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

Overexpression of the oncogene for ErbB-2 is an unfavorable prognostic marker in human breast cancer. Its oncogenic potential appears to depend on the state of tyrosine phosphorylation. However, the mechanisms by which ErbB-2 is constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated in human breast cancer are poorly understood. We now show that human breast carcinoma samples with ErbB-2 overexpression have higher proliferative and metastatic activity in the presence of autocrine secretion of prolactin (PRL). By using a neutralizing antibody or dominant negative (DN) strategies or specific inhibitors, we also show that activation of Janus kinase Jak2 by autocrine secretion of PRL is one of the significant components of constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of ErbB-2, its association with Grb2 and activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in human breast cancer cell lines that overexpress ErbB-2. Furthermore, the neutralizing anti-PRL antibody or erbB-2 antisense oligonucleotide or DN Jak2 or Jak2 inhibitor or DNRas or MAP kinase kinase inhibitor inhibits the proliferation of both untreated and PRL-treated cells. Our results indicate that autocrine secretion of PRL stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of ErbB-2 by Jak2, provides docking sites for Grb2 and stimulates Ras-MAP kinase cascade, thereby causing unrestricted cellular proliferation. The identification of this novel cross-talk between ErbB-2 and the autocrine growth stimulatory loop for PRL may provide new targets for therapeutic and preventive intervention of human breast cancer.
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PMID:Constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of ErbB-2 via Jak2 by autocrine secretion of prolactin in human breast cancer. 1093 66

Biochemical and genetic strategies have implied that aberrant signaling in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway contributes significantly to transformed phenotypes. Using PD98059, an inhibitor of the ERK-kinase MEK1, we have here assessed the effects of ERK inhibition on the pattern of protein expression in the metastatic human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. At a concentration of inhibitor which did not significantly affect cell growth, PD98059 induced large changes in the expression of MDA-MB-231 polypeptides. The majority of these changes were due to decreased expression of low-abundance proteins. Decreases of more abundant proteins such as glutathione-S-transferase pi, hsp80 and hsp100 were also recorded. The levels of a few proteins increased, among them cytokeratin 8. We conclude that PD98059 treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells induces large changes in protein expression.
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PMID:Inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activity of the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 leads to major alterations in the pattern of protein expression. 1094 53

Genetic ras mutations are infrequent in breast cancer but Ras may be pathologically activated in breast cancer by overexpression of growth factor receptors which signal through Ras. Using a highly sensitive, coupled enzymatic assay, we measured Ras activation in 20 breast cancers, two fibroadenomas, and seven normal breast samples. Ras was highly activated compared to benign tissue in 11 of the 20 cancers; 7 of these 11 cancers expressed both the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and ErbB-2/neu/HER-2 receptors with the remaining four cancers with high Ras activation expressing one of these two receptors. In the other nine cancers, Ras activation was similar to that observed in benign breast tissue with none of these cancers expressing the EGF receptor while one expressed the ErbB-2 receptor. None of the cancers tested had an activating K-ras mutation nor did any of the cancers express a truncated EGF receptor or the c-FMS receptor. The activity of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase was high in the cancers, and reflected the degree of Ras activation. In cultured mammary tumor cell lines, we showed that Ras activation was ligand dependent in cells overexpressing the ErbB-2 receptor. Thus, Ras was abnormally activated in breast cancers overexpressing the EGF and/or ErbB-2 receptors indicating there are sufficient ligands in vivo to activate these receptors, and this work provides a basis for new target-based treatments of this disease.
Breast Cancer Res Treat 2000 Jul
PMID:Ras activation in human breast cancer. 1098 85

