Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: UMLS:C0006142 (breast cancer)
160,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is the key enzyme required for the conversion of dietary carbohydrates to fatty acids. Recent studies have demonstrated that high levels of FAS expression occur in a variety of cancers, including breast cancer. We evaluated 243 primary breast cancer patients in the period between 1989 and 1996. Immunohistochemical staining for FAS was performed on formaline-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. FAS staining intensity was graded as low or high. The expression of FAS was high in 145 (60%) and low in 98 cases (40%). A weak correlation between FAS expression and nodal status was noted in premenopausal patients (p=0. 01). FAS was associated with estrogen receptor (p=0.0022) and progesterone receptor (p=0.0085) status. We found that a low expression of FAS was significantly related to a shorter disease-free survival (DFS) rate in estrogen receptor positive patients (p=0.024) and a similar trend was recognized in progesterone receptor positive patients (p=0.083). The low FAS group showed better DFS and OS in all but ER-/PgR- cases (p=0.011, 0.076). This study showed close correlations between immunohistochemical FAS expression and steroid hormone receptors in premenopausal patients. The use of FAS expression may increase the diagnostic utility of ER and PgR in premenopausal patients. FAS may be able to predict the responsiveness of tumors to endocrine therapy.
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PMID:Fatty acid synthase expression in Japanese breast carcinoma patients. 1049 79

Fatty acid synthase (FAS), a nutritionally regulated lipogenic enzyme, is transcriptionally controlled by ADD1/SREBP1c (adipocyte determination and differentiation 1/sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c), through insulin-mediated stimulation of ADD1/SREBP1c expression. Progesterone exerts lipogenic effects on adipocytes, and FAS is highly induced in breast tumor cell lines upon progesterone treatment. We show here that progesterone up-regulates ADD1/SREBP1c expression in the MCF7 breast cancer cell line and the primary cultured preadipocyte from rat parametrial adipose tissue. In MCF7, progesterone induced ADD1/SREBP1c and Metallothionein II (a well known progesterone-regulated gene) mRNAs, with comparable potency. In preadipocytes, progesterone increased ADD1/SREBP1c mRNA dose-dependently, but not SREBP1a or SREBP2. Run-on experiments demonstrated that progesterone action on ADD1/SREBP1c was primarily at the transcriptional level. The membrane-bound and mature nuclear forms of ADD1/SREBP1 protein accumulated in preadipocytes cultured with progesterone, and FAS induction could be abolished by adenovirus-mediated overexpression of a dominant negative form of ADD1/SREBP1 in these cells. Finally, in the presence of insulin, progesterone was unable to up-regulate ADD1/SREBP1c mRNA in preadipocytes, whereas its effect was restored after 24 h of insulin deprivation. Together these results demonstrate that ADD1/SREBP1c is controlled by progesterone, which, like insulin, acts by increasing ADD1/SREBP1c gene transcription. This provides a potential mechanism for the lipogenic actions of progesterone on adipose tissue.
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PMID:Progesterone stimulates adipocyte determination and differentiation 1/sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c gene expression. potential mechanism for the lipogenic effect of progesterone in adipose tissue. 1127 21

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is selectively expressed in certain human cancers, including carcinoma of the breast, prostate, colon, ovary, and endometrium, compared to normal human tissues and therefore is a putative tumor marker. In this study, we found FAS concentrations were elevated in cell culture supernatants during cell growth in two human breast cancer cell lines but not other cancer cell lines. A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis were employed in this study. In addition, serum FAS levels were significantly higher in breast cancer patients with different clinical stages (Stage II: 0.59+/-0.09 units/l, Stage III: 0.79+/-0.13 units/l, and Stage IV: 1.39+/-0.35 units/l) compared with healthy subjects (0.27+/-0.02 units/l, P<0.05). Taken together, our data suggest that FAS expression may be a useful tumor marker for breast cancer and play a role in assessing cancer virulence.
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PMID:Fatty acid synthase (FAS) expression in human breast cancer cell culture supernatants and in breast cancer patients. 1132 4

