Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR Panel) on the genotoxic potential of triazine amine (metabolite common to several sulfonylurea active substances).

The Panel received a mandate from the European Commission to assess the genotoxic potential of triazine amine based on available information submitted by the applicants. Available information includes experimental genotoxicity data on triazine amine, Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis and read across with structurally similar compounds. Based on the overall weight of evidence, the Panel, in agreement with the cross-cutting Working Group Genotoxicity, concluded that there is no concern for the potential of triazine amine to induce gene mutations and clastogenicity; however, the potential to induce aneugenicity was not adequately investigated.

The Hairpin Form of r(GC) in c9ALS/FTD Is Repeat-Associated Non-ATG Translated and a Target for Bioactive Small Molecules.

The most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an expanded GC repeat [(GC)] in C9ORF72. ALS/FTD-associated toxicity has been traced to the RNA transcribed from the repeat expansion [r(GC)], which sequesters RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and undergoes repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation to generate toxic dipeptide repeats. Using in vitro and cell-based assays, we identified a small molecule (4) that selectively bound r(GC), prevented sequestration of an RBP, and inhibited RAN translation.

The glycosphingolipid P₁ is an ovarian cancer-associated carbohydrate antigen involved in migration.

Background: The level of plasma-derived naturally circulating anti-glycan antibodies (AGA) to P1 trisaccharide has previously been shown to significantly discriminate between ovarian cancer patients and healthy women. Here we aim to identify the Ig class that causes this discrimination, to identify on cancer cells the corresponding P1 antigen recognised by circulating anti-P1 antibodies and to shed light into the possible function of this glycosphingolipid.

Methods: An independent Australian cohort was assessed for the presence of anti-P1 IgG and IgM class antibodies using suspension array.

Careful selection of reference genes is required for reliable performance of RT-qPCR in human normal and cancer cell lines.

Reverse Transcription - quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) is a standard technique in most laboratories. The selection of reference genes is essential for data normalization and the selection of suitable reference genes remains critical. Our aim was to 1) review the literature since implementation of the MIQE guidelines in order to identify the degree of acceptance; 2) compare various algorithms in their expression stability; 3) identify a set of suitable and most reliable reference genes for a variety of human cancer cell lines.

Loss of secreted frizzled-related protein 4 correlates with an aggressive phenotype and predicts poor outcome in ovarian cancer patients.

Background: Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is implicated in aberrant cellular proliferation in various cancers. In 40% of endometrioid ovarian cancers, constitutive activation of the pathway is due to oncogenic mutations in β-catenin or other inactivating mutations in key negative regulators. Secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) has been proposed to have inhibitory activity through binding and sequestering Wnt ligands.