International Journal of Computational Biology and Drug Design: Computational tools for genome-wide R-loops identification and characterisation

April 15, 2017

Authors: Rongjie Liu; Aparna Gorthi; Yufang Jin; Alexander J.R. Bishop; Yidong Chen Abstract: R-loops are physiologically occurring structures in the genome composed of a DNA/RNA hybrid and a displaced single-stranded DNA. R-loops have been observed in various organisms and shown to play important roles in regulating gene expression, DNA replication, genome stability, and other functions. […]

PloS One: De-regulated microRNAs in pediatric cancer stem cells target pathways involved in cell proliferation, cell cycle and development

April 4, 2017

Patricia C Sanchez-Diaz 1, Tzu-Hung Hsiao, Judy C Chang, Dong Yue, Mimi C Tan, Hung-I Harry Chen, Gail E Tomlinson, Yufei Huang, Yidong Chen, Jaclyn Y Hung Abstract Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the control of many biological processes and their deregulation has been associated with many cancers. In recent years, the cancer stem cell (CSC) concept has been applied to many cancers including […]

Axios: More people are surviving a cancer diagnosis

April 2, 2017

Survival rates for cancer patients in the U.S. continue to improve for many common types of the disease, according to a new report from top government agencies. Pancreatic, liver, brain, lung, and other cancers still have low rates of survival but prostate, melanoma, and breast cancers topped 90 percent in the period studied. The researchers also […]

BMC Genomics: Deep sequencing of HPV E6/E7 genes reveals loss of genotypic diversity and gain of clonal dominance in high-grade intraepithelial lesions of the cervix

March 14, 2017

Jane Shen-Gunther 1, Yufeng Wang 2, Zhao Lai 3, Graham M Poage 4, Luis Perez 4, Tim H M Huang 5 Abstract Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the carcinogen of almost all invasive cervical cancer and a major cause of oral and other anogenital malignancies. HPV genotyping by dideoxy (Sanger) sequencing is currently the reference method of choice for clinical diagnostics. However, for samples with multiple […]

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology: Maternal and paternal occupational exposures and hepatoblastoma: results from the HOPE study through the Children’s Oncology Group

March 8, 2017

Amanda E Janitz, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Gail E Tomlinson, Mark Krailo, Michaela Richardson & Logan Spector Abstract Little is known about the etiology of hepatoblastoma. We aimed to confirm the results of a previous study evaluating the association between parental occupational exposures and hepatoblastoma. In our case-control study, we identified cases (n=383) from the Children’s Oncology Group […]

BMC Bioinformatics: Differential correlation analysis of glioblastoma reveals immune ceRNA interactions predictive of patient survival

February 28, 2017

Yu-Chiao Chiu, Li-Ju Wang, Tzu-Pin Lu, Tzu-Hung Hsiao, Eric Y. Chuang & Yidong Chen Abstract Background Recent studies illuminated a novel role of microRNA (miRNA) in the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) interaction: two genes (ceRNAs) can achieve coexpression by competing for a pool of common targeting miRNAs. Individual biological investigations implied ceRNA interaction performs crucial oncogenic/tumor-suppressive functions in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). […]

AHA Journals – Circulation Research: Abstract 456: Early Doxorubicin Exposure Upregulates P-STAT3 Expression in Adult Murine Model

February 23, 2017

Tanoya L Harris and Gregory J Aune Abstract Background: Anthracyclines such as doxorubicin (DOX) is a key component of chemotherapy treatments and also have cardiotoxic effects that can manifest decades after initial exposure. Long term survivors have a 15 times greater risk of heart failure than the general population. Previously, our lab has shown an increase in […]

Journal of Biological Chemistry: An engineered transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) monomer that functions as a dominant negative to block TGF-β signaling

February 22, 2017

Sun Kyung Kim‡1, Lindsey Barron§, Cynthia S. Hinck¶, Elyse M. Petrunak¶, Kristin E. Cano‡, Avinash Thangirala‡, Brian Iskra‡, Molly Brothers‡, Machell Vonberg‡, Belinda Leal‡, Blair Richter‡, Ravindra Kodali¶, Alexander B. Taylor‡, Shoucheng Du¶, Christopher O. Barnes¶, Traian Sulea‖, Guillermo Calero¶, P. John Hart‡, Matthew J. Hart**, Borries Demeler‡, and Andrew P. Hinck¶2 Abstract The transforming growth factor β isoforms, TGF-β1, -β2, and -β3, are small secreted homodimeric signaling proteins with essential roles in regulating the adaptive […]

Biochemistry: Confinement and Stabilization of Fyn SH3 Folding Intermediate Mimetics within the Cavity of the Chaperonin GroEL Demonstrated by Relaxation-Based NMR

February 21, 2017

David S Libich 1, Vitali Tugarinov 1, Rodolfo Ghirlando 1, G Marius Clore 1 Abstract The interaction of two folding intermediate mimetics of the model protein substrate Fyn SH3 with the chaperonin GroEL, a supramolecular foldase/unfoldase machine, has been investigated by 15N relaxation-based nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (lifetime line broadening, dark-state exchange saturation transfer, and relaxation dispersion). The two mimetics comprise C-terminal truncations […]

Journal of Clinical Oncology: Successful integration of genetic counseling in a comprehensive childhood cancer survivorship clinic.

February 10, 2017

Shafqat Shah, Gregory John Aune, Lindsey Mette, Natalie Poullard Background: Awareness of inherited genetic risk and cancer predisposition has markedly increased. Research has shown that germline mutations in known cancer predisposition genes are identified in ~8% of pediatric oncology patients. Patients diagnosed years ago did not meet with a Genetic counselor or undergo genetic testing. The annual comprehensive survivorship […]