Role for CCN1 in lysophosphatidic acid response in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) are bioactive phospholipids that act as mitogens in various cancers. Both LPA and S1P activate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). We examined the role of CCN1/CYR61, an inducible matricellular protein, in LPA-induced signal transduction in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells.

Characterization of Lysophospholipase D Activity in Mammalian Cell Membranes.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid mediator that binds to G-protein-coupled receptors, eliciting a wide variety of responses in mammalian cells. Lyso-phospholipids generated via phospholipase A (PLA) can be converted to LPA by a lysophospholipase D (lyso-PLD). Secreted lyso-PLDs have been studied in more detail than membrane-localized lyso-PLDs.

Global Proteomics Analysis of Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling in PC-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells: Role of CCN1.

Cysteine-rich angiogenic factor 61 (CCN1/Cyr61) is a matricellular protein that is induced and secreted in response to growth factors. Our previous work showed that 18:1-lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which activates the G protein-coupled receptor LPAR1, induces CCN1 between 2-4 h in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells in a manner than enhances cell-substrate adhesion. While the time course of induction suggests that CCN1 contributes to intermediate events in LPA action, the roles of CCN1 in LPA-mediated signal transduction have not been fully elucidated.

From outside to inside and back again: the lysophosphatidic acid-CCN axis in signal transduction.

CCN1 and CCN2 are matricellular proteins that are transcriptionally induced by various stimuli, including growth factors. CCN proteins act to facilitate signaling events involving extracellular matrix proteins. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid that activates G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), enhancing proliferation, adhesion, and migration in many types of cancer cells.

Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling in Cancer Cells: What Makes LPA So Special?

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) refers to a family of simple phospholipids that act as ligands for G protein-coupled receptors. While LPA exerts effects throughout the body in normal physiological circumstances, its pathological role in cancer is of great interest from a therapeutic viewpoint. The numerous LPA receptors (LPARs) are coupled to a variety of G proteins, and more than one LPAR is typically expressed on any given cell.

Report of the 2018-2019 Research and Graduate Affairs Committee.

The 2018-2019 Research and Graduate Affairs Committee (RGAC) was charged with critically evaluating the leadership development support necessary for pharmacy researchers, including postdoctoral trainees, to develop the skills needed to build and sustain successful research programs and analyzing how well those needs are being met by existing programs both within AACP and at other organizations. The RGAC identified a set of skills that could reasonably be expected to provide the necessary foundation to successfully lead a research team and mapped these skills to the six domains of graduate education in the pharmaceutical sciences established by the 2016-2017 RGAC (Table 1). In addition, the RGAC identified competency in team science and the bench-to-bedside-to-beyond translational spectrum as being critical elements of research leadership.

The role of CCN4/WISP-1 in the cancerous phenotype.

CCN proteins are secreted into the extracellular environment where they interact with both components of the extracellular matrix and with cell surface receptors to regulate cellular function. Through these interactions, CCNs act as extracellular ligands to activate intracellular signal transduction pathways. CCN4/WISP-1, like other CCNs, plays multiple physiologic roles in development and also participates in pathogenesis.

Free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) agonists inhibit proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells.

Many cellular actions of omega-3 fatty acids are mediated by two G protein-coupled receptors, FFA1 and FFA4, free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) family members that are activated by these dietary constituents. FFAR agonists inhibit proliferation of human prostate and breast cancer cells. Since omega-3 fatty acids can inhibit ovarian cancer cell growth, the current study tested the potential role of FFARs in the response.

Amanita phalloides Mushroom Poisonings - Northern California, December 2016.

Amanita phalloides, colloquially known as the "death cap," belongs to the Phalloideae section of the Amanita family of mushrooms and is responsible for most deaths following ingestion of foraged mushrooms worldwide (1). On November 28, 2016, members of the Bay Area Mycological Society notified personnel at the California Poison Control System (CPCS) of an unusually large A. phalloides bloom in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, coincident with the abundant rainfall and recent warm weather.

Differential Expression of Ccn4 and Other Genes Between Metastatic and Non-metastatic EL4 Mouse Lymphoma Cells.

Background: Previous work characterized variants of the EL4 murine lymphoma cell line. Some are non-metastatic, and others metastatic, in syngenic mice. In addition, metastatic EL4 cells were stably transfected with phospholipase D2 (PLD2), which further enhanced metastasis.

Free Fatty Acid Receptors and Cancer: From Nutrition to Pharmacology.

The effects of fatty acids on cancer cells have been studied for decades. The roles of dietary long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and of microbiome-generated short-chain butyric acid, have been of particular interest over the years. However, the roles of free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) in mediating effects of fatty acids in tumor cells have only recently been examined.

