A differential cysteine labeling method followed by high-resoluti

A differential cysteine labeling method followed by high-resolution MS was employed to distinguish free cysteine residues from those involved in disulfide bonding. Briefly, eE2 was incubated with a molar excess of NEM under denaturing, nonreducing conditions to label all free cysteine residues. After disulfide bond reduction with DTT, the newly generated free cysteines were alkylated Regorafenib clinical with IAM. The modified protein was digested with trypsin and deglycosylated with PNGase F, and the resulting peptides were resolved by MS. All cysteine-containing peptides were identified, and only one peptide (C656NLEDRDR) was modified by NEM (Fig. (Fig.4A).4A). The expected unmodified molecular mass of this peptide is 1,020.45 Da, 1,077.45 Da if modified by IAM, or 1,145.45 Da if modified by NEM. In Fig. Fig.

4A,4A, the spectrum shows a 573.75 m/z peak, corresponding to this peptide modified by NEM and carrying a +2 charge, while no peptide appears at a position corresponding to a modification by IAM (expected ~538 m/z with a 2+ charge). All other cysteine-containing peptides were shown to have an addition of 57 Da, indicating that they were modified only after reduction with DTT. For example, the expected molecular mass of the unmodified SAC459RSIEAF peptide is 983.46 Da, 1,040.46 Da if modified by IAM, or 1,108.46 Da if modified by NEM. This peptide resolves at 521.32 m/z, which corresponds to the molecular mass when modified by IAM and carrying a +2 charge. It does not resolve as modified by NEM (expected ~554 m/z with a 2+ charge) (Fig. (Fig.4B).4B).

From the results of nonreducing SDS-PAGE, cysteine-labeling experiment and SEC, we presumed that C656 may potentially be involved in the formation of an intermolecular disulfide bond. FIG. 4. Differential labeling of free and disulfide-linked cysteines. Free and disulfide-bonded cysteines were labeled with NEM and IAM, respectively. LC-MS/MS-extracted ion chromatograms for peptides containing C656 (A) or C459 (B) are shown. The extraction … To test this hypothesis, C656 was mutated to a serine (eE2-C656S) to conserve some of the biochemical properties at this position. An HEK293T cell line that stably expresses eE2-C656S-Fc was generated, and the protein was purified Dacomitinib as before. Results from nonreducing SDS-PAGE indicated that the proportion of monomer in eE2-C656S is substantially increased relative to wild-type eE2 (compare Fig. Fig.3A3A and and4C).4C). In order to determine the native behavior, eE2-C656S was analyzed by SEC under conditions identical to those for wild-type eE2. The results demonstrated that the mutant is predominantly monomeric at pH 7.5, with a lesser amount of dimer (Fig. (Fig.4D4D).

Uneven distribution of sequences originating

Uneven distribution of sequences originating Nutlin-3a mechanism from the different sample types within an OTU was used as criteria for qPCR target selection. Potential primer target sites for specific quantitative analyses were assessed manually from ClustalW 1.83 alignments. Primer 3 online interface[37] and mfold 3.3 DNA-folding servers[38] were used for optimizing the final primer sequences and secondary structure analyses. The primer specificity against publicly available prokaryotic 16S rRNA sequences was checked with FASTA[39] provided by the European Bioinformatics Institute (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/) and against in-house 16S rRNA clone library sequences of human faecal origin, using the blastall option of Parallel BLAST[40] with Corona hardware (http://corona.csc.

fi) maintained by the Finnish IT Center for Science (CSC – Scientific Computing Ltd., Finland). The qPCR primers were synthesized commercially by Oligomer Oy (Helsinki, Finland). The clone sequences used to generate the standard curve in each qPCR assay were classified using The Ribosomal Database Project II Classifier[41]. The assays were named according to the most similar 16S rRNA gene sequence of a cultured bacterial species with the similarity percentages below 98% indicated. qPCR optimization and conditions For each assay, the optimal annealing temperature and MgCl2 concentration were defined using the iCycler iQ Real-Time Detection System (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) associated with the iCycler Optical System Interface software (version 2.3; Bio-Rad).

