Functional relevance of SATB1 in immune regulation and tumorigenesis

© 2018 The Special AT-rich Sequence Binding Protein 1 (SATB1) is a chromatin organiser and transcription factor which regulates numerous cellular processes such as differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis through effects on gene expression. SATB1 undergoes various post-translational modifications, which determine its interaction with co-activators and co-repressors to induce regulation of gene transcription. SATB1 is an identified oncogene, its increased expression is associated with poor prognosis in many cancers. This paper provides a review on SATB1-mediated immune responses and on its target genes in the context of tumorigenesis and tumour progression. Specifically, we discuss the role of SATB1 in tumour immunity, Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), metastasis and multidrug resistance. Therapeutic targeting of aberrant SATB1 may be an important strategy in the treatment of cancer

Design of intelligent mesoscale periodic array structures utilizing smart hydrogel

Mesoscale Periodic Array Structures (MPAS, also known as crystalline colloidal arrays), composed of aqueous or nonaqueous dispersions of self-assembled submicron colloidal spheres are emerging toward the development of advanced optical devices for technological applications. This is because of their unique optical diffraction properties and the ease with which these intriguing properties can be modulated experimentally. Moreover our recent advancements in this area which include 'locking' the liquid MPAS into solid or semisolid polymer matrices for greater stability with longer life span, and incorporation of CdS quantum dots and laser dyes into colloidal spheres to obtain nonlinear optical (NLO) responses further corroborate the use of MPAS in optical technology. Our long term goal is fabrication of all-optical and electro-optical devices such as spatial light modulators for optical signal processing and flat panel display devices by utilizing intelligent nonlinear periodic array structural materials. Here we show further progress in the design of novel linear MPAS which have the ability to sense and respond to an external source such as temperature. This is achieved by combining the self-assembly properties of polymer colloidal spheres and thermoshrinking properties of smart polymer gels. At selected temperatures the periodic array efficiently Bragg diffracts light and transmits most of the light at other temperatures. Hence these intelligent systems are of potential use as fixed notch filters optical switches or limiters to protect delicate optical sensors from high intensity laser radiation

The TIGR Gene Indices: clustering and assembling EST and known genes and integration with eukaryotic genomes

Although the list of completed genome sequencing projects has expanded rapidly, sequencing and analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) remain a primary tool for discovery of novel genes in many eukaryotes and a key element in genome annotation. The TIGR Gene Indices (http://www.tigr.org/tdb/tgi) are a collection of 77 species-specific databases that use a highly refined protocol to analyze gene and EST sequences in an attempt to identify and characterize expressed transcripts and to present them on the Web in a user-friendly, consistent fashion. A Gene Index database is constructed for each selected organism by first clustering, then assembling EST and annotated cDNA and gene sequences from GenBank. This process produces a set of unique, high-fidelity virtual transcripts, or tentative consensus (TC) sequences. The TC sequences can be used to provide putative genes with functional annotation, to link the transcripts to genetic and physical maps, to provide links to orthologous and paralogous genes, and as a resource for comparative and functional genomic analysis

Factors associated with failed treatment : an analysis of 121,744 women embarking on their first IVF cycles

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Butyrate Enhances Disease Resistance of Chickens by Inducing Antimicrobial Host Defense Peptide Gene Expression

Host defense peptides (HDPs) constitute a large group of natural broad-spectrum antimicrobials and an important first line of immunity in virtually all forms of life. Specific augmentation of synthesis of endogenous HDPs may represent a promising antibiotic-alternative approach to disease control. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that exogenous administration of butyrate, a major type of short-chain fatty acids derived from bacterial fermentation of undigested dietary fiber, is capable of inducing HDPs and enhancing disease resistance in chickens. We have found that butyrate is a potent inducer of several, but not all, chicken HDPs in HD11 macrophages as well as in primary monocytes, bone marrow cells, and jejuna and cecal explants. In addition, butyrate treatment enhanced the antibacterial activity of chicken monocytes against Salmonella enteritidis, with a minimum impact on inflammatory cytokine production, phagocytosis, and oxidative burst capacities of the cells. Furthermore, feed supplementation with 0.1% butyrate led to a significant increase in HDP gene expression in the intestinal tract of chickens. More importantly, such a feeding strategy resulted in a nearly 10-fold reduction in the bacterial titer in the cecum following experimental infections with S. enteritidis. Collectively, the results indicated that butyrate-induced synthesis of endogenous HDPs is a phylogenetically conserved mechanism of innate host defense shared by mammals and aves, and that dietary supplementation of butyrate has potential for further development as a convenient antibiotic-alternative strategy to enhance host innate immunity and disease resistance