Positive and Negative Cross-Talk between Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptor 1, Free Fatty Acid Receptor 4, and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Human Prostate Cancer Cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid mediator that mediates cellular effects via G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a peptide that acts via a receptor tyrosine kinase. LPA and EGF both induce proliferation of prostate cancer cells and can transactivate each other's receptors.

Eicosopentaneoic Acid and Other Free Fatty Acid Receptor Agonists Inhibit Lysophosphatidic Acid- and Epidermal Growth Factor-Induced Proliferation of Human Breast Cancer Cells.

Many key actions of ω-3 (n-3) fatty acids have recently been shown to be mediated by two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) family, FFA1 (GPR40) and FFA4 (GPR120). n-3 Fatty acids inhibit proliferation of human breast cancer cells in culture and in animals. In the current study, the roles of FFA1 and FFA4 were investigated.

Omega-3 fatty acids and other FFA4 agonists inhibit growth factor signaling in human prostate cancer cells.

Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) are proposed to have many beneficial effects on human health. However, the mechanisms underlying their potential cancer preventative effects are unclear. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) of the free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) family, FFA1/GPR40 and FFA4/GPR120, specifically bind n-3 FAs as agonist ligands.

Cardiogenic shock after use of fluoroamphetamine confirmed with serum and urine levels.

Context: 4-Fluoroamphetamine (4-FA) is a para-substituted phenethylamine-type synthetic stimulant that has in recent years gained popularity through internet blogs and market share according to confiscated drug data. No serious toxicity has previously been reported. We report a case of a young man who developed severe toxicity and cardiogenic shock after using 4-FA, with laboratory confirmation.

Testing demographic differences for alcohol use initiation among adolescents for the decisional balance and situational temptation prevention inventories.

Alcohol use by middle school-aged students is a public health concern because of the numerous adverse social, health and psychological outcomes. Prevention programs attempt to intervene before alcohol use begins. A tailored, computer-delivered program for the prevention of alcohol use and a series of new transtheoretical model measures were developed, including decisional balance (Pros and Cons) of alcohol use and Situational Temptations to Try Alcohol.

Multiple behavior interventions to prevent substance abuse and increase energy balance behaviors in middle school students.

This study examined the effectiveness of two transtheoretical model-tailored, computer-delivered interventions designed to impact multiple substance use or energy balance behaviors in a middle school population recruited in schools. Twenty middle schools in Rhode Island including sixth grade students (=4,158) were stratified and randomly assigned by school to either a substance use prevention (decreasing smoking and alcohol) or an energy balance (increasing physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and limiting TV time) intervention group in 2007. Each intervention involved five in-class contacts over a 3-year period with assessments at 12, 24, and 36 months.

Effects of lysophosphatidic acid on calpain-mediated proteolysis of focal adhesion kinase in human prostate cancer cells.

Background: Calcium-mediated proteolysis plays an important role in cell migration. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a lipid mediator present in serum, enhances migration of carcinoma cells. The effects of LPA on calpain-mediated proteolysis were, therefore, examined in PC-3, a human prostate cancer cell line.

Prevention of smoking in Middle School Students: psychometric assessment of the Temptations to Try Smoking Scale.

Establishment of psychometrically sound measures is critical to the development of effective interventions. The current study examined the psychometric properties, including factorial invariance, of a six item Temptations to Try Smoking Scale on a sample of middle school students. The sample of 6th grade students (N=3527) was from 20 Rhode Island middle schools and was 52% male and 84% white.

Control of neurite outgrowth by RhoA inactivation.

cAMP induces neurite outgrowth in the rat pheochromocytoma cell line 12 (PC12). In particular, di-butyric cAMP (db-cAMP) induces a greater number of primary processes with shorter length than the number induced by nerve growth factor (NGF). db-cAMP up- and down-regulates GTP-RhoA levels in PC12 cells in a time-dependent manner.

Differential expression of FAK and Pyk2 in metastatic and non-metastatic EL4 lymphoma cell lines.

The murine EL4 lymphoma cell line exists in variants that are either sensitive or resistant to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In sensitive cells, PMA causes Erk MAPK activation and Erk-mediated growth arrest. In resistant cells, PMA induces a low level of Erk activation, without growth arrest.

Prevention of alcohol use in middle school students: psychometric assessment of the decisional balance inventory.

A measurement model should be equivalent across the different subgroups of a target population. The Decisional Balance Inventory for the Prevention of Alcohol Use is a 2-factor correlated model with 3 items for Pros of alcohol use and 3 items for Cons. The measure is part of a tailored intervention for middle school students.