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

The epidermal growth factor-like receptor tyrosine kinase (ErbB) family is frequently overexpressed in a variety of human carcinomas, including breast cancer. To assist in characterizing the role of ErbB-4 in breast cancer, we generated three specific hammerhead ribozymes targeted to the ErbB-4 mRNA. These ribozymes, Rz6, Rz21, and Rz29, efficiently catalyzed the specific cleavage of ErbB-4 message in a cell-free system. We demonstrated that the neuregulin-induced mitogenic effect was abolished in ribozyme Rz29- and Rz6-transfected 32D/ErbB-4 cells. Inhibition of mitogenesis was characterized by ribozyme-mediated down-regulation of ErbB-4 expression. In addition, we provide the first evidence that different threshold levels of ErbB-4 expression and activation correlate with different responses to neuregulin stimulation. High levels of ErbB-4 expression, phosphorylation, and homodimerization are necessary for neuregulin-stimulated, interleukin 3-independent cell proliferation in the 32D/E4 cells. In the case of Rz29-transfected 32D/E4 cells, low levels of ErbB-4 expression allowed neuregulin-induced phosphorylation but were insufficient to couple the activated receptor to cellular signaling. Furthermore, expression of the functional ErbB-4 ribozyme in T47D human breast carcinoma cells led to a down-regulation of endogenous ErbB-4 expression and a reduction of anchorage-independent colony formation. These studies support the use of ErbB-4 ribozymes to define the role of ErbB-4 receptors in human cancers.
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PMID:ErbB-4 ribozymes abolish neuregulin-induced mitogenesis. 969 74

Overexpression of the receptor tyrosine kinase p185ErbB2 confers Taxol resistance in breast cancers. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanisms and found that overexpression of p185ErbB2 inhibits Taxol-induced apoptosis. Taxol activates p34Cdc2 kinase in MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cells, leading to cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and, subsequently, apoptosis. A chemical inhibitor of p34Cdc2 and a dominant-negative mutant of p34Cdc2 blocked Taxol-induced apoptosis in these cells. Overexpression of p185ErbB2 in MDA-MB-435 cells by transfection transcriptionally upregulates p21Cip1, which associates with p34Cdc2, inhibits Taxol-mediated p34Cdc2 activation, delays cell entrance to G2/M phase, and thereby inhibits Taxol-induced apoptosis. In p21Cip1 antisense-transfected MDA-MB-435 cells or in p21-/- MEF cells, p185ErbB2 was unable to inhibit Taxol-induced apoptosis. Therefore, p21Cip1 participates in the regulation of a G2/M checkpoint that contributes to resistance to Taxol-induced apoptosis in p185ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Overexpression of ErbB2 blocks Taxol-induced apoptosis by upregulation of p21Cip1, which inhibits p34Cdc2 kinase. 984 31

We have investigated whether the raf-1 kinase, a downstream mediator of both receptor tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C signalling, is activated by estrogen (E2) in an estrogen receptor positive human breast cancer cell line. Autophosphorylation of raf-1 kinase was studied after treatment of MCF-7 cells with E2. E2-deprived cells contained low levels of raf-1 kinase activity. Treatment of cells for 1 min with E2 resulted in raf-1 autophosphorylation which was maximal within 5 min. Western blot analysis showed that raf-1 undergoes an electrophoretic mobility shift following E2 treatment. Egr-1 is a zinc finger-containing transcription factor which is expressed in association with raf-1 activation. Untreated MCF-7 cells expressed low levels of Egr-1 while E2 treatment resulted in an induction of egr-1 mRNA expression. These kinetics followed closely behind the E2 induction of c-myc mRNA. Egr-1 protein was similarly low in E2-deprived MCF-7 cells and was transiently increased following E2 treatment. Several studies have suggested that kinase activity may play a role in estrogen receptor (ER) activation. While activated v-raf failed to augment ER activation of transcription in transient transfection assays, a dominant negative mutant of raf-1 inhibited E2-induced transcription by 50% primarily as a result of increased baseline levels of E2 independent transcription. The results show that E2 can induce raf-1 kinase activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells associated with the expression of an early growth response gene and modulation of ER signalling.
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PMID:Estrogen activates raf-1 kinase and induces expression of Egr-1 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. 987 62