Inhibition of Fatty Acid Synthase Attenuates CD44-Associated Signaling and Reduces Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) and ATP-citrate lyase, key enzymes of de novo lipogenesis, are significantly upregulated and activated in many cancers and portend poor prognosis. Even though the role of lipogenesis in providing proliferative and survival advantages to cancer cells has been described, the impact of aberrant activation of lipogenic enzymes on cancer progression remains unknown. In this study, we found that elevated expression of FASN is associated with advanced stages of colorectal cancer (CRC) and liver metastasis, suggesting that it may play a role in progression of CRC to metastatic disease. Targeted inhibition of lipogenic enzymes abolished expression of CD44, a transmembrane protein associated with metastases in several cancers including CRC. In addition, inhibition of lipogenic enzymes and reduced expression of CD44 attenuated the activation of MET, Akt, FAK, and paxillin, which are known to regulate adhesion, migration, and invasion. These changes were consistent with an observed decrease in migration and adhesion of CRC cells in functional assays and with reorganization of actin cytoskeleton upon FASN inhibition. Despite the modest effect of FASN inhibition on tumor growth in xenografts, attenuation of lipogenesis completely abolished establishment of hepatic metastasis and formation of secondary metastasis. Together, our findings suggest that targeting de novo lipogenesis may be a potential treatment strategy for advanced CRC

A microRNA-21-mediated SATB1/S100A9/NF-κB axis promotes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathogenesis.

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Analysis of the Promoter of Emb5 from Zea mays Identifies a Region of 523 bp Responsible for Its Embryo-Specific Activity

The maize Emb5 is an abscisic acid–responsive gene which is specifically expressed in the late embryo during seed maturity. To further dissect and identify the elements specific for its embryo expression pattern, we investigated the activity of the − 1653 bp upstream of the “full-length” promoter region of this gene in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. We first confirmed that the “full-length” promoter could indeed drive the expression of β-glucuronidase reporter gene (GUS) in the transgenic Arabidopsis seed embryo. Subsequently, DNA fragments of ~ 500 bp in length were generated after a series of progressive deletions from positions − 1653 bp to − 1 bp relative to the transcriptional initiation site. These fragments were fused with GUS and introduced into Arabidopsis. Measurement of the GUS activity in the immature seeds isolated from the transgenic plants revealed that the region between positions − 523 bp and − 1 bp, namely ProEm-D, is absolutely required and sufficient for the temporal and embryo-specific expression of GUS with an activity comparable with the full-length Emb5 promoter in Arabidopsis. Therefore, our results clearly demonstrated that the 523 bp ProEm-D can replace the − 1653 bp Emb5 promoter to drive embryo-specific expression in Arabidopsis seed. Because of its small size and strong embryo-specific activity, it could become the promoter of choice in metabolic pathway engineering to transfer multiple genes for the production of valuable pharmaceutical products in seeds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oils, or pro-vitamin A where at least three transgenes are required to assemble the entire metabolic pathways

PDMS microfluidics developed for polymer based photonic biosensors

In this work, advances in the fabrication technology and functional analysis of a polymer microfluidic system-as a significant part of a developed polymer photonic biosensor-are reported. Robust and cost-effective microfluidics in PDMS including sample preparation functions is designed and realized by using SU-8 moulding replica. Surface modification strategies using Triton X-100 and PDMS-PEO and their effect on device sealing and non-specific protein adsorption are investigated by contact angle measurement and in situ fluorescence microscopy. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg