Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.10.2 (focal adhesion kinase)
 44,029 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two recent studies conducted in our laboratory have demonstrated formation and accumulation of pyridyloxobutyl (POB) and pyridylhydroxybutyl (PHB) adducts in lung and liver total DNA of F344 rats chronically treated with the tobacco-specific carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of its metabolite, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL). In this study, we measured POB and PHB adducts in lung and liver mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), as previous studies suggest a potentially important role of mtDNA in carcinogenesis. Rats were sacrificed after 1, 2, 5, 10, 16, and 20 weeks of treatment with 10 ppm of NNK or (S)-NNAL in drinking water, and mtDNA and nuclear DNA (nDNA) adduct levels in the lung and liver were determined by LC-ESI-MS/MS-SRM. The mean levels of individual POB adducts in mtDNA at all time points were slightly higher than those in nDNA for both NNK and (S)-NNAL-treated rats in the lung (P < 0.001 for both treatments) but not in the liver (P > 0.05). Lung mtDNA of both NNK- and (S)-NNAL-treated rats contained higher concentrations of the sum of three POB adducts (P < 0.001 for both treatments) than nDNA, while the levels of mtDNA and nDNA total POB adducts in the liver were not significantly different in either NNK- or (S)-NNAL-treated rats. Analysis of PHB adducts in mtDNA and nDNA produced results similar to those obtained for POB adducts. The steady accumulation of the lung and liver mtDNA adducts over the course of the study indicates inefficient repair of these adducts in mtDNA. This is the first study to examine the formation of NNK- and (S)-NNAL-derived adducts in rat mtDNA. The results support the hypothesis that preferential binding of tobacco carcinogens to mtDNA of the lung might be functionally important in the development of smoking-induced lung cancer.
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PMID:Mitochondrial DNA adducts in the lung and liver of F344 rats chronically treated with 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and (S)-4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol. 1916 32

Iron metabolism has been implicated in carcinogenesis and several studies assessed the potential role of genetic variants of proteins involved in iron metabolism (HFE C282Y, TFR S142G) in different malignancies. Few reports addressed this issue with relation to chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD). The aims of our study were (a) to examine the potential associations of CMPD development with genetic modifiers of iron metabolism in a large cohort of CMPD patients; (b) to examine associations of genetic variants of proteins involved in iron metabolism; and acquired JAK2 V617F mutation with clinical characteristics of CMPD. HFE C282Y was genotyped in 328 CMPD patients and 996 blood donors as controls, HFE H63D, and TFR S142G were tested in CMPD patients and 171 first time blood donors. JAK2 V617F mutation was tested in CMPD patients and in 122 repeated blood donors. Decreased C282Y allele frequency (allele frequency+/-95% confidence interval) was found in the CMPD group (1.8%+/-1.0%) compared with controls (3.4%+/-0.8%; P=0.048). TFR S142G allele frequency was reduced among V617F-negative CMPD patients (34.8%+/-7.6%) compared with controls (47.8%+/-5.4%; P=0.02). The frequency of JAK2 V617F was 75.9% (249 of 328) in the CMPD group. At presentation, elevated hemoglobin levels were found in V617F-positive patients compared with V617F-negative counterparts (P<0.000). Vascular complications (26.6% versus 15.2%; P=0.039) as well as female gender (57.4% versus 41.8%; P=0.019) were more common in V617F-positive patients. We found that HFE C282Y might be associated with a protective role against CMPD. Because chronic iron deficiency or latent anemia may trigger disease susceptibility for CMPD, HFE C282Y positivity may be a genetic factor influencing this effect.
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PMID:HFE C282Y mutation as a genetic modifier influencing disease susceptibility for chronic myeloproliferative disease. 1925 83