Actual samples were run as triplicates with optimized reaction conditions using SYBR Green I chemistry and 25 ng (specific phylotype targeting assays) or 0.5 ng (universal 16S rRNA gene assay) of faecal bacterial DNA. For all assays, the samples were run with different sample groups randomly mixed in the individual runs to minimize the effect of technical deviation between runs. Amplified clonal 16S rRNA genes were used as standards, ranging from 102 to 107 gene copies per reaction. The reaction mixtures consisted of a 1:75 000 dilution of SYBR Green I (Lonza biosciences, Basel, Switzerland), 10 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 8.8), 50 mmol/L KCl, 0.1 % Triton X-100, 2-5 mmol/L MgCl2, 100 ��mol/L each dNTP, 0.5 ��mol/L each primer, 0.024 U Dynazyme II polymerase (Finnzymes, Espoo, Finland) and 5 ��L of either template or water.

The amplification involved one cycle at 95��C for 5 min for initial denaturation, followed by 40 cycles of denaturation at 95��C for 20 s, primer annealing at the defined optimal temperatures for 20 s, extension at 72��C for 30 s and a fluorescence detection step at 80-89��C for 30 s. The specificity of the qPCR assays was checked with a Drug_discovery reassociation curve analysis after amplification by slow cooling from 95��C to 60��C, with fluorescence collection at 0.3��C intervals for 10 s at each decrement.

We could demonstrate

We could demonstrate www.selleckchem.com/products/mek162.html that the ratio of CD8+ lymphocytes to tumor buds (CD8+/tumor budding index) out-performed both tumor budding or CD8+ lymphocytes alone as independent prognostic factors in two independent cohorts[103]. Using double immunostaining for CD8+ antibody and pan-cytokeratin, a ratio of 3:1 for CD8+ lymphocytes to tumor buds was a highly favourable phenotypic constellation associated with earlier pT stage, lymph node negativity, low tumor grade and absence of vascular and lymphatic invasion in addition to conferring a prolonged clinical outcome in both stage II and stage III colorectal cancer (Figure (Figure1E1E and andF).F).

Although we cannot allude to the direct functional interaction between CD8+ lymphocytes and tumor buds themselves, the strong circumstantial relationship between the ratio of tumor budding and CD8+ lymphocytes in the microenvironment of budding cells appears, nonetheless, to be a reproducible and independent prognostic factor in colorectal cancer. DISCUSSION The invasive front of colorectal cancer represents a dynamic interface between pro- and anti-tumor factors, which can be visualized as a balance between ��attackers�� (pro-tumor) and ��defenders�� (anti-tumor). On the one hand, the infiltrating tumor border configuration and its ��cavalry�� tumor budding promote progression and dissemination of tumor cells by penetrating the vascular and lymphatic vessels. On the other, the host attempts to fend off this attack by mounting an immune response using its ��infantry��, in particular cytotoxic T lymphocytes, to protect vascular and lymphatic channels from invasion by tumor buds.

Although evidence shows that both pro- and anti-tumor factors contribute prognostic information in a TNM-independent manner, the ratio of attackers and defenders may better capture the interaction at the invasive front which could translate into more powerful prognostic indicators. Whereas standard pathology reporting of breast and prostate cancer involves additional prognostic features, such as the BRE and Gleason scores, the ratio of attackers/defenders could be a promising approach for the future development of a prognostic score for patients with colorectal cancer which could complement TNM stage to improve the clinical management of patients with this disease. Footnotes Peer reviewer: Dr.

Marek Bebenek, MD, PhD, Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Comprehensive Cancer Center, pl. Hirszfelda Batimastat 12, 53-413 Wroclaw, Poland S- Editor Wang YR L- Editor O��Neill M E- Editor Ma WH
Annular pancreas is a rare congenital anomaly, which consists of a ring of pancreatic tissue, confluent with the head of the pancreas, and partially or completely encircling the second segment of the duodenum. It was first described by Tiedemann in 1818[1] and first named ��pancreas anulare �� by Ecker in 1862[2].

Although hematologic toxicity and non-hematologic toxicity were r

Although hematologic toxicity and non-hematologic toxicity were relatively low in the docetaxel-plus-nedaplatin combination, these studies included only Asian patients, making it difficult to interpret these results for Caucasians. In addition, RR was still low. Tanespimycin In view of the high activity of DCF-type regimens in first-line treatment, the combination of docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-FU was investigated in the second-line setting as well.102 While dose reduction of all drugs in the first study resulted in lower RR, increased dose in the second study resulted in a remarkable hematologic toxicity. Finally, only a single non-taxane combination regimen consisting of mitomycin, ifosfamide, and cisplatin was tested.103 Although the toxicity rate was acceptable, the RR was low as well.

