Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
 14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The potential efficacy and clinical feasibility of gene therapy for prostate cancer were tested. Efficacy was tested using the Dunning rat prostate carcinoma model. Rats with anaplastic, hormone refractory prostate cancer treated with irradiated prostate cancer cells genetically engineered to secrete human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) showed longer disease-free survival compared to either untreated control rats or rats receiving prostate cancer cell vaccine mixed with soluble human GM-CSF. A gene modified prostate cancer cell vaccine thus provided effective therapy for anaplastic, hormone refractory prostate cancer in this animal model. An evaluation of the clinical feasibility of gene therapy for human prostate cancer based on these findings was then undertaken. Prostate cancer cells from patients with stage T2 prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy were first transduced with MFG-lacZ, a retroviral vector carrying the beta-galactosidase reporter gene. Efficient gene transfer was achieved in each of 16 consecutive cases (median transduction efficiency 35%, range 12 to 65%). Cotransduction with a drug-selectable gene was not required to achieve high yield of genetically modified cells. Histopathology confirmed malignant origin of these cells and immunofluorescence analysis of cytokeratin 18 expression confirmed prostatic luminal-epithelial phenotype in each case tested. Cell yields (2.5 x 10(8) cells per gram of prostate cancer) were sufficient for potential entry into clinical trials. Autologous human prostate cancer vaccine cells were then transduced with MFG-GM-CSF, and significant human GM-CSF secretion was achieved in each of 10 consecutive cases. Sequential transductions increased GM-CSF secretion in each of 3 cases tested, demonstrating that increased gene dose can be used to escalate desired gene expression in individual patients. These studies show a preclinical basis for proceeding with clinical trials of gene therapy for human prostate cancer.
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PMID:Demonstration of a rational strategy for human prostate cancer gene therapy. 830 72

Deficiency in p53-mediated cell death is common in human cancer, contributing to both tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. In an attempt to restore p53, we evaluated in vitro infectivity and cytotoxicity of a wild type (w.t.) p53-expressing adenovirus (Ad-p53) toward a panel of human cancer cell lines (n = 19). At a multiplicity of infection of 30, both Ad-p53 and adenovirus expressing beta-galactosidase (Ad-LacZ) infected greater than 99% of cells derived from brain, lung, breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancer, but failed to infect leukemia or lymphoma cells. Ad-p53, but not Ad-LacZ, infection of cancer cells was followed by nuclear accumulation of the CDK inhibitor p21WAFI/CIPI, cell cycle arrest and loss of viability. Ad-p53 induced apoptotic death in cancer cells that express mutant p53, including multi-drug resistant cells, but fewer deaths were observed in some w.t. p53 expressing cells. Ad-p53-infected SKBr3 breast cancer cells were more sensitive to cytotoxicity of the DNA damaging drugs mitomycin C or Adriamycin, but not the M-phase specific drug vincristine. Our results suggest that Ad-p53 is capable of infecting and killing cancer cells of diverse tissue origins (including multi-drug resistant cancer cells), that p21WAFI/CIPI may be a useful marker of p53 infectivity and that there may be synergy between Ad-p53 and either mitomycin C or Adriamycin induced cell death in tumors with p53 mutations.
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PMID:In vitro evaluation of a p53-expressing adenovirus as an anti-cancer drug. 870 13

Attainment of cell type-specific cytotoxicity with minimal side effects is the ultimate goal of cancer therapy. By employing the prostate-specific antigen promoter (PSAP), we investigated (1) whether PSAP-driven antisense genetic constructs targeting DNA polymerase-alpha and topoisomerase II alpha (Top II alpha), designated PSAP-antipol and PSAP-antitop respectively, could induce death of prostate cancer cells, and (2) whether the cytotoxicity is restricted to cells of prostate origin. A PSAP-driven beta-galactosidase gene, PSAP-LacZ, was also used to estimate the expression of the PSAP-driven transcripts. Lipofection-mediated gene transfers were performed with these 3 constructs and a control plasmid, pCDNA3, in 3 human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, DU-145, PC-3) and 5 other cell lines (Cos-1 [monkey kidney], HL-60 [human myeloid leukemia], Hep G2 [human hepatoma], NCI H460 [human lung cancer] and SW 480 [human colon cancer]). On transfection with PSAP-LacZ, LNCaP, DU-145, and PC-3 showed a 10.8, 1.8, and 1.6 fold increase in beta-galactosidase activity, respectively. The remaining 5 cell lines showed no changes after transfection. Corresponding to the levels of the induced beta-galactosidase activity, LNCaP showed the strongest growth inhibition by the antisense constructs: 36% by PSAP-antipol, 39% by PSAP-antitop and 80% by PSAP-antipol+PSAP-antitop. DU-145 and PC-3 had minimal growth inhibition with PSAP-antipol alone or PSAP-antitop alone. However, when cotransfected with PSAP-antipol and PSAP-antitop, DU-145 and PC-3 displayed 42% and 55% growth inhibition, respectively. In contrast, no cytotoxicity was observed in the remaining 5 cell lines when transfected with PSAP-antipol, PSAP-antitop or both. Therefore, PSAP-driven antisense gene therapy targeting DNA polymerase-alpha and Top II alpha inhibits the growth of human prostate cancer cells and the cytotoxic effect is restricted in cells of prostate origin.
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PMID:Prostate-specific antigen promoter driven gene therapy targeting DNA polymerase-alpha and topoisomerase II alpha in prostate cancer. 871 4

