Some deubiquitinating enzymes may help protect against cancer, but others appear to promote it. Researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University have discovered that the deubiquitinator PSMD14 helps drive bladder cancer, and they have defined at least one signaling pathway through which it works, opening up possibilities for development of new treatments.
Researchers at Jilin University and collaborators combed through data in the public Cancer Genome Atlas and identified a potential target for lung adenocarcinoma.
Individuals with autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid can suffer eye complications in the form of Graves’ orbitopathy, in which inflammation in and around the orbit leads to eyelid retraction, eye bulging and other symptoms.
Solute carrier family 25 member 19 (SLC25A19) is a transporter protein of thiamine pyrophosphate across cellular membranes, which is needed as a cofactor for multiple metabolic enzymes and is important for homeostasis regulation. It was hypothesized that SLC25A19 may be a pan-cancer marker and a therapeutic target, and more concretely in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
The Mediator complex is a system that regulates protein-coding gene transcription, where mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 16 (MED16) is a subunit belonging to this system. Pathogenic genetic variants in Mediator complex subunits usually lead to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases with a variety of clinical symptoms, usually designated as MEDopathies.
Investigators from the University of Pennsylvania have presented data regarding the relationship of angiopoietin-2 (ANG2) and its prognostic impact on traumatic brain injury (TBI). The ANG2 plasmatic levels were measured in patients with TBI (n=362), orthopedic injury controls (n=89) and healthy controls (n=64).
Ignite Biomedical Inc. and Liquid Biosciences have announced the discovery of biomarkers to diagnose substance use disorder (SUD). The set of biomarkers includes some that have not previously been associated with addiction and spans all 6 SUDs (opioid, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, nicotine and cannabis use disorders).
Esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (EBSCC) is a rare type of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) characterized by basaloid features and considered to be more aggressive than ESCC. RNA sequencing was performed from 20 pure EBSCC and 11 poorly differentiated ESCC samples; researchers identified chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) as a potential marker of EBSCC at the mRNA level, which was verified by immunohistochemistry in these same samples.
Malignant melanoma (MM) is among the most lethal cutaneous neoplasms, frequently tied to metastasis and poor outcomes. Neural cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM) is a protein that has been associated with poor prognosis in several cancer types, but its association with MM is poorly understood.