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)

The biochemical path for the activation of ErbB-2 by PKC activator was investigated in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. We found that PMA-induced phosphorylation of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) increased its binding with Tob that exerts an anti-proliferative effect through the binding with ErbB-2. The phosphorylation site domain (PSD) of MARCKS was relevant to its interaction with Tob. Decreased binding of Tob with ErbB-2 and subsequent activation of ErbB-2 were observed in MDA-MB-231 cells in response to PMA treatment. The present study proposes that MARCKS phosphorylation by PKC removes Tob from ErbB-2 by increasing its binding affinity with Tob, and thereby activates the ErbB-2 mediated signal transduction.
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PMID:Tob-mediated cross-talk between MARCKS phosphorylation and ErbB-2 activation. 1132 93

This study comparatively evaluated free amino acid pool formation in patients with T1-3N0-2M0 breast cancer treated with the drug Ukrain (25 patients, i.v. 100 mg/course) in combination with preoperative radiation or neoadjuvant therapies (25 subjects, total dose 20 Gy). All the patients underwent radical mastectomy. Preoperative radiation did not essentially change the range of the blood plasma parameters studied. However, we observed decreased concentrations of blood plasma ornithine and citrulline and a reduced content of aminobutyric acid, as compared with levels on admission, which may indicate an acceleration of detoxication processes in the liver. In comparison with healthy mammary gland tissue, the tumor tissue of the patients subjected to radiation therapy showed 1.5- to twofold increased concentrations of cysteate, taurine, aspartate, glutamate, proline, glycine, alanine, valine, tyrosine and histidine, which substantiates the idea of tumor tissue being a trap for numerous energy and plastic substrates and indicates active transport of the above compounds into the tumor. The application of Ukrain had virtually no influence on concentrations of the majority of blood plasma amino acids and derivatives: the total concentration of the compounds studied as well as the essential and nonessential amino acid pools remained unchanged. As compared with healthy breast tissue, the considerably increased levels of thiol-containing amino acids, such as methionine, cystine, cysteate and taurine, in the tumor tissue of patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy with Ukrain, indicates high activity of trans-sulfuration processes in this tissue. Simultaneously, in contrast to radiation therapy, Ukrain induced a marked dose-dependent increase in the concentration of proline in breast tumor tissue. The above changes were consistent with the results of the morphological study which confirmed the emergence of numerous foci of necrosis in the tumor and indicated activation of Ukrain-induced proteolytic and degradation processes in the tumor. The results obtained have led us to conclude that a mechanism of Ukrain's cancerostatic effect is to control the transport and reactions of intermediate amino acid metabolism as well as to activate proline biosynthesis in the tumor, causing enhanced development of connective tissue. It is suggested that an important practical conclusion from the present study is the lack of damaging effect of preoperative radiation therapy in the above regimen and the favorable (normalizing) action of Ukrain, at a course dose of 100 mg, on the amino acid pool formation in the organism of patients with breast cancer.
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PMID:Comparative evaluation of blood plasma and tumor tissue amino acid pool in radiation or neoadjuvant preoperative therapies of breast cancer with the antitumor drug Ukrain. 1134 30

Bisphosphonate (BP), a specific inhibitor of osteoclasts, has been widely used as a beneficial agent for the treatment of bone metastases in patients with breast cancer. It is well recognized that BP reduces osteolysis by promoting apoptosis in osteoclasts. However, recent animal and human data suggest that BPs not only reduce osteolysis associated with metastatic breast cancer, but also decrease tumor burden in bone. The mechanisms by which tumor burden is decreased following BP administration are unknown. Here we examined the effects of the BP ibandronate on MDA-231 human breast cancer cells in bone metastases in a well-characterized animal model of bone metastasis. Ibandronate, which was administered (s.c. daily; 4 microg/mouse/day) after bone metastases were established, inhibited the progression of established osteolytic bone metastases as assessed by radiographic analysis. Histological and histomorphometrical examination revealed that ibandronate reduced osteoclastic bone resorption, with increased apoptosis in osteoclasts. Furthermore, ibandronate also significantly decreased the MDA-231 tumor burden, with increased apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in bone metastases. In contrast, ibandronate failed to inhibit MDA-231 tumor formation with no effects on apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in the orthotopic mammary fat pads. These data suggest that the effects of ibandronate on apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells are restricted in bone in which ibandronate selectively deposits. Consistent with these in vivo results, a relatively high concentration of ibandronate (100 microM) increased caspase-3 activity and induced DNA fragmentation in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in culture. Moreover, a caspase inhibitor, z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone, blocked ibandronate-induced DNA fragmentation in MDA-231 cells, suggesting an involvement of caspase-3 in ibandronate-induced apoptosis. Our results suggest that BP suppresses bone metastases through promotion of apoptosis in metastatic cancer cells as well as in osteoclasts. However, it still remains open whether BP has direct anticancer actions in vivo.
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PMID:The bisphosphonate ibandronate promotes apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells in bone metastases. 1138 70

