The monomer of influenza haemagglutinin is synthesized as a single polypeptide precursor that during maturation is cleaved by proteases into two active subunits. Other studies have demonstrated that the human Transmembrane Protease Serine 2 (TMPRSS2) can cleave the HA of human seasonal influenza viruses. Consequently, we have investigated the use of human Transmembrane Protease Serine 2 to prod...

COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has become a global health emergency. Although new vaccines have been generated and being implicated, discovery application of novel preventive control measures are warranted. We aimed to identify compound/s that may possess the potential either block entry host cells or attenuate its replication upon infection. Using cell surface receptor expression...

Fusion of the androgen receptor-regulated (AR-regulated) TMPRSS2 gene with ERG in prostate cancer (PCa) causes androgen-stimulated overexpression of ERG, an ETS transcription factor, but critical downstream effectors of ERG-mediating PCa development remain to be established. Expression of the SOX9 transcription factor correlated with TMPRSS2:ERG fusion in 3 independent PCa cohorts, and ERG-depe...

Studies of gene fusions in solid tumors are not as extensive as in hematological malignancies due to several technical and analytical problems associated with tumor heterogeneity. Nevertheless, there is a growing interest in the role of fusion genes in common epithelial tumors after the discovery of recurrent TMPRSS2:ETS fusions in prostate cancer. Among all of the reported fusion partners in t...

TMPRSS2-ERG has been proposed to be a prognostic marker for prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to identify changes in metabolism, genes and biochemical recurrence related to TMPRSS2-ERG by using an integrated approach, combining metabolomics, transcriptomics, histopathology and clinical data in a cohort of 129 human prostate samples (41 patients). Metabolic analyses revealed lower conce...

Abstract Background Air pollution exposure and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) cause a poor prognosis after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the underlying mechanisms are not well explored. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2) keys to entry of SARS-CoV-2. We therefore hypothesized that air IPF may increase expression ACE2 TMPRSS2 in lung alveolar region. m...

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 attacks various organs, most destructively the lung, and cellular entry requires two host cell surface proteins: ACE2 TMPRSS2. Downregulation of one or both these is thus a potential therapeutic approach for COVID-19. TMPRSS2 known target androgen receptor, ligand-activated transcription factor; receptor activation increases levels in tissues, notably prostate. We show here ...

BACKGROUND TMPRSS2-ETS fusion gene rearrangements constitute a very common and specific alteration in prostate cancer cells. These genetic alterations lead the overexpression of ETS genes which encode the E26 family of transcription factors involved in cell proliferation. Of this family, the ERG oncogene is overexpressed in almost 50% of prostate cancer cases. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS TMPRSS2-ERG o...

Data on TMPRSS2-ERG and AR-V7 may pave the way for personalised therapy for prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Comprehensive molecular profiling can help identify multiple PCa subtypes and driving alterations. Translating these findings into clinical practice is still challenging.

Although common in hematologic and mesenchymal malignancies, recurrent gene fusions have not been well characterized in epithelial carcinomas. Recently, using a novel bioinformatic approach, we identified recurrent gene fusions between TMPRSS2 and the ETS family members ERG or ETV1 in the majority of prostate cancers. Here, we interrogated the expression of all ETS family members in prostate ca...