Cyclin A2:At the crossroads of cell cycle and cell invasion

Cyclin A2 is an essential regulator of the cell division cycle through the activation of kinases that participate to the regulation of S phase as well as the mitotic entry. However,whereas its degradation by the proteasome in mid mitosis was thought to be essential for mitosis to proceed,recent observations show that a small fraction of cyclin A2 persists beyond metaphase and is degraded by autophagy. Its implication in the control of cytoskeletal dynamics and cell movement has unveiled its role in the modulation of Rho A activity. Since this GTPase is involved in both cell rounding early in mitosis and later,in the formation of the cleavage furrow,this suggests that cyclin A2 is a novel actor in cytokinesis. Taken together,these data point to this cyclin as a potential mediator of cell-niche interactions whose dysregulation could be taken as a hallmark of metastasis.

Significance of long non-coding RNA AGPG for the metabolism of esophageal cancer

Over the years,thousands of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)have been identified to be exclusively expressed in specific cancer types and for their unique functions in tumorigenesis.This has led to an increasing interest in elucidating the vital roles[1]and underlying mechanism[2,3]of such non-coding genome in driving cancerous phenotypes.A number of studies have pinpointed the key functions of lncRNAs in diverse biological events including chromatin interactions,transcriptional regulation,RNA processing,mRNA stabilization,signal transduction,and metabolic regulation;highlighting their essential roles in both physiology and diseases such as cancer[4].

ENHANCED FLUORESCENCE IMAGING WITH DMSO-MEDIATED OPTICAL CLEARING

Recent studies have demonstrated that topical application of glycerol on intact skin does not affect its optical scattering properties.Investigators from our research group recently revisited the use of dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO)as an agent with optical clearing potential.We address the use of optical clearing to enhance quantitation of subsurface fluorescence emission.We employed both in vitro and in vivo model systems to study the effect of topical DMSO application on fluorescence emission.Our in vitro experiments performed on a tissue-simulating phantom suggest that DMSO-mediated optical clearing enables enhanced characterization of subsurface fluorophores.With topical DMSO application,a marked increase in fluorescence emission was observed.After 30 min,the fluorescence signal at the DMSO-treated site was 9×greater than the contralateral saline-treated site.This ratio increased to 13×at 105 min after agent application.In summary,DMSO is an effective optical clearing agent for improved fluorescence emission quantitation and warrants further study in preclinical in vivo studies.Based on outcomes from previous clinical studies on the toxicity profile of DMSO,we postulate that clinical application of DMSO as an optical clearing agent,can be performed safely,although further study is warranted.

Recent progress in mass spectrometry proteomics for biomedical research

Proteins are the key players in many cellular processes. Their composition, trafficking, and interactions underlie the dynamic processes of life. Furthermore, diseases are frequently accompanied by malfunction of proteins at multiple levels. Understanding how biological processes are regulated at the protein level is critically important to understanding the molecular basis for diseases and often shed light on disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. With rapid advances in mass spectrometry(MS)instruments and experimental methodologies, MS-based proteomics has become a reliable and essential tool for elucidating biological processes at the protein level. Over the past decade, we have witnessed great expansion of knowledge of human diseases with the application of MS-based proteomic technologies, which has led to many exciting discoveries. Herein we review the recent progress in MS-based proteomics in biomedical research, including that in establishing disease-related proteomes and interactomes. We also discuss how this progress will benefit biomedical research and clinical diagnosis and treatment of disease.