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

Recent evidence indicates that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection occurs in a high percentage of human malignant gliomas in vivo, as the HCMV immediate early-1 (IE1) protein is detected in >90% of these tumors. The HCMV IE1 protein is essential for viral infection and has potent trans-activating and oncomodulatory properties. To investigate a potential role of HCMV in glioma biology, we stably expressed the HCMV IE1 gene product in immortalized and malignant human glial cells. Here we show that stable IE1 expression can differentially affect the growth of human glioblastoma cells, resulting in either growth proliferation or arrest. IE1 expression led to dysregulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT activity, Rb phosphorylation, and expression of the p53 family of proteins. In U87 and U118 glioblastoma cells, IE1 induced cellular proliferation paralleled by reduction in steady-state expression level of Rb and p53 family proteins (including p53, p63, or p73) and simultaneous induction of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT signaling pathway. In contrast, IE1 expression in LN229 and U251 glioblastoma cells and immortalized human astrocytes was associated with increased expression of p53 family proteins, accompanied by growth arrest or lack of enhanced proliferation. Moreover, IE1 promoted cell cycle entry and DNA synthesis of human glioma cells on both stable expression in tumor-derived cell lines as well as transient expression in primary glioblastoma cells. These findings indicate that HCMV IE1 can significantly affect important oncogenic signaling pathways in glioblastoma cells.
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PMID:Modulation of oncogenic phenotype in human glioma cells by cytomegalovirus IE1-mediated mitogenicity. 1824 72

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

Previous study reported that the activation of Ras pathway cooperated with E6/E7-mediated inactivation of p53/pRb to transform immortalized normal human astrocytes (NHA/hTERT) into intracranial tumors strongly resembling human astrocytomas. The mechanism of how H-Ras contributes to astrocytoma formation is unclear. Using genetically modified NHA cells (E6/E7/hTERT and E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells) as models, we investigated the mechanism of Ras-induced tumorigenesis. The overexpression of constitutively active H-RasV12 in E6/E7/hTERT cells robustly increased the levels of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) mRNA, protein, activity and invasive capacity of the E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells. However, the expressions of MMP-9 and MMP-2 did not significantly change in the E6/E7/hTERT and E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells. Furthermore, E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells also displayed higher level of uPA activity and were more invasive than E6/E7/hTERT cells in 3D culture, and formed an intracranial tumor mass in a NOD-SCID mouse model. uPA specific inhibitor (B428) and uPA neutralizing antibody decreased uPA activity and invasion in E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells. uPA-deficient U-1242 glioblastoma cells were less invasive in vitro and exhibited reduced tumor growth and infiltration into normal brain in xenograft mouse model. Inhibitors of Ras (FTA), Raf (Bay 54-9085) and MEK (UO126), but not of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) (LY294002) and of protein kinase C (BIM) pathways, inhibited uPA activity and cell invasion. Our results suggest that H-Ras increased uPA expression and activity via the Ras/Raf/MEK signaling pathway leading to enhanced cell invasion and this may contribute to increased invasive growth properties of astrocytomas.
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PMID:H-Ras increases urokinase expression and cell invasion in genetically modified human astrocytes through Ras/Raf/MEK signaling pathway. 1838 43

Isoform A of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase enhancer (PIKE-A) is a newly identified prooncogenic factor that has been implicated in cancer cell growth. How PIKE-A activity is regulated in response to growth signal is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that cyclin dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5), a protein known to function mainly in postmitotic neurons, directly phosphorylates PIKE-A at Ser-279 in its GTPase domain in glioblastoma cells. This phosphorylation event stimulates PIKE-A GTPase activity and the activity of its downstream effector Akt. Growth signal activates Cdk5 and results in a Cdk5-dependent accumulation of phosphorylated PIKE-A and activation of Akt in the nucleus. Furthermore, PIKE-A phosphorylation and Cdk5 are increased in human glioblastoma specimens. Phosphorylation of PIKE-A by Cdk5 mediates growth factor-induced migration and invasion of human glioblastoma cells. Together, these findings identify PIKE as the first Cdk5 target in cancer cells, revealing a previously undescribed regulatory mechanism that mediates growth signal-induced activation of PIKE-A/Akt and tumor invasion.
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PMID:Cdk5-mediated regulation of the PIKE-A-Akt pathway and glioblastoma cell invasion. 1848 54

