The androgen receptor (AR) is required for male sex development and contributes to prostate cancer cell survival. In contrast to other nuclear receptors that bind the LXXLL motifs of coactivators, the AR ligand binding domain is preferentially engaged in an interdomain interaction with the AR FXXLF motif. Reported here are crystal structures of the ligand-activated AR ligand binding domain with and without bound FXXLF and LXXLL peptides. Key residues that establish motif binding specificity are identified through comparative structure-function and mutagenesis studies. A mechanism in prostate cancer is suggested by a functional AR mutation at a specificity-determining residue that recovers coactivator LXXLL motif binding. An activation function transition hypothesis is proposed in which an evolutionary decline in LXXLL motif binding parallels expansion and functional dominance of the NH(2)-terminal transactivation domain in the steroid receptor subfamily.

Here we show that overexpression or activation of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) by its ligand, a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), promotes human multiple myeloma (MM) progression in vivo. BCMA downregulation strongly decreases viability and MM colony formation; conversely, BCMA overexpression augments MM cell growth and survival via induction of protein kinase B (AKT), MAPK, and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling cascades. Importantly, BCMA promotes in vivo growth of xenografted MM cells harboring p53 mutation in mice. BCMA-overexpressing tumors exhibit significantly increased CD31/microvessel density and vascular endothelial growth factor compared with paired control tumors. These tumors also express increased transcripts crucial for osteoclast activation, adhesion, and angiogenesis/metastasis, as well as genes mediating immune inhibition including programmed death ligand 1, transforming growth factor β, and interleukin 10. These target genes are consistently induced by paracrine APRIL binding to BCMA on MM cells, which is blocked by an antagonistic anti-APRIL monoclonal antibody hAPRIL01A (01A). 01A is cytotoxic against MM cells even in the presence of protective bone marrow (BM) myeloid cells including osteoclasts, macrophages, and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. 01A further decreases APRIL-induced adhesion and migration of MM cells via blockade of canonical and noncanonical NF-κB pathways. Moreover, 01A prevents in vivo MM cell growth within implanted human bone chips in SCID mice. Finally, the effect of 01A on MM cell viability is enhanced by lenalidomide and bortezomib. Taken together, these data delineate new molecular mechanisms of in vivo MM growth and immunosuppression critically dependent on BCMA and APRIL in the BM microenvironment, further supporting targeting this prominent pathway in MM

Purpose We study CD38 levels in immunosuppressive CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ Tregs and further define immune modulating effects of a therapeutic CD38 monoclonal antibody (mAb) Isatuximab (Isa)/SAR650984 in multiple myeloma (MM). Experimental Design We evaluated percentages of CD38-expressing subsets in Tregs from normal donors and MM patients. PBMCs were then treated with Isa with or without Lenalidomide (Len) or Pomalidomide (Pom) to identify their impact on percentage and immunosuppressive activity of Tregs on CD4+CD25− T cells (Tcons). We investigated the mechanism of increased Tregs in MM patients in ex vivo cocultures of MM cells with PBMCs or Tcons. Results CD38 expression is higher on Tregs than Tcons from MM patients versus normal donors. CD38 levels and the percentages of CD38high Tregs are increased by Len and Pom. Isa preferentially decreases Treg and increases Tcon frequencies, which is enhanced by Pom/Len. Isa reduces Foxp3 and IL10 in Tregs and restores proliferation and function of Tcons. It augments MM cell lysis by CD8+ T and natural killer cells. Coculture of MM cells with Tcons significantly induces Tregs (iTregs), which express even higher CD38, CD25, and FoxP3 than natural Tregs. This is associated with elevated circulating CD38+ Tregs in MM patients vs. normal donors. Conversely, Isa decreases MM cell- and bone marrow stromal cell-induced iTreg by inhibiting both cell-cell contact and TGFβ/IL10. Finally, CD38 levels correlate with differential inhibition by Isa of Tregs from MM vs normal donors. Conclusion Targeting CD38 by Isa can preferentially block immunosuppressive Tregs and thereby restore immune effector function against MM.

