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)

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are induced in vitro by several cytotoxic drugs; in human breast cancer cells these proteins appear to be involved in anti-cancer drug resistance. The present report was designed to analyze whether chemotherapy affects in vivo the expression of Hsp27, Hsp70, Hsc70 and Hsp90 in breast cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy and whether these proteins may be determinants of tumor resistance to drug administration. We have analyzed 35 biopsies from breast cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy. Expression of the Hsps in the tumors was compared with (i) histological and clinical responses to chemotherapy, (ii) tumor cell proliferation measured by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunostaining and nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) staining and (iii) the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors. We also compared disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) with the expression of the Hsps studied. After chemotherapy, nuclear Hsp27 and Hsp70 expression was increased and Hsp70 and Hsc70 cytoplasmic expression was decreased. A high nuclear proportion of Hsp70 in tumor cells (>10%) correlated significantly with drug resistance. We also observed that patients whose tumors expressed nuclear or a high cytoplasmic proportion (>66%) of Hsp27 had shorter DFS. The combination of Hsp27 and Hsp70 levels showed a strong correlation with DFS. Neither the cellular proliferation nor the levels of steroid receptors showed any significant difference before or after drug administration or during follow-up of patients. Our results suggest that Hsp27 and Hsp70 are involved in drug resistance in breast cancer patients treated with combination chemotherapies.
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PMID:Heat shock protein expression and drug resistance in breast cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy. 976 Nov 14

The mechanism of signal transduction by the estrogen receptor (ER) is complex and not fully understood. In addition to the ER, a number of accessory proteins are apparently required to efficiently transduce the steroid hormone signal. In the absence of estradiol, the ER, like other steroid receptors, is complexed with Hsp90 and other molecular chaperone components, including an immunophilin, and p23. This Hsp90-based chaperone complex is thought to repress the ER's transcriptional regulatory activities while maintaining the receptor in a conformation that is competent for high-affinity steroid binding. However, a role for p23 in ER signal transduction has not been demonstrated. Using a mutant ER (G400V) with decreased hormone binding capacity as a substrate in a dosage suppression screen in yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), we identified the yeast homologue of the human p23 protein (yhp23) as a positive regulator of ER function. Overexpression of yhp23 in yeast cells increases ER transcriptional activation by increasing estradiol binding in vivo. Importantly, the magnitude of the effect of yhp23 on ER transcriptional activation is inversely proportional to the concentration of both ER and estradiol in the cell. Under conditions of high ER expression, ER transcriptional activity is largely independent of yhp23, whereas at low levels of ER expression, ER transcriptional activation is primarily dependent on yhp23. The same relationship holds for estradiol levels. We further demonstrate that yhp23 colocalizes with the ER in vivo. Using a yhp23-green fluorescent protein fusion protein, we observed a redistribution of yhp23 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus upon coexpression with ER. This nuclear localization of yhp23 was reversed by the addition of estradiol, a finding consistent with yhp23's proposed role as part of the aporeceptor complex. Expression of human p23 in yeast partially complements the loss of yhp23 function with respect to ER signaling. Finally, ectopic expression of human p23 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells increases both hormone-dependent and hormone-independent transcriptional activation by the ER. Together, these results strongly suggest that p23 plays an important role in ER signal transduction.
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PMID:Role for Hsp90-associated cochaperone p23 in estrogen receptor signal transduction. 1020 98

Autoantibodies to the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp 90) have been reported as prognostic marker in breast cancer patients. Sera from 20 high-grade osteosarcoma patients were tested at the time of diagnosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Presence of anti-Hsp90 antibodies correlated with a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P < 0.01), whereas the absence correlated with development of metastases. These data suggest that anti-Hsp90 antibodies might be of predictive value in human osteosarcoma.
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PMID:Antibodies to heat shock protein 90 in osteosarcoma patients correlate with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. 1063 71

Geldanamycin (GM) is a natural antibiotic that binds Hsp90 and induces the degradation of receptor tyrosine kinases, steroid receptors, and Raf. It is a potent inhibitor of cancer cells that overexpress HER-kinases, but its effects on other important proteins may cause significant toxicity and limit its clinical use. We report the synthesis and identification of a GM dimer, GMD-4c, which had selective activity against HER-kinases. Selectivity was a function of linker length and required two intact GM moieties. GMD-4c is a potent inducer of G1 block and apoptosis of breast cancer cell lines that overexpress HER2, but does not appreciably inhibit the growth of 32D cells that lack HER-kinases. GMD-4c could be useful in the treatment of carcinomas dependent on HER-kinases.
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PMID:Identification of a geldanamycin dimer that induces the selective degradation of HER-family tyrosine kinases. 1078 65

