|
| |
|
|
Surface phenotype of human carcinoma cancer stem cells (CSC)
Bočková, Marie ; Drbal, Karel (advisor) ; Čermák, Vladimír (referee)
Tumor is composed of a heterogenous mass of cells. Similar to normal healthy organs and tissues, these can be divided into individual cellular subpopulations according to morphology, function and expression patterns. A subpopulation of cells that are able to give rise to all of these cellular lineages is referred to as cancer stem cells (CSC). CSCs have the capabilities of normal stem cells such as the self-renewal and the ability to give rise to a heterogenous population of differentiated cells. Usually, this is the most resistant subpopulation within a tumor, highly non-responsive to therapy. Doing so, they are the cause of residual disease. Characterisation of CSC markers of individual tumor types is beneficial since it enables higher therapy efficacy via targeting this cell population. The -omics approaches to characterisation of the surface proteome bring a broader view into the field when searching for a unique gene signature of specific cancer stem cell types. It has been found that these cells can be identified based on the high expression levels of CD44, CD90 and CD49f. Among other markers, CD47 is an important marker for its immunosuppressive function.
|
|
|
Regulation of floral initiation in woody perennials
Čermák, Vladimír ; Mašková, Petra (advisor) ; Čermák, Vojtěch (referee)
Floral initiation is an important process for temperate woody perennials that affects the subsequent development of the flower. Although this process is well known in annual plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, not much research has been done in woody plants. This review summarizes the knowledge about mechanisms of flowering induction in woody perennials, compared to the findings in model plants, especially A. thaliana, including factors involved in the regulation of the flowering process. In particular, FT-like genes and TFL1-like genes, which play an important role in the regulation of flowering induction, are discussed in detail. In temperate woody plants the dormancy period follows the floral induction before the floral development. Periodic regulation of this stage is controlled endogenously and, in addition to other factors, it is affected by expression of DAM genes. The genetic mechanisms regulating endodormancy release in woody perennials are similar to vernalization in herbs. Better understanding of processes such as the floral induction and endodormancy release can help us to develop cultivars with a modified flowering time.
|
|
|
Regulation of transcription by proteins of the Early growth response and Myb families
Čermák, Vladimír ; Dvořák, Michal (advisor) ; Vomastek, Tomáš (referee) ; Elleder, Daniel (referee)
The regulation of transcription of tens of thousands of genes in a vertebrate organism is an enormously complex phenomenon which entails the participation of thousands of various regulatory proteins. The largest functional category of these regulators is accounted for by sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins known as transcription factors. Proteins of the EGR and Myb families of transcription factors are long-studied regulators of a variety of physiological processes including cellular proliferation and differentiation. The structural and physical aspects of their function have been well characterized. Their cell-type specific participation in complex gene-regulatory networks, on the other hand, is still incompletely understood and represents a major challenge in the respective research areas. Preliminary analysis of gene expression data from metastasizing PR9692 and non- metastasizing PR9692-E9 chicken sarcoma cell lines revealed that the transcription factor EGR1 is expressed at a higher level in metastasizing cells and can thus take part in the regulatory processes that underlie the differences between the two cell lines. Further investigation demonstrated that the introduction of exogenous EGR1 into PR9692-E9 cells restored their metastatic potential to a level indistinguishable from PR9692...
|
|
|
Extracellular microRNAs in hematological malignancies and their use for diagnosis and treatment monitoring
Šulcová, Dominika ; Pospíšil, Vít (advisor) ; Čermák, Vladimír (referee)
MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at post-transcriptional level by interfering with mRNA translation and stability. Recently, microRNAs were surprisingly found to be present in various body fluids including blood plasma and serum, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, milk or urine. These extracellular microRNAs are resistant to RNases and stable in high temperature or pH. Extreme stability of extracellular microRNAs is caused by their association with protective protein complexes (mostly with Argonaute proteins). MicroRNAs are frequently deregulated in cancer and specific tumor- related microRNAs can be also detected in body fluids, indicating that extracellular microRNAs can be used as tumor specific markers. This Bachelor thesis reviews basic principles of microRNA function and biogenesis with focus on extracellular microRNAs and their role in intercellular communication, and it highlights the role of extracellular microRNAs in hematological malignancies and their possible use in diagnosis and treatment.
