Metalloprotease ADAMTS-1 decreases cell migration and invasion modulating the spatiotemporal dynamics of Cdc42 activity

The hallmarks of cancer comprise six biological capabilities acquired during the multistep development of human tumors. The hallmarks constitute an organizing principle for rationalizing the complexities of neoplastic disease. They include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and activating invasion and metastasis. Underlying these hallmarks are genome instability, which generates the genetic diversity that expedites their acquisition, and inflammation, which fosters multiple hallmark functions. Conceptual progress in the last decade has added two emerging hallmarks of potential generality to this list-reprogramming of energy metabolism and evading immune destruction. In addition to cancer cells, tumors exhibit another dimension of complexity: they contain a repertoire of recruited, ostensibly normal cells that contribute to the acquisition of hallmark traits by creating the "tumor microenvironment." Recognition of the widespread applicability of these concepts will increasingly affect the development of new means to treat human cancer. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Abstract Tremendous amount of RNA sequencing data have been produced by large consortium projects such as TCGA and GTEx, creating new opportunities for data mining and deeper understanding of gene functions. While certain existing web servers are valuable and widely used, many expression analysis functions needed by experimental biologists are still not adequately addressed by these tools. We introduce GEPIA (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis), a web-based tool to deliver fast and customizable functionalities based on TCGA and GTEx data. GEPIA provides key interactive and customizable functions including differential expression analysis, profiling plotting, correlation analysis, patient survival analysis, similar gene detection and dimensionality reduction analysis. The comprehensive expression analyses with simple clicking through GEPIA greatly facilitate data mining in wide research areas, scientific discussion and the therapeutic discovery process. GEPIA fills in the gap between cancer genomics big data and the delivery of integrated information to end users, thus helping unleash the value of the current data resources. GEPIA is available at http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a non-cellular three-dimensional macromolecular network composed of collagens, proteoglycans/glycosaminoglycans, elastin, fibronectin, laminins, and several other glycoproteins. Matrix components bind each other as well as cell adhesion receptors forming a complex network into which cells reside in all tissues and organs. Cell surface receptors transduce signals into cells from ECM, which regulate diverse cellular functions, such as survival, growth, migration, and differentiation, and are vital for maintaining normal homeostasis. ECM is a highly dynamic structural network that continuously undergoes remodeling mediated by several matrix-degrading enzymes during normal and pathological conditions. Deregulation of ECM composition and structure is associated with the development and progression of several pathologic conditions. This article emphasizes in the complex ECM structure as to provide a better understanding of its dynamic structural and functional multipotency. Where relevant, the implication of the various families of ECM macromolecules in health and disease is also presented.