Publications by authors named "Akikazu Harada"

Micropapillary adenocarcinoma (MPC) is an aggressive histological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). MPC is composed of small clusters of cancer cells exhibiting inverted polarity. However, the mechanism underlying its formation is poorly understood.

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Cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4) is a cell surface receptor for Dickkopf 1 (DKK1), a secreted protein. The DKK1-CKAP4 pathway is activated in various malignant tumors, including pancreatic, lung, esophageal, and liver cancers, to promote tumor growth. Thus, CKAP4 has been expected to represent a novel molecular target of cancer therapy.

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Growth regulation by estrogen in breast cancer 1 (GREB1) is involved in hormone-dependent and -independent tumor development (e.g., hepatoblastoma).

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Unlabelled: Wnt signaling is known to maintain two cell states, hepatocyte differentiation and proliferation, in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). On the other hand, activation of Wnt signaling in colon cancer promotes uncontrollable stereotypic proliferation, whereas cells remain undifferentiated. To elucidate the unique mode of Wnt signaling in HCC, we comprehensively investigated HCC-specific Wnt pathway target genes and identified GREB1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate largely due to its ability to spread (metastasize), and traditional treatments targeting KRAS have not been effective.
  • Researchers found that ARL4C, a small G protein, is often overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and is crucial for cancer cell invasion by localizing to invasive structures.
  • ARL4C interacts with IQGAP1 and MMP14, forming a signaling pathway that facilitates the breakdown of the extracellular matrix at invasion sites, and using antisense oligonucleotides against ARL4C showed promise in reducing cancer metastasis in mice.
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Dickkopf1 (DKK1) is overexpressed in various cancers and promotes cancer cell proliferation by binding to cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4). However, the mechanisms underlying DKK1 expression are poorly understood. RNA sequence analysis revealed that expression of the transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) and its target genes concordantly fluctuated with expression of DKK1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells.

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