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ABSTRACTLow molecular weight proteins and protein assemblies can now be investigated using cryo-electron microscopy (EM) as a complement to traditional structural biology techniques. It is important, however, to not lose sight of the dynamic information inherent in macromolecules that give rise to their exquisite functionality. As computational methods continue to advance the field of biomedical imaging, so must strategies to resolve the minute details of disease-related entities. Here, we employed combinatorial modeling approaches to assess flexible properties among low molecular weight proteins (~100 kDa or less). Through a blend of rigid body refinement and simulated annealing, we determined new hidden conformations for wild type p53 monomer and dimer forms. Structures for both states converged to yield new conformers, each revealing good stereochemistry and dynamic information about the protein. Based on these insights, we identified fluid parts of p53 that complement the stable central core of the protein responsible for engaging DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations corroborated the modeling results and helped pinpoint the more flexible residues in wild type p53. Overall, the new computational methods may be used to shed light on other small protein features in a vast ensemble of structural data that cannot be easily delineated by other algorithms.

Low molecular weight proteins and protein assemblies can now be investigated using cryo-electron microscopy (EM) as a complement to traditional structural biology techniques. It is important, however, to not lose sight of the dynamic information inherent in macromolecules that give rise to their exquisite functionality. As computational methods continue to advance the field of biomedical imaging, so must strategies to resolve the minute details of disease-related entities. Here, we employed combinatorial modeling approaches to assess flexible properties among low molecular weight proteins (~100 kDa or less). Through a blend of rigid body refinement and simulated annealing, we determined new hidden conformations for wild type p53 monomer and dimer forms. Structures for both states converged to yield new conformers, each revealing good stereochemistry and dynamic information about the protein. Based on these insights, we identified fluid parts of p53 that complement the stable central core of the protein responsible for engaging DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations corroborated the modeling results and helped pinpoint the more flexible residues in wild type p53. Overall, the new computational methods may be used to shed light on other small protein features in a vast ensemble of structural data that cannot be easily delineated by other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel series of furan‐bearing pyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridines were designed as cyclin‐dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitors and as p53–murine double minute 2 (MDM2) inhibitors. The newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antiproliferative activity toward hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines. The most active compounds on both cell lines were additionally evaluated for their in vitro CDK2 inhibitory activity. Compounds 7b and 12f displayed enhanced activity (half‐maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50] = 0.46 and 0.27 µM, respectively) in comparison to the standard roscovitine (IC50 = 1.41 ± 0.03 µM), in addition to, cell cycle arrest at S phase and G1/S transition phase in MCF7 cells treated with both compounds, respectively. Moreover, the most active spiro‐oxindole derivative against MCF7 cell line, 16a, exhibited enhanced inhibitory activity against p53–MDM2 interaction in vitro (IC50 = 3.09 ± 0.12 µM) compared to nutlin, and increased the levels of both p53 and p21 by nearly fourfold in comparison to the negative control. Molecular docking studies demonstrated the plausible interaction patterns of the most potent derivatives 17b and 12f in the CDK2 binding pocket and the spiro‐oxindole 16a with p53–MDM2 complex, respectively. Consequently, the new chemotypes 7b, 12f, and 16a can be presented as promising antitumor hits for further studies and optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low molecular weight proteins and protein assemblies can now be investigated using cryo-electron microscopy (EM) as a complement to traditional structural biology techniques. It is important, however, to not lose sight of the dynamic information inherent in macromolecules that give rise to their exquisite functionality. As computational methods continue to advance the field of biomedical imaging, so must strategies to resolve the minute details of disease-related entities. Here, we employed combinatorial modeling approaches to assess flexible properties among low molecular weight proteins (~100 kDa or less). Through a blend of rigid body refinement and simulated annealing, we determined new hidden conformations for wild type p53 monomer and dimer forms. Structures for both states converged to yield new conformers, each revealing good stereochemistry and dynamic information about the protein. Based on these insights, we identified fluid parts of p53 that complement the stable central core of the protein responsible for engaging DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations corroborated the modeling results and helped pinpoint the more flexible residues in wild type p53. Overall, the new computational methods may be used to shed light on other small protein features in a vast ensemble of structural data that cannot be easily delineated by other algorithms.

The retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and the homologous pocket proteins p107 and p130 negatively regulate cell proliferation by binding and inhibiting members of the E2F transcription factor family. The structural features that distinguish Rb from other pocket proteins have been unclear but are critical for understanding their functional diversity and determining why Rb has unique tumor suppressor activities. We describe here important differences in how the Rb and p107 C-terminal domains (CTDs) associate with the coiled-coil and marked-box domains (CMs) of E2Fs. We find that although CTD-CM binding is conserved across protein families, Rb and p107 CTDs show clear preferences for different E2Fs. A crystal structure of the p107 CTD bound to E2F5 and its dimer partner DP1 reveals the molecular basis for pocket protein-E2F binding specificity and how cyclin-dependent kinases differentially regulate pocket proteins through CTD phosphorylation. Our structural and biochemical data together with phylogenetic analyses of Rb and E2F proteins support the conclusion that Rb evolved specific structural motifs that confer its unique capacity to bind with high affinity those E2Fs that are the most potent activators of the cell cycle.

Reduced Glutathione (GSH) was found in all mammalian tissues, as antioxidant is plays an important role in number of biochemical processes that includes repair of oxidativestress damage, defense against free radicals, apoptosis, signal transduction and gene expression. Cisplatin (CDDP) as common chemotherapy used against many forms of human cancers. Unfortunately, like many chemotherapy drugs the CDDP have adverse effects on cancers patients such as cytotoxicity on normal tissue and decreases levels of glutathione. The current studywas verified the effect of GSH by using different dosages (10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/kg) on Swiss albino mice, then chosen the best dose of GSH to use with one acute dose (2.5mg/kg) of CDDP, through measuring two parameters: Micronucleus rate MN as Cytotoxic test and Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 levels as a Genotoxic test. Results of combination group showed significant decrease in number of micronuclei (7.48%) compared to CDDP group (9.64%) and significant increase in levels of p53(164.63pg/ml) compared to CDDP group (47.26 pg/ml). Although, results when compared to control group (2.60%) it still significant increases in formation of MN rate, also significant increases in p53 values when compared to control group (72.27pg/ml). This means that GSH may be has ability to improve the cytotoxicity of CDDP and reduces its toxicity on normal cells of cancers patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background We reported previously that phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a dietary compound, can reactivate p53R175H mutant in vitro and in SK-BR-3 (p53R175H) breast xenograft model resulting in tumor inhibition. Because of the diversity of human cancers with p53 mutations, these findings raise important questions whether this mechanism operates in different cancer types with same or different p53 mutations. In this study, we investigated whether PEITC recuses mutant p53 in prostate cancer cells harboring different types of p53 mutants, structural and contact, in vitro and in vivo. Methods Cell proliferation, cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest assays were performed to examine the effects of PEITC on prostate cancer cell lines with p53 mutation(s), wild-type p53, p53 null or normal prostate cells in vitro. Western blot analysis was used to monitor the expression levels of p53 protein, activation of ATM and upregulation of canonical p53 targets. Immunoprecipitation, subcellular protein fraction and qRT-PCR was performed to determine change in conformation and restoration of transactivation functions/ inhibition of gain-of-function (GOF) activities to p53 mutant(s). Mice xenograft models were established to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of PEITC and PEITC-induced reactivation of p53 mutant(s) in vivo. Immunohistochemistry of xenograft tumor tissues was performed to determine effects of PEITC on expression of Ki67 and mutant p53 in vivo. Results We demonstrated that PEITC inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells with different “hotspot” p53 mutations (structural and contact), however, preferentially towards structural mutants. PEITC inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis by rescuing mutant p53 in p53R248W contact (VCaP) and p53R175H structural (LAPC-4) mutant cells with differential potency. We further showed that PEITC inhibits the growth of DU145 cells that co-express p53P223L (structural) and p53V274F (contact) mutants by targeting p53P223L mutant selectively, but not p53V274F. The mutant p53 restored by PEITC induces apoptosis in DU145 cells by activating canonical p53 targets, delaying cells in G1 phase and phosphorylating ATM. Importantly, PEITC reactivated p53R175H and p53P223L/V274F mutants in LAPC-4 and DU145 prostate xenograft models, respectively, resulting in significant tumor inhibition. Conclusion Our studies provide the first evidence that PEITC’s anti-cancer activity is cancer cell type-independent, but p53 mutant-type dependent.

