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XLSX file, 12K, Phosphorylation of CAMKII in liver cancer patients.

XLSX file, 11K, Sphere formation (2 independent trials).

PDF file, 1752K, Figure S1. (Related to Figure 2) BBM suppresses the xenograft growth of Huh7 and SK-Hep-1 cells; Figure S2. (Related to Figure 3) BBM is localized in cytoplasm and affects cell survival; Figure S3. (Related to Figure 4) BBM suppressed the CD133+ population in Huh7 cells; Figure S4. (Related to Figure 5B). The chemical inhibitor of CAMKII, KN93, suppresses CD133+ population in Huh7 cells; Figure S6. (Related to Figure 6C). The knockdown of CAMKIIgamma suppresses liver cancer growth.

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XLSX file, 9K, IC50s of berbamine on liver cancer cells.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of human deaths. The efficient replication and population spread of SARS-CoV-2 indicates an effective evasion of human innate immune responses, although the viral proteins responsible for this immune evasion are not clear. In this study, we identified SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins, accessory proteins, and the main viral protease as potent inhibitors of host innate immune responses of distinct pathways. In particular, the main viral protease was a potent inhibitor of both the RLR and cGAS-STING pathways. Viral accessory protein ORF3a had the unique ability to inhibit STING, but not the RLR response. On the other hand, structural protein N was a unique RLR inhibitor. ORF3a bound STING in a unique fashion and blocked the nuclear accumulation of p65 to inhibit nuclear factor-κB signaling. 3CL of SARS-CoV-2 inhibited K63-ubiquitin modification of STING to disrupt the assembly of the STING functional complex and downstream signaling. Diverse vertebrate STINGs, including those from humans, mice, and chickens, could be inhibited by ORF3a and 3CL of SARS-CoV-2. The existence of more effective innate immune suppressors in pathogenic coronaviruses may allow them to replicate more efficiently in vivo. Since evasion of host innate immune responses is essential for the survival of all viruses, our study provides insights into the design of therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2.

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults, and it has a survival rate of only 60% with current cytotoxic chemotherapy combined with aggressive surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the berbamine derivative 2-methylbenzoyl berbamine (BBD24) for osteosarcoma in vitro and in vivo. We used human osteosarcoma cell lines, primary osteosarcoma cells and mouse models to evaluate the inhibitory effects of BBD24 on osteosarcoma and to determine the molecular mechanism. Our results showed that BBD24 inhibited the growth of the human osteosarcoma cell lines HOS and MG63 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. BBD24 also exhibited significant inhibitory effects on primary osteosarcoma cells. In contrast, BBD24 did not affect normal blood cells under the same conditions. Treatment with BBD24 induced apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy in osteosarcoma cells. Western blot analysis revealed that BBD24 activated the caspase-dependent pathway and downregulated the NF-kB, AKT, and ERK pathways. Finally, BBD24 treatment induced a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of osteosarcoma in nude mice. Our findings indicate that BBD24 is a multitarget inhibitor and may represent a new type of anticancer agent for osteosarcoma treatment.

Cell division cycle associated (CDCA) gene family plays an important role in cells. However, some researchers revealed that overexpression of CDCAs might contribute to the tumor progression in several cancers. Here, we analyzed the role of this gene family in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We used several web tools and found that most of CDCAs were highly expressed in tumor tissues compared to the paracancer tissues in HCC. We then used RT-qPCR to confirm our results. The results showed that CDCA2, CDCA3, CDCA5 and CDCA8 were up-regulated in HCC. We also found that these genes were associated with poor overall survival and relapse free survival except CDCA7. The functional analysis showed that this gene family might take part in many processes, including cell division, apoptosis, DNA damage and DNA repair, which might contribute to the tumor progression. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that these genes participated in several important pathways such as PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and hippo signaling pathway. In conclusion, our findings suggested that CDCA2, CDCA3, CDCA4, CDCA5, and CDCA8 might have potential diagnostic and prognostic values for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Innate immunity is the first line of host defence against pathogens. Suppression of innate immune responses is essential for the survival of all viruses. However, the interplay between innate immunity and HIV/SIV is only poorly characterized. We have discovered Vpx as a novel inhibitor of innate immune activation that associates with STING signalosomes and interferes with the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and the induction of innate immune genes. This new function of Vpx could be separated from its role in mediating degradation of the antiviral factor SAMHD1, and is conserved among diverse HIV-2/SIV Vpx. Vpx selectively suppressed cGAS-STING-mediated nuclear factor-κB signalling. Furthermore, Vpx and Vpr had complementary activities against cGAS-STING activity. Since SIVMAC lacking both Vpx and Vpr was less pathogenic than SIV deficient for Vpr or Vpx alone, suppression of innate immunity by HIV/SIV is probably a key pathogenic determinant, making it a promising target for intervention.

