Human FOXP4 peptide

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in males, and multiple genetic studies have confirmed association with susceptibility to PCa. However, the risk conferred in men living in China is unkown. We selected 6 previously identified variants as candidates to define their association with PCa in Chinese men. Methods: We genotyped 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1465618, rs1983891, rs339331, rs16901966, rs1447295 and rs10090154) using high resolution melting (HRM) analysis and assessed their association with PCa risk in a case-control study of 481 patients and 480 controls in a Chinese population. In addition, the individual and cumulative contribution for the risk of PCa and clinical covariates were analysed. Results: We found that 5 of the 6 genetic variants were associated with PCa risk. The T allele of rs339331 and the G allele of rs16901966 showed a significant association with PCa susceptibility: OR (95%CI)= 0.78 (0.64-0.94), p<0.009 and OR (95%CI)= 0.66 (0.54-0.81), p<0.0001, as well as A allele of rs1447295 (OR [95%CI]=1.46 (1.17-1.84), p<0.001) and T allele of rs10090154 (OR [95%CI]= 0.58 (0.46-0.74), p<0.0001). rs339331(T) was' associated with a 0.71-fold and 1.42-fold increase of PCa risk by dominant model (p=0.007) and recessive model (p=0.007). rs16901966 (G) was associated with a 0.51-fold and 1.98-fold increase of PCa risk by dominant model (p=0.006) and recessive model (p=0.0058). rs10090154 (T) was associated with a 1.89-fold and 0.53-fold increase of PCa risk by dominant model (p=0.000006) and recessive model (p=0.000006). And, rs1983891(C) was associated with a 0.77-fold increase of PCa risk by recessive model (p=0.045). rs1447295 was associated with a 1.57-fold increase of PCa risk by dominant model (p=0.008). rs1465618 showed no significant association with PCa. The cumulative effects test of risk alleles (rs rs1983891, rs339331, rs16901966, rs1447295 and rs10090154) showed an increasing risk to PCa in a frequency-dependent manner (P-trend=0.001), and men with more than 3 risk alleles had the most significant susceptibility to PCa (OR=1.99, p=0.001), compared with those who had one risk allele (OR=1.17, p=0.486). Conclusion: Our results provide further support for association of the THADA, FOXP4, GPRC6A/RFX6 and 8q24 genes with Pca in Asian populations. Further work is still required to determine the functional variations and finally clarify the underlying biological mechanisms.

Neratinib (HKI-272) is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the ErbB receptor family currently in Phase III clinical trials. Despite its efficacy, the mechanism of potential cellular resistance to neratinib and genes involved with it remains unknown. We have used a pool-based lentiviral genome-wide functional RNAi screen combined with a lethal dose of neratinib to discover chemoresistant interactions with neratinib. Our screen has identified a collection of genes whose inhibition by RNAi led to neratinib resistance including genes involved in oncogenesis (e. g. RAB33A, RAB6A and BCL2L14), transcription factors (e. g. FOXP4, TFEC, ZNF), cellular ion transport (e. g. CLIC3, TRAPPC2P1, P2RX2), protein ubiquitination (e. g. UBL5), cell cycle (e. g. CCNF), and genes known to interact with breast cancer-associated genes (e. g. CCNF, FOXP4, TFEC, several ZNF factors, GNA13, IGFBP1, PMEPA1, SOX5, RAB33A, RAB6A, FXR1, DDO, TFEC, OLFM2). The identification of novel mediators of cellular resistance to neratinib could lead to the identification of new or neoadjuvant drug targets. Their use as patient or treatment selection biomarkers could make the application of anti-ErbB therapeutics more clinically effective.