Articles

Apoptotic mimicry as a strategy for the establishment of parasitic infections: parasite- and host-derived phosphatidylserine as key molecule

The establishment of parasitic infection is dependent on the development of efficient strategies to evade the host defense mechanisms. Phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules are pivotal for apoptotic cell recogniti...

Authors: João Luiz Mendes Wanderley, Renato Augusto DaMatta and Marcello André Barcinski

Activation of cannabinoid receptor type 2-induced osteogenic differentiation involves autophagy induction and p62-mediated Nrf2 deactivation

Dysfunction in survival and differentiation of osteoblasts commonly occurs in patients with osteoporosis. Cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CNR2) is a major receptor of endocannabinoid system that is crucial for bo...

Authors: Aihua Xu, Yang Yang, Yang Shao, Meng Wu and Yongxin Sun

Targeting the orphan nuclear receptor NR2F6 in T cells primes tumors for immune checkpoint therapy

NR2F6 has been proposed as an alternative cancer immune checkpoint in the effector T cell compartment. However, a realistic assessment of the in vivo therapeutic potential of NR2F6 requires acute depletion.

Authors: Victoria Klepsch, Maria Pommermayr, Dominik Humer, Natascha Brigo, Natascha Hermann-Kleiter and Gottfried Baier

FOXE1 represses cell proliferation and Warburg effect by inhibiting HK2 in colorectal cancer

Low expression of FOXE1, a member of Forkhead box (FOX) transcription factor family that plays vital roles in cancers, contributes to poor prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. However, the underlying...

Authors: Weixing Dai, Xianke Meng, Shaobo Mo, Wenqiang Xiang, Ye Xu, Long Zhang, Renjie Wang, Qingguo Li and Guoxiang Cai

SapC-DOPS – a Phosphatidylserine-targeted Nanovesicle for selective Cancer therapy

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is normally located in the inner leaflet of the membrane bilayer of healthy cells, however it is expressed at high levels on the surface of cancer cells. This has allowed for the develo...

Authors: Kombo F. N’Guessan, Priyankaben H. Patel and Xiaoyang Qi

Correction to: The balance of Bmp6 and Wnt10b regulates the telogen-anagen transition of hair follicles

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that they would like to correct the second last sentence of “Authors’ information” section as PW is an undergraduate, but was incorrectly...

Authors: Pan Wu, Yiming Zhang, Yizhan Xing, Wei Xu, Haiying Guo, Fang Deng, Xiaogen Ma and Yuhong Li

Ras isoforms: signaling specificities in CD40 pathway

Ras are small cellular GTPases which regulate diverse cellular processes. It has three isoforms: H-Ras, K-Ras, and N-Ras. Owing to the N-terminus (1–165 residues) sequence homology these isoforms were thought ...

Authors: Arathi Nair, Sushmita Chakraborty, Late Anirban Banerji, Ankita Srivastava, Charudutta Navare and Bhaskar Saha

Comprehensive profiling identifies a novel signature with robust predictive value and reveals the potential drug resistance mechanism in glioma

Gliomas are the most common and malignant brain tumors. The standard therapy is surgery combined with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and/or other comprehensive methods. However, the emergence of chemoresistance i...

Authors: Fan Zeng, Kuanyu Wang, Xiu Liu and Zheng Zhao

RNA sequencing reveals an additional Crz1-binding motif in promoters of its target genes in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans

The calcium/calcineurin signaling pathway is mediated by the transcription factors NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells) in mammals and Crz1 (calcineurin-responsive zinc finger 1) in yeasts and other lowe...

Authors: Huihui Xu, Tianshu Fang, Raha Parvizi Omran, Malcolm Whiteway and Linghuo Jiang

Deletion of low-density lipoprotein-related receptor 5 inhibits liver Cancer cell proliferation via destabilizing Nucleoporin 37

LRP5/6 are co-receptors in Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Recently, we discovered multiple β-catenin independent functions of LRP5/6 in tumor cells and in the diseased heart. Nucleoporin 37 (NUP37) is an important com...

Authors: Jinxiao Chen, Da Wo, En Ma, Hongwei Yan, Jun Peng, Weidong Zhu, Yong Fang and Dan-ni Ren

The let-7 family of microRNAs suppresses immune evasion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by promoting PD-L1 degradation

Accumulation of immunosuppressive protein programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been documented in several cancers and contributes to the evasion of the host immune system. However, cancer cell-intrinsic signa...