Endometrial serous carcinomas (ESC) constitute only approximately 10% of endometrial cancers, but have a substantially higher case-fatality rate than their more common endometrioid counterparts. The precise composite of factors driving endometrial serous carcinogenesis and progression remain largely unknown, but we attempt to review the current state of knowledge in this report. ESC probably do not evolve through a single pathway, and their underlying molecular events probably occur early in their evolution. TP53 gene mutations occur in 22.7 to 96% of cases, and p53 protein overexpression is seen in approximately 76%. By gene expression profiling, p16 is upregulated in ESC significantly above both normal endometrial cells and endometrioid carcinomas, and 92-100% of cases display diffuse expression of the p16 protein by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Together, these findings suggest dysregulation of both the p16(INKA)/Cyclin D-CDK/pRb-E2F and the ARF-MDM2-p53 cell cycle pathways in ESC. By IHC, HER2/neu is overexpressed (2+ or 3+) in approximately 32.1% of ESC, and approximately 54.5% of cases scored as 2+ or 3+ by IHC display c-erbB2 gene amplification as assessed by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Genetic instability, typically manifested as loss of heterozygosity in multiple chromosomes, is a common feature of ESC, and one study found loss of heterozygosity at 1p32-33 in 63% of cases. A subset of ESC display protein expression patterns that are characteristic of high grade endometrial carcinomas, including loss of the metastasis suppressor CD82 (KAI-1) and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation, the latter manifested as E-cadherin downregulation, P-cadherin upregulation, and expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation-related molecules such as zinc-finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) and focal adhesion kinase. Preliminary data suggests differential patterns of expression in ESC of some isoforms of claudins, proteases, the tumor invasiveness and progression-associated oncofetal protein insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3), as well as a variety of other molecules. At the morphologic level, evidence that indicates that endometrial glandular dysplasia (EmGD) is the most likely morphologically recognizable precursor lesion to ESC is presented. We advocate use of the term endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma (EIC, or its other appellations) only as a morphologic descriptor and never as a diagnostic/pathologic statement of biologic potential. Given its potential for extrauterine extension, we consider the lesions described as EIC, when present in isolation, as examples of localized ESC, and patients should be managed as such. Morphologically normal, p53 immunoreactive endometrial cells (the so-called "p53 signatures"), show a statistically significant association with ESC, display p53 mutations in a significant subset, and form the start of a progression model, outlined herein, from p53 signatures to EmGD to localized ESC to the more conventionally invasive neoplasm. The identification of a morphologically-recognizable precursor holds the promise of early detection of ESC, with the attendant reduction in its overall associated mortality rate. Deciphering the molecular basis for endometrial serous carcinogenesis should uncover potential targets for diagnosis, therapy, and/or disease surveillance.
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PMID:Insights into endometrial serous carcinogenesis and progression. 1929 1

The cellular effects of the toxic metal cadmium (Cd) are manifold. A large proportion of the cellular reactions affected by ionic Cd(2+) are mediated by cellular signaling cascades. The aim of this review is to provide a principal understanding of the known physiological signaling cascades, which are recruited by Cd(2+), and to highlight the fact that Cd(2+), similarly to other toxic metals, disrupts physiological signal transduction. In principle, second messengers are generated at the time of receptor activation, are short-lived, and act specifically in space and time through non-covalent binding on effectors to transiently alter their activity. Signaling dysregulation induced by Cd(2+) is reflected by a permanent disruption of transducing modules, resulting in low and/or elevated and constant levels of second messengers, which overwhelm the control mechanisms of signaling. This disturbs physiological cellular functions, gene transcription and regulation and may result in cell death and/or stress-induced adaptation and survival as well as carcinogenesis. The impact of Cd(2+) on Ca(2+)-, cAMP-, NO-, ROS-, MAP-kinase-, PKB/Akt-, nuclear factor-kappa B-, and developmental signaling is critically discussed. The hierarchical as well as cooperative and integrative character of signaling cascades activated by Cd(2+) is illustrated in the kidney proximal tubule, a major target of Cd(2+) toxicity. This review also aspires to pinpoint new avenues of research that may contribute to a more differentiated view of the complex mechanisms underlying Cd(2+) toxicity in target tissues and eventually lead to rationales and strategies for prevention and therapy of Cd(2+) toxicity.
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PMID:Cadmium and cellular signaling cascades: to be or not to be? 1937 14

Growth arrest represents an innate barrier to carcinogenesis. DNA damage and replicational stress are known to induce growth arrest and apoptotic death to avert genomic instability and consequently carcinogenesis. In this study, working on the genotoxic stress induced by hydroxyurea and methylmethanesulfone, we observed a growth arrest at G1/S-phase that was mediated by destabilization of cyclin D1. The growth arrest was independent of the stability of cdc25A and preceded transcriptional up-regulation of p21(waf1). Cyclin D1 destabilization involved its phosphorylation by GSK-3beta at threonine-286, since overexpression of the kinase-dead mutant of GSK-3beta or cyclin D1T(286A) Inutant conferred stability to cyclin D1. Further, overexpression of cyclin D1(T286A) also helped in bypassing G1/S phase growth arrest. We also observed a rapid inactivation of Akt/PKB kinase in the presence of hydroxyurea. Enforced expression of the constitutively active Akt or viral oncoprotein HBx (Hepatitis B virus X protein) was sufficient to overcome growth arrest, independent of ATR signaling and stabilized cyclin D1. Thus, the present work not only establishes cyclin D1 to be a novel mediator of genotoxic stress signaling, but also explains how a deregulated mitogenic signaling or a viral oncoprotein can help bypass growth arrest.
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PMID:HBx protein modulates PI3K/Akt pathway to overcome genotoxic stress-induced destabilization of cyclin D1 and arrest of cell cycle. 1937 52

