Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Present studies indicate that in explants of early atherosclerotic lesions removed from aortae of young rabbits on a 1% hypercholesterolemic diet for four and seven weeks respectively, myogenic foam cells (MCF's) were capable of emigrating into the culture medium and maintained their ability to produce microfibrils, elastic tissue elements, and collagen fibrils. In explants of the smallest lesions (fatty dots and small streaks) the MFC's divided prior to, or while emigrating. At the interphase between the primary tissue and the culture medium they contained in intracytoplasmic vacuoles fragments of elastic tissue and extraneous substances which were reminiscent of cellular debris. It is possible that this phenomenon represents a true phagocytic property of the MFC's. All formed extracellular connective tissue components were also produced by the emigrated MFC's in the tissue surrounding the cellular outgrowth. In the large fatty streaks cell division was observed at the interphase between the tissue and culture medium, but not within the substance of the explant; here cellular necrosis was prominent. The fat inclusions in the MFC's of explants and the outgrowth had the appearance of conglomerateds of unorganized, and only at times concentric, membranous profiles rather than that of homogeneous droplets observed by electron microscopy in these cells in tissue sections. In the outgrowth from explants of normal aortic areas adjacent to the lesions a moderate number of smoot muscle cells contained fat inclusions; these were almost totally absent in cells of the primary aortic cultures from normal aortae. It is conceivable that the migratory and phagocytic properties of the MFC's observed in the present study relate to some aspects of regression of atherosclerotic lesions; this, however, remains highly speculative at present.
Atherosclerosis 1977 Apr
PMID:Myogenic foam cells in explants of fatty dots and streaks from rabbit aorta. Morphological studies. 19 21

The successful evaluation of tamoxifen as an antiestrogenic therapy for advanced breast cancer in the early 1970's, has resulted in its availability in more than 70 countries around the world. Currently the drug development process is focusing attention upon long-term adjuvant therapy and the future prospect of chemosuppression. Progress at this stage, however, must be cautious. Trials conducted using women with stage I disease have a high proportion of women who may never have a recurrence. At this point, the risk is justified because the toxicity of tamoxifen is low and disease recurrence is invariably very difficult or impossible to control. Future studies in the general population must be carefully weighed to ensure that the hazards do not exceed the benefits. The pharmacology of tamoxifen seems to be a balance of estrogenic and antiestrogenic effects. Longer treatments with the drug must be carefully monitored. Uterine tissue should be examined to ensure that excessive stimulation does not occur. This is particularly true in the light of the recent report that a human uterine carcinoma, transplanted into athymic mice, can grow more rapidly during tamoxifen therapy (Satyaswaroop et al., 1984; Clark and Satyaswaroop, 1985). In fact, we have recently confirmed this observation in a collaborative study with Dr. Satyaswaroop. We have demonstrated that when athymic mice are transplanted in one axilla with an MCF-7 breast tumor and the human endometrial tumor in the other, tamoxifen causes the endometrial tumor to grow, but not the breast tumor. This again illustrates the target site specific effects of tamoxifen. If, in the long run, the estrogenic side effects of tamoxifen are too severe then there is a case for the development of a non-estrogenic antiestrogen. Clearly this may provide benefit for short term (1-2 years) therapy and avoid any estrogen-like stimulation of tumor growth. Similarly, the concern about antithrombin III depression will be avoided. On the negative side, however, the concerns about atherosclerosis and osteoporosis will again have to be addressed with a new generation of agents.
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PMID:Long-term tamoxifen therapy to control or to prevent breast cancer: laboratory concept to clinical trials. 328 87

Remodelling of the extracellular matrix resulting from increased secretion of metalloproteinase enzymes (MMPs) is implicated in many pathological conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, restenosis following balloon angioplasty, atherosclerosis and cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Clear definition of the normal and pathological function of individual MMPs will benefit from approaches that use gene transfer to produce increases in MMP levels that mimic those observed in pathological conditions. Similarly, gene transfer methods leading to controlled increases in levels of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) will help to define the function of MMPs both in vitro and in vivo. Gene transfer of TIMPs may also have therapeutic potential in pathological conditions where inhibition of MMP activity may be beneficial. We have used the adenovirus serotype 5 vector system to generate replication-deficient recombinant adenoviruses capable of expressing the MMP-9, TIMP-1 or -2 genes. High level expression is driven by the cytomegalovirus major immediate early promoter (CMV IEP). Efficient and selective over-production of each recombinant protein was shown by immunofluorescence in either rabbit smooth muscle cells (SMC) or human MCF-7 adenocarcinoma cells. High level secretion directly dependent on the multiplicity of infection (MOI) was observed for each functional transgene by gelatin zymography. Using a quantitative ELISA assay, levels of recombinant TIMP-1 were detected when SMC were infected with as low as three plaque forming units (pfu) of virus per cell in vitro. A linear increase in TIMP-1 secretion was observed up to 1000 pfu/cell of virus (0.75 ng/10(4) cells/24 h at 3 pfu/cell to 1243 ng/10(4) cells/24h at 1000 pfu/cell). Similar levels of secretion of MMP-9 and TIMP-2 were observed by Western blot analysis using the same MOI of adenovirus. Thus, recombinant adenoviruses are an efficient and flexible system for high level expression of MMPs and TIMPs and will be useful tools in the study of matrix remodelling in vivo and in vitro.
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PMID:Development of recombinant adenoviruses that drive high level expression of the human metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and -2 genes: characterization of their infection into rabbit smooth muscle cells and human MCF-7 adenocarcinoma cells. 904 77

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a member of an emerging CCN gene family that is implicated in various diseases associated with fibro-proliferative disorder including scleroderma and atherosclerosis. The function of CTGF in human cancer is largely unknown. We now show that CTGF induces apoptosis in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. CTGF mRNA was completely absent in MCF-7 but strongly induced by treatment with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). TGF-beta by itself induced apoptosis in MCF-7, and this effect was reversed by co-treatment with CTGF antisense oligonucleotide. Overexpression of CTGF gene in transiently transfected MCF-7 cells significantly augmented apoptosis. Moreover, recombinant CTGF protein significantly enhanced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells as evaluated by DNA fragmentation, Tdt-mediated dUTP biotin nick end-labeling staining, flow cytometry analysis, and nuclear staining using Hoechst 33258. Finally, recombinant CTGF showed no effect on Bax protein expression but significantly reduced Bcl2 protein expression. Taken together, these results suggest that CTGF is a major inducer of apoptosis in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and that TGF-beta-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells is mediated, in part, by CTGF.
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PMID:Connective tissue growth factor induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. 1060 20

Some of the beneficial effects of moderate wine consumption may be related to the antioxidant properties of polyphenolic compounds containing tannins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. Cellular actions have recently been reported and may involve the modulation of transcriptional factors such as AP-1 (activator protein-1), which controls the expression of various genes implicated in inflammation processes, cell differentiation, and proliferation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the modulation of AP-1 activity by the phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, protocatechic, paracoumaric, sinapic, and ferulic acids) that are present in wine and to compare their modulating pathways to those of lipophilic or hydrophilic "chain-breaking" antioxidants (such as DL-alpha-tocopherol or trolox) vitamin C, nitric oxide, and reduced glutathione. AP-1 response was studied on a cell line (MTLN) derived from MCF-7 cells transfected with luciferase gene under TRE sequence control. After stimulation by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA; 100 nM, 6 h, 10(-7) M), luciferase activity was determined by a luminescence method in the presence of luciferine/coenzyme A solution using a luminometer (LKB 1251, Finland). Antioxidants to be tested were incubated with cells in the presence or absence of PMA. Stimulation with PMA resulted in an AP-1-mediated increase in luciferase gene expression corresponding to an 8-fold increase in luciferase activity. After stimulation by PMA, a dose-dependent inhibition of AP-1 was observed with the six phenolic acids in the 20 nM-20 microM concentration range: gallic acid > caffeic > protocatechic, paracoumaric, sinapic acids > ferulic acid. Inhibition was more pronounced with phenolic acids than with DL-alpha-tocopherol (IC(50) = 5 +/- 4.5 microM for gallic acid vs 85 +/- 11 microM for vitamin E). None of the hydrophilic antioxidants inhibited PMA-induced AP-1 activation. None of the antioxidants tested in the absence of PMA stimulation induced any activation or inhibition of AP-1. Our results suggest that phenolic acids may act directly on cell signaling via inhibition of AP-1 transcriptional activity. In addition to preventing LDL oxidation in the arterial wall, our observations indicate that phenolic acids have a cell-mediated capacity to prevent some of the processes involved in atherosclerosis in a plasma concentration range compatible with nutritional intakes.
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PMID:Wine phenolic antioxidants inhibit AP-1 transcriptional activity. 1171 72

