Thymosin α1 (Tα1), is a peptidic hormone, whose immune regulatory properties have been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo and approved in different countries for treatment of several viral infections and cancers. Tα1 assumes a conformation in negative membranes upon insertion into the phosphatidylserine exposure as found in several pathologies and in apoptosis. These findings are in agreeme...

The extracellular matrix component hyaluronan is believed to play important roles in various processes of organogenesis, cell migration and cancer. Recognition of and binding to hyaluronan is mediated by cell surface receptors. Three of them, CD44, ICAM-1 and RHAMM (receptor for hyaluronic acid mediated motility), have been identified. A cDNA clone designated RHAMM turned out to possess transfo...

BACKGROUND The regulated assembly of microtubules is essential for bipolar spindle formation. Depending on cell type, microtubules nucleate through two different pathways: centrosome-driven or chromatin-driven. The chromatin-driven pathway dominates in cells lacking centrosomes. RESULTS Human RHAMM (receptor for hyaluronic-acid-mediated motility) was originally implicated in hyaluronic-acid-i...

Tumors and wounds share many similarities including loss of tissue architecture, cell polarity and cell differentiation, aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling (Ballard et al., 2006) increased inflammation, angiogenesis, and elevated cell migration and proliferation. Whereas these changes are transient in repairing wounds, tumors do not regain tissue architecture but rather their contin...

Adenocarcinoma of prostate metastasizing to testis is a rare occurrence and is incidentally detected in orchiectomy specimens. The pattern of metastasis may mimic a primary neoplasm of testis like a seminoma or lymphoma and pose a diagnostic difficulty for the pathologist. A rare case of bilateral testicular metastasis of prostatic adenocarcinoma is presented wherein the metastatic cells expres...

Malignant lymphocyte migration into and within lymphoreticular tissue is an important aspect of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), yet little is known about the processes involved. Our previous studies of integrin expression and function in CLL have shown that the abnormal cells are relatively nonadhesive and nonmotile on the protein ligands of these receptors. Here we show that CLL cells adhe...

Malignant lymphocyte migration into and within lymphoreticular tissue is an important aspect of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), yet little is known about the processes involved. Our previous studies of integrin expression and function in CLL have shown that the abnormal cells are relatively nonadhesive and nonmotile on the protein ligands of these receptors. Here we show that CLL cells adhe...

The molecular mechanisms whereby hyaluronan (HA) stimulates cell motility was investigated in a C-H-ras transformed 10T 1/2 fibroblast cell line (C3). A significant (p < 0.001) stimulation of C3 cell motility with HA (10 ng/ml) was accompanied by an increase in protein tyrosine phosphorylation as detected by anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies using immunoblot analysis and immunofluorescence staini...