BRCA1 deficiency enhances the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells expressing HPV16 oncoproteins.

Background Information: The precise etiology of breast cancer is not completely understood, although women with BRCA1 gene mutations have a significantly increased risk of developing the disease. In addition, sporadic breast cancer is frequently associated with decreased BRCA1 gene expression. Growing evidence of Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) infections in breast tumors has raised the possibility of the involvement of HPVs in the pathogenesis of breast cancer.

Enhanced Functional Properties of Three DNA Origami Nanostructures as Doxorubicin Carriers to Breast Cancer Cells.

Previous studies have shown that chemotherapeutic efficacy could be enhanced with targeted drug delivery. Various DNA origami nanostructures have been investigated as drug carriers. Here, we compared drug delivery functionalities of three similar DNA origami nanostructures, Disc, Donut, and Sphere, that differ in structural dimension.

An internal class III PDZ binding motif in HPV16 E6* protein is required for Dlg degradation activity.

Background: A splice product of the E6 oncoprotein, E6*, is found in cells infected with HPV associated with a high-risk for cervical cancer. Both E6* and E6 promote Dlg degradation, considered a contributing factor for the tumorigenic potential of high-risk HPVs. The full-length E6 utilizes a conserved PDZ binding motif (PBM) at the extreme C-terminus to promote Dlg degradation.

Terrein inhibits migration of human breast cancer cells via inhibition of the Rho and Rac signaling pathways.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Progression and aggressiveness of breast cancer is usually associated with its migration and invasion abilities. Recently, natural products with potential anticancer activity have become attractive candidates for alternative treatment of cancer.

HPV16 oncoproteins promote cervical cancer invasiveness by upregulating specific matrix metalloproteinases.

Production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) for degradation of extracellular matrix is a vital step in cancer metastasis. We investigated the effects of HPV16 oncoproteins (16E6, 16E6*I and 16E7), either individually or combined, on the transcription of 7 MMPs implicated in cervical cancer invasiveness. The levels of 7 MMPs reported to be increased in cervical cancer were determined in C33A stably expressing different HPV16 oncoproteins using quantitative RT-PCR and compared with invasion ability of cell lines using in vitro invasion and wound healing assays.

17β-Estradiol suppresses MHC class I chain-related B gene expression via an intact GC box.

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related B (MICB) is a membrane-bound glycoprotein involved in both innate and adaptive immunity through its interaction with NKG2D receptors present on γδ T, αβ CD8(+) T, and natural killer cells. Factors known to upregulate MICB expression include heat shock, viral or bacterial infection, and tumorigenesis, and here, we explored the effect of 17β-estradiol (E2) on MICB regulation. Physiological concentrations of E2 were found to suppress MICB mRNA and surface protein levels and this effect was antagonized by the antiestrogen ICI 182780.

Serum oncofetal fibronectin (onfFN) mRNA in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC): large overlap between disease-free and metastatic patients.

Aim: This study assessed if onfFN mRNA in the peripheral blood of patients with DTC can identify individuals with metastatic disease.

Methods: Comparison of onfFN mRNA was made among 3 groups: disease-free, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis using real-time RT-PCR on 5 ml blood samples from each DTC patient.

Results: Fifty-one patients were included: 30 (59%) were disease-free; 7 (13.

Major single nucleotide polymorphisms in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative analysis between Thai and other Asian populations.

Purpose: To investigate the association in a Thai population between the major age-related macular degeneration (AMD) susceptibility loci, Y402H and I62V in the complement factor H (CFH) and A69S in the age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) genes, and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Methods: A case-control study included 97 PCV cases and 102 age- and gender-matched controls without any retinopathy. The genotypic profiles of the three polymorphisms were obtained using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay.

Transactivation activity of human papillomavirus type 16 E6*I on aldo-keto reductase genes enhances chemoresistance in cervical cancer cells.

The oncogenic E6 proteins produced by high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are invariably expressed in cervical carcinomas and are multifunctional proteins capable of affecting host-cell proliferation by binding and deregulating key host molecules such as p53. High-risk HPVs, including HPV16, have the unique ability to splice the E6 viral transcript, resulting in the production of a truncated E6 protein known as E6*I whose precise biological function is unclear. This study explored the changes in gene expression of the cervical cancer C33A cell line stably expressing HPV16 E6*I (16E6*I) and observed the upregulation of ten genes.

Diarylheptanoid phytoestrogens isolated from the medicinal plant Curcuma comosa: biologic actions in vitro and in vivo indicate estrogen receptor-dependent mechanisms.

Background: Diarylheptanoids isolated from Curcuma comosa Roxb. have been recently identified as phyto estrogens. However, the mechanism underlying their actions has not yet been identified.

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers from the great hornbill, Buceros bicornis.

Thirteen polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from the great hornbill, Buceros bicornis. In analyses of 20 individuals, the numbers of alleles per locus varied from two to 11. The expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.