Tibolone is a synthetic progestin with estrogenic and progestogenic properties, used to alleviate menopausal syndromes and for osteoporosis prophylaxis in postmenopausal women. However, only little data are available on tibolone and breast cancer risk and on the effects of tibolone on the cardiovascular system. Therefore, in the present in vitro study, we investigated the effect of tibolone on the growth of the human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and on the direct effects of tibolone on the vasculature, i.e. human female coronary endothelial and smooth muscle cells. In the breast cancer cell experiments, tibolone was examined alone and in the presence of 0.1 nM estradiol in the concentration range from 0.001 microM to 1 microM. Tibolone lead to significant cell growth in the concentration range of 0.01 micro M to 1 microM and was not able to inhibit estradiol-induced proliferation at the concentrations of 0.01 microM and 0.1 microM. In the vascular endothelial cell culture experiments, tibolone was tested at the concentrations 0.1 microM, 1 microM and 10 microM. Tibolone reduced the synthesis of endothelin as well as the concentrations of E-selectin, PAI-1 and pro-MMP-1. The magnitude of the effects on these markers varied and was in the range of 11%-42%. Concerning smooth muscle cells, tibolone elicited no changes in the proliferation compared to control values. These data suggest that tibolone does have tumour cell-growth promoting effects in vitro. However, tibolone can positively influence the synthesis of markers in cell cultures of human female coronary artery, which modulate vascular tone and which play a decisive role in the various stages of atherosclerosis. Drawing a clinical consequence from our experiments would result in not recommending the use of tibolone in postmenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer development until long-term controlled clinical studies have been performed on the effect of tibolone administration and breast cancer risk. Experimental studies, such as the present one, are useful to explore mechanisms, but clearly cannot replace clinical studies.
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PMID:Effects of tibolone on human breast cancer cells and human vascular coronary cells. 1255 24

Oxysterols, mainly those oxidized at the C7 position, induce a complex mode of cell death exhibiting some characteristics of apoptosis associated with a rapid induction of lipid rich multilamellar cytoplasmic structures (myelin figures) observed in various pathologies including atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between myelin figure formation, cell death, and lipid accumulation in various cell lines (U937, THP-1, MCF-7 [caspase-3 deficient], A7R5) treated either with oxysterols (7-ketocholesterol [7KC], 7beta-hydroxycholesterol, cholesterol-5alpha,6alpha-epoxide, cholesterol-5beta,6beta-epoxide, 25-hydroxycholesterol) or cytotoxic drugs (etoposide, daunorubicin, tunicamycin, rapamycin). Cell death was assessed by the measurement of cellular permeability with propidium iodide, characterization of the morphological aspect of the nuclei with Hoechst 33342, and identification of myelin figures by transmission electron microscopy. Nile Red staining (distinguishing neutral and polar lipids) was used to identify lipid content by flow cytometry and spectral imaging microscopy. Whatever the cells considered, myelin figures were only observed with cytotoxic oxysterols (7KC, 7beta-hydroxycholesterol, cholesterol-5beta, 6beta-epoxide), and their formation was not inhibited by the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk. When U937 cells were treated with oxysterols or cytotoxic drugs, polar lipid accumulation was mainly observed with 7KC and 7beta-hydroxycholesterol. The highest polar lipid accumulation, which was triggered by 7KC, was counteracted by z-VAD-fmk. These findings demonstrate that myelin figure formation is a caspase-independent event closely linked with the cytotoxicity of oxysterols, and they highlight a relationship between caspase activity and polar lipid accumulation.
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PMID:Cytotoxic oxysterols induce caspase-independent myelin figure formation and caspase-dependent polar lipid accumulation. 1722 48