Background: CDKN2A, encoding two important tumor suppressor proteins p16 and p14, is a tumor suppressor gene. Mutations in this gene and subsequently the defect in p16 and p14 proteins lead to the downregulation of RB1/p53 and cancer malignancy. To identify the structural and functional effects of mutations, various powerful bioinformatics tools are available. The aim of this study is the identification of high-risk non-synonymous single nucleotide variants in the CDKN2A gene via bioinformatics tools. Materials and Methods: Among the identified polymorphisms in this gene, 353 missense variants are retrieved from the national center for biotechnology information/single nucleotide polymorphism database (NCBI/dbSNP). Then, the pathogenicity of missense variants are considered using different bioinformatics tools. The stability of these mutant proteins, conservation of amino acids and the secondary and tertiary structural changes are analyzed by bioinformatics tools. After the identification of high-risk mutations, the changes in the hydrophobicity of high-risk amino acid substitutions are considered. Results: Deleterious single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened step by step using the bioinformatics tools. The results obtained from the set of bioinformatics tools identify high-risk mutations in CDKN2A gene. Conclusion: 18 high-risk mutations including L16R/Q, G23D/R/S, L32P, N42K, G55D, G67D/R, P81R, H83R, G89D/S, A102E, G101R, G122R, and V126D were identified. According to the previous experimental studies, the association of L16R, G23D/R/S, L32P, G67R, H83R, G89D, G101R, and V126D amino acid substitutions with various cancers has been confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oligomerization plays a crucial role in the structure and function of peptides and proteins, wherein sequence variations can affect the oligomeric stability of the biomolecule. In this study, an artificial neural network classifier that can predict the oligomeric state of peptides is presented, using the p53 tetramerization domain and associated mutants as the model system. The FASGAI vectors were utilized as the peptide descriptors, and the resulting binary classifier exhibits satisfactory predictive ability as demonstrated by a test set accuracy of 86%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) is a tumor suppressor involved in oxygen regulation via dynamic nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. It plays a crucial role in cell survival by degrading hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Mutations in the VHL gene cause angiogenic tumors, characterized as VHL syndrome. However, aggressive tumors involving wild-type pVHL have also been described but the underlying mechanism remains to be revealed. We have previously shown that pVHL possesses several short amyloid-forming motifs, making it aggregation-prone. In this study, using a series of biophysical assays, we demonstrated that a pVHL-derived fragment (pVHL104-140) that harbors the nuclear export motif and HIF binding site, forms amyloid-like fibrillar structures in vitro by following secondary-nucleation-based kinetics. The peptide also formed amyloids at acidic pH that mimics the tumor microenvironment. We, subsequently, validated the amyloid formation by pVHL in vitro. Using the Curli-dependent amyloid generator (C-DAG) expression system, we confirmed the amyloidogenesis of pVHL in bacterial cells. The pVHL amyloids are an attractive target for therapeutics of the VHL syndrome. Accordingly, we demonstrated in vitro that Purpurin is a potent inhibitor of pVHL fibrillation. The amyloidogenic behavior of wild-type pVHL and its inhibition provide novel insights into the molecular underpinning of the VHL syndrome and its possible treatment. [Display omitted] • pVHL is reported to cause angiogenic tumors called the VHL syndrome. • pVHL104-140 and pVHL form amyloid-like structures in vitro and in bacterial cells. • pVHL104-140 exhibits amyloid characteristics over a range of pHs. • Purpurin inhibits amyloid formation by pVHL104-140 and pVHL. • pVHL amyloids could be involved in VHL syndrome; their mitigation might prevent it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: It is worthwhile to note that, some probiotics such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria isolated from dairy products have significant therapeutic effects against cancer cells. Here, we evaluated anti-proliferation and the apoptotic effects of isolated Lactobacillus fermentum Ab.RS22 from traditional dairy products on the HeLa cervical cancer cells in vitro., Materials and Methods: The viability of treated HeLa cells with supernatant of Lactobacillus in 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, and 2 ng/ml concentrations, and IC 50 values were detected by tetrazolium bromide. The L. fermentum Ab.RS22-induced cell death by flow