细胞技术

Several critical polypeptide growth factors have been identified for the lung, including transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β). The three mammalian TGF-β isoforms, TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3, are homologous growth mediators that have been shown to participate in multiple biolog ...

The insulin-like growth factors (IGF), named for their structural homology to proinsulin, are potent mitogens involved in the endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine regulation of growth. IGF bioactivity may be altered by changes to any level of the IGF axis. The IGF axis is comprised of IGF-I and IGF- ...

Lung cancer is the most common fatal type of cancer in the developed world. The overwhelming majority of cases of lung cancer are caused by tobacco products (1), and even with the best therapeutic approaches, less than 15% of diagnosed cases survive 5 years (2). It has been noted that even after smoking cess ...

Lung tissue is exposed to higher concentrations of oxygen than most other tissues. In addition, cigarette smoke and environmental toxic particles not only contain reactive oxygen species (ROS), but also enhance ROS production and activate various oxidant generating mechanisms in the ...

Activation of the ras/raf signal transduction pathway has been shown to be involved in many proliferative and developmental signals as well as in transformation and tumorigenicity of many types of cancers (1-4). However, small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines, and SCLC in patients, rarely po ...

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors comprise a group of compounds that show promise as cancer preventives. COX-2 is an inducible enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of prostaglandins from arachidonic acid. The anti-inflammatory effects of aspirin and oth ...

Deletion at a specific locus in a chromosome in cancer cells is assumed to imply the existence of a tumor-suppressor gene. As a result of multi-step carcinogenesis, there are several hotspots of allelic deletion in lung cancer (1). The most frequent loci where allelic deletions occur in lung cancer t ...

Abnormalities in mucin-type glycoprotein expression have been documented in a variety of cancers, identifying these molecules as targets for immunologically based therapies and prognostic/diagnostic assays. Epithelial mucin proteins are synthesized by cells lining the d ...

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) such as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), vascular adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), and lymphocyte function-associated antigen (LFA-1) facilitate interaction among cells of various lineages and are therefore crucial in the complex proces ...

Bronchogenic carcinoma is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with the prognosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma remaining poor in advancedstaged tumors despite improved efforts in earlier diagnosis and combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Underst ...

Mapping of receptor binding to specific structures, or cells within tissue samples, provides valuable information regarding biological and pathological mechanisms. Such information may potentially be translated into targeted therapies, especially in the field of cancer tr ...

Gelatin zymography is a simple yet powerful method to detect proteolytic enzymes capable of degrading gelatin from various biological sources. It is particularly useful for the assessment of two key members of the matrix metalloproteinase family, MMP-2 (gelatinase A) and MMP-9 (gelat ...

Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) is a high-resolution technique for analysis and comparison of complex protein mixtures. With the advent of recent technical developments, its application has become significant in a wide range of fields. This chapter describes a proteomic a ...

The study of proteins, their expression and post-translational modification, is a key process in molecular biology. Immunoblotting is a well-established and powerful tool for the study of proteins, which continues to evolve as new reagents and apparatus are developed. This chapter des ...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has had a significant impact on all aspects of the molecular biosciences, from cancer research to forensic science. The sensitivity and specificity inherent in the technique allow minute quantities of genetic material to be detected while the unique p ...

Detection of micrometastases in the bone marrow (BM) of cancer patients may be a helpful method for early detection of relapse. The diverse methodology employed across different laboratories, however, renders comparison of results difficult. This chapter describes a robust reliab ...

Since 2005, lectin microarray technology has emerged as a relatively simple yet powerful technique for the comprehensive analysis of glycoprotein glycosylation. Lectin microarrays represent a new analytical method that can be used to explore the human glycome, a unique source of mar ...

Galectin-3 is a member of a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins. It is present in the nucleus, the �cytoplasm, and also the extracellular matrix (ECM) of many normal and neoplastic cell types. Reports show an upregulation of this protein in transformed and metastatic cell lines (Raz and Lot ...

Specific gene silencing using small hairpin RNA (shRNA) constructs offer researchers the possibility to study the influence of a single protein in the metastatic process. The role of the cellular adhesion molecule CEACAM1 on tumour formation and metastasis is of some interest. The human m ...

MicroRNA (miRNA) genes have been shown to perform a crucial role in breast cancer metastasis. The epigenetic inactivation of such microRNA genes, as a result of aberrant DNA methylation, is frequently found in human tumours including those of the breast, and this is an area of considerable resea ...