Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 4, Issue 6, 2004

Nerve growth factor (NGF) has long been known for its effects on neuronal cell survival and differentiation. This prototypical neurotrophic factor stimulates neurons through two distinct classes of membrane receptors: the TrkA tyrosine kinase receptor, and the tumor necrosis factor receptor family member p75NTR, also known as the common neurotrophin receptor. Somewhat surprisingly, there is a growing body of evidence Read More

Heparin affin regulatory peptide (HARP), also known as pleiotrophin or heparin-binding growthassociated molecule, is an 18-kDa growth factor that has a high affinity for heparin. It constitutes with midkine and retinoic acid heparin-binding protein, a family of structurally related heparin-binding growth factors. A growing body of evidence indicates that HARP is involved in the control of cellular proliferation, migration and different Read More

Estrogen receptors (ERs) are proteins that mediate the action of estradiol and a series of natural and synthetic chemicals that mimic the estradiol structure. Estrogenic action was initially attributed to a single type of ER, now known as ERα, but ERβ was discovered in 1995. Tissue specific distribution and the intensity of expression of these proteins determine the first response of tissues to estrogenic compounds. Estrogens Read More

The two-domain vascular drug constructs are selective anti-cancer agents capable of specific targeting and subsequent elimination of endothelial cells lining tumor blood vessels. The destruction of existing vasculature within tumor tissue causes insufficient oxygenation of adjacent neoplastic cells and their necrotic death. The recognition (cognitive) domain of the vascular disruptive agents is responsible for recognizing marker Read More

The mechanism of oncogenesis is extremely complicated and controlled by various factors, most of which are based on cell proliferation, tumor invasion, neovascularization, and inhibition of apoptosis. We have investigated the relationship between thirty three oncogenes expression and histopathological prognostic factors of endometrial carcinomas, including clinical stage, histological grade, presence of invasion to great Read More

TSC-22 (Transforming growth factor-β stimulated clone-22) was originally isolated as a TGF-β- inducible gene in mouse osteoblastic cells. TSC-22 encodes a putative transcriptional regulator containing a leucine zipper-like structure. Several differentiation-inducing stimuli up-regulate the TSC-22 gene. Furthermore, TSC-22 acts as an effector that integrates multiple extracellular signals during embryogenesis of Drosophila and Read More

Mammaglobin is a gene that is expressed almost exclusively in the normal breast epithelium and human breast cancer. It is a member of the secretoglobin gene family and forms a heterodimer with lipophilin B. We have focused on the tissue-specificity of mammaglobin as a potential mechanism for the specific killing of breast cancer cells. By elucidating the promoter region of mammaglobin, we hope to utilize this site Read More