Search a term below to jump straight to its definition and source papers.
A
A-to-I RNA Editing
Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a post-transcriptional modification, catalyzed by ADAR enzymes, that chemically converts adenosine bases within double-stranded RNA...
signaling-pathwaysADAR1 (Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA 1)
ADAR1 is an enzyme that catalyzes adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, converting adenosines within double-stranded RNA regions into inosine, which is...
tumor-microenvironmentAnoikis
Anoikis (Greek for “homelessness”) is the programmed, apoptotic death that normal epithelial and endothelial cells undergo when they lose attachment...
tumor-microenvironmentAnoikis Resistance (AR)
Anoikis resistance (AR) is the acquired ability of a cell — most often a cancer cell — to survive detachment...
conceptsApoptosis
Apoptosis is the first-discovered and best-characterized form of regulated cell death, executed through caspase enzyme cascades. It proceeds via two...
conceptsApoptosis-Induced Proliferation (AiP)
Apoptosis-induced proliferation (AiP) describes how the apoptotic death of large numbers of differentiated cells can mobilize nearby stem or progenitor...
tumor-microenvironmentAR-Targeting Drugs (Defactinib, Cilengitide, Dasatinib, Celecoxib)
Beyond V-ATPase inhibitors, several other drug classes are being explored to re-sensitize cancer cells to anoikis by reversing anoikis resistance...
drug-resistanceAutophagic Flux
Autophagic flux refers to the complete, dynamic throughput of the autophagy pathway — from autophagosome formation, through maturation and fusion...
B
Beclin1
Beclin1 is a core, evolutionarily conserved protein required for initiating autophagosome formation. Its activity is normally restrained by binding to...
immunotherapyBRAF^V600E Melanoma Model
The BRAF^V600E melanoma model refers to preclinical mouse melanoma models driven by the oncogenic BRAF V600E mutation, the most common...
C
CAF (Cancer-Associated Fibroblast)
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are activated, fibroblast-like stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment that remodel the extracellular matrix, contribute to fibrosis,...
drug-resistanceCAGE (Cancer-Associated GEne)
CAGE (Cancer-Associated GEne) is a cancer/testis antigen first identified in the sera of gastric cancer patients. It has since been...
drug-resistanceCancer/Testis Antigen
A cancer/testis antigen is a member of a class of proteins whose expression is normally restricted to testis and other...
conceptsCANTOS Trial
The Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study (CANTOS) is a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial that tested canakinumab, an...
tumor-microenvironmentCAR-T / CAR-NK
CAR-T and CAR-NK cells are T cells or NK cells engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), enabling antigen-specific,...
tumor-microenvironmentcCSC (Circulating Cancer Stem Cell)
A circulating cancer stem cell (cCSC) is a subpopulation of circulating tumor cells with stem-like self-renewal and tumor-initiating capacity, typically...
tumor-microenvironmentCEMIP (KIAA1199)
CEMIP (cell-migration-inducing protein, also known as KIAA1199) is a protein that promotes protective autophagy and anoikis resistance, notably in prostate...
signaling-pathwayscGAS-STING Pathway
The cGAS-STING pathway is a cytosolic (and nuclear) DNA-sensing arm of innate immunity: the enzyme cGAS detects double-stranded DNA and...
conceptsChromosomal Instability (CIN)
Chromosomal instability (CIN) is an ongoing, elevated rate of chromosome mis-segregation and structural genomic rearrangement in dividing cells, and it...
tumor-microenvironmentCTC (Circulating Tumor Cell)
A circulating tumor cell (CTC) is a tumor cell that has entered the bloodstream from a primary or metastatic site....
tumor-microenvironmentCTM (Circulating Tumor Microenvironment)
The circulating tumor microenvironment (CTM) is the dynamic ecosystem of platelets, immune cells, and stromal components (such as cancer-associated fibroblasts)...
tumor-microenvironmentCXCR2
CXCR2 is a G protein-coupled receptor for CXC chemokines, including IL-8, expressed predominantly on neutrophils and other myeloid cells. Ligand...
