Project description:Tamoxifen, an antagonist to estrogen receptor (ER), is a first line drug used in breast cancer treatment. However, this therapy is complicated by the fact that a substantial number of patients exhibit either de novo or acquired resistance. To characterize the signaling mechanisms underlying the resistance to tamoxifen, we established a tamoxifen-resistant cell line by treating the MCF7 breast cancer cell line with tamoxifen for over 6 months. We showed that this cell line exhibited resistance to tamoxifen both in vitro and in vivo. In order to quantify the phosphorylation alterations associated with tamoxifen resistance, we performed SILAC-based quantitative phosphoproteomic profiling on the resistant and vehicle-treated sensitive cell lines where we identified >5,600 unique phosphopeptides. We found phosphorylation levels of 1,529 peptides were increased (>2 fold) and 409 peptides were decreased (<0.5-fold) in tamoxifen resistant cells compared to tamoxifen sensitive cells. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that focal adhesion pathway was the top enriched signaling pathway activated in tamoxifen resistant cells. We observed hyperphosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinases FAK1 and FAK2 in the tamoxifen resistant cells. Of note, FAK2 was not only hyperphosphorylated but also transcriptionally upregulated in tamoxifen resistant cells. Suppression of FAK2 by specific siRNA knockdown could sensitize the resistant cells to the treatment of tamoxifen. We further showed that inhibiting FAK activity using the small molecule inhibitor PF562271 repressed cellular proliferation in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. More importantly, our survival analysis revealed that high expression of FAK2 significantly associated with short metastasis-free survival of ER-positive breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen-based hormone therapy. Our studies suggest that FAK2 is a great potential target for the development of therapy for the treatment of hormone refractory breast cancers.

Project description:An estimated 1% or less of the nanoparticles (NPs) deposited in lungs translocate to systemic circulation and enter other organs; however this estimation may not be accurate considering the low sensitivity of the existing in vivo NP detection methods. Moreover, the biological outcomes of such low levels of translocation are not elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to employ a Nano-scale Hyperspectral Microscope to spatially observe and spectrally profile NPs in tissues, and characterize the effects of NPs in blood, liver and heart following pulmonary deposition and subsequent translocation from lungs. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were exposed via intratracheal instillation to 18 and 162 µg per mouse of industrially relevant non-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2). Using the Nano-scale Hyperspectral Microscope translocation to heart and liver was confirmed at both doses and to blood at the highest dose at 24 hours post-exposure time-point. The analysis of biological effects using DNA microarrays, RT-qPCR and ELISA revealed activation of complement cascade and inflammatory process in heart and specific activation of complement factor 3 in blood, potentially suggestive of activation of early innate immune response essential for particle opsonisation and clearance. The liver showed subtle response with changes in the expression of few genes associated with acute phase genes. This study establishes a direct link between particle translocation and systemic effects. An estimated 1% or less of the nanoparticles (NPs) deposited in lungs translocate to systemic circulation and enter other organs; however this estimation may not be accurate considering the low sensitivity of the existing in vivo NP detection methods. Moreover, the biological outcomes of such low levels of translocation are not elucidated. The objectives of the present study were to employ a Nano-scale Hyperspectral Microscope to spatially observe and spectrally profile NPs in tissues, and characterize the effects of NPs in blood, liver and heart following pulmonary deposition and subsequent translocation from lungs. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were exposed via intratracheal instillation to 18 and 162 µg per mouse of industrially relevant non-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2). Using the Nano-scale Hyperspectral Microscope translocation to heart and liver was confirmed at both doses and to blood at the highest dose at 24 hours post-exposure time-point. The analysis of biological effects using DNA microarrays, RT-qPCR and ELISA revealed activation of complement cascade and inflammatory process in heart and specific activation of complement factor 3 in blood, potentially suggestive of activation of early innate immune response essential for particle opsonisation and clearance. The liver showed subtle response with changes in the expression of few genes associated with acute phase genes. This study establishes a direct link between particle translocation and systemic effects. This experiment consists of one dose of nano-TiO2 (162 ug) and one control. There are 2 time points for each treatment and control group, e.g., day 1 and day 28. Each dose or time point has 5-6 biological replicates. There are total 22 samples (arrays)

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High-throughput Proteomics Reveals the Unicellular Roots of Animal Phosphosignaling and Cell Differentiation

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High-Throughput Proteomics Reveals the Unicellular Roots of Animal Phosphosignaling and Cell Differentiation.

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