Authors: Dan Yu, Xueshibojie Liu, Guanghong Han, Yan Liu, Xue Zhao, Di Wang, Xiaomin Bian, Tingting Gu and Lianji Wen

Hedgehog/GLI signaling in tumor immunity - new therapeutic opportunities and clinical implications

Uncontrolled activation of the Hedgehog/Glioma-associated oncogene (HH/GLI) pathway is a potent oncogenic driver signal promoting numerous cancer hallmarks such as proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, metast...

Authors: Sandra Grund-Gröschke, Georg Stockmaier and Fritz Aberger

Cholesterol restricts lymphotoxin β receptor-triggered NF-κB signaling

Lymphotoxin β receptor (LTβR) plays important roles in the development of the immune system and immune response. At the cellular level, ligand-bound LTβR activates the pro-inflammatory NF-κB pathway but the de...

Authors: Magdalena Banach-Orłowska, Renata Wyszyńska, Beata Pyrzyńska, Małgorzata Maksymowicz, Jakub Gołąb and Marta Miączyńska

Comparative phosphorylation map of Dishevelled 3 links phospho-signatures to biological outputs

Dishevelled (DVL) is an essential component of the Wnt signaling cascades. Function of DVL is controlled by phosphorylation but the molecular details are missing. DVL3 contains 131 serines and threonines whose...

Authors: Kateřina Hanáková, Ondřej Bernatík, Marek Kravec, Miroslav Micka, Jitender Kumar, Jakub Harnoš, Petra Ovesná, Petra Paclíková, Matěj Rádsetoulal, David Potěšil, Konstantinos Tripsianes, Lukáš Čajánek, Zbyněk Zdráhal and Vítězslav Bryja

Carbonic anhydrase 2 (CAII) supports tumor blood endothelial cell survival under lactic acidosis in the tumor microenvironment

Tumor endothelial cells (TECs) perform tumor angiogenesis, which is essential for tumor growth and metastasis. Tumor cells produce large amounts of lactic acid from glycolysis; however, the mechanism underlyin...

Authors: Dorcas A. Annan, Nako Maishi, Tomoyoshi Soga, Randa Dawood, Cong Li, Hiroshi Kikuchi, Takayuki Hojo, Masahiro Morimoto, Tetsuya Kitamura, Mohammad Towfik Alam, Kazuyuki Minowa, Nobuo Shinohara, Jin-Min Nam, Yasuhiro Hida and Kyoko Hida

NQO1 potentiates apoptosis evasion and upregulates XIAP via inhibiting proteasome-mediated degradation SIRT6 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Our previous study has demonstrated that NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is significantly upregulated in human liver cancer where it potentiates the apoptosis evasion of liver cancer cell. However, th...

Authors: Hong-Zhong Zhou, Han-Qing Zeng, Ding Yuan, Ji-Hua Ren, Sheng-Tao Cheng, Hai-Bo Yu, Fang Ren, Qing Wang, Yi-Ping Qin, Ai-Long Huang and Juan Chen

Ubiquitin-specific protease 22 is critical to in vivo angiogenesis, growth and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer

Loss of monoubiquitination of histone H2B (H2Bub1) was found to be associated with poor differentiation, cancer stemness, and enhanced malignancy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, we investigated ...

Authors: Keqiang Zhang, Lu Yang, Jinhui Wang, Ting Sun, Yuming Guo, Rebecca Nelson, Tommy R. Tong, Rajendra Pangeni, Ravi Salgia and Dan J. Raz

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression and function is required for early chondrogenesis

In vitro chondrogenesis depends on the concerted action of numerous signalling pathways, many of which are sensitive to the changes of intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate recep...

Authors: Csaba Matta, Tamás Juhász, János Fodor, Tibor Hajdú, Éva Katona, Csilla Szűcs-Somogyi, Roland Takács, Judit Vágó, Tamás Oláh, Ádám Bartók, Zoltan Varga, Gyorgy Panyi, László Csernoch and Róza Zákány

Bystander effects of ionizing radiation: conditioned media from X-ray irradiated MCF-7 cells increases the angiogenic ability of endothelial cells

Non-targeting effects of radiotherapy have become as clinical concern due to secondary tumorigenesis in the patients receiving radiotherapy. Radiotherapy also affects non-tumoral cells present in the tumor mic...

Authors: Nasrollah Jabbari, Muhammad Nawaz and Jafar Rezaie

Expression of E-cadherin and specific CXCR3 isoforms impact each other in prostate cancer

Carcinoma cells shift between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes during cancer progression, as defined by surface presentation of the cell-cell cohesion molecule E-cadherin, affecting dissemination, progres...