cytometry was confirmed through evaluation of the expression of caspase-3 , P53 , PTEN , and AKT genes by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCR)., Results: Most cytotoxicity effects of Lactobacillus on HeLa cells were detected in 2 ng/ml at 24 hr ( P <0.01); also, the IC 50 value was measured as 1.5 ng/ml. The findings of the flow cytometry assay showed that L. fermentum Ab.RS22 in 1.5 ng/ml concentration at 24 hr increased the percentage of both apoptosis and necrosis cells. Lactobacillus-induced cell death was verified through results of Real-time PCR; where expression of caspase-3 , P53 , and PTEN genes was increased ( P <0.01), and also expression of AKT gene (anti-apoptotic) was decreased ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: Our findings showed that L. fermentum Ab.RS22 could dose-dependently inhibit the proliferation of the HeLa cells. Its apoptotic effect was confirmed via modulating PTEN/p53 / Akt gene expression and activation of the caspase-3 mediated apoptosis pathway. Therefore, L. fermentum Ab.RS22 can be considered a valuable anticancer candidate against cervical cancer progression in subsequent studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

While the tumor suppressor protein p53 regulates the cell cycle to prevent cell damage, it also triggers apoptosis and prevents cancer. These inhibitory functions may disappear once the p53 gene is mutated. Under these circumstances, the detection of p53 protein concentrations can have significant clinical applications. In this study, nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) was coated on a gold electrode to produce a modified Au/NiPc electrode. p53 antibodies were bonded to the Au/NiPc electrode by the Ni+2 ion in NiPc, which can be self-assembled with the imidazole group of the p53 protein. The Au/NiPc/anti-p53 electrode was subsequently dripped with a buffer solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to form the Au/NiPc/anti-p53/BSA electrode, which was used for the detection of p53 antigen under 10 mM potassium ferricyanide/potassium ferrocyanide (K3Fe(CN)6/K4Fe(CN)6) solution by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry analyses. The linear detection range and the sensitivity for the p53 antigen were 0.1–500 pg/mL and 60.65 μA/Log (pg/mL)-cm2, respectively, with a detection time of 90–150 s. In addition, Au/NiPc/anti-p53 (100 ng/mL)/BSA electrodes were tested for specificity using glucose, bovine serum albumin, histidine, ascorbic acid, uric acid, prostate-specific antigen, human serum albumin, and human immunoglobulin G. All p-values were

Shrew-1, also called AJAP1, is a transmembrane protein associated with E-cadherin-mediated adherence junctions and a putative tumor suppressor. Apart from its interaction with β-catenin and involvement in E-cadherin internalization, little structure or function information exists. Here we explored shrew-1 expression during postnatal differentiation of mammary gland as a model system. Immunohistological analyses with antibodies against either the extracellular or the cytoplasmic domains of shrew-1 consistently revealed the expression of full-length shrew-1 in myoepithelial cells, but only part of it in luminal cells. While shrew-1 localization remained unaltered in myoepithelial cells, nuclear localization occurred in luminal cells during lactation. Based on these observations, we identified two unknown shrew-1 transcript variants encoding N-terminally truncated proteins. The smallest shrew-1 protein lacks the extracellular domain and is most likely the only variant present in luminal cells. RNA analyses of human tissues confirmed that the novel transcript variants of shrew-1 exist in vivo and exhibit a differential tissue expression profile. We conclude that our findings are essential for the understanding and interpretation of future functional and interactome analyses of shrew-1 variants.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men and about one in nine will be diagnosed in his lifetime. Loss of PTEN has been considered as one of the major factors leading to the origin of prostate cancer through modulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. In this study, we have prepared a multifunctional antioxidant nanoliposome containing PTEN plasmid and cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs). The efficient delivery of PTEN plasmid to human prostate cancer cells (PC‐3) leads to restoration of the expression of lost PTEN protein in the cell cytoplasm. The delivered superoxide dismutase (SOD)‐mimetic CeNPs were also found to decrease the cytoplasmic free radical levels in prostate cancer cells. The above two activities induced DNA fragmentation and micronucleus formation in prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, it was also found that these multifunctional antioxidant nanoliposomes inhibit the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to negatively regulate the cell viability of prostate cancer cells. The mRNA expression pattern of other relevant proteins predominantly involved in cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis suggested that the high PTEN expression could control the synthesis of oncogenic proteins. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 3152–3164, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF-1) is a tumor suppressor gene, which encodes a mammalian transcription factor that serves various vital functions in a cell, such as cell cycle regulation, immunomodulation, and antiviral response. We report full-length human IRF-1 cDNA cloning and expression in E. coli/BL21 cells with complete solubilisation of recombinant protein. We cloned the gene by the RT-PCR technique using ORF-specific primers followed by expression of recombinant IRF-1 in E. coli under GST fusion system. The profound expression of recombinant protein was observed after inducing with 0.5 mM IPTG for 3 h at 37 °C. We observed few degradation products of low molecular mass along with full-length fusion protein. We successfully minimized the formation of low molecular mass degradation products of GST-huIRF-1 protein at 16 °C. Simultaneously, we achieved the expression of recombinant protein in soluble fraction of E. coli/BL21 cells at 20 °C with higher yield, which is crucial to the study of the biological functions of any protein. We further confirmed it by the immunoblotting technique using anti-IRF-1 and anti-GST antibodies under the induction of E. coli cells harboring the IRF-1 recombinant plasmid after sonicated and fractioned fractions. This work will serve as a platform for characterizing the recombinant protein that may pave the way to understand molecular mechanism of tumour suppression caused by this molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homologous recombination (HR) is essential for error-free repair of DNA double-strand breaks, perturbed replication forks (RFs), and post-replicative single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) gaps. To initiate HR, the recombination mediator and tumor suppressor protein BRCA2 facilitates nucleation of RAD51 on ssDNA prior to stimulation of RAD51 filament growth by RAD51 paralogs. Although ssDNA binding by BRCA2 has been implicated in RAD51 nucleation, the function of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) binding by BRCA2 remains unclear. Here, we exploit single-molecule (SM) imaging to visualize BRCA2-mediated RAD51 nucleation in real time using purified proteins. We report that BRCA2 nucleates and stabilizes RAD51 on ssDNA either directly or through an unappreciated diffusion-assisted delivery mechanism involving binding to and sliding along dsDNA, which requires the cooperative action of multiple dsDNA-binding modules in BRCA2. Collectively, our work reveals two distinct mechanisms of BRCA2-dependent RAD51 loading onto ssDNA, which we propose are critical for its diverse functions in maintaining genome stability and cancer suppression. [Display omitted] • Single-molecule imaging of full-length human BRCA2 reveals RAD51 nucleation mechanism • BRCA2 can nucleate and stabilize RAD51 on ssDNA directly • BRCA2 can slide along dsDNA backbone and deliver RAD51 to ds-ssDNA junctions • BRCA2 DNA-binding modules differentially contribute to sliding and RAD51 nucleation Belan et al. exploit single-molecule imaging to reveal the mechanism of early steps of presynaptic RAD51 filament establishment by full-length human BRCA2 protein. BRCA2 nucleates and stabilizes RAD51 on ssDNA and ds-ssDNA junctions, either directly or through a diffusion-assisted delivery mechanism involving BRCA2 sliding on dsDNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor suppressor protein, promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML), was originally identified in acute promyelocytic leukemia due to a chromosomal translocation between chromosomes 15 and 17. PML is the core component of subnuclear structures called PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which are disrupted in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells. PML plays important roles in cell cycle regulation, survival and apoptosis, and inactivation or down-regulation of PML is frequently found in cancer cells. More than 120 proteins have been experimentally identified to physically associate with PML, and most of them either transiently or constitutively co-localize with PML-NBs. These interactions are associated with many cellular processes, including cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, senescence, transcriptional regulation, DNA repair and intermediary metabolism. Importantly, PML inactivation in cancer cells can occur at the transcriptional-, translational- or post-translational-levels. However, only a few somatic