Expression of the tumor-expressed protein MageB2 enhances rRNA transcription.

An essential requirement for cells to sustain a high proliferating rate is to be paired with enhanced protein synthesis through the production of ribosomes. For this reason, part of the growth-factor signaling pathways, are devoted to activate ribosome biogenesis. Enhanced production of ribosomes is a hallmark in cancer cells, which is boosted by different mechanisms.

High-throughput assessment of the antibody profile in ovarian cancer ascitic fluids.

The identification of effective biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis, and response to treatments remains a challenge in ovarian cancer (OC) research. Here, we present an unbiased high-throughput approach to profile ascitic fluid autoantibodies in order to obtain a tumor-specific antigen signature in OC. We first reported the reactivity of immunoglobulins (Igs) purified from OC patient ascites towards two different OC cell lines.

GTSE1: a novel TEAD4-E2F1 target gene involved in cell protrusions formation in triple-negative breast cancer cell models.

GTSE1 over-expression has been reported as a potential marker for metastasis in various types of malignancies, including breast cancer. Despite this, the transcriptional regulation of this protein and the causes of its misregulation in tumors remain largely unknown. The aims of this work were to elucidate how GTSE1 is regulated at the transcriptional level and to clarify the mechanism underlying GTSE1-dependent cell functions in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Functional interaction between co-expressed MAGE-A proteins.

MAGE-A (Melanoma Antigen Genes-A) are tumor-associated proteins with expression in a broad spectrum of human tumors and normal germ cells. MAGE-A gene expression and function are being increasingly investigated to better understand the mechanisms by which MAGE proteins collaborate in tumorigenesis and whether their detection could be useful for disease prognosis purposes. Alterations in epigenetic mechanisms involved in MAGE gene silencing cause their frequent co-expression in tumor cells.

Effects of Pin1 Loss in Hdh(Q111) Knock-in Mice.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal, dominantly inherited, neurodegenerative disorder due to a pathological expansion of the CAG repeat in the coding region of the HTT gene. In the quest for understanding the molecular basis of neurodegeneration, we have previously demonstrated that the prolyl isomerase Pin1 plays a crucial role in mediating p53-dependent apoptosis triggered by mutant huntingtin (mHtt) in vitro. To assess the effects of the lack of Pin1 in vivo, we have bred Pin1 knock-out mice with Hdh(Q111) knock-in mice, a genetically precise model of HD.

Thromboxane Governs the Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells Toward Endothelial Cells In Vitro and In Vivo.

Rationale: Autologous adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) offer great promise as angiogenic cell therapy for ischemic diseases. Because of their limited self-renewal capacity and pluripotentiality, the therapeutic efficacy of ASCs is still relatively low. Thromboxane has been shown to play an important role in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis.

Human MageB2 Protein Expression Enhances E2F Transcriptional Activity, Cell Proliferation, and Resistance to Ribotoxic Stress.

MageB2 belongs to the melanoma antigen gene (MAGE-I) family of tumor-specific antigens. Expression of this gene has been detected in human tumors of different origins. However, little is known about the protein function and how its expression affects tumor cell phenotypes.

TDP-43 affects splicing profiles and isoform production of genes involved in the apoptotic and mitotic cellular pathways.

In recent times, high-throughput screening analyses have broadly defined the RNA cellular targets of TDP-43, a nuclear factor involved in neurodegeneration. A common outcome of all these studies is that changing the expression levels of this protein can alter the expression of several hundred RNAs within cells. What still remains to be clarified is which changes represent direct cellular targets of TDP-43 or just secondary variations due to the general role played by this protein in RNA metabolism.

Notch is a direct negative regulator of the DNA-damage response.

The DNA-damage response (DDR) ensures genome stability and proper inheritance of genetic information, both of which are essential to survival. It is presently unclear to what extent other signaling pathways modulate DDR function. Here we show that Notch receptor binds and inactivates ATM kinase and that this mechanism is evolutionarily conserved in Caenorhabditis elegans, Xenopus laevis and humans.

p53 at the endoplasmic reticulum regulates apoptosis in a Ca2+-dependent manner.

