Pharmacological inhibition of receptor-interacting protein kinase 2 (RIPK2) elicits neuroprotective effects following experimental ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke induces a debilitating neurological insult, where inflammatory processes contribute greatly to the expansion and growth of the injury. Receptor-interacting protein kinase 2 (RIPK2) is most well-known for its role as the obligate kinase for NOD1/2 pattern recognition receptor signaling and is implicated in the pathology of various inflammatory conditions. Compared to a sham-operated control, ischemic stroke resulted in a dramatic increase in the active, phosphorylated form of RIPK2, indicating that RIPK2 may be implicated in the response to stroke injury.

Novel Biomarkers for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer: An Interplay between Metabolic Dysregulation and Excessive Inflammation.

Persistent inflammation can trigger altered epigenetic, inflammatory, and bioenergetic states. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, with evidence of subsequent metabolic syndrome disorder. Studies have demonstrated that as many as 42% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) who are found to have high-grade dysplasia, either already had colorectal cancer (CRC) or develop it within a short time.

Extractionless nucleic acid detection: a high capacity solution to COVID-19 testing.

We describe an extractionless real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR (rRT-PCR) protocol for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection using heat as an accurate cost-effective high-capacity solution to COVID-19 testing. We present the effect of temperature, transport media, rRT-PCR mastermixes and gene assays on SARS-CoV-2 gene amplification and limits of detection. Utilizing our heated methodology, our limits of detection were 12.

Resveratrol and Resveratrol-Aspirin Hybrid Compounds as Potent Intestinal Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Tumor Drugs.

Resveratrol (3,4,5-Trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a naturally occurring polyphenol that exhibits beneficial pleiotropic health effects. It is one of the most promising natural molecules in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases and autoimmune disorders. One of the key limitations in the clinical use of resveratrol is its extensive metabolic processing to its glucuronides and sulfates.

Non-canonical BAD activity regulates breast cancer cell and tumor growth via 14-3-3 binding and mitochondrial metabolism.

The Bcl-2-associated death promoter BAD is a prognostic indicator for good clinical outcome of breast cancer patients; however, whether BAD affects breast cancer biology is unknown. Here we showed that BAD increased cell growth in breast cancer cells through two distinct mechanisms. Phosphorylation of BAD at S118 increased S99 phosphorylation, 14-3-3 binding and AKT activation to promote growth and survival.

Erratum: Zare, A. et al. RIPK2: New Elements in Modulating Inflammatory Breast Cancer Pathogenesis. Cancers, 2018, 10, 184.

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [...

Tumor necrosis factor α-induced protein 3 (A20) is dysregulated in pediatric Crohn disease.

Purpose: A significant feature of pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which include Crohn disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC), is failure to suppress inflammation. The inability to regulate inflammation renders a major challenge toward establishing effective treatments in IBD. Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells-induced inflammation is inhibited by A20 through interactions with TAX1BP1 (Tax1-binding protein 1) and A20-binding inhibitor of NF-κβ activation (ABIN)-1 (A20 binding and inhibitor of NF-κβ) and upon phosphorylation by inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-β kinase subunit beta (IKKβ), which stabilizes it.

RIPK2: New Elements in Modulating Inflammatory Breast Cancer Pathogenesis.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer that is associated with significantly high mortality. In spite of advances in IBC diagnoses, the prognosis is still poor compared to non-IBC. Due to the aggressive nature of the disease, we hypothesize that elevated levels of inflammatory mediators may drive tumorigenesis and metastasis in IBC patients.

Identification and Characterization of Novel Receptor-Interacting Serine/Threonine-Protein Kinase 2 Inhibitors Using Structural Similarity Analysis.

Receptor-interacting protein kinase 2 (RIP2 or RICK, herein referred to as RIPK2) is linked to the pathogen pathway that activates nuclear factor -light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFB) and autophagic activation. Using molecular modeling (docking) and chemoinformatics analyses, we used the RIPK2/ponatinib crystal structure and searched in chemical databases for small molecules exerting binding interactions similar to those exerted by ponatinib. The identified RIPK2 inhibitors potently inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells by > 70% and also inhibited NFB activity.

RACK1/TRAF2 regulation of modulator of apoptosis-1 (MOAP-1).

MOAP-1 is a pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor molecule with a growing set of known interacting partners. We have demonstrated that during death receptor-dependent apoptosis, MOAP-1 is recruited to TNF-R1 or TRAIL-R1, followed by RASSF1A and Bax association. MOAP-1/Bax association promotes Bax conformational change resulting in the translocation of Bax into the mitochondrial membrane, mitochondrial membrane insertion and dysregulation resulting in several hallmark events that execute apoptosis.

