Introduction
Wnt signalling pathways are highly significant protein substances within the body. They are responsible for passing signals across cell membrane receptors from without the cell to within the cell. This communication can occur either among neighbouring cells or within the same cell. The pathways play a regulatory role in that it regulates gene transcription, cytoskeleton, and calcium within the cell. Wnt signalling pathways are unique in that they are similar in several species. The pathways are also associated with embryonic development and carcinogenesis. They regulate processes such as cell migration, proliferation, and cell fate specification. When wnt signalling is activated aberrantly, it leads to poor prognosis of various cancers such as ovarian and breast cancer. The pathways may also lead to cancer formation due to de-regulation. This paper analyses the role of wnt signalling in the development of breast and ovarian cancer in order to understand how wnt regulation may contribute to cancer therapy.
Background Information
There are three main types of Wnt pathways. These include canonical, non-canonical pathways depending on their dependence on beta catenin. Canonical pathways depend on beta catenin while non-canonical pathways do not. Research shows that Wnt antagonists are often deactivated in cancer patients. Secreted Frizzled Receptor Proteins (SFRP 1-5) are good examples of the Wnt antagonists. SFRP 4 deactivation is especially associated with development of ovarian and breast cancer since it is often deposited into the blood stream giving room for the action of Wnt proteins. Patients who lack SFRP4 express faster cancer progression because of lack of proper wnt regulation.
Stem cell and stem-like cells ...
... middle of paper ...
...nclude SFRP 1-5. Introducing these regulators in the cell leads to lower cancer progression due to the ability to moderate wnt and reduce beta catenin production.
Recommendation:
The studies analysed herein indicate that Wnt regulation is impaired in cancer cells. This implies that resistance to current cancer therapies is associated with this anomaly. Lack of Wnt regulation also leads to increases in beta catenin, which leads to enhanced migration of cancer cells. However, the studies do not offer the way forward for cancer treatment options. There is need to use these findings to create recombinant Wnt antagonists such as SFRP4 in order to reduce cancer progression, reduce migration of cancer cells, and enhance adherence of cancer cells. There is also need for an in-depth study of Wnt ligands to enhance specificity between the ligands and the Wnt antagonists.
1. In response to light, phytochrome undergoes a change in shape that leads to the activation of
Specifically “TP53, p16INK4A, and SMAD4. The p53 nuclear protein activates transcription of a cyclin kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1. Following genomic stress, inappropriate growth factor stimulation or expression of oncogenic ras increased expression of p53, and thus p21WAF1/CIP1 resulted in inactivation of specific CDK/cyclin complexes” (MedScape). If this transformed cell can escape internal and external fail-safe mechanisms, receive nutrients, and activate its proliferative program, it can form a mass of cancerous cells. Tumor growth can cause the loss of pancreatic functions. Another characteristic of pancreatic cancer is metastasis happens early in tumor growth, which is most likely responsible for pancreatic cancer’s aggressive
Homeostasis is essential to the cell’s survival. The cell membrane is responsible for homeostasis. The membrane has a selective permeability which means what moves in and out of the cell is regulated. Amino acids, sugars, oxygen, sodium, and potassium are examples of substances that enter the cell. Waste products and carbon dioxide are removed from the cell.
Strategy to target cancer stem cells: The identification of CSC is essential for development of better and effective therapeutic strategies. The drugs used in the current therapies and treatments target not only the tumor cells, but also, the norm...
Cancer starts when certain cells in the body are mutated or changed and begin to divide. Cancerous cells grow differently than normal cells, instead of progressing through the normal cell lifecycle, cancer cells continue to grow and create more abnormal cells. A specific trait of cancer cells is that they have the ability to infiltrate and grow into surrounding tissues, developing out of control and causing serious damage to the host (Vincent, 2008). Cells become cance...