Authors: Bo Ma, Ahmad Khazali, Hanshuang Shao, Yuhan Jiang and Alan Wells

1,25-(OH)₂D₃/Vitamin D receptor alleviates systemic lupus erythematosus by downregulating Skp2 and upregulating p27

Recent evidence has suggested that the 1,25(OH)₂D₃/Vitamin D receptor (VDR) acts to suppress the immune response associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a serious multisystem autoimmune disease. Hence...

Authors: Dan Liu, Yu-Xuan Fang, Xia Wu, Wei Tan, Wei Zhou, Yu Zhang, Yan-Qing Liu and Guo-Qing Li

TRIM30 modulates Interleukin-22-regulated papillary thyroid Cancer cell migration and invasion by targeting Sox17 for K48-linked Polyubiquitination

Interleukin-22 (IL-22) belongs to the IL-10 cytokine family and is mainly produced by activated Th1 cells. Although IL-22 expression is reported to be elevated in many cancers, and increased IL-22 expression c...

Authors: Wei Li, Fen Li, Weiwei Lei and Zezhang Tao

Chaperone activity of serine protease HtrA of Helicobacter pylori as a crucial survival factor under stress conditions

Serine protease HtrA exhibits both proteolytic and chaperone activities, which are involved in cellular protein quality control. Moreover, HtrA is an important virulence factor in many pathogens including Helicob...

Authors: Urszula Zarzecka, Aileen Harrer, Anna Zawilak-Pawlik, Joanna Skorko-Glonek and Steffen Backert

Dimerization of MORC2 through its C-terminal coiled-coil domain enhances chromatin dynamics and promotes DNA repair

Decondesation of the highly compacted chromatin architecture is essential for efficient DNA repair, but how this is achieved remains largely unknown. Here, we report that microrchidia family CW-type zinc finge...

Authors: Hong-Yan Xie, Tai-Mei Zhang, Shu-Yuan Hu, Zhi-Ming Shao and Da-Qiang Li

Karyopherin α2-dependent import of E2F1 and TFDP1 maintains protumorigenic stathmin expression in liver cancer

Members of the karyopherin superfamily serve as nuclear transport receptors/adaptor proteins and provide exchange of macromolecules between the nucleo- and cytoplasm. Emerging evidence suggests a subset of kar...

Authors: Elisabeth Drucker, Kerstin Holzer, Stefan Pusch, Juliane Winkler, Diego F. Calvisi, Eva Eiteneuer, Esther Herpel, Benjamin Goeppert, Stephanie Roessler, Alessandro Ori, Peter Schirmacher, Kai Breuhahn and Stephan Singer

Correction to: MicroRNA-9 regulates survival of chondroblasts and cartilage integrity by targeting protogenin

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that Figs. 3 and 6 are incorrect.

Authors: Jinsoo Song, Dongkyun Kim, Churl-Hong Chun and Eun-Jung Jin

The role of hedgehog signaling in gastric cancer: molecular mechanisms, clinical potential, and perspective

Patients with advanced gastric cancer usually have a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Overcoming this challenge requires novel targets and effective drugs. The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway pl...

Authors: Yan Xu, Shumei Song, Zhenning Wang and Jaffer A. Ajani

TAM receptors, Phosphatidylserine, inflammation, and Cancer

The numerous and diverse biological roles of Phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) are featured in this special issue. This review will focus on PtdSer as a cofactor required for stimulating TYRO3, AXL and MERTK – compr...

Authors: Tal Burstyn-Cohen and Avi Maimon

S100P is a molecular determinant of E-cadherin function in gastric cancer

E-cadherin has been awarded a key role in the aetiology of both sporadic and hereditary forms of gastric cancer. In this study, we aimed to identify molecular interactors that influence the expression and func...

Authors: Patrícia Carneiro, Ana Margarida Moreira, Joana Figueiredo, Rita Barros, Patrícia Oliveira, Maria Sofia Fernandes, Anabela Ferro, Raquel Almeida, Carla Oliveira, Fátima Carneiro, Fernando Schmitt, Joana Paredes, Sérgia Velho and Raquel Seruca

Distinct functions of AKT isoforms in breast cancer: a comprehensive review

AKT, also known as protein kinase B, is a key element of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, AKT regulates the hallmarks of cancer, e.g. tumor growth, survival and invasiveness of tumor cells. After AKT ...

Authors: Nico Hinz and Manfred Jücker

SUMO3 modification by PIAS1 modulates androgen receptor cellular distribution and stability

Abnormal reactivation of androgen receptor (AR) signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) mainly results from overexpression and down-regulation of AR. Sumoylation of AR can influence its functi...

