Publications by authors named "Iram Surtaj"

Article Synopsis
  • Cancers use sugar molecules called glycans, particularly sialic acid (Sia), to develop resistance to multiple drugs, but the specific mechanisms behind this are not fully understood.
  • Modifying the presence of Sia on the Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP), a key protein in this resistance process, affects the ability of lung and colon cancer cells to retain or expel chemotherapy drugs.
  • Research involving gene editing and various analysis techniques showed that lower levels of acetylated Sia led to increased BCRP activity, reduced sensitivity to the drug Mitoxantrone, and enhanced cancer cell survival and growth, with implications for the management of lung adenocarcinoma.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third-leading cause of cancer death in the world, with outlook for most patients having a 5-year survivability of less than 5%. In a previous study from our laboratory, novel estrone inspired analogs act as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in HepG2 cells. This study focuses on the effect of these analogs on an HCC cell line resistance to Erlotinib.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1) is an ATP-dependent efflux transporter, and responsible for the transport of a broad spectrum of xenobiotics, toxins, and physiological substrates across the plasma membrane. As an efflux pump, it plays a significant role in the absorption and disposition of drugs including anticancer drugs, antivirals, antimalarials, and antibiotics and their metabolites across physiological barriers in cells. MRP1 is also known to aid in the regulation of several physiological processes such as redox homeostasis, steroid metabolism, and tissue defense.

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1,2,3-triazoles have continuously shown effectiveness as biologically active systems towards various cancers, and when used in combination with steroid skeletons as a carrier, which can act as a drug delivery system, allows for a creation of a novel set of analogs that may be useful as a pharmacophore leading to a potential treatment option for cancer. A common molecular target for cancer inhibition is that of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor/Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase pathways, as inhibition of these proteins is associated with a decrease in cell viability. Estradiol-Triazole analogs were thus designed using a molecular modeling approach.

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Malaria is the most common parasitic disease around the world, especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. This parasitic disease can have a rapid and severe evolution. It is transmitted by female anopheline mosquitoes.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease, affecting almost 1% of the world population. It is a long-lasting autoimmune disease, which mainly affects the joints causing inflammation and swelling of the synovial joint. RA has a significant impact on the ability to perform daily activities including simple work and household chores.

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Cancer is a global epidemic disease responsible for over ten millions death worldwide. The early diagnosis and the precise treatment with reduced adverse reactions are the main goal worldwide. In this study, we produced, characterized and evaluated ( in three different cancer cell lines (protaste, breast and melanoma) a radioactive gold nanocluster (R-AuNC) (Au25(Capt)18).

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The cancer multidrug resistance is involved in the failure of several treatments during cancer treatment. It is a phenomenon that has been receiving great attention in the last years due to the sheer amount of mechanisms discovered and involved in the process of resistance which hinders the effectiveness of many anti-cancer drugs. Among the mechanisms involved in the multidrug resistance, the participation of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters is the main one.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1) actively transports a variety of drugs, toxic molecules and important physiological substrates across the plasma membrane. It can confer broad-spectrum multidrug resistance and can decrease the bioavailability of many important drugs. Substrates of MRP1 include anti-cancer agents, antibiotics, antivirals, antidepressants and anti-inflammatory drugs.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) can efflux a wide variety of molecules including toxic chemicals, drugs, and their derivatives out of cells. Substrates of MRP1 include anti-cancer agents, antibiotics, anti-virals, anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and many other drugs. To identify novel substrates and modulators of MRP1 by exploiting intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we genetically engineered six different two-color MRP1 proteins by changing green fluorescent protein (GFP) insertion sites, while keeping the red fluorescent protein (RFP) at the C-terminal of MRP1.

