Maintaining posture requires tight regulation of the position and orientation of numerous spinal components. Yet, surprisingly little is known about this regulatory mechanism, whose failure may result in spinal deformity as in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Here, we use genetic mouse models to demonstrate the involvement of proprioception in regulating spine alignment. Null mutants for Runx3 ...

Different functional classes of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons project their axons to distinct target zones within the developing spinal cord. To explore the mechanisms that link sensory neuron subtype identity and axonal projection pattern, we analyzed the roles of Runx and ETS transcription factors in the laminar targeting of sensory afferents. Gain- and loss-of-function studies in chic...

RUNX3 functions as a tumor suppressor in the gastric epithelium, where its inactivation is frequently observed during carcinogenesis. We identified IL23A as a RUNX3 target gene in gastric epithelial cells. This was confirmed in a series of in vitro analyses in gastric epithelial cell lines. In elucidating the underlying regulatory network, we uncovered a prominent role for the TNF-α/NF-κB pathw...

BACKGROUND Our previous studies suggested that deficient function of RUNX3 protein is causally related to development and progression of human gastric cancer. RUNX3 is mapped to 1p36, which is frequently deleted in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), therefore, these tumors were investigated for expression and copy number changes of RUNX3 and other Runt-related genes, RUNX1, RUNX2, and their co-fa...

Activation of naive CD8(+) T cells with antigen induces their differentiation into effector cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs). CTLs lyse infected or aberrant target cells by exocytosis of lytic granules containing the pore-forming protein perforin and a family of proteases termed granzymes. We show that effector CTL differentiation occurs in two sequential phases in vitro, characterized by early i...

Langerhans cells (LCs) are the unique dendritic cells found in the epidermis. While a great deal of attention has focused on defining the developmental origins of LCs, reports addressing the transcriptional network ruling their differentiation remain sparse. We addressed the function of a group of key DC transcription factors-PU.1, ID2, IRF4, and IRF8-in the establishment of the LC network. We ...

Accumulating data demonstrates that the network dysregulation of microRNA-medicated target genes is involved in glioma. We have previously found miR-19a/b overexpression in glioma cell lines and specimens with various tumour grades. However, there was no report on the function and regulatory mechanism of miR-19a/b in glioma. In this study, based on our previous research data, we first determine...

This study is to investigate the methylation status of multiple tumor suppressor 1 (p16), secreted glycoprotein 2 (SLIT2), scavenger receptor class A, member 5 putative (SCARA5), and human runt-related transcription factor 3 (Runx3) genes in the peripheral blood of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).This is a case-control study. The peripheral blood samples were collected from 25 HCC patients, 25 p...

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional growth factor that plays important roles in many biological processes, whereas RUNX3 is a target of TGF-beta-mediated tumor suppressor pathway. In humans, RUNX3 inactivation may lead to the cancer development, including bladder cancer. To determine whether the RUNX3 polymorphisms are associated with risk of bladder cancer, we condu...