Subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGAs) are rare brain tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a disease caused by mutations in TSC1 or TSC2 , resulting in enhancement of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity, dysregulation of cell growth, and tumorigenesis. Signaling via mTOR plays a role in multifaceted genomic responses, but its effectors in the brain are largel...

BACKGROUND Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23), a circulating protein produced in bone, causes decreased renal inorganic phosphate (Pi) reabsorption by reducing the expression of the sodium phosphate cotransporter type 2a (Npt2a). We have previously generated transgenic mice expressing human wild-type (WT) FGF23 under the control of the alpha1 (I) collagen promoter. METHODS In this study, we ...

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is a possible cause of esophageal cancer. However, the molecular pathogenesis of HPV-infected esophageal cancer remains unclear. The expression levels of some microRNAs including miR-125b have been negatively correlated with HPV infection, and miR-125b downregulation is associated with tumorigenesis. In addition, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has been sugg...

PURPOSE Many investigators have reported that aneuploidy detected by flow cytometry is a useful prognostic marker in patients with endometrial cancer. Laser scanning cytometry (LSC) is a technology similar to flow cytometry but is more feasible for clinical laboratory use. We evaluated the usefulness of DNA ploidy detected by LSC as a prognostic marker in patients with endometrial cancer and in...

Disruptions of beta-catenin and the canonical Wnt pathway are well documented in cancer. However, little is known of the non-canonical branch of the Wnt pathway. In this study, we investigate the transcript level patterns of genes in the Wnt pathway in squamous cell lung cancer using reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR. It was found that over half of the samples examined exhibited dysregulated gene ...

Phosphate ions are critical for normal bone mineralization, and phosphate plays a vital role in a number of other biological processes such as signal transduction, nucleotide metabolism, and enzyme regulation. The study of rare disorders associated with renal phosphate wasting has resulted in the discovery of a number of proteins [fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), secreted frizzled related ...

Although oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is the most common precancerous lesion of the oral cavity in Southeast Asia where the habit of betel quid (BQ) chewing is popular, its molecular biological properties are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the genes responsible for its pathogenesis and malignant transformation using oligonucleotide microarray. The expression profiles of...

Recent studies of myocardial infarction in secreted Frizzled-related protein 2 (sFRP2) knockout mice and our hamster heart failure therapy based on sFRP2 blockade have established sFRP2 as a key profibrotic cytokine in the heart. The failing hamster heart is marked by prominent fibrosis and calcification with elevated expression of sFRP2. Noting the involvement of tissue-nonspecific alkaline ph...