| 1. |
- Giannelli, Gianluigi, et al.
(författare)
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The rationale for targeting TGF-beta in chronic liver diseases
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Investigation. - : Wiley. - 0014-2972 .- 1365-2362. ; 46:4, s. 349-361
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundTransforming growth factor (TGF)- is a pluripotent cytokine that displays several tissue-specific biological activities. In the liver, TGF- is considered a fundamental molecule, controlling organ size and growth by limiting hepatocyte proliferation. It is involved in fibrogenesis and, therefore, in worsening liver damage, as well as in triggering the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). TGF- is known to act as an oncosuppressor and also as a tumour promoter in HCC, but its role is still unclear. DesignIn this review, we discuss the potential role of TGF- in regulating the tumoural progression of HCC, and therefore the rationale for targeting this molecule in patients with HCC. ResultsA considerable amount of experimental preclinical evidence suggests that TGF- is a promising druggable target in patients with HCC. To support this hypothesis, a phase II clinical trial is currently ongoing using a TGF- pathway inhibitor, and results will soon be available. ConclusionsThe identification of new TGF- related biomarkers will help to select those patients most likely to benefit from therapy aimed at inhibiting the TGF- pathway. New formulations that may provide a more controlled and sustained delivery of the drug will improve the therapeutic success of such treatments.
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| 2. |
- Hawinkels, Lukas J. A. C., et al.
(författare)
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Activin Receptor-like Kinase 1 Ligand Trap Reduces Microvascular Density and Improves Chemotherapy Efficiency to Various Solid Tumors
- 2016
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 22:1, s. 96-106
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Antiangiogenic therapy, mostly targeting VEGF, has been applied in cancer patients for the last decade. However, resistance to anti-VEGF therapy and/or no significant benefit as monotherapeutic agent is often observed. Therefore, new antiangiogenic strategies are needed. In the current study, we investigated the therapeutic effect of interfering with the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)9/activin receptor-like kinase (ALK)1 signaling pathway by using an ALK1-Fc ligand trap. Experimental Design: We analyzed the potential antiangiogenic and antitumor effects of ALK1-Fc protein as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy in vivo in mouse models of melanoma, head and neck cancer, and invasive lobular breast carcinomas. ALK1-Fc sequesters BMP9 and 10 and prevents binding of these ligands to endothelial ALK1, which regulates angiogenesis. Results: Treatment of mice with ALK1-Fc strongly decreased the tumors' microvascular density in the three different mouse cancer models. However, this effect was not accompanied by a reduction in tumor volume. Animmunohistochemical analysis of the tumor samples revealed that ALK1-Fc treatment increased the pericyte coverage of the remaining tumor vessels and decreased the hypoxia within the tumor. Next, we observed that combining ALK1-Fc with cisplatin inhibited tumor growth in the breast and head and neck cancer models more efficiently than chemotherapy alone. Conclusions: The addition of ALK1-Fc to the cisplatin treatment was able to enhance the cytotoxic effect of the chemotherapy. Our results provide strong rationale to explore combined targeting of ALK1 with chemotherapy in a clinical setting, especially in the ongoing phase II clinical trials with ALK1-Fc.
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| 3. |
- van Bezooijen, Rutger L., et al.
(författare)
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Wnt but not BMP signaling is involved in the inhibitory action of sclerostin on BMP-stimulated bone formation
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. - 0884-0431 .- 1523-4681. ; 22:1, s. 19-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sclerostin is an osteocyte-derived negative regulator of bone formation. It inhibits BMP-stimulated bone formation both in vitro and in vivo but has no direct effect on BMP signaling. Instead, sclerostin inhibits Wnt signaling that is required for BMP-stimulated osteoblastic differentiation. Introduction: Sclerostin is a member of the Dan family of glycoproteins of which many members have been reported to antagonize BMP activity. Sclerostin has been shown to inhibit BMP-stimulated bone formation, but its mechanism of action seems to be different from classical BMP antagonists. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which sclerostin inhibits BMP-stimulated bone formation. Materials and Methods: DNA electroporation of calf muscle of mice using expression plasmids for BMP and sclerostin was used to study the effect of sclerostin on BMP-induced bone formation in vivo. Transcriptional profiling using microarrays of osteoblastic cells treated with BMP in the absence or presence of sclerostin was used to find specific growth factor signaling pathways affected by sclerostin. The affected pathways were further studied using growth factor-specific reporter constructs. Results: BMP-induced ectopic bone formation in calf muscle of mice was prevented by co-expression of sclerostin in vivo. Transcriptional profiling analysis of osteoblastic cultures indicated that sclerostin specifically affects BMP and Wnt signaling out of many other growth signaling pathways. Sclerostin, however, did not inhibit stimulation of direct BMP target genes. Furthermore, we did not obtain any evidence for sclerostin acting as a direct BMP antagonist using a BMP-specific reporter construct. In contrast, sclerostin shared many characteristics with the Wnt antagonist dickkopf-1 in antagonizing BMP-stimulated bone formation and BMP- and Wnt-induced Wnt reporter construct activation. Conclusions: Sclerostin inhibits BMP-stimulated bone formation but does not affect BMP signaling. Instead, it antagonizes Wnt signaling in osteoblastic cells. High bone mass in sclerosteosis and van Buchem disease may, therefore, result from increased Wnt signaling.
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| 4. |
- Afrakhte, Mozhgan, et al.
(författare)
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Induction of inhibitory Smad6 and Smad7 mRNA by TGF-beta family members
- 1998
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Ingår i: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 249:2, s. 505-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Smad6 and Smad7 function as intracellular antagonists in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling. Here we report the isolation of human Smad6, which is closely related to Smad7. Smad6 and Smad7 mRNAs were differentially expressed in lung cancer cell lines and were rapidly and directly induced by TGF-beta1, activin and bone morphogenetic protein-7. Cross-talk between TGF-beta and other signaling pathways was demonstrated by the finding that epidermal growth factor (EGF) induced the expression of inhibitory SMAD mRNA. Moreover, whereas the phorbol ester PMA alone had no effect, it potentiated the TGF-beta1-induced expression of Smad7 mRNA. Ectopic expression of anti-sense Smad7 RNA was found to increase the effect of TGF-beta1, supporting its role as a negative regulator in TGF-beta signaling. Thus, expression of inhibitory Smads is induced by multiple stimuli, including the various TGF-beta family members, whose action they antagonize.
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| 5. |
- Althini, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
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Bone morphogenetic protein signalling in NGF-stimulated PC12 cells
- 2003
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Ingår i: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 307:3, s. 632-639
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are shown to potentiate NGF-induced neuronal differentiation in PC12 phaeochromocytoma cells grown on collagen under low-serum conditions. Whereas, cell bodies remained rounded in control medium or with only BMPs present, addition of BMP4 or BMP6 robustly increased the neuritogenic effect of NGF within 2 days. NGF-increased phosphorylation of p44(Erk1) and p42(Erk2) between 2 and 24h was unaffected by addition of BMP6. PC12 cells transfected with the SBE(4x)-luc reporter showed that BMP4 significantly increased receptor-activated Smad activity. Expression of constitutively active BMP receptor ALK2 activating Smad1 and Smad5 resulted in a strong increase in the SBE(4x)-luc reporter response. Adding the inhibitory Smad7 drastically reduced this signal. In contrast to wild-type (wt) Smad5, a Smad5 variant lacking five Erk phosphorylation sites in the linker region (designated Smad5/5SA) showed a strong background transcriptional activity. A fusion construct (Gal4-Smad5/5SA) was also highly transcriptionally active. Addition of the MEK inhibitor U0126 to PC12 cells expressing Gal4-Smad5/wt did not increase background transcriptional activity. However, upon activation by constitutively active ALK2 both Gal4-Smad5/wt and Gal4-Smad5/5SA strongly stimulated transcription. The data show that serine residues of the linker region of Smad5 reduce spontaneous transcriptional activity and that NGF-activated Erk does not antagonise BMP signalling at this site. Hence, NGF and BMP signals are likely to interact further downstream at the transcriptional level in neuronal differentiation of the PC12 cells.
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| 6. |
- Baan, Bart, et al.
(författare)
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In situ proximity ligation detection of c-Jun/AP-1 dimers reveals increased levels of c-Jun/Fra1 complexes in aggressive breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo
- 2010
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Ingår i: Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. - 1535-9476 .- 1535-9484. ; 9:9, s. 1982-1990
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic and biochemical studies have shown that selective interactions between the Jun, Fos, and activating transcription factor (ATF) components of transcription factor activating protein 1 (AP-1) exhibit specific and critical functions in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. For instance, the ratio between c-Jun/c-Fos and c-Jun/ATF2 dimers in the cell can be a determining factor in the cellular response to oncogenic or apoptotic stimuli. Until recently, no methods were available to detect endogenous AP-1 complexes in cells and tissues in situ. Here, we validated the proximity ligation assay (PLA) for its ability to specifically visualize and quantify changes in endogenous c-Jun/c-Fos, c-Jun/ATF2, and c-Jun/Fra1 complexes by using, among others, partner-selective c-Jun mutants. Furthermore, we examined the levels of c-Jun/AP-1 dimers in cell lines representing different types of human breast cancer and found that aggressive basal-like breast cancer cells can be discriminated from much less invasive luminal-like cells by PLA detection of c-Jun/Fra1 rather than of c-Jun/ATF2 and c-Jun/c-Fos. Also in tumor tissue derived from highly metastatic basal-like MDA-MB231 cells, high levels of c-Jun/Fra1 complexes were detected. Together, these results demonstrate that in situ PLA is a powerful diagnostic tool to analyze and quantify the amounts of biologically critical AP-1 dimers in fixed cells and tissue material.
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| 7. |
- Bondestam, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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cDNA cloning, expression studies and chromosome mapping of human type I serine/threonine kinase receptor ALK7 (ACVR1C)
- 2001
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Ingår i: Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics. - : S. Karger AG. - 0301-0171 .- 1421-9816. ; 95:3-4, s. 157-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily related growth factors signal by binding to transmembrane type I and type II receptor serine/threonine kinases (RSTK), which phosphorylate intracellular Smad transcription factors in response to ligand binding. Here we describe the cloning of the human type I RSTK activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7), an orthologue of the previously identified rat ALK7. Nodal, a TGF-beta member expressed during embryonic development and implicated in developmental events like mesoderm formation and left-right axis specification, was recently shown to signal through ALK7. We found ALK7 mRNA to be most abundantly expressed in human brain, pancreas and colon. A cDNA encoding the open reading frame of ALK7 was obtained from a human brain cDNA library. Furthermore, a P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) clone containing the human ALK7 gene was isolated and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on metaphase chromosomes identified the gene locus as chromosome 2q24.1-->q3. To test the functionality of the ALK7 signaling, we generated recombinant adenoviruses containing a constitutively active form of ALK7 (Ad-caALK7), which is capable of activating downstream targets in a ligand independent manner. Infection with Ad-caALK7 of MIN6 insulinoma cells, in which ALK7 has previously been shown to be endogenously expressed, led to a marked increase in the phosphorylation of Smad2, a signaling molecule also used by TGF-betas and activins.
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| 8. |
- Bondestam, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Engagement of activin and bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathway Smad proteins in the induction of inhibin B production in ovarian granulosa cells
- 2002
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Ingår i: Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. - 0303-7207 .- 1872-8057. ; 195:1-2, s. 79-88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the mammalian ovary cell growth and differentiation is regulated by several members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) superfamily including activins, inhibins, growth differentiation factors and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). The effects of TGF beta family members are mediated to the target cells via heteromeric complexes of type I and II serine/threonine kinase receptors which activate Smad signaling protein pathways in various cell types. We have previously shown that inhibin B, a hormonally important product from human granulosa cells, is up regulated by activin and BMPs. Here, we report the use of adenoviral gene transfer methodology to manipulate the TGF beta growth factor signaling system in primary cultures of human granulosa cells. These cells are exceedingly difficult to transfect by conventional transfection methods, but were virtually 100% infected with recombinant adenoviruses expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Adenoviruses expressing constitutively active forms of the seven known mammalian type I activin receptor-like kinase receptors (Ad-caALK1 through Ad-caALK7) cause activation of endogenous and adenovirally transferred Smad signaling proteins so that Ad-caALK1/2/3/6 and Ad-caALK4/5/7 induced phosphorylation of the Smad1 and Smad2 pathways, respectively. Activin A and BMP-2 activated the Smad1 and Smad2 pathways as well as inhibin B production as did all the Ad-caALKs. Furthermore, overexpression of adenoviral Smad1 and Smad2 proteins without exogenously added ligands induced inhibin B production. The inhibitory Smad7 protein suppressed BMP-2 and activin induced inhibin B production. Collectively, the present data demonstrate that adenoviral gene transfer provides an effective approach for dissecting the TGF beta signaling pathways in primary ovarian cells in vitro and more specifically indicate that the Smad1 and Smad2 pathways are involved in the regulation of inhibin B production by TGF beta family ligands in the ovary.
