Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Dlc1Β In Attenuating Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury During Heart Transplantation, Samantha L. Collings

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) occurs intra-operatively during heart transplantation (HTx), underpinning graft survival. Past research implicated the PI3K/Akt1 & RhoA/ROCK pathways in IRI. Rho-GTPase activity/Akt regulates Deleted-in-liver-cancer 1 protein’s beta-isoform (DLC1β). Therefore, we hypothesized that DLC1β overexpression (OE) had anti-apoptotic effects. In vitro, HL-1 cells (mouse cardiomyocytes) received chamber hypoxia-oxygenation reperfusion (H/R) for 24H4R with/without DLC1β plasmid, before collection for protein/mRNA analyses. DLC1β-OE resulted in downregulated pro-apoptotic mRNA expression (Bax/Cycs/Casp3), upregulated protective mRNA targets (BCl2/Akt1) and less late/early apoptosis via flow cytometry. Results were confirmed via H9C2 (rat cardiomyocyte) cell lines. In vivo, C57/BL6 mice received heterotopic HTx with/without DLC1β-OE …

Reduced Er-Mitochondria Connectivity Promotes Neuroblastoma Multidrug Resistance., Jorida Çoku, David M. Booth, Jan Skoda, Madison C Pedrotty, Jennifer Vogel, Kangning Liu, Annette Vu, Erica L Carpenter, Jamie C Ye, Michelle A Chen, Peter Dunbar, Elizabeth Scadden, Taekyung D Yun, Eiko Nakamaru-Ogiso, Estela Area-Gomez, Yimei Li, Kelly C Goldsmith, C Patrick Reynolds, György Hajnóczky, Michael D Hogarty

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Most cancer deaths result from progression of therapy resistant disease, yet our understanding of this phenotype is limited. Cancer therapies generate stress signals that act upon mitochondria to initiate apoptosis. Mitochondria isolated from neuroblastoma cells were exposed to tBid or Bim, death effectors activated by therapeutic stress. Multidrug-resistant tumor cells obtained from children at relapse had markedly attenuated Bak and Bax oligomerization and cytochrome c release (surrogates for apoptotic commitment) in comparison with patient-matched tumor cells obtained at diagnosis. Electron microscopy identified reduced ER-mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs; ER-mitochondria contacts, ERMCs) in therapy-resistant cells, and genetically or biochemically reducing MAMs in therapy-sensitive …

Manf Is Neuroprotective Against Ethanol-Induced Neurodegeneration Through Ameliorating Er Stress, Yongchao Wang, Wen Wen, Hui Li, Marco Clementino, Hong Xu, Mei Xu, Murong Ma, Jacqueline A. Frank, Jia Luo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a spectrum of developmental disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Neuronal loss or neurodegeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) is one of the most devastating features in FASD. It is imperative to delineate the underlying mechanisms to facilitate the treatment of FASD. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a hallmark and an underlying mechanism of many neurodegenerative diseases, including ethanol-induced neurodegeneration. Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) responds to ER stress and has been identified as a protein upregulated in response to ethanol exposure during the brain development. To investigate the role of MANF in …

Non-Hodgkin And Hodgkin Lymphomas Select For Overexpression Of Bclw., Clare M. Adams, Ramkrishna Mitra, Jerald Z. Gong, Md, Christine M. Eischen

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Purpose: B-cell lymphomas must acquire resistance to apoptosis during their development. We recently discovered BCLW, an antiapoptotic BCL2 family member thought only to contribute to spermatogenesis, was overexpressed in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma. To gain insight into the contribution of BCLW to B-cell lymphomas and its potential to confer resistance to BCL2 inhibitors, we investigated the expression of BCLW and the other antiapoptotic BCL2 family members in six different B-cell lymphomas. Experimental Design: We performed a large-scale gene expression analysis of datasets comprising approximately 2,300 lymphoma patient samples, including non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphomas as well as …

Yap And The Hippo Pathway In Pediatric Cancer., Atif Ahmed, Abdalla D. Mohamed, Melissa Gener, Weijie Li, Eugenio Taboada

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

The Hippo pathway is an important signaling pathway that controls cell proliferation and apoptosis. It is evolutionarily conserved in mammals and is stimulated by cell-cell contact, inhibiting cell proliferation in response to increased cell density. During early embryonic development, the Hippo signaling pathway regulates organ development and size, and its functions result in the coordinated balance between proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. Its principal effectors, YAP and TAZ, regulate signaling by the embryonic stem cells and determine cell fate and histogenesis. Dysfunction of this pathway contributes to cancer development in adults and children. Emerging studies have shed light on the upregulation …

Binge Ethanol Exposure Causes Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Oxidative Stress And Tissue Injury In The Pancreas, Zhenhua Ren, Xin Wang, Mei Xu, Fanmuyi Yang, Jacqueline A. Frank, Zun-Ji Ke, Jia Luo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Alcohol abuse is associated with both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Repeated episodes of acute pancreatitis or pancreatic injury may result in chronic pancreatitis. We investigated ethanol-induced pancreatic injury using a mouse model of binge ethanol exposure. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to ethanol intragastrically (5 g/kg, 25% ethanol w/v) daily for 10 days. Binge ethanol exposure caused pathological changes in pancreas demonstrated by tissue edema, acinar atrophy and moderate fibrosis. Ethanol caused both apoptotic and necrotic cell death which was demonstrated by the increase in active caspase-3, caspase-8, cleaved PARP, cleaved CK-18 and the secretion of high mobility group protein …

