Determination of cell uptake pathways for tumor inhibitor lysyl oxidase propeptide.

The lysyl oxidase propeptide (LOX-PP) is derived from pro-lysyl oxidase (Pro-LOX) by extracellular biosynthetic proteolysis. LOX-PP inhibits breast and prostate cancer xenograft tumor growth and has tumor suppressor activity. Although, several intracellular targets and molecular mechanisms of action of LOX-PP have been identified, LOX-PP uptake pathways have not been reported.

miR-1289 and "Zipcode"-like Sequence Enrich mRNAs in Microvesicles.

Despite intensive studies, the molecular mechanisms by which the genetic materials are uploaded into microvesicles (MVs) are still unknown. This is the first study describing a zipcode-like 25 nucleotide (nt) sequence in the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of mRNAs, with variants of this sequence present in many mRNAs enriched in MVs, as compared to their glioblastoma cells of origin. When this sequence was incorporated into the 3'UTR of a reporter message and expressed in a different cell type, it led to enrichment of the reporter mRNA in MVs.

miRNA-7 attenuation in Schwannoma tumors stimulates growth by upregulating three oncogenic signaling pathways.

Micro RNAs (miRNA) negatively regulate protein-coding genes at the posttranscriptional level and are critical in tumorigenesis. Schwannomas develop from proliferation of dedifferentiated Schwann cells, which normally wrap nerve fibers to help support and insulate nerves. In this study, we carried out high-throughput miRNA expression profiling of human vestibular schwannomas by using an array representing 407 known miRNAs to explore the role of miRNAs in tumor growth.

A novel imaging-compatible sciatic nerve schwannoma model.

Benign schwannomas are common tumors of the cranial and peripheral nerves, causing pain and loss of function. The development of effective therapy for these tumors has been hampered by the lack of relevant experimental in vivo models for convenient testing. Here, we describe a novel schwannoma model in which an immortalized human schwannoma cell line, HEI-193, established from an neurofibromatosis type 2 patient, has been stably transduced with fluorescent protein and luciferase reporters and implanted within the sciatic nerve of nude mice.