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FOXM1
Forkhead box protein M1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FOXM1'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the FOX family of transcription factors. Its potential as a target for future cancer treatments led to it being designated the 2010 Molecule of the Year. Function FOXM1 is known to play a key role in cell cycle progression where endogenous FOXM1 expression peaks at S and G2/M phases. FOXM1-null mouse embryos were neonatal lethal as a result of the development of polyploid cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes, highlighting the role of FOXM1 in mitotic division. More recently a study using transgenic/knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human osteosarcoma cells (U2OS) has shown that FOXM1 regulates expression of a large array of G2/M-specific genes, such as Plk1, cyclin B2, Nek2 and CENPF, and plays an important role in maintenance of chromosomal segregation and genomic stability. Cancer link FOXM1 gene is now known as a human proto-oncogene. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FOX Proteins
FOX (forkhead box) proteins are a family of transcription factors that play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and longevity. Many FOX proteins are important to embryonic development. FOX proteins also have pioneering transcription activity by being able to bind condensed chromatin during cell differentiation processes. The defining feature of FOX proteins is the forkhead box, a sequence of 80 to 100 amino acids forming a motif that binds to DNA. This forkhead motif is also known as the winged helix, due to the butterfly-like appearance of the loops in the protein structure of the domain. Forkhead proteins are a subgroup of the helix-turn-helix class of proteins. Biological roles Many genes encoding FOX proteins have been identified. For example, the FOXF2 gene encodes forkhead box F2, one of many human homologues of the ''Drosophila melanogaster'' transcription factor forkhead. FOXF2 is expressed in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CENPF
Centromere protein F is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CENPF'' gene. It is involved in chromosome segregation during cell division. It also has a role in the orientation of microtubules to form cellular cilia. Function CENPF is part of the nuclear matrix during the G2 phase of the cell cycle (the phase of rapid protein synthesis in preparation for mitosis). In late G2, the protein forms part of the kinetochore, a disc-shaped protein complex that allows the centromere of two sister chromatids to attach to microtubules (forming the spindle apparatus) in order for the microtubules to pull them apart in the process of dividing the cell. It remains part of the kinetochore through early anaphase (the chromosome-dividing phase). In late anaphase, CENPF localises to the spindle midzone, and in telophase (the cell-dividing phase) it localises to the intercellular bridge. It is thought to be subsequently degraded. Mutations in ''CENPF'' lead to impaired cell division durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malignant Transformation
Malignant transformation is the process by which cells acquire the properties of cancer. This may occur as a primary process in normal tissue, or secondarily as ''malignant degeneration'' of a previously existing benign tumor. Causes There are many causes of primary malignant transformation, or tumorigenesis. Most human cancers in the United States are caused by external factors, and these factors are largely avoidable. These factors were summarized by Doll and Peto in 1981, and were still considered to be valid in 2015. These factors are listed in the table. a Reproductive and sexual behaviors include: number of partners; age at first menstruation; zero versus one or more live births Examples of diet-related malignant transformation Diet and colon cancer Colon cancer provides one example of the mechanisms by which diet, the top factor listed in the table, is an external factor in cancer. The Western diet of African Americans in the United States is associated with a ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keratinocytes
Keratinocytes are the primary type of cell found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. Basal cells in the basal layer (''stratum basale'') of the skin are sometimes referred to as basal keratinocytes. Keratinocytes form a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, water loss, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. A number of structural proteins, enzymes, lipids, and antimicrobial peptides contribute to maintain the important barrier function of the skin. Keratinocytes differentiate from epidermal stem cells in the lower part of the epidermis and migrate towards the surface, finally becoming corneocytes and eventually be shed off, which happens every 40 to 56 days in humans. Function The primary function of keratinocytes is the formation of a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, water loss, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Pathogen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicotine
Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used for smoking cessation to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits (nAChRα9 and nAChRα10) where it acts as a receptor antagonist. Nicotine constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco. Nicotine is also present at ppb-concentrations in edible plants in the family Solanaceae, including potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants, though sources disagree on whether this has any biological significance to human consumers. It functions as an antiherbivore toxin; consequently, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past, and neonicotinoids (structurally similar to nicotine), such as imidacloprid, are s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), also known as epidermoid carcinomas, comprise a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the lining of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Common types include: * Squamous-cell skin cancer: A type of skin cancer * Squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung: A type of lung cancer * Squamous-cell thyroid carcinoma: A type of thyroid cancer * Esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma: A type of esophageal cancer * Squamous-cell carcinoma of the vagina: A type of vaginal cancer Despite sharing the name "squamous-cell carcinoma", the SCCs of different body sites can show differences in their presented symptoms, natural history, prognosis, and response to treatment. By body location Human papillomavirus infection has been associated with SCCs of the oropharynx, lung, fingers, and anogenital region. Head and neck cancer About 90% of cases ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Head And Neck
This article describes the anatomy of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat. Structure Bones The head rests on the top part of the vertebral column, with the skull joining at C1 (the first cervical vertebra known as the atlas). The skeletal section of the head and neck forms the top part of the axial skeleton and is made up of the skull, hyoid bone, auditory ossicles, and cervical spine. The skull can be further subdivided into: # the cranium (8 bones: frontal, 2-parietal, occipital, 2-temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid), and # the facial bones (14 bones: 2-zygomatic, 2-maxillary, 2-palatine, 2-nasal, 2-lacrimal, vomer, 2-inferior conchae, mandible). The occipital bone joins with the atlas near the foramen magnum, a large hole () at the base of the skull. The atlas joins with the occipital condyle above and the axis below. The spinal cord passes through the foramen magnum. Musc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carcinogenesis
Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abnormal cell division. Cell division is a physiological process that occurs in almost all tissues and under a variety of circumstances. Normally, the balance between proliferation and programmed cell death, in the form of apoptosis, is maintained to ensure the integrity of tissues and organs. According to the prevailing accepted theory of carcinogenesis, the somatic mutation theory, mutations in DNA and epimutations that lead to cancer disrupt these orderly processes by interfering with the programming regulating the processes, upsetting the normal balance between proliferation and cell death. This results in uncontrolled cell division and the evolution of those cells by natural selection in the body. Only certain mutations lead to cancer w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Activator (genetics)
A transcriptional activator is a protein (transcription factor) that increases transcription of a gene or set of genes. Activators are considered to have ''positive'' control over gene expression, as they function to promote gene transcription and, in some cases, are required for the transcription of genes to occur. Most activators are DNA-binding proteins that bind to enhancers or promoter-proximal elements. The DNA site bound by the activator is referred to as an "activator-binding site". The part of the activator that makes protein–protein interactions with the general transcription machinery is referred to as an "activating region" or "activation domain". Most activators function by binding sequence-specifically to a regulatory DNA site located near a promoter and making protein–protein interactions with the general transcription machinery (RNA polymerase and general transcription factors), thereby facilitating the binding of the general transcription machinery to the prom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Repressor
In molecular genetics, a repressor is a DNA- or RNA-binding protein that inhibits the expression of one or more genes by binding to the operator or associated silencers. A DNA-binding repressor blocks the attachment of RNA polymerase to the promoter, thus preventing transcription of the genes into messenger RNA. An RNA-binding repressor binds to the mRNA and prevents translation of the mRNA into protein. This blocking or reducing of expression is called repression. Function If an inducer, a molecule that initiates the gene expression, is present, then it can interact with the repressor protein and detach it from the operator. RNA polymerase then can transcribe the message (expressing the gene). A co-repressor is a molecule that can bind to the repressor and make it bind to the operator tightly, which decreases transcription. A repressor that binds with a co-repressor is termed an ''aporepressor'' or ''inactive repressor''. One type of aporepressor is the trp repressor, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transcription (genetics)
Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA. The segments of DNA transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins are said to produce messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are copied into RNA molecules called non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). mRNA comprises only 1–3% of total RNA samples. Less than 2% of the human genome can be transcribed into mRNA ( Human genome#Coding vs. noncoding DNA), while at least 80% of mammalian genomic DNA can be actively transcribed (in one or more types of cells), with the majority of this 80% considered to be ncRNA. Both DNA and RNA are nucleic acids, which use base pairs of nucleotides as a complementary language. During transcription, a DNA sequence is read by an RNA polymerase, which produces a complementary, antiparallel RNA strand called a primary transcript. Transcription proceeds in the following general steps: # RNA polymerase, together with one or more general transcription factors, binds to promoter DNA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
