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Aberrant Differentiation (aberrant + differentiation)
Selected AbstractsHypoxia-inducible factor-1, blocks differentiation of malignant gliomasFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 24 2009Huimin Lu Aberrant differentiation is a characteristic feature of neoplastic transformation, while hypoxia in solid tumors is believed to be linked to aggressive behavior and poor prognosis. However, the possible relationship between hypoxia and differentiation in malignancies remains poorly defined. Here we show that rat C6 and primary human malignant glioma cells can be induced to differentiate into astrocytes by the well-known adenylate cyclase activator forskolin. However, hypoxia-inducible factor-1, expression stimulated by the hypoxia mimetics cobalt chloride or deferoxamine blocks this differentiation and this effectiveness is reversible upon withdrawal of the hypoxia mimetics. Importantly, knockdown of hypoxia inducible factor-1, by RNA interference restores the differentiation capabilities of the cells, even in the presence of cobalt chloride, whereas stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1, through retarded ubiquitination by von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene silence abrogates the induced differentiation. Moreover, targeting of HIF-1 using chetomin, a disrupter of HIF-1 binding to its transcriptional co-activator CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300, abolishes the differentiation-inhibitory effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1,. Administration of chetomin in combination with forskolin significantly suppresses malignant glioma growth in an in vivo xenograft model. Analysis of 95 human glioma tissues revealed an increase of hypoxia-inducible factor-1, protein expression with progressing tumor grade. Taken together, these findings suggest a key signal transduction pathway involving hypoxia-inducible factor-1, that contributes to a differentiation defect in malignant gliomas and sheds new light on the differentiation therapy of solid tumors by targeting hypoxia-inducible factor-1,. Structured digital abstract ,,MINT-7292117: CBP (uniprotkb:Q6JHU9) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Hif1a (uniprotkb:O35800) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006) [source] Integrative genomic analyses of neurofibromatosis tumours identify SOX9 as a biomarker and survival geneEMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 4 2009Shyra J. Miller Abstract Understanding the biological pathways critical for common neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) peripheral nerve tumours is essential, as there is a lack of tumour biomarkers, prognostic factors and therapeutics. We used gene expression profiling to define transcriptional changes between primary normal Schwann cells (n,=,10), NF1-derived primary benign neurofibroma Schwann cells (NFSCs) (n,=,22), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) cell lines (n,=,13), benign neurofibromas (NF) (n,=,26) and MPNST (n,=,6). Dermal and plexiform NFs were indistinguishable. A prominent theme in the analysis was aberrant differentiation. NFs repressed gene programs normally active in Schwann cell precursors and immature Schwann cells. MPNST signatures strongly differed; genes up-regulated in sarcomas were significantly enriched for genes activated in neural crest cells. We validated the differential expression of 82 genes including the neural crest transcription factor SOX9 and SOX9 predicted targets. SOX9 immunoreactivity was robust in NF and MPSNT tissue sections and targeting SOX9 , strongly expressed in NF1-related tumours , caused MPNST cell death. SOX9 is a biomarker of NF and MPNST, and possibly a therapeutic target in NF1. [source] Epigenetic "bivalently marked" process of cancer stem cell-driven tumorigenesisBIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2007Curt Balch Silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), by DNA methylation, is well known in adult cancers. However, based on the "stem cell" theory of tumorigenesis, the early epigenetic events arising in malignant precursors remain unknown. A recent report1 demonstrates that, while pluripotent embryonic stem cells lack DNA methylation and possess a "bivalent" pattern of activating and repressive histone marks in numerous TSGs, analogous multipotent malignant cells derived from germ cell tumors (embryonic carcinoma cells) gain additional silencing modifications to those same genes. These results suggest a possible mechanism by which aberrant differentiation, mediated by histone and DNA methylation, instigates tumor progression. BioEssays 29:842,845, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in cutaneous biologyBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2003S. Kuenzli Summary Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate the expression of target genes involved in many cellular functions including cell proliferation, differentiation and immune/inflammation response. The PPAR subfamily consists of three isotypes: PPAR,, PPAR,/, and PPAR,, which have all been identified in keratinocytes. PPAR,/, is the predominant subtype in human keratinocytes, whereas PPAR, and PPAR, are expressed at much lower levels and increase significantly upon keratinocyte differentiation. PPAR,/, is not linked to differentiation, but is significantly upregulated upon various conditions that result in keratinocyte proliferation, and during skin wound healing. In vitro and in vivo evidence suggests that PPARs appear to play an important role in skin barrier permeability, inhibiting epidermal cell growth, promoting epidermal terminal differentiation and regulating skin inflammatory response by diverse mechanisms. These proprieties are pointing in the direction of PPARs being key regulators of skin conditions characterized by hyperproliferation, inflammatory infiltrates and aberrant differentiation such as psoriasis, but may also have clinical implications in inflammatory skin disease (e.g. atopic dermatitis), proliferative skin disease, wound healing, acne and protease inhibitor associated lipodystrophia. [source] | ||||||||||