Identification of Annexin A1 interacting proteins in chronic myeloid leukemia KCL22 cells

In the present study, we used a functional proteomic approach to identify Annexin A1 (Anxa1) interacting proteins in the Philadelphia‐positive KCL22 cell line. We focused on Anxa1 because it is one of the major proteins upregulated in imatinib‐sensitive KCL22S cells versus imatinib‐resistant KCL22R. Our proteomic strategy revealed 21 interactors. Bioinformatic analysis showed that most of these proteins are involved in cell death processes. Among the proteins identified, we studied the interaction of Anxa1 with two phosphatases, Shp1 and Shp2, which were recently identified as biomarkers of imatinib sensitivity in patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia. Our data open new perspectives in the search for annexin‐mediated signaling pathways and may shed light on mechanisms of resistance to imatinib that are unrelated to Bcr‐Abl activity. All mass spectrometry data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000030.     

The human topoisomerase 1B Arg634Ala mutation results in camptothecin resistance and loss of inter-domain motion correlation

Human topoisomerase 1B, the unique target of the natural anticancer compound camptothecin, catalyzes the unwinding of supercoiled DNA by introducing transient single strand nicks and providing covalent protein–DNA adducts. The functional properties and the drug reactivity of the single Arg634Ala mutant have been investigated in comparison to the wild type enzyme. The mutant is characterized by an identical relaxation and cleavage rate but it displays resistance to camptothecin as indicated by a viability assay of the yeast cells transformed with the mutated protein. The mutant also displays a very fast religation rate that is only partially reduced by the presence of the drug, suggesting that this is the main reason for its resistance. A comparative analysis of the structural–dynamical properties of the native and mutant proteins by molecular dynamics simulation indicates that mutation of Arg634 brings to a loss of motion correlation between the different domains and in particular between the linker and the C-terminal domain, containing the catalytic tyrosine residue. These results indicate that the loss of motion correlation and the drug resistance are two strongly correlated events.     

Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-2 Expression in Thyroid Tumor Progression: Potential Diagnostic Application

Fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR-2) plays an important role in tumorigenesis. In thyroid cancer it has been observed a FGFR-2 down-modulation, but the role of this receptor has not been yet clarified. Therefore, we decided to examine the expression of both FGFR-2 isoform, FGFR-2-IIIb and FGFR-2-IIIc, in different histological thyroid variants such as hyperplasia, follicular adenoma and papillary carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative Real-Time PCR analyses were performed on samples of hyperplasia, follicular adenoma and papillary carcinoma, compared with normal thyroid tissue. Thyroid hyperplasia did not show statistically significant reduction in FGFR-2 protein and mRNA levels. Interestingly, in both follicular adenoma and papillary carcinoma samples we observed a strongly reduced expression of both FGFR-2 isoforms. We speculate that FGFR-2 down-modulation might be an early event in thyroid carcinogenesis. Furthermore, we suggest the potential use of FGFR-2 as an early marker for thyroid cancer diagnosis.     

Association of Genetic Variation in Adaptor Protein APPL1/APPL2 Loci with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The importance of genetics and epigenetic changes in the pathogenesis of non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasingly recognized. Adiponectin has a central role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism and controlling inflammation in insulin-sensitive tissues and low adiponectin levels have been linked to NAFLD. APPL1 and APPL2 are adaptor proteins that interact with the intracellular region of adiponectin receptors and mediate adiponectin signaling and its effects on metabolism. The aim of our study was the evaluation of a potential association between variants at APPL1 and APPL2 loci and NAFLD occurrence. The impact on liver damage and hepatic steatosis severity has been also evaluated. To this aim allele frequency and genotype distribution of APPL1- rs3806622 and -rs4640525 and APPL2-rs 11112412 variants were evaluated in 223 subjects with clinical diagnosis of NAFLD and compared with 231 healthy subjects. The impact of APPL1 and APPL2 SNPs on liver damage and hepatic steatosis severity has been also evaluated. The minor-allele combination APPL1-C/APPL2-A was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD (OR = 2.50 95% CI 1.45–4.32; p<0.001) even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides and adiponectin levels. This allele combination carrier had higher plasma alanine aminotransferase levels (Diff = 15.08 [7.60–22.57] p = 0.001) and an increased frequency of severe steatosis compared to the reference allele combination (OR = 3.88; 95% CI 1.582–9.531; p<0.001). In conclusion, C-APPL1/A-APPL2 allele combination is associated with NAFLD occurrence, with a more severe hepatic steatosis grade and with a reduced adiponectin cytoprotective effect on liver.     

