1,721,060 research outputs found

    Modulation of NF-kappaB and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress potentiate chemotherapy -induced apoptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

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    Squamous cell carcinoma is the major cancer diagnosed in the head and neck and oral cavity. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a tremendous public health challenge; it is the third most prevalent cancer with only breast and colorectal cancers being more common. Despite technological advances in surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for patients who suffer from head and neck cancer, the survival-rate has remained un-improved in the last two decades indicating our ability to treat patients has reached a plateau. Recent surges in the number of young people who develop HNSCC, and our limited ability to satisfactorily care for those who suffer from this disease have fueled an intense search for new treatment strategies. An increasing body of evidence has indicated that malignant transformation of oral keratinocytes can be modulated by a wide variety of genetic mutations and misregulated cell signaling networks. Many signaling intermediates from these pathways, such as NF-kappaB, are also known to modulate resistance to chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death. The work presented in this dissertation is focused toward the elucidation of novel gene therapy and chemotherapy strategies to manipulate the signaling machinery in malignant oral keratinocytes to potentiate or directly induce cell death. Upon completion of this work we have: (1) provided a molecular basis for gene therapy treatment of head and neck cancer with a super repressor of IkappaBalpha to inhibit NF-kappaB-mediated survival and chemoresistance; (2) demonstrated that the proteasome inhibitor PS-341 (Velcade) induces ER stress and reactive oxygen species to kill HNSCC cell in vitro; and (3) elucidated a mechanism by which ATF-4, induced following PS-341-mediated ER stress, transcriptionally regulates the pro-apoptotic protein Noxa prior to cell death in cisplatin-resistant head and neck cancer cells. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that proteasome inhibition induces cell death through two distinct apoptotic mechanisms. PS-341 simultaneously induced caspase 12-dependent stress-specific apoptosis, and also activated the intrinsic (mitochondrion-mediated) apoptosis pathway. Our work has established that NF-kappaB and ER stress can be modulated to potentiate chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.PhDDentistryHealth and Environmental SciencesMedicineOncologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/125082/2/3186632.pd

    Analysis of CXCL12/SDF-1alpha mediated activation of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

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    Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the 6th most common malignancy worldwide with a five-year survival rate of less than 50%. The most important indicator of patient prognosis is lymph node metastasis, which often predicts locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis. Unfortunately, most individuals with HNSCC are diagnosed with advanced stage disease. Cancer metastasis is a multistep process involving disengagement of malignant cells from the primary tumor, invasion through extracellular matrix components, entry into the bloodstream or lymphatic system, and colonization of secondary organs. The G protein coupled receptor CXCR4, which is overexpressed in the majority of cancer types including HNSCC, has been implicated in the homing of tumor cells to secondary organs in order to establish metastases. Typical sites of tumor cell metastasis, such as the lymph nodes, bone marrow, lungs, and liver express high levels of CXCL12/Stromal Derived Factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha), the chemokine ligand of CXCR4. Chemokines function to induce the directed migration of cells expressing the appropriate receptors. SDF-1alpha can also activate cell growth and survival signals, facilitate neovascularization, and induce invasion of the tumor microenvironment. Consequently, tumor cells expressing CXCR4 exploit all of these mechanisms to escape the primary tumor and migrate towards specific tissues. Currently, the signaling pathways responsible for SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 mediated invasion and metastasis remain largely unexplored. This thesis work explores the role of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in SDF-1alpha mediated HNSCC invasion. NF-kappaB transcription factors target genes that promote inflammation, proliferation, survival, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. I show that SDF-1alpha can activate NF-kappaB signaling through the CXCR4 receptor in a PI3K/Akt and MAPK/ERK independent manner in HNSCC. Inhibition of IKKbeta, an upstream regulator of classical NF-kappaB signaling, can significantly impair SDF-1alpha mediated HNSCC invasion. Further, I found that the Carma3Bc110/Malt1 (CBM) complex is involved in the activation of NF-kappaB signaling by SDF-1alpha and that this is likely mediated by PKC isozymes. Blocking the expression of the CBM complex inhibits SDF-1alpha mediated invasion of HNSCC. Together, the findings in this thesis suggest that targeting molecular components upstream of NF-kappaB might provide an important therapeutic opportunity in preventing SDF-1alpha/CXCR4 mediated invasion and metastasis of HNSCC.PhDBiological SciencesCellular biologyHealth and Environmental SciencesMolecular biologyOncologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/127121/2/3382331.pd
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