Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (ERK)
95,504 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To investigate the relationship between angiogenesis and hepatic tumorigenesis, we examined the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in 8 human colon carcinoma cell lines and in 30 human colorectal cancer liver metastases. Abundant message for VEGF was found in all tumors, localized to the malignant cells within each neoplasm. Two receptors for VEGF, KDR and flt1, were also demonstrated in most of the tumors examined. KDR and flt1 mRNA were limited to tumor endothelial cells and were more strongly expressed in the hepatic metastases than in the sinusoidal endothelium of the surrounding liver parenchyma. VEGF monoclonal antibody administration in tumor-bearing athymic mice led to a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of growth of subcutaneous xenografts and to a marked reduction in the number and size of experimental liver metastases. In hepatic metastases of VEGF antibody-treated mice, neither blood vessels nor expression of the mouse KDR homologue flk-1 could be demonstrated. These data indicate that VEGF is a commonly expressed angiogenic factor in human colorectal cancer metastases, that VEGF receptors are up-regulated as a concomitant of hepatic tumorigenesis, and that modulation of VEGF gene expression or activity may represent a potentially effective antineoplastic therapy in colorectal cancer.
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PMID:Regulation by vascular endothelial growth factor of human colon cancer tumorigenesis in a mouse model of experimental liver metastasis. 753 99

Recruitment of antigen-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is a major goal for immunotherapy of malignant tumours. We now describe that T-cell-activating superantigens targeted to a tumor by monoclonal antibodies induced large numbers of pseudospecific TILs and eradication of micrometastases. As a model for tumor micrometastases, syngeneic B16 melanoma cells transfected with the human colon carcinoma antigen C215 were injected intravenously into C57BL/6 mice and therapy with an anti-C215 Fab fragment-staphylococcal enterotoxin A (C215Fab-SEA) fusion protein reacting with the C215 antigen was initiated when visible lung metastases were established. More than 90% reduction of the number of lung metastases was observed when mice carrying 5-day-old established lung metastases were treated with C215Fab-SEA. The antitumor effect of C215Fab-SEA was shown to be T-cell-dependent since no therapeutic effect was seen in T-cell-deficient nude mice. Depletion of T-cell subsets by injection of monoclonal antibody demonstrated that CD8+ cells were the most prominent effector cells although some contribution from CD4+ cells was also noted. C215Fab-SEA treatment induced massive tumor infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, while only scattered T cells were observed in untreated tumors. SEA treatment alone induced a slight general inflammatory response in the lung parenchyme, but no specific accumulation of T cells was seen in the tumor. TILs induced by C215Fab-SEA were mainly CD8+ but a substantial number of CD4+ cells were also present. Immunohistochemical analysis showed strong production of the tumoricidal cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma in the tumor. Thus, the C215Fab-SEA fusion protein targets effector T lymphocytes to established tumors in vivo and provokes a strong local antitumor immune response.
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PMID:Antibody-targeted superantigens are potent inducers of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes in vivo. 756 19

Conjugates between monoclonal antibodies recognizing human cancer cells and the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin A (mAb-SEA) represent a potential novel approach to tumor therapy. Such mAb-SEA conjugates direct T-cells to lyse colon carcinoma cells in vitro. The synthesis of mAb-SEA conjugates which were prepared by introducing thiol groups on SEA and iodoacetyl or maleimide groups on mAb forming a stable thioether linkage between SEA and mAb is described. A hydrophilic spacer, composed of repeated ethylene oxide units, was constructed to increase the distance between SEA and mAb, preserving biological activity of both proteins. The degree of modification of mAb with SEA was determined with SDS-PAGE. Variables influencing the composition of the conjugates and their effect on the tumor-cell cytotoxicity were studied and optimal conditions for the synthesis were established. Functionally active mAb-SEA conjugates were prepared from a panel of different mAb and T-cell-dependent cytotoxicity against several human cancer types including colon, ovarial, breast, and renal cancer was obtained. This suggests that mAb-SEA conjugates may be of value in the treatment of human neoplastic disease.
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PMID:Preparation and characterization of conjugates of monoclonal antibodies and staphylococcal enterotoxin A using a new hydrophilic cross-linker. 830 15

