Neuropilin-2 regulates androgen-receptor transcriptional activity in advanced prostate cancer.

Aberrant transcriptional activity of androgen receptor (AR) is one of the dominant mechanisms for developing of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Analyzing AR-transcriptional complex related to CRPC is therefore important towards understanding the mechanism of therapy resistance. While studying its mechanism, we observed that a transmembrane protein called neuropilin-2 (NRP2) plays a contributory role in forming a novel AR-transcriptional complex containing nuclear pore proteins.

Reprogramming of Ovarian Granulosa Cells by YAP1 Leads to Development of High-Grade Cancer with Mesenchymal Lineage and Serous Features.

Understanding the cell-of-origin of ovarian high grade serous cancer (HGSC) is the prerequisite for efficient prevention and early diagnosis of this most lethal gynecological cancer. Recently, a mesenchymal type of ovarian HGSC with the poorest prognosis among ovarian cancers was identified by both TCGA and AOCS studies. The cell-of-origin of this subtype of ovarian cancer is unknown.

In vivo modeling of metastatic human high-grade serous ovarian cancer in mice.

Metastasis is responsible for 90% of human cancer mortality, yet it remains a challenge to model human cancer metastasis in vivo. Here we describe mouse models of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, also known as high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), the most common and deadliest human ovarian cancer type. Mice genetically engineered to harbor Dicer1 and Pten inactivation and mutant p53 robustly replicate the peritoneal metastases of human HGSC with complete penetrance.

MiR-1253 exerts tumor-suppressive effects in medulloblastoma via inhibition of CDK6 and CD276 (B7-H3).

Of the four primary subgroups of medulloblastoma, the most frequent cytogenetic abnormality, i17q, distinguishes Groups 3 and 4 which carry the highest mortality; haploinsufficiency of 17p13.3 is a marker for particularly poor prognosis. At the terminal end of this locus lies miR-1253, a brain-enriched microRNA that regulates bone morphogenic proteins during cerebellar development.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 1-mediated phosphorylation of YES links mitotic arrest and apoptosis during antitubulin chemotherapy.

YES is a member of the SRC family kinase (SFK) group of non-receptor tyrosine kinases, which are implicated in multiple key cellular processes involved in oncogenesis. Antitubulin agents have been widely used as chemotherapeutics for cancer patients and these drugs arrest cells in mitosis, leading to subsequent cell death. In the present study, we define a mechanism for phospho-regulation of YES that is critical for its role in response to antitubulin agents.

Maternal Western diet age-specifically alters female offspring voluntary physical activity and dopamine- and leptin-related gene expression.

Prenatal overnutrition affects development into adulthood and influences risk of obesity. We assessed the transgenerational effect of maternal Western diet (WD) consumption on offspring physical activity. Voluntary wheel running was increased in juvenile (4-7 wk of age), but decreased in adult (16-19 wk of age), F female WD offspring In contrast, no wheel-running differences in F male offspring were observed.

MIEN1 is tightly regulated by SINE Alu methylation in its promoter.

Migration and invasion enhancer 1 (MIEN1) is a novel gene involved in prostate cancer progression by enhancing prostate cancer cell migration and invasion. DNA methylation, an important epigenetic regulation, is one of the most widely altered mechanisms in prostate cancer. This phenomenon frames the basis to study the DNA methylation patterns in the promoter region of MIEN1.

Characterization of induced neural progenitors from skin fibroblasts by a novel combination of defined factors.

Recent reports have demonstrated that somatic cells can be directly converted to other differentiated cell types through ectopic expression of sets of transcription factors, directly avoiding the transition through a pluripotent state. Our previous experiments generated induced neural progenitor-like cells (iNPCs) by a novel combination of five transcription factors (Sox2, Brn2, TLX, Bmi1 and c-Myc). Here we demonstrated that the iNPCs not only possess NPC-specific marker genes, but also have qualities of primary brain-derived NPCs (WT-NPCs), including tripotent differentiation potential, mature neuron differentiation capability and synapse formation.