D
DDX6
DDX6 is a DEAD-box RNA helicase best known for its central roles in RNA metabolism, including processing body (P-body) assembly,...
conceptsDEAD-Box RNA Helicase
DEAD-box RNA helicases are a large, evolutionarily conserved family of ATP-dependent RNA-binding proteins, named for a characteristic Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD) amino...
signaling-pathwaysDecitabine
Decitabine is a clinically approved pyrimidine nucleoside analog that acts as a DNA hypomethylating (demethylating) agent, incorporating into DNA during...
drug-resistanceDrug-Tolerant Persister (DTP) Cells
Drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells are a reversible, non-genetically-encoded state that cancer cells can enter during targeted therapy or chemotherapy, allowing...
E
EMT / p-EMT / MET
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process by which epithelial cells lose polarity and cell-cell adhesion to gain migratory, mesenchymal-like properties;...
conceptsExosome
An exosome is classically defined as a small (roughly 30–150 nm diameter) membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicle formed when late endosomes invaginate...
conceptsExtracellular Vesicle (EV)
An extracellular vesicle (EV) is a particle released from a cell that is delimited by a lipid bilayer and cannot...
F
FAK / ILK (Focal Adhesion Kinase / Integrin-Linked Kinase)
Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and Integrin-Linked Kinase (ILK) are kinases located at focal adhesions that transduce integrin–ECM engagement into intracellular...
immunotherapyFecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is the transfer of donor fecal microbiota into antibiotic-pretreated recipient mice (or, in translational studies, from...
conceptsFerritin
Ferritin is the primary intracellular iron-storage protein complex, composed of a light chain (FTL) and a heavy chain (FTH1) that...
conceptsFerritinophagy
Ferritinophagy is a selective form of autophagy in which the iron-storage protein ferritin is degraded, releasing its stored iron back...
conceptsFerroptosis
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death driven by the uncontrolled peroxidation of polyunsaturated-fatty-acid-containing phospholipids in cell membranes....
immunotherapyFormate
Formate is a short-chain, one-carbon organic acid and a key product of microbial one-carbon (1C) metabolism, produced by gut bacteria...
tumor-microenvironmentFratricide
Fratricide is the antigen-specific killing of antigen-dressed cells by neighboring cells of the same lineage — for example, pMHC-dressed CD8...
G
G3BP1 (Ras GTPase-Activating Protein-Binding Protein 1)
G3BP1 is the central scaffolding protein required for the assembly of stress granules: under cellular stress, G3BP1 (together with its...
signaling-pathwaysGasdermin (GSDM) Family
The gasdermin (GSDM) family comprises the pore-forming executioner proteins of pyroptosis: GSDMA, GSDMB, GSDMC, GSDMD, GSDME, and the hearing-related DFNB59/PJVK....
tumor-microenvironmentGSC (Glioblastoma Stem Cell)
Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are a self-renewing, multipotent subpopulation within glioblastoma — the most aggressive primary brain tumor — responsible...
H
HDAC9 (Histone Deacetylase 9)
HDAC9 (Histone Deacetylase 9) is a class IIa histone deacetylase, an enzyme that removes acetyl groups from histone and non-histone...
tumor-microenvironmentHippo Pathway / YAP-TAZ
The Hippo pathway is a signaling axis in which ECM detachment normally activates Lats1/2 kinases to inactivate the transcriptional co-activators...
tumor-microenvironmentHMGB1 (High-Mobility Group Box 1)
HMGB1 (High-Mobility Group Box 1) is a nuclear DNA-binding protein that can also act, once released into the extracellular space,...
tumor-microenvironmentHomotypic vs. Heterotypic Clustering
CTC clusters are groups of circulating tumor cells that travel together in the bloodstream and are markedly more metastatic than...
