Snail

Voltage-gated calcium (CaV) channels are widely expressed and are essential for the completion of multiple physiological processes. Close regulation of their activity by specific inhibitors and agonists become fundamental to understand their role in cellular homeostasis as well as in human tissues and organs. CaV channels are divided into two groups depending on the membrane potential required to activate them: High-voltage activated (HVA, CaV1.1-1.4; CaV2.1-2.3) and Low-voltage activated (LVA, CaV3.1-3.3)...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological role and mechanism of miR-373 targeting of TFIIB-related factor 2 (BRF2) in the regulation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Methods: miRNA microarray chip analysis of four paired NSCLC and adjacent non-tumor tissues was performed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were used to detect the expression levels of miR-373 and BRF2 in NSCLC tissues and cell lines...

BACKGROUND: Cancer stem cell (CSC)-like phenotype, which has been proven to play a critical role in invasion and metastasis of many kinds of cancers, has also been reported to be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Snail, a potent repressor of E-cadherin expression, was found to have a function to regulate the aforementioned processes. METHODS: In the current study, expression of putative CSCs biomarkers and the ratio of CSC-like CNE2 (cancer cell line) in total CNE2 were measured, and CSC-like characteristics were analyzed with tumor-sphere self-renewal and colony-forming assays...

This article describes how the proteomic and transcriptomic data were produced during a study of the reproductive proteins of Pomacea maculata, an aquatic apple snail laying colorful aerial eggs, and provides public access to the data. The data are related to a research article titled 'An integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of perivitelline fluid proteins in a freshwater gastropod laying aerial eggs' (Mu et al., 2017) [1]. RNA was extracted from the albumen gland and other tissues and sequenced on an Illumina Hiseq...

Toxins are the poisonous products of organisms. Toxins serve vital defensive and offensive functions for those that harbor them: stinging scorpions, pesticidal plants, sanguinary snakes, fearless frogs, sliming snails, noxious newts, and smarting spiders. For physiologists, toxins are integral chemical tools that hijack life's fundamental processes with remarkable molecular specificity. Our understanding of electrophysiological phenomena has been transformed time and time again with the help of some terrifying toxins...

Members of the genus Uvulifer are distributed worldwide and infect aquatic snails and freshwater fishes as first and second intermediate hosts, respectively, and fish-eating birds (kingfishers) as definitive hosts. Metacercariae of Uvulifer spp. were collected from the fins and skin of 20 species of freshwater fishes in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and the adults were recovered from the intestine of kingfishers in four localities of Mexico. The genetic divergence among 76 samples (64 metacercariae and 12 adults) was estimated by sequencing the 28S and 5...

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine the distribution and identity of potential intermediate snail hosts of Schistosoma spp. in Bengo, Luanda, Kwanza Norte and Malanje Provinces in north-western Angola. This is an area where infection with Schistosoma haematobium, causing urogenital schistosomiasis, is common but little is yet known about transmission of the disease. Angola has had a varied past with regard to disease control and is revitalising efforts to combat neglected tropical diseases...

Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by the presence of hypoxia, stemness and local invasiveness. We have earlier demonstrated that FAT1 promotes invasiveness, inflammation and upregulates HIF-1α expression and its signalling in hypoxic GBM. Here, we have identified the role of FAT1 in regulating EMT (Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition) and stemness characteristics in GBM. The expression of FAT1, EMT (Snail/LOX/Vimentin/N-cad), stemness (SOX2/OCT4/Nestin/REST) and hypoxia markers (HIF-1α/VEGF/PGK1/CA9) was upregulated in ≥39% of GBM tumors (n=31) with significant positive correlation (p≤0...

Schistosomiasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases. It is a snail-borne trematode infection, and Biomphalaria alexandrina snails are the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni in Egypt. The objective of this study is to evaluate the molluscicidal activity of the aqueous seed extract of Moringa oleifera against B. alexandrina snails. The results showed that this aqueous extract was lethal for B. alexandrina snails (LC50 0.27 g/l; LC90 0.41 g/l). Exposure of snails to the sublethal concentrations of this aqueous extract caused a considerable reduction in survival rates and hatchability rates of eggs of these snails...

Radiotherapy is used to treat tumors of different origins and nature, but often lead to development of radioresistance and metastasis of cells. Interestingly, radiation induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process by which epithelial cells undergo mesenchymal phenotype and stimulates tumor progression capability. Our study investigated the effect of Trichostatin A (TSA), a natural derivate isolated from Streptomyces, upon radiation-induced lung EMT and we tried to understand the role of signaling molecules in irradiated lung cancer cells (A549)...