MOAP-1 Mediates Fas-Induced Apoptosis in Liver by Facilitating tBid Recruitment to Mitochondria.

Fas apoptotic signaling regulates diverse physiological processes. Acute activation of Fas signaling triggers massive apoptosis in liver. Upon Fas receptor stimulation, the BH3-only protein Bid is cleaved into the active form, tBid.

RASSF1A Site-Specific Methylation Hotspots in Cancer and Correlation with RASSF1C and MOAP-1.

Epigenetic silencing of RASSF1A is frequently observed in numerous cancers and has been previously reported. The promoter region of RASSF1A is predicted to have 75 CpG sites, and very few studies demonstrate how the methylation of these sites affects expression. In addition, the expression relationship between RASSF1A and its downstream target, modulator of apoptosis 1 (MOAP-1), is poorly understood.

Na (+)/H (+)exchange in the tumour microenvironment: does NHE1 drive breast cancer carcinogenesis?

Ionic messengers signal several critical events in carcinogenesis, including metastasis, the leading cause of patient mortality. The aberrant metabolic, proliferative and anti-apoptotic nature of neoplastic cells can be traced to the abnormal expression of their ion transporters and related signalling networks. In this manuscript, we discuss Na(+)/H(+)flux, as mediated by the sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), a major ion transporter involved in tumourigenesis.

TP53 codon 72 Arg/Arg polymorphism is associated with a higher risk for inflammatory bowel disease development.

Aim: To investigate the association between tumor protein 53 (TP53) codon 72 polymorphisms and the risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) development.

Methods: Numerous genetic and epigenetic drivers have been identified for IBD including the TP53 gene. Pathogenic mutations in TP53 gene have only been reported in 50% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Modulator of apoptosis 1 (MOAP-1) is a tumor suppressor protein linked to the RASSF1A protein.

Modulator of apoptosis 1 (MOAP-1) is a BH3-like protein that plays key roles in cell death or apoptosis. It is an integral partner to the tumor suppressor protein, Ras association domain family 1A (RASSF1A), and functions to activate the Bcl-2 family pro-apoptotic protein Bax. Although RASSF1A is now considered a bona fide tumor suppressor protein, the role of MOAP-1 as a tumor suppressor protein has yet to be determined.

The Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger (NHE1) as a novel co-adjuvant target in paclitaxel therapy of triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Dysregulation of Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger isoform one (NHE1) activity is a hallmark of cells undergoing tumorigenesis and metastasis, the leading cause of patient mortality. The acidic tumor microenvironment is thought to facilitate the development of resistance to chemotherapy drugs and to promote extracellular matrix remodeling leading to metastasis. Here, we investigated NHE1 as a co-adjuvant target in paclitaxel chemotherapy of metastatic breast cancer.

Design and synthesis of resveratrol-salicylate hybrid derivatives as CYP1A1 inhibitors.

Resveratrol and aspirin are known to exert potential chemopreventive effects through modulation of numerous targets. Considering that the CYP450 system is responsible for the activation of environmental procarcinogens, the aim of this study was to design a new class of hybrid resveratrol-aspirin derivatives possessing the stilbene and the salicylate scaffolds. Using HepG2 cells, we evaluated (a) the inhibition of TCDD-mediated induction of CYP1A1 exerted by resveratrol-aspirin derivatives using the EROD assay, and (b) CYP1A1 mRNA in vitro.

Variants in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase complex components determine susceptibility to very early onset inflammatory bowel disease.

Background & Aims: The colitis observed in patients with very early onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEOIBD; defined as onset of disease at younger than 6 years of age) often resembles that of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) in extent and features of colonic inflammation observed by endoscopy and histology. CGD is a severe immunodeficiency caused by defects in the genes that encode components of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex. We investigated whether variants in genes that encode NADPH oxidase components affect susceptibility to VEOIBD using independent approaches.

RASSF tumor suppressor gene family: biological functions and regulation.

Genetic changes through allelic loss and nucleic acid or protein modifications are the main contributors to loss of function of tumor suppressor proteins. In particular, epigenetic silencing of genes by promoter hypermethylation is associated with increased tumor severity and poor survival. The RASSF (Ras association domain family) family of proteins consists of 10 members, many of which are tumor suppressor proteins that undergo loss of expression through promoter methylation in numerous types of cancers such as leukemia, melanoma, breast, prostate, neck, lung, brain, colorectal and kidney cancers.

Higher activity of the inducible nitric oxide synthase contributes to very early onset inflammatory bowel disease.

Objectives: The NOS2 gene encodes for the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), responsible for nitric oxide (NO) production, which contributes to antimicrobial and antipathogenic activities. Higher levels of both iNOS and NO-induced damage have been observed in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. NOS2 may have a role in a specific subset of IBD patients with severe and/or extensive colitis.