BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION AND VIOLENT DEATHS

Brazilian Legislation requests blood alcohol tests only for fatal victims of traffic accidents. In this work we will discuss the need of doing blood alcohol tests for all victims of violent death since abusive use of alcohol represents an important risk factor for all kinds of violent death. The proposal of this study was to analyze the relationship between blood alcohol concentration and the causes of violent death according to gender and age. Blood samples of fatal victims due to violence, from necroscopic examination performed at the Núcleo de Perícias Médico Legal de Ribeirão Preto (NPML-RP) at the Centro de Medicina Legal da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (CEMEL/FMRP/USP) were analyzed in the period from 2002 to 2004. The ethanol analyses were done by gas chromatography using flame ionization detector and using Headspace technique for samples injection. The results showed that higher blood alcohol positivity was observed for victims of accidents, especially for traffic accidents, following by homicides, suicides and undetermined manner of violent deaths. It was observed also that samples collected from male victims were predominant and more than 50% of them presented blood alcohol above the limit established by the Brazilian traffic law which is 0.6 g/l. Results suggests that alcohol abused is highly correlated with violent deaths, mainly traffic accidents involving young males.A Legislação Brasileira determina a realização do exame de alcoolemia apenas para vítimas fatais de acidentes de trânsito. Neste trabalho é discutida a necessidade da realização do exame toxicológico de álcool no sangue de todas as vítimas fatais de causa externa ou violenta, pois o uso abusivo do álcool pode estar intimamente relacionado com esses tipos de morte. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar e conhecer a relação entre a concentração de álcool no sangue e as mortes de causa violenta, considerando os parâmetros sexo e faixa etária. Foram analisadas amostras de sangue de vítimas fatais de causa violenta provenientes de necropsia realizadas pelo Núcleo de Perícia Médico Legal de Ribeirão Preto (NPML-RP) no Centro de Medicina Legal da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preta da Universidade de São Paulo, no período de 2002 a 2004. As análises de etanol foram realizadas pela técnica de cromatografia em fase gasosa com detector de ionização por chama e Headspace. Os resultados mostraram que nos acidentes, em especial nos acidentes de trânsito, a maior parte dos indivíduos envolvidos apresentava alcoolemia positiva, seguido dos homicídios e suicídios. Houve predominância das amostras do sexo masculino, sendo que mais que 50% das vítimas apresentavam alcoolemia positiva, com valores acima do permitido pelo Código de Trânsito Brasileiro, que é de 0,6 g/l. Os resultados sugerem que o álcool está altamente correlacionado com as mortes de causas violentas, principalmente nos acidentes de trânsito e envolvendo indivíduos jovens do sexo masculino

PLG72 Modulates Intracellular D-Serine Levels through Its Interaction with D-Amino Acid Oxidase : EFFECT ON SCHIZOPHRENIA SUSCEPTIBILITY

Human genes coding for pLG72 and d-amino acid oxidase have recently been linked to the onset of schizophrenia. pLG72 was proposed as an activator of the human FAD-containing flavoprotein d-amino acid oxidase (hDAAO). In the brain this oxidizes d-serine, a potent activator of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor. We have investigated the mechanistic regulation of hDAAO by pLG72. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that hDAAO and pLG72 are both expressed in astrocytes of the human cortex, where they most likely interact, considering their partial overlapping subcellular distribution and their coimmunoprecipitation. We demonstrated that the specific in vitro interaction of the two proteins yields a complex composed of 2 hDAAO homodimers and 2 pLG72 molecules. Binding of pLG72 did not affect the kinetic properties and FAD binding ability of hDAAO; instead, a time-dependent loss of hDAAO activity in the presence of an excess of pLG72 was found. The binding affects the tertiary structure of hDAAO, altering the amount of the active form. We finally demonstrated that overexpression of hDAAO in glioblastoma cells decreases the levels of d-serine, an effect that is null when pLG72 is coexpressed. These data indicate that pLG72 acts as a negative effector of hDAAO. Therefore, a decrease in the synaptic concentration of d-serine as the result of an anomalous increase in hDAAO activity related to hypoexpression of pLG72 may represent a molecular mechanism by which hDAAO and pLG72 are involved in schizophrenia susceptibility

A chemogenomic screening identifies CK2 as a target for pro-senescence therapy in PTEN-deficient tumours

Enhancement of cellular senescence in tumours triggers a stable cell growth arrest and activation of an antitumour immune response that can be exploited for cancer therapy. Currently, there are only a limited number of targeted therapies that act by increasing senescence in cancers, but the majority of them are not selective and also target healthy cells. Here we developed a chemogenomic screening to identify compounds that enhance senescence in PTEN-deficient cells without affecting normal cells. By using this approach, we identified casein kinase 2 (CK2) as a pro-senescent target. Mechanistically, we show that Pten loss increases CK2 levels by activating STAT3. CK2 upregulation in Pten null tumours affects the stability of Pml, an essential regulator of senescence. However, CK2 inhibition stabilizes Pml levels enhancing senescence in Pten null tumours. Taken together, our screening strategy has identified a novel STAT3-CK2-PML network that can be targeted for pro-senescence therapy for cancer

Phosphorylation of FAM134C by CK2 controls starvation-induced ER-phagy.

