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)

Cytogeneticists first proposed that the karyotypic abnormalities identified on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 11, 13, 16, 17, and 18 supported a genetic basis for breast cancer. Such abnormal banding patterns, however, may represent either loss-of-function or gain-of-function molecular events. RFLP analyses have since confirmed that 20-60% of primary and spontaneous human breast tumors exhibit allelic losses on these same chromosomes, although the exact genes involved at these chromosomal sites remain largely unknown. Knowledge gained about the Rb-1 and p53 tumor suppressor genes at 13q14 and 17p13 in breast and other human tumors supports the paradigm that for any chromosomal locus, allelic loss associated with a mutation in the remaining tumor allele signifies an involved tumor suppressor gene. Given this paradigm, there are nearly a dozen putative breast tumor suppressor genes under active investigation, with most investigators now focusing on various chromosome 17 loci. Among the known proto-oncogenes found activated in breast cancer, amplification of c-erbB-2 at 17q21 is the most widely studied and clinically significant gain-of-function event uncovered to date, occurring in about 20% of all primary breast tumors. The involvement of this overexpressed membrane receptor has engendered interest in related tyrosine kinase receptors, such as EGFR, IR, and IGF-I-R, as well as their respective ligands, which may be overexpressed in a greater fraction of tumors, contributing to the autocrine and paracrine regulation of breast cancer growth and metastasis. New attention is being given to the potentially oncogenic function of structurally altered nuclear transactivating steroid hormone receptors, such as ER, whose overexpression has long been used to determine endocrine therapy and prognosis for individual breast cancer patients. While c-myc was one of the first known proto-oncogenes to be found amplified and overexpressed in human breast cancers, the actual incidence and clinical significance of its activation remain disputed and in need of further study. Lastly, we can expect greater clarification about the importance of various 11q13 genes found coamplified in nearly 20% of primary breast cancers, and pursuit into the intriguing possibility that a cyclin-encoding gene represents the overexpressed locus of real interest in this amplicon. Virtually all of these important genetic abnormalities identified thus far are associated with but not restricted to human breast cancers. The absence of identifiable molecular defects relating to the tissue specificity of this malignancy must be considered a substantial gap in our basic understanding of breast carcinogenesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Activated oncogenes and putative tumor suppressor genes involved in human breast cancers. 136 56

The bcl-1 gene maps to chromosome 11q13 and has recently been shown to be a member of the cyclin gene family. Amplification of the chromosome region containing bcl-1 occurs frequently in breast cancer, squamous cell cancer, and other tumor types. We have hypothesized that amplification results in altered expression of the bcl-1 gene, contributing to carcinogenesis. In this work, we studied bcl-1 gene amplification and expression in a panel of human cell line. bcl-1 is expressed in all cell lines studied. The level of expression tends to be higher in amplified cell lines. We also screened these cell lines for int-2 and hst-1 expression, genes which are frequently coamplified with bcl-1. No int-2 expression was detected, and the two cell lines expressing hst-1 were unamplified. Our data provide support for the importance of bcl-1 in carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Amplification and expression of the bcl-1 gene in human solid tumor cell lines. 156 16

We have developed methods to use anticyclin A, B, and E antibodies as reagents to specifically detect proliferating cells in specific phases of the cell cycle in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of tissues and cells. Staining of 48 archival cases of breast cancer showed that these antibodies estimate the tumor proliferation fraction and therefore are potentially useful for the prediction of prognosis. A subset of cancers had a high frequency of tumor cells expressing cyclins A and E, out of proportion to other proliferation markers, suggesting that these tumors may have deregulated cyclin expression. In addition to recognizing authentic cyclin E in the nucleus of proliferating cells, anticyclin E antibody cross-reacted with a cytoplasmic protein in nonproliferating endothelial cells. This cross-reaction allows the simultaneous visualization and quantitation of microvessels in the tumors, measuring a second potential predictor of breast cancer prognosis, tumor angiogenesis.
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PMID:Cyclins as markers of tumor proliferation: immunocytochemical studies in breast cancer. 753 16

