Upregulation of Key Molecules for Targeted Imaging and Therapy.

Unlabelled: Targeted diagnosis and therapy enable precise tumor detection and treatment. Successful examples for precise tumor targeting are diagnostic and therapeutic radioligands. However, patients with tumors expressing low levels of the relevant molecular targets are deemed ineligible for such targeted approaches.

MITF drives endolysosomal biogenesis and potentiates Wnt signaling in melanoma cells.

Canonical Wnt signaling plays an important role in development and disease, regulating transcription of target genes and stabilizing many proteins phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). We observed that the MiT family of transcription factors, which includes the melanoma oncogene MITF (micropthalmia-associated transcription factor) and the lysosomal master regulator TFEB, had the highest phylogenetic conservation of three consecutive putative GSK3 phosphorylation sites in animal proteomes. This finding prompted us to examine the relationship between MITF, endolysosomal biogenesis, and Wnt signaling.

Indium-111 labeled gold nanoparticles for in-vivo molecular targeting.

The present report describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of a molecular imaging platform based on gold nanoparticles directly labeled with indium-111. The direct labeling approach facilitated radiolabeling with high activities while maintaining excellent stability within the biological environment. The resulting imaging platform exhibited low interference of the radiolabel with targeting molecules, which is highly desirable for in-vivo probe tracking and molecular targeted tumor imaging.

Wnt signaling requires sequestration of glycogen synthase kinase 3 inside multivesicular endosomes.

Canonical Wnt signaling requires inhibition of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) activity, but the molecular mechanism by which this is achieved remains unclear. Here, we report that Wnt signaling triggers the sequestration of GSK3 from the cytosol into multivesicular bodies (MVBs), so that this enzyme becomes separated from its many cytosolic substrates. Endocytosed Wnt colocalized with GSK3 in acidic vesicles positive for endosomal markers.

Crossveinless-2 Is a BMP feedback inhibitor that binds Chordin/BMP to regulate Xenopus embryonic patterning.

Vertebrate Crossveinless-2 (CV2) is a secreted protein that can potentiate or antagonize BMP signaling. Through embryological and biochemical experiments we find that: (1) CV2 functions as a BMP4 feedback inhibitor in ventral regions of the Xenopus embryo; (2) CV2 complexes with Twisted gastrulation and BMP4; (3) CV2 is not a substrate for tolloid proteinases; (4) CV2 binds to purified Chordin protein with high affinity (K(D) in the 1 nM range); (5) CV2 binds even more strongly to Chordin proteolytic fragments resulting from Tolloid digestion or to full-length Chordin/BMP complexes; (6) CV2 depletion causes the Xenopus embryo to become hypersensitive to the anti-BMP effects of Chordin overexpression or tolloid inhibition. We propose that the CV2/Chordin interaction may help coordinate BMP diffusion to the ventral side of the embryo, ensuring that BMPs liberated from Chordin inhibition by tolloid proteolysis cause peak signaling levels.