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Topic Review
Tetraspanin CD81
Tetraspanin CD81 plays major roles in cell-cell interactions and the regulation of cellular trafficking. This cholesterol-embarking transmembrane protein is a co-receptor for several viruses, including HCV, HIV-1 and Chikungunya virus, which exploits the large extracellular loop (EC2) for cell entry. CD81 is also an anticancer target implicated in cancer cell proliferation and mobility, and in tumor metastasis. 
  • 1.8K
  • 14 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Metabolic Reprogramming in Cancer Cells
Cancer cells alter metabolic processes to sustain their characteristic uncontrolled growth and proliferation. Altered metabolic flux in cancer is controlled by tumor-host cell interactions, key oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and other regulatory molecules, including non-coding RNAs. Changes to metabolic pathways in cancer are dynamic, exhibit plasticity, and are often dependent on the type of tumor and the tumor microenvironment, leading in a shift of thought from the Warburg Effect and the “reverse Warburg Effect” to metabolic plasticity. 
  • 1.8K
  • 27 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Microbiota for HPV Infection
The microbiome is able to modulate immune responses, alter the physiology of the human organism, and increase the risk of viral infections and development of diseases such as cancer. Herein, we address changes in the cervical microbiota as potential biomarkers to identify the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) development and invasive cervical cancer in the context of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
  • 1.8K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Local Anesthesia in Cancer Surgeries
The application of local anaesthetics is frequently involved in anaesthesia in the surgical treatment of various cancers. It is used in addition to or instead of general anaesthesia as a way to provide control of sensation and pain to specific regions or parts of the patients' bodies. They are thought to reduce the requirement for volatile anaesthetics and opioids used in the surgery.
  • 1.8K
  • 28 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Molecular Mechanisms of Resistance to PARP Inhibitors
PARP1 enzyme plays an important role in DNA damage recognition and signalling. PARP inhibitors are approved in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers harbouring a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2, where PARP1 inhibition results mainly in synthetic lethality in cells with impaired homologous recombination. However, the increasingly wide use of PARP inhibitors in clinical practice has highlighted the problem of resistance to therapy. Several different mechanisms of resistance have been proposed, although only the acquisition of secondary mutations in BRCA1/2 has been clinically proved.
  • 1.8K
  • 07 Jun 2022
Topic Review
P53 DNA Binding Cooperativity Mutations
p53 is a tumor suppressor that is mutated in half of all cancers. The high clinical relevance has made p53 a model transcription factor for delineating general mechanisms of transcriptional regulation. p53 forms tetramers that bind DNA in a highly cooperative manner. The DNA binding cooperativity of p53 has been studied by structural and molecular biologists as well as clinical oncologists. These experiments have revealed the structural basis for cooperative DNA binding and its impact on sequence specificity and target gene spectrum. Cooperativity was found to be critical for the control of p53-mediated cell fate decisions and tumor suppression. Importantly, an estimated number of 34,000 cancer patients per year world-wide have mutations of the amino acids mediating cooperativity, and knock-in mouse models have confirmed such mutations to be tumorigenic. While p53 cancer mutations are classically subdivided into “contact” and “structural” mutations, “cooperativity” mutations form a mechanistically distinct third class that affect the quaternary structure but leave DNA contacting residues and the three-dimensional folding of the DNA-binding domain intact. In this review we discuss the concept of DNA binding cooperativity and highlight the unique nature of cooperativity mutations and their clinical implications for cancer therapy.
  • 1.8K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Green Tea Catechin EGCG-Sensing Receptor
The body is equipped with a “food factor-sensing system” that senses food factors, such as polyphenols, sulfur-containing compounds, and vitamins, taken into the body, and plays an essential role in manifesting their physiological effects. For example, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), the representative catechin in green tea (Camellia sinensi L.), exerts various effects, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic effects, when sensed by the cell surficial protein 67-kDa laminin receptor (67LR). 
  • 1.8K
  • 19 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Short-Chain Fatty Acids
Through fermentation, the gut microbiota can produce several types of metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs play an important role in maintaining epithelial barrier functions and intestinal homeostasis. 
