In this study, the authors combined the use of genome editing tools and last generation inducible systems in order to develop a cell model where the expression of CDX2 transcription factor can be tightly regulated. CDX2 is an intestinal differentiation marker whose expression is often altered in gastric and colon carcinomas. Its control was here shown to be useful to uncover novel putative downstream effector genes (such as GPA33 and LDLR), and therefore, to further clarify the role of CDX2 in intestinal cells.
In this study, a comparative analysis of the volatile metabolomic signature of BC cell lines (T-47D, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7) and normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC), was carried out, in order to identify BC-specific VOCs and to identify a set of markers that could hopefully be correlated with VOCs released in vivo by BC cells.
Este trabalho, integrado no projeto de doutoramento da Catarina L. Silva, recentemente publicado na revista Scientific Reports, e inserido num projeto Europeu com a participação de investigadores de Portugal (coordenador principal), Alemanha e India, aprovado pelo programa New Indigo, permitiu estabelecer o perfil volátil de diferentes linhas celulares de cancro da mama, com o objetivo de identificar metabolitos voláteis produzidos por este tipo de células.
Patrícia M.A. Silva a,b,c Nilza Ribeiro a, Raquel T. Lima d,e,f, Claudia Andrade g Vania Diogo a, Joana Teixeira a, Claudia Florindo b,c, Álvaro Tavares b,c, M. Helena Vasconcelos d,e,h and Hassan Bousbaa a,i
Um estudo liderado por investigadores da CESPU, Patrícia Silva e Hassan Bousbaa, publicado na prestigiosa revista “Cancer Letters” de 28 de maio de 2017, revela que a eliminação seletiva da Spindly, uma proteína necessária para a divisão correta das células normais, obriga as células cancerígenas tratadas por agentes quimioterápicos clássicos, a suicidar-se. Esta estratégia poderá ser um auxílio valioso aos agentes clássicos, como o paclitaxel, no combate ao cancro.
The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in biological samples is one of the most promising approaches in metabolomics in the identification of cancer biomarkers and / or elucidation of pathophysiological pathways.
A análise de compostos orgânicos voláteis (VOCs) em amostras biológicas constitui uma das abordagens mais promissoras em metabolómica na identificação de biomarcadores de cancro e/ou na elucidação de vias patofisiológicas.
The histone H2A isoform Hist2h2ac is a novel regulator of proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition in mammary epithelial and in breast cancer cells
Proliferation and differentiation are controlled through chromatin remodelling. Therefore, there is an enormous biological significance and clinical value in understanding how specific signalling pathways are affected by histone replacement in the nucleosome. In this work, mass spectrometry was used to screen HC11 mammary epithelial cells for changes in histone levels throughout cell differentiation. The canonical histone isoform Histone H2A type 2-C (Hist2h2ac) was found only in undifferentiated/proliferating cells.