I
IL-8 (CXCL8)
IL-8 (CXCL8) is a pro-inflammatory CXC chemokine that signals through the G protein-coupled receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2. Within tumors, it...
immunotherapyImmune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI)
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies, are cancer immunotherapies that release brakes on T cell antitumor...
tumor-microenvironmentImmunogenic Cell Death (ICD)
Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a form of regulated cell death that actively stimulates an adaptive anti-tumor immune response, rather...
tumor-microenvironmentImmunological Synapse
The immunological synapse is the organized interface — comprising a central supramolecular activation cluster (cSMAC) and a peripheral SMAC (pSMAC)...
tumor-microenvironmentIntegrin Switch
The integrin switch is a shift in which cell-surface integrins a cell expresses upon ECM detachment or invasion — from...
conceptsInterferonopathy
An interferonopathy is a class of autoinflammatory disease caused by dysregulated, constitutive activation of type I interferon signaling in the...
conceptsInverted Repeat Alu Element (IRAlu)
Alu elements are short, primate-specific transposable elements that make up roughly 10% of the human genome and are frequently found...
K
KAC (Keratin8+ Alveolar Intermediate Cell)
KAC (keratin8+ alveolar intermediate cell), also called the Krt8+ alveolar differentiation intermediate (ADI), is a transient, high-plasticity alveolar epithelial cell...
signaling-pathwaysKindlin-2 (FERMT2)
Kindlin-2 (also known as FERMT2) is a FERM-domain-containing adapter protein that binds the cytoplasmic tails of integrins and cooperates with...
L
M
M1/M2 Macrophage Polarization
M1/M2 polarization describes two broad functional states of macrophage activation. M1 macrophages, activated by IFN-γ and bacterial lipopolysaccharide, are pro-inflammatory...
signaling-pathwaysMDA5 (Melanoma Differentiation-Associated Gene 5)
MDA5 is a cytosolic double-stranded RNA sensor of the RIG-I-like receptor family. Upon binding dsRNA, MDA5 molecules cooperatively stack along...
immunotherapyMetagenome-Assembled Genome (MAG)
A metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) is a genome reconstructed computationally from metagenomic sequencing reads, without needing to culture the organism.
signaling-pathwaysMic60 (IMMT / MICOS Complex)
Mic60 (also known as IMMT) is an inner mitochondrial membrane scaffold protein and a core component of the MICOS (Mitochondrial...
signaling-pathwaysMicronuclei
Micronuclei are small, membrane-bound structures containing chromosome fragments or whole chromosomes that failed to segregate properly during mitosis, forming discrete...
tumor-microenvironmentMitochondrial Transfer (MT)
Mitochondrial transfer (MT) is the movement of whole or fragmented mitochondria from one cell to another, most commonly through direct...
tumor-microenvironmentMRTF-A (Myocardin-Related Transcription Factor A)
MRTF-A (myocardin-related transcription factor A) is a transcriptional co-activator that is normally held inactive in the cytoplasm by binding to...
N
Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA)
Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a widely used technique for measuring the size and concentration of nanoparticles, including extracellular vesicles,...
conceptsNecroptosis
Necroptosis is a regulated, inflammatory form of programmed cell death that is mechanistically distinct from apoptosis: rather than depending on...
signaling-pathwaysNecrosome
The necrosome is the signaling complex that executes necroptosis. It assembles when RIPK1 and RIPK3 bind one another through shared...
immunotherapyNrf2
Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) is a pleiotropic transcription factor that regulates redox homeostasis and metabolism.
conceptsNumber Needed to Treat (NNT)
Number needed to treat (NNT) is a clinical epidemiology measure describing how many patients must receive a given treatment, on...
O
P
Parkin (PRKN)
Parkin (encoded by the PARK2 gene) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase best known for its role in PINK1-dependent mitophagy —...
tumor-microenvironmentPDO (Patient-Derived Organoid)
A patient-derived organoid (PDO) is a three-dimensional ex vivo culture system established directly from a patient’s own tumor tissue, typically...
immunotherapyPICRUSt2
PICRUSt2 is a bioinformatic tool that predicts functional (metagenomic) pathway abundance from 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data, without requiring full...
conceptsPlasma Membrane Rupture (PMR)
Plasma membrane rupture (PMR) is the final, cataclysmic step shared by several lytic forms of regulated cell death — secondary...
tumor-microenvironmentpMHC-Dressed Cell
A pMHC-dressed cell is a cell that has acquired peptide-loaded MHC molecules from another cell via trogocytosis, and can subsequently...
