Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.3.1.28 (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase)
 5,100 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Most oral contraceptives (OC) contain a progestin in combination with an estrogen, and the progestin component in OC includes one of the following 19-nortestosterone derivatives: norethynodrel; norethindrone; or norgestrel (levonorgestrel). It is well known that estrogens promote the growth of breast cancer. However, progestins have recently also been implicated in the development of breast cancer. We have compared and contrasted the ability of synthetic progestins to stimulate the proliferation of cultured human breast cancer cells and examined their possible mechanism of action. We found that some progestins used in OC were able to stimulate the growth of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) MCF-7 and T47DA18 human breast cancer cells but not ER- MDA-MB-231, BT-20, and T47DC4 human breast cancer cells. However, two other progestins, MPA and R5020, which are not used in OC, were either not able to stimulate or only slightly stimulated growth. The potency of norethynodrel [median effective dose (EC50) = 4 x 10(-8) M] and norethindrone (EC50 = 3 x 10(-8) M) was greater than norgestrel (EC50 = 2 x 10(-7) M) in MCF-7 cells. E2 (EC50 = 8 x 10(-13) M) was an even more potent stimulator of growth. More importantly, the progestin-induced growth stimulation was blocked by the antiestrogens 4-hydroxytamoxifen and ICI 164,384 but not the antiprogestin 17 beta-hydroxy-11 beta-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17 alpha-(1-propynyl)-estra-4, 9-dien-3-one (RU486). To determine whether the proliferative action of progestins was mediated through the ER, cells were transfected with a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene containing an estrogen response element derived from vitellogenin 2A gene. The progestins which stimulated the growth of breast cancer cells also increased chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity. The induction of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity was blocked by the addition of the antiestrogens 4-hydroxytamoxifen and ICI 164,384 but not the antiprogestin RU486. This study provides direct evidence that the 19-nortestosterone derivatives in OC have estrogenic properties and suggests that activation of ER, but not progesterone receptor, is the growth-stimulatory mechanism for these synthetic progestins. Our results may help to explain the conflicting evidence linking OC and breast cancer risk. A rigorous evaluation of the "total" estrogenic potential of OC might produce a better correlation with breast cancer risk.
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PMID:Estrogenic potential of progestins in oral contraceptives to stimulate human breast cancer cell proliferation. 142

The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases) p42mapk and p44mapk are serine/threonine kinases rapidly activated in cells stimulated with various extracellular signals by dual phosphorylation of tyrosine and threonine residues. They are thought to play a pivotal role in integrating and transmitting transmembrane signals required for growth and differentiation. Here we demonstrate that activation of these ubiquitously expressed MAP kinases is essential for growth. To specifically suppress MAP kinase activation in fibroblasts, we transiently expressed either the entire p44mapk antisense RNA or p44mapk kinase-deficient mutants (T192A or Y194F). As expected, and through independent mechanisms, both approaches strongly inhibited MAP kinase activation. The antisense reduced the expression of endogenous p42mapk and p44mapk by 90%, whereas overexpression of the T192A mutant inhibited growth factor activation of both endogenous MAP kinases by up to 70%. As a consequence, we found that the antisense as well as the T192A mutant of p44mapk inhibited growth factor-stimulated gene transcription (collagenase promoter assay with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter) and cell growth. These effects were proportional to the extent of MAP kinase inhibition and reversed by coexpression of the wild-type p44mapk. Therefore we conclude that growth factor activation of p42mapk and p44mapk is an absolute requirement for triggering the proliferative response.
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PMID:Mitogen-activated protein kinases p42mapk and p44mapk are required for fibroblast proliferation. 839 1