Benzyl Isothiocyanate potentiates p53 signaling and antitumor effects against breast cancer through activation of p53-LKB1 and p73-LKB1 axes.

Functional reactivation of p53 pathway, although arduous, can potentially provide a broad-based strategy for cancer therapy owing to frequent p53 inactivation in human cancer. Using a phosphoprotein-screening array, we found that Benzyl Isothiocynate, (BITC) increases p53 phosphorylation in breast cancer cells and reveal an important role of ERK and PRAS40/MDM2 in BITC-mediated p53 activation. We show that BITC rescues and activates p53-signaling network and inhibits growth of p53-mutant cells. Mechanistically, BITC induces p73 expression in p53-mutant cells, disrupts the interaction of p73 and mutant-p53, thereby releasing p73 from sequestration and allowing it to be transcriptionally active. Furthermore, BITC-induced p53 and p73 axes converge on tumor-suppressor LKB1 which is transcriptionally upregulated by p53 and p73 in p53-wild-type and p53-mutant cells respectively; and in a feed-forward mechanism, LKB1 tethers with p53 and p73 to get recruited to p53-responsive promoters. Analyses of BITC-treated xenografts using LKB1-null cells corroborate in vitro mechanistic findings and establish LKB1 as the key node whereby BITC potentiates as well as rescues p53-pathway in p53-wild-type as well as p53-mutant cells. These data provide first in vitro and in vivo evidence of the integral role of previously unrecognized crosstalk between BITC, p53/LKB1 and p73/LKB1 axes in breast tumor growth-inhibition

Palladium-platinum powder catalysts manufactured by colloid synthesis II. Characterization and catalytic tests after oxidizing and reducing treatment

Unsupported Pd, Pt and PdPt bimetallic catalysts were prepared in different atomic ratios using methods of colloid chemistry. They were characterized by XPS, UPS and TEM. Four subsequent treatments with O2 and H2 up to T = 603K were applied in the preparation chamber of the electron spectrometer and before the catalytic runs. Platinum strongly hindered the oxidation of palladium in the bimetallic samples indicating an alloying of the two components. The H2 treatment after O2 led to rather clean metals. These treatments up to 603K decreased the Pt enrichment near to the surface found by XPS, destroying presumably the Pt islands on the surface of a Pd-rich matrix. The particle composition approached thus a homogeneous metal mixture. The catalytic behavior was tested in the hydrogenative ring opening reaction of cis- and trans-methyl-ethyl-cyclopropane (MECP) at 373 K. The product ratios 2-methylpentane/3-methylpentane (2MP/3MP) and 2-methylpentane/n-hexane (2MP/nH) were used to characterize the ring-opening pattern of the samples. The bimetallic catalysts revealed higher activity and completely different selectivities than the monometallic Pt and Pd. Moreover, the 2MP/3MP ratio from trans-MECP and 2MP/nH ratio from cis-MECP increased as the surface Pt enrichment decreased. PdPt catalysts were cleaner than Pd or Pt, their activity higher and selectivity closer to random C C rupture, due, very likely, to the presence of active Pd-Pt ensembles

Comparative promoter analysis of doxorubicin resistance-associated genes suggests E47 as a key regulatory element

Working under the assumption that up- or down-regulation of genes implicated in chemoresistance may be the result of altered function of regulatory transcription factors (TF), over-represented TF-binding sites of gene lists previously associated with doxorubicin resistance were the target of our search. First, a data warehouse was set up containing 52 genes which were present in at least two gene lists; of those, proximal Promoter sequences (1 kb upstream and 0.05 kb downstream of the transcriptional start sites) could be retrieved from genomic databases for 45 genes using the EZ-Retrieve. The TOUCAN tool MotifScanner, which searches the TRANSTAC database, was used to detect TF-binding sites (TFBSs) in our set of sequences. The statistics tool of the Java program TOUCAN was applied to the data with the appropriate expected frequencies file to compare the measured prevalence to a background model. The most significantly over-represented TFBS was that of E47 (p=0.00024, prevalence: 0.2 vs. background: 8.19E-6). In summary, based on the results of our analysis it is hypothesized that the E47 transcription factor may contribute to doxorubicin resistance

Loss of estrogen receptor beta expression correlates with shorter overall survival and lack of clinical response to chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients

Background: Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) belongs to a large family of nuclear receptors. Recent studies have suggested that ERβ in contrast to ERα might act as a tumour suppressor in ovarian cancer (OVCA). Materials and Methods: Expression of ERβ was detected by immunocytochemistry in 11 OVCA cell lines and by immunohistochemistry in 43 (41 FIGO stage III) OVCA specimens prepared before chemotherapy and 30 specimens from the same group after chemotherapy. Cisplatin sensitivity in the 11 cell lines was also analysed. Results: No significant correlations between cisplatin-sensitivity and expression of ERβ was found in the cell lines. In the cases which responded well to chemotherapy (complete response) ERβ expression at preliminary laparotomy (PL) was significantly higher (p=0.0004) than in those with progressive disease. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the patients with higher ERβ expression (>30% of cells) at PL had an increased overall survival time and progression-free time (p=0.00161 and p=0.03255, respectively) than the patients with lower ERβ espression. Significantly shorter overall survival time characterized the cases with lower immunoreactivity score of ERβ expression at secondary cytoreduction (SCR) (p=0.00346). Conclusion: The loss of ERβ expression in ovarian tumours may be a feature of malignant transformation

FAK activity sustains intrinsic and acquired ovarian cancer resistance to platinum chemotherapy.

