Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0017636 (glioblastoma)
18,345 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Clozapine (CZP), a dibenzodiazepine derivative with a piperazinyl side chain, is in clinical use as an antipsychotic drug. This study investigated the effect of CZP on the modulation of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3beta pathway in PTEN-negative U-87MG glioblastoma cells. Treatment with CZP rapidly inhibited the basal and EGF-induced phosphorylation of Akt. The inhibition of Akt resulted in the dephosphorylation of GSK-3beta and increased GSK-3beta kinase activity. A voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channel blocker and calmodulin (CaM) antagonists inhibited Akt phosphorylation, whereas elevation of the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration prevented CZP-induced dephosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3beta, suggesting that Ca(2+)/CaM participates in the inhibition of Akt by CZP in U-87MG cells. In addition, similar to LY294002, CZP arrested cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phase, which was accompanied by decreased expression of cyclin D1. The reduction in the cyclin D1 level induced by CZP was abrogated by the inhibition of GSK-3beta, the inhibition of proteasome-dependent proteolysis, or an increase in the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. These results suggest that the antipsychotic drug CZP modulates the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3beta pathway by counteracting Ca(2+)/CaM in PTEN-negative U-87MG glioblastoma cells.
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PMID:Clozapine, a neuroleptic agent, inhibits Akt by counteracting Ca2+/calmodulin in PTEN-negative U-87MG human glioblastoma cells. 1654 21

EGFR overexpression is the most frequent and important molecular event in the development of astrocytic gliomas, and the P13K signaling pathway is one of the most important downstream pathways of EGFR. EGFR and other members of the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) family, such as VEGFR, PDGFR, and IGFR, et cetera, are often overexpressed in most of malignant gliomas and share common downstream signaling pathways. Therefore, it is considered that directly targeting the downstream PI3K pathway may be more effective in blocking multiple inputs. The PIK3CB gene encoding the class 1A PI3K catalytic subunit p110beta was selected as the target of therapeutic approach for malignant gliomas in the present study. Human U251 glioblastoma cells with high endogenous p110beta expression were transfected with plasmid-based siRNA targeting PIK3CB gene. It was found that downregulation of p110beta expression resulted in the suppression of cell proliferation, arrest of cell cycle, reduction of cell invasion, and promotion of cell apoptosis in vitro. In addition, the growth of the subcutaneous U251 glioma in the nude mice treated with siRNA targeting PIK3CB was significantly inhibited. These results demonstrate that PIK3CB overexpression may play an oncogenic role in the PI3K pathway, and the plasmid-based siRNA targeting of PIK3CB is a potential and promising approach for the treatment of malignant gliomas.
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PMID:Downregulation of PIK3CB by siRNA suppresses malignant glioma cell growth in vitro and in vivo. 1670 Jun 23

Most solid tumors display extracellular acidosis, which only partially overlaps with hypoxia and induces distinct adaptive changes leading to aggressive phenotype. Although acidosis is mainly attributable to excessive production of lactic acid, it also involves carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX-mediated conversion of CO(2) to an extracellular proton and a bicarbonate ion transported to cytoplasm. CA IX is pre-dominantly expressed in tumors with poor prognosis and its transcription and activity are induced by hypoxia. Here we investigated whether low extracellular pH in absence of hypoxia can influence CA IX expression in cell lines derived from glioblastoma, a tumor type particularly linked with acidosis. Our data show that extracellular acidosis increased the level of CA IX protein, mRNA and the activity of minimal CA9 promoter that contains binding sites for HIF-1 and SP-1 transcription factors. Mutation within each of these two biding sites reduced the promoter activity, but did not eliminate the increase by acidosis. Transfection of HIF-1alpha cDNA produced additive inducing effect with acidosis. Normoxic acidosis was accompanied by HIF-1alpha protein accumulation and transiently increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of ERK2 reduced the CA9 promoter activity in both standard and acidic conditions. Similar result was obtained by inhibitors of MAPK and PI3K pathways, whose combination completely suppressed CA IX expression and abolished induction by acidosis. Altogether, our results suggest that acidosis increases the CA IX expression via a hypoxia-independent mechanism that operates through modulation of the basic CA9 transcriptional machinery.
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PMID:Extracellular acidosis elevates carbonic anhydrase IX in human glioblastoma cells via transcriptional modulation that does not depend on hypoxia. 1696