The biological activity of many cytokines is regulated by binding proteins present at the cell surface, in extracellular matrices or in soluble phase. We describe here a TGF-beta binding protein that is both an extracellular matrix and a cell surface protein. When intact extracellular matrices of HEP-G2 cells were affinity cross-linked with 125I-TGF-beta 1, two major binding components were seen: a 250-kD, proteoglycan-like molecule, presumed to be betaglycan, and a 60-kD protein. The 60-kD TGF-beta-binding protein was also present at the cell surface. It could be released from the cell surface by treating cells with high salt, heparin, chondroitin sulfate, heparitinase, or chondroitinase, indicating that it is bound to heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. The 60-kD protein bound TGF-beta 1 with an apparent dissociation constant of 1.6 nM, and there were 30,000 binding sites per cell at the cell surface. In addition to the HEP-G2 cells and another hepatoma cell line, the 60-kD protein was also found in a human colon carcinoma (HT-29) cell line but not in rat kidney (NRK-49F) or human fibroblast (HUT-12) cell lines. The 60-kD protein could be extracted from cells containing it and transferred to the surface of previously negative cells. The 60-kD protein may serve to regulate the binding of TGF-beta to its signal transducing receptors by targeting TGF-beta to appropriate locations in the microenvironment of cells.
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PMID:A 60-kD protein mediates the binding of transforming growth factor-beta to cell surface and extracellular matrix proteoglycans. 833 95

We have previously shown that human bladder tumor cell lines may be adapted to grow in the complete absence of serum or any other growth supplement and that this can be explained on the basis of autocrine stimulation. In the present study we have extended the number of cell lines that could be established as serum-free cultures and found this capacity to be correlated with tumor malignancy. We also used the receptor blocking monoclonal antibody, mAb 528, to study its effect on tumor cell growth. Inhibition was observed in all of seven bladder carcinoma cell lines tested. A similar effect was observed in two colon carcinoma cell lines but not in a melanoma line. The results show that the EGFR is involved in autocrine growth stimulation and that the acquirement of autonomous growth capacity is likely to be an important factor in the oncogenesis of bladder tumors.
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PMID:The epidermal growth factor receptor is involved in autocrine growth of human bladder carcinoma cell lines. 921 46

Fas is expressed constitutively in colonic epithelial cells and is also expressed in colon carcinomas and in cultured colon carcinoma cell lines. However, the potential role of Fas signaling in mediating apoptosis in cells of this type remains unknown. We have developed human colon carcinoma cell models deficient in thymidylate synthase that demonstrate acute (TS- cells) or delayed (Thy4 cells) apoptosis following DNA damage induced by thymineless stress. Complete protection of cells from acute apoptosis and prolongation of delayed apoptosis was obtained following exposure to the NOK-1 monoclonal antibody (inhibitory to Fas signaling) during the period of dThd deprivation. These results suggested that apoptosis induced by thymineless stress was regulated by autocrine signaling via Fas-FasL interactions. Fas expression was high in both TS- and Thy4 cells. However, FasL, undetectable in synchronous cultures, was up-regulated in TS- cells at 48 hr, when cells were undergoing acute apoptosis, and in Thy4 cells at 96 hr, correlating with the delayed onset of thymineless death. FasL expression also correlated with acute apoptosis induced in parental GC3/cl cells, commencing at 48 hr, following thymidylate synthase inhibition by 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin exposure. Fas-mediated apoptosis induced by the cytotoxic anti-Fas monoclonal antibody CH-11 was inhibited following adenoviral delivery of a Bcl-2 cDNA, and Bcl-2 also protected cells from acute apoptosis induced by dThd deprivation. Taken together, these data demonstrate a functional Fas system in these cultured colon carcinoma cell models, and they demonstrate that Fas-FasL interactions can link DNA damage induced by thymineless stress to the apoptotic machinery of colon carcinoma cells.
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PMID:Thymineless death in colon carcinoma cells is mediated via fas signaling. 922 29

Neoplastic transformation in the normal human brain occurs as a result of the accumulation of a series of genetic alterations. These genetic alterations include the loss, gain or amplification of different chromosomes which lead to altered expression of proteins that play important roles in the regulation of cell proliferation. Several common genetic alterations at the chromosomal level (loss of 17p, 13q, 9p, 19, 10, 22q, 18q and amplification of 7 and 12q) have been observed. These alterations lead to changes in the expression of several genes; protein 53 (p53), retinoblastoma (RB), interferon (INF) alpha/beta, cyclic AMP dependent kinase number 2 (CDKN2), mutated in multiple advanced cancers 1 (MMAC1), deleted-in-colon carcinoma (DCC), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), MDM2, GL1, CDK4 and SAS during the genesis and progression of human gliomas. Recent studies suggest that altered expression of several other genes [MET; MYC; transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta); CD44; vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); human neurological-related cell adhesion molecule (hNr-CAM); neuroglial cell adhesion molecule (NCAM L1); p21waf1/Cip1; TRKA; mismatch repair genes (MMR); C4-2; D2-2] and proteins [e.g., cathepsins, tenascin, matrix metalloproteases, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteases, nitric oxide synthase, integrins, interleukin-13 receptor (IL-13R), Connexin43, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptors (uPARs), extracellular matrix proteins and heat shock proteins] are associated with the genesis of human gliomas. Taken together, these findings point to the accumulation of multiple genetic mutations coupled with extensive changes in gene expression in the etiology of human gliomas.
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PMID:Molecular changes during the genesis of human gliomas. 940 26