Gene copy number alterations, tumor cell stemness, and the development of platinum chemotherapy resistance contribute to high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) recurrence. Stem phenotypes involving Wnt-β-catenin, aldehyde dehydrogenase activities, intrinsic platinum resistance, and tumorsphere formation are here associated with spontaneous gains in Kras, Myc and FAK (KMF) genes in a new aggressive murine model of ovarian cancer. Adhesion-independent FAK signaling sustained KMF and human tumorsphere proliferation as well as resistance to cisplatin cytotoxicity. Platinum-resistant tumorspheres can acquire a dependence on FAK for growth. Accordingly, increased FAK tyrosine phosphorylation was observed within HGSOC patient tumors surviving neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Combining a FAK inhibitor with platinum overcame chemoresistance and triggered cell apoptosis. FAK transcriptomic analyses across knockout and reconstituted cells identified 135 targets, elevated in HGSOC, that were regulated by FAK activity and β-catenin including Myc, pluripotency and DNA repair genes. These studies reveal an oncogenic FAK signaling role supporting chemoresistance

miR-34a Silences c-SRC to Attenuate Tumor Growth in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype with no clinically proven biologically targeted treatment options. The molecular heterogeneity of TNBC and lack of high frequency driver mutations other than TP53 have hindered the development of new and effective therapies that significantly improve patient outcomes. miRNAs, global regulators of survival and proliferation pathways important in tumor development and maintenance, are becoming promising therapeutic agents. We performed miRNA-profiling studies in different TNBC subtypes to identify miRNAs that significantly contribute to disease progression. We found that miR-34a was lost in TNBC, specifically within mesenchymal and mesenchymal stem cell-like subtypes, whereas expression of miR-34a targets was significantly enriched. Furthermore, restoration of miR-34a in cell lines representing these subtypes inhibited proliferation and invasion, activated senescence, and promoted sensitivity to dasatinib by targeting the proto-oncogene c-SRC. Notably, SRC depletion in TNBC cell lines phenocopied the effects of miR-34a reintroduction, whereas SRC overexpression rescued the antitumorigenic properties mediated by miR-34a. miR-34a levels also increased when cells were treated with c-SRC inhibitors, suggesting a negative feedback exists between miR-34a and c-SRC. Moreover, miR-34a administration significantly delayed tumor growth of subcutaneously and orthotopically implanted tumors in nude mice, and was accompanied by c-SRC downregulation. Finally, we found that miR-34a and SRC levels were inversely correlated in human tumor specimens. Together, our results demonstrate that miR-34a exerts potent antitumorigenic effects in vitro and in vivo and suggests that miR-34a replacement therapy, which is currently being tested in human clinical trials, represents a promising therapeutic strategy for TNBC. Cancer Res; 76(4); 1-13. (c)2015 AACR

JAK-STAT inhibition impairs K-RAS-driven lung adenocarcinoma progression

Oncogenic KRAS has been difficult to target and currently there is no KRASbased targeted therapy available for patients suffering from KRASdriven lung adenocarcinoma (AC). Alternatively, targeting KRASdownstream effectors, KRAScooperating signaling pathways or cancer hallmarks, such as tumorpromoting inflammation, has been shown to be a promising therapeutic strategy. Since the JAKSTAT pathway is considered to be a central player in inflammationmediated tumorigenesis, we investigated here the implication of JAKSTAT signaling and the therapeutic potential of JAK1/2 inhibition in KRASdriven lung AC. Our data showed that JAK1 and JAK2 are activated in human lung AC and that increased activation of JAKSTAT signaling correlated with disease progression and KRAS activity in human lung AC. Accordingly, administration of the JAK1/2 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor ruxolitinib reduced proliferation of tumor cells and effectively reduced tumor progression in immunodeficient and immunocompetent mouse models of KRASdriven lung AC. Notably, JAK1/2 inhibition led to the establishment of an antitumorigenic tumor microenvironment, characterized by decreased levels of tumorpromoting chemokines and cytokines and reduced numbers of infiltrating myeloid derived suppressor cells, thereby impairing tumor growth. Taken together, we identified JAK1/2 inhibition as promising therapy for KRASdriven lung AC.(VLID)510233

Developmental perspectives on Europe

The crisis of 2008–2009 has ended, stockmarkets skyrocketed in 2012–2013, while growth of the real sector remained sluggish in Europe. This article attempts to explain the latter puzzle. Analyzing long term factors, the costs of short-termism in crisis management become obvious. The limitations of EU as a growth engine are highlighted