TRAF3 signaling: Competitive binding and evolvability of adaptive viral molecular mimicry.

Background: The tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) associated factor 3 (TRAF3) is a key node in innate and adaptive immune signaling pathways. TRAF3 negatively regulates the activation of the canonical and non-canonical NF-κB pathways and is one of the key proteins in antiviral immunity.

Scope Of Review: Here we provide a structural overview of TRAF3 signaling in terms of its competitive binding and consequences to the cellular network.

A potential trigger for pine mouth: a case of a homozygous phenylthiocarbamide taster.

Pine mouth, also known as pine nut syndrome, is an uncommon dysgeusia that generally begins 12 to 48 hours after consuming pine nuts. It is characterized by a bitter metallic taste, usually amplified by the consumption of other foods, which lasts 2 to 4 weeks. Recent findings have correlated this disorder with the consumption of nuts of the species Pinus armandii, but no potential triggers or common underlying medical causes have been identified in individuals affected by this syndrome.

The Architecture of the TIR Domain Signalosome in the Toll-like Receptor-4 Signaling Pathway.

Activated Toll-like receptors (TLRs) cluster in lipid rafts and induce pro- and anti-tumor responses. The organization of the assembly is critical to the understanding of how these key receptors control major signaling pathways in the cell. Although several models for individual interactions were proposed, the entire TIR-domain signalosome architecture has not been worked out, possibly due to its complexity.

MEK inhibitor PD-0325901 overcomes resistance to CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 and exhibits anti-tumor activity in head and neck cancer.

The serine-threonine kinase CK2 exhibits genomic alterations and aberrant overexpression in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Here, we investigated the effects of CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 in human HNSCC cell lines and xenograft models. The IC50's of CX-4945 for 9 UM-SCC cell lines measured by MTT assay ranged from 3.

Gene therapy with human and mouse T-cell receptors mediates cancer regression and targets normal tissues expressing cognate antigen.

Gene therapy of human cancer using genetically engineered lymphocytes is dependent on the identification of highly reactive T-cell receptors (TCRs) with antitumor activity. We immunized transgenic mice and also conducted high-throughput screening of human lymphocytes to generate TCRs highly reactive to melanoma/melanocyte antigens. Genes encoding these TCRs were engineered into retroviral vectors and used to transduce autologous peripheral lymphocytes administered to 36 patients with metastatic melanoma.

Localization of medullary thyroid carcinoma metastasis in a multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A patient by 6-[18F]-fluorodopamine positron emission tomography.

6-[(18)F]fluorodopamine, a substrate for the norepinephrine transporter, has been used as a tumor-seeking tracer in positron emission tomography (PET) to localize pheochromocytomas and other chromaffin tumors. Here, we report the case of a 42-yr-old woman with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A, in whom biopsy-proven recurrent medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) was detected by 6-[(18)F]fluorodopamine PET scanning. The patient had previously undergone bilateral adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma, total thyroidectomy, and extirpation of a parapharyngeal MTC metastatic deposit.