The measurement of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in diseases like inflammation, oncogenesis, or atherosclerosis in vivo is highly desirable. Fine-tuned pyrimidine-2,4,6-triones (barbiturates) offer nonpeptidyl lead structures for developing imaging agents for specifically visualization of activated MMPs in vivo. The aim of this study was to modify a C-5-disubstituted barbiturate and thus design a highly affine, nonpeptidic, optical MMP inhibitor (MMPI)-ligand for imaging of activated MMPs in vivo. A convergent 10 step synthesis was developed, starting with a malonic ester and (4-bromophenoxy)benzene to generate 5-bromo-pyrimidine-2,4,6-trione as the key intermediate. To minimize the interactions between activated MMPs and the dye of the conjugate 6, a PEGylated piperazine derivative was used as a spacer and an azide as a protected amino function. After linking both building blocks, reducing the azide ( Staudinger reaction) and labeling with Cy 5.5, we obtained the nonhydroxamate MMP inhibitor 6 with high affinity (IC 50-value: 48 nM for MMP-2) measured in a fluorogenic assay using commercially available MMP-substrates and the purified enzyme. Zymography revealed an efficient blocking of enzyme activity of purified MMP-2 and MMP-9 and of MMP-containing cell supernatants (HT-1080), (A-673) using the PEGylated barbiturate 5. Fluorescence microscopy studies using a highly (A-673) and a moderate (HT-1080) MMP-2 secreting cell line showed efficient binding of the Cy 5.5 labeled tracer 6 to the MMP-2 positive cells while MMP-2 negative cells (MCF-7) did not bind. Therefore, this new barbiturate-based MMP-probe has a high affinity and specificity toward MMP-2 and -9 and is thus a promising candidate for sensitive MMP detection in vivo.
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PMID:Synthesis and evaluation of a novel fluorescent photoprobe for imaging matrix metalloproteinases. 1839

Oxidized LDL (OxLDL), a causal factor in atherosclerosis, induces the expression of heat shock proteins (Hsp) in a variety of cells. In this study, we investigated the role of CD36, an OxLDL receptor, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) in OxLDL-induced Hsp70 expression. Overexpression of dominant-negative forms of CD36 or knockdown of CD36 by siRNA transfection increased OxLDL-induced Hsp70 protein expression in human monocytic U937 cells, suggesting that CD36 signaling inhibits Hsp70 expression. Similar results were obtained by the inhibition of PPARgamma activity or knockdown of PPARgamma expression. In contrast, overexpression of CD36, which is induced by treatment of MCF-7 cells with troglitazone, decreased Hsp70 protein expression induced by OxLDL. Interestingly, activation of PPARgamma through a synthetic ligand, ciglitazone or troglitazone, decreased the expression levels of Hsp70 protein in OxLDL-treated U937 cells. However, major changes in Hsp70 mRNA levels were not observed. Cycloheximide studies demonstrate that troglitazone attenuates Hsp70 translation but not Hsp70 protein stability. PPARgamma siRNA transfection reversed the inhibitory effects of troglitazone on Hsp70 translation. These results suggest that CD36 signaling may inhibit stress- induced gene expression by suppressing translation via activation of PPARgamma in monocytes. These findings reveal a new molecular basis for the anti-inflammatory effects of PPARgamma.
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PMID:CD36 signaling inhibits the translation of heat shock protein 70 induced by oxidized low density lipoprotein through activation of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma. 1911 51

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon produced by cigarette combustion, is implicated as a causative agent in smoking-related cancer and atherosclerosis. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], a potent ligand for the nuclear receptor vitamin D receptor (VDR), has been shown to decrease the risk of osteoporosis, some types of cancer and cardiovascular disease, suggesting an opposing effect of vitamin D3 to cigarette smoking. In this study, we investigated the effects of BaP on the vitamin D3 signaling pathway. BaP effectively enhanced the 1,25(OH)2D3-dependent induction of cytochrome P450 24A1 (CYP24A1) in human monocyte/macrophage-derived THP-1 cells and breast cancer MCF-7 cells. BaP combination was less or not effective on mRNA expression of CD14, arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase, and cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide in THP-1 cells. BaP also increased the expression of CYP24A1 induced by a non-vitamin D VDR ligand, lithocholic acid acetate. Another aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, enhanced CYP24A1 expression by 1,25(OH)2D3 in THP-1 cells. Treatment of cells with an AhR antagonist and a protein synthesis inhibitor inhibited the enhancing effect of BaP on CYP24A1 induction, indicating that the effects of BaP are mediated by AhR activation and de novo protein synthesis. BaP pretreatment increased 1,25(OH)2D3-dependent recruitment of VDR and retinoid X receptor to the CYP24A1 promoter. Analysis of 1,25(OH)2D3 metabolism showed that BaP enhanced the hydroxylation of 1,25(OH)2D3 by CYP24A1 in THP-1 cells. Thus, AhR activation by BaP stimulates vitamin D3 catabolism. Modulation of vitamin D signaling by AhR may represent a mechanism underlying cigarette smoking-related diseases.
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PMID:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor activator benzo[a]pyrene enhances vitamin D3 catabolism in macrophages. 1924 78


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