Functional Proteomic Analysis Reveals The Involvement Of Kiaa1199 In Breast Cancer Growth, Motility And Invasiveness., Mohammad-Saeid Jami, Jinxuan Hou, Miao Liu, M L. Varney, Hesham Hassan, Jixin Dong, Liying Geng, J. Wang, Fang Yu, Xin Huang, Hong Peng, Kai Fu, Yan Li, Rakesh Singh, Shi-Jian Ding

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

BACKGROUND: KIAA1199 is a recently identified novel gene that is up-regulated in human cancer with poor survival. Our proteomic study on signaling polarity in chemotactic cells revealed KIAA1199 as a novel protein target that may be involved in cellular chemotaxis and motility. In the present study, we examined the functional significance of KIAA1199 expression in breast cancer growth, motility and invasiveness.

METHODS: We validated the previous microarray observation by tissue microarray immunohistochemistry using a TMA slide containing 12 breast tumor tissue cores and 12 corresponding normal tissues. We performed the shRNA-mediated knockdown of KIAA1199 in MDA-MB-231 and HS578T cells to …

Proline-Rich Tyrosine Kinase 2 (Pyk2) Regulates Igf-I-Induced Cell Motility And Invasion Of Urothelial Carcinoma Cells, Marco Genua, Shi-Qiong Xu, Simone Buraschi, Stephen C. Peiper, Leonard G. Gomella, Antonio Belfiore, Renato V. Iozzo, Andrea Morrione

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The insulin-like growth factor receptor I (IGF-IR) plays an essential role in transformation by promoting cell growth and protecting cancer cells from apoptosis. We have recently demonstrated that the IGF-IR is overexpressed in invasive bladder cancer tissues and promotes motility and invasion of urothelial carcinoma cells. These effects require IGF-I-induced Akt- and MAPK-dependent activation of paxillin. The latter co-localizes with focal adhesion kinases (FAK) at dynamic focal adhesions and is critical for promoting motility of urothelial cancer cells. FAK and its homolog Proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) modulate paxillin activation; however, their role in regulating IGF-IR-dependent signaling and motility in …

Decorin-Mediated Inhibition Of Colorectal Cancer Growth And Migration Is Associated With E-Cadherin In Vitro And In Mice., Xiuli Bi, Nicole M Pohl, Zhibin Qian, George R Yang, Yuan Gou, Grace Guzman, Andre Kajdacsy-Balla, Renato V Iozzo, Wancai Yang

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Previous studies have shown that decorin expression is significantly reduced in colorectal cancer tissues and cancer cells, and genetic deletion of the decorin gene is sufficient to cause intestinal tumor formation in mice, resulting from a downregulation of p21, p27(kip1) and E-cadherin and an upregulation of β-catenin signaling [Bi,X. et al. (2008) Genetic deficiency of decorin causes intestinal tumor formation through disruption of intestinal cell maturation. Carcinogenesis, 29, 1435-1440]. However, the regulation of E-cadherin by decorin and its implication in cancer formation and metastasis is largely unknown. Using a decorin knockout mouse model (Dcn(-/-) mice) and manipulated expression of decorin …

Inhibition Of Phosphorylated C-Met In Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Lines By A Small Molecule Inhibitor Su11274., Jinxuan Hou, Jixin Dong, Lijun Sun, Liying Geng, J. Wang, Jialin C. Zheng, Yan Li, Julia A. Bridge, Steven H. Hinrichs, Shi-Jian Ding

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

BACKGROUND: c-Met is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that is over-expressed in a variety of cancers and involved in cell growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of c-Met in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) using its small molecule inhibitor SU11274, which has been hypothesized to be a potential therapeutic target for RMS.

METHODS: The expression level of phosphorylated c-Met in RMS cell lines (RD, CW9019 and RH30) and tumor tissues was assessed by phospho-RTK array and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The inhibition effects of SU11274 on RMS cells were studied with regard to intracellular signaling, cell proliferation, cell cycle …

Hibernation-Like State Induced By An Opioid Peptide Protects Against Experimental Stroke, Cesar V. Borlongan, Teruo Hayashi, Peter R. Oeltgen, Tsung-Ping Su, Yun Wang

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Delta opioid peptide [D-ala2,D-leU5]enkephalin (DADLE) induces hibernation in summer ground squirrels, and enhances preservation and survival of isolated or transplanted lungs and hearts. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of DADLE in the central nervous system.

RESULTS: Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with DADLE (4 mg/kg every 2 h x 4 injections, i.p.) or saline prior to unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Daily behavioral tests revealed that ischemic animals treated with DADLE did not show any significant behavioral dysfunctions compared with saline-treated ischemic animals. Opioid antagonists only transiently inhibited the protective effect of …