This paper describes the current knowledge of the primary mode of action of a natural product, ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743), derived from the marine tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata. ET-743 was initially selected for preclinical development because of its potent antitumor activity observed against several human solid tumor types. In vitro, the drug is cytotoxic in the nanomolar range, and in the case of some very sensitive cell lines, in the picomolar range. The large potency differences observed among several solid tumor types indicate that this compound possesses some tumor selectivity, but the molecular basis of these differential effects remains to be elucidated. The present studies were undertaken to evaluate the mechanism of action of ET-743 in this context. The available information on ET-743 binding to DNA and its effects on transcriptional regulation point to a unique behavior of this drug, as it independently affects specific gene transcription in a promoter-dependent way. In addition, ET-743 shows a peculiar pattern of selectivity in cells with different defects in their DNA-repair pathways. These results highlight a unique property of ET-743, possibly explaining why it possesses antitumor activity against tumors that are refractory to standard anticancer drugs, all of which certainly act by mechanisms that are different from that of ET-743.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1634/theoncologist.7-3-210 | DOI Listing |
Acta Biomater
January 2025
Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address:
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is suspected to affect the distribution of stress and strain near the vertebral endplates and in the underlying bone. This scenario is worsened by the presence of metastatic lesions on the vertebrae (primarily thoracic vertebrae (60-80%)) which increase the risk of fracture. As such, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of IVD degeneration on the internal volumetric strains and failure modes of human metastatic vertebral bodies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancers (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) have diverse functions in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation in development, tissue maintenance, wound repair, and angiogenesis. The goal of this review paper is to (i) deliberate on the role of FGFs and FGF receptors (FGFRs) in different cancers, (ii) present advances in FGF-targeted cancer therapies, and (iii) explore cell signaling mechanisms that explain how FGF expression becomes dysregulated during cancer development. FGF is often mutated and overexpressed in cancer and the different FGF and FGFR isoforms have unique expression patterns and distinct roles in different cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
December 2024
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute-National Research Institute, Radzikow, 05-870 Blonie, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci
December 2024
School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore.
Host defense antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising lead molecules with which to develop antibiotics against drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Thanatin, an inducible antimicrobial peptide involved in the host defense of insects, is gaining considerable attention in the generation of novel classes of antibiotics. Thanatin or thanatin-based analog peptides are extremely potent in killing bacterial pathogens in the Enterobacteriaceae family, including drug-resistant strains of and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
January 2025
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China.
To investigate the water damage at the interface between emulsified asphalt and aggregate under the action of external water infiltration, firstly, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was used as an emulsifier to prepare emulsified asphalt in the laboratory, and its basic properties were tested. Then, based on molecular dynamics, an emulsified asphalt-aggregate interface model with different water contents was constructed to calculate the adhesion work of the emulsified asphalt-aggregate interface. The results show that the simulated values of emulsified asphalt density, cohesive energy density, and solubility are in good agreement with the experimental values.
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