The lack of effective anti-tumor therapy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has stimulated the search for novel target whose inhibition could block tumorigenesis. Recently, reduced DLC-1 has been shown to be associated with aggressive and highly metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In this study, the biological role of DLC-1 on cell growth, migration and cell cycle progression in RCC cells was investigated. Over-expression of DLC-1 was associated with a marked inhibition of cell growth (P<0.01). The inhibitory effect was partly due to the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G(0)/G(1) accompanied by up-regulation of the intracellular signal proteins of p27 and down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin E. Furthermore, DLC-1 induced FAK dephosphorylation of focal adhesion proteins inhibited cell migration (P<0.05). Decreased DLC-1 expression strongly correlated with proliferative activity, as indicated by the elevated levels of Ki67. Restoration of DLC-1 expression in RCC cells led to Bcl-2 and caspase-3 mediated apoptosis as well as attenuated the ability of the cells to form RCC tumors in athymic nude mice (P<0.05). Taken together, these results suggest that DLC-1 plays a crucial role in signal transduction pathway regulating the cell proliferation, migration, and carcinogenesis of human RCC.
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PMID:Overexpression of DLC-1 induces cell apoptosis and proliferation inhibition in the renal cell carcinoma. 1938 Jan 90

GLI family members are zinc-finger transcription factors, which are involved in embryogenesis and carcinogenesis through transcription regulation of GLI1, CCND1, CCND2, FOXA2, FOXC2, RUNX2, SFRP1, and JAG2. GLI1 transcription is upregulated in a variety of human tumors, such as basal cell carcinoma, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, and esophageal cancer. Hedgehog signaling via Smoothened cascade and receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling via PI3K-AKT cascade induce stabilization of GLI1 protein, whereas G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling via Gs-PKA cascade induces degradation of GLI1 protein. Here we report integrative genomic analyses of the GLI1 gene. The GLI1 and ARHGAP9 genes are located in a tail-to-tail manner with overlapping 3'-ends. ARHGAP9 was expressed in bone marrow, spleen, thymus, monocytes, and macrophages, whereas GLI1 was almost undetectable in normal tissues or cells with predominant ARHGAP9 expression. Because overlapping sense and anti-sense transcripts are annealed to each other to give rise to double-stranded RNAs functioning as endogenous RNAi, GLI1 expression might be negatively regulated by ARHGAP9 transcripts. GLI-binding element with one base substitution at the +1589-bp position from the transcriptional start site (TSS) of the human GLI1 gene was completely conserved in chimpanzee GLI1, mouse Gli1, and rat Gli1 genes. Ten Smad-binding elements, double E-boxes for EMT regulators, and double N-boxes for HES/HEY family members within intron 1 of the human GLI1 gene were also conserved in mammalian GLI1 orthologs. GLI1 transcription is upregulated due to Hedgehog, and TGFbeta signaling activation, whereas GLI1 transcription is downregulated due to Snail/Slug, and Notch signaling activation. Together these facts indicate that Hedgehog, TGFbeta, and RTK signals positively regulate GLI1, and that Notch, and GsPCR signals negatively regulate the GLI1.
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PMID:Integrative genomic analyses on GLI1: positive regulation of GLI1 by Hedgehog-GLI, TGFbeta-Smads, and RTK-PI3K-AKT signals, and negative regulation of GLI1 by Notch-CSL-HES/HEY, and GPCR-Gs-PKA signals. 1951 67

