Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.1.21 (thymidine kinase)
7,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We showed previously that microtubule disassembly by vinblastine induces the proto-oncogene c-myc in epithelial mammary HBL100 cells. In this study, we demonstrate that vinblastine treatment in these cells, in contrast to what was observed with the colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29-D4, activated the transcription factor NFkappaB, which has been involved in c-myc regulation. The microtubule disassembly also induced IkappaB degradation. Using transient transfection analysis, we show that the trans-activation of c-myc by vinblastine was decreased when NFkappaB binding sites on c-myc promoter were mutated. Additionally, we demonstrate that microtubule dissolution trans-activated a thymidine kinase-CAT construct containing an NFkappaB binding site at -1180 to -1080 bp relative to the P1 promoter. Thus, vinblastine up-regulates the enhancer activity of the NFkappaB binding site. These results suggest that microtubule disassembly induced by vinblastine can trans-activate the c-myc oncogene through NFkappaB. Taking into consideration the paradoxical roles of both c-myc and NFkappaB in proliferation or apoptosis, this data reveals the complex action mechanism of this microtubule interfering agent.
...
PMID:Involvement of nuclear factor kappaB in c-Myc induction by tubulin polymerization inhibitors. 1130

We have used syngeneic, established bilateral subcutaneous tumor models to examine the antitumor activity of herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors, including the induction of an immune response against non-inoculated distant tumors. In such a model with CT26 murine colon adenocarcinoma, unilateral intratumoral inoculation of replication-deficient HSV-1 tsK inhibited the growth of both the inoculated and noninoculated established tumors. To enhance this limited antitumor immune response, we generated a defective HSV vector, dvIL12-tk encoding both interleukin-12 (IL-12) and HSV thymidine kinase (TK), with tsK as the helper virus. In a 'suicide gene' strategy, ganciclovir (GCV) treatment after intratumoral inoculation of dvlacZ-tk/tsK, encoding E. coli lacZ instead of IL-12, resulted in enhanced antitumor activity. Antitumor activity was also enhanced by local expression of IL-12 from dvIL12-tk/tsK. The combination of IL-12 cytokine therapy with GCV treatment was the most efficacious approach, with significantly greater inhibition of tumor growth than IL-12 or TK + GCV alone. These results illustrate the power of combining different cancer therapy approaches; 'suicide gene' therapy, cytokine therapy, and HSV vector infection. HSV vectors are particularly well suited to this because they can accommodate the insertion of large and multiple gene sequences.
...
PMID:Combination suicide/cytokine gene therapy as adjuvants to a defective herpes simplex virus-based cancer vaccine. 1131 8

The aim of the present work was to gain insight into a putative anticancer effect of dietary vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in a rat model of colon carcinogenesis. Male rats were assigned to three different dietary groups. The dietary regimens were based on a standard murine-defined diet (AIN-76A) or a stress diet containing 20% fat, reduced Ca2+ concentration, a high phosphorus-to-Ca2+ ratio, and either low or high vitamin D3 content. Colorectal cancer was induced by administration of the procarcinogen 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH). Blood Ca2+, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] levels were measured in DMH-treated rats and in respective weight- and age-matched dietary control groups. Colonic epithelial proliferation was assessed by determining thymidine kinase (TK) activity, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation into crypt cell DNA, and the mean labeling index along the colonic crypt continuum. Maintenance of rats on the stress diet either unmodified or supplemented with vitamin D3 in the absence of carcinogen treatment provoked a time-dependent rise in colonic TK activity and hyperproliferation of colonic epithelium. DMH treatment of rats maintained on the standard diet caused a marked increase in the proliferative indexes of colonic epithelium and in expansion of the crypt proliferative compartment. TK activity and the crypt mitotic zone were significantly augmented in the animal group fed the stress diet. Supplementary vitamin D3 abrogated the stress diet-enhanced colonic responses to the carcinogenic insult. Colon tumor multiplicity was fourfold higher in animals fed the stress diet than in animals maintained on a standard diet. The marked rise in colonic tumor multiplicity and adenocarcinoma incidence in rats fed the stress diet was obliterated by supplemental dietary vitamin D3. Cumulatively, the present results indicate that dietary vitamin D3 impedes the neoplastic process in murine large intestine and strengthen the view that inappropriate changes in dietary components and micronutrients are contributory determinants of colorectal cancer.
...
PMID:A protective role of dietary vitamin D3 in rat colon carcinogenesis. 1134 Oct 47

Anti-TK monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were raised against recombinant human cytosolic thymidine kinase (rhTK) and characterized by Western immunoblotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunostaining of tumor cells. Twenty-three clones of TK mAbs were characterized to recognize specifically not only rhTK produced by Escherichia coli but also TK subunit of 25 kDa in human lung cancer. The anti-TK mAbs reacted specifically with cytosolic TK but not with mitochondrial TK. Only one clone of the mAbs inhibited the catalytic activity of TK. By solid phase sandwich enzyme immunoassay using these mAbs, we could quantitate the cytosolic TK content in tissues. Immunohistochemical staining analysis using one of the TK mAbs showed that human lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma exhibited much higher staining intensity than stromal cells. These mAbs are useful for biochemical studies on the regulation of human TK in proliferating cells such as tumor cells and for diagnosis of highly proliferating tumors.
...
PMID:Specific recognition of cytosolic thymidine kinase in the human lung tumor by monoclonal antibodies raised against recombinant human thymidine kinase. 1138 64

