The aberrant tyrosine phosphorylation, either due to constitutive tyrosine kinases (TKs) or to inactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), is a widespread feature of many cancerous cells. The BCR-ABL fusion protein, which arises from the Philadelphia chromosome, is a molecular distinct and peculiar trait of some kind of leukemia, namely Chronic Myeloid and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and displays constitutive tyrosine kinase activity. In the chapter, we will highlight the milestones that had led to the identification of the BCR-ABL fusion gene and its role as the only molecular pathogenic event sufficient to elicit and sustain chronic myeloid leukemia. We will also discuss the effort made to unveil the molecular mechanisms of action of the chimeric tyrosine kinase that eventually lead to aberrant cell proliferation and impaired cell-death. Furthermore, we will also review the lesson learned from the selective inhibition of BCR-ABL which currently represent a breakthrough in the treatment of several tumors characterized by defective tyrosine kinase activity.
Large HERC E3 ubiquitin ligase family members, HERC1 and HERC2, are staggeringly complex proteins that can intervene in a wide range of biological processes, such as cell proliferation, DNA repair, neurodevelopment, and inflammation. Therefore, mutations or dysregulation of large HERCs is associated with neurological disorders, DNA repair defects, and cancer. Though their role in solid tumors started to be investigated some years ago, our knowledge about HERCs in non-solid neoplasm is greatly lagging behind. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a model onco-hematological disorder because of its unique and unambiguous relation between genotype and phenotype due to a single genetic alteration. In the present study, we ascertained that the presence of the BCR-ABL fusion gene was inversely associated with the expression of the HERC1 and HERC2 genes. Upon the achievement of remission, both HERC1 and HERC2 mRNAs raised again to levels comparable to those of the healthy donors. Additionally, our survey unveiled that their gene expression is sensitive to different Tyrosine Kinases Inhibitors (TKIs) in a time-dependent fashion. Interestingly, for the first time, we also observed a differential HERC1 expression when the leukemic cell lines were induced to differentiate towards different lineages revealing that HERC1 protein expression is associated with the differentiation process in a lineage-specific manner. Taken together, our findings suggest that HERC1 might act as a novel potential player in blood cell differentiation. Overall, we believe that our results are beneficial to initiate exploring the role/s of large HERCs in non-solid neoplasms.
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