Authors: Nanyang Yang, Sitong Liu, Tian Qin, Xintong Liu, Nobumoto Watanabe, Kevin H. Mayo, Jiang Li and Xiaomeng Li

ΗΙF1α, EGR1 and SP1 co-regulate the erythropoietin receptor expression under hypoxia: an essential role in the growth of non-small cell lung cancer cells

Overexpression of erythropoietin (EPO) and EPO receptor (EPO-R) is associated with poor prognosis in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Hypoxia, a potent EPO inducer, is a major stimulating factor in the g...

Authors: Tianhong Su, Pi Liu, Xinyu Ti, Shouzhen Wu, Xiaochang Xue, Zenglu Wang, Elhardji Dioum and Qiuyang Zhang

Correction to: Inhibition of the key metabolic pathways, glycolysis and lipogenesis, of oral cancer by bitter melon extract

Following publication of the original article [1], it was reported that Fig. 1c was not entirely readable due to overlapping Fig. 1d. The publishers apologise for this error.

Authors: Subhayan Sur, Hiroshi Nakanishi, Colin Flaveny, Joseph E. Ippolito, Jane McHowat, David A. Ford and Ratna B. Ray

Targeting bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 sensitizes lung cancer cells to TRAIL by increasing cytosolic Smac/DIABLO and the downregulation of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein

Authors: Rachel NeMoyer, Arindam Mondal, Mehul Vora, Elaine Langenfeld, Danea Glover, Michael Scott, Lauren Lairson, Christopher Rongo, David J. Augeri, Youyi Peng, Salma K. Jabbour and John Langenfeld

TPP-related mitochondrial targeting copper (II) complex induces p53-dependent apoptosis in hepatoma cells through ROS-mediated activation of Drp1

In recent years, copper complexes have gradually become the focus of potential anticancer drugs due to their available redox properties and low toxicity. In this study, a novel mitochondrion-targeting copper (...

Authors: Jiangjuan Shao, Mengmeng Li, Zijian Guo, Chun Jin, Feng Zhang, Chunyan Ou, Yaochen Xie, Shanzhong Tan, Zhenyi Wang, Shizhong Zheng and Xiaoyong Wang

Phosphorylation of NFATC1 at PIM1 target sites is essential for its ability to promote prostate cancer cell migration and invasion

Progression of prostate cancer from benign local tumors to metastatic carcinomas is a multistep process. Here we have investigated the signaling pathways that support migration and invasion of prostate cancer ...

Authors: Sini K. Eerola, Niina M. Santio, Sanni Rinne, Petri Kouvonen, Garry L. Corthals, Mauro Scaravilli, Giovanni Scala, Angela Serra, Dario Greco, Pekka Ruusuvuori, Leena Latonen, Eeva-Marja Rainio, Tapio Visakorpi and Päivi J. Koskinen

The regulatory roles of neutrophils in adaptive immunity

Neutrophils have long been considered as cells playing a crucial role in the immune defence against invading pathogens. Accumulating evidence strongly supported the direct and indirect regulatory effects of ne...

Authors: Yang Li, Wei Wang, Fan Yang, Yanan Xu, Chang Feng and Yong Zhao

Specific trophoblast transcripts transferred by extracellular vesicles affect gene expression in endometrial epithelial cells and may have a role in embryo-maternal crosstalk

Successful establishment of pregnancy hinges on appropriate communication between the embryo and the uterus prior to implantation, but the nature of this communication remains poorly understood. Here, we teste...

Authors: Masoumeh Es-Haghi, Kasun Godakumara, Annika Häling, Freddy Lättekivi, Arina Lavrits, Janeli Viil, Aneta Andronowska, Tamer Nafee, Victoria James, Ülle Jaakma, Andres Salumets and Alireza Fazeli

Epithelial and interstitial Notch1 activity contributes to the myofibroblastic phenotype and fibrosis

Notch1 signalling is a stem-cell-related pathway that is essential for embryonic development, tissue regeneration and organogenesis. However, the role of Notch1 in the formation of myofibroblasts and fibrosis ...

Authors: Weilong Hong, Ge Zhang, Hong Lu, Yangyang Guo, Shizhang Zheng, Hengyue Zhu, Yanyi Xiao, Akuetteh Percy David Papa, Cunzao Wu, Linxiao Sun, Bicheng Chen and Yongheng Bai

ATM controls DNA repair and mitochondria transfer between neighboring cells

Intercellular communication is essential for multicellular tissue vitality and homeostasis. We show that healthy cells message protective signals through direct cell–cell connections to adjacent DNA–damaged ce...

Authors: Sha Jin and Nils Cordes

Extracellular vesicle cross-talk between pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and endothelium during excessive TGF-β signalling: implications for PAH vascular remodelling

Excessive TGF-β signalling has been shown to underlie pulmonary hypertension (PAH). Human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) can release extracellular vesicles (EVs) but their contents and signific...