Selective degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via autophagy (ER-phagy) is initiated by ER-phagy receptors, which facilitate the incorporation of ER fragments into autophagosomes. FAM134 reticulon family proteins (FAM134A, FAM134B, and FAM134C) are ER-phagy receptors with structural similarities and nonredundant functions. Whether they respond differentially to the stimulation of ER-phagy is unknown. Here, we describe an activation mechanism unique to FAM134C during starvation. In fed conditions, FAM134C is phosphorylated by casein kinase 2 (CK2) at critical residues flanking the LIR domain. Phosphorylation of these residues negatively affects binding affinity to the autophagy proteins LC3. During starvation, mTORC1 inhibition limits FAM134C phosphorylation by CK2, hence promoting receptor activation and ER-phagy. Using a novel tool to study ER-phagy in vivo and FAM134C knockout mice, we demonstrated the physiological relevance of FAM134C phosphorylation during starvation-induced ER-phagy in liver lipid metabolism. These data provide a mechanistic insight into ER-phagy regulation and an example of autophagy selectivity during starvation.We thank G. Diez Roux and P. Ashley-Norman for critical reading of the manuscript. We thank the microscopy, MS, advanced histopathology, and FACS facilities at TIGEM Institute. We thank E. Nusco for helping us with AAV injections. Funding: This work was supported by European Research Council (ERC) (714551), Telethon intramural grants, and Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) (IG 2015 Id 17717) (to C.S.) and Telethon Foundation (TMPGCBX16TT), AFM Telethon (Trampoline Grant), and AIRC (MFAG-2020-24856) (to P.G.). G.D.L. is a recipient of AIRC fellowship “Francesco Alicino” (25407). V.L. acknowledges funding from the ERC (101001784), the Italian MIUR-PRIN 2017 (2017FJZZRC), and the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS) (project ID u8). The work of A.S. was supported by the German Research Foundation DFG (SFB1177/2 and WO210/20-2) and the Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Stiftung (13/2017). A.E. is supported by the RETOS projects Programme of Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spanish State Research Agency (grants SAF2015-67538-R and PID2019-104012RB-I00), and the ERC (638891). A.B.P.-G. is a recipient of Ph.D. fellowship from MICIU/AEI (BES-2017-081381). A.R. is a recipient of Umberto Veronesi Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. Author contributions: G.D.L. and F.I. performed most of the experiments. F.I. and A.B.P.-G. performed in vivo experiments. M.M. performed mutagenesis experiments. S.A. and V.L. performed LC3-FAM134C binding analysis. C.P.Q.M. performed in vitro phosphorylation assays. L.C. analyzed CK2 substrate phosphorylation. F.S., A.P., C.C., and A.S. analyzed proteomic data. G.N. provided critical suggestions. A.R. performed proteomic experiments. A.E. supervised in vivo experiments. M.R., L.A.P., and O.M. supervised CK2 experiments. C.S. designed the study. P.G. and C.S. conceived and supervised the experiments. C.S., P.G., V.L., and M.R. wrote the paper. G.D.L. and F.I. prepared the figures. All the authors read the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials.S

HS1, a Lyn Kinase Substrate, Is Abnormally Expressed in B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Correlates with Response to Fludarabine-Based Regimen

In B-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (B-CLL) kinase Lyn is overexpressed, active, abnormally distributed, and part of a cytosolic complex involving hematopoietic lineage cell-specific protein 1 (HS1). These aberrant properties of Lyn could partially explain leukemic cells’ defective apoptosis, directly or through its substrates, for example, HS1 that has been associated to apoptosis in different cell types. To verify the hypothesis of HS1 involvement in Lyn-mediated leukemic cell survival, we investigated HS1 protein in 71 untreated B-CLL patients and 26 healthy controls. We found HS1 overexpressed in leukemic as compared to normal B lymphocytes (1.38±0.54 vs 0.86±0.29, p<0.01), and when HS1 levels were correlated to clinical parameters we found a higher expression of HS1 in poor-prognosis patients. Moreover, HS1 levels significantly decreased in ex vivo leukemic cells of patients responding to a fludarabine-containing regimen. We also observed that HS1 is partially localized in the nucleus of neoplastic B cells. All these data add new information on HS1 study, hypothesizing a pivotal role of HS1 in Lyn-mediated modulation of leukemic cells’ survival and focusing, one more time, the attention on the BCR-Lyn axis as a putative target for new therapeutic strategies in this disorder

