Although it is well established that Six3 is a crucial regulator of vertebrate eye and forebrain development, it is unknown whether this homeodomain protein has a role in the initial specification of the anterior neural plate. In this study, we show that exogenous Six3 can expand the anterior neural plate in both Xenopus and zebrafish, and that this occurs in part through Six3-dependent transcr...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of various molecular factors associated with the Ras/MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways in HER2-positive locally advanced breast cancer patients treated with anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). METHODS A total of 113 patients were recruited in this retrospective study. Core needle biopsies and excision samples were a...

The genetic alterations observed in head and neck cancer are mainly due to oncogene activation (gain of function mutations) and tumor suppressor gene inactivation (loss of function mutations), leading to deregulation of cell proliferation and death. These genetic alterations include gene amplification and overexpression of oncogenes such as myc, erbB-2, EGFR and cyclinD1 and mutations, deletion...

Sophoridine is a quinolizidine natural product of Sophora alopecuroides and has been applied for treatment of malignant trophoblastic tumors. Although characterized by low toxicity, the limited-spectrum antitumor activity hinders its further applications. 05D, a derivative of sophoridine, exhibits a better anticancer activity on diverse cancer cells, including solid tumors, and hematologic mali...

Upregulated gene 11 (URG11), a new gene upregulated by Hepatitis B Virus X protein (HBx), was previously shown to activate beta-catenin and promote hepatocellular growth and tumourigenesis. Although the oncogenic role of URG11 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma has been well documented, its relevance to other human malignancies and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely ...

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a critical role in cell survival and proliferation and is constitutively activated in many types of human cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, it is a major focus in the development of anticancer agents. Rubus aleaefolius Poir. has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of HCC. However, the prec...

Breast cancer has become the most common cancer among women in industrialized countries. Obesity is well established as a risk factor, in particular owing to the attendant secretion of the entities called adipokines; there is growing evidence for a role of cells and factors present in the mammary tumor microenvironment such as fibroblasts, preadipocytes, adipocytes and their secretions. To stud...

neural stem, we are using Xenopus retina as a model system. Our expression analyses revealed that both Msi1 and Msi2 are expressed in retinal stem cells. In order to highlight the function of Msi genes, we ectopically expressed Msi1 and Msi2 by mRNA injection. We found that Msi misexpression promotes the formation of epidermal protrusions, reminiscent of skin tumors and strongly expressing the ...

Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) is critical for cancer progression by regulating tumor cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Herein, we investigated the regulation of STAT3 activation and the therapeutic effects of Icaritin, a prenyl flavonoid derivative from Epimedium Genus, in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Icaritin showed significant anti-tumor activity in t...

Cyclin D1 is a critical gene involved in the regulation of progression through the G(1) phase of the cell cycle, thereby contributing to cell proliferation. Gene amplification and abnormal expression of Cyclin D1 have been described in several human cancers. To understand their biological significance in skin carcinogenesis, we established Cyclin D1-conditional transgenic mice with C57BL/6J bac...