We provide detailed mechanisms of Ahnak-mediated potentiation of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling, which leads to a negative regulation of cell growth. We show that Smad3 interacts with Ahnak through MH2 domain and that Ahnak stimulates Smad3 localization into nucleus leading to potentiating TGFβ-induced transcriptional activity of R-Smad. Moreover, overexpression of Ahnak resulted in growth retardation and cell cycle arrest through downregulation of c-Myc and cyclin D1/D2. We describe results from analyses of Ahnak−/− mouse model expressing middle T antigen in a mammary gland-specific manner (MMTVTg/+Ahnak−/−), which showed significantly progressed hyperplasia of mammary glands compared with MMTVTg/+Ahnak+/+. Finally, we screened multiple human breast cancer tissues and showed that the expression of Ahnak in cancer tissues is lower than that in control tissues by 50%. Taken together, these data indicate that Ahnak mediates a negative regulation of cell growth and acts as novel tumor suppressor through potentiation of TGFβ signaling.

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Background. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a disease with increasing prevalence due to prolongation of average life span. Despite various treatment methods, many limitations remain unsolved. Objective. We are reporting cases of patients who have been treated with Wonli Acupuncture, a method of treating LSS by directly approaching the intervertebral foramen and interlaminar space with acupuncture needles different from those used in original acupuncture. Methods. A total of 82 patients with LSS were treated with Wonli Acupuncture, and out of those, 47 patients without exclusion criteria were selected for the following research. We compared the pretreatment VAS and ODI scores based on 1-year follow-up measurements. Results. The ODI value dropped by 15.3 ± 24.8 on average (from 35.2 ± 19.9 at the baseline to 19.8 ± 20.6 at the reading) (P < 0.01) and the average VAS also dropped by 19.2 ± 37.2 (from 60.7 ± 23.1 at baseline to 41.5 ± 31.9 at the reading) (P < 0.01). Conclusions. Wonli Acupuncture was found to have clinical efficacy for lumbar spinal stenosis.

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