mutations have been found in cancer cells. A better understanding of its regulation and its role in tumor suppression will provide potential therapeutic opportunities. In this review, we discuss the role of PML in multiple tumor suppression pathways and summarize the players and stimuli that control PML protein expression or subcellular distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p63 is a transcription factor of p53 gene family, which are involved in development, differentiation and cell response to stress; however, its roles in ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in the brain are not clear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of IPC on p63 immunoreactivity caused by 5 min of transient cerebral ischemia in gerbils. IPC was induced by subjecting the gerbils to 2 min of transie ischemia 1 day prior to 5 min of transient ischemia. The animals were randomly assigned to four groups (sham-operated-group, ischemia-operated-group, IPC plus (+)-sham-operated-group and IPC + ischemia-operated-group). The number of viable neurons in the stratum pyramidale of the hippocampal CA1 region (CA1) was significantly increased by IPC + ischemia-operated-group compared with that in the ischemia-operated-group 5 days after ischemic insult. We found that strong p63 immunoreactivity was detected in the CA1 pyramidal neurons in the sham-operated-group, and the immunoreactivity was decreased with time after ischemia-reperfusion. In addition, strong p63 immunoreactivity was newly expressed in microglial cells of the CA1 region from 2 days after ischemia-reperfusion. In all the IPC + sham-operated-groups, p63 immunoreactivity in the CA1 pyramidal neurons was similar to that in the sham-operated-group, and the immunoreactivity was well maintained in the IPC + ischemia-operated-groups after cerebral ischemia. In brief, our present findings show that IPC dramatically protected the reduction of p63 immunoreactivity in the pyramidal neurons of the CA1 region after ischemia-reperfusion, and this result suggests that the expression of p63 may be necessary for neurons to survive after transient cerebral ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exportin 1 (XPO1), also called chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1), is the sole exportin mediating transport of many multiple tumor suppressor proteins out of the nucleus. Aim and methods: To verify the hypothesis that XPO1 inhibition affects prostate cancer (PCa) metastatic potential, orally available, potent and selective, SINE compounds, Selinexor (KPT- 330) and KPT-251, were tested in preclinical models known to generate bone lesions and systemic tumor spread. Results: In vitro, Selinexor reduced both secretion of proteases and ability to migrate and invade of PCa cells. SINEs impaired secretion of pro-angiogenic and pro-osteolytic cytokines and reduced osteoclastogenesis in RAW264.7 cells. In the intra-prostatic growth model, Selinexor reduced DU145 tumor growth by 41% and 61% at the doses of 4 mg/Kg qd/5 days and 10 mg/Kg q2dx3 weeks, respectively, as well as the incidence of macroscopic visceral metastases. In a systemic metastasis model, following intracardiac injection of PCb2 cells, 80% (8/10) of controls, 10% (1/10) Selinexor- and 20% (2/10) KPT-251-treated animals developed radiographic evidence of lytic bone lesions. Similarly, after intra-tibial injection, the lytic areas were higher in controls than in Selinexor and KPT-251 groups. Analogously, the serum levels of osteoclast markers (mTRAP and type I collagen fragment, CTX), were significantly higher in controls than in Selinexor- and KPT-251-treated animals. Importantly, overall survival and disease-free survival were significantly higher in Selinexor- and KPT-251-treated animals when compared to controls. Conclusions: Selective blockade of XPO1-dependent nuclear export represents a completely novel approach for the treatment of advanced and metastatic PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multisite phosphorylation modulates the function of regulatory proteins with complex signaling properties and outputs. The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb) is inactivated by cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) phosphorylation in normal and cancer cell cycles, so understanding the molecular mechanisms and effects of Rb phosphorylation is imperative. Rb functions in diverse processes regulating proliferation, and it has been speculated that multisite phosphorylation might act as a code in which discrete phosphorylations control specific activities. The idea of an Rb phosphorylation code is evaluated here in light of recent studies of Rb structure and function. Rb inactivation is discussed with an emphasis on how multisite phosphorylation changes Rb structure and associations with protein partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]