Targeted therapy Cetuximab as second line treatment was studied either as monotherapy104,105 or in combination with irinotecan (Cetiri) in patients with AC (Table 4).106 In these studies, both RR and OS time were low. In contrast, there are contradictory results regarding erlotinib activity in AC as second-line monotherapy.107,108 Gefitinib as monotherapy in adenocarcinoma has shown only a minor activity.109,110 However, a recent prospectively randomized Phase III study was able to show that ramucirumab (RAM; IMC-1121B),111 a fully human immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 monoclonal antibody targeting VEGF-receptor (R) 2, significantly improves OS in patients with gastric and GEJ AC (REGARD, Fuchs et al;111 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, LBA5) (Table 4).

Current investigations Regarding locally advanced esophageal cancer, several Phase III studies are now recruiting patients to investigate new chemotherapy combinations, such as S-1/cisplatin, S-1/paclitaxel, cisplatin/paclitaxel, and 5-FU/leucovorin/oxaliplatin/docetaxel (FLOT), as first-line treatment (Table 5). In addition, molecular-targeting compounds as combination partners, such as trastuzumab (monoclonal antibody against ErbB-2), lapatinib (dual EGFR and ErbB-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor), and cetuximab (monoclonal antibody against EGFR), are studied, too (Table 5). Unfortunately, there is a paucity of Phase III trials investigating second- and third-line treatment. A UK study is currently testing gefitinib (EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor); a German study, paclitaxel/RAD 001 (everolimus, mTOR-inhibitor) combination (Table 5).

At least four Phase III trials are investigating new combination partners for radiation in the neoadjuvant setting. Paclitaxel/carboplatin/radiation, paclitaxel/carboplatin/trastuzumab/radiation, Cilengitide navelbine/cisplatin/radiation, and docetaxel/cisplatin/cetuximab/radiation are these regimens (Table 5). Inhibition of angiogenesis through the VEGF-inhibitor bevacizumab is another approach tested in the neoadjuvant setting.

HSPA5, also known as GRP78 or BiP, is a central player in ER home

HSPA5, also known as GRP78 or BiP, is a central player in ER homeostasis. Under homeostatic conditions, the luminal domain of the proximal sensors ATF6, http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Abiraterone.html IRE1 and PERK1 interacts with HSPA5, inactivating these signaling pathways. Upon accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins, HSPA5 dissociates from these molecules, allowing their activation [29], [30], [31]. The transcriptional activation of the HSPA5 promoter is regarded as a reliable measure of ER stress [33]. Literature reports increased HSPA5 mRNA levels in colonic [34], [27], [35] and ileal [27] samples of involved areas of IBD patients. In line with these data, our results demonstrated significant increased HSPA5 transcript and/or protein levels in involved areas of colonic IBD patients.

In contrast to the study of Kaser, we found no differential expression of HSPA5 between ileal samples of healthy controls and active CD patients [27]. However, we suspect that this could be due to the use of a limited sample size in the study of Kaser, along with an important variability in the expression of ileal HSPA5 protein (as we observed in fig. 3B). Nonetheless, our data reflects well activation of the UPR as not only HSPA5 was modulated, but also other transcript and/or protein levels: PDIA4, XBP1s and pEIF2A. These were found to be increased in colonic IBD, while no differential expression of both transcript and protein levels were observed in ileal CD. In this context, we are confident that our results reflect fairly the situation given the reasonable number of biological replicates, the analysis of multiple UPR-related genes and the correlation between transcript and protein levels in our work.

Our investigation of the various UPR-related molecules at the protein levels correlated relatively well the results obtained by qRT-PCR, which is a technique far more sensitive. But the correlation is not perfect and this could be caused by a combination of factors: restricted biopsy samples in immunoblotting, lower sensitivity of this technique, and induction of ER stress by the biopsy technique itself, as it is reported in other tissues [36]. Nonetheless, we consider that the global picture strengthens the findings made by qRT-PCR. An expanded qPCR analysis of 16 UPR-related genes confirmed that a higher basal UPR activity is in place in the ileal mucosa of healthy controls when compared to the colonic mucosa.

