Search

Low-grade BRAF V600E mutant oligodendroglioma-like tumors of children may show EGFR and MET amplification Very recently, Fukuoka I et al i described a small series of pediatric oligodendroglioma-like tumors with BRAF V600E mutations (3). Microcalcification was present in tumors 1, 2 and 3 but was absent with tumor 4. Further studies of a bigger series of pediatric oligodendroglioma-like tumors in our view may help clarify the nature and classification of this group of tumors and related tumors. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: The potential cytoprotective effects of the anti-leprosy antibiotic rifampicin were investigated in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells prior to intoxication with 1-Methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP+). MPP+ induced both apoptotic and necrotic cell death, and increased the expression of a 57 kDa species of α-Synuclein. This species of α-Synuclein is larger than the monomer, and is therefore an oligomer or an aggregated form of the protein. Rifampicin significantly increased survival of these catecholaminergic cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of the higher molecular mass α-Synuclein was increased by MPP+ exposure, and its expression was inversely related to cell survival in the rifampicin-treated cells. Importantly, rifampicin suppressed apoptosis almost completely, without shifting the death cascade to necrosis, which is a problem that has been reported with caspase inhibitors of apoptosis (Hartmann, A., Troadec, J.D., Hunot, S., Kikly, K., Faucheux, B.A., Mouatt-Prigent, A., Ruberg, M. Agid, Y., Hirsch, E.C., 2001. Caspase-8 is an effector in apoptotic death of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson''s disease, but pathway inhibition results in neuronal necrosis. J. Neurosci. 21, 2247–2255). These results suggest that rifampicin improves survival of catecholamine- and α-Synuclein-containing cells, which degenerate in Parkinson''s disease (PD), and thus may be therapeutic in this disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Epigenetic alterations have been implicated in the development and progression of human cancer. It is noteworthy that epigenetic modifications, in contrast to genetic mutations, are intrinsically reversible. This triggers an impressive interest of researchers in treatment of cancer patients via targeting epigenetic mechanisms, leading to subsequent intensive investigations of epigenetic drugs as a novel therapeutic intervention. DNA methylation, the major form of epigenetic modifications, is catalyzed by the maintenance DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 1 and/or the de novo methyltransferases DNMT3A and DNMT3B. Aberrant expression of DNMTs and disruption of DNA methylation are closely associated with multiple forms of cancer, although the exact mechanisms underlying this link remain elusive. An array of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) frequently sustain promoter hypermethylation, which results in epigenetic silencing of these genes and makes cancer cells acquire growth advantages. DNA demethylating agents, re-activating TSGs via inhibiting hypermethylation of their promoter regions, are currently being tested in clinical trials, and several of them are already applied in clinics. DNA demethylating agents, used either alone or in combination with other agents, such as chemotherapeutic drugs and the histone deacetylase inhibitors, have shown to be effective in treatment of cancer, although only in a small set of patients. In this review, we examine and discuss the most recent advances in epigenetic therapy of cancer, with a focus on DNA demethylating agents.

The potential cytoprotective effects of the anti-leprosy antibiotic rifampicin were investigated in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells prior to intoxication with 1-Methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP(+)). MPP(+) induced both apoptotic and necrotic cell death, and increased the expression of a 57 kDa species of alpha-Synuclein. This species of alpha-Synuclein is larger than the monomer, and is therefore an oligomer or an aggregated form of the protein. Rifampicin significantly increased survival of these catecholaminergic cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of the higher molecular mass alpha-Synuclein was increased by MPP(+) exposure, and its expression was inversely related to cell survival in the rifampicin-treated cells. Importantly, rifampicin suppressed apoptosis almost completely, without shifting the death cascade to necrosis, which is a problem that has been reported with caspase inhibitors of apoptosis (Hartmann, A., Troadec, J.D., Hunot, S., Kikly, K., Faucheux, B.A., Mouatt-Prigent, A., Ruberg, M. Agid, Y., Hirsch, E.C., 2001. Caspase-8 is an effector in apoptotic death of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease, but pathway inhibition results in neuronal necrosis. J. Neurosci. 21, 2247-2255). These results suggest that rifampicin improves survival of catecholamine- and alpha-Synuclein-containing cells, which degenerate in Parkinson's disease (PD), and thus may be therapeutic in this disease.