Background/Aim: The FOXC2 transcription factor promotes the progression of several cancer types, but has not been investigated in the context of melanoma cells. To study FOXC2's influence on melanoma progression, we generated a FOXC2-deficient murine melanoma cell line and evaluated The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) patient datasets. Materials and Methods: We compared tumor growth kinetics and RNA-seq/qRT-PCR gene expression profiles from wild-type versus FOXC2-deficient murine melanomas. We also performed Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of TCGA data to assess the influence of FOXC2 gene expression on melanoma patients' response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Results: FOXC2 promotes melanoma progression and regulates the expression of genes associated with multiple oncogenic pathways, including the oxidative stress response, xenobiotic metabolism, and interferon responsiveness. FOXC2 expression in melanoma correlates negatively with patient response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Conclusion: FOXC2 drives a tumor-promoting gene expression program in melanoma and is a prognostic indicator of patient response to multiple cancer therapies. Melanoma, a highly aggressive form of cancer arising from pigment-producing melanocytes, is responsible for the majority of skin cancer-related mortality, accounting for~6 0,000 annual deaths worldwide (1). Importantly, the incidence of melanoma has risen substantially over the last 40 years (2), a trend that is expected to continue to at least 2031 (3). Although surgical removal of primary lesions is typically successful in the treatment of early-stage disease, many melanoma patients are not diagnosed until later stages of metastatic disease in which surgery is either not possible or largely ineffective. Unfortunately, malignant melanoma is highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, and the only FDA-approved chemotherapeutic for the treatment of melanoma, dacarbazine (DTIC), has a minimal impact on patient survival (4). While advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy have improved the prognosis for melanoma in recent years, there are still patients who do not respond to these regimens, and relapse of therapy-resistant tumors remains an ongoing challenge in many patients who do achieve clinical benefit (5, 6). Therefore, in order to improve the clinical outcome of melanoma patients going forward, it is necessary to gain additional insight into factors that promote melanoma progression and resistance to these therapeutic modalities. FOXC2 is a member of the forkhead box family of transcription factors that control a variety of cellular processes in embryonic and adult tissues. In addition to its normal regulation of development, growth, and metabolism in various tissue types, FOXC2 has recently emerged as a driver of several hallmarks of cancer progression as well. Within vascular endothelial cells, FOXC2 promotes expression of multiple genes that enhance angiogenesis (7-9). FOXC2 can also become overexpressed or dysregulated in tumor cells themselves, where it is asso...

The growing field of nanogel research has provided many novel insights into tissue engineering applications. Their excellent biocompatibility and porous structure with tunable pore size, dimensions and porosity have made them versatile not only as a drug delivery system but also in various tissue-engineering applications. Researchers have been able to design a variety of nanogel approaches for use in clinical applications. These approaches take advantage of the unique characteristics of nanogels that have led to their advancement in tissue engineering. This chapter aims to explore nanogels in various filed of tissue engineering particularly in musculoskeletal, vascular, pulmonary, and retina.

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by an elongation of a normally occurring polyglutamine stretch within the huntingtin (HTT) protein. Since the mutation was first identified, multiple HD‐disease‐modifying gene candidates that can hasten or delay age of onset (AO) have been discovered. For the past several decades, candidate disease‐modifying genes have been chosen for investigation based on functionality or prior implication in the disease process. More recent approaches take advantage of newly available genomic‐wide assays to identify changes as small as single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in other parts of the genome. New information regarding disease‐modifying genes will continue to elucidate potential HD therapeutic candidates. Key Concepts Huntington disease is a neurodegenerative disease that results from excess CAG trinucleotide repeats in exon 1 of the HD gene, which is located in chromosome 4p16.3 and encodes the HTT protein. The number of CAG repeats in the HD gene inversely affects the age of onset (AO) in HD patients. Genetic modifiers are identified genes that have the ability to either hasten or delay AO of HD; however, the exact mechanism of many of these genes in association with the disease is unknown. HD genetic modifiers can significantly delay specific physiological HD symptoms, such as chorea. Some HD genetic modifiers can alter HD AO by up to 8 years. Genetic modifiers have been discovered by either the candidate approach, which involves exploring genes known to be associated with the HTT protein and genotyping any variants, or via a more unbiased genomic approach, which involves a broad search for genes that are not known to be associated with the HTT protein. Modifiers that affect HD do not necessarily need to be within close vicinity of the actual gene, but can be distributed elsewhere in the genome, even in noncoding regions.