Differential Regulation of POC5 by ERα in Human Normal and Scoliotic Cells.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a complex three-dimensional spinal deformity. The incidence of AIS in females is 8.4 times higher than in males.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi in Eight Blood Banks in Mexico.

Background: The true prevalence of Chagas disease in Mexico is unknown. However, it has been estimated that 1.1-4 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, which represents a potential risk for transmission of the disease via contaminated blood.

BRK phosphorylates SMAD4 for proteasomal degradation and inhibits tumor suppressor FRK to control SNAIL, SLUG, and metastatic potential.

The tumor-suppressing function of SMAD4 is frequently subverted during mammary tumorigenesis, leading to cancer growth, invasion, and metastasis. A long-standing concept is that SMAD4 is not regulated by phosphorylation but ubiquitination. Our search for signaling pathways regulated by breast tumor kinase (BRK), a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase that is up-regulated in ~80% of invasive ductal breast tumors, led us to find that BRK competitively binds and phosphorylates SMAD4 and regulates transforming growth factor-β/SMAD4 signaling pathway.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis associated POC5 mutation impairs cell cycle, cilia length and centrosome protein interactions.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a spinal deformity that affects approximately 3 percent of human adolescents. Although the etiology and molecular basis of AIS is unclear, several genes such as POC5 have been identified as possible causes of the condition. In order to understand the role of POC5 in the pathogenesis of AIS, we investigated the subcellular localization of POC5 in cilia of cells over-expressing either the wild type (wt) or an AIS-related POC5 variant POC5A429V.

Estrogen receptor signaling regulates the expression of the breast tumor kinase in breast cancer cells.

Background: BRK is, a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, overexpressed in approximately 85% of human invasive ductal breast tumors. It is not clear whether BRK expression correlates with breast cancer subtypes, or the expression has prognostic or diagnostic significance. Herein, we investigated the correlation of BRK with any breast cancer subtypes and clinicopathological significance of BRK expression in breast cancer.