Motivation: Biomedical literature is one of the most relevant sources of information for knowledge mining in the field of Bioinformatics. In spite of English being the most widely addressed language in the field; in recent years, there has been a growing interest from the natural language processing community in dealing with languages other than English. However, the availability of language resources and tools for appropriate treatment of non-English texts is lacking behind.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOverexpression of the histone methyltransferase MMSET in t(4;14)+ multiple myeloma patients is believed to be the driving factor in the pathogenesis of this subtype of myeloma. MMSET catalyzes dimethylation of lysine 36 on histone H3 (H3K36me2), and its overexpression causes a global increase in H3K36me2, redistributing this mark in a broad, elevated level across the genome. Here, we demonstrate that an increased level of MMSET also induces a global reduction of lysine 27 trimethylation on histone H3 (H3K27me3).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme fumarate hydratase (FH) has been identified as a tumor suppressor in a subset of human renal cell carcinomas. Human FH-deficient cancer cells display high fumarate concentration and ROS levels along with activation of HIF-1. The underlying mechanisms by which FH loss increases ROS and HIF-1 are not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe EZH2 histone methyltransferase is highly expressed in germinal center (GC) B cells and targeted by somatic mutations in B cell lymphomas. Here, we find that EZH2 deletion or pharmacologic inhibition suppresses GC formation and functions. EZH2 represses proliferation checkpoint genes and helps establish bivalent chromatin domains at key regulatory loci to transiently suppress GC B cell differentiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have developed a targeted method to quantify all combinations of methylation on an H3 peptide containing lysines 27 and 36 (H3K27-K36). By using stable isotopes that separately label the histone backbone and its methylations, we tracked the rates of methylation and demethylation in myeloma cells expressing high vs. low levels of the methyltransferase MMSET/WHSC1/NSD2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe multiple myeloma SET domain (MMSET) protein is overexpressed in multiple myeloma (MM) patients with the translocation t(4;14). Although studies have shown the involvement of MMSET/Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome candidate 1 in development, its mode of action in the pathogenesis of MM is largely unknown. We found that MMSET is a major regulator of chromatin structure and transcription in t(4;14) MM cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCigarette smoking is strongly correlated with the onset of lung cancer. Nicotine, a major component in cigarette smoke, has been found to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis, as well as protect cancer cells from apoptosis. Among all lung cancer cases, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is found almost exclusively in smokers; metastasis and chemoresistance are the main reasons for the high mortality rates associated with SCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new study now reports recurrent somatic mutation of EZH2, a histone methyltransferase that modifies H3K27, in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). There is now evidence for both increased and decreased activity of enzymes controlling H3K27 methylation in cancer, suggesting that a precise balance of this methylation is critical for normal cell growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCigarette smoking is the major preventable cause of lung cancer in developed countries. Nicotine (3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)-pyridine) is one of the major alkaloids present in tobacco. Besides its addictive properties, its effects have been described in panoply of cell types.
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