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Nonsense mutations cause about 10% of genetic disease cases, and no treatments are available. Nonsense mutations can be corrected by molecules with nonsense mutation readthrough activity. An extract of the mushroom Lepista inversa has recently shown high-efficiency correction of UGA and UAA nonsense mutations. One active constituent of this extract is 2,6-diaminopurine (DAP). In Calu-6 cancer cells, in which TP53 gene has a UGA nonsense mutation, DAP treatment increases p53 level. It also decreases the growth of tumors arising from Calu-6 cells injected into immunodeficient nude mice. DAP acts by interfering with the activity of a tRNA-specific 2′-O-methyltransferase (FTSJ1) responsible for cytosine 34 modification in tRNATrp. Low-toxicity and high-efficiency UGA nonsense mutation correction make DAP a good candidate for the development of treatments for genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations., Nonsense mutations can be corrected by several molecules that activate readthrough of premature termination codon. Here, the authors report that 2,6-diaminopurine efficiently corrects UGA nonsense mutations with no significant toxicity.

Background Schistosoma mansoni histone deacetylase 8 (SmHDAC8) has elicited considerable interest as a target for drug discovery. Invalidation of its transcripts by RNAi leads to impaired survival of the worms in infected mice and its inhibition causes cell apoptosis and death. To determine why it is a promising therapeutic target the study of the currently unknown cellular signaling pathways involving this enzyme is essential. Protein partners of SmHDAC8 were previously identified by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) cDNA library screening and by mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Among these partners we characterized SmRho1, the schistosome orthologue of human RhoA GTPase, which is involved in the regulation of the cytoskeleton. In this work, we validated the interaction between SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 and explored the role of the lysine deacetylase in cytoskeletal regulation. Methodology/principal findings We characterized two isoforms of SmRho1, SmRho1.1 and SmRho1.2. Co- immunoprecipitation (Co-IP)/Mass Spectrometry (MS) analysis identified SmRho1 partner proteins and we used two heterologous expression systems (Y2H assay and Xenopus laevis oocytes) to study interactions between SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 isoforms. To confirm SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 interaction in adult worms and schistosomula, we performed Co-IP experiments and additionally demonstrated SmRho1 acetylation using a Nano LC-MS/MS approach. A major impact of SmHDAC8 in cytoskeleton organization was documented by treating adult worms and schistosomula with a selective SmHDAC8 inhibitor or using RNAi followed by confocal microscopy. Conclusions/significance Our results suggest that SmHDAC8 is involved in cytoskeleton organization via its interaction with the SmRho1.1 isoform. The SmRho1.2 isoform failed to interact with SmHDAC8, but did specifically interact with SmDia suggesting the existence of two distinct signaling pathways regulating S. mansoni cytoskeleton organization via the two SmRho1 isoforms. A specific interaction between SmHDAC8 and the C-terminal moiety of SmRho1.1 was demonstrated, and we showed that SmRho1 is acetylated on K136. SmHDAC8 inhibition or knockdown using RNAi caused extensive disruption of schistosomula actin cytoskeleton., Author summary Schistosoma mansoni is the major parasitic platyhelminth species causing intestinal schistosomiasis. Currently one drug, praziquantel, is the treatment of choice but its use in mass treatment programs means that the development of resistance is likely and renders imperative the development of new therapeutic agents. As new potential targets we have focused on lysine deacetylases, and in particular S. mansoni histone deacetylase 8 (SmHDAC8). Previous studies showed that reduction in the level of transcripts of SmHDAC8 by RNAi led to the impaired survival of the worms after the infection of mice. The analysis of the 3D structure of SmHDAC8 by X-ray crystallography showed that the catalytic domain structure diverges significantly from that of human HDAC8 and this was exploited to develop novel potential anti-schistosomal drugs. The biological roles of SmHDAC8 are unknown. For this reason, we previously characterized its protein binding partners and identified the schistosome orthologue of the human RhoA GTPase, suggesting the involvement of SmHDAC8 in the modulation of cytoskeleton organization. Here we investigated the interaction between SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 and identified two SmRho1 isoforms (SmRho1.1 and SmRho1.2). Our study showed that SmHDAC8 is involved in schistosome cytoskeleton organization.

There is accumulating evidence that TrkA and its ligand Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) are involved in cancer development. Staurosporine derivatives such as K252a and lestaurtinib have been developed to block TrkA kinase signaling, but no clinical trial has fully demonstrated their therapeutic efficacy. Therapeutic failures are likely due to the existence of intrinsic signaling pathways in cancer cells that impede or bypass the effects of TrkA tyrosine kinase inhibitors. To verify this hypothesis, we combined different approaches including mass spectrometry proteomics, co-immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays. We found that NGF treatment induced CD44 binding to TrkA at the plasma membrane and subsequent activation of the p115RhoGEF/RhoA/ROCK1 pathway to stimulate breast cancer cell invasion. The NGF-induced CD44 signaling was independent of TrkA kinase activity. Moreover, both TrkA tyrosine kinase inhibition with lestaurtinib and CD44 silencing with siRNA inhibited cell growth in vitro as well as tumor development in mouse xenograft model; combined treatment significantly enhanced the antineoplastic effects of either treatment alone. Altogether, our results demonstrate that NGF-induced tyrosine kinase independent TrkA signaling through CD44 was sufficient to maintain tumor aggressiveness. Our findings provide an alternative mechanism of cancer resistance to lestaurtinib and indicate that dual inhibition of CD44 and TrkA tyrosine kinase activity may represent a novel therapeutic strategy.

