Adenine nucleotides are important signaling molecules that mediate biological functions in many conditions, including cancer. The enzymes CD39 and CD73 produce adenosine in the extracellular milieu that has a very important role in tumor development. This study aimed to evaluate nucleotide hydrolysis in the plasma blood of breast cancer elderly patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProstate cancer is the most frequent urological tumor, and the second most common cancer diagnosed in men. Incidence and mortality are variable and appear to depend on behavioral factors and genetic predisposition. The prostate-derived E-twenty-six factor (PDEF) and E-twenty-six variant 4 (ETV4) transcription factors, and the thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and uridine phosphorylase-1 (UP-1) enzymes, are reported to be components of the pathways leading to tumorigenesis and/or metastasis in a number of tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been broadly used to treat solid tumors for more than 50 years. One of the major side effects of fluoropyrimidines therapy is oral and intestinal mucositis. Human uridine phosphorylase (hUP) inhibitors have been suggested as modulators of 5-FU toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUridine (Urd) is a promising biochemical modulator to reduce host toxicity caused by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) without impairing its antitumor activity. Elevated doses of Urd are required to achieve a protective effect against 5-FU toxicity, but exogenous administration of Urd is not well-tolerated. Selective inhibitors of human uridine phosphorylase (hUP) have been proposed as a strategy to increase Urd levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe E-twenty-six (ETS) family of transcription factors is known to act as positive or negative regulators of the expression of genes that are involved in diverse biological processes, including those that control cellular proliferation, differentiation, hematopoiesis, apoptosis, metastasis, tissue remodeling, and angiogenesis. Identification of target gene promoters of normal and oncogenic transcription factors provides new insights into the regulation of genes that are involved in the control of normal cell growth and differentiation. The aim of the present investigation was to analyze the differential expression of 11 ETS (ELF-3, ESE3, ETS1, ETV3, ETV4, ETV6, NERF, PDEF, PU1, Spi-B, and Spi-C) as potential markers for prognostic of colorectal cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUridine phosphorylase (UP) is a key enzyme in the pyrimidine salvage pathway, catalyzing the reversible phosphorolysis of uridine to uracil and ribose-1-phosphate (R1P). The human UP type 1 (hUP1) is a molecular target for the design of inhibitors intended to boost endogenous uridine levels to rescue normal tissues from the toxicity of fluoropyrimidine nucleoside chemotherapeutic agents, such as capecitabine and 5-fluorouracil. Here, we describe a method to obtain homogeneous recombinant hUP1, and present initial velocity, product inhibition, and equilibrium binding data.
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