Metastatic primary cutaneous melanoma is a frequently fatal disease despite recent therapeutic advances. Biomarkers to stratify patients' prognosis are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn melanoma, carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are important cellular components in the tumour microenvironment due to their potential to promote tumour growth and metastatic spread of malignant cells. Melanoma cells have the ability to affect non-tumour cells in the microenvironment by releasing extracellular vesicles (EVs). The mechanisms responsible for reprogramming normal dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) into CAFs remain incompletely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvasive growth is a critical process in tumor progression, requiring the activation of various molecular processes in tumor cells at the invasive front. Intercellular communication between heterogeneous tumor cells enhances cellular activation and adaptation to specific microenvironments. One mechanism of intercellular communication is the delivery of miRNAs through tumor cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith just four building blocks, low sequence information density, few functional groups, poor control over folding, and difficulties in forming compact folds, natural DNA and RNA have been disappointing platforms from which to evolve receptors, ligands, and catalysts. Accordingly, synthetic biology has created "artificially expanded genetic information systems" (AEGIS) to add nucleotides, functionality, and information density. With the expected improvements seen in AegisBodies and AegisZymes, the task for synthetic biologists shifts to developing for expanded DNA the same analytical tools available to natural DNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany efforts have sought to apply laboratory evolution (LIVE) to natural nucleic acid (NA) scaffolds to directly evolve functional molecules. However, synthetic biology can move beyond natural NA scaffolds to create molecular systems whose libraries are far richer reservoirs of functionality than natural NAs. For example, "artificially expanded genetic information systems" (AEGIS) add up to eight nucleotides to the four found in standard NA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActivating BRAF mutations occurs in 50-60% of malignant melanomas. Although initially treatable, the development of resistance to BRAF-targeted therapies (BRAFi) is a major challenge and limits their efficacy. We have previously shown that the BRAF signaling pathway mediates the expression of EZH2, an epigenetic regulator related to melanoma progression and worse overall survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA significant number of proteins are annotated as functionally uncharacterized proteins. Within this protocol, we describe how to use protein family multiple sequence alignments and structural bioinformatics resources to design loss-of-function mutations of previously uncharacterized proteins within the glycosyltransferase family. We detail approaches to determine target protein active sites using three-dimensional modeling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn IgA vasculitis (IgAV) perivascular deposition of IgA1 immune complexes (IgA-ICs) is traditionally considered the fundamental trigger for polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN)-mediated damage. We propose that IgA-IC deposition, although mandatory, is not sufficient alone for IgAV. Serum IgA-IC levels and IgA-IC binding to PMNs were quantified in IgAV patients and controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are important mediators in the intercellular communication, influencing the function and phenotype of different cell types within the tumor micro-milieu and thus promote tumor progression. Since EVs safely transport packages of proteins, lipids and also nucleic acids such as miRNAs, EVs and their cargo can serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate EV embedded miRNAs specific for melanoma, which could serve as potential biomarkers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor characterized by infiltrative growth of malignant glioma cells into the surrounding brain parenchyma. In this study, our analysis of GBM patient cohorts revealed a significantly higher expression of 8 () compared to normal brain tissue and could be associated with impaired patient survival. Increased expression of significantly enhanced migration of two different sphere-forming GBM cell lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe key players in different chronic inflammatory skin diseases are cytokines belonging to the IL-17 group, IL-17 receptors and a T helper cell population, Th17 cells. Successful therapeutic strategies that target either IL-17 or the major IL-17 receptor IL-17RA have confirmed the immune-pathogenic pathway. To study the IL-17-ligand - receptor axis at the molecular level, a number of cutaneous cell types from healthy human subjects has been cultured and analyzed for the expression of IL-17 receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) are characterized by the deregulation of several hundred hyperosmolality-responsive genes. High expression of a subset of these genes including the Ran binding protein 3 like (RANBP3L) is linked to a favorable prognostic outcome in RCC. However, the cellular function of RANBP3L remains largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany melanomas are associated with activating BRAF mutation. Targeted therapies by inhibitors of BRAF and MEK (BRAFi, MEKi) show marked antitumor response, but become limited by drug resistance. The mechanisms for this are not fully revealed, but include miRNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide underlining the urgent need for new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for this disease. Long noncoding RNAs are critical players in NSCLC but the role of small RNA species is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the role of H/ACA box small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and snoRNA-bound ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs) in the tumorigenesis of NSCLC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, with rapidly increasing incidence and consistent mortality. Skin cancer encompasses melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, which in turn is mainly divided into cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Small noncoding micro-RNAs (miRNAs) regulate protein expression after transcription and play a role in the development and progression of skin cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStructural bioinformatics provides the scientific methods and tools to analyse, archive, validate, and present the biomolecular structure data generated by the structural biology community. It also provides an important link with the genomics community, as structural bioinformaticians also use the extensive sequence data to predict protein structures and their functional sites. A very broad and active community of structural bioinformaticians exists across Europe, and 3D-Bioinfo will establish formal platforms to address their needs and better integrate their activities and initiatives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNoncoding RNAs, including small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), play important roles in leukemogenesis, but the relevant mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We performed snoRNA-focused CRISPR-Cas9 knockout library screenings that targeted the entire snoRNAnome and corresponding host genes. The C/D box containing SNORD42A was identified as an essential modulator for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell survival and proliferation in multiple human leukemia cell lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, promoting tumor initiation, growth, progression, metastasis, and immune evasion. Recently it was shown that cancer cell-derived exosomes induce a tumor-promoting phenotype in TAMs. Exosome-loaded proteins, DNA, and RNAs may contribute to the macrophage reprogramming.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the constant development of innovative therapeutic options for hematological malignancies, the gold-standard therapy regimen for curative treatment often includes allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The graft-vs.-leukemia effect (GVL) is one of the main therapeutic goals that arises from HSCT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHematopoiesis, the formation of blood cells from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), is a highly regulated process. Since the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), several studies have shown their significant role in the regulation of the hematopoietic system. Impaired expression of miRNAs leads to disrupted cellular pathways and in particular causes loss of hematopoietic ability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActive related () gene deactivates ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1), which plays an essential role in regulating normal hematopoiesis and in leukemia. gene, closely related to ABR, acts as a tumor suppressor in chronic myeloid leukemia and has overlapping functions with . Evidence for a putative tumor suppressor role of has been shown in several solid tumors, in which deletion of ABR is present.
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