Stathmin levels alter PTPN14 expression and impact neuroblastoma cell migration.

Background: Stathmin mediates cell migration and invasion in vitro, and metastasis in vivo. To investigate stathmin's role on the metastatic process, we performed integrated mRNA-miRNA expression analysis to identify pathways regulated by stathmin.

Methods: MiRNA and gene arrays followed by miRNA-target-gene integration were performed on stathmin-depleted neuroblastoma cells (Ctrl vs.

Synthesis of Dextran-Phenoxodiol and Evaluation of Its Physical Stability and Biological Activity.

Phenoxodiol, an isoflavene anti-tumor agent, was conjugated on the polysaccharide dextran using immobilized laccase as biocatalyst. The success of the enzymatic conjugation was determined by UV-vis spectrophotometry and its functionalization degree was assessed by H NMR and was found to be 3.25 mg phenoxodiol/g of conjugate.

Dextran-Catechin inhibits angiogenesis by disrupting copper homeostasis in endothelial cells.

Formation of blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is crucial to cancer progression. Thus, inhibiting angiogenesis can limit the growth and spread of tumors. The natural polyphenol catechin has moderate anti-tumor activity and interacts with copper, which is essential for angiogenesis.

Synthesis of isoflavene-thiosemicarbazone hybrids and evaluation of their anti-tumor activity.

Phenoxodiol is an isoflavene with potent anti-tumor activity. In this study, a series of novel mono- and di-substituted phenoxodiol-thiosemicarbazone hybrids were synthesized via the condensation reaction between phenoxodiol with thiosemicarbazides. The in vitro anti-proliferative activities of the hybrids were evaluated against the neuroblastoma SKN-BE(2)C, the triple negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231, and the glioblastoma U87 cancer cell lines.

Preparation, characterization and in vitro biological evaluation of (1:2) phenoxodiol-β-cyclodextrin complex.

Phenoxodiol is an isoflavone analogue that possesses potent anticancer properties. However, the poor water solubility of phenoxodiol limits its overall efficacy as an anticancer agent. To overcome this, β-cyclodextrin was used to encapsulate phenoxodiol.

Computational analysis of image-based drug profiling predicts synergistic drug combinations: applications in triple-negative breast cancer.

An imaged-based profiling and analysis system was developed to predict clinically effective synergistic drug combinations that could accelerate the identification of effective multi-drug therapies for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer and other challenging malignancies. The identification of effective drug combinations for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) was achieved by integrating high-content screening, computational analysis, and experimental biology. The approach was based on altered cellular phenotypes induced by 55 FDA-approved drugs and biologically active compounds, acquired using fluorescence microscopy and retained in multivariate compound profiles.

Signal analysis for genome-wide maps of histone modifications measured by ChIP-seq.

Motivation: Chromatin structure, including post-translational modifications of histones, regulates gene expression, alternative splicing and cell identity. ChIP-seq is an increasingly used assay to study chromatin function. However, tools for downstream bioinformatics analysis are limited and are only based on the evaluation of signal intensities.

The effect of mTOR inhibition alone or combined with MEK inhibitors on brain metastasis: an in vivo analysis in triple-negative breast cancer models.

mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and its analogs are lipophilic, demonstrate blood-brain barrier penetration, and have shown promising antitumor effects in several types of refractory tumors. We thus try to explore the therapeutic effects of mTOR inhibitors on brain metastasis models. We examined the effects of different dose of mTOR inhibitors (rapamycin, Temsirolimus-CCI-779) on cell invasion in two brain metastatic breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB231-BR and CN34-BrM2).

Integrative analysis of next generation sequencing for small non-coding RNAs and transcriptional regulation in Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

Background: Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDSS) are pre-leukemic disorders with increasing incident rates worldwide, but very limited treatment options. Little is known about small regulatory RNAs and how they contribute to pathogenesis, progression and transcriptome changes in MDS.

Methods: Patients' primary marrow cells were screened for short RNAs (RNA-seq) using next generation sequencing.