The receptor tyrosine kinase Axl is an essential regulator of prostate cancer proliferation and tumor growth and represents a new therapeutic target.

Deregulation of the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl has been implicated in the progression of several human cancers. However, the role of Axl in prostate cancer remains poorly understood, and the therapeutic efficacy of Axl targeting remains untested. In this report we identified Axl as a new therapeutic target for prostate cancer. Axl is consistently overexpressed in prostate cancer cell lines and human prostate tumors. Interestingly, the blockage of Axl gene expression strongly inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion and tumor growth. Furthermore, inhibition of Axl expression by small interfering RNA regulates a transcriptional program of genes involved in cell survival, strikingly all connected to the nuclear factor-κB pathway. Additionally, blockage of Axl expression leads to inhibition of Akt, IKKα and IκBα phosphorylation, increasing IκBα expression and stability. Furthermore, induction of Akt phosphorylation by insulin-like growth factor 1 in Axl knockdown cells restores Akt activity and proliferation. Taken together, our results establish an unambiguous role for Axl in prostate cancer tumorigenesis with implications for prostate cancer treatment.

GADD45 proteins: central players in tumorigenesis.

The Growth Arrest and DNA Damage-inducible 45 (GADD45) proteins have been implicated in regulation of many cellular functions including DNA repair, cell cycle control, senescence and genotoxic stress. However, the pro-apoptotic activities have also positioned GADD45 as an essential player in oncogenesis. Emerging functional evidence implies that GADD45 proteins serve as tumor suppressors in response to diverse stimuli, connecting multiple cell signaling modules. Defects in the GADD45 pathway can be related to the initiation and progression of malignancies. Moreover, induction of GADD45 expression is an essential step for mediating anti-cancer activity of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs and the absence of GADD45 might abrogate their effects in cancer cells. In this review, we present a comprehensive discussion of the functions of GADD45 proteins, linking their regulation to effectors of cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and apoptosis. The ramifications regarding their roles as essential and central players in tumor growth suppression are also examined. We also extensively review recent literature to clarify how different chemotherapeutic drugs induce GADD45 gene expression and how its up-regulation and interaction with different molecular partners may benefit cancer chemotherapy and facilitate novel drug discovery.

IGFBP7 participates in the reciprocal interaction between acute lymphoblastic leukemia and BM stromal cells and in leukemia resistance to asparaginase.

The interaction of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) blasts with bone marrow (BM) stromal cells (BMSCs) has a positive impact on ALL resistance to chemotherapy. We investigated the modulation of a series of putative asparaginase-resistance/sensitivity genes in B-precursor ALL cells upon coculture with BMSCs. Coculture with stromal cells resulted in increased insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) expression by ALL cells. Assays with IGFBP7 knockdown ALL and stromal cell lines, or with addition of recombinant rIGFBP7 (rIGFBP7) to the culture medium, showed that IGFBP7 acts as a positive regulator of ALL and stromal cells growth, and significantly enhances in-vitro resistance of ALL to asparaginase. In these assays, IGFBP7 function occurred mainly in an insulin- and stromal-dependent manner. ALL cells were found to contribute substantially to extracellular IGFBP7 levels in the conditioned coculture medium. Diagnostic BM plasma from children with ALL had higher levels of IGFBP7 than controls. IGFBP7, in an insulin/IGF-dependent manner, enhanced asparagine synthetase expression and asparagine secretion by BMSCs, thus providing a stromal-dependent mechanism by which IGFBP7 protects ALL cells against asparaginase in this coculture system. Importantly, higher IGFBP7 mRNA levels were associated with lower leukemia-free survival (Cox regression model, P=0.003) in precursor B-cell Ph(-) ALL patients (n=147) treated with a contemporary polychemotherapy protocol.

PML-RARalpha fusion gene transcripts and biological features in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the presence of rearrangements involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha) gene and a variable incidence in different populations. The hybrid gene PML-RARalpha, present in 98% of cases, encodes a fusion protein essential to the pathogenesis of the disease. Depending of the PML's gene breakpoint in chromosome 15, the transcript subtypes bcr1, bcr2 and bcr3 may be formed. The correlation between these transcript subtypes and clinical parameters is still controversial. The objective of this study was to determine the frequencies of the PML-RARalpha transcripts and subtypes in a series of 32 APL patients from Northeast Brazil and to evaluate the association of these subtypes to different parameters. The method used was RT-PCR. The frequency of our APL cases is approximately 28% of the acute leukemias. The results showed the presence of PML-RARalpha isoform in all patients and a higher frequency of the bcr1/2 subtype. No significant statistical association was found between molecular subtypes and age, sex, French-American-British (FAB) classification, leukocyte and platelet count, hemoglobin level or coagulation tests. In conclusion, these data suggest similar molecular and biological features for our APL patients at diagnosis in comparison with those reported in current scientific literature.