Evidence is emerging that Foxo family proteins serve as biochemical signal integrators in complex signaling networks mediating and modulating diverse cellular functions. Herein, we report that besides the well-established function of Foxo3a as a transcriptional regulator of multiple target genes in nucleus, a substantial fraction of Foxo3a translocates to mitochondria leading to disruption of m...

BACKGROUND Berberine (BBR), a component from traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to possess anti-tumor activity against a wide spectrum of cancer cells including human lung cancer, but the detailed mechanism underlining this has not been well elucidated. METHODS In this study, the effect of berberine on cell growth and apoptosis were assessed by MTT, flow cytometry and Hoechst 33258 ...

BACKGROUND Natural compounds have been demonstrated to lower breast cancer risk and sensitize tumor cells to anticancer therapies. Recently, we demonstrated that vernodalin (the active constituent of the medicinal herb Centratherum anthelminticum seeds) induces apoptosis in breast cancer cell-lines. The aim of this work was to gain an insight into the underlying anticancer mechanism of vernodal...

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) directly regulates forkhead box O (FOXO) signaling in skeletal muscle. This aim stems from previous work demonstrating that Hsp70 overexpression inhibits disuse-induced FOXO transactivation and prevents muscle fiber atrophy. However, although FOXO is sufficient to cause muscle wasting, no data currently exis...

Cancer-initiating cells (CICs) are specialized cells that have the ability to self-renew and are multipotent. We recently demonstrated that Forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a)-expressing cells exhibited a CIC-like potential in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). A proportion of HL patients are infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV-encoded latent membrane protein (LMP) 1 downregulates FoxO3a, suggesting that F...

Casticin is an active ingredient derived from Fructus Viticis, a traditional Chinese medicine. This study aimed to investigate the role of forkhead box O3 (FOXO3a) in breast cancer cells and examine the regulatory mechanisms of FOXO3a in response to casticin treatment of the cells by ELISA, flow cytometry, small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection and western blot analysis. Casticin treatment ...

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are essential for the structural integrity and contractile responses of the arterial vessel wall. VSMC proliferation and survival are also implicated in vascular disease including restenosis following angioplasty or stenting, and VSMC apoptosis is an important regulator of plaque stability. Thus, unraveling the molecular mechanisms that govern the survival, ...

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are essential for the structural integrity and contractile responses of the arterial vessel wall. VSMC proliferation and survival are also implicated in vascular disease including restenosis following angioplasty or stenting, and VSMC apoptosis is an important regulator of plaque stability. Thus, unraveling the molecular mechanisms that govern the survival, ...

Gefitinib is a specific inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that causes growth delay in cancer cell lines and human tumor xenografts expressing high levels of EGFR. An understanding of the downstream cellular targets of gefitinib will allow the discovery of biomarkers for predicting outcomes and monitoring anti-EGFR therapies and provide information for key targets for ther...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal and progressive lung disease characterized by persistent (myo)fibroblasts and the relentless accumulation of collagen matrix. Unlike normal lung fibroblasts, IPF lung fibroblasts have suppressed forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a) activity, which allows them to expand in this diseased environment. microRNA-96 (miR-96) has recently been found to directly bin...