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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
The Role Of The Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (Emt) In Lung Cancer Progression, David H. Peng
The Role Of The Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (Emt) In Lung Cancer Progression, David H. Peng
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths due to conventional therapy resistance and metastatic disease, therefore understanding the mechanisms governing these biological functions is vital for improving patient survival. Approximately 30% of patients with the adenocarcinoma histologic subset of lung cancer possess an activating KRAS mutation, characterized by a lack of response to chemotherapies with a poor overall 5-year survival rate. Despite the mutational frequency, KRAS remains a challenge to pharmacologically inhibit and current drugs undergoing clinical trials that target specific downstream effector proteins of KRAS, such as MEK inhibitors, have failed to produce significant clinical benefits. Previous …
Investigating The Role Of Prmt1 And Arginine Methylation Of Hsp70 In Human Pancreatic Cancer, Liang Wang
Investigating The Role Of Prmt1 And Arginine Methylation Of Hsp70 In Human Pancreatic Cancer, Liang Wang
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is the major arginine methyltransferase, which catalyzes the addition of one or two methyl groups to the arginine residues of its substrate proteins. The best-known substrate for PRMT1 is histone, while more and more non-histone proteins are now found to be methylated by PRMT1. Dysregulation of PRMT1 is reported in several human cancer types. However, its biological roles in human pancreatic cancer initiation and development are still unclear. In the first part of this study, I found that the expression level of PRMT1 was elevated in both human and mouse pancreatic cancer tissues in immunohistochemistry …
Targeting Autophagy To Improve Efficacy Of Cdk4/6 Inhibition In Breast Cancer, Smruthi Vijayaraghavan
Targeting Autophagy To Improve Efficacy Of Cdk4/6 Inhibition In Breast Cancer, Smruthi Vijayaraghavan
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Deregulation of the cell cycle machinery is a hallmark of cancer, leading to aberrant proliferation and tumorigenesis. The crucial role of the CDK4/6-Cyclin D pathway has led to the development and FDA approval (palbociclib, ribociclib) of CDK4/6 inhibitors for the treatment of advanced estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. However, three major clinical challenges remain: i) adverse events leading to discontinuation of therapy and ii) lack of reliable biomarkers to identify responsive patients and iii) acquired resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Previous in vitro studies have shown that palbociclib mediated CDK4/6 inhibition induces G1 arrest and senescence in ER+ breast cancer cells, …
Targeting Apoptotic Pathways To Overcome Drug Resistance In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Rongqing Pan
Targeting Apoptotic Pathways To Overcome Drug Resistance In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Rongqing Pan
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Evasion of apoptosis is integral to tumorigenesis and drug resistance. BCL-2 and p53 proteins represent two focal nodes in convergent apoptosis signaling. Upregulation of anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family members and inactivation of p53 functions are two canonical approaches exploited by cancer cells to escape apoptosis. In the current study, we find that BCL-2 protein is highly expressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. BCL-2–specific inhibitor ABT-199 potently induces mitochondrial apoptosis in AML cells and effectively kills AML stem/progenitor cells. Our biomarker studies demonstrate that both BH3 profiling and the expression profiling of BCL-2 proteins may serve as predictive biomarkers for the …