Fatty acid synthase (FAS)-dependent endogenous fatty acid synthetic activity is abnormally elevated in a biologically-aggressive subset of breast carcinomas. Remarkably, tumor-associated FAS hyperactivity represents a novel target for anti-metabolic therapy because pharmacological inhibitors of FAS are selectively cytotoxic for tumor cells, triggering their apoptotic cell death. Since the p53 tumor-suppressor protein (TP53) is thought to play a novel role in cellular responses of a variety of non-genotoxic metabolic stresses, we characterized the involvement of TP53 in the response of breast cancer cells to FAS inhibition. MCF-7 breast cancer cells were selected for study because they have an intact TP53 pathway and undergo little apoptosis following FAS blockade. Two chemically distinct inhibitors of FAS (the natural mycotoxin cerulenin and the novel small-molecule inhibitor C75) were studied in parallel to provide a broad picture of consequences suffered by the loss of FAS function on TP53 signaling. Treatment with either cerulenin or C75 induced TP53 protein accumulation at 24 h in MCF-7 cells. To determine whether the up-regulation of TP53 following exposure to cerulenin or C75 was solely due to inhibition of endogenous fatty acid metabolism, we first evaluated the cytotoxic response to chemical FAS blockers on MCF-7 cells in which FAS gene expression was previously silenced by using the highly sequence-specific mechanism of RNA interference. MCF-7 cells became insensitive to C75-induced cytotoxicity when the expression of FAS was specifically suppressed by targeted knock-down with small interfering RNA (siRNA), whereas they partially retained their sensitivity to cerulenin. These results demonstrate that C75-induced cytotoxic damage to breast cancer cells is closely dependent on its ability to inhibit FAS-catalyzed endogenous fatty acid biogenesis, thus ruling out a significant direct effect of C75 on DNA. To determine the functional role of TP53 on breast cancer cell survival after FAS blockade, we evaluated FAS inhibitor-mediated apoptosis in MCF-7 cells transiently transfected with a pool of sequence-specific double-stranded RNA oligonucleotides targeting TP53 gene. In these conditions, TP53 protein levels were unchanged during the period of FAS-inhibitor exposure. Remarkably, siRNA-induced silencing of TP53 gene expression did result in a dramatic increase (approximately 300%) in apoptotic cell death following exposure to C75. Strikingly, there was no apparent relationship between the TP53 mutational status and sensitivity to chemical FAS inhibitor in a panel of human breast cancer cell lines. However, the degree of TP53 mRNA expression was predictive of sensitivity to C75-induced cytotoxicity, with low-TP53 mRNA expressing breast cancer cells showing hypersensitivity to FAS blockade. These findings strongly suggest that: a) TP53 is a novel molecular sensor of energy imbalance after the perturbation of endogenous fatty acid metabolism in breast cancer cells; b) TP53 function closely influences the decision between apoptosis and growth arrest following FAS blockade; and c) pharmacological inhibitors of FAS activity may be clinically useful against breast carcinomas exhibiting mutation or aberrant expression of TP53.
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PMID:RNA interference-mediated silencing of the p53 tumor-suppressor protein drastically increases apoptosis after inhibition of endogenous fatty acid metabolism in breast cancer cells. 1558 25

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) catalyzes the synthesis of palmitate from the sequential condensation of an acetyl primer with two carbon units added from malonyl-CoA. Inhibition of the beta-ketoacyl synthase domain of mammalian FAS leads to selective cytotoxicity to various cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Also, inhibitors of FAS can cause reduced food intake and body weight in mice. Naturally occurring thiolactomycin (TLM) was used as a template to develop a new class of type I FAS inhibitors. Using a flexible synthesis, families of TLM structural analogues were obtained that possess selective FAS activity and display anticancer and weight loss effects. Compounds 13a and 13d inhibit pure FAS (ZR-75-1 breast cancer, IC(50) = <or=20 microg/mL), are nontoxic (MCF-7, IC(50) = >50 microg/mL), and display effective weight loss in BalbC mice (>5%). Another subclass of TLM derivatives (23b-d, 31a) exhibits FAS activity (IC(50) = <or=15 microg/mL), causes weight loss (>5%), and is cytotoxic to cancer cells (IC(50) < 38 microg/mL). Finally, a third subclass (16b, 29, 30) is also active against FAS (IC(50) = <or=20 microg/mL), is cytotoxic to cancer cells (IC(50) < 25 mg/mL), and does not cause weight loss in BalbC mice. These studies identify thiolactomycin as a promising template for the development of new selective cancer and obesity treatments.
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PMID:Application of a flexible synthesis of (5R)-thiolactomycin to develop new inhibitors of type I fatty acid synthase. 1571 65