Estrogen rapidly activates the mitogen-activated protein kinases, Erk-1 and Erk-2, via an as yet unknown mechanism. Here, evidence is provided that estrogen-induced Erk-1/-2 activation occurs independently of known estrogen receptors, but requires the expression of the G protein-coupled receptor homolog, GPR30. We show that 17beta-estradiol activates Erk-1/-2 not only in MCF-7 cells, which express both estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and ER beta, but also in SKBR3 breast cancer cells, which fail to express either receptor. Immunoblot analysis using GPR30 peptide antibodies showed that this estrogen response was associated with the presence of GPR30 protein in these cells. MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (ER alpha-, ER beta+) are GPR30 deficient and insensitive to Erk-1/-2 activation by 17beta-estradiol. Transfection of MDA-MB-231 cells with a GPR30 complementary DNA resulted in overexpression of GPR30 protein and conversion to an estrogen-responsive phenotype. In addition, GPR30-dependent Erk-1/-2 activation was triggered by ER antagonists, including ICI 182,780, yet not by 17alpha-estradiol or progesterone. Consistent with acting through a G protein-coupled receptor, estradiol signaling to Erk-1/-2 occurred via a Gbetagamma-dependent, pertussis toxin-sensitive pathway that required Src-related tyrosine kinase activity and tyrosine phosphorylation of tyrosine 317 of the Shc adapter protein. Reinforcing this idea, estradiol signaling to Erk-1/-2 was dependent upon trans-activation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor via release of heparan-bound EGF (HB-EGF). Estradiol signaling to Erk-1/-2 could be blocked by: 1) inhibiting EGF-receptor tyrosine kinase activity, 2) neutralizing HB-EGF with antibodies, or 3) down-modulating HB-EGF from the cell surface with the diphtheria toxin mutant, CRM-197. Our data imply that ER-negative breast tumors that continue to express GPR30 may use estrogen to drive growth factor-dependent cellular responses.
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PMID:Estrogen-induced activation of Erk-1 and Erk-2 requires the G protein-coupled receptor homolog, GPR30, and occurs via trans-activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor through release of HB-EGF. 1104 79

Heregulin beta1 (HRG), a combinatorial ligand for human growth factor receptors 3 and 4, is a regulatory polypeptide that promotes the differentiation of mammary epithelial cells into secretory lobuloalveoli. Emerging evidence suggests that the processes of secretory pathways, such as biogenesis and trafficking of vesicles in neurons and adipose cells, are regulated by the Rab family of low-molecular-weight GTPases. In this study, we identified Rab3A as a gene product induced by HRG. Full-length Rab3A was cloned from a mammary gland cDNA library. We demonstrated that HRG stimulation of human breast cancer cells and normal breast epithelial cells induces the expression of Rab3A protein and mRNA in a cycloheximide-independent manner. HRG-mediated induction of Rab3A expression was blocked by an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase but not by inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinases p38(MAPK) and p42/44(MAPK). Human breast epithelial cells also express other components of regulated vesicular traffic, such as rabphilin 3A, Doc2, and syntaxin. Rab3A was predominantly localized in the cytosol, and HRG stimulation of the epithelial cells also raised the level of membrane-bound Rab3A. HRG treatment induced a profound alteration in the cell morphology in which cells displayed neuron-like membrane extensions that contained Rab3A-coated, vesicle-like structures. In addition, HRG also promoted the secretion of cellular proteins from the mammary epithelial cells. The ability of HRG to modify exocytosis was verified by using a growth hormone transient-transfection system. Analysis of mouse mammary gland development revealed the expression of Rab3A in mammary epithelial cells. Furthermore, expression of the HRG transgene in Harderian tumors in mice also enhanced the expression of Rab3A. These observations provide new evidence of the existence of a Rab3A pathway in mammary epithelial cells and suggest that it may play a role in vesicle trafficking and secretion of proteins from epithelial cells in response to stimulation by the HRG expressed within the mammary mesenchyma.
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PMID:Evidence of Rab3A expression, regulation of vesicle trafficking, and cellular secretion in response to heregulin in mammary epithelial cells. 1107 7

Overexpression of ErbB2, a receptor-like tyrosine kinase, is shared by several types of human carcinomas. In breast tumors the extent of overexpression has a prognostic value, thus identifying the oncoprotein as a target for therapeutic strategies. Already, antibodies to ErbB2 are used in combination with chemotherapy in the treatment of metastasizing breast cancer. The mechanisms underlying the oncogenic action of ErbB2 involve a complex network in which ErbB2 acts as a ligand-less signaling subunit of three other receptors that directly bind a large repertoire of stroma-derived growth factors. The major partners of ErbB2 in carcinomas are ErbB1 (also called EGFR) and ErbB3, a kinase-defective receptor whose potent mitogenic action is activated in the context of heterodimeric complexes. Why ErbB2-containing heterodimers are relatively oncopotent is a function of a number of processes. Apparently, these heterodimers evade normal inactivation processes, by decreasing the rate of ligand dissociation, internalizing relatively slowly and avoiding the degradative pathway by returning to the cell surface. On the other hand, the heterodimers strongly recruit survival and mitogenic pathways such as the mitogen-activated protein kinases and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Hyper-activated signaling through the ErbB-signaling network results in dysregulation of the cell cycle homeostatic machinery, with upregulation of active cyclin-D/CDK complexes. Recent data indicate that cell cycle regulators are also linked to chemoresistance in ErbB2-dependent breast carcinoma. Together with D-type cyclins, it seems that the CDK inhibitor p21waf1 plays an important role in evasion from apoptosis. These recent findings herald a preliminary understanding of the output layer which connects elevated ErbB-signaling to oncogenesis and chemoresistance.
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PMID:Molecular mechanisms underlying ErbB2/HER2 action in breast cancer. 1115 23

Previous work suggested that antiangiogenic activity may be a novel mechanism contributing to the cancer chemopreventive activity of selenium (Se). Because methylselenol has been implicated as an in vivo active chemopreventive Se metabolite, experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that this metabolite pool might inhibit the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) by vascular endothelial cells and of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by cancer epithelial cells, two proteins critical for angiogenesis and its regulation. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), zymographic analyses showed that short-term exposure to methylseleninic acid (MSeA) and methylselenocyanate (MSeCN), both immediate methylselenol precursors, decreased the MMP-2 gelatinolytic activity in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, Se forms that enter the hydrogen selenide pool lacked any inhibitory effect. The methyl Se inhibitory effect on MMP-2 was cell dependent because direct incubation with Se compounds in the test tube did not result in its inactivation. Immunoblot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses showed that a decrease of the MMP-2 protein level largely accounted for the methyl Se-induced reduction of gelatinolytic activity. The effect of MSeA on MMP-2 expression occurred within 0.5 h of exposure and preceded MSeA-induced reduction of the phosphorylation level of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) 1 and 2 (approximately 3 h) and endothelial apoptosis (approximately 25 h). In addition to these biochemical effects in monolayer culture, MSeA and MSeCN exposure decreased HUVEC viability and cell retraction in a three-dimensional context of capillary tubes formed on Matrigel, whereas comparable or higher concentrations of selenite failed to exert such effects. In human prostate cancer (DU145) and breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468) cell lines, exposure to MSeA but not to selenite led to a rapid and sustained decrease of cellular (lysate) and secreted (conditioned medium) VEGF protein levels irrespective of the serum level (serum-free medium vs. 10% fetal bovine serum) in which Se treatments were carried out. The concentration of MSeA required for suppressing VEGF expression was much lower than that needed for apoptosis induction. Taken together, the data support the hypothesis that the monomethyl Se pool is a proximal Se for inhibiting the expression of MMP-2 and VEGF and of angiogenesis. The data also indicate that the methyl Se-specific inhibitory effects on these proteins are rapid and primary actions, preceding or independent of inhibitory effects on mitogenic signaling at the level of MAPK1/2 and on cell growth and survival.
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PMID:Monomethyl selenium--specific inhibition of MMP-2 and VEGF expression: implications for angiogenic switch regulation. 1117 Feb 62

Estrogen (E2) palys critical roles in the development of tumors in female reproductive organs. Development of most breast cancers is dependent on E&sub2; in most cases. Most E&sub2; actions are considered to be exerted through two subtypes of Estrogen receptors (ERs), ERalpha and ERbeta. ERs belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily, and act as ligand-inducible transcription factors to activate transcription of a particular set of the target genes. Ligand-bound ER recruits at least two distinct classes of coactivator complexes. In estrogen-dependent breast cancer, growth factors are shown to often act synergisticaly with E&sub2;, and the breast cancer often become resistant to treatment of estogen antagonists. However, the molecular basis of this coupled regulation of growth factor and ER-mediated signaling and hormone-resistance are largely unknown. We have previously shown that MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinase (MAPK) activated by growth factors phosphorylates and potentiates the N-terminal transactivation function (AF-1), indicating a possible molecular mechanism of a novel cross-talk between two signalings (Kato et al, 1995). Furthermore, we have identified a coactivator that specifically interacts with ER alpha AF-1 (Endoh et al, 1999). In this review, this cross-talk is discussed in terms of the transactivation function of ERs and their coactivators.
Breast Cancer 2001
PMID:Estrogen receptor-mediated cross-talk with growth factor signaling pathways. 1118 Jul 60

