶向治疗研究进展

多发性骨髓瘤(multiple myeloma,MM)是浆细胞克隆性增殖和异常积聚的一种恶性疾病。白介素-6(IL-6)是MM最关键的生长因子,能参与细胞内信号转导,促进细胞生长增殖,其基因异常表达或分泌往往引起MM的发生。IL-6在MM中的作用居多,如参与信号转导、免疫反应以及增殖、生存、耐药性等。目前依据IL-6在MM发生发展中的作用,针对IL-6在MM的靶向治疗已成为MM治疗的趋势。靶向治疗主要在信号通路、骨髓微环境、免疫反应以及遗传表观学等方面展开研究,并在临床应用上发挥关键性作用。     

天然提取物诱导人HepG2 细胞凋亡的研究进展

细胞凋亡是机体维持内环境稳定,更好的适应生存环境采取的一种死亡过程。细胞凋亡异常与肿瘤的发生、发展存在密切的关系。细胞凋亡的信号途径主要有死亡受体介导的外源性通路、线粒体介导内源性通路、内质网信号通路及MAPK信号通路。通过作用于凋亡信号通路上一些关键基因,诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡被认为是临床抗肿瘤治疗最有成效的治疗方法之一。研究已证实多种天然提取物作用于凋亡信号途径中一些重要因子可诱导细胞凋亡,并取得较好的抑制肿瘤增殖的效果。本文是关于细胞凋亡机制及各种天然提取物作用于凋亡通路上主要基因进行抗肿瘤治疗研究进展的综述。     

CCL8相关通路与过敏性疾病

CC趋化因子配体8(CC chemokine ligand 8, CCL8)与细胞表面受体结合后可调控与细胞增殖、分化、凋亡及炎症等相关的信号通路,在包括过敏性鼻炎、过敏性皮炎、过敏性哮喘等多种过敏性疾病的发病机制中发挥重要作用。本文介绍了与CCL8相关的JAK-STAT信号通路、p38 MAPK信号通路、NF-κB信号通路和STAT3信号通路通过影响辅助性T淋巴细胞分化、白细胞介素水平以及活性氧的产生等方面参与过敏性疾病发病的机制,期望针对CCL8及相关通路的研究为过敏性疾病的诊断与治疗提供参考。     

Hippo信号通路生物学作用研究进展

Hippo信号通路是20世纪末在黑腹果蝇中进行基因筛选时发现的,该通路受各种生化、物理和结构信号的影响,调控细胞生长、分化,组织和器官发育以及内环境稳态等基本生物学过程。研究表明Hippo信号通路失调会引起一系列疾病的发生。本文阐述了目前Hippo信号通路在胚胎发育、器官和组织稳态调节、肿瘤的发生发展和细胞自噬等一系列生物学过程以及靶向治疗中的研究进展,其中Hippo信号通路通过细胞自噬来维持机体细胞内环境稳态成为新的研究热点。对该通路的功能和调控机制的深入研究也为组织器官修复再生医学及癌症治疗提供参考。     

Notch信号通路与生殖干细胞研究进展

Notch信号通路是一个在进化中高度保守的信号通道,具有调控细胞增殖、分化及凋亡的作用。近年来,随着研究的不断深入,发现Notch信号通路与生殖干细胞的增殖分化及干细胞微环境的作用机理密切关联,Notch信号通路在生殖系统发育及疾病治疗中的作用机制逐渐引起人们的广泛关注。该文综合论述了Notch信号通路的生理特性及功能,重点阐述Notch信号通路在精原干细胞、卵巢生殖干细胞及生殖干细胞微环境系统中的调控机制。     

AMPK信号通路与衰老

单磷酸腺苷活化蛋白激酶AMPK(AMP-activated kinase,AMPK)是一种高度保守的细胞能量代谢调控器,在调节细胞的生长、增殖、存活及调节机体能量代谢中起着重要的作用。AMPK参与调节一系列衰老相关信号通路如SIRT1、CRTC-1等。研究AMPK与衰老相关信号通路的关系,对于揭示衰老及衰老相关疾病的发生机制具有重要意义,并为研发以AMPK信号通路为靶点的抗衰老及衰老相关疾病的治疗药物提供新策略。     