Growth hormone (GH) is used or is being evaluated for efficacy in treatment of short stature, aspects of aging, cardiac disorders, Crohn's disease, and short bowel syndrome. Therefore, we synthesized several stable growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) analogues that could be therapeutically useful. One potent analog, [D-Ala(2),Aib(8, 18,)Ala(9, 15, 16, 22, 24-26,)Gab(27)]hGRF(1-27)NH(2) (GRF-6), with prolonged infusion caused severe diarrhea in monkeys; however, it had no side-effects in rats. Because GRF has similarity to VIP/PACAP and VIPomas cause diarrhea, this study investigated the ability of this and other GRF analogues to interact with the VIP/PACAP receptors. Rat VPAC(1)-R (rVPAC(1)-R), human VPAC(1)-R (hVPAC(1)-R), rVPAC(2)-R and hVPAC(2)-R stably transfected CHO and PANC 1 cells were made and T47D breast cancer cells containing native human VPAC(1)-R and AR4-2J cells containing PAC(1)-R were used. hGRF(1-29)NH(2) had low affinity for both rVPAC(1)-R and rVPAC(2)-R while VIP had a high affinity for both receptors. GRF-6 had a low affinity for both rVPAC(1)-R and rVPAC(2)-R and very low affinity for the rPAC(1)-R. VIP had a high affinity, whereas hGRF(1-29)NH(2) had a low affinity for both hVPAC(1)-R and hVPAC(2)-R. In contrast GRF-6, while having a low affinity for hVPAC(2)-R, had relatively higher affinity for the hVPAC(1)-R. In guinea pig pancreatic acini, all GRF analogues were full agonists at the VPAC(1)-R causing enzyme secretion. These results demonstrate that in contrast to native hGRF(1-29)NH(2,) GRF-6 has a relatively high affinity for the human VPAC(1)-R but not for the human VPAC(2)-R, rat VPAC(1)-R, rat VPAC(2)-R or rat PAC(1)-R. These results suggest that the substituted GRF analog, GRF-6, likely causes the diarrheal side-effects in monkeys by interacting with the VPAC(1)-R. Furthermore, they demonstrate significant species differences can exist for possible therapeutic peptide agonists of the VIP/PACAP/GRF receptor family and that it is essential that receptor affinity assessments be performed in human cells or from a closely related species.
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PMID:GI side-effects of a possible therapeutic GRF analogue in monkeys are likely due to VIP receptor agonist activity. 1144 45

Carcinoma cell lines are frequently refractory to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta)-mediated cell cycle arrest. Whether and how TGF beta signaling is disrupted in the majority of human tumors, however, remains unclear. To investigate whether TGF beta signaling might be disrupted by inactivation of the key signaling molecule, the TGF beta type I (T beta R-I) receptor, and whether or not T beta R-I inactivation is associated with late stage disease, we conducted a comprehensive structural analysis of the T beta R-I gene in fine-needle aspirates of 23 head-&-neck cancer metastases. We encountered 4 different mutations of T beta R-I, 3 of which have not been previously identified. In 1 case, we found a somatic intragenic 4-bp deletion predicting for a truncation of the receptor protein. This is the first example of a true loss-of-function mutation of T beta R-I in a human epithelial neoplasm. In 2 other cases, we identified missense mutations located between the juxtamembrane- and serine-threonine kinase domains. One of these resulted in an alanine-to-threonine substitution (A230T), which disrupts receptor signaling activity by causing rapid protein degradation within the endoplasmatic reticulum. This represents a novel mechanism of inactivation of a TGF beta signaling intermediate. Finally, we identified a serine-to-tyrosine substitution at codon 387 (S387Y) in a metastasis but not in the corresponding primary tumor. We had previously shown this S387Y mutant to be predominantly associated with breast cancer metastases and to have a diminished ability to mediate TGF beta-dependent signaling. In aggregate, these findings provide further support for the hypothesis that inactivation of the TGF beta signaling pathway occurs in a significant subset of human cancers.
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PMID:Novel inactivating mutations of transforming growth factor-beta type I receptor gene in head-and-neck cancer metastases. 1147 74