Cyclins, the regulatory subunits of cyclin-dependent kinases, control passage through key check-points within the cell cycle. Since dysregulated expression and function of cyclins can lead to loss of normal growth control some of these genes are oncogenes. We have studied cyclin gene expression, regulation and function in breast cancers. Induction of cyclin D1 is an early event in mitogenic stimulation of breast cancer cells by growth factors and steroids. Furthermore, inhibition of cyclin D1 expression is an early response to growth inhibition by antioestrogens. Ectopic expression of cyclin D1 in T-47D breast cancer cells demonstrated that cyclin D1 is rate-limiting for progression through G1 phase and is sufficient for growth arrested cells to complete the cell cycle. Since this gene is frequently overexpressed in human breast cancers it may contribute to the development and progression of some breast carcinomas.
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PMID:Expression and regulation of cyclin genes in breast cancer. 754 34

Changes which lead to excessive cyclin production or to loss of cell cycle inhibition by proteins such as p16/MTS1 may release breast tumour cells from the constraints of cell division. In order to establish the frequency of MTS1/p16 gene alteration and its relation with genetic damage to the p53 and cyclin D1 genes, we have studied these gene abnormalities in 164 human primary breast cancers and in six breast cancer cell lines. Two breast cancer cell lines and one primary tumour showed a homozygous deletion of exon 2 of the MTS1 gene. Using single-strand conformation polymorphism and subsequent sequencing analysis, one tumour showed an alteration at codon 67 (CCC-->CTC; Pro to Leu). Another tumour showed a mutation at codon 98 (without amino acid change) with an additional polymorphism at codon 140. This polymorphism was also found in 13 other tumour samples, but has no effect on (disease-free) survival. From these data we conclude that the occurrence of CDKN2 (p16/MTS1) mutation in primary breast cancer is a rare event and is not likely to be involved in human breast tumour carcinogenesis and progression.
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PMID:Infrequent CDKN2 (MTS1/p16) gene alterations in human primary breast cancer. 754 49

Dysregulation of cyclin expression has been reported for several human malignancies, including breast cancer. To further investigate the role of cyclin genes in mammary tumorigenesis we analyzed the expression of cyclins D1, E and A and other cell cycle-related proteins in a series of nine N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced primary rat mammary tumors. Western blot analysis revealed a 10- to 15-fold increase in the level of cyclin D1 protein in most (7/9) of the tumors, when compared with normal rat mammary gland. The two tumors that did not show this increase also displayed negligible levels of the retinoblastoma protein. A moderate increase, 1.5- to 2-fold, in the level of cyclin E was observed in four tumors and three tumors displayed abnormal low molecular weight cyclin E-related proteins. None of the tumors showed amplification of the cyclin D1 or E genes when studied by Southern blot analysis. All nine tumors showed a 2- to 6-fold increase in the level of cyclin A protein. Most of the tumors also displayed a marked increase in levels of the CDK2 and CDK4 proteins. These changes did not appear to be simply a consequence of increased cell proliferation, as assessed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen analysis. Thus, aberrant expression of cyclins and other cyclin-related genes occurs frequently in mammary tumorigenesis in both rodents and humans.
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PMID:Deregulated expression of cyclin D1 and other cell cycle-related genes in carcinogen-induced rat mammary tumors. 755 74

Aberrant cyclin expression has been implicated in oncogenesis in a number of human cancers. Since altered function of regulators of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity other than cyclins, in particular CDK inhibitors, might play a similar role in oncogenesis, we examined the expression and regulation of the CDK inhibitors p16INK4, p15INK4B and p21WAF1/CIP1 in human breast cancer cell lines. Both the INK4 and INK4B genes were homozygously deleted in 3 cell lines, while INK4 alone was deleted in 2 cell lines. A further 2 cell lines displayed loss of an allele at this locus, and in 1 of these the remaining allele contained a mis-sense mutation within the coding region of the p16INK4 protein. The majority of cell lines examined, including 2 normal mammary epithelial cell strains, expressed low levels of INK4 mRNA and low or undetectable levels of INK4B mRNA. However, INK4 mRNA was expressed at high levels in 5 cell lines, and this was associated with deletion or inactivation of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene product pRB but not with mutation of TP53. No deletions of the WAF1/CIP1 gene were observed, but WAF1/CIP1 mRNA levels were reduced in cell lines with TP53 mutation. Transfection of a p16INK4 expression vector into MDA-MB-231 cells lacking the INK4 gene failed to produce any p16INK4-expressing cell lines, suggesting that such cells were selected against in continuous culture. Despite the frequent deletion of INK4 in breast cancer cell lines, no evidence was obtained for INK4 deletions in DNA from 45 primary breast carcinomas. Thus, homozygous deletion of the INK4 gene appears to be a rare event in primary breast cancer.
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PMID:Expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p16INK4, p15INK4B and p21WAF1/CIP1 in human breast cancer. 759 Dec 70