  • 1.8K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Phosphorylation in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Protein phosphorylation is a fundamental mechanism for many intracellular processes underlying cell life. This reversible mechanism, which is triggered by intra- and extra-cellular signals, regulates metabolism, transcription, proliferation, differentiation, cell movements, and apoptosis in countless cellular functions. Protein kinases form an enzyme family that catalyzes the transfer of the gamma-phosphate of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to specific hydroxyl amino acids in protein substrates. On the other hand, protein phosphatases regulate the action of kinases, playing the role of regulators in the phosphorylation processes. The present investigation summarize the current knowledge on the roles playd by phosphatases in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is characterized by a high rate of cure, but also by a non-negligible probability of recurrence and risk progression to muscle-invasive disease. NMIBC management requires a proper local resection and staging, followed by a risk-based treatment with intravesical agents. For many years, the current gold standard treatment for patients with intermediate or high-risk disease is transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) followed by intravesical bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) instillations. Unfortunately, in about half of high-risk patients, intravesical BCG treatment fails and NMIBC persists or recurs early. While radical cystectomy remains the gold standard for these patients, new therapeutic targets are being individuated and studied. Radical cystectomy in fact can provide an excellent long-term disease control, but can deeply interfere with quality of life. In particular, the enhanced immune checkpoints expression shown in BCG-unresponsive patients and the activity of immune checkpoints inhibitors (ICIs) in advanced bladder cancer provided the rationale for testing ICIs in NMIBC. Recently, pembrolizumab has shown promising activity in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC patients, obtaining FDA approval. Meanwhile multiple novel drugs with alternative mechanisms of action have proven to be safe and effective in NMIBC treatment and others are under investigation.
  • 1.8K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Myokine Irisin in Cancer
Regular exercise/physical activity is beneficial for the health of an individual and lowers the risk of getting different diseases, including cancer. How exactly exercise results in these health benefits is not known. Recent studies suggest that the molecule irisin released by muscles into the blood stream after exercise may be responsible for these effects.
  • 1.8K
  • 17 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Peripheral Neuropathy Associated with Dinutuximab in Neuroblastoma Patients
Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood, with a median age at diagnosis of 17 months. Its incidence is 10.2 cases per million children aged <15 years. Neuroblastoma arises in tissues of the sympathetic nervous system, mostly in the adrenal medulla or paraspinal ganglia. It appears as a mass in the abdomen, pelvis, neck, or chest, with about half of the patients having metastatic disease at diagnosis. The presence of metastatic diseases over the age of 12 or 18 months and aggressive biological features (e.g., MYCN oncogene amplification) define high-risk neuroblastoma. The prognosis for such patients is poor, with a long-term survival rate of only 40%.
  • 1.8K
  • 07 Jan 2022
Topic Review
MNT
MNT (MAX’s Next Tango) is a crucial modulator of MYC, controls several cellular functions, and is activated in most human cancers. It is the largest, most divergent, and most ubiquitously expressed protein of the MXD family. MNT was first described as a MYC antagonist and tumor suppressor. Indeed, 10% of human tumors present deletions of one MNT allele. However, some reports show that MNT functions in cooperation with MYC by maintaining cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell survival, and supporting MYC-driven tumorigenesis in cellular and animal models. Although MAX was originally considered MNT’s obligate partner, it is also known that heterodmerize with MLX. Recent findings demonstrate that MNT can also work independently, as MNT forms homodimers and interacts with proteins both outside and inside of the proximal MYC network, as REL. These complexes are involved in a wide array of cellular processes, from transcriptional repression via SIN3 to the modulation of metabolism through MLX as well as immunity and apoptosis via REL.
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity
Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent with proven efficacy in treating various malignancies, including testicular, ovarian, cervical, breast, bladder, head and neck, and lung cancer. Cisplatin is also used to treat tumors in children, such as neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, and hepatoblastoma.
