We investigated whether the CYP46A1 gene, a neuronal-specific cytochrome P450, responsible for the majority of brain cholesterol turnover, is subject to transcriptional modulation through modifications in histone acetylation. We demonstrated that inhibition of histone deacetylase activity by trichostatin A (TSA), valproic acid and sodium butyrate c...
Acetylation and deacetylation of lysine residues on histones, which are catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), are epigenetic modifications that play a very important role in the regulation of gene transcription. Perturbation of the balance between histone acetylation and deacetylation leads to a myriad of ...
In this study, we investigated the biological effects of heteronemin, a marine sesterterpene isolated from the sponge Hyrtios sp. on chronic myelogenous leukemia cells. To gain further insight into the molecular mechanisms triggered by this compound, we initially performed DNA microarray profiling and determined which genes respond to heteronemin s...
Garlic-derived organo sulphur compounds such as diallylsulfides provide a significant protection against carcinogenesis. Chemically synthesized, and highly pure diallylsulfides with a chain of 1-4 sulphur atoms, as well as a range of control compounds, were employed to investigate the influence of these agents on cell viability, cell cycle arrest a...
As cancer is a multifactor disease, it may require treatment with compounds able to target multiple intracellular components. We summarize here how curcumin is able to modulate many components of intracellular signaling pathways implicated in inflammation, cell proliferation and invasion and to induce genetic modulations eventually leading to tumor...
Recombinant fluorescent probes allow the detection of molecular events inside living cells. Many of them exploit the intracellular space to provide positional signals and, thus, require detection by single cell imaging. We describe here a novel strategy based on probes capable of encoding the spatial dimension of intracellular signals into "all-or-...
The regulation of the necrotic death and its relevance in anticancer therapy are largely unknown. Here, we have investigated the proapoptotic and pronecrotic activities of two ubiquitin-proteasome system inhibitors: bortezomib and G5. The present study points out that the glioblastoma cell lines U87MG and T98G are useful models to study the suscept...