conceptsPrecision-Cut Lung Slice (PCLS)
A precision-cut lung slice (PCLS) is a thin (typically a few hundred micrometers), living section of lung tissue cut with...
signaling-pathwaysPseudohypoxia
Pseudohypoxia is a state of constitutive activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) signaling pathway that occurs independent of actual low...
conceptsPyroptosis
Pyroptosis is a lytic, strongly inflammatory form of regulated cell death, named from the Greek roots for “fire” and “falling.”...
immunotherapyPyruvate Formate Lyase (pfl)
Pyruvate formate lyase (pfl, EC 2.3.1.54) is a bacterial enzyme that converts pyruvate into formate and acetyl-CoA. Because it is...
R
R-loop
An R-loop is a three-stranded nucleic acid structure that forms during transcription when a nascent RNA molecule anneals back to...
conceptsRecursive Feature Elimination
Recursive feature elimination (RFE) is a machine-learning feature-selection method that starts with a full set of candidate predictor variables, repeatedly...
conceptsRegulated Cell Death (RCD)
Regulated cell death (RCD) refers to genetically encoded, molecularly executed forms of cell death — as opposed to accidental, uncontrolled...
S
SASP (Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype)
The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) is the broad set of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases secreted by senescent...
tumor-microenvironmentSPP1+ TAM
SPP1+ tumor-associated macrophages are a macrophage state marked by expression of SPP1 (osteopontin) that differentiates in response to hypoxic conditions...
tumor-microenvironmentSRF (Serum Response Factor)
Serum response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor that binds CArG-box DNA elements in target gene promoters. Together with co-activators...
conceptsStress Granules (SGs)
Stress granules (SGs) are dynamic, non-membranous cytoplasmic condensates that cells assemble in response to stress conditions such as oxidative stress,...
T
TAM (Tumor-Associated Macrophage)
Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are macrophages that infiltrate and reside within the tumor microenvironment, where they can adopt a wide spectrum...
immunotherapyTc1 Cells
Tc1 cells are type-1 cytotoxic CD8 T cells, characterized by IFN-γ and TNF-α production and the transcription factors T-bet and...
immunotherapyTCF1 (T Cell Factor 1)
TCF1 (T Cell Factor 1) is a transcription factor that marks progenitor, stem-like CD8+ T cells with self-renewal capacity. TCF1+...
signaling-pathwaysTRAF6
TRAF6 (TNF-Receptor-Associated Factor 6) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase and signaling adaptor that couples upstream receptors — including Toll-like receptors...
signaling-pathwaysTREX1
TREX1 is an endoplasmic-reticulum-associated 3′-5′ exonuclease that degrades a broad range of aberrant cytosolic DNA species, including DNA derived from...
tumor-microenvironmentTrogocytosis
Trogocytosis is the antigen-specific, receptor-driven transfer of plasma membrane and its associated molecules between two cells in direct contact, occurring...
tumor-microenvironmentTrogoptosis
Trogoptosis is trogocytosis-mediated cell death of the donor cell, caused by substantial loss of its own plasma membrane during the...
conceptsTumor Hypoxia
Tumor hypoxia is a state of genuinely low oxygen tension within tumor tissue, typically arising when rapidly proliferating cancer cells...
tumor-microenvironmentTunneling Nanotube (TNT)
A tunneling nanotube (TNT) is a thin, actin-based membranous channel that forms a direct physical connection between two cells, allowing...
U
V
V-ATPase Inhibitors
V-ATPase inhibitors are a drug class explored for reversing anoikis resistance, including archazolid and digoxin (which acts via the related...
tumor-microenvironmentVasculogenic Mimicry (VM)
Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is the formation of perfusable, vessel-like networks by tumor cells themselves, without true transdifferentiation into endothelial cells....
conceptsVessel Normalization (VN)
Vessel normalization (VN) is a hypothesized effect of anti-angiogenic therapy in which structurally abnormal, leaky tumor blood vessels are remodeled...
signaling-pathwaysViral Mimicry
Viral mimicry is the process by which mislocalized or aberrantly processed endogenous nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) are detected by...