A new retroviral vector, pSXLC/pHa, was constructed to coexpress drug-selectable markers with a second gene of interest as a part of a bicistronic mRNA in a retroviral vector using an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) from encephalomyocarditis virus. This system was used to develop a new retroviral vector pHa-MDR-IRES-TK which expresses a single mRNA from which translation of the MDR1 gene is...

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) harbor recurrent NAB2-STAT6 gene fusions, promoting constitutional up-regulation of oncogenic early growth response 1 (EGR1)-dependent expression. SFTs with the most common canonical NAB2 exon 4–STAT6 2 fusion variant are often located in thorax (pleuropulmonary) and less cellular abundant collagen. In contrast, 6–STAT6 16/17 variants typically display a round to ...

Purpose: Multiple developmental pathways including Notch, Hedgehog, and Wnt are active in malignant brain tumors such as medulloblastoma and glioblastoma (GBM). This raises the possibility that tumors might compensate for therapy directed against one pathway by upregulating a different one. We investigated whether brain tumors show resistance to therapies against Notch, and whether targeting mu...

P140K-MGMT and G156A-MGMT genes encode two O-benzylguanine–resistant O-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase proteins that confer a high degree of Obenzylguanine and 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) or O-benzylguanine and temozolomide resistance to primary hematopoietic cells. In this study, we directly compared these and three other O-benzylguanine– resistant MGMT genes for their abilit...

Myristylation of FBR v-fos, a c-fos retroviral homologue that causes osteosarcomas in mice, determines many of its transcriptional properties in vitro. To determine whether myristylation of FBR v-fos contributes to in vivo tumorigenicity, we examined its transforming capability in comparison to a nonmyristylated FBR v-fos (G2A-R). Retroviral infections with FBR v-fos and G2A-R transform BALB/c-...

44 Current therapies for sarcomas are often inadequate. This study sought to 45 identify actionable gene targets by selective targeting of the molecular networks 46 that support sarcoma cell proliferation. Silencing of asparagine synthetase 47 (ASNS), an amidotransferase that converts aspartate into asparagine, produced 48 the strongest inhibitory effect on sarcoma growth in a functional genomi...

The mechanism by which ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths of sunlight trigger or exacerbate the symptoms of the autoimmune disorder lupus erythematosus is not known but may involve a role for the innate immune system. Here we show that UV radiation potentiates STING (stimulator of interferon genes)-dependent activation of the immune signaling transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3)...

16 Exercise can effectively ameliorate type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Here we show that the 17 mRNA levels of one of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) family members, 18 PPARγ1, and genes related to energy metabolism, including PPARγ coactivator-1 protein α 19 (PGC-1α) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL), increased in the gastrocnemius muscle of habitual 20 exercise-trained mi...

Previous studies from our laboratory showed that p21 can be phosphorylated by Pim-1 kinase in vitro , implying that part of the function of Pim-1 might involve influencing the cell cycle. In the present study, site-directed mutagenesis and phosphorylated-specific antibodies were used as tools to identify the sites phosphorylated by Pim-1 and the consequences of this phosphorylation. What we fou...

Recently, human amniotic fluid (AF) cells have attracted a great deal of attention as an alternative cell source for transplantation and tissue engineering. AF contains a variety of cell types derived from fetal tissues, of which a small percentage is believed to represent stem cell sub-population(s). In contrast to human embryonic stem (ES) cells, AF cells are not subject to extensive legal or...