Prostate cancer is the most common internal malignancy in men in the United States. Most cancers are diagnosed when they are locally advanced or metastatic and there is no effective treatment. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of cytotoxic gene therapy in human PC-3 and DU145 prostate cancer cell lines and in a rodent cell line, RM-1, derived from the mouse prostate reconstitution model system. The cell lines were efficiently transduced in vitro by a replicative-defective recombinant adenovirus (ADV) carrying the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV-tk). A virus titer-dependent sensitivity to ganciclovir (GCV) was observed. To determine a target therapeutic viral dose in vivo, subcutaneous tumors were generated by injection of RM-1 cells in syngeneic male hosts and injected with escalating doses of HSV-tk virus (5 x 10(7) to 1 x 10(9) pfu). The mice received GCV twice daily for 6 days and were sacrificed when tumor volumes exceeded 2.5 cm3 or when they appeared to be in distress. Because the two highest doses were equally as effective, further controlled studies were performed with the lower dose of 5 x 10(8) pfu with ADV/RSV-tk or a control virus containing the beta-galactosidase gene (ADV/RSV-beta-Gal) and treated with GCV or saline (PBS). The mean tumor volume in the treated animals was 16% that of control animals at 13 days. Histologically, treated tumors demonstrated necrosis and had a significantly higher apoptotic index. Survival data indicated that the treatment animals lived 7 days (21 in total) longer than the control animals, with 1 treatment animal being totally free of tumor. These results demonstrate that HSV-tk + GCV cytotoxic gene therapy can inhibit the growth of mouse and human prostate cancer cells in vitro and interrupt tumor growth of an aggressive mouse prostate cancer cell line in vivo.
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PMID:Prostate cancer gene therapy: herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene transduction followed by ganciclovir in mouse and human prostate cancer models. 880 Jul 46

An androgen-repressed human prostate cancer cell line, ARCaP, was established and characterized. This cell line was derived from the ascites fluid of a patient with advanced metastatic disease. In contrast to the behavior of androgen-dependent LNCaP and its androgen-independent C4-2 subline, androgen and estrogen suppress the growth of ARCaP cells in a dose-dependent manner in vivo and in vitro. ARCaP is tumorigenic and highly metastatic. It metastasizes to the lymph node, lung, pancreas, liver, kidney, and bone, and forms ascites fluid in athymic hosts. ARCaP cells express low levels of androgen receptor mRNA and prostate-specific antigen mRNA and protein. Immunohistochemical staining shows that ARCaP cells stain intensely for epidermal growth factor receptor, c-erb B2/neu, and c-erb B3. Staining is negative for chromogranin A and positive for bombesin, serotonin, neuron-specific enolase, and the c-met protooncogene (a hepatic growth factor/scatter factor receptor). ARCaP cells also secrete high levels of gelatinase A and B and some stromelysin, which suggests that this cell line may contain markers representing invasive adenocarcinoma with selective neuronendocrine phenotypes. Along with its repression of growth, androgen is also found to repress the expression of prostate-specific antigen in ARCaP cells as detected by a prostate-specific antigen promoter-beta-galactosidase reporter assay. Our results suggest that the androgen-repressed state may be central to prostate cancer progression and that advanced prostate cancer can progress from an androgen-independent to an androgen-repressed state.
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PMID:Androgen-repressed phenotype in human prostate cancer. 898 79

Hyperthermia is known to improve the response of tumors to radiation or chemotherapeutic treatment when combined in multimodal strategies. The cellular response to hyperthermia is associated with the synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSP). To study the stress response in prostate cancer we have developed a clone of Dunning R3327 rat prostate carcinoma cells stably transfected with a gene construct containing the E. coli beta-galactosidase gene driven by the Drosophila HSP70 promoter. The measurement of beta-galactosidase serves as a rapid and semiquantitative assay of HSP70 gene activation. The Dunning cell clone showed evidence of incorporation of the HSP70/beta-galactosidase construct within the genomic DNA by Southern blot analysis. When compared to mock-transfected control cells, the clone showed minimal baseline beta-galactosidase activity, which significantly increased following a hyperthermic stress. The time course of beta-galactosidase elevation following heat stress paralleled the time course of cellular HSP70 elevation by Western blot analysis. These stably transfected Dunning R3327 cells may provide a useful tool to study the effects of hyperthermia, radiation, and chemotherapeutic agents on the cellular stress response and in the establishment of HSP70 as a marker of cellular resistance in the multimodal treatment of prostate cancer.
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PMID:Beta-galactosidase as a marker of HSP70 promoter induction in Dunning R3327 prostate carcinoma cells. 928 33