Mouse mammary tumor virus-transforming growth factor alpha (MMTV-TGF alpha) and MMTV-TGF alpha/neu transgenic mice develop mammary tumors after a long latency and therefore provide useful model systems for breast cancer with its recognized activation of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. We used these mice to study the antitumor effect of L-744,832 (FTI), a potent and selective inhibitor of farnesyl-protein transferase, and hence of Ras function. A total of 55 mice were assigned randomly to treatment with FTI or vehicle, and one-half of the mice were crossed over after initial treatment to the opposite group. L-744,832 induced reversible regression of mammary tumors that was paralleled by a decrease in serum levels of TGF alpha secreted by the tumor cells. There was no difference in response to treatment with FTI between MMTV-TGF alpha mice, in which tumorigenesis was accelerated by multiparity or the chemical carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene, and MMTV-TGF alpha/neu mice. The tumor histological type had no impact on FTI sensitivity. For mechanistic analyses, tumor excision biopsies were obtained from 12 mice before and after treatment with L-744,832. In these samples, tumor regression was paralleled biochemically by inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase activity and biologically by an increase in G1-phase and decrease in S-phase fractions, as well as induction of apoptosis. These results suggest that the potential clinical use of FTI could be expanded to include cancers harboring activated receptor tyrosine kinases as well as those containing activated Ras.
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PMID:Treatment with farnesyl-protein transferase inhibitor induces regression of mammary tumors in transforming growth factor (TGF) alpha and TGF alpha/neu transgenic mice by inhibition of mitogenic activity and induction of apoptosis. 991

The Shc protein helps to transmit signals from receptor and cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases to Ras. We have shown that several breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-453, BT474, MDA-MB-361, and SKBR3), which overexpress the ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase, contain constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated Shc. To investigate the role of Shc in these cells, we transfected them with a Shc-Y317F dominant-negative mutant defective in signaling to Ras. The transfectants were unable to form stable colonies, suggesting a critical role for Shc in the proliferation of these cells. In contrast, dominant-negative Shc transfectants of the nontransformed breast epithelial cell line HBL-100 grew normally. Surprisingly, cell cycle analysis of transfected SKBR3 cells suggested that the cells were blocked not only in G0-G1, but also in G2-M. The G2-M block was unexpected because Shc-Y317 is downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases that drive the early events in the cell cycle. Both the G0-G1 and G2-M arrest were rescued by transfection with wild-type Shc or oncogenic Ras 12V. Rescue by Ras suggests that Shc Y317 signals upstream of Ras, and that Shc to Ras effector pathways are involved in G2-M, although confirmation awaits a detailed molecular analysis. Most importantly, this work provides the first evidence for Shc involvement in G2-M.
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PMID:Shc dominant negative disrupts cell cycle progression in both G0-G1 and G2-M of ErbB2-positive breast cancer cells. 995 Feb 19

Nuclear steroid/retinoid and memgbrane c-erbB receptor tyrosine kinase signaling control proliferation and differentiation of mammary epithelial cells. Recently, we reported that retinoic acids are efficient repressors of c-erbB-2 and -3, but not of c-erbB-1 gene expresson. Here we demonstrate that retinoid acid- mediated growth inhibition is accompanied with reduced expression of c-erbB-4/HER4 in T47D breast cancer cells as determined by FACS, Western, and RT-PCR. All-trans and 9-cis retinoic acid reduce c-erbB-4 expression to 30%-60% of control, depending on the concentration. Dexamethasone (Dex) is inactive on D3 (D3), in contrast, acts as a strong inducer, elevation more that twofold at the mRNA, but does not significantly affect cell growth. We concolude that retinoic acids are efficient growth inhibitors and repressors of cell growth and c-erbB-4, whereas D3 represents a highly efficient inducer of c-erbB-4 expression with affecting cell proliferation.
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PMID:Expression of c-erbB-4/HER4 is regulated in T47D breast carcinoma cells by retinoids and vitamin D3. 1038 75

Tumour cell metastatic potential is significantly enhanced following treatment with HGF/SF, the ligand for the c-met receptor tyrosine kinase. Following c-met activation in tumour cells, phosphorylation of beta-catenin occurs, together with loss of intercellular adhesion and a gain in the motile and invasive nature of the cell. In this study we show that c-met is co-localised with beta-catenin and E-cadherin at regions of cell-cell contact in human colon cancer (HRT18 and HT115) and two breast cancer (MCF7 and MDA MB 231) cell lines. Immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated an association between c-met and members of the cadherin adhesion complex in these epithelial tumour cells, along with the membrane tyrosine protein phophatase, PTPmu. We conclude that the HGF/SF receptor, c-met, together with members of the cadherin/catenin cell-cell adhesion system and PTPmu, may form part of a protein complex in E-cadherin positive tumour cells that acts to regulate intercellular adhesion following HGF/SF stimulation.
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PMID:Association of the HGF/SF receptor, c-met, with the cell-surface adhesion molecule, E-cadherin, and catenins in human tumor cells. 1042 98