We have shown previously (J. A. Houghton et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94: 8144-8149, 1997) that thymineless death in thymidylate synthase-deficient (TS-) colon carcinoma cells is mediated via Fas/FasL interactions after deoxythymidine (dThd) deprivation, and that Fas-dependent sensitivity of human colon carcinoma cell lines may be dependent upon the level of Fas expressed. The objective of this study was to elucidate whether a Fas-dependent component exists in 5-fluorouracil (FUra)/leucovorin (LV)-induced cytotoxicity of colon carcinoma cells, and whether this may be potentiated by IFN-gamma-induced elevation in Fas expression, using the HT29 cell line as a model. The cytotoxic activity of FUra/LV was inhibited by dThd in HT29 cells and also, in part, by NOK-1+NOK-2 MoAbs that prevent Fas/FasL interactions. FUra/LV-induced cytotoxicity was significantly potentiated by IFN-gamma, reversed by exposure to NOK-1+NOK-2 antibodies, and correlated with a 4-fold induction of Fas expression in the presence of IFN-gamma and significant elevation in expression of FasL. Using five additional human colon carcinoma cell lines, FUra/LV-induced cytotoxicity was dThd-dependent in GC3/c1, VRC5/c1, and Caco2 but not in HCT8 or HCT116 cells. Like HT29 cells, this cytotoxicity was potentiated by IFN-gamma in GC3/c1 and VRC5/c1 but not in Caco2, which fails to express Fas, nor in HCT8 and HCT116, in which no dThd-dependent FUra-induced cytotoxicity was demonstrated. Data suggest that a Fas-dependent component, potentiated by IFN-gamma, exists in FUra/LV-induced cytotoxicity but requires FUra/LV-induced DNA damage for IFN-gamma-induced potentiation to occur.
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PMID:A Fas-dependent component in 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin-induced cytotoxicity in colon carcinoma cells. 1003 93

Although an important contribution of ERK and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in Ras transformation of rodent fibroblasts has been determined, their role in mediating oncogenic Ras transformation of human tumor cells remains to be established. We have utilized the human HT1080 fibrosarcoma and DLD-1 colon carcinoma cell lines, which contain endogenous mutated and oncogenic N- and K-ras alleles, respectively, to address this role. Study of these cells is advantageous over Ras-transformed rodent model cell systems for two key reasons. First, the ras mutations occurred naturally in the progression of the tumors from which the cell lines were derived, rather than due to overexpression of an exogenously introduced gene. Second, although these tumor cells possess defects in multiple genetic loci, it has been established that mutated Ras contributes significantly to the transformed phenotype of these cells. Clonal variant lines of HT1080 and DLD-1 have been isolated which have lost the oncogenic ras allele and exhibit a corresponding impairment in growth transformation in vitro and in vivo. We found that upregulation of Raf/MEK/ERK and JNK correlated with expression of oncogenic Ras in HT1080, but not DLD-1 cells. Furthermore, inhibition of ERK activation in parental HT1080 cells caused the same changes in cell morphology and actin stress fiber organization seen with loss of expression of activated N-Ras(61K). Thus, we suggest that constitutive activation of the Raf/MEK/ERK and JNK pathways is necessary for Ras-induced transformation of HT1080 but not DLD-1 cells. These results emphasize that cell type differences exist in the signaling pathways by which oncogenic Ras causes transformation.
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PMID:Differential contribution of the ERK and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades to Ras transformation of HT1080 fibrosarcoma and DLD-1 colon carcinoma cells. 1008 35

The goal of this study was to improve the therapeutic index of the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV) system by the addition of thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors. For this, we assessed the potential of GCV to synergistically interact with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), ZD1694 (Tomudex), and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine in HSV-tk-expressing murine MC38 STK and human HT-29 STK colon carcinoma cell lines. Synergistic cell killing was observed in a clonogenic assay over most of the cytotoxic dose range by the median-effect principle of Chou and Talalay (T. C. Chou and P. Talalay, Adv. Enzyme Regul., 22: 27-55, 1984). In a s.c. HT-29 STK xenograft tumor model, we demonstrated that the combination of GCV and 5-FU resulted in statistically significant enhanced animal survival over single-agent treatment. Furthermore, we showed that the combination of GCV and ZD1694 in association with the HSV-tk/GCV system was at least as effective as GCV/5-FU in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism for the observed synergy is most likely attributable to the increased GCV phosphorylation in the presence of the tested TS inhibitors. Our data suggest that the HSV-tk/GCV metabolic suicide gene transfer system could serve as an adjuvant of the presently used TS inhibitors, thus potentially improving the efficacy of present cancer gene therapy approaches.
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PMID:Enzyme prodrug gene therapy: synergistic use of the herpes simplex virus-cellular thymidine kinase/ganciclovir system and thymidylate synthase inhibitors for the treatment of colon cancer. 1053 2


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