Episodic Hypoxia Promotes Defence Against Cellular Stress.

Background/aims: Recently, we have demonstrated that episodic hypoxia occurs in kidneys of mice challenged repetitively with the immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CsA), in analogy to humans on CsA treatment. However, the molecular consequences of episodic hypoxia remain poorly defined, as is its impact on cell survival. Here, we systematically study cell response to episodic, as compared to single course hypoxia.

Achaete-Scute Homolog 1 Expression Controls Cellular Differentiation of Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma, the major cause of infant cancer deaths, results from fast proliferation of undifferentiated neuroblasts. Treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma includes differentiation with retinoic acid (RA); however, the resistance of many of these tumors to RA-induced differentiation poses a considerable challenge. Human achaete-scute homolog 1 (hASH1) is a proneural basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor essential for neurogenesis and is often upregulated in neuroblastoma.