Inactivation of ribosomal protein L22 promotes transformation by induction of the stemness factor, Lin28B.

Ribosomal protein (RP) mutations in diseases such as 5q- syndrome both disrupt hematopoiesis and increase the risk of developing hematologic malignancy. However, the mechanism by which RP mutations increase cancer risk has remained an important unanswered question. We show here that monoallelic, germline inactivation of the ribosomal protein L22 (Rpl22) predisposes T-lineage progenitors to transformation.

Transcription Factor DLX5 As a New Target for Promising Antitumor Agents.

The crystal structure of the human transcription factor DLX5 has been used for the screening of a library consisting of 10(6 )compounds by the molecular docking technique.In vitro testsof the 14 top-rated ligands showed that compound Q12 displays the best ability to inhibit the proliferation ofDlx5 positive mouse lymphoma cells, which correlates with the down-regulation ofc-mycexpression. Compound Q12 has low toxicity on normal human ovarian epithelial cells and mouse lymphoma cells with absent expression ofDlx5, and can be used for further chemical optimization and for the development of novel, highly efficient cancer treatments.

Structure-based drug design of a new chemical class of small molecules active against influenza A nucleoprotein in vitro and in vivo.

We report preliminary results and a summary of a bottom-up approach to identify new, active, nontoxic, small-molecule antivirals designed to have а novel mechanism of action. We employed the procedure to identify 3-mercapto-1,2,4-triazoles derivatives as potential NP inhibitors in silico and subsequently demonstrated the in vitro efficacy of the molecules against various strains of the influenza A virus. The most efficacious compounds were successfully tested in an in vivo influenza challenge experiment.

Recurrent chromosomal rearrangements implicate oncogenes contributing to T-cell lymphomagenesis in Lck-MyrAkt2 transgenic mice.

The oncogene v-akt was isolated from a retrovirus that induced naturally occurring thymic lymphomas in AKR mice. We hypothesized that constitutive activation of Akt2 could serve as a first hit for the clonal expansion of malignant T-cells by promoting cell survival and genomic instability, leading to chromosome alterations. Furthermore, genes that cooperate with Akt2 to promote malignant transformation may reside at translocation/inversion junctions found in spontaneous thymic lymphomas from transgenic mice expressing constitutively active Akt2 specifically in T cells.

A novel recurrent chromosomal inversion implicates the homeobox gene Dlx5 in T-cell lymphomas from Lck-Akt2 transgenic mice.

The oncogene v-akt was isolated from a retrovirus that induced murine thymic lymphomas. Transgenic mice expressing a constitutively activated form of the cellular homologue Akt2 specifically in immature T cells develop spontaneous thymic lymphomas. We hypothesized that tumors from these mice might exhibit oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements that cooperate with activated Akt2 in lymphomagenesis.