Notch的结构、功能和相关信号通路

Notch是广泛存在于细胞表面介导细胞间信号传递的一类高度保守的受体蛋白。Notch信号通路是通过细胞间相互作用来调节生物体生长发育的一个十分保守的信号通路。Notch信号通路在脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的发育过程中,对细胞命运的决定、神经系统的发育、器官的形成及体节的发生都有重要的作用。特别是在免疫系统和肿瘤发生中也起着极为重要的作用。目前,Notch信号已经成为发育生物学、细胞生物学、免疫学及血液学等多个领域的研究热点之一。本文就Notch信号通路的组成、调节作用机制及该通路与个体发育之间的联系作一综述。     

雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌耐药机制的研究进展

雌激素受体(ER)信号与乳腺癌细胞中其他重要信号通路之间存在诸多内在联系。许多细胞信号转导和细胞周期通路的治疗靶点在乳腺癌内分泌治疗中取得了成功,并且被广为关注。本文综述了在内分泌抵抗乳腺肿瘤治疗中干预的两个主要信号途径:PI3K/Akt/mTOR细胞信号通路和cyclin D1/CDK4/6细胞周期信号通路,突出强调目前临床的普遍用法和新的临床实验及基础研究。     

Hippo信号通路与肝脏稳态调控及疾病发生

肝脏是人体最重要的器官之一,乙肝等病毒性与酒精等非病毒性因素诱发的肝损伤引起肝脏功能衰竭、再生重塑障碍、肝癌等疾病是我国重大社会健康问题,因此,研究肝脏稳态的调控机制对肝病的预防和临床治疗至关重要。Hippo信号通路参与了哺乳动物多种细胞和器官的稳态调控。最近研究表明,Hippo信号通路在肝脏发育、肝细胞命运决定、肝脏再生和癌症发生发展等过程中都发挥了非常重要的作用。因此,Hippo信号通路可成为肝脏相关疾病的治疗提供了新的靶点。本文综述了Hippo信号通路与肝脏稳态调控的相关研究及最新进展,以期为研究肝脏发育和肝脏相关疾病的治疗提供新的思路和策略。     

Proteomics: addressing the challenges of multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of terminally differentiated B-lymphocytes that accounts for ~13% of all hematologic cancers. Despite a wealth of knowledge describing the molecular biology of MM as well as significant advances in therapeutics, this disease remains incurable. Since proteins govern the cellular structure and biological function, a wide selection of proteomic approaches holds great promise for increasing our understanding of this disease, such as by investigating the dynamic nature of protein expression, cellular and subcellular distribution, post-translational modifications, and interactions at both the cellular and subcellular levels. The aims of this review are to introduce the available and emerging proteomic technologies that have potential applications in the study of MM and to highlight the current status of proteomic studies of MM. To date, although there have been a limited number of proteomic studies in MM, those performed have provided valuable information with regard to MM diagnosis and therapy. The potential future application of proteomic technologies is expected to provide new avenues in MM diagnostics, individualized therapy design and therapy response surveillance for the clinician.     

Phosphoproteomic analysis of primary human multiple myeloma cells

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant disorder of differentiated B cells. Clonal expansion of the tumor results in the excessive production of monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) which is a diagnostic feature of this disease. Previous investigations have demonstrated the alteration of the ERK, jun kinase, STAT, and AKT kinase signaling cascades in MM cells, suggesting that deregulated phosphorylation may contribute to MM pathogenesis. However, systematic analysis of the phosphoproteome in MM cells has not been reported. Here, we described a large-scale phosphorylation analysis of primary MM cells. Using a separation strategy involving immunomagnetic bead-positive selection of MM cells, preparative SDS-PAGE for prefractionation, in-gel digestion with trypsin, and titanium dioxide enrichment of phosphopeptides, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis employing a hybrid LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer, we were able to catalog a substantial portion of the phosphoproteins present in primary MM cells. This analysis led to the identification of 530 phosphorylation sites from 325 unique phosphopeptides corresponding to 260 proteins at false positive rate (FPR) of 1.3%. This dataset provides an important resource for future studies on phosphorylation and carcinogenesis analysis of multiple myeloma.     

