MYC is not detected in highly proliferating normal spermatogonia but is coupled with CIP2A in testicular cancers

High MYC expression is linked to proliferative activity in most normal tissues and in cancer. MYC also supports self-renewal and proliferation of many types of tissue progenitor cells. Cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) promotes MYC phosphorylation and activity during intestinal crypt regeneration in vivo and in various cancers. CIP2A also supports male germ cell proliferation in vivo. However, the role of MYC in normal germ cell proliferation and spermatogonial progenitor self-renewal is currently unclear.  Here, we demonstrate that male germ cells are CIP2A-positive but lack detectable levels of MYC protein; whereas MYC is highly expressed in Leydig cells and peritubular myoid cells contributing thereby to the testicular stem cell niche. On the other hand,  MYC was co-expressed with CIP2A in testicular cancers. These results demonstrate that CIP2A and MYC are spatially uncoupled in the regulation of spermatogenesis, but functional relationship between these two human oncoproteins is established during testicular cancer transformation. We propose that further analysis of mechanisms of MYC silencing in spermatogonial progenitors may reveal novel fundamental information relevant to understanding of MYC expression in cancer. </p

The chemopreventive polyphenol Curcumin prevents hematogenous breast cancer metastases in immunodeficient mice

Dissemination of metastatic cells probably occurs long before diagnosis of the primary tumor. Metastasis during early phases of carcinogenesis in high risk patients is therefore a potential prevention target. The plant polyphenol Curcumin has been proposed for dietary prevention of cancer. We therefore examined its effects on the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in vitro and in a mouse metastasis model. Curcumin strongly induces apoptosis in MDA- MB- 231 cells in correlation with reduced activation of the survival pathway NF kappa B, as a consequence of diminished I kappa B and p65 phosphorylation. Curcumin also reduces the expression of major matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) due to reduced NF kappa B activity and transcriptional downregulation of AP-1. NF kappa B/p65 silencing is sufficient to downregulate c-jun and MMP expression. Reduced NF kappa B/AP-1 activity and MMP expression lead to diminished invasion through a reconstituted basement membrane and to a significantly lower number of lung metastases in immunodeficient mice after intercardiac injection of 231 cells (p=0.0035). 68% of Curcumin treated but only 17% of untreated animals showed no or very few lung metastases, most likely as a consequence of down-regulation of NF kappa B/AP-1 dependent MMP expression and direct apoptotic effects on circulating tumor cells but not on established metastases. Dietary chemoprevention of metastases appears therefore feasible. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

The effect of the macrolide antibiotic tylosin on microbial diversity in the canine small intestine as demonstrated by massive parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that the fecal microbiota is generally resilient to short-term antibiotic administration, but some bacterial taxa may remain depressed for several months. Limited information is available about the effect of antimicrobials on small intestinal microbiota, an important contributor to gastrointestinal health. The antibiotic tylosin is often successfully used for the treatment of chronic diarrhea in dogs, but its exact mode of action and its effect on the intestinal microbiota remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tylosin on canine jejunal microbiota. Tylosin was administered at 20 to 22 mg/kg q 24 hr for 14 days to five healthy dogs, each with a pre-existing jejunal fistula. Jejunal brush samples were collected through the fistula on days 0, 14, and 28 (14 days after withdrawal of tylosin). Bacterial diversity was characterized using massive parallel 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. RESULTS: Pyrosequencing revealed a previously unrecognized species richness in the canine small intestine. Ten bacterial phyla were identified. Microbial populations were phylogenetically more similar during tylosin treatment. However, a remarkable inter-individual response was observed for specific taxa. Fusobacteria, Bacteroidales, and Moraxella tended to decrease. The proportions of Enterococcus-like organisms, Pasteurella spp., and Dietzia spp. increased significantly during tylosin administration (p < 0.05). The proportion of Escherichia coli-like organisms increased by day 28 (p = 0.04). These changes were not accompanied by any obvious clinical effects. On day 28, the phylogenetic composition of the microbiota was similar to day 0 in only 2 of 5 dogs. Bacterial diversity resembled the pre-treatment state in 3 of 5 dogs. Several bacterial taxa such as Spirochaetes, Streptomycetaceae, and Prevotellaceae failed to recover at day 28 (p < 0.05). Several bacterial groups considered to be sensitive to tylosin increased in their proportions. CONCLUSION: Tylosin may lead to prolonged effects on the composition and diversity of jejunal microbiota. However, these changes were not associated with any short-term clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease in healthy dogs. Our results illustrate the complexity of the intestinal microbiota and the challenges associated with evaluating the effect of antibiotic administration on the various bacterial groups and their potential interactions

