1,720,961 research outputs found

    How receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 meets its partners in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

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    Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in western societies, recognized by clinical and molecular heterogeneity. Despite the success of targeted therapies, acquired resistance remains a challenge for relapsed and refractory CLL, as a consequence of mutations in the target or the upregulation of other survival pathways leading to the progression of the disease. Research on proteins that can trigger such pathways may define novel therapies for a successful outcome in CLL such as the receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1). ROR1 is a signaling receptor for Wnt5a, with an important role during embryogenesis. The aberrant expression on CLL cells and several types of tumors, is involved in cell proliferation, survival, migration as well as drug resistance. Antibody-based immunotherapies and small-molecule compounds emerged to target ROR1 in preclinical and clinical studies. Efforts have been made to identify new prognostic markers having predictive value to refine and increase the detection and management of CLL. ROR1 can be considered as an attractive target for CLL diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. It can be clinically effective alone and/or in combination with current approved agents. In this review, we summarize the scientific achievements in targeting ROR1 for CLL diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment

    Is It Still Possible to Think about HSP70 as a Therapeutic Target in Onco-Hematological Diseases?

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    The search for molecules to be targeted that are involved in apoptosis resistance/increased survival and pathogenesis of onco-hematological malignancies is ongoing since these diseases are still not completely understood. Over the years, a good candidate has been identified in the Heat Shock Protein of 70kDa (HSP70), a molecule defined as “the most cytoprotective protein ever been described”. HSP70 is induced in response to a wide variety of physiological and environmental insults, allowing cells to survive lethal conditions. This molecular chaperone has been detected and studied in almost all the onco-hematological diseases and is also correlated to poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. In this review, we give an overview of the discoveries that have led us to consider HSP70 as a therapeutic target for mono- or combination-therapies in acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myeloma and different types of lymphomas. In this excursus, we will also consider HSP70 partners, such as its transcription factor HSF1 or its co-chaperones whose druggability could indirectly affect HSP70. Finally, we will try to answer the question asked in the title of this review considering that, despite the effort made by research in this field, HSP70 inhibitors never reached the clinic

    SPATS1: New Molecular Target in Colorectal Cancer

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    CRC is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. More than a million cases are diagnosed annually and the mortality rate is still about 50% underscoring the need for new therapeutic opportunities. A useful molecular characterization in these tumors by TCGA, analyzed these tumor subtypes to reveal new candidate genes that can be inhibited. Our research group identified SPATS1 as an amplified oncogene out of 214 candidates that could negatively influence cell viability in different CRC cell lines using an RNAi screening system. First, we focused on the characterization of SPATS1 protein that surprisingly showed the appearance of a second band with a higher molecular weight than the predicted one mostly in CRC cell lines, proposing that this higher band may be tumor-specific. In addition, we identified SPATS1 as an amplified oncogene in CRC cell lines. SPATS1 was demonstrated to promote oncogenesis by influencing cell viability rate, colony formation capability and cell migration in four CRC cell lines. SPATS1 was also found to be involved in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and to interact with p53 to accomplish its role in tumorigenesis. Finally, we found a correlation between SPATS1 and GSK3β and CK1 kinases. We found SPATS1 in the cytoplasm of plasma B cells in tissues from a CRC patient, whereas we showed its nuclear localization in cells resembling CRC stem cells. SPATS1 may serve not only as a cancer biomarker, but also as a therapeutic target in CRC treatment

    A guide to PIN1 function and mutations across cancers

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    PIN1 is a member of a family of peptidylprolyl isomerases that bind phosphoproteins and catalyze the rapid cis–trans isomerization of proline peptidyl bonds, resulting in an alteration of protein structure, function, and stability. PIN1 is overexpressed in human cancers, suggesting it promotes tumorigenesis, but depending on the cellular context, it also acts as a tumor suppressor. Here, we review the role of PIN1 in cancer and the regulation of PIN1 expression, and catalog the single nucleotide polymorphisms, and mutations in PIN1 gene associated with cancer. In addition, we provide a 3D model of the protein to localize the mutated residues

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Binding investigation and preliminary optimisation of the 3-amino-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one core for the development of new Fyn inhibitors

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    Fyn tyrosine kinase inhibitors are considered potential therapeutic agents for a variety of human cancers. Furthermore, the involvement of Fyn kinase in signalling pathways that lead to severe pathologies, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, has also been demonstrated. In this study, starting from 3-(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-ylamino)-6-methyl-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one (VS6), a hit compound that showed a micromolar inhibition of Fyn (IC50= 4.8 μM), we computationally investigated the binding interactions of the 3-amino-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one scaffold and started a preliminary hit to lead optimisation. This analysis led us to confirm the hypothesised binding mode of VS6 and to identify a new derivative that is about 6-fold more active than VS6 (compound 3, IC50= 0.76 μM)

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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