Reduced sampling schedule for the glucose minimal model: importance of Bayesian estimation

The minimal model (MM) of glucose kinetics during an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) is widely used in clinical studies to measure metabolic indexes such as glucose effectiveness (S(G)) and insulin sensitivity (S(I)). The standard (frequent) IVGTT sampling schedule (FSS) for MM identification consists of 30 points over 4 h. To facilitate clinical application of the MM, reduced sampling schedules (RSS) of 13-14 samples have also been derived for normal subjects. These RSS are especially appealing in large-scale studies. However, with RSS, the precision of S(G) and S(I) estimates deteriorates and, in certain cases, becomes unacceptably poor. To overcome this difficulty, population approaches such as the iterative two-stage (ITS) approach have been recently proposed, but, besides leaving some theoretical issues open, they appear to be oversized for the problem at hand. Here, we show that a Bayesian methodology operating at the single individual level allows an accurate determination of MM parameter estimates together with a credible measure of their precision. Results of 16 subjects show that, in passing from FSS to RSS, there are no significant changes of point estimates in nearly all of the subjects and that only a limited deterioration of parameter precision occurs. In addition, in contrast with the previously proposed ITS method, credible confidence intervals (e.g., excluding negative values) are obtained. They can be crucial for a subsequent use of the estimated MM parameters, such as in classification, clustering, regression, or risk analysis.     

Detection of SV40 DNA sequences in malignant mesothelioma specimens from the United States, but not from Turkey

The incidence of malignant mesothelioma (MM) shows a strong epidemiological association with exposure to asbestos fibers. Recently, simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA sequences have been reported in MM tumor specimens from the United States and several European countries, and the SV40 tumor virus has been implicated as a potential co-factor in the etiology of this disease. However, several large studies from the US, Finland, and Turkey did not detect SV40 sequences in MM samples. To address this discrepancy, MM specimens from Turkey and the US were analyzed in the same laboratory under identical conditions to detect the presence of SV40 DNA. We detected SV40 sequences in 4 of 11 specimens from the United States, but in none of the 9 Turkish samples examined. These findings suggest that geographical differences exist with regard to the involvement of SV40 in human tumors.     

Implementation of a molecular epidemiology approach to human pleural malignant mesothelioma

The carcinogenic effect of asbestos has been reported in the literature since 40 years, and early studies describing the epidemic occurrence of malignant mesothelioma (MM) in asbestos workers, have become a paradigm of occupational cancer research. Research on MM was abandoned for many years since MM was considered as an asbestos-related disease, interesting only from a perspective of disease control and preventive policies. The introduction of new biological endpoints in the epidemiological studies has boosted research in the field, providing new tools for the study of emerging priority in cancer research and in public health. This approach, known as molecular epidemiology has a great potential in the study of MM, contributing to the understanding of susceptibility factors, to the evaluation of cancer risk in people occupationally or environmentally exposed to carcinogens, and to the enhancement of diagnosis and therapy. A comprehensive approach based on the use of banks of biological samples is presented and its advantages discussed here. The application of innovative endpoints, such as oncoproteins in biologic fluids, genetic polimorphisms, or gene function is discussed, and relevant literature reviewed.     

Anti-Obesity Effects of Melastoma malabathricum var Alba Linn in Rats Fed with a High-Fat Diet

Obesity is one of the major public health problems worldwide and it is generally associated with many diseases. Although synthetic drugs are available for the treatment of obesity, herbal remedies may provide safe, natural, and cost-effective alternative to synthetic drugs. One example of such drugs is Melastoma malabathricum var Alba Linn (MM). Although several studies have been reported for the pharmacological activities of MM, there is no report on the anti-obesity effect of MM. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the anti-obesity potential of methanolic extract of MM. The anti-obesity effect of MM on rats fed with a high-fat diet was investigated through determination of the changes in body weight, fat weight, organ weights, and blood biochemicals. The animals in this study were divided into three groups: a normal group with a standard diet (N), a control group fed with high-fat diet (C), and a MM treatment group fed with high-fat (HFD + MM) diet for 8 weeks. There was no significant difference in the amount of food intake between control and HFD + MM treatments. These results also suggest that MM does not induce a dislike for the diet due to its smell or taste. The study shows that MM significantly prevented increases in body weight, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and total lipids that resulted from the high-fat diet. MM also decreased the epididymal fat (E-fat) and retroperitoneal fat (R-fat) weights and phospholipid concentrations induced by the high-fat diet. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that MM had anti-obesity effects by suppressing body weight gain and abdominal fat formation.KEY WORDS: Anti-obesity, High-fat diet, Melastoma malabathricum var Alba Linn     

Proteasome inhibitors – molecular basis and current perspectives in multiple myeloma

