Response of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells carrying PIK3CA mutations to selected targeted therapies.

Importance: The PIK3CA mutation is one of the most common mutations in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Through this research we attempt to elicit the role of oncogene dependence and effects of targeted therapy on this PIK3CA mutation.

Objectives: (1) To determine the role of oncogene dependence on PIK3CA-one of the more common and targetable oncogenes in HNSCC, and (2) to evaluate the consequence of this oncogene on the effectiveness of newly developed targeted therapies.

Depletion of the C. elegans NAC engages the unfolded protein response, resulting in increased chaperone expression and apoptosis.

The nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) is a highly conserved heterodimer important for metazoan development, but its molecular function is not well understood. Recent evidence suggests the NAC is a component of the cytosolic chaperone network that interacts with ribosomal complexes and their emerging nascent peptides, such that the loss of the NAC in chaperone-depleted cells results in an increase in misfolded protein stress. We tested whether the NAC functions similarly in Caeonorhabditis (C.