The aberrant activity of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway has been reported to correlate with adverse clinical outcome in human glioblastoma in vivo. However, the question of how this survival network can be successfully targeted to restore the sensitivity of glioblastoma to apoptosis induction has not yet been answered. Here, we report that inhibition of PI3K by LY294002 broadly sensitizes wild-type and mutant PTEN glioblastoma cells to both death receptor- and chemotherapy-induced apoptosis, whereas mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition is not sufficient to restore apoptosis sensitivity. LY294002 significantly enhances apoptosis triggered by tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), agonistic anti-CD95 antibodies, or several anticancer drugs (i.e., doxorubicin, etoposide, and vincristine) in a highly synergistic manner. In addition, LY294002 cooperates with TRAIL or doxorubicin to suppress colony formation, thus also showing a strong effect on long-term survival. Similarly, genetic knockdown of PI3K subunits p110alpha and/or p110beta by RNA interference (RNAi) primes glioblastoma cells for TRAIL- or doxorubicin-mediated apoptosis. In contrast to PI3K inhibition, pharmacologic or genetic blockade of mTOR by RAD001 (everolimus), rapamycin, or RNAi fails to enhance TRAIL- or doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Analysis of apoptosis pathways reveals that PI3K inhibition acts in concert with TRAIL or doxorubicin to trigger mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, caspase activation, and caspase-dependent apoptosis, which are abolished by the caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone. Most importantly, PI3K inhibition by LY294002 sensitizes primary cultured glioblastoma cells obtained from surgical specimens to TRAIL- or chemotherapy-induced cell death. By showing that PI3K inhibition broadly primes glioblastoma cells for apoptosis, our findings provide the rationale for using PI3K inhibitors in combination regimens to enhance TRAIL- or chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in glioblastoma.
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PMID:Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibition broadly sensitizes glioblastoma cells to death receptor- and drug-induced apoptosis. 1867 51

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor in adults, but the prognosis for patients with these tumors remains poor despite advances in diagnosis and standard therapies such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Progress in the treatment of gliomas now depends to a great extent on an increased understanding of the biology of these tumors. Recent insights into the biology of gliomas include the finding that tyrosine kinase receptors and signal transduction pathways play a role in tumor initiation and maintenance. Deregulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathways resulting from genetic alterations in the PTEN tumor suppressor gene on 10q23 at the level of LOH, mutation and methylation have been identified in at least 60% of glioblastoma. Loss of PTEN function by mutation or LOH correlates with poor survival in anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma, suggesting that PTEN plays a role in patient outcome. Interestingly, amplification of Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the background of heterozygous PTEN knockout mice develop invasive glioma very similar to human glioblastoma, demonstrating the importance of PTEN in glioma progression and providing a model system to evaluate the efficacy of targeting PTEN in glioblastoma.
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PMID:PTEN signaling pathways in glioblastoma. 1883 94

In this study, we investigated the protein expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), insulin like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) in five primary glioblastoma (GB), with a view to their possible use as therapeutic targets. Our results demonstrated that appreciable levels of these proteins could be detected in the analysed GB cell lines, except for a low level of PDGFR and ERK1/2 expression in one GB cell line. The small molecule inhibitors towards IGF-1R, PDGFR, PI3-K and ERK1/2 respectively, have only modest or no anti-tumour activity on GB cells and therefore their combination with other therapy modalities was analysed. The interaction between small inhibitors and radiation was mostly additive or sub-additive; synergistic interaction was found in five of forty analysed combinations. Our results showed that GB cells are in general resistant to treatment and illustrate the difficulties in predicting the treatment response in malignant gliomas.
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PMID:Growth factor receptors signaling in glioblastoma cells: therapeutic implications. 1904 76