In this analysis, twelve genes (HSPA5, XBP1_U, XBP1_S, PDIA4, HMOX1, GADD34, DDIT3, EIF2A, ATF6, ERO1L, ERN1, ATF4, NQO1, PERK, DNAJC3, and ERDJ4) had significantly higher transcript levels in samples of ileal controls than in colonic controls, clearly showing that the two tissues live with a different Carfilzomib basal activation of the UPR. A growing body of evidence suggests that ER stress and inflammation are interconnected. HSPA5 is a reliable marker for ER stress and IL8 is a marker for inflammation.

In this study, the authors demonstrate

In this study, the authors demonstrate www.selleckchem.com/products/azd9291.html relatively high hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroconversion in HBeAg-positive CHB patients whose baseline ALT levels were 10-20 times the upper limit of normal (�� ULN) and who received LDT monotherapy immediately. Innovations and breakthroughs Recent reports have highlighted the importance of baseline characteristics, such as serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level, ALT level and histological grade and stage, in antiviral therapy. This is the first study to report the antiviral effect of LDT on HBeAg-positive patients whose baseline ALT level was 10-20 �� ULN, showing the HBeAg seroconversion rate was 37.5% at 52 wk. More encouragingly, our results also showed 7.5% (3/40) patients had HBsAg seroconversion at 52 wk after LDT treatment.

Applications By understanding that the antiviral results are related to the baseline ALT levels in addition to HBV DNA titer, this study may represent a future strategy for therapeutic intervention in CHB patients with high baseline ALT level. Terminology ALT is a common indicator of liver damage and is one of the key predictors of initiation of antiviral therapy. This study suggests that high baseline ALT level is a strong predictor for optimal results during LDT treatment. Peer review This study shows favorable results in patients with high baseline ALT values. The authors conclude that in patients with high baseline ALT levels antiviral treatment with LDT should be started immediately. Footnotes Supported by The China National S&T Major Project (to Yang YD), Grant No.

R20090018; and the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province, China (to Zheng L), Grant No. 2009C33009 Peer reviewers: Andrej Potthoff, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, 30625, Germany S- Editor Wang YR L- Editor Logan Brefeldin_A S E- Editor Lin YP
NOD-like receptor (NLR)3 proteins form a family of intracellular pathogen-recognition receptors with more than 24 members in humans and over 200 members in lower metazoans (1,�C3). The NLR NOD2 is constitutively expressed in monocytes and intestinal Paneth cells (4, 5) and can be induced in various cell types including intestinal epithelial cells (6, 7). NOD2 serves as an intracellular pathogen sensor that requires muramyl dipeptide (MDP) as a minimal motif to trigger activation of the transcription factor NF-��B (4). Mutations in the gene encoding for NOD2 have been associated with a genetic predisposition to chronic inflammatory disorders (8,�C11) including Crohn disease, a human chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

The study may contribute to the understanding of the role of CD13

The study may contribute to the understanding of the role of CD133 inactivation in the progression of colorectal cancers. Keywords: CD133, Promoter, Hypermethylation, ceritinib mechanism of action Colorectal cancer, Sodium bisulfite modification INTRODUCTION The cell surface antigen CD133 is a glycoprotein of 858-865 amino acids with a total molecular weight of 97-120 kDa and five transmembrane domains. Originally identified in neuroepithelial stem cells, CD133 has been detected in hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, glioblastomas, neuronal and glial stem cells, and some other cell types[1,2]. As it has also been identified in cancer-initiating cells in several solid malignancies, it is regarded as one of the cancer stem cell (CSC) markers in colorectal carcinoma[3,4].

CD133 was the first identified member of a pentaspan membrane protein family in both humans and mice[1]. The glycoprotein specifically localizes in microvilli and protruding plasma membrane[5]. The CSC theory is a newly emerged concept of cancer initiation and development. According to this theory, only a small population of cells is clonogenic and contains tumor initiating potency, whereas the majority of the tumor cells have undergone differentiation and lost this potency. In colorectal cancer, these cells have been reported to express CD133 and a CD133-positive population of colon cancer cells was recently demonstrated to be highly enriched in tumor-initiating colon CSCs that have the ability to self-renew and to recapitulate the bulk tumor population[3,6-9]. The CD133 gene transcriptional regulation is rather complicated and poorly understood.

