scholarly journals Alpha-Enolase: Emerging Tumor-Associated Antigen, Cancer Biomarker, and Oncotherapeutic Target

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frankis A. Almaguel ◽  
Tino W. Sanchez ◽  
Greisha L. Ortiz-Hernandez ◽  
Carlos A. Casiano

Alpha-enolase, also known as enolase-1 (ENO1), is a glycolytic enzyme that “moonlights” as a plasminogen receptor in the cell surface, particularly in tumors, contributing to cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis. ENO1 also promotes other oncogenic events, including protein-protein interactions that regulate glycolysis, activation of signaling pathways, and resistance to chemotherapy. ENO1 overexpression has been established in a broad range of human cancers and is often associated with poor prognosis. This increased expression is usually accompanied by the generation of anti-ENO1 autoantibodies in some cancer patients, making this protein a tumor associated antigen. These autoantibodies are common in patients with cancer associated retinopathy, where they exert pathogenic effects, and may be triggered by immunodominant peptides within the ENO1 sequence or by posttranslational modifications. ENO1 overexpression in multiple cancer types, localization in the tumor cell surface, and demonstrated targetability make this protein a promising cancer biomarker and therapeutic target. This mini-review summarizes our current knowledge of ENO1 functions in cancer and its growing potential as a cancer biomarker and guide for the development of novel anti-tumor treatments.

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan A. Mahlke ◽  
Yael Nechemia-Arbely

Faithful chromosome segregation is essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity and requires functional centromeres. Centromeres are epigenetically defined by the histone H3 variant, centromere protein A (CENP-A). Here we highlight current knowledge regarding CENP-A-containing chromatin structure, specification of centromere identity, regulation of CENP-A deposition and possible contribution to cancer formation and/or progression. CENP-A overexpression is common among many cancers and predicts poor prognosis. Overexpression of CENP-A increases rates of CENP-A deposition ectopically at sites of high histone turnover, occluding CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) binding. Ectopic CENP-A deposition leads to mitotic defects, centromere dysfunction and chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark of cancer. CENP-A overexpression is often accompanied by overexpression of its chaperone Holliday Junction Recognition Protein (HJURP), leading to epigenetic addiction in which increased levels of HJURP and CENP-A become necessary to support rapidly dividing p53 deficient cancer cells. Alterations in CENP-A posttranslational modifications are also linked to chromosome segregation errors and CIN. Collectively, CENP-A is pivotal to genomic stability through centromere maintenance, perturbation of which can lead to tumorigenesis.


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 4149-4154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junji Ito ◽  
Akihiko Kosugi ◽  
Tsutomu Tanaka ◽  
Kouichi Kuroda ◽  
Seiji Shibasaki ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We constructed a novel cell surface display system to control the ratio of target proteins on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell surface, using two pairs of protein-protein interactions. One protein pair is the Z domain of protein A derived from Staphylococcus aureus and the Fc domain of human immunoglobulin G. The other is the cohesin (Coh) and dockerin (Dock) from the cellulosome of Clostridium cellulovorans. In this proposed displaying system, the scaffolding proteins (fusion proteins of Z and Coh) were displayed on the cell surface by fusing with the 3′ half of α-agglutinin, and the target proteins fused with Fc or Dock were secreted. As a target protein, a recombinant Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase II (EGII) was secreted into the medium and immediately displayed on the yeast cell surface via the Z and Fc domains. Display of EGII on the cell surface was confirmed by hydrolysis of β-glucan as a substrate, and EGII activity was detected in the cell pellet fraction. Finally, two enzymes, EGII and Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase 1, were codisplayed on the cell surface via Z-Fc and Dock-Coh interactions, respectively. As a result, the yeast displaying two enzymes hydrolyzed β-glucan to glucose very well. These results strongly indicated that the proposed strategy, the simultaneous display of two enzymes on the yeast cell surface, was accomplished by quantitatively controlling the display system using affinity binding.


2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (13) ◽  
pp. 2509-2541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Onogi ◽  
Ahmed Elagamy Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil ◽  
Siegfried Ussar

Adipose tissue is a central regulator of metabolism and an important pharmacological target to treat the metabolic consequences of obesity, such as insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Among the various cellular compartments, the adipocyte cell surface is especially appealing as a drug target as it contains various proteins that when activated or inhibited promote adipocyte health, change its endocrine function and eventually maintain or restore whole-body insulin sensitivity. In addition, cell surface proteins are readily accessible by various drug classes. However, targeting individual cell surface proteins in adipocytes has been difficult due to important functions of these proteins outside adipose tissue, raising various safety concerns. Thus, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of adipose selective surface proteins and/or targeting reagents. Here, we discuss several receptor families with an important function in adipogenesis and mature adipocytes to highlight the complexity at the cell surface and illustrate the problems with identifying adipose selective proteins. We then discuss that, while no unique adipocyte surface protein might exist, how splicing, posttranslational modifications as well as protein/protein interactions can create enormous diversity at the cell surface that vastly expands the space of potentially unique epitopes and how these selective epitopes can be identified and targeted.