Fatty acid synthase (FAS)-catalyzed de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, an anabolic energy-storage pathway largely considered of minor importance in humans, actively contributes to the cancer phenotype by virtue of its ability to specifically regulate the expression and activity of Her-2/neu (erbB-2) oncogene. First, a positive correlation between high levels of FAS expression and/or activity and the amplification and/or overexpression of Her-2/neu oncogene exists in human breast cancer cell lines. Second, Her-2/neu overexpression stimulates the activity of FAS gene promoter and ultimately mediates increased endogenous fatty acid biosynthesis, while this Her-2/neu-induced upregulation of breast cancer-associated FAS is inhibitable by anti-Her-2/neu antibodies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin(TM)). Third, pharmacological inhibition of FAS activity negatively regulates the expression and tyrosine-kinase activity of Her-2/neu-coded p185(Her-2/neu) oncoprotein.
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PMID:Targeting fatty acid synthase: potential for therapeutic intervention in her-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer. 1624 15

Fatty acid synthase is overexpressed in cancer especially in tumors with a poor prognosis. The specific fatty acid synthase inhibitor cerulenin can induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Likewise, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt kinase activities are elevated in primary tumors and cancer cell lines. Here, we tested whether inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway would sensitize cancer cells to cerulenin-induced apoptosis. We show that LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K, sensitized MDA-MB468 breast cancer cells to cerulenin-induced apoptosis. In MDA-MB468 cells, cerulenin- and LY294002-mediated apoptosis was associated with caspase-3 activation and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol. In addition, we observed additional species of Bak in mitochondria, suggesting a possible Bak activation. Treatment of cells with cerulenin and LY294002 down-regulated the protein levels of X chromosome-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP), cellular inhibitor of apoptosis 1 (cIAP-1), and Akt, whereas the levels of mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase and other antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins (Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl) did not change. Interestingly, the nonspecific caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-FMK, inhibited the down-regulation of Akt, XIAP, and cIAP-1 in cerulenin- and LY294002-treated cells. In conclusion, these studies show that inhibition of PI3K can sensitize cerulenin-induced apoptosis in MBA-MB468 breast cancer cells via activation of caspases, down-regulation of antiapoptotic proteins, such as XIAP, cIAP-1 and Akt, and possibly, activation of Bak in mitochondria.
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PMID:Inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway sensitizes MDA-MB468 human breast cancer cells to cerulenin-induced apoptosis. 1654 63

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) has been found to be overexpressed in a wide range of epithelial tumors, including breast cancer. Pharmacologic inhibitors of FAS cause apoptosis of breast cancer cells and result in decreased tumor size in vivo. However, how the inhibition of FAS induces apoptosis in tumor cells remains largely unknown. To understand the apoptotic pathway resulting from direct inhibition of FAS, we treated breast tumor cells with or without FAS small interfering RNA (siRNA) followed by a microarray analysis. Our results indicated that the proapoptotic genes BNIP3, tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and death-associated protein kinase 2 (DAPK2) were significantly up-regulated on direct inhibition of the FAS gene. We also found that the knockdown of FAS expression significantly increased ceramide level in the tumor cells, and this increase was abrogated by acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor. In addition, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) inhibitor up-regulated the ceramide and BNIP3 levels in these cells, whereas treatment of tumor cells with FAS siRNA in the presence of a ceramide synthase inhibitor abrogated the up-regulation of BNIP3 and inhibited apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that treatment of cells with BNIP3 siRNA significantly counteracted the effect of FAS siRNA-mediated apoptosis. Consistent with these results, a significant inverse correlation was observed in the expression of FAS and BNIP3 in clinical samples of human breast cancer. Collectively, our results indicate that inhibition of FAS in breast cancer cells causes accumulation of malonyl-CoA, which leads to inhibition of CPT-1 and up-regulation of ceramide and induction of the proapoptotic genes BNIP3, TRAIL, and DAPK2, resulting in apoptosis.
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PMID:Mechanism of apoptosis induced by the inhibition of fatty acid synthase in breast cancer cells. 1674 Jul 34