The tumor suppressor p53 is a key protein in preventing cell transformation and tumor progression. Activated by a variety of stimuli, p53 regulates cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Along with its well-documented transcriptional control over cell-death programs within the nucleus, p53 exerts crucial although still poorly understood functions in the cytoplasm, directly modulating the apoptotic response at the mitochondrial level.

Pin1-dependent signalling negatively affects GABAergic transmission by modulating neuroligin2/gephyrin interaction.

The cell adhesion molecule Neuroligin2 (NL2) is localized selectively at GABAergic synapses, where it interacts with the scaffolding protein gephyrin in the post-synaptic density. However, the role of this interaction for formation and plasticity of GABAergic synapses is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous NL2 undergoes proline-directed phosphorylation at its unique S714-P consensus site, leading to the recruitment of the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1.

MageA2 restrains cellular senescence by targeting the function of PMLIV/p53 axis at the PML-NBs.

MAGE-A genes are a subfamily of the melanoma antigen genes (MAGEs), whose expression is restricted to tumor cells of different origin and normal tissues of the human germline. Although the specific function of individual MAGE-A proteins is being currently explored, compelling evidence suggest their involvement in the regulation of different pathways during tumor progression. We have previously reported that MageA2 binds histone deacetylase (HDAC)3 and represses p53-dependent apoptosis in response to chemotherapeutic drugs.

Human GTSE-1 regulates p21(CIP1/WAF1) stability conferring resistance to paclitaxel treatment.

p21(CIP1/WAF1) belongs to the CIP/KIP family of Cdk inhibitors, and its expression is tightly controlled during the cell cycle, mainly by transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Fine regulation of p21(CIP1/WAF1) levels is critical for cell cycle control and for cellular response to stress. In the present work, we describe a novel mechanism to modulate p21(CIP1/WAF1) levels mediated by the human GTSE-1 (G(2) and S phase-expressed-1) protein.

MAGE-A tumor antigens target p53 transactivation function through histone deacetylase recruitment and confer resistance to chemotherapeutic agents.

The MAGE gene family is characterized by a conserved domain (MAGE Homology Domain). A subset of highly homologous MAGE genes (group A; MAGE-A) belong to the chromosome X-clustered cancer/testis antigens. MAGE-A genes are normally expressed in the human germ line and overexpressed in various tumor types; however, their biological function is largely unknown.

The calpain system is involved in the constitutive regulation of beta-catenin signaling functions.

Beta-catenin is a multifunctional protein serving both as a structural element in cell adhesion and as a signaling component in the Wnt pathway, regulating embryogenesis and tumorigenesis. The signaling fraction of beta-catenin is tightly controlled by the adenomatous polyposis coli-axin-glycogen synthase kinase 3beta complex, which targets it for proteasomal degradation. It has been recently shown that Ca(2+) release from internal stores results in nuclear export and calpain-mediated degradation of beta-catenin in the cytoplasm.

hGTSE-1 expression stimulates cytoplasmic localization of p53.

hGTSE-1 (human G(2) and S phase-expressed-1) is a cell cycle-regulated protein mainly localized in the cytoplasm and apparently associated with the microtubules. hGTSE-1 is able to down-regulate levels and activity of the p53 tumor suppressor protein: it binds the C-terminal region of p53 and represses its ability to induce apoptosis after DNA damage. Here we report that, after DNA damage, hGTSE-1 becomes stabilized in a p53-independent way and accumulated in the nucleus.

The cell cycle-regulated protein human GTSE-1 controls DNA damage-induced apoptosis by affecting p53 function.

GTSE-1 (G2 and S phase-expressed-1) protein is specifically expressed during S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. It is mainly localized to the microtubules and when overexpressed delays the G2 to M transition. Here we report that human GTSE-1 (hGTSE-1) protein can negatively regulate p53 transactivation function, protein levels, and p53-dependent apoptosis.