CRK SH3N Domain Diminishes Cell Invasiveness of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Crk and CrkL as Therapeutic Targets for Cancer Treatment

Crk and CrkL are cellular counterparts of the viral oncoprotein v-Crk. Crk and CrkL are overexpressed in many types of human cancer, correlating with poor prognosis. Furthermore, gene knockdown and knockout of Crk and CrkL in tumor cell lines suppress tumor cell functions, including cell proliferation, transformation, migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, resistance to chemotherapy drugs, and in vivo tumor growth and metastasis. Conversely, overexpression of tumor cells with Crk or CrkL enhances tumor cell functions. Therefore, Crk and CrkL have been proposed as therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. However, it is unclear whether Crk and CrkL make distinct or overlapping contributions to tumor cell functions in various cancer types because Crk or CrkL have been examined independently in most studies. Two recent studies using colorectal cancer and glioblastoma cells clearly demonstrated that Crk and CrkL need to be ablated individually and combined to understand distinct and overlapping roles of the two proteins in cancer. A comprehensive understanding of individual and overlapping roles of Crk and CrkL in tumor cell functions is necessary to develop effective therapeutic strategies. This review systematically discusses crucial functions of Crk and CrkL in tumor cell functions and provides new perspectives on targeting Crk and CrkL in cancer therapy.

Genome-Wide Association Study between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Flight Speed in Nellore Cattle

Introduction

Cattle temperament is an important factor that affects the profitability of beef cattle enterprises, due to its relationship with productivity traits, animal welfare and labor safety. Temperament is a complex phenotype often assessed by measuring a series of behavioral traits, which result from the effects of multiple environmental and genetic factors, and their interactions. The aims of this study were to perform a genome-wide association study and detect genomic regions, potential candidate genes and their biological mechanisms underlying temperament, measured by flight speed (FS) test in Nellore cattle.

Materials and Methods

The genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using a single-step procedure (ssGBLUP) which combined simultaneously all 16,600 phenotypes from genotyped and non-genotyped animals, full pedigree information of 162,645 animals and 1,384 genotyped animals in one step. The animals were genotyped with High Density Bovine SNP BeadChip which contains 777,962 SNP markers. After quality control (QC) a total of 455,374 SNPs remained.

Results

Heritability estimated for FS was 0.21 ± 0.02. Consecutive SNPs explaining 1% or more of the total additive genetic variance were considered as windows associated with FS. Nine candidate regions located on eight different Bos taurus chromosomes (BTA) (1 at 73 Mb, 2 at 65 Mb, 5 at 22 Mb and 119 Mb, 9 at 98 Mb, 11 at 67 Mb, 15 at 16 Mb, 17 at 63 Kb, and 26 at 47 Mb) were identified. The candidate genes identified in these regions were NCKAP5 (BTA2), PARK2 (BTA9), ANTXR1 (BTA11), GUCY1A2 (BTA15), CPE (BTA17) and DOCK1 (BTA26). Among these genes PARK2, GUCY1A2, CPE and DOCK1 are related to dopaminergic system, memory formation, biosynthesis of peptide hormone and neurotransmitter and brain development, respectively.

Conclusions

Our findings allowed us to identify nine genomic regions (SNP windows) associated with beef cattle temperament, measured by FS test. Within these windows, six promising candidate genes and their biological functions were identified. These results may contribute to a better comprehension into the genetic control of temperament expression in Nellore cattle.

Structure-Based Identification, Characterization, and Disruption of Human Securin-Binding SH3 Domains in Lung Cancer

The human securin is an oncogenic transcription factor that has been found to promote migration and invasion of lung cancer and many other tumors. The protein contains a PxxP motif that can be recognized and bound by diverse cellular partners via Src homology (SH3) domain to regulate biological and pathological events. The motif is covered by a decapeptide segment (161)LGPPSPVKMP(170) (SecPeptide) as the potential binding site of SH3 domains. Here, we attempted to systemically identify the SH3 binding partners of human securin in lung cancer and to characterize the intermolecular interaction between SecPeptide and the identified SH3 domains. A bioinformatics protocol that integrated literature curation, complex structural modeling, and binding affinity analysis was described to perform systematic search against an array of SH3-containing proteins involved in lung cancer signaling pathway and, consequently, three putative domains, namely GRB2, CRK, and RasGAP, were identified that have high potential to recognize and bind SecPeptide. The molecular mechanism and biological implication underlying the intermolecular interaction between these domains and SecPetide were investigated at structural and energetic level. Surface plasmon resonance assay revealed a high or moderate affinity of SecPeptide and its two mutants binding to CRK-SH3 domain with dissociation constants Kd = 79.8, 24.2, and 64.6 µM, respectively.

miR-372 inhibits p62 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in vitro and in vivo

Here we showed that exogenous miR-372 expression and knockdown of p62 (sequestosome1 or SQSTM1), both increased migration of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. p62 induced phase II detoxification enzyme NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), which decreased ROS levels and cell migration. Also, miR-372 decreased p62 during hypoxia, thus increasing cell migration. Levels of miR-372 and p62 inversely correlated in human HNSCC tissues. Plasma levels of miR-372 was associated with advanced tumor stage and patient mortality. Both plasma and salivary miR-372 levels were decreased after tumor resection. We conclude that miR-372 decreases p62, thus increasing ROS and motility in HNSCC cells.