  • 1.7K
  • 30 Nov 2023
Topic Review
SFKs in intestine
Src, originally identified as an oncogene, is a membrane-anchored tyrosine kinase (TK) and the Src family kinase (SFK) prototype. SFKs regulate the signalling induced by a wide range of cell surface receptors leading to epithelial cell growth and adhesion. In the intestine, the SFK members Src, Fyn and Yes regulate epithelial cell proliferation and migration during tissue regeneration and transformation, thus implicating conserved and specific functions. In patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), SFK activity is a marker of poor clinical prognosis and a potent driver of metastasis formation. These tumorigenic activities are linked to SFK capacity to promote the dissemination and tumour-initiating capacities of epithelial tumour cells. However, it is unclear how SFKs promote colon tumour formation and metastatic progression because SFK-encoding genes are unfrequently mutated in human cancer. Here, we review recent findings on SFK signalling during intestinal homeostasis, regeneration and tumorigenesis, and discuss about therapeutic strategies to efficiently target Src signalling in CRC
  • 1.7K
  • 03 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Myeloid Neoplasms
Myeloid neoplasms encompass a very heterogeneous family of diseases characterized by the failure of the molecular mechanisms that ensure a balanced equilibrium between hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) self-renewal and the proper production of differentiated cells. The origin of the driver mutations leading to preleukemia can be traced back to HSC/progenitor cells. Many properties typical to normal HSCs are exploited by leukemic stem cells (LSCs) to their advantage, leading to the emergence of a clonal population that can eventually progress to leukemia with variable latency and evolution. In fact, different subclones might in turn develop from the original malignant clone through accumulation of additional mutations, increasing their competitive fitness. This process ultimately leads to a complex cancer architecture where a mosaic of cellular clones—each carrying a unique set of mutations—coexists. The repertoire of genes whose mutations contribute to the progression toward leukemogenesis is broad. It encompasses genes involved in different cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation, epigenetics (DNA and histones modifications), DNA damage signaling and repair, chromosome segregation and replication (cohesin complex), RNA splicing, and signal transduction. Among these many players, transcription factors, RNA splicing proteins, and deubiquitinating enzymes are emerging as potential targets for therapeutic intervention. 
  • 1.7K
  • 23 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Role of Zinc in Breast Cancer Tumorigenesis
It is well-known that serum and cellular concentrations of zinc are altered in breast cancer patients. Specifically, there are notable zinc hyper-aggregates in breast tumor cells when compared to normal mammary epithelial cells.
  • 1.7K
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Vimentin at the Heart of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a reversible plethora of molecular events where epithelial cells gain the phenotype of mesenchymal cells to invade the surrounding tissues. EMT is a physiological event during embryogenesis (type I) but also happens during fibrosis (type II) and cancer metastasis (type III). It is a multifaceted phenomenon governed by the activation of genes associated with cell migration, extracellular matrix degradation, DNA repair, and angiogenesis. The cancer cells employ EMT to acquire the ability to migrate, resist therapeutic agents and escape immunity. One of the key biomarkers of EMT is vimentin, a type III intermediate filament that is normally expressed in mesenchymal cells but is upregulated during cancer metastasis. 
  • 1.7K
  • 22 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Electroporation based treatments in Urology
The observation that an application of a pulsed electric field (PEF) resulted in an increased permeability of the cell membrane has led to the discovery of the phenomenon called electroporation (EP). Depending on the parameters of the electric current and cell features, electroporation can be either reversible or irreversible. The irreversible electroporation (IRE) found its use in urology as a non-thermal ablative method of prostate and renal cancer. As its mechanism is based on the permeabilization of cell membrane phospholipids, IRE (as well as other treatments based on EP) provides selectivity sparing extracellular proteins and matrix. Reversible EP enables the transfer of genes, drugs, and small exogenous proteins. In clinical practice, reversible EP can locally increase the uptake of cytotoxic drugs such as cisplatin and bleomycin. This approach is known as electrochemotherapy (ECT). Few in vivo and in vitro trials of ECT have been performed on urological cancers. EP provides the possibility of transmission of genes across the cell membrane. As the protocols of gene electrotransfer (GET) over the last few years have improved, EP has become a well-known technique for non-viral cell transfection. GET involves DNA transfection directly to the cancer or the host skin and muscle tissue. Among urological cancers, the GET of several plasmids encoding prostate cancer antigens has been investigated in clinical trials.
  • 1.7K
  • 25 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Fisetin in Cancer
Fisetin is a flavonoid naturally occurring in various plants that possesses anticancer activity. It has the power to stop cancers from growing quickly, becoming invasive, and spreading to multiple tissues.
  • 1.7K
  • 10 May 2023
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