We have shown previously that the AKT2 pathway is essential for cell survival and important in malignant transformation. In this study, we demonstrate elevated kinase levels of AKT2 and phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) in 32 of 80 primary breast carcinomas. The majority of the cases with the activation are estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) positive, which prompted us to examine whether AKT2 regulates ERalpha activity. We found that constitutively activated AKT2 or AKT2 activated by epidermal growth factor or insulin-like growth factor-1 promotes the transcriptional activity of ERalpha. This effect occurred in the absence or presence of estrogen. Activated AKT2 phosphorylates ERalpha in vitro and in vivo, but it does not phosphorylate a mutant ERalpha in which ser-167 was replaced by Ala. The PI3K inhibitor, wortmannin, abolishes both the phosphorylation and transcriptional activity of ERalpha induced by AKT2. However, AKT2-induced ERalpha activity was not inhibited by tamoxifen but was completely abolished by ICI 164,384, implicating that AKT2-activated ERalpha contributes to tamoxifen resistance. Moreover, we found that ERalpha binds to the p85alpha regulatory subunit of PI3K in the absence or presence of estradiol in epithelial cells and subsequently activates PI3K/AKT2, suggesting ERalpha regulation of PI3K/AKT2 through a nontranscriptional and ligand-independent mechanism. These data indicate that regulation between the ERalpha and PI3K/AKT2 pathway (ERalpha-PI3K/AKT2-ERalpha) may play an important role in pathogenesis of human breast cancer and could contribute to ligand-independent breast cancer cell growth.
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PMID:Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH Kinase (PI3K)/AKT2, activated in breast cancer, regulates and is induced by estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) via interaction between ERalpha and PI3K. 1150 39

Breast cancers often exhibit elevated expression of tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors; these pathways influence breast cancer cell growth in part by targeting steroid hormone receptors, including progesterone receptors (PR). To mimic activation of molecules downstream of growth factor-initiated signaling pathways, we overexpressed mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; also known as extracellular signal-regulated kinase) kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1) in T47D human breast cancer cells expressing the B isoform of PR. MEKK1 is a strong activator of p42 and p44 MAPKs. MEKK1 expression increased progestin-mediated transcription 8- to 10-fold above normal PR-driven transcription levels. This was dependent on the presence of a progesterone response element and functional PR. PR protein levels were unchanged by MEKK1 alone but were extensively down-regulated by MEKK1 plus the progestin R5020. MEKK1 expression resulted in phosphorylation of PR on Ser294, a MAPK consensus site known to mediate ligand-dependent PR degradation. MEK inhibitors blocked phosphorylation of Ser294 and attenuated PR transcriptional hyperactivity in response to MEKK1 plus R5020; stabilization of PR by inhibition of the 26S proteasome produced similar results. T47D cells stably expressing mutant S294A PR, in which serine 294 is replaced by alanine, fail to undergo ligand-dependent down-regulation and are resistant to MEKK1-plus-R5020-induced transcriptional synergy but respond to progestins alone. Similarly, c-myc protein levels are synergistically increased by epidermal growth factor and R5020 in cells expressing wild-type PR, but not S294A PR. Thus, highly stable mutant PR are functional in response to progestins but are incapable of cross talk with MAPK-driven pathways. These studies demonstrate a paradoxical coupling between steroid receptor down-regulation and transcriptional hyperactivity. They also suggest a link between phosphorylation of PR by MAPKs in response to peptide growth factor signaling and steroid hormone control of breast cancer cell growth.
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PMID:Transcriptional hyperactivity of human progesterone receptors is coupled to their ligand-dependent down-regulation by mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent phosphorylation of serine 294. 1150 55

