Nature: Break-induced replication orchestrates resection-dependent template switching (Sung)

June 15, 2023

Tianpeng Zhang, Yashpal Rawal, Haoyang Jiang, Youngho Kwon, Patrick Sung & Roger A. Greenberg Abstract Break-induced telomere synthesis (BITS) is a RAD51-independent form of break-induced replication that contributes to the alternative lengthening of telomeres1,2. This homology-directed repair mechanism utilizes a minimal replisome comprising proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and DNA polymerase-δ to execute conservative DNA repair [...]

Journal of Clinical Oncology: The Childhood Cancer Data Initiative: Using the Power of Data to Learn From and Improve Outcomes for Every Child and Young Adult With Pediatric Cancer (Aune Co-author)

June 5, 2023

Joseph A. Flores-Toro  , PhD1; Subhashini Jagu  , PhD1; Gregory T. Armstrong, MD, MSCE2; David F. Arons, JD3; Gregory J. Aune, MD, PhD4; Stephen J. Chanock  , MD1; Douglas S. Hawkins  , MD5; Allison Heath  , PhD6; Lee J. Helman  , MD7; Katherine A. Janeway  , MD, MMSc8; Jason E. Levine  , MD1; Ellyn Miller, [...]

Cell Reports: EWSR1 Maintains Centromere Identity (Kitagawa & Houghton labs)

May 30, 2023

Risa Kitagawa 1, Yohei Niikura 1 2, Argentina Becker 1 3, Peter J. Houghton 1, Katsumi Kitagawa 1 4 Highlights EWSR1 is required to maintain CENP-A at the centromere in interphase cells EWSR1 binds to CENP-A through the SYGQ2 region, important for phase separation EWSR1 binds to R loops in vitro through its RNA-recognition motif (RRM) EWSR1 protects CENP-A in the centromeric chromatin by binding to centromeric RNAs Summary The centromere is essential [...]

Clinical Cancer Research: Phase II Investigation of TVB-2640 (Denifanstat)with Bevacizumabin Patients with First Relapse High-Grade Astrocytoma (Chen)

May 24, 2023

William Kelly 1, Adolfo Enrique Diaz Duque 1,Joel Michalek 2, Brandon Konkel 3,L aura Caflisch 3, Yidong Chen 2,Sarath Chand Pathuri 1,Vinu Madhusudanannair-Kunnuparampil 4, John Floyd II 5,and Andrew Brenner 1 ABSTRACT Purpose: Glioblastoma represents the most common primary brain tumor. Although antiangiogenics are used in the recurrent setting, they do not prolong survival. Glioblastoma [...]

Advanced Science: Epigenetic Control of Translation Checkpoint and Tumor Progression via RUVBL1-EEF1A1 Axis (Bishop)

April 26, 2023

Mingli Li, Lu Yang, Anthony K. N. Chan, Sheela Pangeni Pokharel, Qiao Liu, Nicole Mattson, Xiaobao Xu, Wen-Han Chang, Kazuya Miyashita, Priyanka Singh, Leisi Zhang, Maggie Li, Jun Wu, Jinhui Wang, Bryan Chen, Lai N. Chan, Jaewoong Lee, Xu Hannah Zhang, Steven T. Rosen, Markus Müschen, Jun Qi, Jianjun Chen, Kevin Hiom, Alexander J. R. Bishop, Chun-Wei Chen … See fewer authors  First published: 19 April 2023   Abstract Epigenetic dysregulation is reported in multiple cancers, including Ewing sarcoma (EwS). However, [...]

Cell Reports: Nitric Oxide Suppression by Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 2 Drives Retinoblastoma (Shiio & Houghton Labs)

March 17, 2023

Panneerselvam Jayabal 1, Fuchun Zhou 1, Xiuye Ma 1, Kathryn M. Bondra 1, Barron Blackman 1, Susan T. Weintraub 2 3, Yidong Chen 1 3 4, Patricia Chévez-Barrios 5, Peter J. Houghton 1 3 6, Brenda Gallie 7, Yuzuru Shiio 1 2 3 8 Highlights The autocrine signaling mediated by SFRP2 drives retinoblastoma SFRP2 signaling suppresses NO production and maintains retinoblastoma growth CXADR serves as the receptor for SFRP2 Targeting SFRP2 results in NO production and suppression of retinoblastoma growth Summary Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the infant retina primarily driven by the loss of [...]

Cancer Research: Sequential Targeting of Retinoblastoma and DNA Synthesis Pathways Is a Therapeutic Strategy for Sarcomas That Can Be Monitored in Real Time (Houghton)

March 15, 2023

Tuyen Duong;Thanh Nguyen; Yan Wang;  Tuyen N. Bui; Rossana Lazcano;  Davis R. Ingram;  Min Yi; Varshini Vakulabharanam; Linjie Luo; Marc A. Pina; Cansu Karakas ; Mi Li; Nicole M. Kettner; Neeta Somaiah; Peter J. Hougton; Osama Mawlawi; Alexander J. Lazar; Kelly K. Hunt; Khandan Keyomarsi Abstract Treatment strategies with a strong scientific rationale based on specific [...]

Neuro-Oncology: Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (KDM1A/LSD1) inhibition attenuates DNA double strand break repair and augments efficacy of temozolomide in glioblastoma (Chen, Lao)

January 23, 2023

Salvador Alejo, Bridgitte E Palacios, Prabhakar Pitta Venkata, Yi He, Wenjing Li, Jessica D Johnson, Chen Yihong, Sridharan Jayamohan, Uday P Pratap, Kyra Clarke, Yi Zou, Yingli Lv, Korri Weldon, Suryavathi Viswanadhapalli, Zhao Lai, Zhenqing Ye, Yidong Chen, Andrea R Gilbert, Takayoshi Suzuki, Rajeshwar R Tekmal, Weixing Zhao, Siyuan Zheng, Ratna K Vadlamudi, Andrew J Brenner, Gangadhara R Sareddy Abstract Efficient DNA repair in response to standard chemo and radiation therapies often contributes to GBM therapy resistance. Understanding the [...]

Nature Communications: Genomic disparities between cancers in adolescent and young adults and in older adults (Wang, Langevin, Houghton, & Zheng)

December 6, 2022

Xiaojing Wang, Anne-Marie Langevin, Peter J. Houghton & Siyuan Zheng Cancers cause significant mortality and morbidity in adolescents and young adults (AYAs), but their biological underpinnings are incompletely understood. Here, we analyze clinical and genomic disparities between AYAs and older adults (OAs) in more than 100,000 cancer patients. We find significant differences in clinical presentation between [...]

NPJ | Precision Oncology: An international working group consensus report for the prioritization of molecular biomarkers for Ewing sarcoma (Bishop)

September 21, 2022

David S. Shulman, Sarah B. Whittle, Didier Surdez, Kelly M. Bailey, Enrique de Álava, Jason T. Yustein, Adam Shlien, Masanori Hayashi, Alexander J. R. Bishop, Brian D. Crompton, Steven G. DuBois, Neerav Shukla, Patrick J. Leavey, Stephen L. Lessnick, Heinrich Kovar, Olivier Delattre, Thomas G. P. Grünewald, Cristina R. Antonescu, Ryan D. Roberts, Jeffrey A. [...]