The HER-2/neu (also known as c-erbB-2) oncogene is the second member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family. It is overexpressed in many different types of human cancers, including breast, ovarian, lung, gastric, and oral cancers. Overexpression of HER-2/neu in breast cancer has been associated with poor overall survival and has been shown preclinically to enhance malignancy and the metastatic phenotypes. Although discrepancies exist between different studies, HER-2/ neu overexpression seems to induce chemoresistance in certain experimental conditions. Many studies have convincingly shown that repression of HER-2/neu suppresses the malignant phenotypes of HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancer cells. These findings strongly suggest that HER-2/neu may serve as an excellent target for developing anticancer agents specific for HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancer cells. HER-2/neu-encoded p185 protein is a receptor tyrosine kinase that can be associated with multiple signal transduction pathways. However, it is not yet clear how a specific signal pathway may correspond to a specific biological response. This report reviews basic information on signal transduction of HER-2/neu receptor tyrosine kinase and summarizes our approaches to targeting HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancer cells. The HER-2/neu promoter was targeted using cationic liposomes or an adenovirus vector to deliver the adenovirus-5 EIA gene products and a nontransformed mutant of the SV40 large T antigen into the tumor-bearing mice. This resulted in suppression of the tumor growth and prolongation of survival. For repressing the function of HER-2/neu we used emodin, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This agent can inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity of HER-2/neu and preferentially block the growth of the HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells in tissue culture as well as in nude mice.
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PMID:Basic science of HER-2/neu: a review. 1048 94

ErbB-4 is a recently discovered member of the class I receptor tyrosine kinase family (ErbB). Little is known about its expression and its importance in human malignancy. To delineate the biological function of ErbB-4 receptors in breast cancer, we used a hammerhead ribozyme strategy to achieve down-regulation of ErbB-4 receptors in various breast cancer cell lines. We observed that down-regulation of ErbB-4 in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T47D), which express relatively high levels of ErbB-4, significantly inhibited colony formation. No effects were observed in estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) MDA-MB-453 cells, which express low levels of endogenous ErbB4 and high levels of ErbB-2 and ErbB-3. This occurred despite the fact that fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis of these latter cells revealed that the expression of the ErbB-4 receptor was completely abrogated by ribozyme treatment. Furthermore, down-regulation of ErbB-4 in T47D and MCF-7 cells significantly inhibited tumor formation in athymic nude mice (P < 0.03 and P < 0.001, respectively). In addition, NRG-stimulated phosphorylation of ErbB-4- and NRG-induced colony formation was significantly reduced in ribozyme-transfected T47D cells. These data provide the first evidence that elevation of ErbB-4 expression plays a role in the proliferation of some ER+ human breast cancer cell lines (T47D and MCF-7) that express high levels of ErbB-4. We have also investigated the expression of ErbB-4 in human primary breast carcinoma specimens, using immunohistochemical staining with an anti-ErbB-4 monoclonal antibody. ErbB-4 expression was found in 60% of the 50 primary breast tumors examined, and high intense immunoreactivity of ErbB-4 was detected in 18% of these primary breast tumors. ErbB-4 receptor expression appeared to correlate with ER+ primary breast tumors. A similar correlation was also observed in the human breast cancer cell lines. These results provide a better understanding of the biological significance of ErbB-4 receptor in breast cancer. Our data suggest that elevation of the ErbB-4 receptor plays a role in ER+ breast cancer cell proliferation. Moreover, ribozyme technology provides a useful tool to delineate the role of a particular gene product.
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PMID:Ribozyme-mediated down-regulation of ErbB-4 in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells inhibits proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. 1053 15

Alterations that affect the ectodomain of receptor tyrosine kinases are often associated with constitutive activation of the enzymic activity of the mutant cell-associated receptor. Since the ectodomain of the ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase has been detected as a soluble fragment in the culture supernatant of cells and serum from patients with advanced breast cancer, the possible presence of cell-associated truncated forms of ErbB2 in cancer cells was investigated. Several cell-bound N-terminal truncated forms of ErbB2 were identified in breast cancer cells overexpressing this receptor. The presence of the truncated fragments was independent of lysosomal/proteasomal activity, indicating that classical receptor tyrosine kinase degradation systems were not involved in the N-terminal cleavages. The presence of these truncated forms of ErbB2 was up-regulated by protein kinase C and neuregulin; and down-regulated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and monoclonal antibodies that target the ectodomain of ErbB2, indicating that N-terminal cleavages of ErbB2 were regulated by multiple mechanisms. The truncated fragments were tyrosine-phosphorylated under resting conditions, and associated with the signalling intermediates Shc and Grb2. It is therefore likely that these truncated forms may be endowed with constitutive activity that allows them to permanently signal.
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PMID:Signalling-competent truncated forms of ErbB2 in breast cancer cells: differential regulation by protein kinase C and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. 1056 14


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