Publications by authors named "Olga Alster"

Senescence of cancer cells is an important outcome of treatment of many cancer types. Cell senescence is a permanent cell cycle arrest induced by stress conditions, including DNA damage. DNA damage activates DNA damage response (DDR), which involves members of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase (PIKK) superfamily: protein kinases ATM, ATR, and DNA-PKcs.

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Cancer cells can undergo stress-induced premature senescence, which is considered to be a desirable outcome of anticancer treatment. However, the escape from senescence and cancer cell repopulation give rise to some doubts concerning the effectiveness of the senescence-induced anticancer therapy. Similarly, it is postulated that polyploidization of cancer cells is connected with disease relapse.

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The genetic material is constantly subjected to DNA damage which is caused by physiological processes occuring in the cell and is exposed to exogenous DNA damaging agents. Eucariotic cells have developed a system called the DNA damage response (DDR), which is responsible for maintaining genomic inegrity. DNA damage can lead to senescence, DNA repair as well as to cell death.

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Cellular senescence is a complex process associated with irreversible cell cycle arrest. We can distinguish replicative senescence, which is telomere dependent and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS), which is telomere independent. Replicative senescence can be observed in culture after a few weeks or months, depending on the cell type.

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Nibrin plays an important role in the DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair. DDR is a crucial signaling pathway in apoptosis and senescence. To verify whether truncated nibrin (p70), causing Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome (NBS), is involved in DDR and cell fate upon DNA damage, we used two (S4 and S3R) spontaneously immortalized T cell lines from NBS patients, with the founding mutation and a control cell line (L5).

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Senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contributes to aging as well as age-related diseases of the cardiovascular system. Senescent VSMCs have been shown to be present in atherosclerotic plaques. Both replicative (RS) and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) accompany cardiovascular diseases.

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Curcumin, a phytochemical derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, is a very potent inducer of cancer cell death. It is believed that cancer cells are more sensitive to curcumin treatment than normal cells. Curcumin has been shown to act as a prooxidant and induce DNA lesions in normal cells.

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Curcumin, a natural polyphenol derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa, is a potent anticancer agent, which restricts tumor cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Thus far curcumin was shown to induce death of cancer cells. This study reports the induction of cellular senescence of human colon cancer cells HCT116 upon curcumin treatment.

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