Induction of the Inflammatory Regulator A20 by Gibberellic Acid in Airway Epithelial Cells Scientists investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of gibberellic acid in airway epithelial cells and determined if the anti-inflammatory action relates to A20 induction. [Br J Pharmacol] Abstract Interactions of Francisella tularensis with Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells and the Murine Respiratory Epithelium The authors performed TEM analysis on mouse lungs infected with F. tularensis strains Schu S4, LVS and the O-antigen mutant Schu S4 waaY::TrgTn. They also studied the interactions of Francisella strains with human alveolar epithelial type II cells in vitro by characterizing the ability of these three strains to invade and replicate within these cells. [PLoS One] Full Article DA-Raf-Mediated Suppression of the Ras-ERK Pathway Is Essential for TGF-β1-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Alveolar Epithelial Type 2 Cells Investigators showed that the Ras–ERK pathway negatively regulates transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in RLE-6TN cells and that DA-Raf1 (DA-Raf), a splicing isoform of A-Raf and a dominant-negative antagonist of the Ras–ERK pathway, plays an essential role in EMT. [PLoS One] Full Article Elucidation of Changes in Molecular Signaling Leading to Increased Cellular Transformation in Oncogenically Progressed Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells Exposed to Radiations of Increasing LET Cell survival following irradiation showed that HBEC3KT-P53KRAS cells were more radioresistant than HBEC3KT cells irrespective of the radiation species. In addition, radiation enhanced the ability of the surviving HBEC3KT-P53RAS cells but not the surviving HBEC3KT cells to grow in anchorage-independent fashion. [Mutagenesis] Abstract Effect of β-Glucan on MUC4 and MUC5B Expression in Human Airway Epithelial Cells In NCI-H292 cells and human normal nasal epithelial cells, the effect and signaling pathway of β-glucan on MUC4 and MUC5B expression were investigated using reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction, real-time PCR, enzyme immunoassay, and immunoblot analysis with specific inhibitors and small interfering RNA. [Int Forum Allergy Rhinol] Abstract LUNG CANCER TP53 Silencing Bypasses Growth Arrest of BRAFV600E-Induced Lung Tumor Cells In a Two-Switch Model of Lung Tumorigenesis Despite the utility of current genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of lung cancer, most do not allow temporal dissociation of the cardinal events involved in lung tumor initiation and cancer progression. Researchers describe a novel two-switch GEM model for BRAFV600E-induced lung carcinogenesis allowing temporal dissociation of these processes. [Cancer Res] Abstract Inhibition of PI3K Pathway Reduces Invasiveness and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Squamous Lung Cancer Cell Lines Harboring PIK3CA Gene Alterations The effects of NVP-BEZ235, NVP-BKM120 and NVP-BYL719 on 2D/3D cellular growth, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and invasiveness were evaluated in E545K or H1047R phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3CA) mutated squamous cell carcinoma of the lung cells and in new-generated clones carrying PIK3CA alterations, as well as in a xenograft model. [Mol Cancer Ther] Abstract Epigenetic Priming of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines to the Antiproliferative and Differentiating Effects of All-trans Retinoic Acid The non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549, NCI-H460 and HCC827 were treated with ATRA and the pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat. Panobinostat sensitized, to varying degrees, all three cell lines to the antiproliferative and differentiating effects of ATRA, with synergistic histone H3 acetylation. [J Cancer Res Clin Oncol] Abstract The Collective Nuclear Migration of p53 and Phosphorylated S473 of Akt during Ellipticine-Mediated Apoptosis in Human Lung Epithelial Cancer Cells Scientists demonstrated that dominant-negative AktS473A or p53 shRNA inhibited ellipticine-mediated translocalization of p53 and Akt and attenuated apoptotic cell death in A549 cells. [Mol Cell Biochem] Abstract Knockdown of eIF3d Inhibits Cell Proliferation through G2/M Phase Arrest in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer The authors evaluated the functional role of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, subunit d (eIF3d) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference was applied to silence eIF3d in the human NSCLC cell lines A549 and 95D. [Med Oncol] Abstract |