PTEN

[Cell Reports] Scientists showed that cerebrovascular endothelial cell-specific deletion of Pten resulted in a dramatic increase in vesicular transcytosis by the reduction of major facilitator superfamily domain-containing 2a, leading to increased transcellular permeability of the blood-brain barrier.

[BMC Cancer] BRE-AS1 was downregulated in TNBC, while miR-21 was highly expressed in TNBC. Low expression levels of long non-coding RNA BRE-AS1 and high expression levels of miR-21 were significantly correlated with unfavorable survival outcomes.

[Oncogenesis] Investigators found that in KrasG12D-expressing endometrial organoids, Pten knockdown did not confer tumorigenicity, but Cdkn2a knockdown or Trp53 deletion led to the development of carcinosarcoma, a rare, aggressive tumor comprising both carcinoma and sarcoma.

[Science Translational Medicine] Investigators demonstrated that mRNA delivery by polymeric nanoparticles could effectively induce expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) in Pten-mutated melanoma cells and Pten-null prostate cancer cells, which in turn induced autophagy and triggered cell death–associated immune activation via release of damage-associated molecular patterns.

[Communications Biology] Researchers identified testis-specific Y-like protein 5 (TSPYL5) as an upstream regulator of CSC-associated genes in non-small cell lung cancer cells, and suggested this as a therapeutic target for CSC elimination.

[Nature Communications] In a BrafV600E PtenF/+ context, researchers showed that BRN2 haplo-insufficiency promoted melanoma initiation and metastasis.