Previous studies have revealed multiple functional roles of long non-coding RNA taurine upregulated gene 1 in different types of malignant tumors, except for human glioma. Here, it was designed to study the potential function of taurine upregulated gene 1 in glioma pathogenesis focusing on its regulation on cell apoptosis. The expression of taurine upregulated gene 1 in glioma tissues was detected by quantitative RT-PCR and compared with that in adjacent normal tissues. Further correlation analysis was conducted to show the relationship between taurine upregulated gene 1 expression and different clinicopathologic parameters. Functional studies were performed to investigate the influence of taurine upregulated gene 1 on apoptosis and cell proliferation by using Annexin V/PI staining and cell counting kit-8 assays, respectively. And, caspase activation and Bcl-2 expression were analyzed to explore taurine upregulated gene 1-induced mechanism. taurine upregulated gene 1 expression was significantly inhibited in glioma and showed significant correlation with WHO Grade, tumor size and overall survival. Further experiments revealed that the dysregulation of taurine upregulated gene 1 affected the apoptosis and cell proliferation of glioma cells. Moreover, taurine upregulated gene 1 could induce the activation of caspase-3 and-9, with inhibited expression of Bcl-2, implying the mechanism in taurine upregulated gene 1-induced apoptosis. taurine upregulated gene 1 promoted cell apoptosis of glioma cells by activating caspase-3 and -9-mediated intrinsic pathways and inhibiting Bcl-2-mediated anti-apoptotic pathways, acting as a tumor suppressor in human glioma. This study provided new insights for the function of taurine upregulated gene 1 in cancer biology, and suggested a potent application of taurine upregulated gene 1 overexpression for glioma therapy.

Key Points OCs play a crucial role in myeloma-induced immunosuppressive microenvironment. Therapeutic anti-CD38 mAb partially overcomes the immunosuppressive effect of OCs.

The expression of the protooncogenes, c-fos, jun B, c-jun, and jun D was investigated in a rat focal cerebral ischemia model by Northern analysis and in situ hybridization. Severe ischemia (reduction of regional blood flow by 88-92%) in this model is confined to cerebral cortex irrigated by the right middle cerebral artery. Ischemia for 30 minutes, which caused only slight cortical damage (infarct size, < 10 mm3), induced both jun B and c-fos mRNAs exclusively in the right cerebral cortex. Ischemia for 90 minutes, which led to large cortical infarction (infarct size, > 140 mm3), also induced the expression of these two genes in the right cerebral cortex as well as the ipsilateral hippocampus. The latter sustained very mild ischemia (reduction of regional blood flow by 10-20%). The coinduction of jun B and c-fos expression occurred immediately after reperfusion and peaked at 60 minutes after reperfusion. The expression of c-jun was enhanced in a similar pattern, but at a much lower magnitude. In contrast, no change in jun D expression was observed. Nuclear run-on assays indicated that the increase in c-fos, jun B, and c-jun mRNA levels was due to the increase of transcription rate in these genes. Mobility shift assays showed a basal DNA binding activity of transcription factor AP-1 in the right cerebral cortex. Ischemia for 30 or 90 minutes followed by reperfusion for 4 hours resulted in a four- to sixfold increase of AP-1 binding activity. The enhanced DNA binding activity persisted for as long as 24 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

ABSTRACTwas carried out in accordance with the 1996 Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethics committees of institutions. According to their request, patients were assigned to either the thalidomide-based (arm A) or bortezomib-based (arm B) treatment. Arm A consisted of 4 cycles of induction treatment with thalidomide (TAD) 200 mg/day; intravenous (i.v.) adriamycin 9 mg/m 2 on Days 1-4; and oral or i.v. dexamethasone 20 mg/d on

Elevated inflammatory markers are associated with poor outcomes in various types of cancers; however, their clinical significance in multiple myeloma (MM) have seldom been explored. This study investigated the prognostic relevance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) in MM. Totally 559 MM patients were included in this study. NLR, PLR and MLR were calculated from whole blood counts prior to therapy. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox proportional models were used for the evaluation of the survival. It has shown that newly diagnosed MM patients were characterized by high NLR and MLR. Elevated NLR and MLR and decreased PLR were associated with unfavorable clinicobiological features. Applying cut-offs of 4 (NLR), 100 (PLR) and 0.3 (MLR), elevated NLR, MLR and decreased PLR showed a negative impact on outcome. Importantly, elevated NLR and decreased PLR were independent prognostic factors for progression-free survival. Thus, elevated NLR and MLR, and decreased PLR predict poor clinical outcome in MM patients and may serve as the cost-effective and readily available prognostic biomarkers.