Glioblastomas are malignant brain tumors that are rarely curable, even with aggressive therapy (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation). Glioblastomas frequently display loss of PTEN and/or epidermal growth factor receptor activation, both of which activate the PI3K pathway. This pathway can increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha expression. We examined the effects of two human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors, nelfinavir and amprenavir, which inhibit Akt signaling, on VEGF and HIF-1alpha expression and on angiogenesis. Nelfinavir decreased VEGF mRNA expression and VEGF secretion under normoxia. Downregulation of P-Akt decreased VEGF secretion in a manner similar to that of nelfinavir, but the combination of the two had no greater effect, consistent with the idea that nelfinavir decreases VEGF through the PI3K/Akt pathway. Nelfinavir also decreased the hypoxic induction of VEGF and the hypoxic induction of HIF-1alpha, which regulates VEGF promoter. The effect of nelfinavir on HIF-1alpha was most likely mediated by decreased protein translation. Nelfinavir's effect on VEGF expression had the functional consequence of decreasing angiogenesis in in vivo Matrigel plug assays. Similar effects on VEGF and HIF-1alpha expression were seen with a different protease inhibitor, amprenavir. Our results support further research into these protease inhibitors for use in future clinical trials for patients with glioblastoma multiformes.
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PMID:HIV protease inhibitors decrease VEGF/HIF-1alpha expression and angiogenesis in glioblastoma cells. 1713 20

We assessed alterations in the EGFR/PTEN/PI3K pathway in 107 primary (de novo) glioblastomas and 32 secondary glioblastomas that progressed from low-grade or anaplastic astrocytomas. SSCP followed by DNA sequencing in exons 9 and 20 of the PIK3CA gene revealed missense mutations in 5/107 (5%) primary and 1/32 (3%) secondary glioblastomas. Quantitative real-time PCR showed PIK3CA amplification (>3 copy numbers) in 14/107 (13%) primary and 3/32 (9%) secondary glioblastomas. Only one glioblastoma showed both PIK3CA mutation and amplification. Taken together with previously published data on EGFR amplification and PTEN mutations, at least one alteration in the EGFR, PTEN, or PIK3CA genes was detected in 63% of primary glioblastomas, which was significantly more frequent than in secondary glioblastomas (31%; P < 0.001). Furthermore, this signaling pathway was altered by either PTEN mutations or PIK3CA amplification in 10 of 12 (83%) malignant glioma cell lines analyzed. These results suggest that the EGFR/PTEN/PI3K pathway is frequently altered in glioblastomas and is a promising target for therapy, in particular for primary glioblastomas.
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PMID:PIK3CA alterations in primary (de novo) and secondary glioblastomas. 1723 14

High-grade gliomas comprise the most malignant type of primary brain tumor and are relatively frequent in adults. Recent studies have indicated that the loss of p16, an inhibitor of CDK4, promotes the acquisition of malignant characteristics in gliomas. A correlation between overexpression of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and glioblastoma invasion has also been established. Moreover, uPAR/integrin binding has been shown to initiate or potentiate integrin signaling through focal adhesion kinase and/or src kinases. Our previous studies demonstrated that downregulation of uPAR expression and restoration of p16 regress glioma growth in nude mice and downregulate alphavbeta3 integrin receptor expression. Here, we show the effect of a bicistronic construct on alphavbeta5 integrin receptor expression, angiogenesis and the biochemical pathway that causes glioma cell death. The U251 glioblastoma and a glioblastoma xenograft cell line transduced with a recombinant replication-defective adenovirus vector containing the cDNA of wild-type p16 and antisense RNA of uPAR significantly inhibited human mammary epithelial cell capillary formation and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Inactivation of anti-apoptotic molecules such as Akt, PARP, activation of caspases and accumulation of heteroduplex chromosomal DNA in pre-G1 phase of the cell cycle was demonstrated by Western blotting, caspase activity assay and FACS analysis. Nuclear DNA fragmentation upon induction of apoptosis was scored using the TUNEL assay. Significant downregulation of alphavbeta5 integrin receptor expression was also confirmed by FACS analysis, immunoprecipitation and RT-PCR. Taken together, the results demonstrate that the sense p16 and anti-sense uPAR bicistronic construct significantly inhibits angiogenesis, induces apoptosis by deregulation of the PI3K-Akt pathway and downregulates alphavbeta5 integrin receptor expression.
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PMID:Sense p16 and antisense uPAR bicistronic construct inhibits angiogenesis and induces glioma cell death. 1727 68