Enhancing chemosensitivity to gemcitabine via RNA interference targeting the catalytic subunits of protein kinase CK2 in human pancreatic cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pancreatic cancer is a complex genetic disorder that is characterized by rapid progression, invasiveness, resistance to treatment and high molecular heterogeneity. Various agents have been used in clinical trials showing only modest improvements with respect to gemcitabine-based chemotherapy, which continues to be the standard first-line treatment for this disease. However, owing to the overwhelming molecular alterations that have been reported in pancreatic cancer, there is increasing focus on targeting molecular pathways and networks, rather than individual genes or gene-products with a combination of novel chemotherapeutic agents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cells were transfected with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeting the individual CK2 subunits. The CK2 protein expression levels were determined and the effect of its down-regulation on chemosensitization of pancreatic cancer cells was investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The present study examined the impact on cell death following depletion of the individual protein kinase CK2 catalytic subunits alone or in combination with gemcitabine and the molecular mechanisms by which this effect is achieved. Depletion of the CK2α or -α' subunits in combination with gemcitabine resulted in marked apoptotic and necrotic cell death in PANC-1 cells. We show that the mechanism of cell death is associated with deregulation of distinct survival signaling pathways. Cellular depletion of CK2α leads to phosphorylation and activation of MKK4/JNK while down-regulation of CK2α' exerts major effects on the PI3K/AKT pathway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results reported here show that the two catalytic subunits of CK2 contribute differently to enhance gemcitabine-induced cell death, the reduced level of CK2α' being the most effective and that simultaneous reduction in the expression of CK2 and other survival factors might be an effective therapeutic strategy for enhancing the sensitivity of human pancreatic cancer towards chemotherapeutic agents.</p

Functional Protein Network Activation Mapping Reveals New Potential Molecular Drug Targets for Poor Prognosis Pediatric BCP-ALL

Background: In spite of leukemia therapy improvements obtained over the last decades, therapy is not yet effective in all cases. Current approaches in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) research focus on identifying new molecular targets to improve outcome for patients with a dismal prognosis. In this light phosphoproteomics seems to hold great promise for the identification of proteins suitable for targeted therapy. Methodology/Principal Findings: We employed Reverse Phase Protein Microarrays to identify aberrantly activated proteins in 118 pediatric B-cell precursor (BCP)-ALL patients. Signal transduction pathways were assayed for activation/expression status of 92 key signalling proteins. We observed an increased activation/expression of several pathways involved in cell proliferation in poor clinical prognosis patients. MLL-rearranged tumours revealed BCL-2 hyperphosphorylation through AMPK activation, which indicates that AMPK could provide a functional role in inhibiting apoptosis in MLL-rearranged patients, and could be considered as a new potential therapeutic target. Second, in patients with poor clinical response to prednisone we observed the up-modulation of LCK activity with respect to patients with good response. This tyrosine-kinase can be down-modulated with clinically used inhibitors, thus modulating LCK activity could be considered for further studies as a new additional therapy for prednisone-resistant patients. Further we also found an association between high levels of CYCLIN E and relapse incidence. Moreover, CYCLIN E is more expressed in early relapsed patients, who usually show an unfavourable prognosis. Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that functional protein pathway activation mapping revealed specific deranged signalling networks in BCP-ALL that could be potentially modulated to produce a better clinical outcome for patients resistant to standard-of-care therapies

Assay of protein kinases and phosphatases using specific peptide substrates

Oxford University Pres

Addiction to protein kinase CK2: A common denominator of diverse cancer cells?

At variance with most oncogenic protein kinases whose malignancy is generally due to genetic alterations conferring constitutive activity, CK2 is a highly pleiotropic Ser/Thr protein kinase naturally endowed with constitutive activity and lacking gain-of-function mutants. Nonetheless CK2 is abnormally elevated in a wide variety of tumors and there is strong evidence that it operates as a cancer driver by creating a cellular environment favorable to neoplasia: notably, CK2 plays a global role as an anti-apoptotic and pro-survival agent, it enhances the multi-drug resistance (MDR) phenotype, it assists the chaperone machinery which protects the "onco-kinome" and it promotes neo-angiogenesis. Based on this scenario we propose that the implication of CK2 in neoplasia is an example of "non oncogene addiction", i.e. over reliance of the perturbed cellular signaling network on high CK2 level for its own maintenance. Consistent with this, an ample spectrum of diverse types of cancer cells have been already shown to rely on high CK2 level for their survival, as judged from their response to specific CK2 inhibitors and silencing of endogenous CK2 catalytic subunits. Remarkably, among these are cells whose cancer phenotype arises from the genetic alteration of oncokinases (e.g. Abl and Alk) different from CK2 and insensitive to the CK2 inhibitors used in those experiments. Based on these premises, CK2 could represent a "multi-purpose" target for the treatment of different kinds of tumors