As a heterogeneous group of clonal disorders, acute myeloid leukemia with internal tandem duplication of fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD) mutation usually shows an inferior prognosis. In the present study, we found that homoharringtonine (HHT), a protein translation inhibitor of plant alkaloid in China, exhibited potent cytotoxic effect against FLT3-ITD (+) cell lines and primary leukemia cells, and a remarkable synergistic anti-leukemia action was demonstrated in vitro and in vivo in xenograft mouse models when co-treated with the heat shock protein 90 inhibitor IPI504. Mechanistically, HHT combined with IPI504 synergistically inhibited the growth of leukemia cells by inducing apoptosis and G1 phase arrest. This synergistic action resulted in a prominent reduction of total and phosphorylated FLT3 (p-FLT3) as well as inhibition of its downstream signaling molecules such as STAT5, AKT, ERK and 4E-BP1. Furthermore, co-treatment of HHT and IPI504 led to a synergistic or additive effect on 55.56%(10/18) of acute myeloid leukemia cases tested, including three relapsed/refractory patients. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the combination of HHT and HSP90 inhibitor provides an alternative way for the treatment of FLT3-ITD positive acute myeloid leukemia, especially for relapsed/refractory AML.

Acute myeloid leukemia harboring internal tandem duplication of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD AML) is a subset of highly aggressive malignancies with poor clinical outcome. Despite some advances in the development of FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (FLT3 inhibitors), most of FLT3-ITD AML patients suffer from lethal disease relapse, suggesting the requirement of novel targets and agents. Here we describe a natural small molecule, triptonide that can efficiently inhibit FLT3-ITD-driven AML in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, triptonide targeted Hedgehog/FLT3 signaling by inhibiting its critical effectors, which are GLI2, c-Myc and FLT3 and induced apoptosis of FLT3-ITD-driven leukemia cells. In addition, we also observed that triptonide activated tumor suppressor p53. In vivo, triptonide treatment markedly suppressed lethal FLT3-ITD-driven AML with good tolerance and prolonged survival time in orthotopic mouse model. Our studies identify Hedgehog/FLT3 axis as a novel target for treating FLT3-ITD-driven leukemia and demonstrate that triptonide is an active lead compound that can kill FLT3-ITD-driven leukemia cells.

BackgroundAlthough treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has progressed considerably in recent years, treatment failure still occurs in about 40% of patients who are refractory/relapse. Recent studies suggest that TP53 mutation may be an important cause of refractory/relapse in DLBCL, but the cause of TP53 mutation remains unclear. MethodsIn the present study, the correlation between TP53 mutation status and APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B expression in DLBCL specimens was searched by detecting the correlation between TP53 mutation and APOBEC3B expression in combination with database informatics analysis. Further, the relationship between APOBEC3B expression and TP53 mutation was analyzed by constructing APOBEC3B induced expression DLBCL cell lines. The effects of APOBEC3B-induced TP53 mutants on DLBCL cell proliferation and drug resistance were also tested. ResultsWe identify APOBEC3B as a critical factor that regulates p53-mutant driven drug resistance of DLBCL. APOBEC3B induces TP53 mutations of DLBCL cells, and its mutation patterns are similar to those in DLBCL patients. Moreover, APOBEC3B-induced p53 mutants promoted growth of DLBCL cells as well as contributed to drug resistance. In human DLBCL, APOBEC3B is aberrantly activated and associated with p53 mutant-mediated refractory/relapsed DLBCL. ConclusionThese findings yield insights into the mechanism of refractory/relapsed DLBCL induced by p53 mutants and reveal APOBEC3B as a new therapeutic target.

