Publications by authors named "Justin L Tan"
Immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs) degrade specific C2H2 zinc finger degrons in transcription factors, making them effective against certain cancers. SALL4, a cancer driver, contains seven C2H2 zinc fingers in four clusters, including an IMiD degron in zinc finger cluster two (ZFC2). Surprisingly, IMiDs do not inhibit growth of SALL4 expressing cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOncofetal transcription factor SALL4 is essential for cancer cell survival. Recently, several groups reported that immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs) could degrade SALL4 in a proteasome-dependent manner. Intriguingly, we observed that IMiDs had no effect on SALL4-positive cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic alterations and vulnerabilities in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Gastroenterol Rep (Oxf)
January 2021
Liver cancer is a serious disease. It is ranked as the cancer with the second highest number of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which arises from transformed hepatocytes, is the major subtype of liver cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew High-Throughput Screening Identifies Compounds That Reduce Viability Specifically in Liver Cancer Cells That Express High Levels of SALL4 by Inhibiting Oxidative Phosphorylation.
Gastroenterology
December 2019
Background & Aims: Some oncogenes encode transcription factors, but few drugs have been successfully developed to block their activity specifically in cancer cells. The transcription factor SALL4 is aberrantly expressed in solid tumor and leukemia cells. We developed a screen to identify compounds that reduce the viability of liver cancer cells that express high levels of SALL4, and we investigated their mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReactive oxygen species (ROS) induce different cellular stress responses but can also mediate cellular signaling. Augmented levels of ROS are associated with aging, cancer as well as various metabolic and neurological disorders. ROS can also affect the efficacy and adverse effects of drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Studying cancer metabolism can reveal survival strategies and vulnerabilities of tumors, particularly in melanoma.
- HEXIM1 is identified as a key melanoma tumor suppressor that is usually underexpressed; increasing its levels can inhibit tumor formation in zebrafish models.
- Under low nucleotide conditions, HEXIM1 interacts with P-TEFb to block transcription elongation of oncogenes, while also promoting the stability of anti-tumorigenic RNAs, highlighting its dual role in regulating gene expression related to cancer.
Article Synopsis
- - The "cancerized field" theory explains that in tissues with cancer-prone cells, only certain clones have the ability to start tumors, often involving oncogenic mutations like BRAF(V600E) found in benign nevi that usually do not progress to melanoma.
- - Research using transgenic zebrafish shows that a single abnormal melanocyte can switch back to an embryonic neural crest progenitor state, which is critical for the onset of melanoma in a specific genetic context (BRAF(V600E) mutation combined with p53 deficiency).
- - The transcription factor sox10 is implicated in this process, as its overexpression speeds up melanoma development by activating genes related to the neural crest state, signaling that the re
Chemical screening in zebrafish for novel biological and therapeutic discovery.
Methods Cell Biol
January 2012
Zebrafish chemical screening allows for an in vivo assessment of small molecule modulation of biological processes. Compound toxicities, chemical alterations by metabolism, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, and modulation of cell niches can be studied with this method. Furthermore, zebrafish screening is straightforward and cost-effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF