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

Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen modulator (SERM) that has found clinical utility in the treatment of breast cancer, is an antagonist in the breast and an agonist in the uterus. These agonist actions in the uterus lead to an increased risk of endometrial cancer. In this study in mice we have analyzed the mechanism of action of tamoxifen in inducing cell proliferation in the uterine luminal epithelia. Tamoxifen induces a wave of DNA synthesis in these epithelial cells with kinetics similar to those seen after 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) treatment. However, by these criteria of mitogenicity, it is much less potent and never achieves full estrogenicity. This uterine epithelial cell proliferation is preceded by the mobilization of cyclin D1 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus which, together with CDK4, phosphorylates members of the Rb-retinoblastoma family of proteins, pRb and p107. Subsequent to this initial nuclear accumulation of cyclin D1, cyclin E and then cyclin A are induced that, together with the activation of CDK2, results in enhanced cyclin E- and cyclin A-dependent CDK2 kinase activity and further phosphorylation of pRb and p107. These actions of tamoxifen parallel those of E(2). Tamoxifen also induced the classical estrogen water imbibition response. However, in this it was more potent, producing a maximal response at doses that do not affect DNA synthesis. This suggests that the uterotropic response is not an accurate predictor of the compound's hyperplasia responses. We can conclude that, in its effects on proliferation, tamoxifen acts as a classical impeded estrogen and this suggests that the AF-1 transcription activation domain of the estrogen receptor that is activated upon both E(2) and tamoxifen binding to this receptor regulates these responses in the uterus.
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PMID:The molecular basis of tamoxifen induction of mouse uterine epithelial cell proliferation. 1564 90

Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) is a naturally occurring polyphosphorylated carbohydrate with demonstrated anti-proliferative and anti-cancer activity in mammary cells. We hypothesized that IP6 modulates cell cycle proteins by action on cytoplasmic signaling molecules. The effects of both pharmacological (2 mM) and physiological (100 microM) doses of IP6 on major PKC isoforms (PKCalpha, delta, epsilon, beta and zeta), PI3-K/Akt and ras/Erk1/2 were evaluated. Treatment of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with 2 mM IP6 for 24 h caused a 3.1-fold increase in the expression of anti-proliferative PKCdelta. Similar results were observed with 100 microM IP6 at only 30-60 min post-treatment. IP6 also caused an increase in PKCdelta activity, shown by its translocation from cytosol to membrane. No changes in expression of PKC alpha, delta, epsilon, beta and zeta were detected. Additionally, IP6 caused a decrease of Erk1/2 and Akt activity. Among cell cycle control proteins, IP6 resulted in increased p27Kip1 protein levels and marked reduction of pRb phosphorylation. Specificity of the IP6 effects on p27Kip1 and pRb in MCF-7 cells (hormone-dependent) were additionally confirmed in highly invasive hormone-independent MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells. Use of specific pharmaclogical inhibitors of PKC delta, MEK/Erk, and PI3K/Akt pathways indicated that the IP6-mediated effects on PKC delta were responsible for up-regulation of p27Kip, and pRb hypo-phosphorylation. In addition, IP6-induced apoptosis detected in MCF-7 cells appeared also to be PKC delta-dependent. Our data suggest potential usefulness of IP6 as a novel therapeutic modulator of PKC delta and p27Kip1, an important prognostic factor in human breast cancers.
Breast Cancer Res Treat 2005 May
PMID:Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) blocks proliferation of human breast cancer cells through a PKCdelta-dependent increase in p27Kip1 and decrease in retinoblastoma protein (pRb) phosphorylation. 1633 28

Calcium is universally required for cell growth and proliferation. Calmodulin is the main intracellular receptor for calcium. Although calcium and calmodulin are well known to be required for cell cycle regulation, the target pathways for their action remain poorly defined. Potential targets include the calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases (CaM-K). The aim of this study was to determine the role of the CaM-Ks on cell proliferation and progress through the cell cycle in breast cancer cells. CaM-KI inhibition with either KN-93 or specific interfering RNA (siRNA) caused an arrest in the cell cycle in the human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. This arrest occurred in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. Supporting this finding, CaM-K inhibition using KN-93 also resulted in a reduction of cyclin D1 protein and pRb phosphorylation when cells were compared with control cultures. Furthermore, inhibition of the upstream activator of CaM-KI, CaM-KK, using siRNA also resulted in cell cycle arrest. In summary, CaM-KK and CaM-KI participate in the control of the G(0)-G(1) restriction check point of the cell cycle in human breast cancer cells. This arrest seems due to an inhibition in cyclin D1 synthesis and a reduction in pRb phosphorylation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that CaM-KK has been reported to be involved in mammalian cell cycle regulation and that CaM-Ks are regulating breast cancer cell cycle.
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PMID:Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase I and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase kinase participate in the control of cell cycle progression in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. 1595 90

The imprinted H19 gene has riboregulatory functions. We show here that H19 transcription is up-regulated during the S-phase of growth-stimulated cells and that the H19 promoter is activated by E2F1 in breast cancer cells. H19 repression by pRb and E2F6 confirms the E2F1-dependent control of the H19 promoter. Consistently, we demonstrate by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays that endogenous E2F1 is recruited to the H19 promoter in vivo. The functionality of E2F promoter sites was further confirmed by gel shift and mutagenesis experiments, revealing that these sites are required for binding and promoter response to E2F1 exogenous expression and serum stimulation. Furthermore, we show that H19 overexpression confers a growth advantage on breast cancer cells released from growth arrest as well as in asynchronously growing cells. The H19 knockdown by small interfering RNA duplexes impedes S-phase entry in both wild-type and stably H19-transfected cells. Based on these findings, we conclude that the H19 RNA is actively linked to E2F1 to promote cell cycle progression of breast cancer cells. This clearly supports the H19 oncogenic function in breast tumor genesis.
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PMID:H19 mRNA-like noncoding RNA promotes breast cancer cell proliferation through positive control by E2F1. 1598 28

Normal human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) have a finite life span and do not undergo spontaneous immortalization in culture. Critical to oncogenic transformation is the ability of cells to overcome the senescence checkpoints that define their replicative life span and to multiply indefinitely -- a phenomenon referred to as immortalization. HMECs can be immortalized by exposing them to chemicals or radiation, or by causing them to overexpress certain cellular genes or viral oncogenes. However, the most efficient and reproducible model of HMEC immortalization remains expression of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) oncogenes E6 and E7. Cell culture models have defined the role of tumor suppressor proteins (pRb and p53), inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases (p16INK4a, p21, p27 and p57), p14ARF, telomerase, and small G proteins Rap, Rho and Ras in immortalization and transformation of HMECs. These cell culture models have also provided evidence that multiple epithelial cell subtypes with distinct patterns of susceptibility to oncogenesis exist in the normal mammary tissue. Coupled with information from distinct molecular portraits of primary breast cancers, these findings suggest that various subtypes of mammary cells may be precursors of different subtypes of breast cancers. Full oncogenic transformation of HMECs in culture requires the expression of multiple gene products, such as SV40 large T and small t, hTERT (catalytic subunit of human telomerase), Raf, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and Ral-GEFs (Ral guanine nucleotide exchange factors). However, when implanted into nude mice these transformed cells typically produce poorly differentiated carcinomas and not adenocarcinomas. On the other hand, transgenic mouse models using ErbB2/neu, Ras, Myc, SV40 T or polyomavirus T develop adenocarcinomas, raising the possibility that the parental normal cell subtype may determine the pathological type of breast tumors. Availability of three-dimensional and mammosphere models has led to the identification of putative stem cells, but more studies are needed to define their biologic role and potential as precursor cells for distinct breast cancers. The combined use of transformation strategies in cell culture and mouse models together with molecular definition of human breast cancer subtypes should help to elucidate the nature of breast cancer diversity and to develop individualized therapies.
Breast Cancer Res 2005
PMID:Mammary epithelial cell transformation: insights from cell culture and mouse models. 1598 72

The molecular anatomy of cancer cells is being explored through unbiased approaches aimed at the identification of cancer-specific transcriptional signatures. An alternative biased approach is exploitation of molecular tools capable of inducing cellular transformation. Transcriptional signatures thus identified can be readily validated in real cancers and more easily reverse-engineered into signaling pathways, given preexisting molecular knowledge. We exploited the ability of the adenovirus early region 1 A protein (E1A) oncogene to force the reentry into the cell cycle of terminally differentiated cells in order to identify and characterize genes whose expression is upregulated in this process. A subset of these genes was activated through a retinoblastoma protein/E2 viral promoter required factor-independent (pRb/E2F-independent) mechanism and was overexpressed in a fraction of human cancers. Furthermore, this overexpression correlated with tumor progression in colon cancer, and 2 of these genes predicted unfavorable prognosis in breast cancer. A proof of principle biological validation was performed on one of the genes of the signature, skeletal muscle cell reentry-induced (SKIN) gene, a previously undescribed gene. SKIN was found overexpressed in some primary tumors and tumor cell lines and was amplified in a fraction of colon adenocarcinomas. Furthermore, knockdown of SKIN caused selective growth suppression in overexpressing tumor cell lines but not in tumor lines expressing physiological levels of the transcript. Thus, SKIN is a candidate oncogene in human cancer.
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PMID:A cancer-specific transcriptional signature in human neoplasia. 1622 37

