BACKGROUND Adiponectin is an adipokine possessing beneficial effects on obesity-related medical complications. A negative association of adiponectin levels with breast cancer development has been demonstrated. However, the precise role of adiponectin deficiency in mammary carcinogenesis remains elusive. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In the present study, MMTV-polyomavirus middle T antigen (M...

Indolequinones (IQs) were developed as potential antitumor agents against human pancreatic cancer. IQs exhibited potent antitumor activity against the human pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2 with growth inhibitory IC(50) values in the low nanomolar range. IQs were found to induce time- and concentration-dependent apoptosis and to be potent inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase 1 (TR1) in MIA...

A cDNA clone coding for a novel oxidoreductase was cloned from a human bone marrow-derived stromal cell line KM-102. We screened a cDNA library constructed from the mRNA of KM-102 cells stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and calcium ionophore A23187 using a 32P-labeled 15-mer synthetic oligonucleotide (5'-TAAATAAATAAATAA-3') probe. This probe was designed as a complementary sequenc...

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Mutations of TP53 may reach 70% - 85% in HNSCC patients without human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Recurrence rate remains particularly high for HNSCC patients with mutations in the TP53 gene although patients are responsive to surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy early in the treatment. p53-Reactivati...

Motexafin gadolinium (MGd) is a chemotherapeutic drug that selectively targets tumor cells and mediates redox reactions generating reactive oxygen species. Thioredoxin (Trx), NADPH, and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) of the cytosol/nucleus or mitochondria are major thiol-dependent reductases with many functions in cell growth, defense against oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Mammalian TrxRs are s...

Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) is a pivotal intracellular redox sensor and antioxidant enzyme. On the other hand, overexpression of TrxR1 is closely correlated with the initiation of various tumors including breast cancer, though the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Here we investigated the role of TrxR1 in dysplastic transformation of human breast epithelial cell line MCF-10A induced by ch...

Currently, there is significant interest in the field of diet-gene interactions and the mechanisms by which food compounds regulate gene expression to modify cancer susceptibility. From a nutrition perspective, two key components potentially exert cancer chemopreventive effects: isothiocyanates (ITCs), present in cruciferous vegetables, and selenium (Se) which, as selenocysteine, is an integral...

The expression profile of genes involved in oxidative stress, metal toxicity, apoptosis/cell cycle, and protein folding was investigated in liver and testis of Sprague-Dawley rats at different time intervals after i.t. instillation of AgNP (20 nm, 50 μg/rat). At 7 days, selective changes in the expression of genes encoding oxidative stress-related enzymes, namely Gpx1, SOD, FMO2 and GAPDH were ...

Neuregulin/ErbB2-induced kinase signaling provides essential survival and protection clues for functional integrity of the adult heart and skeletal muscle. To define the regulatory pathways involved in neuregulin-dependent muscle cell survival, we set out to map the largely unknown transcript targets of this growth/differentiation factor in cardiocytes. Freshly isolated adult primary rat cardio...

Interferons (IFNs) and retinoids are potent biological response modifiers. The IFN-beta and all-trans-retinoic acid combination, but not these single agents individually, induces death in several tumor cell lines. To elucidate the molecular basis for these actions, we have employed an antisense knockout approach to identify the gene products that mediate cell death and isolated several genes as...