Loss of heterozygosity on 9p21, where the p16/CDKN2 tumor suppressor and the p15INK4B cell cycle regulator genes are located, is a common genetic alteration in bladder cancer. However, it has been difficult to demonstrate homozygous deletions and intragenic mutations in either of these two genes in primary transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) of the bladder. Similarly, colon cancer-derived cell l...

BACKGROUND The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p14ARF and p15INK4B are tumor suppressor genes that have been reported to be silenced through promoter methylation in many human cancers. However, the strength of association between p14ARF or p15INK4B promoter methylation and lung cancer remains unclear. Thus, we first determined whether p14ARF and p15INK4B promoter methylation played a key rol...

Inactivation of p15INK4b, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases, through DNA methylation is one of the most common epigenetic abnormalities in myeloid leukemia. Although this suggests a key role for this protein in myeloid disease suppression, experimental evidence to support this has not been reported. To address whether this event is critical for premalignant myeloid disorders and leukemia...

The main role of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) is to protect telomere length from shortening during cell division. However, recent works have revealed the existence of a pool of TERT associated to mitochondria, where it plays a role in survival. We here show that in fully differentiated neurons the largest pool of cytoplasmic TERT associates to TIA1 positive RNA granules, where it bin...

UNLABELLED Lung cancer commonly displays a number of recurrent genetic abnormalities, and about 30% of lung adenocarcinomas carry activating mutations in the Kras gene, often concomitantly with inactivation of tumor suppressor genes p16(INK4A) and p14(ARF) of the CDKN2AB locus. However, little is known regarding the function of p15INK4B translated from the same locus. To determine the frequency...

N-WASP is a cytoplasmic molecule mediating Arp2/3 nucleated actin polymerization. Mice with a keratinocyte-specific deletion of the gene encoding N-WASP showed normal interfollicular epidermis, but delayed hair-follicle morphogenesis and abnormal hair-follicle cycling, associated with cyclic alopecia and prolonged catagen and telogen phases. The delayed anagen onset correlated with an increased...

Transplantation of vascular cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offers an attractive noninvasive method for repairing the ischemic tissues and for preventing the progression of vascular diseases. Here, we found that in a serum-free condition, the proliferation rate of hPSC-derived endothelial cells is quickly decreased, accompanied with an increased cellular senescence, resu...