• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1183-1191
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• 2013

Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APEX-1) is a multifunctional protein that is capable of repairing abasic sites and single-strand breaks in damaged DNA. In addition, it serves as a redox-modifying factor for a number of transcription factors. Identifying the transcriptional targets of APEX-1 is essential for understanding how it affects various cellular outcomes. Expression array analysis was used to identify glial cell-derived neurotropic factor receptor ${\alpha}1$ ($GFR{\alpha}1$), which is an encoding receptor for the glial cell-derived neurotropic factor (GDNF) family, the expression of which is induced by APEX-1. A target of GDNF/$GFR{\alpha}$ signaling, c-Src (Tyr418) was strongly phosphorylated by GNDF in the APEX-1 expressing cells. Moreover, GDNF initiated cell proliferation, measured by counting the number of cells, in the APEX-1 expressing cells. Importantly, the down-regulation of APEX-1 by siRNA caused a marked reduction in the $GFR{\alpha}1$ expression level, and it reduced the ability of GDNF to phosphorylate c-Src (Tyr418) and stimulate cell proliferation. These results demonstrate an association between APEX-1 and GDNF/$GFR{\alpha}$ signaling and suggest a potential molecular mechanism for the involvement of APEX-1 in cell survival and proliferation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7589-7595
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• 2014

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APEX1) is a multifunctional protein which plays a central role in the BER pathway. APEX1 gene being highly polymorphic in cancer patients and has been indicated to have a contributive role in Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site accumulation in DNA and consequently an increased risk of cancer development. In this case-control study, all exons of the APEX1 gene and its exon/intron boundaries were amplified in 530 breast cancer patients and 395 matched healthy controls and then analyzed by single-stranded conformational polymorphism followed by sequencing. Sequence analysis revealed fourteen heterozygous mutations, seven 5'UTR, one 3'UTR, two intronic and four missense. Among identified mutations one 5'UTR (rs41561214), one 3'UTR (rs17112002) and one missense mutation (Ser129Arg, Mahjabeen et al., 2013) had already been reported while the remaining eleven mutations. Six novel mutations (g.20923366T>G, g.20923435G>A, g.20923462G>A, g.20923516G>A, 20923539G>A, g.20923529C>T) were observed in 5'UTR region, two (g.20923585T>G, g.20923589T>G) in intron1 and three missense (Glu101Lys, Ala121Pro, Ser123Trp) in exon 4. Frequencues of 5'UTR mutations; g.20923366T>G, g.20923435G>A and 3'UTR (rs17112002) were calculated as 0.13, 0.1 and 0.1 respectively. Whereas, the frequency of missense mutations Glu101Lys, Ser123Trp and Ser129Arg was calculated as 0.05. A significant association was observed between APEX1 mutations and increased breast cancer by ~9 fold (OR=8.68, 95%CI=2.64 to 28.5) with g.20923435G>A (5'UTR), ~13 fold (OR= 12.6, 95%CI=3.01 to 53.0) with g.20923539G>A (5'UTR) and~5 fold increase with three missense mutations [Glu101Lys (OR=4.82, 95%CI=1.97 to 11.80), Ser123Trp (OR=4.62, 95%CI=1.7 to 12.19), Ser129Arg (OR=4.86, 95%CI=1.43 to 16.53)]. The incidence of observed mutations was found higher in patients with family history and with early menopause. In conclusion, our study demonstrates a significant association between germ line APEX1 mutations and breast cancer patients in the Pakistani population.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.8-18
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify that the expressions of angiogenin, transforming growth factor-beta(TGF-${\beta}$), vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease(APEX) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-${\alpha}$) were associated with the tumorigenesis of the oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC). Materials and Methods: Fifty-one samples of OSCC and fifteen normal oral mucosae were obtained to analyze the expression levels of above five factors. mRNA expressions were quantified by the quantitative competitive PCR(QC-PCR) method. After 2% agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide, the concentration of mRNA was calculated by a digital image analysis system. The expression levels of angiogenin, TGF-${\beta}$, VEGF, APEX and TNF-${\alpha}$ were compared by unpaired Student's t-tests between cancer and normal tissues. We analyzed statistically to find the cut-off values that would be useful as diagnostic markers, and the linear regression analysis between every two factors of these five factors by SAS system. Results: All of these five factors (angiogenin: P<0.0037, TGF-${\beta}$: P<0.0001, VEGF: P<0.0102, APEX: P<0.0023, TNF-${\alpha}$: P<0.0074) were significantly correlated with OSCC. In the analysis to find the cut-off values for the diagnosis, we could not find any value that had a reasonable sensitivity and specificity. In the linear regression analysis, there were correlations between angiogenin and TNF-${\alpha}$, TGF-${\beta}$ and VEGF, TGF-${\beta}$ and APEX, TGF-${\beta}$ and TNF-${\alpha}$, VEGF and APEX, VEGF and TNF-${\alpha}$, APEX and TNF-${\alpha}$. Conclusion: Our results suggest that not only angiogenin, TGF-${\beta}$, VEGF, APEX and TNF-${\alpha}$ are significantly associated with the tumorigenesis, but also the close relationship between these factors might enhance the tumorigenesis of OSCC. We can not find clinical availability for diagnosis.