The multisubstrate deoxyribonucleoside kinase of Drosophila melanogaster (Dm-dNK) can be expressed in human cells with retained enzymatic activity. The cells expressing Dm-dNK exhibit increased sensitivity to several cytotoxic nucleoside analogs. In this study, we further evaluated Dm-dNK as a potential novel suicide gene in combination with (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) as the prodrug. We used two human cancer cell lines transduced with a retrovirus encoding the Dm-dNK cDNA and investigated whether the cells expressing the enzyme can induce cell death of untransduced cells, a phenomenon known as the "bystander effect". A bystander effect was observed in a thymidine kinase-deficient human osteosarcoma cell line but not in the MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line. The cytotoxicity of BVDU increased in both cell lines when the compound was used in combination with subtoxic concentrations of hydroxyurea. Hydroxyurea also enhanced the bystander effect in the osteosarcoma cells, but not in the MIA PaCa-2 cells, treated with BVDU. These findings indicate that BVDU phosphorylated by Dm-dNK in transduced cancer cells may also induce bystander cell death in certain cell lines.
...
PMID:Bystander effects of cancer cell lines transduced with the multisubstrate deoxyribonucleoside kinase of Drosophila melanogaster and synergistic enhancement by hydroxyurea. 1145 12

Tumor cells that express a fusion gene of Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase (CD) and herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (TK) sequences activate and are subsequently killed by the nontoxic prodrugs 5-fluorocytosine and ganciclovir. We have previously developed a recombinant adenovirus containing the CD-TK fusion gene controlled by the human inducible heat shock protein 70 promoter so that heat at 41 degrees C for 1 hour induces therapeutic gene expression. This adenovirus effectively transduces heat-inducible expression of the CD-TK gene into human prostate carcinoma cells. However, because a limited number of cells in a tumor can actually be infected, we created a replicating adenoviral vector to increase CD-TK gene expression. This vector is a replication-competent, E1B-attenuated adenoviral vector containing the hsp70 promoter-driven CD-TK gene (Ad.E1A(+)HS-CDTK). When human prostate adenocarcinoma DU-145 cells (mutant p53) were infected with the virus at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1 or 10, the viral replication was detected within 2 days at both MOIs. Similar results were observed in human colorectal carcinoma CX-1 cells. When DU-145 cells were infected with the virus at an MOI of 10, incubated for 24 hours, heated at 41 degrees C for 4 hours, and then harvested 20 hours later, Western blot analysis demonstrated that this virus successfully produced viral E1A proteins and heat shock stimulated the CD-TK gene expression by 12.3-fold. In addition, Ad.E1A(+)HS-CDTK effectively suppressed cell proliferation by viral cytopathic effect). Unlike with a replication-incompetent virus (Ad.HS-CDTK), the cytopathic effect of the virus and cytotoxicity in the presence of the prodrugs were still observed even at low MOI (MOI=1.0).
...
PMID:Replicating adenoviral vector-mediated transfer of a heat-inducible double suicide gene for gene therapy. 1149 59

Animal studies have shown that direct injection of an adenoviral vector (Adv.RSV-tk) expressing the herpes thymidine kinase gene into established tumors in the liver, followed by systemic ganciclovir administration, was effective in inducing tumor necrosis. Toxicities were minimal at therapeutically effective vector doses, although severe hepatic necroinflammation was seen at much higher supratherapeutic doses. We conducted a clinical phase I trial in patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma in the liver to assess the safety of intratumoral Adv.RSV-tk injection (escalating doses) followed by intravenous ganciclovir (fixed dose). The vector was injected into a metastatic tumor in the liver under local anesthesia by percutaneous needle placement with concurrent ultrasonographic monitoring to prevent injection or leakage into adjacent normal liver structures. We treated 16 patients in five dose level cohorts of Adv.RSV-tk, from 1.0x10(10) to 1.0x10(13) virus particles per patient. Hepatic toxicities were low, with transient grade 1 elevations in serum aminotransferase levels in 3 of 16 patients. Other toxicities were also transient: grade 2-3 fevers in 5 of 16 patients, grade 3 thrombocytopenia in 1 of 16 patients, and grade 2 leucopenia in 3 of 16 patients. These results indicate that Adv.RSV-tk can be safely administered by percutaneous intratumoral injection in patients with hepatic metastases at doses up to 1.0x10(13) virus particles per patient, and can provide the basis for future clinical trials involving intratumoral adenoviral vector injection.
...
PMID:Intratumoral adenovirus-mediated suicide gene transfer for hepatic metastases from colorectal adenocarcinoma: results of a phase I clinical trial. 1154 8

