MicroRNA therapy inhibits hepatoblastoma growth by targeting β-catenin and Wnt signaling.

Hepatoblastoma (HBL) is the most common pediatric liver cancer. In this malignant neoplasm, beta-catenin protein accumulates and increases Wnt signaling due to recurrent activating mutations in the catenin-beta 1 () gene. Therefore, beta-catenin is a key therapeutic target in HBL.

New insights into diagnosis and therapeutic options for proliferative hepatoblastoma.

Unlabelled: Surgery and cisplatin-based treatment of hepatoblastoma (HB) currently guarantee the survival of 70%-80% of patients. However, some important challenges remain in diagnosing high-risk tumors and identifying relevant targetable pathways offering new therapeutic avenues. Previously, two molecular subclasses of HB tumors have been described, C1 and C2, with C2 being the subgroup with the poorest prognosis, a more advanced tumor stage, and the worst overall survival rate.

New tumor suppressor microRNAs target glypican-3 in human liver cancer.

Glypican-3 (GPC3) is an oncogene, frequently upregulated in liver malignancies such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatoblastoma and constitutes a potential molecular target for therapy in liver cancer. Using a functional screening system, we identified 10 new microRNAs controlling GPC3 expression in malignant liver cells, five of them e.g.

Conditional ablation of NKp46+ cells using a novel Ncr1(greenCre) mouse strain: NK cells are essential for protection against pulmonary B16 metastases.

To study gene functions specifically in NKp46+ cells we developed novel Cre mice allowing for conditional gene targeting in cells expressing Ncr1 (encoding NKp46). We generated transgenic Ncr1(greenCre) mice carrying an EGFPcre fusion under the control of a proximal Ncr1 promoter that faithfully directed EGFPcre expression to NKp46+ cells from lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. This approach allowed for direct detection of Cre-expressing NKp46+ cells via their GFP signature by flow cytometry and histology.