A possible involvement of five alternative TATA-less promoters has been suggested to explain the pattern of transcripts differing in the lengths and sequences of 5�� untranslated regions (UTRs). Two of these promoters, P1 and P2 (Figure (Figure1A),1A), are active in in vitro tests with a reporter gene. A common transcriptional initiation site was assigned to exons 1A and 1B (Figure (Figure1A),1A), and an mRNA transcribed from exon 1A or 1B was found to be the major transcript, with the choice between the transcription start sites depending on tissues. In particular, colon-expressed transcripts contain both exons 1A and 1B[10-12]. Figure 1 Schemes of Anacetrapib the promoter region of CD133. A: Schemes of the CD133 gene 5�� terminus; B: Distribution of CpG dinucleotides in a fragment of the CD133 gene harboring full P2 (250 bp) promoter and 5��-UTR exon 1B (The citation from Tabu et al[ … Changes in DNA methylation patterns are an important hallmark of tumor development and progression. Methylation of the C5 position of cytosine residues in DNA is one of the most fundamental epigenetic characteristics.

Their cigarette consumption before quitting was 24 5 per day and

Their cigarette consumption before quitting was 24.5 per day and their recalled FTCD score from when they were smoking was a high 6.7. It can be hypothesized that this type of smoker would have had Dasatinib supplier no better success rate in stopping than the 10% seen normally but when coming off long-term NRT, it was 36%. The 36% was obtained from a 1-year follow-up. Several of the smokeless studies reported success rates from 6 months. It is of interest to note that the authors excluded long-term patch users since it would have been unlikely to see a difference between active and placebo treatment due to the ease by which they normally can stop. Moreover, it is much more infrequent to observe long-term patch use (Shiffman, Hughes, Pillitteri, & Burton, 2003).

It seems as a patch is not very likely to be able to support a compulsive use pattern due to its little behavioral involvement and or pharmacokinetic nicotine uptake pattern. The data in Table 2 lead us to conclude that quitting cigarette smoking is more difficult than quitting ST (Fagerstr?m, Gilljam, Metcalfe, Tonstad, & Messig, 2010) and, although there is only one study from the NR category, that quitting these products may be easiest (Tonnesen & Mikkelsen, 2012). Of course, these data might be explained by a self-selection bias (e.g., cigarette users and ST users could be from different populations). However, another plausible explanation is that the differing nonnicotinic factors and pharmacokinetics of nicotine across the different categories are relevant.

We propose that dependence��the robust phenomenon that causes withdrawal, continued use despite adverse health consequences, difficulty quitting, etc.��differs across tobacco/nicotine products. As it looks from the data in Table 2, the cigarette may be, in addition to the most harmful product, the most dependence-producing product. Indeed, just as there is likely a profound difference in harmfulness between the products��a continuum of risk (Zeller & Hatsukami, et al., 2009)��there might also be a continuum of dependence. The cigarette seems to be in the high dependence end of this continuum, while NR products, and particularly the patch, seemed to be positioned in the low end of the dependence continuum. ST appears to have an intermediate position on the dependence continuum. Where other tobacco products are positioned on both of these continua is an empirical question deserving of immediate research. Can Carfilzomib We Assess Tobacco/Nicotine Dependence More Precisely With Product Specific Instruments? There are fundamental differences between administration forms of the same substance.

The interaction between zygosity and co-twin’s FTND score was sta

The interaction between zygosity and co-twin’s FTND score was statistically significant; critically, the direction of the interaction is such that an MZ co-twin’s FTND score was more predictive of nicotine withdrawal-induced depressive symptoms than was a DZ selleckchem Veliparib co-twin’s FTND score. Equation 5. As noted in the Methods section, we also conducted regressions that replaced co-twin’s MD with co-twin’s mean N-score (Equations 5 and 6) since neuroticism is significantly correlated with both GAD and MD and as a continuous variable is more statistically powerful. In Equation 5, which included an interaction between zygosity and co-twin’s neuroticism, increased age, being female, and higher co-twin FTND scores were significantly associated with depressive symptoms.