Steroid hormones have well documented stimulatory and inhibitory effects on target cell proliferation. These effects are steroid- and target cell-specific and are mediated by cell cycle phase-specific actions. The molecular mechanisms by which steroids control rates of cell cycle progression are, however, not well defined. Recent advances in our understanding of cell cycle control by proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes and cyclin dependent kinases provide models for further delineating the molecular basis of proliferation control by steroids. Transcriptional activation of c-fos, c-myc and cyclin D1 by estrogens and progestins in breast cancer cells and inhibition of expression of these genes by antiestrogens provide a paradigm for further understanding cell cycle control by steroids.
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PMID:Cell cycle control by steroid hormones. 784 66

Physical associations between cyclins, viral oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes imply a central role for cyclins in growth control. Cyclin D1 was identified as a candidate oncogene (PRAD1) in tumour-specific DNA rearrangements and is suspected to be a contributor to several types of neoplasms including breast cancer. Cyclin D1 also rescues G1 cyclin-defective Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and is a growth-regulated gene. Despite evidence suggesting that cyclin D1 is an oncogene, its ability to transform cells directly in culture remains controversial. To evaluate its potential to deregulate growth in vivo in a physiologically relevant tissue we overexpressed cyclin D1 in mammary cells in transgenic mice. We report here that overexpression of cyclin D1 resulted in abnormal mammary cell proliferation including the development of mammary adenocarcinomas. We conclude that overexpression of cyclin D1 deregulates cell proliferation and can induce tumorigenic changes in mammary tissues, suggesting that cyclin D1 indeed plays an important oncogenic role in breast cancer.
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PMID:Mammary hyperplasia and carcinoma in MMTV-cyclin D1 transgenic mice. 820 95

Recent advances in defining the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle control in eukaryotes provide a basis for better understanding the hormonal control of cell proliferation in normal and neoplastic breast epithelium. It is now clear that a number of critical steps in cell cycle progression are controlled by families of serine/threonine kinases, the cdks. These kinases are activated by interactions with various cyclin gene products which form the regulatory subunits of the kinase complexes. Several families of cyclins control cell cycle progression in G1 phase, cyclins C, D and E, or in S, G2 and mitosis, cyclins A and B. Recent studies have defined the expression and regulation of cyclin genes in normal breast epithelial cells and in breast cancer cell lines. Following growth arrest of T-47D breast cancer cells by serum deprivation restimulation with insulin results in sequential induction of cyclin genes. Cyclin D1 mRNA increases within 1 h of mitogenic stimulation and is followed by increased expression of cyclins D3 and E in G1 phase, cyclin A in late G1/early S phase and cyclin B1 in G2. Similar results were observed following epidermal growth factor stimulation of normal breast epithelial cells. Other hormones--oestrogens and progestins--and growth factors--insulin-like growth factor-I and basic fibroblast growth factor--with actions in G1 were also investigated for their effects on G1 cyclin gene expression. In all cases there was an excellent correlation between the induction of cyclin D1 mRNA and subsequent entry into S phase. Furthermore, growth inhibition by antioestrogens and concurrent G1 arrest were preceded by an acute decrease in cyclin D1 gene expression. These observations suggest a likely role for cyclin D1 in mediating many of the known hormonal effects on cell proliferation in breast epithelial cells.
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PMID:Cyclin gene expression and growth control in normal and neoplastic human breast epithelium. 827 47


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