The 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase (3beta-HSD) isoenzymes catalyze an essential step in the formation of all classes of active steroid hormones. We have recently shown that 3beta-HSD type 1 gene expression is specifically induced by interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 in several human cancer cell lines and in normal human mammary and prostatic epithelial cells in primary culture. There is evidence that IL-4 stimulates bifurcating signaling pathways in which the Stat6-signal pathway is involved in differentiation and gene regulation, whereas insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins mediate the mitogenic action of IL-4. As a matter of fact, we have shown that IL-4-activated Stat6 in all cell lines studied, where IL-4 induced 3beta-HSD type 1 expression but not in those cell lines that failed to respond to IL-4. The mechanism of the induction of 3beta-HSD type 1 gene expression was further characterized in ZR-75-1 human breast cancer cells. We have also found that IL-4 rapidly induced IRS-1 and IRS-2 phosphorylation in these cell lines. Moreover, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and insulin, which are well known to cause IRS-1 and IRS-2 phosphorylation, increased the stimulatory effect of IL-4 on 3beta-HSD activity. IRS-1 and IRS-2 are adapter molecules that provide docking sites for different SH2 domain-containing proteins, leading to the activation of multiple pathways, such as the phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase and the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) pathways. The inhibition of IL-4-induced 3beta-HSD expression by PI 3-kinase inhibitors (wortmannin and LY294002) as well as an inhibitor of MAP kinase activation (PD98059), indicates the involvement of those pathways in this response to IL-4. Wortmannin also blocked MAP kinase activation by IL-4, insulin and IGF-1 suggesting that the MAP kinase cascade acts as a downstream effector of PI 3-kinases. Furthermore, we showed that the PKC activator phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) also potentiated the IL-4-induced 3beta-HSD activity, thus suggesting that one signaling molecule that is involved in the signal transduction of the IL-4 action on 3beta-HSD type 1 expression is also a substrate for PKC. Taken together, these findings suggest the existence of a novel mechanism of gene regulation by IL-4. This mechanism would involve in the phosphorylation of IRS-1 and IRS-2, which transduce the IL-4 signal through a PI 3-kinase- and MAP kinase-dependent signaling pathway. However, the inability of IGF-1, insulin and PMA to stimulate 3beta-HSD type 1 expression by themselves in the absence of IL-4 indicates that the multiple pathways downstream of IRS-1 and IRS-2 must act in cooperation with an IL-4-specific signaling molecule, such as the transcription factor Stat6. It is also of interest to note that there also appear to be differences between the regulation of the 3beta-HSD type 1 and type 2 promoters.
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PMID:Multiple signal transduction pathways mediate interleukin-4-induced 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase in normal and tumoral target tissues. 1138 80

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is released from the matrix during bone resorption and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of giant cell tumors of bone and the expansion of breast cancer metastases in bone. Because osteoclasts mediate tumor-induced osteolysis, we investigated whether TGF-beta stimulates osteoclast recruitment. Osteoclasts were isolated from rat long bones and time-lapse video microscopy was used to monitor their morphology and motility. Within 5 minutes, TGF-beta (0.1 nM) induced dynamic ruffling, with 65% of osteoclasts displaying membrane ruffles compared with 35% in untreated controls. Over a 2-h period, osteoclasts exhibited significant directed migration toward a source of TGF-beta, indicating chemotaxis. echistatin, an alphavbeta3 integrin blocker that inhibits macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-induced osteoclast migration, did not prevent the migration of osteoclasts toward TGF-beta. In contrast, a beta1 integrin blocking antibody inhibited osteoclast chemotaxis toward TGF-beta but not M-CSF. These data indicate the selective use of integrins by osteoclasts migrating in response to different chemotaxins. In addition, wortmannin and U0126 inhibited TGF-beta-induced chemotaxis, suggesting involvement of the phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI 3) kinase and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathways. Physiologically, TGF-beta, may coordinate osteoclast activity by recruiting osteoclasts to existing sites of resorption. Pathologically, TGF-beta-induced osteoclast recruitment may be critical for expansion of primary and metastatic tumors in bone.
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PMID:Transforming growth factor-beta induces osteoclast ruffling and chemotaxis: potential role in osteoclast recruitment. 1145 Jun 99


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