MYC oncogene is involved in the majority of human cancers and is often associated with poor outcomes, rendering it an extraordinarily desirable target, but therapeutic targeting of c-Myc protein has been a challenge for30 years. Here, WBC100, a novel oral active molecule glue that selectively degrades c-Myc protein over other proteins and potently kills c-Myc overexpressing cancer cells is reported. WBC100 targets the nuclear localization signal 1 (NLS1)-Basic-nuclear localization signal 2 (NLS2) region of c-Myc and induces c-Myc protein degradation through ubiquitin E3 ligase CHIP mediated 26S proteasome pathway, leading to apoptosis of cancer cells. In vivo, WBC100 potently regresses multiple lethal c-Myc overexpressing tumors such as acute myeloid leukemia, pancreatic, and gastric cancers with good tolerability in multiple xenograft mouse models. Identification of the NLS1-Basic-NLS2 region as a druggable pocket for targeting the "undruggable" c-Myc protein and that single-agent WBC100 potently regresses c-Myc overexpressing tumors through selective c-Myc proteolysis opens new perspectives for pharmacologically intervening c-Myc in human cancers.

We previously defined the HERV-K Np9 as a viral oncogene. Here we report the discovery of a novel oncogene, Np17, which is homologous to the viral Np9 gene and predominantly present in Hominoidea. Np17 is located on chromosome 8, consists of 7 exons, and encodes a 16.8kDa nuclear protein with149 amino-acid residue. Functionally, knockdown of Np17 induced growth inhibition of leukemia cells, whereas enforced expression of Np17 promoted growth of leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. In human leukemia, Np17 was detected in 59.65% (34/57) of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients examined and associated with refractory/relapsed AML. Mechanistically, Np17 decreased p53 levels and its mechanism might be involved in recruiting nuclear MDM2 to p53 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation. These findings reveal that Np17 is a novel oncogene associated with refractory/relapsed leukemia.

Aberrant activation of CAMKIIγ has been linked to leukemia and T-cell lymphoma, but not multiple myeloma (MM). The purpose of this study was to explore the role of CaMKIIγ in the pathogenesis and therapy of MM. In this study, we found that CaMKIIγ was aberrantly activated in human MM and its expression level was positively correlated with malignant progression and poor prognosis. Ectopic expression of CaMKIIγ promoted cell growth, colony formation, cell cycle progress and inhibited apoptosis of MM cell lines, whereas, knockdown of CAMKIIγ expression suppressed MM cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, we observed that CaMKIIγ overexpression upregulated p-ERK and p-Stat3 levels and suppression of CaMKIIγ had opposite effects. CaMKIIγ is frequently dysregulated in MM and plays a critical role in maintaining MM cell growth through upregulating STAT3 signaling pathway. Furthermore, our preclinical studies suggest that CaMKIIγ is a potential therapeutic target in MM, and could be intervened pharmacologically by small-molecule berbamine analogues.

Case retrieval is a key issue in case-based design. The purpose of retrieval is to select the most suitable case for reusing. In the context of rule-based automatic case adaptation, the prerequisite to adapt a case automatically is that all the required adaptation rules can be found in the rule base. In addition, the adaptation performance is also influenced by the quality of the required adaptation rules and the workload of the adaptation. To retrieve the most suitable case for rule-based automatic case adaptation, a new case retrieval method is proposed. First, the rule maturity of each case is calculated to measure the sufficiency and quality of the required adaptation rules. Then, the adaptability of each case is calculated to measure the adaptation workload. Finally, the suitability of the cases is obtained by synthesizing the maturity and the adaptability. The case with the largest suitability is selected as the starting point of the new design. Two comparative experiments were performed, and the results show that the cases retrieved by the proposed method were more suitable for automatic adaptation.

