Resistance of bone marrow stroma to genotoxic preconditioning is determined by p53.

Transplantation of bone marrow (BM) is made possible by the differential sensitivity of its stromal and hematopoietic components to preconditioning by radiation and/or chemotherapeutic drugs. These genotoxic treatments eliminate host hematopoietic precursors by inducing p53-mediated apoptosis but keep the stromal niche sufficiently intact for the engraftment of donor hematopoietic cells. We found that p53-null mice cannot be rescued by BM transplantation (BMT) from even the lowest lethal dose of total body irradiation (TBI).

A murine model of targeted infusion for intracranial tumors.

Historically, intra-arterial (IA) drug administration for malignant brain tumors including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) was performed as an attempt to improve drug delivery. With the advent of percutaneous neuorovascular techniques and modern microcatheters, intracranial drug delivery is readily feasible; however, the question remains whether IA administration is safe and more effective compared to other delivery modalities such as intravenous (IV) or oral administrations. Preclinical large animal models allow for comparisons between treatment routes and to test novel agents, but can be expensive and difficult to generate large numbers and rapid results.

A purine nucleotide biosynthesis enzyme guanosine monophosphate reductase is a suppressor of melanoma invasion.

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of human cancers, and the mechanisms underlying melanoma invasive phenotype are not completely understood. Here, we report that expression of guanosine monophosphate reductase (GMPR), an enzyme involved in de novo biosynthesis of purine nucleotides, was downregulated in the invasive stages of human melanoma. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments revealed that GMPR downregulates the amounts of several GTP-bound (active) Rho-GTPases and suppresses the ability of melanoma cells to form invadopodia, degrade extracellular matrix, invade in vitro, and grow as tumor xenografts in vivo.

Core circadian protein CLOCK is a positive regulator of NF-κB-mediated transcription.

The circadian clock controls many physiological parameters including immune response to infectious agents, which is mediated by activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. It is widely accepted that circadian regulation is based on periodic changes in gene expression that are triggered by transcriptional activity of the CLOCK/BMAL1 complex. Through the use of a mouse model system we show that daily variations in the intensity of the NF-κB response to a variety of immunomodulators are mediated by core circadian protein CLOCK, which can up-regulate NF-κB-mediated transcription in the absence of BMAL1; moreover, BMAL1 counteracts the CLOCK-dependent increase in the activation of NF-κB-responsive genes.

Selenium is a modulator of circadian clock that protects mice from the toxicity of a chemotherapeutic drug via upregulation of the core clock protein, BMAL1.

Selenium compounds are known as cancer preventive agents and are also able to ameliorate the toxicity associated with anti-cancer radiation and chemotherapy in mouse models. Sensitivity to the toxicity of chemotherapy is also modulated by the circadian clock, molecular time-keeping system that underlie daily fluctuations in multiple physiological and biochemical processes. Here we show that these two mechanisms are interconnected.