Author(s):  
K. Chien ◽  
I.P. Shintaku ◽  
A.F. Sassoon ◽  
R.L. Van de Velde ◽  
R. Heusser

Identification of cellular phenotype by cell surface antigens in conjunction with ultrastructural analysis of cellular morphology can be a useful tool in the study of biologic processes as well as in diagnostic histopathology. In this abstract, we describe a simple pre-embedding, protein A-gold staining method which is designed for cell suspensions combining the handling convenience of slide-mounted cell monolayers and the ability to evaluate specimen staining specificity prior to EM embedding.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanan Shi ◽  
Jingjing Zhu ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Xiaozhao Tang ◽  
Zushun Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Protein lysine malonylation, a novel post-translational modification (PTM), has been recently linked with energy metabolism in bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus is the third most important foodborne pathogen worldwide. Nonetheless, substrates and biological roles of malonylation are still poorly understood in this pathogen. Results Using anti-malonyl-lysine antibody enrichment and high-resolution LC-MS/MS analysis, 440 lysine-malonylated sites were identified in 281 proteins of S. aureus strain. The frequency of valine in position − 1 and alanine at + 2 and + 4 positions was high. KEGG pathway analysis showed that six categories were highly enriched, including ribosome, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), valine, leucine, isoleucine degradation, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis. In total, 31 malonylated sites in S. aureus shared homology with lysine-malonylated sites previously identified in E. coli, indicating malonylated proteins are highly conserved among bacteria. Key rate-limiting enzymes in central carbon metabolic pathways were also found to be malonylated in S. aureus, namely pyruvate kinase (PYK), 6-phosphofructokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, and F1F0-ATP synthase. Notably, malonylation sites were found at or near protein active sites, including KH domain protein, thioredoxin, alanine dehydrogenase (ALD), dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (LpdA), pyruvate oxidase CidC, and catabolite control protein A (CcpA), thus suggesting that lysine malonylation may affect the activity of such enzymes. Conclusions Data presented herein expand the current knowledge on lysine malonylation in prokaryotes and indicate the potential roles of protein malonylation in bacterial physiology and metabolism.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1082
Author(s):  
Huitao Liu ◽  
Honglin Luo

Oncolytic viruses have emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapy due to their dual ability to selectively infect and lyse tumor cells and to induce systemic anti-tumor immunity. Among various candidate viruses, coxsackievirus group B (CVBs) have attracted increasing attention in recent years. CVBs are a group of small, non-enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses, belonging to species human Enterovirus B in the genus Enterovirus of the family Picornaviridae. Preclinical studies have demonstrated potent anti-tumor activities for CVBs, particularly type 3, against multiple cancer types, including lung, breast, and colorectal cancer. Various approaches have been proposed or applied to enhance the safety and specificity of CVBs towards tumor cells and to further increase their anti-tumor efficacy. This review summarizes current knowledge and strategies for developing CVBs as oncolytic viruses for cancer virotherapy. The challenges arising from these studies and future prospects are also discussed in this review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7352
Author(s):  
Francesca Marini ◽  
Maria Luisa Brandi

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a rare autosomal dominant inherited multiple cancer syndrome of neuroendocrine tissues. Tumors are caused by an inherited germinal heterozygote inactivating mutation of the MEN1 tumor suppressor gene, followed by a somatic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the MEN1 gene in target neuroendocrine cells, mainly at parathyroids, pancreas islets, and anterior pituitary. Over 1,500 different germline and somatic mutations of the MEN1 gene have been identified, but the syndrome is completely missing a direct genotype-phenotype correlation, thus supporting the hypothesis that exogenous and endogenous factors, other than MEN1 specific mutation, are involved in MEN1 tumorigenesis and definition of individual clinical phenotype. Epigenetic factors, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), are strongly suspected to have a role in MEN1 tumor initiation and development. Recently, a direct autoregulatory network between miR-24, MEN1 mRNA, and menin was demonstrated in parathyroids and endocrine pancreas, showing a miR-24-induced silencing of menin expression that could have a key role in initiation of tumors in MEN1-target neuroendocrine cells. Here, we review the current knowledge on the post-transcriptional regulation of MEN1 and menin expression by miR-24, and its possible direct role in MEN1 syndrome, describing the possibility and the potential approaches to target and silence this miRNA, to permit the correct expression of the wild type menin, and thereby prevent the development of cancers in the target tissues.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1916
Author(s):  
Ziad Omran ◽  
Mahmood H. Dalhat ◽  
Omeima Abdullah ◽  
Mohammed Kaleem ◽  
Salman Hosawi ◽  
...  

The tumor suppressor p73 is a member of the p53 family and is expressed as different isoforms with opposing properties. The TAp73 isoforms act as tumor suppressors and have pro-apoptotic effects, whereas the ΔNp73 isoforms lack the N-terminus transactivation domain and behave as oncogenes. The TAp73 protein has a high degree of similarity with both p53 function and structure, and it induces the regulation of various genes involved in the cell cycle and apoptosis. Unlike those of the p53 gene, the mutations in the p73 gene are very rare in tumors. Cancer cells have developed several mechanisms to inhibit the activity and/or expression of p73, from the hypermethylation of its promoter to the modulation of the ratio between its pro- and anti-apoptotic isoforms. The p73 protein is also decorated by a panel of post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitin proteasomal pathway modifications, and small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)ylation, that regulate its transcriptional activity, subcellular localization, and stability. These modifications orchestrate the multiple anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic functions of TAp73, thereby offering multiple promising candidates for targeted anti-cancer therapies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the different pathways implicated in the regulation of TAp73 at the post-translational level. This review also highlights the growing importance of targeting the post-translational modifications of TAp73 as a promising antitumor strategy, regardless of p53 status.


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