We have demonstrated previously the oncolytic effects of a systemically delivered, replicating vaccinia virus. To enhance the tumor specificity of this vector, we have developed a combined thymidine kinase-deleted (TK-) and vaccinia growth factor-deleted (VGF-) vaccinia virus and investigated its properties in vitro and in vivo. The gene for enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was inserted into the TK locus of a VGF- vaccinia virus by homologous recombination creating a double-deleted mutant vaccinia virus (vvDD-GFP). Infection of resting and dividing NIH3T3 cells with vvDD-GFP yielded reduced viral recovery compared with wild-type (WT), TK-, or VGF- viruses from resting cultures but equivalent virus recovery from dividing cultures. Eight days after nude mice were injected i.p. with 10(7) plaque-forming units (pfu) of WT, TK-, VGF-, or vvDD-GFP vaccinia virus, tissues and tumor were harvested for viral titer determination. No virus was recovered from the brains of mice injected with vvDD-GFP compared with the other viruses, which ranged from 130 to 28,000 pfu/mg protein; however, equivalent amounts were recovered from tumor. There was no toxicity from vvDD-GFP because nude mice receiving 10(8) pfu of IP vvDD-GFP lived >100 days, whereas mice receiving WT, VGF-, or TK- virus had median survivals of only 6, 17, and 29 days, respectively. Similar results were seen when 10(9) pfu of vvDD-GFP were given. Nude mice bearing s.c. murine colon adenocarcinoma (MC38) had significant tumor regression after treatment with 10(9) pfu of systemic (i.p.) vvDD-GFP compared with control (mean tumor size, 180.71 +/- 35.26 mm(3) versus 2796.79 +/- 573.20 mm(3) 12 days after injection of virus). Our data demonstrate that a TK- and VGF- mutant vaccinia virus is significantly attenuated in resting cells in vitro and demonstrates tumor-specific replication in vivo. It is a promising vector for use in tumor-directed gene therapy, given its enhanced safety profile, tumor selectivity, and the oncolytic effects after systemic delivery.
...
PMID:Systemic cancer therapy with a tumor-selective vaccinia virus mutant lacking thymidine kinase and vaccinia growth factor genes. 1175 95

We report here the generation of recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) able to produce the suicide gene product thymidine kinase (TK) or cytokine interleukin 4 (IL-4). In vitro cells infected with the engineered viruses expressed remarkably high levels of biologically active TK or IL-4 and showed no defects in replication compared to the wild-type virus. Recombinant viruses retained their ability to induce potent apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells, while normal cells were evidently more resistant to infection and were completely protected by interferon. Significantly, following direct intratumoral inoculation, VSV expressing either TK or IL-4 exhibited considerably more oncolytic activity against syngeneic breast or melanoma tumors in murine models than did the wild-type virus or control recombinant viruses expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Complete regression of a number of tumors was achieved, and increased granulocyte-infiltrating activity with concomitant, antitumor cytotoxic T-cell responses was observed. Aside from discovering greater oncolytic activity following direct intratumoral inoculation, however, we also established that VSV expressing IL-4 or TK, but not GFP, was able to exert enhanced antitumor activity against metastatic disease. Following intravenous administration of the recombinant viruses, immunocompetent BALB/c mice inoculated with mammary adenocarcinoma exhibited prolonged survival against lethal lung metastasis. Our data demonstrate the validity of developing novel types of engineered VSV for recombinant protein production and as a gene therapy vector for the treatment of malignant and other disease.
...
PMID:Genetically engineered vesicular stomatitis virus in gene therapy: application for treatment of malignant disease. 1175 78

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment involving the administration of a tumor-localizing photosensitizer followed by the photochemical generation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen. PDT elicits strong transcriptional activation of a variety of genes including stress response genes belonging to the glucose-regulated protein (grp) family. Oxidative stress and hypoxia can activate GRP-78, and both of these physiological insults occur in treated tissue during and/or after PDT. In the current study, we evaluated the grp promoter as a PDT-inducible molecular switch for controlled expression of the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) suicide gene in mouse mammary adenocarcinoma (TSA) cells and tumors stably transduced with the G1NaGrpTk retroviral expression vector. We also examined whether PDT-inducible expression of HSV-tk, together with systemic administration of ganciclovir, could enhance the tumoricidal responsiveness of PDT. Inducible expression of HSV-tk was observed after PDT in stably transduced TSA cells grown in culture and in TSA tumors growing in BALB/c mice. We also observed enhanced tumoricidal activity in mice with TSA tumors containing the G1NaGrpTk expression vector treated with PDT plus ganciclovir when compared with either treatment alone. Our results confirm that the grp promoter was able to effectively function as a molecular switch for the inducible expression of the HSV-tk gene after exposure to PDT.
...
PMID:Enhanced photodynamic therapy efficacy with inducible suicide gene therapy controlled by the grp promoter. 1188 20


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next >>