endoplasmic reticulum stress

Hypoxia, endoplasmic reticulum stress and chemoresistance: dangerous liaisons

Solid tumors often grow in a micro-environment characterized by < 2% O2 tension. This condition, together with the aberrant activation of specific oncogenic patwhays, increases the amount and activity of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a transcription factor that controls up to 200 genes involved in neoangiogenesis, metabolic rewiring, invasion and drug resistance. Hypoxia also induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a condition that triggers cell death, if cells are irreversibly damaged, or cell survival, if the stress is mild.

Sorcin is an early marker of neurodegeneration, Ca2+ dysregulation and endoplasmic reticulum stress associated to neurodegenerative diseases

Dysregulation of calcium signaling is emerging as a key feature in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD), and targeting this process may be therapeutically beneficial. Under this perspective, it is important to study proteins that regulate calcium homeostasis in the cell. Sorcin is one of the most expressed calcium-binding proteins in the human brain; its overexpression increases endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium concentration and decreases ER stress in the heart and in other cellular types.

Blockade of Stearoyl-CoA-desaturase 1 activity reverts resistance to cisplatin in lung cancer stem cells

Background. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. The treatment choice for advanced stage of lung cancer may depend on histotype, performance status (PS), age, and comorbidities. In the present study, we focused on the effect of metronomic vinorelbine treatment in elderly patients with advanced unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods. From January 2016 to December 2016, 44 patients affected by non- small cell lung cancer referred to our oncology day hospital were progressively analyzed.

A promising natural product, pristimerin, results in cytotoxicity against breast cancer stem cells in vitro and xenografts in vivo through apoptosis and an incomplete autopaghy in breast cancer

Several natural products have been suggested as effective agents for the treatment of cancer. Given the important role of CSCs (Cancer Stem Cells) in cancer, which is a trendy hypothesis, it is worth investigating the effects of pristimerin on CSCs as well as on the other malignant cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) of breast cancer. The anti-growth activity of pristimerin against MCF-7 and MCF-7s (cancer stem cell enriched population) cells was investigated by real time viability monitorization (xCELLigence System®) and ATP assay, respectively.

Autophagy manipulation as a strategy for efficient anticancer therapies: possible consequences

Autophagy is a catabolic process whose activation may help cancer cells to adapt to cellular stress although, in some instances, it can induce cell death. Autophagy stimulation or inhibition has been considered an opportunity to treat cancer, especially in combination with anticancer therapies, although autophagy manipulation may be viewed as controversial. Thus, whether to induce or to inhibit autophagy may be the best option in the different cancer patients is still matter of debate.

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