Authors: Fernando de la Cuesta, Ilaria Passalacqua, Julie Rodor, Raghu Bhushan, Laura Denby and Andrew H. Baker

Platelets promote breast cancer cell MCF-7 metastasis by direct interaction: surface integrin α2β1-contacting-mediated activation of Wnt-β-catenin pathway

Integrin-mediated platelet-tumor cell contacting plays an important role in promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) transformation of tumor cells and cancer metastasis, but whether it occurs in breas...

Authors: Xiao-xiao Zuo, Ya Yang, Yue Zhang, Zhi-gang Zhang, Xiao-fei Wang and Yong-gang Shi

Loss-of-function phenotype of a PKCθ^T219A knockin mouse strain

Protein kinase C θ has been established as an important signaling intermediate in T-effector-cell activation and survival pathways by controlling activity of the key transcription factors NF-κB and NFAT. Previ...

Authors: Nikolaus Thuille, Kerstin Siegmund, Victoria Klepsch, Jacqueline Schörgenhuber, Sarah Danklmaier, Michael Leitges and Gottfried Baier

GREM1 is associated with metastasis and predicts poor prognosis in ER-negative breast cancer patients

In breast cancer, activation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling and elevated levels of BMP-antagonists have been linked to tumor progression and metastasis. However, the simultaneous upregulation of...

Authors: Ulrike Neckmann, Camilla Wolowczyk, Martina Hall, Eivind Almaas, Jiang Ren, Sen Zhao, Bjarne Johannessen, Rolf I. Skotheim, Geir Bjørkøy, Peter ten Dijke and Toril Holien

Flipping the dogma – phosphatidylserine in non-apoptotic cell death

The exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS) on the outer plasma membrane has long been considered a unique feature of apoptotic cells. Together with other “eat me” signals, it enables the recognition and phagocyto...

Authors: Inbar Shlomovitz, Mary Speir and Motti Gerlic

Correction to: Transcriptional activation of CBFβ by CDK11^p110 is necessary to promote osteosarcoma cell proliferation

Following publication of the original article [1], it was reported that Figs. 4 and 5 were not updated during the production process.

Authors: Yong Feng, Yunfei Liao, Jianming Zhang, Jacson Shen, Zengwu Shao, Francis Hornicek and Zhenfeng Duan

Targeting PKCι-PAK1 signaling pathways in EGFR and KRAS mutant adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma

p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) stimulates growth and metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Protein kinase C iota (PKCι) is an enzyme highly expressed in NSCLC, regulating PAK1 signaling. In the pres...

Authors: Masaoki Ito, Carles Codony-Servat, Jordi Codony-Servat, David Lligé, Imane Chaib, Xiaoyan Sun, Jing Miao, Rongwei Sun, Xueting Cai, Alberto Verlicchi, Morihito Okada, Miguel Angel Molina-Vila, Niki Karachaliou, Peng Cao and Rafael Rosell

The PPAR-γ antagonist T007 inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and counteracts OVX-induced bone loss in mice

Osteoclasts are key determinant cellular components implicated in the development and progression of disorders driven by bone damage. Herein, we studied the upshot of T007, an antagonist of peroxisome prolifer...

Authors: Xiang Li, Lei Ning, Jianjun Ma, Ziang Xie, Xiangde Zhao, Gangliang Wang, Xinyu Wan, Pengcheng Qiu, Teng Yao, Haoming Wang, Shunwu Fan and Shuanglin Wan

The multi-site docking protein Grb2-associated binder 1 (Gab1) enhances interleukin-6-induced MAPK-pathway activation in an SHP2-, Grb2-, and time-dependent manner

Cytokine-dependent activation of signalling pathways is tightly orchestrated. The spatiotemporal activation of signalling pathways dictates the specific physiological responses to cytokines. Dysregulated signa...

Authors: Hannes Bongartz, Karen Gille, Wiebke Hessenkemper, Katharina Mandel, Marc Lewitzky, Stephan M. Feller and Fred Schaper

Notch1-ADAM8 positive feed-back loop regulates the degradation of chondrogenic extracellular matrix and osteoarthritis progression

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent joint disease, and there are still no effective therapeutic agents or clinical methods for the cure of this disease to date. The degradation of cartilage extrac...

Authors: Biao Duan, Yan Liu, He Hu, Fu-Guo Shi, Ya-Long Liu, Hao Xue, Xin-Yu Yun, Ming-Yu Yan, Xi-Rui Han, An-Fu Chen, Yong Wang and Zhe-Hai Li