N-adenosine methylation (mA) is critical for controlling cancer cell growth and tumorigenesis. However, the function and detailed mechanism of how mA methyltransferases modulate mA levels on specific targets remain unknown. In the current study, we identified significantly elevated levels of RBM15, an mA writer, in basal-like breast cancer (BC) patients compared to nonbasal-like BC patients and linked this increase to worse clinical outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers in women. TNBC (Triple-negative breast cancer) has limited treatment options and still lacks viable molecular targets, leading to poor outcomes. Recently, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have been shown to play crucial roles in human cancers, including BC, by modulating a number of oncogenic phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
July 2020
The RNA binding proteins (RBPs) have multiple roles in human cancer. However, their molecular target and function have not been clearly identified. Our genomic analysis derived from patients reveals that NONO is a potential oncogenic gene in lung cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe regulatory properties of pyruvate kinase M2 isoform (PKM2), the key glycolytic enzyme, influence altered energy metabolism including glycolysis in cancer. In this study, we found that PKM2 was highly expressed in patients with ulcerative colitis or colorectal cancer (CRC). We then investigated the effectiveness of conditionally ablating PKM2 in Lgr5 intestinal stem cells (ISC) using a mouse model of colitis-associated CRC (AOM plus DSS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMannose-binding lectin (MBL) exists in the serum as a complex with MBL-associated serine protease (MASP). A recent paper described how MASP-free recombinant rat MBL stimulates the phagocytosis of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by rat Kupffer cells through an increase in the level of a phagocytosis receptor. We have examined the effect of human MBL on the phagocytic action of human macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetermination of structures and functions of pattern recognition proteins are important for understanding pathogen recognition mechanisms in host defense and for elucidating the activation mechanism of innate immune reactions. In this study, a novel 40-kDa protein, named LPS recognition protein (LRP), was purified to homogeneity from the cell-free plasma of larvae of the large beetle, Holotrichia diomphalia. LRP exhibited agglutinating activities on Escherichia coli, but not on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans.
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