Epithelial mesenchymal transition induced nuclear localization of the extracellular matrix protein Fibronectin.

Fibronectin (FN), an extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein, is a well-known marker for Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). In the ECM, FN has been shown to form long fibrils and play critical roles in regulating cellular attachment and migration during EMT associated with physiological processes such as embryonic development, wound healing as well as pathological processes such as tissue fibrosis and cancer. Subsequently, the cytokine, Transforming Growth Factor β (TGFβ), an inducer of EMT, was found to induce FN expression in a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) dependent manner.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and its transcription factors.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT is an extremely dynamic process involved in conversion of epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells, stimulated by an ensemble of signaling pathways, leading to change in cellular morphology, suppression of epithelial characters and acquisition of properties such as enhanced cell motility and invasiveness, reduced cell death by apoptosis, resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs etc. Significantly, EMT has been found to play a crucial role during embryonic development, tissue fibrosis and would healing, as well as during cancer metastasis. Over the years, work from various laboratories have identified a rather large number of transcription factors (TFs) including the master regulators of EMT, with the ability to regulate the EMT process directly.

Dual release kinetics in a single dosage from core-shell hydrogel scaffolds.

The development of drug delivery systems with microencapsulated therapeutic agents is a promising approach to the sustained and controlled delivery of various drug molecules. The incorporation of dual release kinetics to such delivery devices further adds to their applicability. Herein, novel core-shell scaffolds composed of sodium deoxycholate and trishydroxymethylaminomethane (NaDC-Tris) have been developed with the aim of delivering two different drugs with variable release rates using the same delivery vehicle.

Glutamate induces neutrophil cell migration by activating class I metabotropic glutamate receptors.

Leukocytes are recruited at the site of infection or injury as a part of the innate immune system, and play a very critical role in fighting the invading microorganisms and/or healing wounds. Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in healthy humans and are the principal cell types that arrive at the target site in the initial phase of this process. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that the amino acid glutamate is a novel chemotaxis-inducing factor for human neutrophils.

A transcriptional regulatory role of the THAP11-HCF-1 complex in colon cancer cell function.

The recently identified Thanatos-associated protein (THAP) domain is an atypical zinc finger motif with sequence-specific DNA-binding activity. Emerging data suggest that THAP proteins may function in chromatin-dependent processes, including transcriptional regulation, but the roles of most THAP proteins in normal and aberrant cellular processes remain largely unknown. In this work, we identify THAP11 as a transcriptional regulator differentially expressed in human colon cancer.

Characterization of Sro1, a novel stress responsive protein in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The large amount of available genome sequencing data presents a huge challenge in the form of orphan sequences. This study reports the detailed functional characterization of one such orphan sequence in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We identified this gene as a prominently upregulated 1.

MAPK mediated cell cycle regulation is associated with Cdc25 turnover in S. pombe after exposure to genotoxic stress.

Genotoxic stress caused by carcinogens like cigarette smoke activate both the MAPK pathway and the S phase checkpoint in Schizosacchaomyces pombe. But the cross talk between these two pathways has not been investigated in great detail in fission yeast. This study deals with the molecular mechanism of co-ordination between the two regulatory pathways.