Effective tumor suppression requires the appropriate function of two major signaling pathways, the pRB-E2F growth-control pathway and the p53 stress-response pathway. Members of the E2F family of transcription factors are key downstream targets of the retinoblastoma protein, pRB, and mediate the activation of genes required for cellular proliferation. The Arf tumor suppressor is a key regulator...

BACKGROUND Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) re-express silenced tumor suppressor genes and are currently undergoing clinical trials. Although HDACis have been known to induce gene expression, an equal number of genes are downregulated upon HDAC inhibition. The mechanism behind this downregulation remains unclear. Here we provide evidence that several DNA repair genes are downregulated by...

in the popular tale " Ozma of Oz, " Lyman Frank Baum describes the princess Langwidere, who is capable of interchanging her currently worn head with another one, using a collection of heads stored in a cabinet. Remarkably, she changes her character as well when putting a new head on her neck. in the December 15, 2012 issue of Cell Cycle, Kurt Engeland and colleagues report a similar phenomenon ...

The response of cells to extracellular mitogenic signals and commitment to enter G1 phase, are regulated by the D-type cyclins (D1, D2 and D3). Once induced they heterodimerize with and activate either cyclin dependent kinase 4 or 6 (CDK4 or CDK6). Cyclin D-CDK4 and D-CDK6 kinases phosphorylate and inactivate the retinoblastoma family of proteins, leading to release and derepression of E2F tran...

We designed and validated by real-time PCR, western blot and immunofluorescence, two new shRNAs directed against RB2/p130 and we set up the protocol to efficiently target this gene in a human lymphoblas-toid cell line, by both transient and stable transfection. The clones, that stably express short hairpins directed against Rb2/p130, will be useful to further investigate the role of this Rb fam...

in the popular tale " Ozma of Oz, " Lyman Frank Baum describes the princess Langwidere, who is capable of interchanging her currently worn head with another one, using a collection of heads stored in a cabinet. Remarkably, she changes her character as well when putting a new head on her neck. in the December 15, 2012 issue of Cell Cycle, Kurt Engeland and colleagues report a similar phenomenon ...

BACKGROUND The E2F family of transcription factors is required for the activation or repression of differentially expressed gene programs during the cell cycle in normal and abnormal development of tissues. We previously determined that members of the retinoblastoma protein family that interacts with the E2F family are differentially expressed and localized in almost all the different cell type...

CISPLATIN HAS BEEN A MAINSTAY of chemotherapy of various solid tumors for years. A significant body of investigations into its therapeutic effects has two important components. The first, predominantly explored by oncologists, studies the mode of cytotoxic action on tumor cells and ways of preventing resistance to cisplatin. The second, combating cisplatin nephrotoxicity, is a domain of nephrol...

Cells find an alternative exit M ammalian cells can arrest and differentiate even in the complete absence of Rb family proteins, Wirt et al. reveal. The retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor suppressor and its close relatives p107 and p130 arrest cells in G1 by binding and inactivating E2F transcription factors, blocking transcription of E2F target genes required for cell cycle progression. The Rb family i...

We have previously shown that E2F7 contributes to drug resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. Considering that dysregulation of responses to chemotherapy-induced cytotoxicity is one of themajor reasons for treatment failure in HNSCC, identifying the downstream effectors that regulate E2F7-dependent sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents may have direct clinical impac...