Breast cancer is associated frequently with skeletal metastases, which cause significant morbidity. The main mechanism is an increase in osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. We postulated that osteoblasts could be other essential target cells and previously showed that conditioned medium (CM) of breast cancer cells (BCCs) inhibits the proliferation of osteoblast-like cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of BCC-secreted products on osteoprogenitor cells using a clonal fetal human bone marrow stromal preosteoblastic cell line (FHSO-6) that expresses alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, type I collagen (COLI), and increased osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin under treatment with dexamethasone (Dex), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], or recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2). Treatment with MCF-7 CM inhibited FHSO-6 cell survival in a dose-dependent and irreversible manner. Morphological investigation indicated that MCF-7 CM increased both apoptotic and necrotic cell number. MCF-7 CM increased caspases activity and a broad inhibitor of caspase activity (benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethyl ketone [z-VAD-fmk]) partly reversed the CM-induced inhibition of FHSO-6 cell survival. Western blot analyses revealed an increased bax/bcl-2 ratio in MCF-7 CM-treated FHSO-6 cells. MCF-7 cells exhibit FasLigand as membrane-bound protein and as a soluble cytokine in the CM. Deprivation of MCF-7 CM from active FasLigand by saturation with a soluble Fas molecule suppressed the induction of FHSO-6 apoptosis, whereas fibroblast CM, which did not contain FasLigand, only weakly modified FHSO-6 cell survival because of increased cell necrosis. These data indicate that FasLigand secreted by BCCs induces apoptosis and necrosis of human preosteoblastic stromal cells through caspase cascade modulated by the bax and bcl-2 protein level. The induction of apoptosis in human bone marrow stromal cells by BCCs may contribute to the inappropriately low osteoblast reaction and bone formation during tumor-induced osteolysis in bone metastases.
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PMID:Breast cancer cells release factors that induced apoptosis in human bone marrow stromal cells. 1154 30

We have constructed a replication-deficient adenovirus encoding a nonphosphorylatable Thr(34)-->Ala mutant of the apoptosis inhibitor survivin (pAd-T34A) to target tumor cell viability in vitro and in vivo. Infection with pAd-T34A caused spontaneous apoptosis in cell lines of breast, cervical, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancer. In contrast, pAd-T34A did not affect cell viability of proliferating normal human cells, including fibroblasts, endothelium, or smooth muscle cells. Infection of tumor cells with pAd-T34A resulted in cytochrome c release from mitochondria, cleavage of approximately 46-kDa upstream caspase-9, processing of caspase-3 to the active subunits of approximately 17 and 19 kDa, and increased caspase-3 catalytic activity. When compared with chemotherapeutic regimens, pAd-T34A was as effective as taxol and considerably more effective than adriamycin in induction of tumor cell apoptosis and enhanced taxol-induced cell death. In three xenograft breast cancer models in immunodeficient mice, pAd-T34A suppressed de novo tumor formation, inhibited by approximately 40% the growth of established tumors, and reduced intraperitoneal tumor dissemination. Tumors injected with pAd-T34A exhibited loss of proliferating cells and massive apoptosis by in situ internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. These data suggest that adenoviral targeting of the survivin pathway may provide a novel approach for selective cancer gene therapy.
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PMID:Cancer gene therapy using a survivin mutant adenovirus. 1180 41

Protein kinase C (PKC) is known to activate NF-kappaB whereas the lipid mediator ceramide was recently shown to inhibit activation of this transcription factor (1, 2). In this study, the mechanisms by which ceramide interferes with this pathway were examined in Jurkat leukemia and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Both exogenous and endogenous ceramide inhibited selectively PKC-mediated activation of NF-kappaB by reverting PKC translocation to the membrane. Next, confocal and immunofluorescence studies were performed to evaluate the direct effects of ceramide on PKC. These studies showed that ceramide inhibited translocation of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-PKCbeta2 fusion protein in response to PMA. A mutant PKC in which autophosphorylation sites were mutated to alanine (PKC-DA) was resistant to ceramide. A kinase-inactive mutant (PKC-KR) was also resistant to ceramide action, and the results were supported using kinase inhibitors of the enzyme. Finally, overexpression of PKC-DA prevented, at least partly, the ability of ceramide to inhibit activation of NF-kappaB. Taken together, these studies show that ceramide has acute effects on translocation of PKC by inducing reverse translocation, and this reversal requires both the kinase activity of PKC and phosphorylation of the autophosphorylation sites.
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PMID:Ceramide inhibition of NF-kappaB activation involves reverse translocation of classical protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes: requirement for kinase activity and carboxyl-terminal phosphorylation of PKC for the ceramide response. 1168 65


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