Inflammation is one of the major risk factors for cancer. Here, we show that calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II gamma (CAMK2γ) in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) modulates inflammatory signals and promotes colitis-associated cancer (CAC) in mice. We have identified CAMK2γ as a downstream target of colitis-induced WNT5A signaling. Furthermore, we have shown that CAMK2γ protects against intestine tissue injury by increasing IEC survival and proliferation. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II gamma knockout mice displayed reduced CAC. Furthermore, we used bone marrow transplantation to reveal that CAMK2γ in IECs, but not immune cells, was crucial for its effect on CAC. Consistently, transgenic over-expression of CAMK2γ in IECs accelerated CAC development. Mechanistically, CAMK2γ in IECs enhanced epithelial signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation to promote survival and proliferation of colonic epithelial cells during CAC development. These results thus identify a new molecular mechanism mediated by CAMK2γ in IECs during CAC development, thereby providing a potential new therapeutic target for CAC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly cancers that still lacks effective treatments. Dysregulation of kinase signaling has frequently been reported to contribute to HCC. In this study, we used bioinformatic approaches to identify kinases that regulate gene expression changes in human HCCs and two murine HCC models. We identified a role for calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases II gamma isoform (CAMK2γ) in hepatocarcinogenesis. CAMK2γ−/− mice displayed severely enhanced chemical-induced hepatocarcinogenesis compared with wild-type controls. Mechanistically, CAMK2γ deletion potentiates hepatic activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), which results in hyperproliferation of hepatocytes. Inhibition of mTORC1 by rapamycin effectively attenuates the compensatory proliferation of hepatocytes in CAMK2γ−/− livers. We further demonstrated that CAMK2γ suppressed growth factor- or insulin-induced mTORC1 activation by inhibiting IRS1/AKT signaling. Taken together, our results reveal a novel mechanism by which CAMK2γ antagonizes mTORC1 activation during hepatocarcinogenesis.

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable despite the development and the use of new agents. In our studies, we found that 4-chlorbenzoyl berbamine (BBMD9), a novel synthetic derivative of berbamine, inhibited the proliferation of MM cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. Flow cytometric (FCM) analysis revealed that MM cells were arrested in the G1 phase and that apoptotic cells increased in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, the BBMD9 treatment downregulated IKKα and IKKβ, inhibited p-IκBα, and blocked p65 nuclear localization. Consistently, NF-κB downstream targets, such as cyclinD1 and survivin, were also reduced. In addition, BBMD9 phosphorylated the activity of JNK and c-Jun.

The outcome of early intravenous thrombolysis for ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is worse than that without thrombosis. How to increase the efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis for AF-related ischemic stroke remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated factors that influence the effect of intravenous thrombolysis in these patients. Our results showed that thrombolysis was independently associated with a favorable outcome (P

// Hong Zhou 1, 2, 5, * , Jiawei Zhang 2, 3, * , Ying Gu 1, 2, 3, * , Xiaoxian Gan 3, 4 , Yichao Gan 1, 2 , Weiwei Zheng 1, 2 , Byung-Wook Kim 3 , Xiaohua Xu 1 , Xiaoya Lu 1, 2 , Qi Dong 2 , Shu Zheng 2 , Wendong Huang 3 , Rongzhen Xu 1, 2 1 Department of Hematology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China 2 Cancer Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China 3 Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA 4 Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310012, China 5 Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310006, China * These authors contributed equally to this work. Correspondence to: Rongzhen Xu, e-mail: zrxyk10@zju.edu.cn Wendong Huang, e-mail: whuang@coh.org Keywords: cancer cell, RNA giant nuclear body, nuclear RNA trafficking Received: August 25, 2015 Accepted: November 25, 2015 Published: December 15, 2015 ABSTRACT Constitutive synthesis of oncogenic mRNAs is essential for maintaining the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. However, little is known about how these mRNAs are exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Here, we report the identification of a RNA giant nuclear body (RNA-GNB) that is abundant in cancer cells but rare in normal cells. The RNA-GNB contains a RNA core surrounded by a protein shell. We identify 782 proteins from cancer-associated RNA-GNBs, 40% of which are involved in the nuclear mRNA trafficking. RNA-GNB is required for cell proliferation, and its abundance is positively associated with tumor burden and outcome of therapies. Our findings suggest that the RNA-GNB is a novel nuclear RNA trafficking organelle that may contribute to the nuclear mRNA exporting and proliferation of cancer cells.