Gliomas are tumors derived from glia or their precursors within the central nervous system. Clinically, gliomas are divided into four grades and the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), also referred as grade IV astrocytoma, is the most aggressive and the most common glioma in humans. The prognosis for patients with GBM remains dismal, with a median survival of 9-12 months. Despite their striking heterogeneity, common alterations in specific cellular signal transduction pathways occur within most GBMs. Previous work from our group identified the co-chaperone stress-inducible protein 1 (STI1) as a cell surface ligand for cellular prion (PrP(C)), which leads to the activation of several signal transduction pathways, some of which modulate cell survival. In the present work, we used thymidine incorporation assays to investigate the effect of STI1 upon proliferation of the human glioblastoma-derived cell line A172. Here we report that STI1 is secreted by and induces proliferation in tumor cells, an effect that is modulated by the Erk and PI3K pathways, and that, in contrast to glioma cells, STI1 does not induce proliferation of normal glia. In addition, our data suggest the involvement of PrP(C) in STI1-induced proliferation of A172 cells. These results provide initial evidence of a new functional role for STI1 on the physiology of human gliomas, and may lead to the identification of new therapeutic targets in these tumors.
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PMID:STI1 promotes glioma proliferation through MAPK and PI3K pathways. 1788 92

N(1), N(11)-Diethylnorspermine (DENSPM) is a spermine analog and prototype anti-cancer drug that depletes cellular polyamine, increases cellular oxidative stress through the generation of H(2)O(2) and induces the death of multiple types of cancer cells. However, the survival pathways perturbed by DENSPM are uncertain. To identify these pathways, we examined a series of proteins in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase /AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathways in glioblastoma cell lines before and after treatment with DENSPM. We found that DENSPM did not change the protein levels of PI3K but did reduce the levels of AKT, phosphorylated AKT, mTOR, phosphorylated mTOR, p70(S6K), phosphorylated p70(S6K), 4E-BP1, phosphorylated 4E-BP1 and eIF-4B proteins. From this it appears that DENSPM directly targets the mTOR protein level in these glioblastoma cells by inhibiting mTOR-mediated protein synthesis. Immunofluorescence analysis of mTOR showed that DENSPM sequestered mTOR in the perinuclear region of the cells. We also detected a marked collapse of microtubules in U87 cells and a detachment of cells in a process resembling anoikis. We further showed that the levels of many proteins regulating cell growth and cell adhesion were downregulated, suggesting a broad effect of DENSPM on mTOR-mediated protein synthesis. We conclude that the activation of polyamine catabolism alters the cellular location of mTOR, thus negatively affecting mTOR-mediated protein synthesis and leading to the death of glioblastoma cells.
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PMID:Activation of polyamine catabolism by N1, N11-diethylnorspermine alters the cellular localization of mTOR and downregulates mTOR protein level in glioblastoma cells. 1792 98

Invasion of surrounding brain tissue by isolated tumor cells represents one of the main obstacles to a curative therapy of glioblastoma multiforme. Here we unravel a mechanism regulating glioma infiltration. Tumor interaction with the surrounding brain tissue induces CD95 Ligand expression. Binding of CD95 Ligand to CD95 on glioblastoma cells recruits the Src family member Yes and the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase to CD95, which signal invasion via the glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta pathway and subsequent expression of matrix metalloproteinases. In a murine syngeneic model of intracranial GBM, neutralization of CD95 activity dramatically reduced the number of invading cells. Our results uncover CD95 as an activator of PI3K and, most importantly, as a crucial trigger of basal invasion of glioblastoma in vivo.
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PMID:Yes and PI3K bind CD95 to signal invasion of glioblastoma. 1832 27

Chemoresistance represents a major problem in the treatment of many malignancies. Overcoming this obstacle will require improved understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. The progenitor cell marker NG2/melanoma proteoglycan (MPG) is aberrantly expressed by various tumors, but its role in cell death signaling and its potential as a therapeutic target are largely unexplored. We have assessed cytotoxic drug-induced cell death in glioblastoma spheroids from 15 patients, as well as in five cancer cell lines that differ with respect to NG2/MPG expression. The tumors were treated with doxorubicin, etoposide, carboplatin, temodal, cisplatin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha. High NG2/MPG expression correlated with multidrug resistance mediated by increased activation of alpha3beta1 integrin/PI3K signaling and their downstream targets, promoting cell survival. NG2/MPG knockdown with shRNAs incorporated into lentiviral vectors attenuated beta1 integrin signaling revealing potent antitumor effects and further sensitized neoplastic cells to cytotoxic treatment in vitro and in vivo. Thus, as a novel regulator of the antiapoptotic response, NG2/MPG may represent an effective therapeutic target in several cancer subtypes.
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PMID:The progenitor cell marker NG2/MPG promotes chemoresistance by activation of integrin-dependent PI3K/Akt signaling. 1846 52


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