A holistic multi evidence approach to study the fragmentation behaviour of crystalline mannitol

Mannitol is an essential excipient employed in orally disintegrating tablets due to its high palatability. However its fundamental disadvantage is its fragmentation during direct compression, producing mechanically weak tablets. The primary aim of this study was to assess the fracture behaviour of crystalline mannitol in relation to the energy input during direct compression, utilising ball milling as the method of energy input, whilst assessing tablet characteristics of post-milled powders. Results indicated that crystalline mannitol fractured at the hydrophilic (011) plane, as observed through SEM, alongside a reduction in dispersive surface energy. Disintegration times of post-milled tablets were reduced due to the exposure of the hydrophilic plane, whilst more robust tablets were produced. This was shown through higher tablet hardness and increased plastic deformation profiles of the post-milled powders, as observed with a lower yield pressure through an out-of-die Heckel analysis. Evaluation of crystal state using x-ray diffraction/differential scanning calorimetry showed that mannitol predominantly retained the β-polymorph; however x-ray diffraction provided a novel method to calculate energy input into the powders during ball milling. It can be concluded that particle size reduction is a pragmatic strategy to overcome the current limitation of mannitol fragmentation and provide improvements in tablet properties

ETS1 Mediates MEK1/2-Dependent Overexpression of Cancerous Inhibitor of Protein Phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) in Human Cancer Cells

EGFR-MEK-ERK signaling pathway has an established role in promoting malignant growth and disease progression in human cancers. Therefore identification of transcriptional targets mediating the oncogenic effects of the EGFR-MEK-ERK pathway would be highly relevant. Cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) is a recently characterized human oncoprotein. CIP2A promotes malignant cell growth and is over expressed at high frequency (40–80%) in most of the human cancer types. However, the mechanisms inducing its expression in cancer still remain largely unexplored. Here we present systematic analysis of contribution of potential gene regulatory mechanisms for high CIP2A expression in cancer. Our data shows that evolutionary conserved CpG islands at the proximal CIP2A promoter are not methylated both in normal and cancer cells. Furthermore, sequencing of the active CIP2A promoter region from altogether seven normal and malignant cell types did not reveal any sequence alterations that would increase CIP2A expression specifically in cancer cells. However, treatment of cancer cells with various signaling pathway inhibitors revealed that CIP2A mRNA expression was sensitive to inhibition of EGFR activity as well as inhibition or activation of MEK-ERK pathway. Moreover, MEK1/2-specific siRNAs decreased CIP2A protein expression. Series of CIP2A promoter-luciferase constructs were created to identify proximal −27 to −107 promoter region responsible for MEK-dependent stimulation of CIP2A expression. Additional mutagenesis and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments revealed ETS1 as the transcription factor mediating stimulation of CIP2A expression through EGFR-MEK pathway. Thus, ETS1 is probably mediating high CIP2A expression in human cancers with increased EGFR-MEK1/2-ERK pathway activity. These results also suggest that in addition to its established role in invasion and angiogenesis, ETS1 may support malignant cellular growth via regulation of CIP2A expression and protein phosphatase 2A inhibition

p38 MAPK-Mediated Bmi-1 Down-Regulation and Defective Proliferation in ATM-Deficient Neural Stem Cells Can Be Restored by Akt Activation

A-T (ataxia telangiectasia) is a genetic disease caused by a mutation in the Atm (A-T mutated) gene that leads to neurodegeneration. Despite an increase in the numbers of studies in this area in recent years, the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in human A-T are still poorly understood. Previous studies demonstrated that neural stem cells (NSCs) isolated from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of Atm-/- mouse brains show defective self-renewal and proliferation, which is accompanied by activation of chronic p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and a lower level of the polycomb protein Bmi-1. However, the mechanism underlying Bmi-1 down-regulation and its relevance to defective proliferation in Atm-/- NSCs remained unclear. Here, we show that over-expression of Bmi-1 increases self-renewal and proliferation of Atm-/- NSCs to normal, indicating that defective proliferation in Atm-/- NSCs is a consequence of down-regulation of Bmi-1. We also demonstrate that epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced Akt phosphorylation renders Bmi-1 resistant to the proteasomal degradation, leading to its stabilization and accumulation in the nucleus. However, inhibition of the Akt-dependent Bmi-1 stabilizing process by p38 MAPK signaling reduces the levels of Bmi-1. Treatment of the Atm-/- NSCs with a specific p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 extended Bmi-1 posttranscriptional turnover and H2A ubiquitination in Atm-/- NSCs. Our observations demonstrate the molecular basis underlying the impairment of self-renewal and proliferation in Atm-/- NSCs through the p38 MAPK-Akt-Bmi-1-p21 signaling pathway