Janus kinase inhibitors role in bone remodeling

Janus kinases (JAKs) play a pleiotropic role in several important physiological processes, such as cell maturation, cell proliferation, and cell death, via providing transmission signals from several molecules, such as cytokines, interferons, hormones, and growth factors, to the nucleus. Bone physiology and remodeling are markedly influenced by proinflammatory cytokines. Among them, interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 are considered potent stimulator of bone resorption. Several cytokine receptors, such as IL-6 receptors, are characterized by tyrosine kinases of the JAK family associated with their intracellular domains. There is an emerging interest in the effects of JAKs inhibition on the cells involved in bone remodeling. JAK inhibitors represent a new class of molecules involved in the therapy of numerous immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. In this review, we want to focus on the role of JAKs inhibitors on bone remodeling and on RANKL-RANK-OPG signal and inflammatory cytokines which are involved in the regulation of bone cells, such as osteoblasts and osteoclasts.     

Development of a RNA extraction method from milk for gene expression study in the mammary gland of sheep

The aim of the study was to develop a reliable method for the RNA extraction from milk of Sarda sheep breed and to highlight if the extracted RNA can be used for expression study on mammary genes involved in milk fat synthesis using RT-qPCR. The main result is that a sample of 150 ml of milk provides an optimal amount of RNA (73.5 μg/ml). The highest RNA concentration has been found in the samples analysed within 4 h after collection. The RNA extracted was positively correlated to the number of somatic cells (P < 0.001). The efficiency of the extraction method was confirmed by the results obtained from qPCR which showed a Ct value, for SREBPF1 gene of 26.8 ± 0.15. This research demonstrated that the high-quality of the RNA obtained is suited to use for studies of mammary genes expression in sheep, avoiding any damage caused by mammary gland biopsy.     

Cephalosporin resistant Escherichia coli from cancer patients in Cairo,Egypt

Cephalosporin‐resistant Escherichia coli has been increasingly reported worldwide. In this study, 32 cephalosporin resistant E. coli isolates identified from cancer patients in Cairo, Egypt in 2009–2010 were analyzed. Twenty‐three were of phylogenetic group D, seven A and one each B1 and B2. By rep‐PCR 15 phylogroup D isolates were grouped in four clusters, one with sequence type (ST) 405 and three ST68. Seventeen isolates showed single patterns. bla_CTX‐M‐15 and aac(6')‐Ib‐cr were the most common resistance determinants. bla_OXA‐48 and bla_VIM were also detected. Multidrug resistant E. coli seriously affects healthcare, especially in immunocompromised hosts, such as cancer patients.     

Knock down of caveolin‐1 affects morphological and functional hallmarks of human endothelial cells

Caveolin‐1 (CAV1) is the principal structural component of caveolae which functions as scaffolding protein for the integration of a variety of signaling pathways. In this study, we investigated the involvement of CAV1 in endothelial cell (EC) functions and show that siRNA‐induced CAV1 silencing in the human EC line EA.hy926 induces distinctive morphological changes, such as a marked increase in cell size and formation of stress fibers. Design‐based stereology was employed in this work to make unbiased quantification of morphometric properties such as volume, length, and surface of CAV1 silenced versus control cells. In addition, we showed that downregulation of CAV1 affects cell cycle progression at G1/S phase transition most likely by perturbation of AKT signaling. With the aim to assess the contribution of CAV1 to typical biological processes of EC, we report here that CAV1 targeting affects cell migration and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) activity, and reduces angiogenesis in response to VEGF, in vitro. Taken together our data suggest that the proper expression of CAV1 is important not only for maintaining the appropriate morphology and size of ECs but it might represent a prospective molecular target for studying key biological mechanisms such as senescence and tumorigenesis. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1843–1851, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Expression of Betapapillomavirus Oncogenes Increases the Number of Keratinocytes with Stem Cell-Like Properties

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) of genus Betapapillomavirus (betaPV) are associated with nonmelanoma skin cancer development in epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) and immunosuppressed patients. Epidemiological and molecular studies suggest a carcinogenic activity of betaPV during early stages of cancer development. Since viral oncoproteins delay and perturb keratinocyte differentiation, they may have the capacity to either retain or confer a “stem cell-like” state on oncogene-expressing cells. The aim of this study was to determine (i) whether betaPV alters the expression of cell surface markers, such as CD44 and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), that have been associated with epithelial stemness, and (ii) whether this confers functional stem cell-like properties to human cutaneous keratinocytes. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis revealed an increase in the number of cells with high CD44 and EpCAM expression in keratinocyte cultures expressing HPV type 8 (HPV8) oncogenes E2, E6, and E7. Particularly through E7 expression, a distinct increase in clonogenicity and in the formation and size of tumor spheres was observed, accompanied by reduction of the epithelial differentiation marker Calgranulin B. These stem cell-like properties could be attributed to the pool of CD44^high EpCAM^high cells, which was increased within the E7 cultures of HPV5, -8, and -20. Enhanced EpCAM levels were present in organotypic skin cultures of primary keratinocytes expressing E7 of the oncogenic HPV types HPV5, -8, and -16 and in clinical samples from EV patients. In conclusion, our data show that betaPV may increase the number of stem cell-like cells present during early carcinogenesis and thus enable the persistence and accumulation of DNA damage necessary to generate malignant stem cells.