Macromolecular trafficking across the nuclear envelope involves interactions between cytosolic transport factors and nuclear pore complex proteins. The p62 complex, an assembly of 62, 58, 54, and 45-kD O-linked glycoproteins-localized near the central gated channel of the nuclear pore complex, has been directly implicated in nuclear protein import. The cDNA cloning of rat p62 was reported previ...

The cadmium-transformed human lung bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells exhibit a property of apoptosis resistance as compared with normal non-transformed BEAS-2B cells. The level of basal reactive oxygen species (ROS) is extremely low in transformed cells in correlation with elevated expressions of both antioxidant enzymes (catalase, SOD1, and SOD2) and antiapoptotic proteins (Bcl-2/Bcl-xL). Mor...

ne heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) coreceptor is not like another. On page 729, Ding et al. show how two HSPGs, both capable of acting as growth factor coreceptors, have distinct functions on cancer cells. Glypican-1 acts as a long-term growth factor coreceptor, whereas syndecan-1 is shed and helps spread a metasis-promoting proteinase. Upon stimulation with fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2...

We recently reported that depletion of p62 in the background of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression sensitizes mammary tumor cells to amino acid deprivation, abolishes cellular transformation in vitro, and suppresses mammary tumorigenesis in vivo. Extensive investigation on the underlying molecular mechanisms has revealed a multifaceted role for p62 in HER2-associated...

BACKGROUND Cases of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) and Motor Neurone Disease (MND) associated with expansions in C9ORF72 gene are characterised pathologically by the presence of TDP-43 negative, but p62 positive, inclusions in granule cells of the cerebellum and in cells of dentate gyrus and area CA4 of the hippocampus. RESULTS We screened 84 cases of pathologically confirmed FTLD a...

Deregulation of autophagy has been linked to multiple degenerative diseases and cancer, thus the identification of novel autophagy regulators for potential therapeutic intervention is important. To meet this need, we developed a high content image-based shRNA screen monitoring levels of the autophagy substrate p62/SQSTM1. We identified 186 genes whose loss caused p62 accumulation indicative of ...

BACKGROUND Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily and is a ligand-activated transcription factor essential for maintaining liver and intestinal homeostasis. FXR is protective against carcinogenesis and inflammation in liver and intestine as demonstrated by the development of inflammation and tumors in the liver and intestine of FXR knock-out mice. However, me...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common reason of visual impairment in the elderly in the Western countries. The degeneration of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) causes secondarily adverse effects on neural retina leading to visual loss. The aging characteristics of the RPE involve lysosomal accumulation of lipofuscin and extracellular protein aggregates called "drusen"....

BACKGROUND Some patients treated with chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, or colchicine develop autophagic vacuolar myopathy, the diagnosis of which currently requires electron microscopy. The goal of the current study was to develop an immunohistochemical diagnostic marker for this pathologic entity. METHODOLOGY Microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) has emerged as a robust marker o...

BACKGROUND Autophagy is a cellular pathway that regulates transportation of cytoplasmic macromolecules and organelles to lysosomes for degradation. Autophagy is involved in both tumorigenesis and tumour suppression. Here we investigated the potential prognostic value of the autophagy-related proteins Beclin-1, p62, LC3 and uncoordinated (UNC) 51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) in a cohort of colorectal ca...