Biomedical subjects

Elisa C Woodhouse

Publications and source records attributed to Elisa C Woodhouse.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Protein microarray detection strategies: focus on direct detection technologies.

Protein microarrays are being utilized for functional proteomic analysis, providing information not obtainable by gene arrays. Microarray technology is applicable for studying protein-protein, protein-ligand, kinase activity and posttranslational modifications of proteins. A precise and sensitive protein microarray, the direct detection or reverse-phase microarray, has been applied to ongoing clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute for studying phosphorylation events in EGF-receptor-mediated cell signaling pathways. The variety of microarray applications allows for multiple, creative microarray designs and detection strategies. Herein, we discuss detection strategies and challenges for protein microarray technology, focusing on direct detection of protein microarrays.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Drosophila invasive tumors: a model for understanding metastasis.

Inactivation of Drosophila tumor suppressor genes can cause excessive proliferation and, in some cases, neoplastic growth. Neoplastic growth in Drosophila tissues can also be followed by metastasis upon transplantation into hosts or in vivo. Recently, we have shown that metastatic tumors of Drosophila can provide a model in which to identify genes that are involved in the metastatic process.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Drosophila screening model for metastasis: Semaphorin 5c is required for l(2)gl cancer phenotype.

Cancer metastasis is a complex process involving many genes and pathways. This complexity hinders the identification of molecules functionally required for this process. We have developed and used a Drosophila screening system to identify genes that are functionally important for tumorigenicity and metastasis. Deletion of Drosophila lethal giant larvae (l(2)gl) leads to highly invasive and widely metastatic tumors on transplantation into adult flies. Random homozygous P element insertions were screened for the ability to modulate the l(2)gl phenotype. Analysis of metastasis patterns of the lines containing P element insertions and lacking wild-type l(2)gl expression identified three homozygous mutations that dramatically alter tumorigenesis and/or metastasis. Semaphorin 5c (Sema 5c) is required for tumorigenicity, apontic overexpression suppresses metastasis but not tumorigenicity, and pointed up-regulation accelerates lethality of l(2)gl tumors. Furthermore, class 5 semaphorins are shown to be expressed in cancer cells and localized to the membrane. Drosophila Sema-5c and the mammalian homologs are transmembrane proteins with extracellular thrombospondin type I (TspI) repeats. TspI repeats are known in some proteins to bind and activate transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta ligand. Phospho-Mad and the downstream target gene vestigial were elevated in l(2)gl tumors, thus linking Drosophila neoplasia to the Dpp (TGF-beta-like) signal pathway. The activation of the Dpp pathway in l(2)gl tumors occurred only in the presence of Sema-5c. This study demonstrates that the power of Drosophila genetics can be applied to screen, identify, and characterize molecules that are functionally required for invasion and metastasis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2003

Site-directed mutations in the tumor-associated cytokine, autotaxin, eliminate nucleotide phosphodiesterase, lysophospholipase D, and motogenic activities.

The exo-enzyme autotaxin/NPP2 (ATX/NPP2) is a potent stimulator of cell migration, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Recently, ATX/NPP2 was found to possess lysophospholipase D (lyso-LPD) activity, generating the bioactive mediator lysophosphatidic acid from precursors. In the present study, we used site-directed mutagenesis to delineate the active domain of lysophospholipid catalytic activity and to examine potential overlap with the nucleotide phosphodiesterase domain. We found four amino acid residues obligatory for the phosphodiesterase, lyso-PLD, and migration-stimulating activities of ATX/NPP2, suggesting that 5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) and lyso-PLD share a common reaction mechanism and inviting design of enzymatic inhibitors as therapeutic agents for neoplastic disease.

Animals↗