H19 is a long non-coding RNA precursor of miR-675 microRNA. H19 is increasingly described to play key roles in the progression and metastasis of cancers from different tissue origins. We have previously shown that the H19 gene is activated by growth factors and increases breast cancer cell invasion. In this study, we established H19/miR-675 ectopic expression models of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells to further investigate the underlying mechanisms of H19 oncogenic action. We showed that overexpression of H19/miR-675 enhanced the aggressive phenotype of breast cancer cells including increased cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and increased tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, we identified ubiquitin ligase E3 family (c-Cbl and Cbl-b) as direct targets of miR-675 in breast cancer cells. Using a luciferase assay, we demonstrated that H19, through its microRNA, decreased both c-Cbl and Cbl-b expression in all breast cancer cell lines tested. Thus, by directly binding c-Cbl and Cbl-b mRNA, miR-675 increased the stability and the activation of EGFR and c-Met, leading to sustained activation of Akt and Erk as well as enhanced cell proliferation and migration. Our data describe a novel mechanism of protumoral action of H19 in breast cancer.

In the present work, we report the characterization of a Cryptosporidium parvum strain isolated from a patient who nearly drowned in the Deule River (Lille, France) after being discharged from the hospital where he had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation. After being rescued and readmitted to the hospital, he developed fulminant cryptosporidiosis. The strain isolated from the patient's stools was identified as C. parvum II2A15G2R1 (subtype linked to zoonotic exposure) and inoculated into SCID mice. In this host, this virulent C. parvum isolate induced not only severe infection but also invasive gastrointestinal and biliary adenocarcinoma. The observation of adenocarcinomas that progressed through all layers of the digestive tract to the subserosa and spread via blood vessels confirmed the invasive nature of the neoplastic process. These results indicate for the first time that a human-derived C. parvum isolate is able to induce digestive cancer. This study is of special interest considering the exposure of a large number of humans and animals to this waterborne protozoan, which is highly tumorigenic when inoculated in a rodent model.

Dexamethasone (Dex) treated Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) mice were previously described as developing digestive adenocarcinoma after massive infection with Cryptosporidium parvum as soon as 45 days post-infection (P.I.). We aimed to determine the minimum number of oocysts capable of inducing infection and thereby gastrointestinal tumors in this model. Mice were challenged with calibrated oocyst suspensions containing intended doses of: 1, 10, 100 or 10(5) oocysts of C. parvum Iowa strain. All administered doses were infective for animals but increasing the oocyst challenge lead to an increase in mice infectivity (P = 0.01). Oocyst shedding was detected at 7 days P.I. after inoculation with more than 10 oocysts, and after 15 days in mice challenged with one oocyst. In groups challenged with lower inocula, parasite growth phase was significantly higher (P = 0.005) compared to mice inoculated with higher doses. After 45 days P.I. all groups of mice had a mean of oocyst shedding superior to 10,000 oocyst/g of feces. The most impressive observation of this study was the demonstration that C. parvum-induced digestive adenocarcinoma could be caused by infection with low doses of Cryptosporidium, even with only one oocyst: in mice inoculated with low doses, neoplastic lesions were detected as early as 45 days P.I. both in the stomach and ileo-caecal region, and these lesions could evolve in an invasive adenocarcinoma. These findings show a great amplification effect of parasites in mouse tissues after challenge with low doses as confirmed by quantitative PCR. The ability of C. parvum to infect mice with one oocyst and to develop digestive adenocarcinoma suggests that other mammalian species including humans could be also susceptible to this process, especially when they are severely immunocompromised.

Comment in :- RE: Effect of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma-Derived Exosomes on Human Regulatory T Cells. [J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015]- Response. [J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015]; International audience; BACKGROUND: Regulatory T cells (Treg) and tumor-exosomes are thought to play a role in preventing the rejection of malignant cells in patients bearing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).METHODS: Treg recruitment by exosomes derived from NPC cell lines (C15/C17-Exo), exosomes isolated from NPC patients' plasma (Patient-Exo), and CCL20 were tested in vitro using Boyden chamber assays and in vivo using a xenograft SCID mouse model (n = 5), both in the presence and absence of anti-CCL20 monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Impact of these NPC exosomes (NPC-Exo) on Treg phenotype and function was determined using adapted assays (FACS, Q-PCR, ELISA, and MLR). Experiments were performed in comparison with exosomes derived from plasma of healthy donors (HD-Exo). The Student's t test was used for group comparisons. All statistical tests were two-sided.RESULTS: CCL20 allowed the intratumoral recruitment of human Treg. NPC-Exo also facilitated Treg recruitment (3.30 ± 0.34 fold increase, P < .001), which was statistically significantly inhibited (P < .001) by an anti-CCL20 blocking mAb. NPC-Exo also recruited conventional CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells and mediated their conversion into inhibitory CD4(+)CD25(high) cells. Moreover, NPC-Exo enhanced (P = .0048) the expansion of human Treg, inducing the generation of Tim3(Low) Treg with increased expression of CD25 and FOXP3. Finally, NPC-Exo induced an overexpression of cell markers associated with Treg phenotype, properties and recruitment capacity. For example, GZMB mean fold change was 21.45 ± 1.75 (P < .001). These results were consistent with a stronger suppression of responder cells' proliferation and the secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines (IL10, TGFB1).CONCLUSION: Interactions between NPC-Exo and Treg represent a newly defined mechanism that may be involved in regulating peripheral tolerance by tumors and in supporting immune evasion in human NPC.