Current Signal Transduction Therapy - Volume 1, Issue 3, 2006

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are latent cytoplasmic proteins that transmit cell-surface signals generated by ligand-receptor interactions to the nucleus. They are activated mainly by phosphorylation. Of the STAT proteins, STAT3 and to a lesser extent STAT5, is associated with transformed cells, particularly in tumors arising from oncogenes that activate tyrosine kinase signaling pathwa Read More

Epidemiological and experimental studies have established the beneficial effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cancer. In particular, wide information is available regarding their effects on hormone responsive tumors, such as prostatic and mammary cancer, and tumors originating from colon. Recent studies have focused upon the improvement of chemotherapy effects when different drug treatments ar Read More

The mechanisms involved in the tumor-stroma interaction during carcinoma progression are an area of intensive investigation. Cancer cells produce a range of growth factors and proteolytic enzymes that modify their stromal environment. These factors disrupt normal tissue homeostasis and act in a paracrine manner to induce angiogenesis and inflammation, as well as activation of surrounding stromal cell ty Read More

RAS oncogenes have been identified in about 30% of all human cancers, particularly in 90% of human pancreatic cancers, 50% of colorectal tumors, and 30% of lung cancers. RAS is a central switch for many signal transduction pathways. The RAS proteins undergo three major posttranslational modification steps to become fully functional: prenylation (farnesylation or geranylgeranylation) of the cysteine residue Read More

An important component of tumor progression is the generation of “survival signals” that suppress default apoptotic programs. Survival signals are ideal targets for anticancer therapeutic strategies because blocking survival signals, in principle, can resurrect the apoptotic signals that are suppressed in cancer cells. Phospholipase D (PLD) activity, which is elevated in a large variety of cancers, generates a survival signal tha Read More

The 90 kDa heat shock protein, Hsp90, is a critical protein in eukaryotes. Mainly cytosolic, this protein is expressed at extraordinary levels and participates in the folding of specific protein substrates. Hsp90 is well preserved and exhibits a chaperone role in the conformational maturation in the cellular stress response, and the nuclear hormone receptors and protein kinases. This protein regulates signal transducing molecule Read More

Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor-1 (PDX-1) plays a crucial role in pancreas development and β-cell differentiation, and functions as an activator of insulin gene transcription. MafA is a recently isolated β-cell-specific transcription factor which functions as a potent activator of insulin gene transcription. PDX-1 and MafA play crucial roles in inducing insulin-producing cells from non- β-cells and could be therapeutic targe Read More

Carotenoids have been proposed to exert beneficial effects in several chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Many of the biological actions of carotenoids have been attributed to their antioxidant properties, through the antioxidant capacity of the carotenoid molecule per se or through their possible influences on intracellular redox status. However, the exact mechanism by which carotenoids exert their Read More

While chemo- and radiotherapy is far developed and successfully employed by default for cancer treatment, severe side effects point to the urgent need for more specific therapies based on the molecular mechanisms of this disease. Strategies to specifically inhibit signaling pathways that are known to force proliferation, prevent apoptosis or promote angiogenesis are expected to have a substantial impact on the future directi Read More