Mutations in mitochondrial complex II (MCII; succinate dehydrogenase, Sdh) genes cause familiar pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma tumors. Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for Sdh-mutation-induced tumorigenesis, the most accepted of which is based on the constitutive expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) at normal oxygen tension, a theory referred to as "pseudo-hypox...

Preeclampsia, a severe unpredictable complication of pregnancy, occurs in 6% of pregnancies, usually in the second or third trimester. The specific etiology of preeclampsia remains unclear, although the pathophysiological hallmark of this condition appears to be an inadequate blood supply to the placenta. As a result of the impaired placental blood flow, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) a...

Enhanced TGFβ activity contributes to the accumulation of matrix proteins including collagen I (α2) by proximal tubular epithelial cells in progressive kidney disease. Although TGFβ rapidly activates its canonical Smad signaling pathway, it also recruits noncanonical pathway involving mTOR kinase to regulate renal matrix expansion. The mechanism by which chronic TGFβ treatment maintains increas...

Given that inflammatory T-cells have a highly glycolytic metabolism, whereas regulatory T-cells rely more on oxidative glucose metabolism, there is growing interest in understanding how T-cell metabolism relates to T-cell function. The mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1) has a crucial role to determine the balance between effector and regulatory T-cell differentiation, but is also ...

Tumor neo-angiogenesis is regulated, in part, by the hypoxia-inducible gene HIF1. Evidence suggests HIF1 associates with polymerized microtubules and traffics to the nucleus. This study investigated the role of HIF1 in mediating the antitumor activity of two steroid-based sulfamate ester microtubule disruptors, STX140 and STX243, in vitro and in vivo. The effects of STX140, STX243 and the paren...

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), a highly immunogenic melanoma tumor antigen, is a potential target for antibody-based immunotherapy. The mechanism by which CSPG4 affects melanoma progression is only partly understood, in particular the involvement of other receptor tyrosine kinases and the tumor microenvironment. We have previously reported on a mimotope-based vaccine against CSPG4 ...