The Ral (Ras‐Like) signaling pathway plays an important role in the biology of cells. A plethora of effects is regulated by this signaling pathway and its prooncogenic effectors. Our team has demonstrated the overactivation of the RalA signaling pathway in a number of human malignancies including cancers of the liver, ovary, lung, brain, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Additionally, we have shown that the activation of RalA in cancer stem cells is higher in comparison with differentiated cancer cells. In this article, we review the role of Ral signaling in health and disease with a focus on the role of this multifunctional protein in the generation of therapies for cancer. An improved understanding of this pathway can lead to development of a novel class of anticancer therapies that functions on the basis of intervention with RalA or its downstream effectors.

Active interfacial microrheology is a sensitive tool to detect phase transitions and headgroup order in phospholipid monolayers. The re-orientation of a magnetic nickel nanorod is used to explore changes in the surface rheology of 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DLPE) and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DMPE), which differ by two CH2 groups in their alkyl chains. Phosphatidylethanolamines such as DLPE and DMPE are a major component of cell membranes in bacteria and in the nervous system. At room temperature, DLPE has a liquid expanded (LE) phase for surface pressure, Π < ~ 38 mN/m; DMPE has an LE phase for Π < ~ 7 mN/m. In their respective LE phases, DLPE and DMPE show no measurable change in surface viscosity with Π, consistent with a surface viscosity < 10−9 Ns/m, the resolution of our technique. However, there is a measurable, discontinuous change in the surface viscosity at the LE to liquid condensed (LC) transition for both DLPE and DMPE. This discontinuous change is correlated with a significant increase in the surface compressibility modulus (or isothermal two-dimensional bulk modulus). In the LC phase of DMPE there is an exponential increase in surface viscosity with Π consistent with a two-dimensional free area model. The second-order LC to solid (S) transition in DMPE is marked by an abrupt onset of surface elasticity; there is no measurable elasticity in the LC phase. A measurable surface elasticity in the S phase suggests a change in the molecular ordering or interactions of the DMPE headgroups that is not reflected in isotherms or in grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. This onset of measurable elasticity is also seen in DLPE, even though no indication of a LC-S transition is visible in the isotherms.

Medulloblastoma (MDB) represents a major form of malignant brain tumors in the pediatric population. A vast spectrum of research on MDB has advanced our understanding of the underlying mechanism, however, a significant need still exists to develop novel therapeutics on the basis of gaining new knowledge about the characteristics of cell signaling networks involved. The Ras signaling pathway, one of the most important proto-oncogenic pathways involved in human cancers, has been shown to be involved in the development of neurological malignancies. We have studied an important effector down-stream of Ras, namely RalA (Ras-Like), for the first time and revealed overactivation of RalA in MDB. Affinity precipitation analysis of active RalA (RalA-GTP) in eight MDB cell lines (DAOY, RES256, RES262, UW228-1, UW426, UW473, D283 and D425) revealed that the majority contained elevated levels of active RalA (RalA-GTP) as compared with fetal cerebellar tissue as a normal control. Additionally, total RalA levels were shown to be elevated in 20 MDB patient samples as compared to normal brain tissue. The overall expression of RalA, however, was comparable in cancerous and normal samples. Other important effectors of RalA pathway including RalA binding protein-1 (RalBP1) and protein phosphatase A (PP2A) down-stream of Ral and Aurora kinase A (AKA) as an upstream RalA activator were also investigated in MDB. Considering the lack of specific inhibitors for RalA, we used gene specific silencing in order to inhibit RalA expression. Using a lentivirus expressing anti-RalA shRNA we successfully inhibited RalA expression in MDB and observed a significant reduction in proliferation and invasiveness. Similar results were observed using inhibitors of AKA and geranyl-geranyl transferase (non-specific inhibitors of RalA signaling) in terms of loss of in vivo tumorigenicity in heterotopic nude mouse model. Finally, once tested in cells expressing CD133 (a marker for MDB cancer stem cells), higher levels of RalA activation was observed. These data not only bring RalA to light as an important contributor to the malignant phenotype of MDB but introduces this pathway as a novel target in the treatment of this malignancy.

Funding and support: By JACEP Open policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article as per ICMJE conflict of interest guidelines (see www.icmje.org). The authors have stated that no such relationships exist.

Hsp90 binds to and promotes the clearance of tau, which is thought to reduce the formation of neurotoxic aggregates. Tau is an intrinsically disordered protein and it is unclear what role, if any, Hsp90 has in controlling its structure and dynamics. Hsp90 cooperates with numerous co-chaperones such as the immunophilin FKBP51, which assists in regulating the folding and processing of client proteins like tau. Defining the precise interactions between tau and the Hsp90 chaperone network is important for understanding the role of tau in Alzheimer's Disease. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to probe the interaction between 15N-labeled tau, Hsp90 and FKBP51. The results demonstrate that two hydrophobic hexapeptide motifs located at residues 275-280 and 306-311 in tau's C-terminus bind to Hsp90 and FKBP51. This was determined by observing a significant reduction in the intensity ratios of HSQC spectra for free tau and tau in complex with Hsp90 and FKBP51. Resonances that show reduced intensities in the absence of line broadening are probably undergoing chemical exchange with a bound conformation. Several residues near the N-terminus of the protein also show a similar reduction in intensity upon addition of Hsp90 and FKBP51. Formation of the ternary complex around the client protein tau is congruent with currently proposed models suggesting that the binding of FKBP51 and Hsp90 assist in tau regulation, thereby triggering its recycling back to the MT surface.