Colorectal cancers with mutations in the p53 gene have an invasive property, but its underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Through the screening of two data sets of the genome-wide expression profile, one for p53-introduced cells and the other for the numbers of cancer tissues, we report here X-linked ectodermal dysplasia receptor (XEDAR), a member of the TNFR superfamily, as a novel p53 target that has a crucial role in colorectal carcinogenesis. p53 upregulated XEDAR expression through two p53-binding sites within intron 1 of the XEDAR gene. We also found a significant correlation between decreased XEDAR expressions and p53 gene mutations in breast and lung cancer cell lines (P=0.0043 and P=0.0122, respectively). Furthermore, promoter hypermethylation of the XEDAR gene was detected in 20 of 20 colorectal cancer cell lines (100%) and in 6 of 12 colorectal cancer tissues (50%), respectively. Thus, the XEDAR expression was suppressed to <25% of surrounding normal tissues in 12 of 18 colorectal cancer tissues (66.7%) due to either its epigenetic alterations and/or p53 mutations. We also found that XEDAR interacted with and subsequently caused the accumulation of FAS protein, another member of p53-inducible TNFR. Moreover, XEDAR negatively regulated FAK, a central component of focal adhesion. As a result, inactivation of XEDAR resulted in the enhancement of cell adhesion and spreading, as well as resistance to p53-induced apoptosis. Taken together, our findings showed that XEDAR is a putative tumor suppressor that could prevent malignant transformation and tumor progression by regulating apoptosis and anoikis.
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PMID:XEDAR as a putative colorectal tumor suppressor that mediates p53-regulated anoikis pathway. 1954 21

The purpose of this study was to investigate invasion- and metastasis-related genes in gastric cancer. To this end, we used the transwell system to select a highly invasive subcell line from minimally invasive parent cells and compared gene expression in paired cell lines with high- and low-invasive potentials. Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) was overexpressed in the highly invasive subcell line. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that LOXL2 expression was markedly increased in carcinoma relative to normal epithelia, and this overexpression in primary tumor was significantly associated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis and poorer overall survival. Moreover, LOXL2 expression was further increased in lymph node metastases compared with primary cancer tissues. RNA interference-mediated knockdown and ectopic expression of LOXL2 showed that LOXL2 promoted tumor cell invasion in vitro and increased gastric carcinoma metastasis in vivo. Subsequent mechanistic studies showed that LOXL2 could activate both the Snail/E-cadherin and Src kinase/Focal adhesion kinase (Src/FAK) pathways. However, secreted LOXL2 induced gastric tumor cell invasion and metastasis exclusively via the Src/FAK pathway. Expression correlation analysis in gastric carcinoma tissues also revealed that LOXL2 promoted invasion via the Src/FAK pathway but not the Snail/E-cadherin pathway. We then evaluated secreted LOXL2 as a target for gastric carcinoma treatment and found that an antibody against LOXL2 significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis. Overall, our data revealed that LOXL2 overexpression, a frequent event in gastric carcinoma progression, contributes to tumor cell invasion and metastasis, and LOXL2 may be a therapeutic target for preventing and treating metastases.
Carcinogenesis 2009 Oct
PMID:Secreted LOXL2 is a novel therapeutic target that promotes gastric cancer metastasis via the Src/FAK pathway. 1962 48

Nickel(II), capable of transforming cells and causing tumors in humans and animals, has been previously shown by us to mediate hydrolytic truncation of histone H2A's C-terminal tail by 8 amino acids in both cell-free and cell culture systems. Since H2A's C-tail is involved in maintaining chromatin structure, such truncation might alter this structure and affect gene expression. To test the latter possibility, we transfected cultured T-REx 293 human embryonic kidney cells with plasmids expressing either wild type (wt) or truncated (q) histone H2A proteins, which were either untagged or N-terminally tagged with fluorescent proteins. Each histone variant was found to be incorporated into chromatin at 24 and 48 hr post-transfection. Cells transfected with the untagged plasmids were tested for gene expression by microarray and real-time PCR. Evaluation of the results for over 21,000 genes using the multidimensional scaling and hierarchical clustering methods revealed significant differences in expression of numerous genes between the q-H2A and wt-H2A transfectants. Many of the differentially expressed genes, including BAZ2A, CLDN18, CYP51A1, GFR, GIPC2, HMGB1, IRF7, JAK3, PSIP1, and VEGF, are cancer-related genes. The results thus demonstrate the potential of q-H2A to contribute to the process of carcinogenesis through epigenetic mechanisms.
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PMID:Truncation of histone H2A's C-terminal tail, as is typical for Ni(II)-assisted specific peptide bond hydrolysis, has gene expression altering effects. 1966 9


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