Tag Archives: transcription

Small molecule shows promise as anti-cancer therapy

In a study described in the January 13 issue of Cancer Cell, Marikki Laiho, M.D., Ph.D., and her colleagues say their work focused on the ability of a chemical dubbed BMH-21 to sabotage the transcription pathway RNA Polymerase pathway (POL I), shutting down the ability of mutant cancer genes to communicate with cells and replicate. Laiho’s research linked the pathway to p53 gene activity. P53 is a tumor suppressor gene, a protein that regulates cell growth, and it is the most frequently mutated suppressor gene in cancer…

Stopping tumors in their path

A GBM tumour contains a complex combination of different cell types, including ‘stem-like’ cells that are able to initiate brain tumour growth, even when present in very small numbers. These cells, known as brain-tumour initiating cells (BTICs), are believed to be among the cells that can re-initiate GBM if they are not completely eradicated through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Thus, BTICs represent an important therapeutic target for GBM treatment strategies. "We wanted to find out how GBM-derived BTICs are able to initiate a tumour with the ultimate goal of preventing the re-growth of this deadly form of brain cancer," says Dr…

New function of two molecules involved in metastasis

Transcription factors are proteins that regulate gene expression. They activate or deactivate a gene’s function. Researchers at IMIM have studied the function of one of these transcription factors, Snail1, in mouse cells during the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). Sandra Peiró, a researcher from the IMIM Research Group on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumor Progression explains: "EMT is a process consisting of converting epithelial cells, the ones covering the internal and external surfaces of the body, into what are known as mesenchymal cells. …

Events coordination during embryogenesis

The study, published October 29 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, analyzes how the timing of gene expression is regulated in the notochord, the evolutionary and developmental precursor of the backbone. The notochord is the main feature that sets humans, mice, sea squirts and related animals (collectively known as chordates) apart from flies, worms and mollusks, and is essential for their development. A crucial player in the development of the notochord is the Brachyury gene, which encodes a DNA-binding protein that switches on the expression of numerous notochord genes and ensures their sequential deployment during the formation of this pivotal structure…

Targeting Cancer’s Sweet Tooth

Published online in Cell Metabolism, the Ludwig Cancer Research study also reveals how the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma harnesses the mechanism to resist targeted therapies that should disrupt this capability — known as the Warburg effect — and suggests how such resistance might be overcome. In detailing the molecular circuitry of the phenomenon, the researchers uncover several possible targets for new drugs that might disrupt cancer cell metabolism to destroy tumors. "Cancer and other fast-growing cells extract energy from glucose using a process that ordinarily kicks in only when oxygen is in short supply," explains Ludwig scientist Paul Mischel, MD, who is based at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine…

Static killers? Natural killer cell activity can be influenced by phosphorylating a protein in NK cells

Since its discovery in the early 1990s, the protein STAT1 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1) has been found to be central in passing signals across immune cells, ensuring that our bodies react quickly and appropriately to threats from viruses or other pathogens. Animals without STAT1 are also prone to develop cancer, suggesting that STAT1 is somehow involved in protection against malignant cells. The STAT1 protein is known to be phosphorylated on at least two positions: phosphorylation of a particular tyrosine (tyr-701) is required for the protein to enter the cell nucleus (where it exerts its effects), while subsequent phosphorylation of a serine residue alters the way it interacts with other proteins, thereby affecting its function. …

Cell memory mechanism discovered

The DNA in human cells is translated into a multitude of proteins required for a cell to function. When, where and how proteins are expressed is determined by regulatory DNA sequences and a group of proteins, known as transcription factors, that bind to these DNA sequences. Each cell type can be distinguished based on its transcription factors, and a cell can in certain cases be directly converted from one type to another, simply by changing the expression of one or more transcription factors. It is critical that the pattern of transcription factor binding in the genome be maintained…