Fatty acid synthase (FAS), the key metabolic multi-enzyme that is responsible for the terminal catalytic step in the de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, plays an active role in the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the malignant phenotype in a subset of breast carcinomas. We recently described that a molecular bi-directional cross-talk between FAS and the Her-2/neu (erbB-2) oncogene is taking place at the level of transcription, translation, and activity in breast cancer cells. Because Her-2/neu has been linked with altered sensitivity to cytotoxic drugs, we envisioned that FAS gene expression may represent a novel predictive molecular factor for breast cancer response to chemotherapy in a Her-2/neu-related manner. We herein evaluated whether chemotherapy-induced cell damage acts in an epigenetic fashion by inducing changes in the transcriptional activation of FAS gene in breast cancer cells. To evaluate this option, FAS- and Her-2/neu-overexpressing SK-Br3 breast cancer cells were transiently transfected with a FAS promoter-reporter construct (FAS-Luciferase) harboring all the elements necessary for high level expression in cancer cells. SK-Br3 cells cultured in the presence of topoisomerase IIalpha (TOP2A) inhibitors doxorubicin and etopoxide (VP-16) demonstrated a 2- to 3-fold increase in FAS promoter activity when compared with control cells growing in drug-free culture conditions. We failed to observe any significant activation of FAS promoter following exposure to the anti-metabolite 5-fluorouracil, the alkylating drug cisplatin, or the microtubule interfering-agents paclitaxel and vincristine. Moreover, the up-regulatory effects of TOP2A inhibitors on the transcriptional activation of FAS gene expression were not significantly decreased when the FAS promoter was damaged at the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP)-binding site. Considering that FAS inhibition produces profound inhibition of DNA replication and S-phase progression in cancer cells, we finally asked whether a cross-talk between TOP2A and FAS could exhibit a Her-2/neu-related bi-directional nature. TOP2A protein levels were decreased during treatment with the anti-Her-2/neu antibody trastuzumab while, concomitantly, FAS promoter activity and FAS protein expression were significantly reduced. Of note, when the expression levels of TOP2A protein were analyzed following exposure of SK-Br3 cells to increasing concentrations of the novel slow-binding FAS inhibitor C75, a dose-dependent reduction in TOP2A expression was observed. Although FAS gene is not physically located in the Her-2/neu-TOP2A amplicon, our present findings strongly suggest that a tight functional association between FAS, Her-2/neu and TOP2A genes is taking place in a subset of breast carcinoma cells.
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PMID:DNA topoisomerase IIalpha (TOP2A) inhibitors up-regulate fatty acid synthase gene expression in SK-Br3 breast cancer cells: in vitro evidence for a 'functional amplicon' involving FAS, Her-2/neu and TOP2A genes. 1708 11

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a major lipogenic enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of long-chain saturated fatty acids. Most breast cancers require lipogenesis for growth. Here, we demonstrated the effects of theanaphthoquinone (TNQ), a member of the thearubigins generated by the oxidation of theaflavin (TF-1), on the expression of FAS in human breast cancer cells. TNQ was found to suppress the EGF-induced expression of FAS mRNA and FAS protein in MDA-MB-231 cells. Expression of FAS has previously been shown to be regulated by the SREBP family of transcription factors. In this study, we demonstrated that the EGF-induced nuclear translocation of SREBP-1 was blocked by TNQ. Moreover, TNQ also modulated EGF-induced ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with PI 3-kinase inhibitors, LY294002 and Wortmannin, inhibited the EGF-induced expression of FAS and nuclear translocation of SREBP-1. Treatment with TNQ inhibited EGF-induced EGFR/ErbB-2 phosphorylation and dimerization. Furthermore, treatment with kinase inhibitors of EGFR and ErbB-2 suggested that EGFR/ErbB-2 activation was involved in EGF-induced FAS expression. In constitutive FAS expression, TNQ inhibited FAS expression and Akt autophosphorylation in BT-474 cells. The PI 3-kinase inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors of EGFR and ErbB-2 also reduced constitutive FAS expression. In addition, pharmacological blockade of FAS by TNQ decreased cell viability and induced cell death in BT-474 cells. In summary, our findings suggest that TNQ modulates FAS expression by the regulation of EGFR/ErbB-2 pathways and induces cell death in breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Theanaphthoquinone inhibits fatty acid synthase expression in EGF-stimulated human breast cancer cells via the regulation of EGFR/ErbB-2 signaling. 1718 72


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