Project description:Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a central nervous system tumour. The current standard care for GMB is surgical resection, followed by conventional radiotherapy (RT) often combined with daily drug (temozolomide) administration. However, these treatment modalities are not currently curative and the resistance to both chemotherapy and RT plans is the main cause of GBM care failures. In this scenario, proton therapy (PT) could be used as a successful strategy for GBM treatment, being able to regulate the balance between tumour control and the normal tissue tolerance. In addition, new drugs could be used as radiosensitizing agents combined with PT in order to optimize GBM care. In this work we analyzed the GEP of the U87 MG human glioblastoma cell line, after treatment with PT alone or in combination with a new targeted compound, named Si306 (property of Lead Discovery Siena, Siena, Italy). We described GEP induced by both treatments, highlighting for the first time, the cell pathways induced by Si306. Summarizing, our results suggesting this compound as a novel possible candidate to treat GBM in combination with PT.
Project description:Protein translation (PT) declines with age in invertebrates, rodents, and humans1-6. It has been assumed that elevated PT at young ages is beneficial to health and PT ends up dropping as a passive byproduct of aging. In Drosophila, we show that a transient elevation in PT during early-adulthood exerts long-lasting negative impacts on aging trajectories and proteostasis in later-life. Blocking the early-life PT elevation robustly improves life-/health-span and prevents age-related protein aggregation, whereas transiently inducing early-life PT surge in long-lived fly strains abolishes their longevity/proteostasis benefits. The early-life PT elevation triggers proteostatic dysfunction, silences stress responses, and drives age-related functional decline via juvenile hormone-lipid transfer protein axis and germline signaling. Our findings suggest that PT is adaptively suppressed after early-adulthood, alleviating later-life proteostatic burden, slowing down age-related functional decline, and improving lifespan. Our work provides a novel theoretical framework for understanding how lifetime PT dynamics shape future aging trajectories.
Project description:Protein translation (PT) declines with age in invertebrates, rodents, and humans. It has been assumed that elevated PT at young ages is beneficial to health and PT ends up dropping as a passive byproduct of aging. In Drosophila, we show that a transient elevation in PT during early-adulthood exerts long-lasting negative impacts on aging trajectories and proteostasis in later-life. Blocking the early-life PT elevation robustly improves life-/health-span and prevents age-related protein aggregation, whereas transiently inducing an early-life PT surge in long-lived fly strains abolishes their longevity/proteostasis benefits. The early-life PT elevation triggers proteostatic dysfunction, silences stress responses, and drives age related functional decline via juvenile hormone-lipid transfer protein axis and germline signaling. Our findings suggest that PT is adaptively suppressed after early-adulthood, alleviating later-life proteostatic burden, slowing down age-related functional decline, and improving lifespan. Our work provides a theoretical framework for understanding how lifetime PT dynamics shape future aging trajectories.
Project description:Molecular pathogenesis of posttransplant (PT) lymphoproliferative disorder, including the most prevalent diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), is largely unknown. We have recently showed that Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL are biologically different, but gene expression profile of the latter lymphoma is similar to that of immunocompetent (IC) DLBCL. To validate these findings on a genomic level, we performed array CGH analysis of 21 EBV+ and 6 EBV- PT-DLBCL, and 11 control IC-DLBCL. Genomic and transcriptomic data were subsequently integrated. Notably, EBV+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL revealed only one shared recurrent imbalance, while EBV- PT-DLBCL displayed at least 10 aberrations recurrent in IC-DLBCL, among others gain of 3/3q and 18q, and loss of 6q23/TNFAIP3 and 9p21/CDKN2A. EBV+ PT-DLBCL showed distinct aberrations, including the most prevalent gain/amplification of 9p24.1 targeting PDCD1LG2/PDL2. Significant differential representation/expression of 3p13/FOXP1 and 9p21/CDKNA2 in EBV+ PT-DLBCL when compared with EBV- PT-/IC-DLBCL, suggests that the oncogene FOXP1 and the tumor suppressor gene CDKNA2 are not implicated in pathogenesis of EBV+ PT-DLBCL. In summary, genomic profiling of PT-/IC-DLBCL confirmed biological distinctness of EBV+ and EBV- PT-DLBCL, and relationship between EBV- PT-DLBCL and IC-DLBCL. These findings support the hypothesis that EBV- PT-DLBCL are coincidental lymphomas in transplant recipients
Project description:Pt-ttpy (tolyl terpyridin-Pt complex) covalently binds to G-quadruplex (G4) structures in vitro and to telomeres in cellulo via its Pt moiety. Here, we identified its targets in the human genome, in comparison to Pt-tpy, its derivative without G4 affinity, and cisplatin. Pt-ttpy, but not Pt-tpy, induces the release of the shelterin protein TRF2 from telomeres concomitantly to the formation of DNA damage foci at telomeres but also at other chromosomal locations. -H2AX chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) after treatment with Pt-ttpy or cisplatin revealed accumulation in G- and A-rich tandemly repeated sequences, but not particularly in potential G4 forming sequences. Collectively, Pt-ttpy presents dual targeting efficiency on DNA, by inducing telomere dysfunction and genomic DNA damage at specific loci.
Project description:The transcriptional regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters (here collectively referred to as DMEs) in the developing proximal tubule is not well understood. As in the liver, DME regulation in the PT may be mediated through nuclear receptors which are thought to “sense” deviations from homeostasis by being activated by ligands, some of which are handled by DMEs, including drug transporters. Systems analysis of transcriptomic data during kidney development predicted a set of upstream transcription factors, including Hnf4a and Hnf1a, as well as Nr3c1 (Gr), Nfe2l2 (Nrf2), Ppara, and Tp53. Motif analysis of cis-regulatory further suggested that Hnf4a and Hnf1a are the main transcriptional regulators in the PT. Available expression data from tissue-specific Hnf4a KO tissues revealed that distinct subsets of DMEs were regulated by Hnf4a in a tissue-specific manner. ChIP-seq was performed to characterize the PT-specific binding sites of Hnf4a in rat kidneys at three developmental stages (prenatal, immature, adult), which further supported a major role for Hnf4a in regulating PT gene expression, including DMEs. In ex vivo kidney organ culture, an antagonist of Hnf4a (but not a similar inactive compound) led to predicted changes in DME expression, including among others Fmo1, Cyp2d2, Cyp2d4, Nqo2, as well as organic cation transporters and organic anion transporters Slc22a1(Oct1), Slc22a2 (Oct2), Slc22a6 (Oat1), Slc22a8(Oat3), and Slc47a1(Mate1). Conversely, overexpression of Hnf1a and Hnf4a in primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), sometimes considered a surrogate for mesenchymal stem cells, induced expression of several of these proximal tubule DMEs, as well as epithelial markers and a PT-specific brush border marker Ggt1. These cells had organic anion transporter function. Taken together, the data strongly supports a critical role for HNF4a and Hnf1a in the tissue-specific regulation of drug handling and differentiation toward a PT cellular identity. Hnf4a binding was examined in rat kidneys at three timepoints (E20, P13 and Adult) and p300 binding was examined in adult rat kidney cortex tissue using ChIP-seq. Four corresponding input DNA samples were used as controls for peak calling.