The BH3-only protein BIM contributes to late-stage involution in the mouse mammary gland.

After cessation of lactation, involution of the mouse mammary gland proceeds in two distinct phases, a reversible and an irreversible one, which leads to the death and removal of alveolar cells. Cell death is preceded by the loss of STAT5 activity, which abrogates cell differentiation and gain of STAT3 activity. Despite early observations implicating BCL2 (B cell lymphoma 2) family proteins in this process, recent evidence suggests that STAT3-controlled cathepsin activity is most critical for cell death at the early stage of involution.

A concept of a MIABIS based register of biosample collections at the Medical University of Innsbruck.

The knowledge about the quality of samples and associated clinical data in biospecimen collections is a premise of clinical research. An electronic biosample register aims to facilitate the discovery of information about biosample collections in a hospital. Moreover, it might improve scientific collaboration and research quality through a shared access to harmonized sample collection description data.

Significant survival impact of MACC1 polymorphisms in HER2 positive breast cancer patients.

Background: Deregulation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) signalling has been associated with poor clinical outcome in breast cancer and other cancers. The recently discovered metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) gene is a key regulator of the HGF/MET pathway. Potential links between genetic variants of the MACC1 gene and survival in breast cancer patients are unknown.

Association of a common genetic variant of the IGF-1 gene with event-free survival in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Purpose: Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) stimulates mitosis and inhibits apoptosis. High circulating IGF-1 levels are linked with an increased risk of colorectal and breast cancer. Recently, IGF-1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), especially variant rs2946834, have been associated with poor clinical outcome in patients with colorectal cancer.

MDM2 SNP309 modifies the prognostic significance of the p53 mutational status in patients with ovarian cancer.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP309) of MDM2 causes elevated MDM2 levels and an attenuation of p53 function. The aim of the present study was to examine the clinical relevance of the MDM2 SNP309 in ovarian cancer.MDM2 SNP309 genotype was analyzed in 198 patients with primary ovarian cancer.