scholarly journals The Role of Dicentric Chromosome Formation and Secondary Centromere Deletion in the Evolution of Myeloid Malignancy

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth N. MacKinnon ◽  
Lynda J. Campbell

Dicentric chromosomes have been identified as instigators of the genome instability associated with cancer, but this instability is often resolved by one of a number of different secondary events. These include centromere inactivation, inversion, and intercentromeric deletion. Deletion or excision of one of the centromeres may be a significant occurrence in myeloid malignancy and other malignancies but has not previously been widely recognized, and our reports are the first describing centromere deletion in cancer cells. We review what is known about dicentric chromosomes and the mechanisms by which they can undergo stabilization in both constitutional and cancer genomes. The failure to identify centromere deletion in cancer cells until recently can be partly explained by the standard approaches to routine diagnostic cancer genome analysis, which do not identify centromeres in the context of chromosome organization. This hitherto hidden group of primary dicentric, secondary monocentric chromosomes, together with other unrecognized dicentric chromosomes, points to a greater role for dicentric chromosomes in cancer initiation and progression than is generally acknowledged. We present a model that predicts and explains a significant role for dicentric chromosomes in the formation of unbalanced translocations in malignancy.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Brigelius-Flohé ◽  
Mike Müller ◽  
Doris Lippmann ◽  
Anna Patricia Kipp

The NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor which regulates the major cellular defense systems and thereby contributes to the prevention of many diseases including cancer. Selenium deficiency is associated with a higher cancer risk making also this essential trace element a promising candidate for cancer prevention. Two selenoproteins, thioredoxin reductase-1 (TrxR1) and glutathione peroxidase-2 (GPx2), are targets for Nrf2. Selenium deficiency activates Nrf2 as does a TrxR1 knockout making a synergism between both systems plausible. Although this might hold true for healthy cells, the interplay may turn into the opposite in cancer cells. The induction of the detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes by Nrf2 will make cancer cells chemoresistant and will protect them against oxidative damage. The essential role of TrxR1 in maintaining proliferation makes its upregulation in cancer cells detrimental. The anti-inflammatory potential of GPx2 will help to inhibit cancer initiation and inflammation-triggered promotion, but its growth supporting potential will also support tumor growth. This paper considers beneficial and adverse consequences of the activation of Nrf2 and the selenoproteins which appear to depend on the cancer stage.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshina Thapa ◽  
Swetha Vasudevan ◽  
Mimi Abo-Ayoub Ashqar ◽  
Eli Reich ◽  
Nataly Kravchenko-Balasha ◽  
...  

AbstractCancer cells have an altered transcriptome which contributes to their altered behaviors compared to normal cells. Indeed, many tumors express high levels of genes participating in meiosis or kinetochore biology, but the role of this high expression has not been fully elucidated. In this study we explore the relationship between this overexpression and genome instability and transformation capabilities of cancer cells. For this, we obtained expression data from 5 different cancer types which were analyzed using computational information-theoretic analysis. We were able to show that highly expressed meiotic/kinetochore genes were enriched in the altered gene expression subnetworks characterizing unstable cancer types with high chromosome instability (CIN). However, altered subnetworks found in the cancers with low CIN did not include meiotic and kinetochore genes. Representative gene candidates, found by the analysis to be correlated with a CIN phenotype, were further explored by transfecting genomically-stable (HCT116) and unstable (MCF7) cancer cell lines with vectors overexpressing those genes. This overexpression resulted in an increase in the numbers of abnormal cell divisions and defective spindle formations and in increased transformation properties in stable cancer HCT116 cells. Interestingly, the same properties were less affected by the overexpressed genes in the unstable MCF7 cancer cells. Our results indicate that overexpression of both meiosis and kinetochore genes is capable of driving genomic instability and cancer progression.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. R15-R29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Zhou ◽  
Eric C Bolton ◽  
Jeremy O Jones

Androgens and androgen receptor (AR) signaling are necessary for prostate development and homeostasis. AR signaling also drives the growth of nearly all prostate cancer cells. The role of androgens and AR signaling has been well characterized in metastatic prostate cancer, where it has been shown that prostate cancer cells are exquisitely adept at maintaining functional AR signaling to drive cancer growth. As androgens and AR signaling are so intimately involved in prostate development and the proliferation of advanced prostate cancer, it stands to reason that androgens and AR are also involved in prostate cancer initiation and the early stages of cancer growth, yet little is known of this process. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the role of androgens and AR signaling in prostate tissue, from development to metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, and use that information to suggest potential roles for androgens and AR in prostate cancer initiation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Li ◽  
Hongming Zhu ◽  
Weixuan Sun ◽  
Xingru Yang ◽  
Qing Nie ◽  
...  

AbstractCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the most abundant cells in the tumor microenvironment, play an indispensable role in cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and metabolism. The limitations of traditional treatments can be partly attributed to the lack of understanding of the role of the tumor stroma. For this reason, CAF targeting is gradually gaining attention, and many studies are trying to overcome the limitations of tumor treatment with CAF as a breakthrough. Glutamine (GLN) has been called a “nitrogen reservoir” for cancer cells because of its role in supporting anabolic processes such as fuel proliferation and nucleotide synthesis, but ammonia is a byproduct of the metabolism of GLN and other nitrogenous compounds. Moreover, in some studies, GLN has been reported as a fundamental nitrogen source that can support tumor biomass. In this review, we discuss the latest findings on the role of GLN and ammonia in the crosstalk between CAFs and cancer cells as well as the potential therapeutic implications of nitrogen metabolism.


2005 ◽  
Vol 173 (4S) ◽  
pp. 214-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Cho ◽  
Xiao Fang Ha ◽  
J. Andre Melendez ◽  
Louis J. Giorgi ◽  
Badar M. Mian

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-405
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Fontana ◽  
Olga A. Babenko

Aim of this letter is to attract the attention of journal readers to the study of exosomes as an important direction in the development of Oncology, in particular, in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Exosomes are produced by tumor cells and regulate proliferation, metastasis, and the development of chemoresistance. Their extraction from biological fluids allows further use of these vesicles as potential biomarkers of prostate cancer. In the future, exosomes can be successfully used in the delivery of drugs and other anti-tumor substances to cancer cells.


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