Integrated drug response prediction models pinpoint repurposed drugs with effectiveness against rhabdomyosarcoma.

Targeted therapies for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells or inducing apoptosis are urgently needed for effective rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) treatment. However, identifying cancer-targeting compounds with few side effects, among the many potential compounds, is expensive and time-consuming. A computational approach to reduce the number of potential candidate drugs can facilitate the discovery of attractive lead compounds.

Age Is Just a Number: Progress and Obstacles in the Discovery of New Candidate Drugs for Sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a disease characterized by the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function that occurs with aging. The progression of sarcopenia is correlated with the onset of physical disability, the inability to live independently, and increased mortality. Due to global increases in lifespan and demographic aging in developed countries, sarcopenia has become a major socioeconomic burden.

Cancer-Stimulated CAFs Enhance Monocyte Differentiation and Protumoral TAM Activation via IL6 and GM-CSF Secretion.

M2-type TAMs are increasingly implicated as a crucial factor promoting metastasis. Numerous cell types dictate monocyte differentiation into M2 TAMs via a complex network of cytokine-based communication. Elucidating critical pathways in this network can provide new targets for inhibiting metastasis.

Lessons from the swamp: developing small molecules that confer salamander muscle cellularization in mammals.

The ability of salamanders, such as newts, to regenerate damaged tissues has been studied for centuries. A prominent example of this regenerative power is the ability to re-grow entire amputated limbs. One important step in this regeneration process is skeletal muscle cellularization, in which the muscle fibers break down into dedifferentiated, mononuclear cells that proliferate and form new muscle in the replacement limb.

SR proteins regulate V6 exon splicing of CD44 pre-mRNA.

CD44 pre-mRNA includes 20 exons, of which exons 1-5 (C-C) and exons 16-20 (C-C) are constant exons, whereas exons 6-15 (V-V) are variant exons. V-exon-containing isoforms have been known to be implicated in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. In the present study, we performed a SR protein screen for CD44 V splicing using overexpression and lentivirus-mediated shRNA treatment.

Sugars that Glow in the Dark: Fluorescent Tagged Glucose Bioprobes and their Facilitation of the Drug Discovery Process.

Fluorescent tagged glucose probes offer an attractive alternative to traditional, radioactive based methods for measuring glucose flux in biological systems. Thus, it could be envisaged that these probes would be widely used. However, this is not the case and, since their development in the mid-1980s, fluorescent tagged glucose bioprobes are relatively underutilized in biological research compared to radioactive methods, with only a small number (<10) publications per year using these probes.

Making cardiomyocytes with your chemistry set: Small molecule-induced cardiogenesis in somatic cells.

Cell transplantation is an attractive potential therapy for heart diseases. For example, myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of mortality in many countries. Numerous medical interventions have been developed to stabilize patients with MI and, although this has increased survival rates, there is currently no clinically approved method to reverse the loss of cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) that accompanies this disease.

hnRNP L inhibits CD44 V10 exon splicing through interacting with its upstream intron.

CD44 is a complex cell adhesion molecule that mediates communication and adhesion between adjacent cells as well as between cells and the extracellular matrix. CD44 pre-mRNA produces various mRNA isoforms through alternative splicing of 20 exons, among which exons 1-5 (C1-C5) and 16-20 (C6-C10) are constant exons, whereas exons 6-15 (V1-V10) are variant exons. CD44 V10 exon has important roles in breast tumor progression and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Chemical targeting of GAPDH moonlighting function in cancer cells reveals its role in tubulin regulation.

Glycolytic enzymes are attractive anticancer targets. They also carry out numerous, nonglycolytic "moonlighting" functions in cells. In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity of the triazine small molecule, GAPDS, that targets the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH).

Reprogram or reboot: small molecule approaches for the production of induced pluripotent stem cells and direct cell reprogramming.

Stem cell transplantation is a potential therapy for regenerative medicine, which aims to restore tissues damaged by trauma, aging, and diseases. Since its conception in the late 1990s, chemical biology has provided powerful and diverse small molecule tools for modulating stem cell function. Embryonic stem cells could be an ideal source for transplantation, but ethical concerns restrict their development for cell therapy.