AFP-producing gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma (APA-GI) is a rare type of cancer, typically with hepatoid differentiation, chemotherapy resistance and poor prognosis. As the mechanisms of its AFP production and hepatoid differentiation remain unclear, the present study aims to reveal the pathogenesis of APA-GI through genomic and transcriptomic profile analysis. We firstly performed 200 × whole exome sequencing of 29 APA-GI and 8 non-APA-GI cases from our hospital, but found no significant difference in single nucleotide variants (SNV) or insertion/deletion(indels). Additionally, there was no overlap gene when compared with the known genes harbored at 20q11.21-13.12 reported in gastric hepatoid adenocarcinoma. We then performed single-cell mRNA sequencing in one APA-GI, and observed several hepatoid differentiation markers in AFP positive cells including HNF4A and HNF1A. To further determine the specific alterations of APA-GI, we divided 339 gastric cancer patients from TCGA database into AFP-low group and AFP-high group by the level of AFP transcription through a dynamic grouping method named grid search. We performed a series differentially expressed genes detections within different grouping strategies and no significant SNV or indels difference was recognized. We identified hepatoid differentiation markers (i.e. HNF4A, HNF1A and ALB, et al) in AFP-high patients in mRNA level. As the difference of hepatoid differentiation markers only occurred in the mRNA level without DNA alteration, we hypothesized that it was probably caused by epigenetic regulation. We further compared these genes with an epigenetic regulators database named EpiFactors. Finally, it showed CCCTC-Binding Factor Like (CTCFL) was stably related with AFP producing within the grid search. In conclusion, comprehensive genomic analysis of APA-GI shows significant hepatoid differentiation at the transcriptomic level without disease-specific DNA alteration. The pathogenesis of APA-GI may be associated with other mechanisms like epigenetic regulation. Further study was needed to confirm the role of epigenetic regulators we detected in the present study in the development of APA-GI. Citation Format: Jun Li, Xinlin Li, Qiancheng Ye, Yu Tian, Xiangxing Kong, Yue Liu, Xiaoming Xu, Lina Zhang, Qian Xiao, Yeting Hu, Rongzhen Xu, Jingsong Li. Genomic and transcriptomic landscape of AFP-producing gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4747.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a group of highly aggressive malignancies with a 5-year overall survival of less than 40%. Cell overgrowth with defective apoptosis is a hallmark of AML, but little is known about how it occurs. Here, we show that aberrant activation of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1) encoded by POLR2A gene is critically involved in this hallmark. We retrospectively analyzed the expression profiles of POLR2A and RPB1 in a panel of AML cell lines, primary AML patients and peripheral blood samples. Meanwhile, correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between the expression of RPB1 with tumor burden and overall survival time in untreated AML samples. RNA-Seq approach was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes between RPB1 silencing AML cells with control cells after knocking out RPB1. Furthermore, orthotopic AML models were established with RPB1 silencing and control cells to investigate the effects of RPB1 protein level on leukemia cell growth. In most AML patients, RPB1 was aberrantly activated and closely associated with poor prognosis, but not in normal hematopoietic cells. Global transcriptomic analysis revealed that POLR2A knockout strongly impaired growth of AML cells by selectively depleting a substantial set of AML-related oncogenic and anti-apoptosis genes such as MYC, RUNX2, MEIS1, CDC25A and BCL-2. Silencing RPB1 by genetic technology led to a potent regression of human refractory AML in mouse models. These findings reveal that dysregulated RPB1 is a central oncogenic hub that drives overgrowth by hijacking an array of oncogenic and anti-apoptosis factors. Targeting RPB1 is a potential therapeutic for treating AML.

