Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. In 2020, the estimated number of deaths due to CRC was approximately 930000 Show more
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide, and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. In 2020, the estimated number of deaths due to CRC was approximately 930000, accounting for 10% of all cancer deaths worldwide. Accordingly, there is a vast amount of ongoing research aiming to find new and improved treatment modalities for CRC that can potentially increase survival and decrease overall morbidity and mortality. Current management strategies for CRC include surgical procedures for resectable cases, and radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, in addition to their combination, for non-resectable tumors. Despite these options, CRC remains incurable in 50% of cases. Nonetheless, significant improvements in research techniques have allowed for treatment approaches for CRC to be frequently updated, leading to the availability of new drugs and therapeutic strategies. This review summarizes the most recent therapeutic approaches for CRC, with special emphasis on new strategies that are currently being studied and have great potential to improve the prognosis and lifespan of patients with CRC. Show less
Left-handed Z-DNA/Z-RNA is bound with high affinity by the ZÎą domain protein family that includes ADAR (a double-stranded RNA editing enzyme), ZBP1 and viral orthologs regulating innate immunity. Loss Show more
Left-handed Z-DNA/Z-RNA is bound with high affinity by the Zι domain protein family that includes ADAR (a double-stranded RNA editing enzyme), ZBP1 and viral orthologs regulating innate immunity. Loss-of-function mutations in ADAR p150 allow persistent activation of the interferon system by Alu dsRNAs and are causal for Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome. Heterodimers of ADAR and DICER1 regulate the switch from RNA- to protein-centric immunity. Loss of DICER1 function produces age-related macular degeneration, a different type of Alu-mediated disease. The overlap of Z-forming sites with those for the signal recognition particle likely limits invasion of primate genomes by Alu retrotransposons. Show less
Abstract TFIIH is a 10âsubunit complex that regulates RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription but also serves other important biological roles. Although much remains unknown about TFIIH function in Show more
Abstract TFIIH is a 10âsubunit complex that regulates RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription but also serves other important biological roles. Although much remains unknown about TFIIH function in eukaryotic cells, much progress has been made even in just the past few years, due in part to technological advances (e.g. cryoEM and single molecule methods) and the development of chemical inhibitors of TFIIH enzymes. This review focuses on the major cellular roles for TFIIH, with an emphasis on TFIIH function as a regulator of pol II transcription. We describe the structure of TFIIH and its roles in pol II initiation, promoterâproximal pausing, elongation, and termination. We also discuss cellular roles for TFIIH beyond transcription (e.g. DNA repair, cell cycle regulation) and summarize small molecule inhibitors of TFIIH and diseases associated with defects in TFIIH structure and function. Show less
Metal-thiolate active sites play major roles in bioinorganic chemistry. The M--S(thiolate) bonds can be very covalent, and involve different orbital interactions. Spectroscopic features of these activ Show more
Metal-thiolate active sites play major roles in bioinorganic chemistry. The M--S(thiolate) bonds can be very covalent, and involve different orbital interactions. Spectroscopic features of these active sites (intense, low-energy charge transfer transitions) reflect the high covalency of the M--S(thiolate) bonds. The energy of the metal-thiolate bond is fairly insensitive to its ionic/covalent and pi/sigma nature as increasing M--S covalency reduces the charge distribution, hence the ionic term, and these contributions can compensate. Thus, trends observed in stability constants (i.e., the Irving-Williams series) mostly reflect the dominantly ionic contribution to bonding of the innocent ligand being replaced by the thiolate. Due to high effective nuclear charges of the Cu(II) and Fe(III) ions, the cupric- and ferric-thiolate bonds are very covalent, with the former having strong pi and the latter having more sigma character. For the blue copper site, the high pi covalency couples the metal ion into the protein for rapid directional long range electron transfer. For rubredoxins, because the redox active molecular orbital is pi in nature, electron transfer tends to be more localized in the vicinity of the active site. Although the energy of hydrogen bonding of the protein environment to the thiolate ligands tends to be fairly small, H-bonding can significantly affect the covalency of the metal-thiolate bond and contribute to redox tuning by the protein environment. Show less