c-Met, the receptor for Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), overexpressed and deregulated in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Caveolin 1 (CAV1), a plasma membrane protein that modulates signal transduction molecules, is also overexpressed in HCC. The aim of this study was to investigate biological and clinical significance of co-expression and activation of c-Met and CAV1 in HCC. We showed that c-Met and CAV1 were co-localized in HCC cells and HGF treatment increased this association. HGF-triggered c-Met activation caused a concurrent rise in both phosphorylation and expression of CAV1. Ectopic expression of CAV1 accelerated c-Met signaling, resulted in enhanced migration, invasion, and branching-morphogenesis. Silencing of CAV1 downregulated c-Met signaling, and decreased migratory/invasive capability of cells and attenuated branching morphogenesis. In addition, activation and co-localization of c-Met and CAV1 were elevated during hepatocarcinogenesis. In conclusion reciprocal activating crosstalk between c-Met and CAV1 promoted oncogenic signaling of c-Met contributed to the initiation and progression of HCC.

Objectives: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, prohormone vitamin that is important especially for bone mineralization and skeletal health. In recent years, vitamin D deficiency appeared as a worldwide problem, affecting many people in different ways including the Northern Cypriot population. The deficiency might be caused by the lack of exposure to sunlight, diet low in vitamin D, sedentary lifestyle, and also due to some genetic variations in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene.Methods: In this study, four common VDR polymorphisms and associations with vitamin D deficiency in the Turkish Cypriot population between ages 18-40 and working in office conditions was studied by PCR-RFLP analysis.Results: rs2228570 C>T variant was shown to be significantly associated with low serum vitamin D levels in the studied population. Conclusion:Together with the effect of rs2228570 C>T variant in the VDR gene, it is thought that the lifestyle changes in the Turkish Cypriot population might have caused the increased frequency of vitamin D deficiency in the young professionals.

Lung cancer is listed as the most fatal type of cancer around the world. ERG, a transcription factor, is an ETS family member protein. It is involved in Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), metastasis and DNA repair defects. Etoposide is a chemotherapeutic agent used in treatment of a variety of different cancer types, including lung cancer. Moreover, Etoposide has been tested alone and in combination with other drugs in order to inhibit DNA synthesis and exhibit antitumor activity. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Etoposide treatment on ERG transfected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line, H358.

Background: The use of psychoactive substances is one of the most dangerous social problems worldwide. Nicotine dependence results from the interaction between neurobiological, environmental and genetic factors. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has a wide range of central nervous system activities. The serotonin transporter gene has been previously linked to psychological traits. Objective: A variable number of tandem repeats within the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic gene region is believed to alter the transcriptional efficiency of the 5-HTT gene. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between this polymorphic site and smoking behavior in the Turkish Cypriot population. Methods: A total of 259 (100 smokers, 100 non-smokers and 59 ex-smokers) Turkish Cypriots were included in this population-based cross-sectional study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and the 5-HTTVNTR2 polymorphisms were determined by the PCR-RFLP. Results: The allelic frequency and genotype distribution results of this study showed a strong association (P<0.0001) between smokers and non-smokers. No statistical significance was found between non-smokers and ex-smokers. Conclusion: This is the first genetic epidemiology study to investigate the allelic frequencies of 5-HTTVNTR2 polymorphisms associated with smoking behavior in the Turkish Cypriot population. Based on the results of this study, genome wide association studies should be designed for preventive medicine in this population.

ING1 has regulatory roles in the expression of genes associated with proliferation, apoptosis, and senescence. p33(ING1b) is the most widely expressed isoform of the gene. Downregulation of its nuclear expression is involved in differentiation and pathogenesis in invasive breast carcinoma. Yet the mechanism(s) by which p33 nuclear targeting is regulated remains unknown. In this study, we analyzed human invasive breast carcinoma tissue samples by immunostaining with p33 and correlating p33 location with the presence of ERα. Our findings show the expression of p33 protein in ERα-positive tumor samples was in the nucleus alone, while the expression was mainly in the cytoplasm in ERα-negative tumor samples. Examination of the localization of p33 in the nucleus and/or cytoplasm in several different cell lines demonstrated 17β-estradiol (E2) treatment causes dramatic compartmental shift in p33 protein from the cytoplasm to the nucleus in ERα-positive MDA-66 cells. No significant differences in ERα-negative MDA-MB-231 cells in the same conditions were observed. We show for the first time nuclear localization of p33 is regulated by estradiol induction in ERα-positive breast cancer cells. These results suggest compartmental shift in p33 by ER signaling may be an important molecular event in the differentiation and pathogenesis of invasive breast cancer.