The erbB-2 gene encodes tyrosine kinase receptor p185(neu). Overexpression of erbB-2 plays a key role in tumorigenesis and the progression of tumors such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Our investigation suggests that the anti-inflammatory agent N-(4-ethoxyphenol)-2-hydroxy-acid amide (SUCI02) reversibly represses tyrosine phosphorylation of erbB-2 in a dose-dependent manner, with half maximal inhibition occurring at a concentration of 21.05 micromol/L without reduced erbB-2 receptor expression. Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and protein kinase B, downstream molecules of the erbB-2-mediated signal transduction pathway, was inhibited following exposure to SUCI02. In contrast, tyrosine phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was relatively unaffected by SUCI02. Proliferation of erbB-2-overexpressing BT474 cells was inhibited to a greater extent than proliferation of EGFR-overexpressing A431 cells following exposure to SUCI02. SUCI02 induced cell cycle arrest in G(1) phase with upregulation of p27 and downregulation of pRb phosphorylation. Systemic administration of SUCI02 in nude mice resulted in inhibition of erbB-2 tyrosine kinase phosphorylation of subcutaneous human breast cancer BT474 xenografts. We conclude that SUCI02 inhibits erbB-2 tyrosine kinase phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo, shuts down the erbB-2 downstream pathway and induces cell cycle arrest in G(1) phase. These results suggest that SUCI02 is a potential novel anticancer agent that deserves further investigation. (Cancer Sci 2006; 97: 84-89).
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PMID:SUCI02 inhibits the erbB-2 tyrosine kinase receptor signaling pathway and arrests the cell cycle in G1 phase in breast cancer cells. 1636 26

Tumor suppressor genes encode for proteins whose normal function is to inhibit cell transformation and whose inactivation is advantageous for tumor cell growth and survival. A variety of mechanisms result in the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, including intragenic mutations, chromosomal deletions, and loss of expression by methylation-mediated transcriptional silencing or increased proteolysis. Tumor suppressor genes participate in a variety of critical and highly conserved cell functions, including regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis, differentiation, surveillance of genomic integrity and repair of DNA errors, signal transduction, and cell adhesion. Tumor suppressor functions can be separated into 2 major categories: gatekeepers and caretakers. Gatekeepers directly inhibit tumor growth or promote tumor death. Inactivation of these genes contributes directly to cancer formation and progression. Among them, the p53 gene is the most well known. Located on chromosome band 17p13, p53 encodes a 53-kd multifunctional transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes involved in cell cycle control, apoptosis, DNA repair, and angiogenesis. In breast cancer, most studies have shown that p53 mutation or down-regulation is associated with adverse prognosis. Other tumor suppressor genes of interest in breast cancer include the retinoblastoma gene (pRb), PTEN, p16, nm23, and maspin.
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PMID:Tumor suppressor genes in breast cancer: the gatekeepers and the caretakers. 1646 15

A comparative study of the products of the cell cycle control genes p53 (mutated form), p21, Rb (nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated form) and TGFbeta was performed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot, in benign breast disorders and breast cancer (in situ and infiltrating tumors). For the five proteins studied, the relative numbers of positively stained cells were higher in in situ carcinoma than in benign breast diseases. In infiltrating breast tumors, the relative numbers of positively stained cells were even higher than in in situ tumors except for the percentage of pRb immunostained cells, which decreased slightly in infiltrative tumors. For the other four proteins, the percentages of positively stained cases were similar to those found in in situ tumors. In the three groups of patients, TGFbeta immunoreaction appeared in the cytoplasm while immunoreactions to p53, p21, Rb, and pRb were found always in the nucleus except for p21 in in situ tumors, which showed cytoplasmic immunoreaction. Present results suggest that accumulation of mutated p53, cytoplasmic p21, and pRb in breast gland epithelium might be a crucial point in the development of in situ adenocarcinoma. In the infiltrating tumors, the expression of p21 in the nuclei and the decrease in pRb expression suggest an insufficient attempt to hinder cell proliferation.
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PMID:Cell cycle control related proteins (p53, p21, and Rb) and transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) in benign and carcinomatous (in situ and infiltrating) human breast: implications in malignant transformations. 1653 79

A substantial proportion of the familial risk of breast cancer may be attributable to genetic variants each contributing a small effect. pRb controls the cell cycle and polymorphisms within it are candidates for such low penetrance susceptibility alleles, since the gene has been implicated in several human tumours, particularly breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine whether common variants in the RB1 gene are associated with breast cancer risk. We assessed 15 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a case-control study design (n< or = 4474 cases and n < or = 4560 controls). A difference in genotype frequencies was found between cases and controls for rs2854344 in intron 17 (P-trend = 0.007) and rs198580 in intron 19 (P-trend = 0.018). Carrying the minor allele of these SNPs appears to confer a protective effect on breast cancer risk (odd ratio (OR) = 0.86 (0.76-0.96) for rs2854344 and OR = 0.80 (0.66-0.96) for rs198580). However, after adjusting for multiple testing these associations were borderline with an adjusted P-trend = 0.068 for the most significant SNP (rs2854344). The RB1 gene is not known to contain any coding SNPs with allele frequencies > or = 5% but several intronic variants are in perfect linkage disequilibrium with the associated SNPs. Replication studies are needed to confirm the associations with breast cancer.
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PMID:Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the RB1 gene and association with breast cancer in the British population. 1668 66


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