Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:4.1.1.17 (ornithine decarboxylase)
 6,351 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The objective of these studies has been to develop a better understanding of the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) during the neoplastic process, and to determine whether induction of ODC is a necessary component in the action of the ras oncogene. Specifically, we have studied the role of ODC overexpression in signaling pathways mediated by Raf or RhoA. Cells transformed by ras are known to have constitutively high levels of ODC activity that correlate with oncogenic transformation. To determine which pathways downstream of Ras contribute to the regulation of ODC activity, NIH-3T3 cells were transfected with plasmids coding for activated mutants of either H-Ras or RhoA, or oncogenic nu-Raf. There was a good correlation between increasing ODC specific activity and change in morphology from normal to transformed in the nu-Raf, HRas(61L), and RhoA(63L) clones. Increasing ODC activity also correlated positively with the ability to grow in soft agar in both the H-Ras- and RhoA-expressing cells. In stable transfections, coexpression of the ODC dominant negative mutant K69A/C360A with either HRas(61L) or RhoA(63L) both inhibited intracellular ODC activity and caused a reversion of the transformed phenotype, as measured by a dramatic reduction in the ability of these cells to grow in soft agar and form foci on a monolayer. These results suggest strongly that ODC induction is necessary for transformation by oncogenic Ras. In contrast, expression of K69A/ C360A had no effect on the ability of nu-Raf-transformed cells to grow in soft agar, although intracellular ODC levels were inhibited. When grown on a monolayer, these cells also maintained their transformed appearance. Furthermore, expression of the ODC dominant negative mutant did not affect the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase in nu-Raf-transformed cells. These experiments provide strong support for the concept that transformation by activated ras is accompanied by an induction of ODC. The results using RhoA(63L) and nu-Raf suggest that this increase in ODC activity is mediated at least in part through a Raf/ mitogen-activated protein kinase independent pathway.
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PMID:Ornithine decarboxylase induction in transformation by H-Ras and RhoA. 966 86

Although RhoA plays an important role in cell proliferation and in Ras transformation in fibroblasts and mammary epithelial cells, its role in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) is unknown. In a previous study (Ray RM, Zimmerman BJ, McCormack SA, Patel TB, and Johnson LR. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 276: C684-C691, 1999), we showed that polyamine depletion [dl-alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) treatment] strongly inhibits the proliferation of IEC. In this report, we examined the effect of RhoA on IEC-6 cell proliferation and whether polyamine depletion inhibits cell proliferation in the presence of constitutively active RhoA. Constitutively active RhoA and vector-transfected IEC-6 cell lines were grown in the presence or absence of DFMO, which causes polyamine depletion by inhibiting ornithine decarboxylase, the first rate-limiting step in polyamine synthesis. Constitutively active RhoA significantly increased the rate of cell proliferation. These cells also lost contact inhibition and formed conspicuous foci when they were fully confluent. Decreased p21Waf1/Cip1 expression and increased cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk2) mRNA levels and activity accompanied the increased proliferation. The inhibition of p21Waf1/Cip1 was independent of p53. There was no activation of the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway in the RhoA-transfected cell line. Polyamine depletion totally prevented the effect of activated RhoA on IEC-6 cell proliferation, focus formation, and Cdk2 expression. The stability of mRNA and protein for Cdk2 and p21Waf1/Cip1 in V14-RhoA cells was not significantly different from that of vector-transfected cells. In conclusion, RhoA activation decreased p21Waf1/Cip1 expression and increased basal and serum-induced ornithine decarboxylase activity, Cdk2 expression, Cdk2 protein, and Cdk2 activity, leading to the stimulation of IEC proliferation and transformation. Polyamine depletion totally prevented RhoA's effect on proliferation by decreasing Cdk2 expression and activity.
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PMID:RhoA stimulates IEC-6 cell proliferation by increasing polyamine-dependent Cdk2 activity. 1281 57

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is the rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine synthesis. Polyamines and ODC are connected to cell proliferation and transformation. Resting cells display a low ODC activity while normal, proliferating cells display fluctuations in ODC activity that coincide with changes in the actin cytoskeleton during the cell cycle. Cancerous cells display constitutively elevated ODC activity. Overexpression of ODC in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts induces a transformed phenotype. The cytoskeletal rearrangements during cytokinesis and cell transformation are intimately coupled to the ODC activity but the molecular mechanisms have remained elusive. In this study we investigated how ODC and polyamines influence the organization of the cytoskeleton. Given that the small G-proteins of the rho family are key modulators of the actin cytoskeleton, we investigated the molecular interactions of rhoA with ODC and polyamines. Our results show that transglutaminase-catalyzed polyamination of rhoA regulates its activity. The polyamination status of rhoA crucially influences the progress of the cell cycle as well as the rate of transformation of rat fibroblasts infected with temperature-sensitive v-src. We also show that ODC influences the intracellular distribution of rhoA. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which ODC and polyamines regulate the dynamics of the cytoskeleton during cell proliferation and transformation.
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PMID:Ornithine decarboxylase regulates the activity and localization of rhoA via polyamination. 1933 12