Cancer

E-cadherin is a calcium-regulated adhesion molecule expressed in most normal epithelial tissues. E-cadherin is also associated with gland formation, stratification, and epithelial polarization, while loss of E-cadherin can cause dedifferentiation and invasiveness in several human carcinomas (1). In a recent study, human breast cancer tissues were stained immunohistochemistry (IHC) by anti- E-Cadherin antibodies.

Phosphotyrosine is the phosphorylated version of the amino acid tyrosine, which results from the activation of intracellular protein kinases (e.g. via growth factors) during normal growth and development, well as in transformation and oncogenesis. Phosphorylation of histidine, serine, threonine and tyrosine residues acts as a signaling system to control many cellular signaling pathways.

Perforin, also known as the pore-forming protein, pfp, is a 70 kD cytolytic protein expressed in the cytoplasmic granules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and natural killer (NK) cells.

EGF (epidermal growth factor) stimulates differentiation, proliferation and cell growth by binding to its receptor, EGFR. EGF was first discovered in the mouse submandibular gland in 1986 by Stanley Cohen of Vanderbilt University, leading to a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Since then, EGF has been found in many tissues of the human body (including urine, saliva, plasma, milk, macrophages and platelets) and has been the subject of intense study in many areas of clinical research due to its many abilities.

Nucleolin is an abundant, 106 kDa nucleolar phosphoprotein that is a major protein in actively dividing cells. The stability of nucleolin is heavily cell proliferation-dependent, as nucleolin antibody studies have shown that degraded forms are relatively abundant in quiescent non-dividing cells, while nonexist in actively dividing cells.

Myosin is a well-known, hexameric molecular motor that is a key cytoskeletal component. It consists of a pair of myosin heavy chain subunits (MHC), a pair of essential myosin light chain subunits (MLC), and a pair of regulatory light chain subunits (RLCs).

The myeloid differentiation protein MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response protein) was originally identified and characterized as a primary upregulated response gene in interleukin-6 mediated myeloid differentiation.

The protein encoded by mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), also known as dTOR in Drosophila, belongs to a family of phosphatidylinositol kinase-related kinases. These kinases regulate fundamental processes of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism

Enhancer of Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is the methyltransferase enzyme responsible for trimethylating lysine 27 on histone H3 to produce H3K27Me3. EZH2 is a polycomb group protein that is an essential epigenetic regulator that is often found deregulated in a wide variety of malignant cancer types.

Epigenetic mechanisms allow distinction between the active and inactive compartments of the genome, allowing proper cell lineage and embryogenesis.