17-(Allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) is an ansamycin antibiotic that binds to a conserved pocket in Hsp90 and induces the degradation of proteins that require this chaperone for conformational maturation. 17-AAG causes a retinoblastoma (RB)-dependent G1 block in cancer cells and is now in clinical trial. In breast cancer cells, G1 block is accompanied by differentiation and followed by apoptosis. The differentiation is characterized by specific changes in morphology and induction of milk fat proteins and lipid droplets. In cells lacking RB, neither G1 arrest nor differentiation occurs; instead, they undergo apoptosis in mitosis. Introduction of RB into these cells restores the differentiation response to 17-AAG. Inhibitors of the ras, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathways cause accumulation of milk fat proteins and induction of lipid droplets when associated with G1 arrest but do not cause morphological changes. Thus, regulation of Hsp90 function by 17-AAG in breast cancer cells induces RB-dependent morphological and functional mammary differentiation. G1 arrest is sufficient for some but not all aspects of the phenotype. Induction of differentiation may be responsible for some of the antitumor effects of this drug.
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PMID:Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 function by ansamycins causes the morphological and functional differentiation of breast cancer cells. 1130 72

The unactivated steroid receptors are chaperoned into a conformation that is optimal for binding hormone by a number of heat shock proteins, including Hsp90, Hsp70, Hsp40, and the immunophilin, FKBP52 (Hsp56). Together with its partner cochaperones, cyclophilin 40 (CyP40) and FKBP51, FKBP52 belongs to a distinct group of structurally related immunophilins that modulate steroid receptor function through their association with Hsp90. Due to the structural similarity between the component immunophilins, FKBP52 and cyclophilin 40, we decided to investigate whether CyP40 is also a heat shock protein. Exposure of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to elevated temperatures (42 degrees C for 3 hours) resulted in a 75-fold increase in CyP40 mRNA levels, but no corresponding increase in CyP40 protein expression, even after 7 hours of heat stress. The use of cycloheximide to inhibit protein synthesis revealed that in comparison to MCF-7 cells cultured at 37 degrees C, those exposed to heat stress (42 degrees C for 3 hours) displayed an elevated rate of degradation of both CyP40 and FKBP52 proteins. Concomitantly, the half-life of the CyP40 protein was reduced from more than 24 hours to just over 8 hours following heat shock. As no alteration in CyP40 protein levels occurred in cells exposed to heat shock, an elevated rate of degradation would imply that CyP40 protein was synthesized at an increased rate, hence the designation of human CyP40 as a heat shock protein. Application of heat stress elicited a marked redistribution of CyP40 protein in MCF-7 cells from a predominantly nucleolar localization, with some nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, to a pattern characterized by a pronounced nuclear accumulation of CyP40, with no distinguishable nucleolar staining. This increase in nuclear CyP40 possibly resulted from a redistribution of cytoplasmic and nucleolar CyP40, as no net increase in CyP40 expression levels occurred in response to stress. Exposure of MCF-7 cells to actinomycin D for 4 hours resulted in the translocation of the nucleolar marker protein, B23, from the nucleolus, with only a small reduction in nucleolar CyP40 levels. Under normal growth conditions, MCF-7 cells exhibited an apparent colocalization of CyP40 and FKBP52 within the nucleolus.
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PMID:Human cyclophilin 40 is a heat shock protein that exhibits altered intracellular localization following heat shock. 1152 44

Ansamycin antibiotics, such as 17-allylaminogeldanamycin (17-AAG), bind to Hsp90 and regulate its function, resulting in the proteasomal degradation of a subset of signaling proteins that require Hsp90 for conformational maturation. HER2 is a very sensitive target of these drugs. Ansamycins cause RB-dependent G1 arrest that is associated with loss of D-cyclins via a PI3 kinase, Akt dependent pathway. Downregulation of D-cyclin was due, in part, to loss of Akt expression in response to drug. Moreover, in HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cells, 17-AAG caused rapid inhibition of Akt activity prior to any change in Akt protein. Ansamycins caused rapid degradation of HER2 and a concomitant loss in HER3 associated PI3 kinase activity. This led to a loss of Akt activity, dephosphorylation of Akt substrates, and loss of D-cyclin expression. Introduction into cells of a constitutively membrane bound form of PI3 kinase prevented the effects of the drug on Akt activity and D-cyclins. Thus, in breast cancer cells with high HER2, Akt activation by HER2/HER3 heterodimers is required for D-cyclin expression. In murine xenograft models, non-toxic doses of 17-AAG markedly reduced the expression of HER2 and phosphorylation of Akt and inhibited tumor growth. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of Akt activation is achievable with ansamycins and may be useful for the treatment of HER2 driven tumors.
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PMID:Ansamycin antibiotics inhibit Akt activation and cyclin D expression in breast cancer cells that overexpress HER2. 1185 Aug 35

