Reprogramming of glucose metabolism via PFKFB4 is critical in FGF16-driven invasion of breast cancer cells.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are expressed in both developing and adult tissues and play important roles in embryogenesis, tissue homeostasis, angiogenesis, and neoplastic transformation. Here, we report the elevated expression of FGF16 in human breast tumor and investigate its potential involvement in breast cancer progression. The onset of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a prerequisite for cancer metastasis, was observed in human mammary epithelial cell-line MCF10A by FGF16.

Promoter G-quadruplex favours epigenetic reprogramming-induced atypical expression of ZEB1 in cancer cells.

Background: Aberrant expression of Zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1), which remains repressed in normal cells, is frequently associated with cancer aggressiveness. However, transcriptional mechanism underlying such atypical ZEB1 expression in cancer is not yet well-understood.

Methods: ZEB1 promoter G-quadruplexes were studied and modeled extensively using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, ITC and DMS protection assay.

Exploring the major cross-talking edges of competitive endogenous RNA networks in human Chronic and Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Background: Human Chronic and Acute Myeloid Leukemia are myeloproliferative disorders in myeloid lineage of blood cells characterized by accumulation of aberrant white blood cells. In cancer, the anomalous transcriptome includes deregulated expression of non-coding RNAs in conjunction with protein-coding mRNAs in human genome. The coding or non-coding RNA transcripts harboring miRNA-binding sites can converse with and regulate each other by explicitly contending for a limited pool of shared miRNAs and act as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs).