Pulmonary Cell News Volume 4.13 | Apr 9 2015

Peroxynitrite-Mediated Glyoxalase I Epigenetic Inhibition Drives Apoptosis in Airway Epithelial Cells Exposed to Crystalline Silica via a Novel Mechanism Involving Argpyrimidine-Modified Hsp70, JNK and NF-kB
Investigators showed that Min-U-Sil 5 crystalline silica induced a dramatic peroxynitrite-mediated inhibition of glyoxalase I, leading to argpyrimidine-modified Hsp70 protein accumulation that, in a mechanism involving JNK and NF-kB, triggered an apoptotic mitochondrial pathway. [Free Radic Biol Med] Abstract

NiO Nanoparticles Induce Apoptosis through Repressing SIRT1 in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells
The authors focused on the impacts of nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles (NiONPs) on sirtuin1 (SIRT1), a NAD-dependent deacetylase, and investigated whether SIRT1 was involved in NiONPs-induced apoptosis. Although the NiONPs tended to agglomerate in fluid medium, they still entered into the human bronchial epithelial cells and released Ni²⁺ inside the cells. [Toxicol Appl Pharmacol] Abstract

Akt Activation and Inhibition of Cytochrome C Release: Mechanistic Insights into Leptin-Promoted Survival of Type II Alveolar Epithelial Cells
To delineate the molecular pathways through which leptin may enhance fetal lung development, scientists investigated the impact of leptin treatment on the survival of type II alveolar epithelial cells, essential leptin-responsive cells involved in lung development, in a rat model of fetal growth restriction. [J Cell Biochem] Abstract

An Improved Method for the Isolation of Rat Alveolar Type II Lung Cells: Use in the Comet Assay to Determine DNA Damage Induced by Cigarette Smoke
The potential of the Comet assay to measure DNA damage in isolated rat lung alveolar type II epithelial cells was explored as a means to include a genotoxicity end-point in rodent sub-chronic inhalation studies. [Regul Toxicol Pharmacol] Abstract

LUNG CANCER

Negative Feedback Loop between p66^Shc and ZEB1 Regulates Fibrotic EMT Response in Lung Cancer Cells
Researchers showed that p66^Shc deficiency enhanced the expression of ZEB1, the known mesenchymal transcription factor and consequently increased Vimentin, and decreased epithelial markers of E-cadherin and β‑catenin. p66^Shc depletion also increased cell invasion and migration. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Tripartite Motif 16 Inhibits Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis by Down-Regulating Sonic Hedgehog Pathway in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells
Upregulation of Tripartite motif 16 (TRIM16) significantly inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In contrast, silencing TRIM16 expression significantly promoted the EMT and metastasis of NSCLC cells both in vitro and in vivo. [Biochem Biophys Res Commun] Abstract

miR-154 Suppresses Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Growth In Vitro and In Vivo
The effects of miR-154 on cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, migration and invasion in vitro, and on the growth of in vivo xenografts were investigated. [Oncol Rep] Abstract

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MEDI8897 Receives Fast Track Designation by the FDA for the Prevention of Respiratory Disease Caused by RSV in Infants
MedImmune announced that it has received fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the development of MEDI8897. This high-potency, extended half-life monoclonal antibody is being investigated for the prevention of lower respiratory tract illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants and young children. [MedImmune, LLC.] Press Release

XBiotech Announces Publication of Positive Clinical Results for Xilonix™ in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
XBiotech Inc. announced that results from a subset of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated in a study of the company’s lead True Human antibody, Xilonix™, conducted at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, was published in Investigational New Drugs. [XBiotech Inc.] Press Release | Abstract

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Scientist – Pluripotent Stem Cell Biology Endoderm Lineages (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

PhD Position – Development of a 3D In Vitro Model of Infected Airway (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research)

Research Assistant – Inflammation in the Lung during Viral Infection (Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore)

PhD Studentship – Cystic Fibrosis (University of East Anglia)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Pulmonary Genetic Medicine (Cornell University)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Pulmonary Developmental Pathology (Drexel University College of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Position – Airway Disease and Inflammation (Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School)

PhD Studentship – Mouse Models of Asthma (University of Queensland)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Molecular Mechanisms of Lung Cancer, Lung Regeneration and Lung Development (University of California, San Francisco)

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