Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention: Mutation Screening and Association Study of the Folylpolyglutamate Synthetase (FPGS) Gene with Susceptibility to Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

November 1, 2015

Duangjai Piwkham 1, Teerapong Siriboonpiputtana, Joke Beuten, Samart Pakakasama, Jonathan Al Gelfond, Karan Paisooksantivatana, Gail E Tomlinson, Budsaba Rerkamnuaychoke Abstract Background: Folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS), an important enzyme in the folate metabolic pathway, plays a central role in the intracellular accumulation of folate and antifolate in several mammalian cell types. Loss of FPGS activity results in decreased cellular levels of antifolates and consequently to polyglutamatable […]

PNAS: Proline-, glutamic acid-, and leucine-rich protein 1 mediates estrogen rapid signaling and neuroprotection in the brain

November 1, 2015

Gangadhara R. Sareddy, Quanguang Zhang, Ruimin Wang, Erin Scott, Yi Zou, Jason C. O’Connor, Yidong Chen, Yan Dong, Ratna K. Vadlamudi, and Darrell Brann Abstract 17-β estradiol (E2) has been implicated as neuroprotective in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we provide genetic evidence, using forebrain-specific knockout (FBKO) mice, that proline-, glutamic acid-, and leucine-rich protein 1 (PELP1), […]

Oncotarget: An mRNA expression signature for prognostication in de novo acute myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotype

October 23, 2015

Ming-Kai Chuang1,*, Yu-Chiao Chiu2,5,*, Wen-Chien Chou1,3, Hsin-An Hou3, Mei-Hsuan Tseng3, Yi-Yi Kuo1,3, Yidong Chen5,6, Eric Y. Chuang2,4, Hwei-Fang Tien3 ABSTRACT Although clinical features, cytogenetics, and mutations are widely used to predict prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), further refinement of risk stratification is necessary for optimal treatment, especially in cytogenetically normal (CN) patients. […]

ASCI Post: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Is a Founding Member of the New Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium (Houghton mention)

October 10, 2015

Addressing the relatively small number of new cancer drugs for children, a selective group of leading research centers is joining a new federally funded research consortium aimed at bringing scientific rigor and a concentrated effort to identifying new drug candidates for pediatric clinical trials. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and four other high-profile oncology […]

Pediatric Blood & Cancer: Inhibition of MEK confers hypersensitivity to X-radiation in the context of BRAF mutation in a model of childhood astrocytoma

October 1, 2015

Adam Studebaker 1, Kathryn Bondra 2, Star Seum 2, Changxian Shen 1, Doris A Phelps 1, Christopher Chronowski 2, Justin Leasure 2, Paul D Smith 3, Raushan T Kurmasheva 1, Xiaokui Mo 4, Maryam Fouladi 5, Peter J Houghton 1 Abstract Purpose: Curative therapy for childhood glioma presents challenges when complete resection is not possible. Patients with recurrent low-grade tumors or anaplastic astrocytoma may receive radiation treatment; however, the long-term sequelae from radiation treatment can be severe. As many […]

NCI PPTC: Sarcoma and Renal Tumor Research Program

September 1, 2015

Dr. Peter Houghton, Dr. Raushan Kurmasheva (Co-Investigator)   Dr. Houghton is the Director of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, which has as its mission to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer and to accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Dr. Houghton has been a leader in evaluating experimental agents using childhood […]

Pediatric Blood & Cancer: Radiation therapy may increase metastatic potential in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma

September 1, 2015

Gary M Woods # 1, Kathryn Bondra # 2, Christopher Chronowski 2, Justin Leasure 2, Mamata Singh 2, Lauren Hensley 2, Timothy P Cripe 1, Arnab Chakravarti 2, Peter Houghton 1 Abstract Background: We previously determined that radiation could be safely administered using a mouse-flank in vivo model to both alveolar (Rh30) and embryonal (Rh18) rhabdomyosarcoma xenografts. Mice from both tumor lines in this experiment developed metastases, an event not previously described with these models. […]

Frontiers in Oncology: Preclinical Childhood Sarcoma Models: Drug Efficacy Biomarker Identification and Validation

August 26, 2015

Over the past 35 years, cure rates for pediatric cancers have increased dramatically. However, it is clear that further dose intensification using cytotoxic agents or radiation therapy is not possible without enhancing morbidity and long-term effects. Consequently, novel, less genotoxic, agents are being sought to complement existing treatments. Here, we discuss preclinical human tumor xenograft […]

Pathobiology of Aging & Age-related Diseases: Rapamycin improves motor function, reduces 4-hydroxynonenal adducted protein in brain, and attenuates synaptic injury in a mouse model of synucleinopathy

August 24, 2015

Xiang Bai, Margaret Chia-Ying Wey, Elizabeth Fernandez, Matthew J. Hart, Jonathan Gelfond, Alex F. Bokov, Sheela Rani & Randy Strong Abstract Background Synucleinopathy is any of a group of age-related neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, and dementia with Lewy Bodies, which is characterized by α-synuclein inclusions and parkinsonian motor deficits affecting millions of patients […]

Molecular Cancer Research: ZBTB7A Suppresses Melanoma Metastasis by Transcriptionally Repressing MCAM

August 1, 2015

Xue-Song Liu, Matthew D. Genet, Jenna E. Haines, Elie K. Mehanna, Shaowei Wu, Hung-I Harry Chen, Yidong Chen, Abrar A. Qureshi, Jiali Han, Xiang Chen, David E. Fisher, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, and Zhi-Min Yuan Abstract The excessive metastatic propensity of melanoma makes it the most deadly form of skin cancer, yet the underlying mechanism of metastasis remains elusive. Here, mining of cancer genome datasets discovered a frequent loss of chromosome 19p13.3 and associated downregulation of the zinc finger transcription factor ZBTB7A […]