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm in men. LNCaP cells continue to possess many of the molecular characteristics of in situ prostate cancer. These cells lack ras mutations, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is not extensively phosphorylated in these cells. To determine the effects of ras/raf/MAPK pathway activation in these cells, we transfected LNCaP cells with an activatable form of c-raf-1(deltaRaf-1:ER). Activation of deltaRaf-1:ER, with resultant MAPK activation, reduced plating efficiency and soft agarose cloning efficiency 30-fold in LNCaP cells. Cell cycle distribution showed an accumulation of cells in G1 and was associated with the induction of CDK inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 at the protein and mRNA levels. p21WAF1/CIP1 mRNA stability was increased after deltaRaf-1:ER activation. In addition, activated deltaRaf-1:ER induced the senescence associated-beta-galactosidase in LNCaP cells. These data demonstrate that raf activation can activate growth inhibitory pathways leading to growth suppression in prostate carcinoma cells and also suggest that raf/MEK/MAPK pathway activation, rather than inhibition, may be a therapeutic target for some human prostate cancer cells.
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PMID:Raf-1-induced cell cycle arrest in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells. 1002 6

Prostate cancer has become the most frequently occurring cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. One novel approach to combat prostate cancer is gene therapy. A replication-deficient recombinant adenoviral vector (AdRSVlacZ) expressing bacterial beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) (lacZ) under the control of the Rous sarcoma virus promoter was used to determine which delivery route was best for the transduction of adenoviral vectors to the prostate. Using a canine model, adenoviral vectors were administered by intravenous, intra-arterial, and intraprostatic (i.p.) injections. After injections, the expression of the lacZ gene was measured in canine prostates as well as in various other organs to determine the distribution of the disseminated adenoviral vector by (a) the percentage of cells expressing lacZ in situ (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-galactoside staining), (b) beta-gal enzymatic activity (colorimetric beta-gal assay), and (c) polymerase chain reaction of genomic DNA using primers specific for the adenoviral genome. An i.p. injection of the adenoviral vector resulted in a greater transduction rate and expression level of lacZ in the prostate than either intravenous or intra-arterial (inferior vesical/prostatic artery) injections. Thus, an i.p. (or intratumoral) injection seems to be the best route to treat local regional prostate cancer by viral-based gene therapy.
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PMID:Delivery of adenoviral vectors to the prostate for gene therapy. 1007 65

The activity and expression of transgene beta-galactosidase (lacZ) by replication-deficient adenoviral vectors (Ad-lacZ) containing prostate-specific promoters were compared using an in vivo canine model. The prostate tissue-specific promoters were prostate-specific antigen, probasin, and mouse mammary tumor virus long-terminal repeat, which were fused separately to an Escherichia coli lacZ gene. Dogs underwent laparotomy, and adenoviral vectors were delivered by direct intraprostatic injection. At 72 hours postinjection, the prostate and various other organs were harvested to evaluate the degree of prostate expression and dissemination of adenoviral vectors. Expression of lacZ in tissues was determined by 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-galactoside staining, beta-galactosidase assay, and E. coli lacZ reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of adenoviral DNA sequences in canine tissues was determined by PCR using primers specific for the type 5 adenoviral genome. All three of the prostate-specific adenoviruses tested effectively expressed the lacZ gene in the canine prostate, but expression levels were lower than that of the control viral vector AdRSVlacZ following intraprostatic injection. By PCR, adenoviral vector DNA was detected in other organs and tissues, including the bladder and vas deferens. However, reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis revealed that prostate-specific Ad-lacZ vectors only transcribed lacZ mRNA in the prostate and not in nonprostatic tissues. Thus, these novel prostate-specific adenoviral vectors each have equal in vivo expression exclusively in the prostate and may potentially be used for prostate cancer gene therapy.
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PMID:In vivo expression of prostate-specific adenoviral vectors in a canine model. 1050 56

Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) is a broad host range RNA virus capable of high-level recombinant protein expression and apoptosis induction in many cell types. We have successfully used a recombinant, replication deficient SFV vector to express the LacZ marker gene product in seven human prostate cell lines, as well as in human prostate tissue explants. Flow cytometry revealed that 40-60% of PPC-1 prostate cancer cells died 24-72 h after infection with SFV-LacZ virus. Most human prostate cancer cell lines expressed high levels of recombinant protein. Infection of human prostate tissue ex vivo led to similarly high expression levels but the recombinant beta-galactosidase was confined to duct epithelial cells. Infection of cell and tissue cultures resulted in detachment of adherent cells from the culture surface and detachment of epithelial cells from the basement membrane of tissue. Our results indicate that SFV may be useful in targeting recombinant protein expression and apoptosis to prostatic duct epithelial cells.
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PMID:Recombinant Semliki forest virus infects and kills human prostate cancer cell lines and prostatic duct epithelial cells ex vivo. 1067 63


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