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Efflux transporters P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB1), multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1), and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) can affect the efficacy and toxicity of a wide variety of drugs and are implicated in multidrug resistance (MDR). Eight test compounds, recently identified from an intramolecular FRET-based high throughput screening, were characterized for their interaction with MRP1. We report that the active metabolite of vitamin D, calcitriol, and its analog calcipotriol are selectively cytotoxic to MRP1-overexpressing cells, besides inhibiting transport function of P-gp, MRP1, and BCRP.

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Although membrane proteins represent most therapeutically relevant drug targets, the availability of atomic resolution structures for this class of proteins has been limited. Structural characterization has been hampered by the biophysical nature of these polytopic transporters, receptors, and channels, and recent innovations to in vitro techniques aim to mitigate these challenges. One such class of membrane proteins, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily, are broadly expressed throughout the human body, required for normal physiology and disease-causing when mutated, yet lacks sufficient structural representation in the Protein Data Bank.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1), an integral transmembrane efflux transporter, belongs to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) protein superfamily. MRP1 governs the absorption and disposition of a wide variety of endogenous and xenobiotic substrates including various drugs across organs and physiological barriers. Additionally, its overexpression has been implicated in multidrug resistance in chemotherapy of multiple cancers.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) actively transports a wide variety of drugs out of cells. To quantify MRP1 structural dynamics, we engineered a "two-color MRP1" construct by fusing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and TagRFP to MRP1 nucleotide-binding domains NBD1 and NBD2, respectively. The recombinant MRP1 protein expressed and trafficked normally to the plasma membrane.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) extrudes drugs as well as pharmacologically and physiologically important organic anions across the plasma membrane in an ATP-dependent manner. We previously showed that Ala substitutions of Lys(513) and Lys(516) in the cytoplasmic loop (CL5) connecting transmembrane helix 9 (TM9) to TM10 cause misfolding of MRP1, abrogating its expression at the plasma membrane in transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells. Exposure of HEK cells to the chemical chaperones glycerol, DMSO, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and 4-aminobutyric acid (4-PBA) improved levels of K513A to wild-type MRP1 levels but transport activity was only fully restored by 4-PBA or DMSO treatments.

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The polytopic 5-domain multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1) extrudes a variety of drugs and organic anions across the plasma membrane. Four charged residues in the fifth cytoplasmic loop (CL5) connecting transmembrane helix 9 (TM9) to TM10 are critical for stable expression of MRP1 at the plasma membrane. Thus Ala substitution of Lys(513), Lys(516), Glu(521), and Glu(535) all cause misfolding of MRP1 and target the protein for proteasome-mediated degradation.

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Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) is an ATP-binding cassette transporter that effluxes drugs and organic anions across the plasma membrane. The 17 transmembrane helices of MRP1 are linked by extracellular and cytoplasmic loops (CLs), but their role in coupling the ATPase activity of MRP1 to the translocation of its substrates is poorly understood. Here we have examined the importance of CL5 by mutating eight conserved charged residues and the helix-disrupting Gly(511) in this region.

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The SNF1/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) family is required for adaptation to metabolic stress and energy homeostasis. The gamma subunit of AMPK binds AMP and ATP, and mutations that affect binding cause human disease. We have here addressed the role of the Snf4 (gamma) subunit in regulating SNF1 protein kinase in response to glucose availability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

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AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central regulator of energy homeostasis in mammals. AMP is believed to control the activity of AMPK by binding to the gamma subunit of this heterotrimeric enzyme. This subunit contains two Bateman domains, each of which is composed of a tandem pair of cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) motifs.

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Based on its genome sequence, the pathway of beta-oxidative fatty acid degradation in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 has been thought to be identical to the well-characterized Escherichia coli K-12 system. We report that wild-type strains of S. enterica grow on decanoic acid, whereas wild-type E.

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The FadR protein of Escherichia coli has been shown to play a dual role in transcription of the genes of bacterial fatty acid metabolism. The protein acts as a repressor of beta-oxidation and an activator of unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. FadR DNA binding is antagonized by long chain acyl-CoAs, and thus FadR acts as a sensor of fatty acid availability in the environment.

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