Inhibition of proteasome, a proteolytic complex responsible for the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins, has emerged as a powerful strategy for treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), a plasma cell malignancy. First‐in‐class agent, bortezomib, has demonstrated great positive therapeutic efficacy in MM, both in pre‐clinical and in clinical studies. However, despite its high efficiency, a large proportion of patients do not achieve sufficient clinical response. Therefore, the development of a second‐generation of proteasome inhibitors (PIs) with improved pharmacological properties was needed. Recently, several of these new agents have been introduced into clinics including carfilzomib, marizomib and ixazomib. Further, new orally administered second‐generation PI oprozomib is being investigated. This review provides an overview of main mechanisms of action of PIs in MM, focusing on the ongoing development and progress of novel anti‐proteasome therapeutics.     

Genetic susceptibility to malignant mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos: the influence of the familial factor

BACKGROUND: Asbestos is the principal etiological factor of malignant mesothelioma (MM), accounting for more than 80% of all tumor cases. However, other co-factors, including genetic susceptibility may play a role in the etiology of this disease, possibly modulating the effects of exposure to asbestos and other carcinogenic mineral fibers. The frequent report of familial clustering was the first indication supporting the involvement of genetic factors. Therefore, we performed an extensive literature search to evaluate existing studies reporting familial cases of MM. METHODS: Published reports addressing the issue of familial susceptibility to MM have been searched through PubMed using keywords and free text tools. Eighty-two citations were retrieved and 20 of them actually reported a familial cluster of MM. Three more articles were identified through the references. The probability that the observed familial clusters of mesothelioma could have randomly occurred in exposed families was evaluated with the Family History Score Zi (FHSi). RESULTS: The result of this analysis suggested that clustering of MM cases in families exposed to asbestos may be explained with the additional contribution of other familial factors. The FHSi allowed to reject the hypothesis of random occurrence of these clusters with a probability of a first type error ranging between 1 per cent and 1 per billion. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation of the published materials supports the hypothesis that - although familial clustering of MM is largely attributable to shared asbestos exposure - the additional contribution of factors dealing with genetic susceptibility may play a role in the etiology of MM.     

Global Epigenetic Regulation of MicroRNAs in Multiple Myeloma

Epigenetic changes frequently occur during tumorigenesis and DNA hypermethylation may account for the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes in cancer cells. Studies in Multiple Myeloma (MM) have shown variable DNA methylation patterns with focal hypermethylation changes in clinically aggressive subtypes. We studied global methylation patterns in patients with relapsed/refractory MM and found that the majority of methylation peaks were located in the intronic and intragenic regions in MM samples. Therefore, we investigated the effect of methylation on miRNA regulation in MM. To date, the mechanism by which global miRNA suppression occurs in MM has not been fully described. In this study, we report hypermethylation of miRNAs in MM and perform confirmation in MM cell lines using bisulfite sequencing and methylation-specific PCR (MSP) in the presence or absence of the DNA demethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine. We further characterized the hypermethylation-dependent inhibition of miR-152, -10b-5p and -34c-3p which was shown to exert a putative tumor suppressive role in MM. These findings were corroborated by the demonstration that the same miRNAs were down-regulated in MM patients compared to healthy individuals, alongside enrichment of miR-152-, -10b-5p, and miR-34c-3p-predicted targets, as shown at the mRNA level in primary MM cells. Demethylation or gain of function studies of these specific miRNAs led to induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation as well as down-regulation of putative oncogene targets of these miRNAs such as DNMT1, E2F3, BTRC and MYCBP. These findings provide the rationale for epigenetic therapeutic approaches in subgroups of MM.     

Premortem autophagy determines the immunogenicity of chemotherapy-induced cancer cell death

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell malignancy that accounts for 10–15% of newly diagnosed hematological cancers. Although significant advances have been made in the treatment of MM the disease still remains incurable. The oncolytic potential of reovirus has previously been demonstrated by others and us and is currently in phase III clinical trials for solid tumors. In addition a phase I clinical trial has recently been initiated for MM. Despite the clinical activity, the mechanism(s) of cell death caused by reovirus in MM is yet not well elucidated. A comprehensive understanding of reovirus-mediated histology-specific cell death mechanisms is imperative if this therapeutic is to become a standard of care for patients. Previously we have shown that reovirus-mediated cell death of breast and prostate cancer is orchestrated via apoptosis. The present study demonstrates for the first time that in addition to inducing apoptosis reovirus also upregulates autophagy during oncolysis of MM.