Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.5.1.3 (dihydrofolate reductase)
 5,819 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Deficiency of the enzyme adenosine deaminase (adenosine aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.4.4; ADA) leads to severe combined immunodeficiency, a disorder that potentially could be corrected by gene transfer into hematopoietic cells. We have constructed retroviruses containing human ADA cDNA and a dominant selectable marker, a mutated dihydrofolate reductase gene (DHFR*) encoding methotrexate resistance. Human ADA cDNA was inserted alone (DHFR*-ADA) or with a simian virus 40 (SV40) promoter (DHFR*-SVADA). Although NIH 3T3 cells infected with either construct produced human ADA activity, substantially greater levels were attained with DHFR*-SVADA. Infection of murine lymphoid cells in culture with DHFR*-SVADA led to expression of human enzyme at a level well above the mouse endogenous level. ADA activity was also increased after infection of a human ADA-deficient B-cell line. Lethally irradiated mice that were reconstituted with syngeneic marrow infected with the DHFR*-SVADA virus contained unrearranged, integrated proviral DNA in total spleen DNA or in spleen hematopoietic stem cell (CFU-S)-derived colonies. Nevertheless, no human ADA was detectable. RNA analysis showed relatively low and variable expression from the retroviral long terminal repeat, and no detectable expression from the internal SV40 promoter. These data suggest that intrinsic biologic differences exist between cultured cells and CFU-S in vivo.
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PMID:Retrovirus-mediated transfer of human adenosine deaminase gene sequences into cells in culture and into murine hematopoietic cells in vivo. 345 18

We investigated whether transduction of human cord blood progenitor cells can be increased by spinoculation in fibronectin fragment CH-296 (FN)-coated tubes. Bicistronic vectors PA317/LgEIN, containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) genes, and PG13/LgDIN, containing the dihydrofolate reductase and neo genes, were used to transduce CD34-enriched human cord blood cells. Transduction by spinoculation in FN-coated tubes (spin/FN+) was compared with spinoculation in noncoated tubes (spin/FN-) and transduction in plates coated with FN (plate/FN+). Antibody to TGF-beta was added to spin/FN+ to evaluate its impact on transduction. Using producer cell line PA317/LgEIN for transduction of CD34+ cord blood cells, FACS analysis for expression of EGFP revealed mean transduction of 30.6+/-4.3, 9.1+/-1.6, and 21.1+/-6.5% of CD34+ cells in the spin/FN+, spin/FN-, and plate/FN+ arms, respectively. Transduction of CD+CD38low cells was also higher in the spin/FN+ arm as compared with transduction in the spin/FN- arm. These results were corroborated by colony-forming assays. Antibody to TGF-beta did not further increase transduction. Using a different producer cell line, PG13/pLgDIN, a higher number of G418-resistant CFU-GM was observed in the spin/FN+ as compared with the plate/FN+ and spin/FN-arms. NOD/SCID mice were transplanted with transduced, CD34-enriched human cord blood cells, and persistence of transduced human cells was analyzed in the mice marrows after 6-8 weeks: 32.8, 6.0, and 23.9% human G418-resistant CFU-GM colonies were observed in the spin/FN+, spin/FN-, and plate/FN+ arms, respectively. These results suggest that spinoculation in FN-coated tubes increases transduction of early human cord blood progenitor cells as compared with spinoculation in noncoated tubes.
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PMID:Increased gene transfer into human cord blood cells by centrifugation-enhanced transduction in fibronectin fragment-coated tubes. 1058 31

The catalytic polypeptide of DNA-dependent protein kinase (p470) is encoded by the gene responsible for murine severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) devoid of DNA double-strand break repair and V(D)J recombination. Here, we have characterized the role of p470 in cell proliferation using SCID mice and the cell lines. In accord with DNA histogram patterns, SCID cell lines (SD/SD-eA and SC3VA2) expressing extremely low level of DNA-PK activity grew faster than a normal mouse cell line (CB/CB-eB) and SC3VA2 complemented with human p470 gene (RD13B2). In regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy, de novo DNA synthesis determined by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation started at 30h in C.B-17/Icr-SCID (SCID) mice and at around 36h in C.B-17/Icr (C.B-17) mice. Compared with normal cells, SCID cells contained slightly higher levels of transcripts of cyclin A, cyclin E, B-Myb and dihydrofolate reductase, which are regulated by E2F-1. E2F-1 playing a key role in G1- to S-phase progression was phosphorylated in vitro by DNA-PK. Importantly, the E2F-1 promoter transcriptional activity in SCID cell lines (SD/SD-eA and SC3VA2) was 4-5-fold higher than that in CB/CB-eB and RD13B2. These results suggest that p470 is involved in down-regulation of cell cycle progression through E2F-1-responsible genes.
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PMID:Involvement of DNA-dependent protein kinase in down-regulation of cell cycle progression. 1256 5

