Project description:Survival kinase MELK has been shown to be important for proliferation of several tumors such as brain, breast or prostate. MELK expression is elevated in cutaneous melanoma, therefore, we analyzed the role of MELK in melanoma. Inhibition of MELK in melanoma cell lines resulted in decreased proliferation, increased cell death and decreased invasion. MELK expression is regulated through MAP kinase pathway and inhibition of MAPK pathway leads to diminished MELK expression. Finally, inhibition of MELK reduces tumor size in nude mice.
Project description:Melanoma accounts for over 80% of skin cancer-related deaths and current therapies provide only short-term benefit to patients. Here, we show in melanoma cells that maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) is transcriptionally upregulated by the MAP kinase pathway via transcription factor E2F1. MELK knockdown or pharmacological inhibition blocked melanoma growth and enhanced the effectiveness of BRAFV600E inhibitor against melanoma cells. To identify mediators of MELK function, we performed stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) and identified 469 proteins that had downregulated phosphorylation after MELK inhibition. Remarkably, 139 of these proteins were previously reported as substrates of BRAF or MEK, demonstrating that MELK is an important downstream mediator of the MAPK pathway. Furthermore, we show that MELK promotes melanoma growth by activating NF-B pathway activity via Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62). Collectively, these results underpin an important role for MELK in melanoma growth, downstream of the MAPK pathway.
Project description:Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease characterized by airway inflammation and remodeling. The role of 15-oxo-5Z,8Z,11Z,13E-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-oxoETE), a 15-HETE metabolite catalyzed by 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), has been relatively unexplored in asthma. In this study, we used RNA-seq to explore the effect of 15-KETE on the transcriptome of airway epithelial cells, aiming to identify its potential downstream targets and mechanisms of action.
Project description:A cross-species analysis identified MELK as a potential therapeutic target in prostate cancer. To further elucidate the functional role of MELK in prostate cancer cells, we aimed to identify MELK-regulated genes. C4-2b cells were either treated with a small-molecule MELK inhibitor (OTSSP167), or transfected with siRNAs targeting MELK. Differentially expressed genes were identified using next-generation sequencing. Our results demonstrate that MELK promotes the expression of genes associated with tumour progression in prostate cancer cells.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