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| 9. |
- Brodin, Greger, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient TGF-β Induction of the Smad7 Gene Requires Cooperation between AP-1, Sp1, and Smad Proteins on the Mouse Smad7 Promoter
- 2000
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 275:37, s. 29023-29030
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sma- and Mad-related protein 7 (Smad7) is an antagonist of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling, which has been shown to be induced by TGF-beta itself and also by other stimuli. In an effort to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of the Smad7 gene by TGF-beta, we cloned and functionally characterized a mouse genomic DNA fragment encompassing the mouse Smad7 proximal promoter. This region was found to contain a CpG island and to be devoid of a classical TATA box. Cloned upstream of a promoter-lacking luciferase reporter gene, this region conferred robust TGF-beta-induced transcription. Point mutations in a palindromic Smad binding element, abolished TGF-beta inducibility completely. Through the use of electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we showed the presence of Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 in complexes binding to the Smad binding element. Interestingly, we also found that point mutation and/or deletion of binding sites for the transcription factors activator protein-1 and Sp1 led to an attenuation of the basal promoter activity, as well as of the TGF-beta-mediated induction of Smad7. Taken together, our data imply that Smads, together with activator protein-1 and Sp1 transcription factors, are essential for efficient Smad7 promoter activity.
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| 10. |
- Caja, Laia, et al.
(författare)
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The protein kinase LKB1 promotes self-renewal and blocks invasiveness in glioblastoma
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Cellular Physiology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-9541 .- 1097-4652. ; 237:1, s. 743-762
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) in glioblastoma (GBM) development remains poorly understood. LKB1 may regulate GBM cell metabolism and has been suggested to promote glioma invasiveness. After analyzing LKB1 expression in GBM patient mRNA databases and in tumor tissue via multiparametric immunohistochemistry, we observed that LKB1 was localized and enriched in GBM tumor cells that co-expressed SOX2 and NESTIN stemness markers. Thus, LKB1-specific immunohistochemistry can potentially reveal subpopulations of stem-like cells, advancing GBM patient molecular pathology. We further analyzed the functions of LKB1 in patient-derived GBM cultures under defined serum-free conditions. Silencing of endogenous LKB1 impaired 3D-gliomasphere frequency and promoted GBM cell invasion in vitro and in the zebrafish collagenous tail after extravasation of circulating GBM cells. Moreover, loss of LKB1 function revealed mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in decreased ATP levels. Treatment with the clinically used drug metformin impaired 3D-gliomasphere formation and enhanced cytotoxicity induced by temozolomide, the primary chemotherapeutic drug against GBM. The IC50 of temozolomide in the GBM cultures was significantly decreased in the presence of metformin. This combinatorial effect was further enhanced after LKB1 silencing, which at least partially, was due to increased apoptosis. The expression of genes involved in the maintenance of tumor stemness, such as growth factors and their receptors, including members of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family, was suppressed after LKB1 silencing. The defect in gliomasphere growth caused by LKB1 silencing was bypassed after supplementing the cells with exogenous PFDGF-BB. Our data support the parallel roles of LKB1 in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis, 3D-gliomasphere survival, and hindering migration in GBM. Thus, the natural loss of, or pharmacological interference with LKB1 function, may be associated with benefits in patient survival but could result in tumor spread.
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