|
|
|
Iron metabolism in cancer cells
Beranová, Lea Marie ; Truksa, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Čermák, Vladimír (referee)
1Abstract: Cancer is one of the major causes of death in the present world. As the research of this disease has progressed, the attention of some scientists has been focused on a metabolism of iron and how it can be used to fight these rapidly proliferating invasive cells and stop their spreading. This work should serve as a brief review of iron metabolic processes from the iron absorption from dietary resources and recycled cell iron, to its usage in heme- or Fe/S clusters-proteins and storage in a form of ferritin, while highlighting the points that differ in cancer cells. It also gives a modest overview on the regulatory pathways of iron uptake and use, and mentions iron metabolism disorders such as iron-depletion and overload. Simultaneously it is denoting possible differences that could be targeted in tumor treatment, and, at least but not last, the perspectives and future work that could bring a new methods and approaches to this matter. Keywords: iron metabolism, iron, cancer, hepcidin
|
|
|
The role of microtubule dynamics in cancer metastasis
Klubíčková, Natálie ; Čermák, Vladimír (advisor) ; Dostál, Vojtěch (referee)
Cancer is one of the main mortality causes worldwide, and the majority of cancer-related deaths occur due to metastasis. During the metastatic cascade, cancer cells acquire a specific and highly plastic phenotype that enables them to detach from the primary tumor and invade the surrounding tissue, migrate avidly, evade host immunity, survive in different hostile environments and colonize secondary sites to establish metastases. Changes in microtubule dynamics together with other parts of cell cytoskeleton regulation are crucial for cancer cells undergoing the metastatic process. In the first part of this thesis, I review critical moments of the metastatic cascade in relation to microtubule-associated signaling, while detailed information on important microtubule-associated proteins and their role in metastasis is provided in the second section. Keywords: Metastasis, microtubule, cancer, migration, microtubule-associated proteins.
|
|
|
The role of autophagy in neurodegenerative processes
Marková, Veronika ; Novotný, Jiří (advisor) ; Čermák, Vladimír (referee)
The characteristics of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease is the accumulation of proteins and damaged organelles in the cytoplasm. Unfortunately, they are not sufficiently eliminated by autophagy. The basal autophagy, that maintains the cellular homeostasis, is disturbed in neurodegeneration. The process of autophagy becomes saturated and unable to remove all the toxic substances. Therefore, other degradation mechanisms are activated, aiming to restore the homeostasis. However, the neuronal cells are damaged under certain conditions leading to their death. The reduction in the number of neurons in specific brain areas may cause severe ataxias and dementias. Better understanding of autophagocytosis and its role v pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases may contribute to more effective treatment of these serious diseases in the future. Key words: autophagy, neurodegeneration, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease
|
|
|
The role of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in tumor progression and it's therapeutic targeting
Hrabánková, Klára ; Šírová, Milada (advisor) ; Čermák, Vladimír (referee)
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an enzyme that is physiologically expressed in many tissues including small intestine, lung, female genital tract and placenta. It is a key enzyme in metabolism of tryptophan and catalyses the first rate-limiting step in the conversion of tryptophan to kynurenine. IDO plays an important role in immune system in fighting against various pathogens. Its expression is actively induced by inflammatory mediators and it has also an immunosuppressive function. Inducible counter-regulation of inflammation is very important for controlling its potential harmful effects. Depletion of tryptophan and production of kynurenines causes local suppression of effector T lymphocytes and activation of regulatory T cells. It can also support differentiation of dendritic cells toward an immunosuppressive phenotype. IDO expression has been observed in several cancer cell types including acute myeloid leukaemia, ovarian cancer or colorectal carcinoma and plays a major role in suppression of anti-tumour immunity. Thus, the inhibition of IDO may improve the efficacy of chemotherapy and immunotherapeutical protocols. Some IDO inhibitors are currently being tested in clinical trials and preliminary results seem promising so that it may become a new anticancer strategy. Key words indoleamine...
|
|
|
Regulation of floral initiation in woody perennials
Čermák, Vladimír ; Mašková, Petra (advisor) ; Čermák, Vojtěch (referee)
Floral initiation is an important process for temperate woody perennials that affects the subsequent development of the flower. Although this process is well known in annual plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, not much research has been done in woody plants. This review summarizes the knowledge about mechanisms of flowering induction in woody perennials, compared to the findings in model plants, especially A. thaliana, including factors involved in the regulation of the flowering process. In particular, FT-like genes and TFL1-like genes, which play an important role in the regulation of flowering induction, are discussed in detail. In temperate woody plants the dormancy period follows the floral induction before the floral development. Periodic regulation of this stage is controlled endogenously and, in addition to other factors, it is affected by expression of DAM genes. The genetic mechanisms regulating endodormancy release in woody perennials are similar to vernalization in herbs. Better understanding of processes such as the floral induction and endodormancy release can help us to develop cultivars with a modified flowering time.
|
guest ::
RSS feed.