Introduction And Objective: p62 is a human multifunctional adaptor protein involved in key cellular processes such as tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and cancer. It acts as a negative regulator of inflammasome complexes. It may thus be considered a good candidate for therapeutic use in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as colitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe p62 protein, also called sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1), is a ubiquitin-binding scaffold protein. In human oncology, although the interest in the function of this protein is recent, the knowledge is now numerous, but its role in tumorigenesis is not yet clear. This preliminary study aims to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of p62 in 38 cases of feline mammary carcinoma with different grades of differentiation and in 12 non-neoplastic mammary gland tissues, to assess the expression level and a possible correlation with malignancy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies highlighted the role of autophagy as a cardinal regulatory system for homeostasis and cancer-related signalling pathways. In this context, the deregulated expression of p62 - Sequestosome1 (p62/SQSTM1) - a protein acting both as an autophagy receptor and signalling hub, has been associated with tumour development and chronic inflammation. Multiple clinical studies test drugs targeting autophagy, and even more research is on the way to clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Plasmids coding protein aggregation polypeptides from different sources have been proposed as genetic adjuvants for DNA vaccines. We reported that a plasmid (pATRex), encompassing the DNA sequence for the von Willebrand A (vWA/A) domain of the Anthrax Toxin Receptor-1 (ANTXR-1, alias TEM8, Tumor Endothelial Marker 8), acts as strong immune adjuvant by inducing formation of insoluble intracellular aggregates and subsequent cell death.
Objective: In the present study we addressed the question of whether there is any substantial immunotoxicity associated with the use of self-aggregating proteins as genetic adjuvants.
Previous studies have shown that tumor endothelial markers (TEMs 1-9) are up modulated in immunosuppressive, pro-angiogenic dendritic cells (DCs) found in tumor microenvironments. We recently reported that monocyte-derived DCs used for vaccination trials may accumulate high levels of TEM8 gene transcripts. Here, we investigate whether TEM8 expression in DC preparations represents a specific tumor-associated change of potential clinical relevance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorrecting errors and proofreading are crucial in a post-genomic era, when DNA sequences are already part of an effective medical screening and treatments. SNPs genotyping of complex human genes can lead to questionable associations if not properly handled. Here, we report about a spurious (reitered) association between FCGR2B genetic polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the prognostic value of Fas receptor and Fas ligand (FasL) as apoptosis-related biomarkers in the context of chemoresponsiveness in breast cancer (BC) patients submitted to anthracycline-based adjuvant therapy.
Experimental Design: Fas and FasL were investigated by immunohistochemistry in surgical samples collected from 167 stage I-IIa-b BC patients enrolled in a prospective clinical trial using epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide in the adjuvant setting.
Results: Fas and FasL were significantly associated with tumor stage (P < 0.
Archival pathologic specimens are a rich source for the studies of hereditary diseases, cancer genetics, and identification cases in forensic science. In this study, the intraindividual consistency of eight identifying microsatellite polymorphisms (i.e.
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