scholarly journals Interplay of distinct growth factors during epithelial–mesenchymal transition of cancer progenitor cells and molecular targeting as novel cancer therapies

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1605-1619 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mimeault ◽  
S.K. Batra
Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1586
Author(s):  
Salinee Jantrapirom ◽  
Luca Lo Piccolo ◽  
Dumnoensun Pruksakorn ◽  
Saranyapin Potikanond ◽  
Wutigri Nimlamool

Ubiquilins or UBQLNs, members of the ubiquitin-like and ubiquitin-associated domain (UBL-UBA) protein family, serve as adaptors to coordinate the degradation of specific substrates via both proteasome and autophagy pathways. The UBQLN substrates reveal great diversity and impact a wide range of cellular functions. For decades, researchers have been attempting to uncover a puzzle and understand the role of UBQLNs in human cancers, particularly in the modulation of oncogene’s stability and nucleotide excision repair. In this review, we summarize the UBQLNs’ genetic variants that are associated with the most common cancers and also discuss their reliability as a prognostic marker. Moreover, we provide an overview of the UBQLNs networks that are relevant to cancers in different ways, including cell cycle, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA repairs and miRNAs. Finally, we include a future prospective on novel ubiquilin-based cancer therapies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Hodorogea ◽  
Andreea Calinescu ◽  
Mihaela Antohe ◽  
Mihaela Balaban ◽  
Roxana Ioana Nedelcu ◽  
...  

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in physiologic processes such as embryogenesis and wound healing. A similar mechanism occurs in some tumors where cells leave the epithelial layer and gain mesenchymal particularities in order to easily migrate to other tissues. This process can explain the invasiveness and aggressiveness of these tumors which metastasize, by losing the epithelial phenotype (loss of E-cadherin, desmoplakin, and laminin-1) and acquiring mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin). Complex changes and interactions happen between the tumor cells and the microenvironment involving different pathways, transcription factors, altered expression of adhesion molecules, reorganization of cytoskeletal proteins, production of ECM-degrading enzymes, and changes in specific microRNAs. The purpose of this review is to determine particularities of the EMT process in the most common malignant cutaneous tumors (squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma) which still have an increasingly high incidence. More studies are required on this topic in order to establish clear correlations. High costs related to skin cancer therapies in general as well as high impact on patients’ quality of life demand finding new, reliable prognostic and therapeutic markers with significant public health impact.


2011 ◽  
Vol 193 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Akmarina B.M. Said ◽  
Elizabeth D. Williams

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cord Naujokat ◽  
Roman Steinhart

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subpopulation of tumor cells that possess self-renewal and tumor initiation capacity and the ability to give rise to the heterogenous lineages of malignant cells that comprise a tumor. CSCs possess multiple intrinsic mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, novel tumor-targeted drugs, and radiation therapy, allowing them to survive standard cancer therapies and to initiate tumor recurrence and metastasis. Various molecular complexes and pathways that confer resistance and survival of CSCs, including expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters, activation of the Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog, Notch and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways, and acquisition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), have been identified recently. Salinomycin, a polyether ionophore antibiotic isolated fromStreptomyces albus, has been shown to kill CSCs in different types of human cancers, most likely by interfering with ABC drug transporters, the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and other CSC pathways. Promising results from preclinical trials in human xenograft mice and a few clinical pilote studies reveal that salinomycin is able to effectively eliminate CSCs and to induce partial clinical regression of heavily pretreated and therapy-resistant cancers. The ability of salinomycin to kill both CSCs and therapy-resistant cancer cells may define the compound as a novel and an effective anticancer drug.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
A. Lange-Consiglio ◽  
G. Accogli ◽  
F. Cremonesi ◽  
S. Desantis

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process by which epithelial cells dramatically alter their shape and motile behaviour as they differentiate into mesenchymal cells. The EMT and the reverse process, termed mesenchymal–epithelial transition, play central roles in embryogenesis. Gastrulation and neural crest formation are processes governed by EMT in amniotes. It is noteworthy that in placental mammals, the epithelial layer of amnion originates from the trophectoderm and it is continuous with the epiblast. On this basis, it is reasonable to speculate that some amniotic epithelial cells may escape the specification that accompanies gastrulation, and may retain some of the characteristics of epiblastic cells, such as pluripotency, behaving as stem cells that are able to preserve intrinsically the ability to transdifferentiate. Because it seems that malignant cells use the same mechanisms during the formation of tumours in vivo, the amniotic epithelial cells (AEC) could represent a good model to study in vitro this phenomenon that we observed to occur spontaneously in our culture conditions. The aim of this study was to characterise the glycoprotein pattern expressed in fresh or cryopreserved equine AEC, mesenchymal (AMC), and transdifferentiated cells by means of lectin histochemistry. AEC and AMC were cultured until passage (P) 3, while transdifferentiated cells at P1(EMT1) and P2 (EMT2). All cell lines were frozen for 1 month at –196°C in liquid nitrogen. The glycoanalysis was performed with a panel of twelve lectins to detect the glycans terminating with sialic acids (MAL II, SNA, PNA after sialidase digestion (K-s), K-s-DBA), galactose (PNA, RCA120, GSA I-B4,), N-acetylgalactosamine (DBA, HPA, SBA), N-acetylglucosamine (GSA II), fucose (UEA I, LTA), or with internal mannose (Con A). After freezing: 1) AEC exhibited decrease of binding sites for DBA, SBA, HPA, GSA II, and disappearance of GSA I-B4 and UEA I binders; 2) AMC displayed increase of SBA reactivity, decrease of K-s-PNA, HPA, GSA II staining, and absence of GSA I-B4 affinity; 3) EMT1 cells showed the appearance of K-s-DBA staining, the increase of K-s-PNA, RCA120, SBA, GSA I-B4, and UEA I reactivity, the decrease of MAL II, SNA, HPA, GSA II binders, and the disappearance of DBA and LTA binding sites; 4) EMT2 cells revealed the increase of K-s-PNA, GSA I-B4, UEA I affinity, the decrease of MAL II, SNA, RCA120, HPA, GSA II binders, and the lack of DBA, SBA, and LTA reactivity. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the EMT induces changes in cell surface glycan profile of equine amniotic progenitor cells, and for the first time revealed that freezing modifies the lectin binding pattern of these cells. The observed glycan pattern modification may represent one aspect of the spontaneous complex process of EMT.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Gui ◽  
Yujing Sun ◽  
Aiko Shimokado ◽  
Yasuteru Muragaki

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway allows cells to interpret external signals and respond appropriately, especially during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is an important process during embryonic development, fibrosis, and tumor progression in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal, fibroblast-like properties and show reduced intercellular adhesion and increased motility. TGF-β signaling is the first pathway to be described as an inducer of EMT, and its relationship with the Smad family is already well characterized. Studies of four members of the MAPK family in different biological systems have shown that the MAPK and TGF-β signaling pathways interact with each other and have a synergistic effect on the secretion of additional growth factors and cytokines that in turn promote EMT. In this paper, we present background on the regulation and function of MAPKs and their cascades, highlight the mechanisms of MAPK crosstalk with TGF-β signaling, and discuss the roles of MAPKs in EMT.


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