Although the VEGF-Flk-1-pathway has been known as the major driving force of angiogenesis, new evidence has shown that VEGFR-1/Flt-1 plays important roles during the neovascularization under pathological conditions including tumor, atherosclerosis and arthritis. In search of Flt-1 receptor antagonizing peptides, we screened a phage display 12-mer-peptide library with recombinant Flt-1 protein. Seven candidate peptides were identified that specifically bound to VEGF receptor Flt-1, of which peptide F56 (WHSDMEWWYLLG) almost abolished VEGF binding to receptor Flt-1 in vitro. In vivo, F56 fused with DHFR (DHFR-F56) inhibited angiogenesis in a CAM assay. Moreover, DHFR-F56 significantly inhibited the growth of nodules of human gastric cancer cell line MGC-803 in BALB/c nude mice. Histological analyses showed that necrosis of the implanted tumor was markedly enhanced following treatment with DHFR-F56. In the severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) mouse model for studying metastasis of the human breast cancer cell line BICR-H1, synthetic peptide F56 significantly inhibited tumor growth and lung metastases. Taken together, our results have demonstrated that peptide F56, as a Flt-1 receptor antagonist, fulfilled the antiangiogenic and antimetastatic effects by specifically interfering with the interaction between VEGF and receptor Flt-1. Thus, short peptide F56 may have clinical potential in tumor therapy.
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PMID:Suppression of tumor growth and metastasis by a VEGFR-1 antagonizing peptide identified from a phage display library. 1519 67

We have previously demonstrated that mTOR inhibitors (MTIs) are active in preclinical models of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). MTIs may increase degradation of cyclin D1, a protein involved in dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) synthesis. Because resistance to methotrexate may correlate with high DHFR expression, we hypothesized MTIs may increase sensitivity of ALL to methotrexate through decreasing DHFR by increasing turn-over of cyclin D1. We tested this hypothesis using multiple ALL cell lines and nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice xenografted with human ALL. We found MTIs and methotrexate were synergistic in combination in vitro and in vivo. Mice treated with both drugs went into a complete and durable remission whereas single agent treatment caused an initial partial response that ultimately progressed. ALL cells treated with MTIs had markedly decreased expression of DHFR and cyclin D1, providing a novel mechanistic explanation for a combined effect. We found methotrexate and MTIs are an effective and potentially synergistic combination in ALL.
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PMID:mTOR inhibitors are synergistic with methotrexate: an effective combination to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 1854 82

Malarial dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is the target of antifolate antimalarial drugs such as pyrimethamine and cycloguanil, the clinical efficacy of which have been compromised by resistance arising through mutations at various sites on the enzyme. Here, we describe the use of cocrystal structures with inhibitors and substrates, along with efficacy and pharmacokinetic profiling for the design, characterization, and preclinical development of a selective, highly efficacious, and orally available antimalarial drug candidate that potently inhibits both wild-type and clinically relevant mutated forms of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) DHFR. Important structural characteristics of P218 include pyrimidine side-chain flexibility and a carboxylate group that makes charge-mediated hydrogen bonds with conserved Arg122 (PfDHFR-TS amino acid numbering). An analogous interaction of P218 with human DHFR is disfavored because of three species-dependent amino acid substitutions in the vicinity of the conserved Arg. Thus, P218 binds to the active site of PfDHFR in a substantially different fashion from the human enzyme, which is the basis for its high selectivity. Unlike pyrimethamine, P218 binds both wild-type and mutant PfDHFR in a slow-on/slow-off tight-binding mode, which prolongs the target residence time. P218, when bound to PfDHFR-TS, resides almost entirely within the envelope mapped out by the dihydrofolate substrate, which may make it less susceptible to resistance mutations. The high in vivo efficacy in a SCID mouse model of P. falciparum malaria, good oral bioavailability, favorable enzyme selectivity, and good safety characteristics of P218 make it a potential candidate for further development.
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PMID:Malarial dihydrofolate reductase as a paradigm for drug development against a resistance-compromised target. 2303 43