Université de Fribourg

Establishment of immortalized murine mesothelial cells and a novel mesothelioma cell line

Blum, Walter ; Pecze, László ; Felley-Bosco, Emanuela ; Worthmüller-Rodriguez, Janine ; Wu, Licun ; Vrugt, Bart ; Perrot, Marc de ; Schwaller, Beat

In: In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal, 2015, p. 1–8

Mesothelial cells are susceptible to 10:38 05.06.2015asbestos fiber-induced cytotoxicity and on longer time scales to transformation; the resulting mesothelioma is a highly aggressive neoplasm that is considered as incurable at the present time Zucali et al. (Cancer Treatment Reviews 37:543–558, 2011). Only few murine cell culture models of immortalized mesothelial cells and mesothelioma...

Université de Fribourg

Regulation of calretinin in malignant mesothelioma is mediated by septin 7 binding to the CALB2 promoter

Blum, Walter ; Pecze, László ; Wörthmüller Rodriguez, Janine ; Steinauer, Martine ; Schwaller, Beat

In: BMC Cancer, 2018, vol. 18, p. 475

The calcium-binding protein calretinin (gene name: CALB2) is currently considered as the most sensitive and specific marker for the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma (MM). MM is a very aggressive tumor strongly linked to asbestos exposure and with no existing cure so far. The mechanisms of calretinin regulation, as well as its distinct function in MM are still poorly understood.

Université de Fribourg

Biological noise and positional effects influence cell stemness

Blum, Walter ; Henzi, Thomas ; Schwaller, Beat ; Pecze, László

In: Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2018, vol. 293, no. 14, p. 5247–5258

Biological (or cellular) noise is the random quantitative variability of proteins and other molecules in individual, genetically identical cells. As the result of biological noise in the levels of some transcription factors that determine a cell's differentiation status, differentiated cells may dedifferentiate to a stem cell state given a sufficiently long time period. Here, to provide...

Université de Fribourg

Overexpression or absence of calretinin in mouse primary mesothelial cells inversely affects proliferation and cell migration

Blum, Walter ; Pecze, László ; Felley-Bosc, Emanuela

In: Respiratory Research, 2015, vol. 16, p. 153

The Ca2+-binding protein calretinin is currently used as a positive marker for identifying epithelioid malignant mesothelioma (MM) and reactive mesothelium, but calretinin’s likely role in mesotheliomagenesis remains unclear. Calretinin protects immortalized mesothelial cells in vitro from asbestos-induced cytotoxicity and thus might be implicated in mesothelioma formation. To further...

Université de Fribourg

Extending the mathematical palette for developmental pattern formation: piebaldism

Dougoud, Michaël ; Mazza, Christian ; Schwaller, Beat ; Pecze, László

In: Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 2019, vol. 81, no. 5, p. 1461–1478

Here, we present a theoretical investigation with potential insights on developmental mechanisms. Three biological factors, consisting of two diffusing factors and a cell- autonomous immobile transcription factor are combined with different feedback mechanisms. This results in four different situations or fur patterns. Two of them reproduce classical Turing patterns: (1) regularly spaced...

Université de Fribourg

Targeting breast cancer cells by MRS1477, a positive allosteric modulator of TRPV1 channels

Nazıroğlu, Mustafa ; Çiğ, Bilal ; Blum, Walter ; Vizler, Csaba ; Buhala, Andrea ; Marton, Annamária ; Katona, Róbert ; Jósvay, Katalin ; Schwaller, Beat ; Oláh, Zoltán ; Pecze, László

In: PLOS ONE, 2017, vol. 12, no. 6, p. e0179950

There is convincing epidemiological and experimental evidence that capsaicin, a potent natural transient receptor potential cation channel vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) agonist, has anticancer activity. However, capsaicin cannot be given systemically in large doses, because of its induction of acute pain and neurological inflammation. MRS1477, a dihydropyridine derivative acts as a positive...

Université de Fribourg

Menthol evokes Ca2+ signals and induces oxidative stress independently of the presence of TRPM8 (menthol) receptor in cancer cells

Nazıroğlu, Mustafa ; Blum, Walter ; Jósvay, Katalin ; Çiğ, Bilal ; Henzi, Thomas ; Oláh, Zoltán ; Vizler, Csaba ; Schwaller, Beat ; Pecze, László

In: Redox Biology, 2018, vol. 14, p. 439–449

Menthol is a naturally occurring monoterpene alcohol possessing remarkable biological properties including antipruritic, analgesic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and cooling effects. Here, we examined the menthol-evoked Ca2+ signals in breast and prostate cancer cell lines. The effect of menthol (50–500µM) was predicted to be mediated by the transient receptor potential ion channel...

Université de Fribourg

Albumin evokes Ca 2+ -induced cell oxidative stress and apoptosis through TRPM2 channel in renal collecting duct cells reduced by curcumin

Nazıroğlu, Mustafa ; Çiğ, Bilal ; Yazğan, Yener ; Schwaerzer, Gerburg K. ; Theilig, Franziska ; Pecze, László

In: Scientific Reports, 2019, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 1–16

In proteinuric nephropathies of chronic kidney disease, the epithelial cells of the nephron including the collecting duct are exposed to high concentrations of luminal albumin. Albumin is taken up from collecting duct cells by endocytosis causing excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and a proinflammatory response. Curcumin used in the traditional medicine possesses...

Université de Fribourg

Characterization and modeling of Ca2 + oscillations in mouse primary mesothelial cells

Pecze, László ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 2015, vol. 1853, no. 3, p. 632–645

Brief changes in the cytosolic and intra-organellar Ca2 + concentration serve as specific signals for various physiological processes. In mesothelial cells lining the surface of internal organs and the walls of body cavities, a re-entry in the cell cycle (G₀–G₁ transition) evoked by serum re-administration induces long-lasting Ca2 + oscillations with a slowly...

Université de Fribourg

Mechanism of capsaicin receptor TRPV1-mediated toxicity in pain-sensing neurons focusing on the effects of Na⁺/Ca2 + fluxes and the Ca2 +-binding protein calretinin

Pecze, László ; Blum, Walter ; Schwaller, Beat

In: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 2013, vol. 1833, no. 7, p. 1680–1691

Transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) receptor is a pain-sensing, ligand-gated, non-selective cation channel expressed in peripheral sensory neurons. Prolonged activation of TRPV1 by capsaicin leads to cell swelling and formation of membrane blebs in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Similar results were obtained in NIH3T3 fibroblast cells stably expressing TRPV1. Here,...