The main effect of co-twin’s neuroticism was not a significant predictor of withdrawal-induced depressive symptoms in Equation 5 nor was the interaction between that term and zygosity. Equation 6. Equation 6 was similar to Equation 5 but replaced the interaction between co-twin’s neuroticism and zygosity with an interaction between co-twin’s FTND score and zygosity. In this equation, increased age, being female, and being a member of DZ twin pair were significantly associated with more pronounced symptoms of depression. In addition, the main effect of co-twin’s neuroticism was significantly associated with outcome (with higher levels of neuroticism conferring increased risk). Similar to Equation 2, the interaction between co-twin’s FTND and zygosity was significantly associated with outcome, with MZ twins�� FTND scores more predictive of outcome than DZ twins�� FTND scores.

When all feasible predictors and interaction terms are included in the model, only the sex and zygosity �� co-twin’s FTND terms were significantly associated with outcome (data not shown). Withdrawal-Induced Anxiety Symptoms Equation 3. Only sex and co-twin’s FTND score significantly predicted withdrawal-induced anxiety when testing for an interaction between zygosity and co-twin’s GAD, with females endorsing higher levels of depressive symptoms and higher co-twin’s FTND scores conferring greater risk; Batimastat age, co-twin’s GAD, and the interaction term of zygosity �� co-twin’s GAD were not statistically significant predictors. Equation 4. When testing for an interaction between zygosity and co-twin’s FTND score, sex, zygosity, co-twin’s FTND score, and the interaction term zygosity �� co-twin’s FTND score were all significantly associated with nicotine withdrawal-induced anxiety. As with previous equations, being female, being a member of a DZ twin pair, and having a co-twin with a high FTND score conferred increased risk of symptoms of anxiety.

The p18INK4c CKI is

.. The p18INK4c CKI is Ixazomib proteasome specific for complexes between D type Cyclins and either CDK4 or CDK6 (ref. 23). We measured the CKI activity of recombinant HM103p18 and Hp18 proteins with an in vitro kinase assay against Rb substrate. Both proteins had similar IC50s against CDK6, which improved (from 4 ��mol/l to <250 nmol/l) after the refolding step in their preparation. However, the intracellular activity of the cell-permeable HM103p18 protein was considerably greater than that of the control Hp18 protein as assessed either by the inhibition of Rb phosphorylation or by secondary effects on p53 phosphorylation, p21 expression and ATM phosphorylation (Figure 3a).

This experiment also examined five other recombinant proteins: HM101p18 is identical to HM103p18 but utilized the MTD101 sequence (Supplementary Table S1); Hp18M101 and Hp18M103 have MTD sequences positioned on the carboxyl- rather than amino terminal ends of the protein; and HM103p18M103 and HM101p18M101 each contain an additional MTD sequence at the carboxyl-terminal end of the protein (Supplementary Table S3 and Supplementary Figure S5). HM103p18 was a considerably more efficient inducer of apoptosis than control proteins in HCT116 cancer cells, as assessed either by annexin V staining or by Caspase-3 activation (Figure 3b and Supplementary Figure S6). In addition, no changes in annexin V staining or Caspase-3 activity were observed in untransformed RAW264.7 and NIH3T3 cells treated with CP-p18INK4c. We conclude that differences in the biological activities of HM103p18 or HM101p18 as compared to Hp18 are due to differences in protein uptake mediated by the MTD sequences.

Systemic delivery of cell-permeable p18INK4c High levels of HM103p18 were observed in ~60% of peripheral white blood cells after 1 hour of intraperitoneal injection of FITC-labeled HM103p18 (Figure 4a). Similar levels of protein uptake were observed in both leukocytes and lymphocytes; however, neutrophils contained relatively low levels of the protein, suggesting phagocytic cells are not intrinsically more active at internalizing recombinant p18INK4c proteins (Figure 4b). HM103p18 was also delivered to the spleen and liver with similar kinetics, as assessed by either immunostaining (Figure 4c) or western blot analysis (Figure 4d) and persisted for several hours, declining with a half-life of ~1 hour (Figure 4d).

By contrast, proteins lacking the MTD sequence failed to accumulate in any the blood cells or tissues analyzed (Figure 4). In addition, Intraperitoneally administrated Q-dot-labeled recombinant HM103p18 was delivered to major organs such as liver and lung by fusing to only MTD (MTD103), but not Batimastat PTD (HIV Tat) (Supplementary Figure S7, left panel). Intravenously injected HM103p18 was sufficiently delivered in vivo, distributed to solid tumors, persisted from 6 to 24 hours (Supplementary Figure S7, left panel).