Nuclear protein-1 is the common link for pathways activated by aging and obesity in chondrocytes: A potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis.

Pathways leading to osteoarthritis (OA) are diverse depending on the risk factors involved; thus, developing OA therapeutics has been challenging. Here we report that nuclear protein-1 (Nupr1), a stress-inducible protein/transcription factor, is activated by pathways associated with obesity and aging in chondrocytes. Treatment of human chondrocytes with free fatty acids (palmitate and oleate; a model for high-fat diet/obesity) induced PERK signaling and increased expression of caspase-3, TRB3, and Nupr1.

Progress in Targeted Alpha-Particle-Emitting Radiopharmaceuticals as Treatments for Prostate Cancer Patients with Bone Metastases.

Bone metastasis remains a major cause of death in cancer patients, and current therapies for bone metastatic disease are mainly palliative. Bone metastases arise after cancer cells have colonized the bone and co-opted the normal bone remodeling process. In addition to bone-targeted therapies (e.

Usefulness of the measurement of neurite outgrowth of primary sensory neurons to study cancer-related painful complications.

Abnormal outgrowth of sensory nerves is one of the important contributors to pain associated with cancer and its treatments. Primary neuronal cultures derived from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) have been widely used to study pain-associated signal transduction and electrical activity of sensory nerves. However, there are only a few studies using primary DRG neuronal culture to investigate neurite outgrowth alterations due to underlying cancer-related factors and chemotherapeutic agents.

Osteoblasts derived from mouse mandible enhance tumor growth of prostate cancer more than osteoblasts derived from long bone.

Prostate cancer (PCa) metastasizes to bone, where the bone marrow microenvironment controls disease progression. However, the cellular interactions that result in active bone marrow metastases are poorly understood. A better understanding of these interactions is critical to success in the pursuit of effective treatments for this life ending disease.