Lung cancer is considered to be a serious disease that poses a significant threat to human health. 2,3,5,4‑tetrahydroxy diphenylethylene‑2‑O‑glucoside (THSG) is a bioactive compound derived from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. That has been demonstrated to possess antioxidative, anti‑inflammatory and antitumor activities. However, little is currently known regarding the potential anticancer effects of this compound in lung cancer. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of THSG on the adhesion and invasion of A549 human lung cancer cells in vitro, and to identify the putative mechanisms involved...

Cone snails are biomedically important sources of peptide drugs, but it is not known whether snail-associated bacteria affect venom chemistry. To begin to answer this question, we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of eight cone snail species, comparing their microbiomes with each other and with those from a variety of other marine invertebrates. We show that the cone snail microbiome is distinct from those in other marine invertebrates and conserved in specimens from around the world, including the Philippines, Guam, California, and Florida...

BACKGROUND/AIM: The transcription factors Twist, Snail, Slug, ZEB1 and ZEB2 regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and their expression has been associated with a poor prognosis in several cancer entities. The aim of this analysis was to investigate in parallel the expression of all of these transcription factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) in order to gain insight into their possible co-expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tumor tissue samples were immunohistochemically stained using antibodies against these transcription factors...

Snail, a zinc finger transcription factor, induces an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in various cancer and epithelial cells. We investigated the function of Snail (SNAI1) by downregulating its expression with short interfering RNA (siRNA). Suppression of Snail expression induced cellular senescence in several cancer cells and in normal fibroblast IMR90 cells. Cancer progression is facilitated by fibroblasts, so-called fibroblast-led cancer cell invasion. Snail-silenced cancer cells exhibited reduced motility, which was further decreased by cocultivation with Snail-silenced IMR90 cells...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate biological behavior changes in a murine lung cancer cell characterized by acquired resistance to sunitinib, a potent inhibitor of multiple-targeted receptor tyrosine kinase. METHODS: A lung cancer cell line resistant to sunitinib (LL/2-R) was developed from its parental cell line (LL/2-P). Differences in biological characteristics and associated molecular profiles between these two cells were compared in vitro and in vivo...

Despite recent progress in advanced melanoma therapy, identification of signalling pathways involved in melanoma switch from proliferative to invasive states is still crucial to uncover new therapeutic targets for improving the outcome of metastatic disease. Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), a co-receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) tyrosine kinase receptors (VEGFRs), has been suggested to play a relevant role in melanoma progression. NRP-1 can be activated by VEGF-A also in the absence of VEGFRs, triggering specific signal transduction pathways (e...

Periostin (POSTN, PN, or osteoblast-specific factor OSF-2) is a multifunctional cytokine that signals between the cell and the extracellular matrix. Periostin plays an important role in tumor development and is involved in carcinoma cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereby mature epithelial cells undergo phenotypic morphological changes and become invasive, motile cells. Here, we discuss the molecular mechanisms involved in periostin-induced promotion of EMT in lung cancer cells. Online TCGA datasets demonstrate the prognostic relevance of periostin in lung cancer; a higher periostin level correlates with poor overall survival...

Expression pattern and biological roles of TRIM22 remains unknown in most human cancers. The present study aims to discover its clinical significance and function in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Immunohistochemistry was used to examine TRIM22 expression in 126 cases of NSCLC specimens. TRIM22 protein was upregulated in 70/126 (55.6%) non-small cell lung cancer tissues compared with normal lung tissue. TRIM22 overexpression was associated with advanced TNM stage, positive nodal metastasis and poor prognosis...

AIM: Resistance to platinum-based therapeutic agents is the major contributor to epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) mortality. There is an urgent need to better understand the underlying mechanisms. Here we investigated the role of serpins in EOC chemoresistance and related mechanisms, and found that SERPINE1 played an important role in chemoresistance in A2780cp cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A2780cp and A2780s cells were used in our study. Microarray screening was used to identify the gene expression change under carboplatin treatment...

We have previously reported that perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) causes cell apoptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells (RTCs). Here, we extend our findings and provide evidence of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated renal fibrosis caused by PFOS and the protection by L-carnitine. Our results demonstrate that PFOS increased the expression of EMT and renal injury biomarkers (e.g., N-cadherin, vimentin, Snail, Kim1, and Lcn2). Additionally, PFOS caused EMT induction through Sirt1-mediated PPARγ deacetylation and inactivation...