Proto-oncogene Myc, a key transcription factor, is frequently deregulated in human leukemia with aggressive and poor clinical outcome, but the development of MYC inhibitors remains challenging due to MYC helix-loop-helix topology lacking druggable domains. Here we describe a novel oral active small molecule analog of berbamine, tosyl chloride-berbamine (TCB), that efficiently eliminates MYC-positive leukemia in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, TCB potently reduced MYC protein by inhibiting CaMKIIγ, a critical enzyme that stabilizes MYC protein, and induces apoptosis of MYC-positive leukemia cells. In vivo, oral administration of TCB markedly eliminated lethal MYC-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with well tolerability in orthotopic mouse model. Our studies identify CaMKIIγ/Myc axis as a valid target for developing small molecule-based new therapies for treating MYC-mediated leukemia and demonstrate that TCB is an orally active analog of berbamine that kills MYC-positive leukemia cells.

C-Myc expression is associated with poor prognosis and aggressive progression of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and the development of drug-like c-Myc inhibitors remains challenging. In this study, we report a novel berbamine derivative termed 4-chlorobenzoyl berbamine (CBBM) that potently induced the apoptosis of c-Myc-overexpressing DLBCL cells but spared normal blood cells. The compound showed IC50 values ranging from 1.93 to 3.89 μmol/L in DLCBL cells and exhibited a 4.75- to 9.64-fold increase in anti-tumor activity compared to berbamine. Additionally, CBBM inhibited the proliferation of the DLBCL line OCI-Ly3 cells through G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest and induced apoptosis. Further studies have shown that CBBM treatment leads to the proteasome-dependent degradation of c-Myc protein in OCI-Ly3 cells. Interestingly, we found that the inhibitory effect of CBBM was positively correlated with basal levels of CaMKIIγ, which is a key inducer of c-Myc expression in DLBCL cells. We also observed that CBBM inhibits the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, leading to reduced c-Myc transcription. Collectively, these findings suggest that CBBM could be a promising lead compound for treatment of c-Myc-driven DLBCL.

As phospho-eIF4E (p-eIF4E), unlike total eIF4E (t-eIF4E) essential for normal cells, is specifically required by cancer cells, it is an attractive, yet unrealized, target for anti-tumor intervention. Here we identify a small molecule, homoharringtonine (HHT), that antagonizes p-eIF4E function and eradicates acute myeloid leukemia (AML) expressing high level of p-eIF4E in vitro and in vivo. HHT selectively reduces p-eIF4E levels of leukemia cells without affecting t-eIF4E. HHT targets the phosphorylated serine 209 residue of p-eIF4E and induces p-eIF4E oligomerization, which enhances its interaction with the small ubiquitin-like protein modifier (SUMO)-conjugating enzyme UBC9, resulting in proteasome-dependent degradation of p-eIF4E via SUMO2/3-mediated SUMOylation. These results suggest that the phosphorylated serine 209 residue of p-eIF4E might be a potential target for developing small molecule-based new therapies for leukemia.

The structural perfection and multivalency of dendrimers have made them useful for biodelivery and bioactivity via peripheral functionalization and the modulation of core-forming structures and dendrimer generations. Yet only few dendrimers have shown inherent therapeutic activity arising from their inner repeating units. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of a polyacylthiourea dendrimer with inherent potent anticancer activity and the absence of cytotoxicity in mice. The poly(ethylene glycol)-functionalized fourth generation of the dendrimer, which can be efficiently synthesized from sequential click reactions of orthogonal monomers, displays low in vivo acute and subacute toxicities yet potently inhibits tumour growth and metastasis. The dendrimer’s in vivo anticancer activity arises from the depletion of bioavailable copper and the subsequent inhibition of angiogenesis and cellular proliferation. When compared with some clinically used cytotoxin drugs, the dendrimer exerts inherent anticancer activity via non-cytotoxic pathways and leads to higher therapeutic efficacy, yet without cytotoxin-induced side effects. A dendrimer that depletes bioavailable copper and leads to the suppression of tumour angiogenesis acts as a potent and non-cytotoxic anticancer therapeutic.

Competition is the essence of market economy, and how commercial Banks reform and develop and occupy a dominant position in competition is a common concern in the fields of finance and information science. By sorting out relevant results, it can provide reference for the development and research of commercial Banks. Starting from financial intelligence, this paper discusses the development evolution of commercial Banks from the perspective of competitive intelligence. Based on SCP analysis of the development dilemma of commercial Banks, this paper proposes the development path of competitive intelligence system of commercial Banks. Putting forward new ideas for the development of commercial Banks, combined with the needs of the industry, in-depth competition intelligence collection and processing work for the innovation and development of commercial Banks is of great significance.

Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide but no effective treatment toward liver cancer is available so far. Therefore, there is an unmet medical need to identify novel therapies to efficiently treat liver cancer and improve the prognosis of this disease. Here, we report that berbamine and one of its derivatives, bbd24, potently suppressed liver cancer cell proliferation and induced cancer cell death by targeting Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CAMKII). Furthermore, berbamine inhibited the in vivo tumorigenicity of liver cancer cells in NOD/SCID mice and downregulated the self-renewal abilities of liver cancer–initiating cells. Chemical inhibition or short hairpin RNA–mediated knockdown of CAMKII recapitulated the effects of berbamine, whereas overexpression of CAMKII promoted cancer cell proliferation and increased the resistance of liver cancer cells to berbamine treatments. Western blot analyses of human liver cancer specimens showed that CAMKII was hyperphosphorylated in liver tumors compared with the paired peritumor tissues, which supports a role of CAMKII in promoting human liver cancer progression and the potential clinical use of berbamine for liver cancer therapies. Our data suggest that berbamine and its derivatives are promising agents to suppress liver cancer growth by targeting CAMKII. Mol Cancer Ther; 12(10); 2067–77. ©2013 AACR.

HERV-K (human endogenous retrovirus type K) type 1-encoded Np9 is a tumor-specific biomarker, but its oncogenic role and targets in human leukemia remain elusive. We first identified Np9 as a potent viral oncogene in human leukemia. Silencing of Np9 inhibited the growth of myeloid and lymphoblastic leukemic cells, whereas expression of Np9 significantly promoted the growth of leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo. Np9 not only activated ERK, AKT and Notch1 pathways but also upregulated β-catenin essential for survival of leukemia stem cells. In human leukemia, Np9 protein level in leukemia patients was substantially higher than that in normal donors (56% vs 4.5%). Moreover, Np9 protein level was correlated with the number of leukemia stem/progenitor cells but not detected in normal CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells. In addition, Np9-positive samples highly expressed leukemia-specific pol-env polyprotein, env and transmembrane proteins as well as viral particles. Thus, the viral oncogene Np9 is a critical molecular switch of multiple signaling pathways regulating the growth of leukemia stem/progenitor cells. These findings open a new perspective to understand the etiology of human common leukemia and provide a novel target for treating leukemia.

Background & Aims Liver tumor, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is closely associated with chronic inflammation. We previously showed that farnesoid X receptor knockout ( FXR − / − ) mice displayed chronic inflammation and developed spontaneous liver tumors when they aged. However, the mechanism by which inflammation leads to HCC in the absence of FXR is unclear. Because IFNγ is one of the most upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines in FXR − / − livers, we generated IFNγ − / − FXR − / − double knockout mice to determine IFNγ's roles in hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods IFNγ − / − mice were crossed with an FXR − / − C57BL/6 background or injected i.p. with the hepatocarcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Hepatocarcinogenesis was analyzed with biochemical and histological methods. Results IFNγ deletion accelerated spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis in FXR − / − mice and increased the susceptibility to DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. IFNγ deletion enhanced activation of HCC promoters STAT3 and JNK/c-Jun, but abolished induction of p53 in IFNγ − / − livers after acute DEN-induced injury. Furthermore, hepatic p53 expression increased in aged wild type mice but not in aged IFNγ − / − and IFNγ − / − FXR − / − mice, while activation of STAT3 and JNK/c-Jun was enhanced in aged IFNγ − / − and IFNγ − / − FXR − / − mice. In addition, IFNγ inhibited liver cancer xenograft growth and impaired IL-6-induced STAT3 phosphorylation by inducing SOCS1/3 expression. Conclusions Increased IFNγ expression in FXR − / − livers represents a protective response of the liver against chronic injury and tumorigenesis. IFNγ suppresses hepatocarcinogenesis by inducing p53 expression and preventing STAT3 activation.