In 1896 the scientist Beatson reported that the removal of the ovaries resulted in the reduction of breast cancer tumours (Russo and Irma 1998). Breast cancer is a malignant, metastasizing cancer of the mammary gland. It is the leading cause of death in woman between the ages of 35 - 45. Breast cancer can also occur in males, although less frequent, around 400 men die each year from breast cancer in the united states. (Martini, F., 2004). Studies on rats have shown considerable evidence that rat oestrogens are mammary carcinogens. Oestrogens have shown to stimulate the hormone prolactin. Through studies involving the use of antioestrogens, for example, tamoxifen, "Tamoxifen alone or in combination with the retina all trans-N-(4 hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide (4-HPR) reduces the incidence of NMU-induced mammary tumours in Sprague-Dawley rats." (Jane M. Ussher Ph.D. 1996). This suggests that Oestrogens and Prolactin's can have the effect of the development of breast cancer since the pathogenesis of spontaneous breast cancer in humans is similar to that of chemical-induced rodent mammary cancer. (Jane M. Ussher
Cancer in one way or another touches all of us, whether as a patient or through the diagnosis of the people you love around you. Millions of patients who are faced with cancer are depending on oncologists everywhere to cure cancer so others will not suffer like they had to. Optimistically, sooner rather than later this international problem will come to an end. There are a number of drug companies that have been coming out with cancer treatment drugs. “Oncology has been one of the hottest and most active therapeutic areas for drug development, drug makers may want to take note of a finding that new cancer drugs have proven far more difficult to gain approval than medicines for infectious and autoimmune diseases.” (nature.com) Unfortunately, these drugs cannot cure the cancer but it sure makes it a load easier o...
Hereditary mutations within the factor referred to as KIT will cause inheritable gastroenteric stromal tumors (GISTs). And factortic mutations within the gene name MET will cause transmissible process urinary organ cancer. Tumor suppressor genes measure traditional genes that sluggish down cell s...
Tumors are formed by the alteration of the body’s own cells. This can be caused by environmental factors such as radiation, like UV exposure, chemicals or viruses 1. These can disrupt genes that control growth and cause an increase in cell division and proliferation. Proto-oncogenes are those genes that control normal but essential cell processes that keep cell growth and death in check. Two important categories are apoptosis genes, which regulate cell death, and tumor suppressor genes, which decrease cell propagation 1 . If these genes were mutated to the point where they cannot produce a functioning protein, cell division would continue far past what it was supposed to and unhealthy cells would be allowed to live and continue to multiply. This is what creates a malignant tumor. Certain conditions in the body can also promote the growth of cancer cells. One of these is a deficiency of natural killer (NK) cells, which are able to kill cancer cells by creating a pore in the cell membrane with perforin and releasing granzymes into the cell. Low levels of perforin allow for tumor growth 1. Chronic inflammation can also ...
16. Describe two evolutionary consequences if the process of crossing over in meiosis ceased to occur. If crossing over in meiosis ceased to occur there would be less genetic variations and no diversity among a species. This would essentially mean that a species would not be able to adapt to an issue that could arise in the future, meaning that its species could potentially become extinct due to climate change or other arising events.
The American Cancer Society publishes current advances made in cancer research on their website. Many of the exciting discoveries about how best to treat the disease focus on the genetic aspects associated with certain types of cancer. In addition, treatments aimed at genetic solutions to cancer may be more effective and may cause fewer adverse side effects than traditional cancer treatments (American Can...
Bacteria exist everywhere in the environment and have continuous access to the body through the mouth, nose and pores of skin. Further more, many cells age and die daily and their remains must be removed, this is where the white blood cell plays its role.
...wth of both normal and malignant cells. The limited research that has been performed using these cells has yielded contradictory results: some results say that the alpha5beta1 integrins destroy cancer cells, other results have shown that cell division and other necessary cell functions have been encouraged by the integrin. But the research has predominantly shown that the results of the expression of alpha5beta1 integrins yield beneficial results in terms of cancer tumor reduction. More research needs to be done, but the knowledge obtained from this experiment that alpha5beta1 integrin prevents premature cell death is an excellent step forward in the fight against cancer. There are untold possibilities of the medical applications of not only alpha5beta1 integrins, but all of the many integrins and cell adhesion molecules that play important roles in cell function.
... information needed to stimulate normal cell growth. Failure can lead to the onset of cancer. (Campbell, Reece, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky and Jackson, 2008)
Uterine cancer is an important women health problem developing rapidly, killing over 200,000 women each year. No one has discovered the actual cause, but there is a leading factor that has great suspicions to what is causing this cancer to grow rapidly.