Estrogenic activity of diarylheptanoids from Curcuma comosa Roxb. Requires metabolic activation.

Curcuma comosa Roxb. has traditionally been used as a dietary supplement for health promotion in peri- and postmenopausal women in Thailand. We investigated the estrogenic activity of 7 naturally occurring diarylheptanoids from the extracts of C.

Diarylheptanoids, new phytoestrogens from the rhizomes of Curcuma comosa: Isolation, chemical modification and estrogenic activity evaluation.

Three new diarylheptanoids, a 1:2 mixture of (3S)- and (3R)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-7-phenyl-(6E)-6-hepten-3-ol (13a and 13b) and 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-7-phenyl-(6E)-6-hepten-3-one (15), together with two synthetically known diarylheptanoids 1,7-diphenyl-(1E,3E,5E)-1,3,5-triene (9) and 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-7-phenyl-(4E,6E)-4,6-heptadien-3-one (16), and nine known diarylheptanoids, 2, 8, 10-12, 14, a 3:1 mixture of 17a and 17b, and 18, were isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma comosa Roxb. The absolute stereochemistry of the isolated compounds has also been determined using the modified Mosher's method. The isolated compounds and the chemically modified analogues were evaluated for their estrogenic-like transcriptional activity using RT-PCR in HeLa cell line.

Alterations of organ histopathology and metallothionein mRNA expression in silver barb, Puntius gonionotus during subchronic cadmium exposure.

Common silver barb, Puntius gonionotus, exposed to the nominal concentration of 0.06 mg/L Cd for 60 d, were assessed for histopathological alterations (gills, liver and kidney), metal accumulation, and metallothionein (MT) mRNA expression. Fish exhibited pathological symptoms such as hypertrophy and hyperplasia of primary and secondary gill lamellae, vacuolization in hepatocytes, and prominent tubular and glomerular damage in the kidney.

Circulating and unique recombinant forms of HIV type 1 containing subsubtype A2.

HIV-1 strains containing subsubtype A2 are relatively rare in the pandemic but have been repeatedly identified in Kenya, where candidate vaccines based in part on subtype A, but not A2 strains, may be evaluated. Among the most recent is CRF16_A2D, a circulating recombinant form (CRF) whose prototypes are complete or partial HIV-1 sequences from Kenya, Korea, and Argentina. Using samples from blood bank discards in Kenya and complete genome sequencing, this report further documents CRF16_A2D and related recombinants and identifies a second CRF, CRF21_A2D.

Higher plant-like fluorescence induction and thermoluminescence characteristics in cyanobacterium, Spirulina mutant defective in PQH2 oxidation by cytb6/f complex.

Characterization of the photosynthetic electron transport in a mutant of Spirulina platensis, generated by chemical mutagenesis, demonstrated that the electron transfer from the plastoquinone (PQ) to cytochrome b6/f was slowed. Thermoluminescence (TL) measurements suggested the presence of reversed energy flow via PQ, which resulted in an emergence of the plant-like after-glow TL band at 45 degrees C that could be enhanced by the transthylakoidal pH gradient and could be eliminated by an uncoupler, FCCP. The localization of the changes in the electron transport of the mutant cells measured by various methods revealed that the re-oxidation of the PQ pool is hampered in the mutant compared to the wild-type cells.

Differential localization of HPV16 E6 splice products with E6-associated protein.

High-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the etiological agent associated with the majority of anogenital cancers. The primary HPV oncogenes, E6 and E7, undergo a complex splicing program resulting in protein products whose purpose is not fully understood. Previous mouse studies have confirmed the existence of a translated product corresponding to the E6*I splice product.

Functional study of intracellular P-gp- and MRP1-mediated pumping of free cytosolic pirarubicin into acidic organelles in intrinsic resistant SiHa cells.

We sought to determine the efficiency of the intracellular functional P-gp- and MRP1-mediated pumping of THP into acidic organelles in SiHa cells and etoposide-resistant SiHa/VP16 cells. The expression of both MDR1 and MRP1 genes of SiHa and SiHa/VP16 cells was clearly shown by using RT-PCR. The functional studies of both intracellular functional P-gp- and MRP1-mediated pumping were performed by using THP in a conventional spectrofluorometer, and they demonstrated that SiHa and SiHa/VP16 cells are good models to illustrate the functional role of intracellular P-gp and MRP1 in the transport of free cytosolic drug into acidic organelles.

Co-mutation of HPV16 E6 and E7 genes in Thai squamous cervical carcinomas.

Infection with high-risk HPV16 is well associated with invasive cervical carcinomas. Variations in the E6 gene of HPV16 are shown to correlate with both the geographical areas and the oncogenicity. Here, we have characterized HPV16 DNA variants in the E6 and E7 coding regions of 31 Thai cervical squamous cell carcinomas.