The estrogen receptor (ER) is a hormone-dependent transcription factor that belongs to the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily. Since the ER contributes to development and progression in human breast cancer, a number of studies have explored ways to inactivate this receptor. Previous studies have suggested that the 90-kDa heat shock protein (Hsp90) interacts with the ER, thus stabilizing the receptor in an inactive state. Here, we report that radicicol, an Hsp90-specific inhibitor, repressed estrogen-dependent transactivation of the ER as measured by pS2 gene transcription and a reporter gene encoding an estrogen-responsive element. Furthermore, we showed that radicicol induced rapid degradation of ERalpha, while the amount of ubiquitinated ERalpha was increased. A proteasome inhibitor, LLnL, almost completely abrogated the radicicol-induced decrease in expression level, as well as in transcriptional activity of ERalpha. These results suggest that radicicol disrupts the ER-Hsp90 heterodimeric complex, thereby generating ERalpha that is susceptible to ubiquitin/proteasome-induced degradation.
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PMID:Radicicol represses the transcriptional function of the estrogen receptor by suppressing the stabilization of the receptor by heat shock protein 90. 1191 45

Serological screening of recombinant cDNA expression libraries has been widely used for the identification of tumour antigens in various cancer types. Identification of tumour antigens in ovarian cancer may facilitate the development of vaccine-based therapies and of disease biomarkers. The purpose of our investigation is to identify tumour antigens in ovarian cancer by using the serological analysis of recombinant cDNA expression libraries method. A recombinant ovarian carcinoma cDNA expression library was screened with ascites fluid, pooled from five ovarian cancer patients. Twelve tumour antigens encoded by known genes were isolated, including ribosomal protein S18, heat shock protein 90, JK-recombination signal binding protein, ribonucleoprotein H1, RAN binding protein 7, TG-interacting factor, eukaryotic translation initiation factor p40 subunit, human amyloid precursor protein-binding protein 1, ribosomal protein L8, CDC23, IQ motif containing GTPase activating protein 1, and ribosomal protein L3. Heat shock protein 90 was chosen for further investigation. The prevalence of hsp90 autoantibodies in ovarian cancer was determined with immunoassay. Sera from 22 normal females, 32 from ovarian cancer (22 stage III/IV, 10 stage I/II), 37 colorectal cancer, 13 breast cancer, 10 lung cancer, 20 benign gynaecologic diseases, and 10 benign breast lesions were screened. Seven (32%) stage III/IV ovarian cancer, 1 (10%) stage I/II ovarian cancer, 1 (3%) colorectal cancer, 1 (8%) breast cancer, and 1 (5%) benign gynaecologic disease sera were found to contain hsp90 autoantibodies. These data support the view that hsp90 autoantibodies are frequently found in late stage ovarian cancer. Hsp90 may, therefore, represent a novel biomarker for ovarian cancer and a candidate ovarian cancer vaccine target.
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PMID:Identification of heat shock protein 90 and other proteins as tumour antigens by serological screening of an ovarian carcinoma expression library. 1217 5

The phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase/Akt pathway is activated frequently in human cancer, and has been implicated in tumor proliferation, cell survival, and resistance to apoptotic stimuli. Akt forms a complex with heat shock protein (Hsp) 90 and Cdc37, and inhibitors of Hsp90 cause Akt degradation. 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AGG) is an Hsp90 inhibitor currently in Phase I clinical trial. 17-AAG inhibits Akt activation and expression in tumors, and has antitumor activity in breast cancer xenografts. The combination of 17-AAG and Taxol is synergistic, and 17-AAG sensitizes tumor cells to Taxol-induced apoptosis in a schedule-dependent manner. Transfection of membrane-bound p110 PI3k prevented 17-AAG inactivation of Akt and abrogated the enhancement of Taxol-induced apoptosis caused by the drug. 17-AAG and Taxol could be administered together at their maximally tolerated doses to tumor-bearing mice. Doses of 17-AAG that induce HER2 degradation and cause Akt inactivation but have no single agent activity were effective in sensitizing tumors to Taxol. Enhancement was schedule-dependent and maximal when Taxol and 17-AAG were administered on the same day. These results suggest that Hsp90 inhibitors can effectively suppress Akt activity in animal models of human cancer at nontoxic doses, thus sensitizing tumor cells to proapoptotic stimuli.
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PMID:Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 function down-regulates Akt kinase and sensitizes tumors to Taxol. 1272 31


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