3,5,3'-Triiodo-l-thyronine (T(3)), but not l-thyroxine (T(4)), activated Src kinase and, downstream, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) by means of an alpha(v)beta(3) integrin receptor on human glioblastoma U-87 MG cells. Although both T(3) and T(4) stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, activated ERK1/2 did not contribute to T(3)-induced Src kinase or PI3-kinase activation, and an inhibitor of PI3-kinase, LY-294002, did not block activation of ERK1/2 by physiological concentrations of T(3) and T(4). Thus the PI3-kinase, Src kinase, and ERK1/2 signaling cascades are parallel pathways in T(3)-treated U-87 MG cells. T(3) and T(4) both caused proliferation of U-87 MG cells; these effects were blocked by the ERK1/2 inhibitor PD-98059 but not by LY-294002. Small-interfering RNA knockdown of PI3-kinase confirmed that PI3-kinase was not involved in the proliferative action of T(3) on U-87 MG cells. PI3-kinase-dependent actions of T(3) in these cells included shuttling of nuclear thyroid hormone receptor-alpha (TRalpha) from cytoplasm to nucleus and accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha mRNA; LY-294002 inhibited these actions. Results of studies involving alpha(v)beta(3) receptor antagonists tetraiodothyroacetic acid (tetrac) and Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide, together with mathematical modeling of the kinetics of displacement of radiolabeled T(3) from the integrin by unlabeled T(3) and by unlabeled T(4), are consistent with the presence of two iodothyronine receptor domains on the integrin. A model proposes that one site binds T(3) exclusively, activates PI3-kinase via Src kinase, and stimulates TRalpha trafficking and HIF-1alpha gene expression. Tetrac and RGD peptide both inhibit T(3) action at this site. The second site binds T(4) and T(3), and, via this receptor, the iodothyronines stimulate ERK1/2-dependent tumor cell proliferation. T(3) action here is inhibited by tetrac alone, but the effect of T(4) is blocked by both tetrac and the RGD peptide.
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PMID:L-Thyroxine vs. 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine and cell proliferation: activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. 1915 3

Tumor dormancy has important implications for early detection and treatment of cancer. Lack of experimental models and limited clinical accessibility constitute major obstacles to the molecular characterization of dormant tumors. We have developed models in which human tumors remain dormant for a prolonged period of time (>120 days) until they switch to rapid growth and become strongly angiogenic. These angiogenic tumors retain their ability to grow fast once injected in new mice. We hypothesized that dormant tumors undergo a stable genetic reprogramming during their switch to the fast-growing phenotype. Genome-wide transcriptional analysis was done to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the switch of dormant breast carcinoma, glioblastoma, osteosarcoma, and liposarcoma tumors. A consensus expression signature distinguishing all four dormant versus switched fast-growing tumors was generated. In alignment with our phenotypic observation, the angiogenesis process was the most significantly affected functional gene category. The switch of dormant tumors was associated with down-regulation of angiogenesis inhibitor thrombospondin and decreased sensitivity of angiogenic tumors to angiostatin. The conversion of dormant tumors to exponentially growing tumors was also correlated with regulation and activation of pathways not hitherto linked to tumor dormancy process, such as endothelial cell-specific molecule-1, 5'-ecto-nucleotidase, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3, epidermal growth factor receptor, insulin-like growth factor receptor, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling. Further, novel dormancy-specific biomarkers such as H2BK and Eph receptor A5 (EphA5) were discovered. EphA5 plasma levels in mice and mRNA levels in tumor specimens of glioma patients correlated with diseases stage. These data will be instrumental in identifying novel early cancer biomarkers and could provide a rationale for development of dormancy-promoting tumor therapy strategies.
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PMID:Transcriptional switch of dormant tumors to fast-growing angiogenic phenotype. 1917 81

Hypoxia and necrosis are fundamental features of glioblastoma (GBM) and their emergence is critical for the rapid biological progression of this fatal tumor; yet, underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We have suggested that vaso-occlusion following intravascular thrombosis could initiate or propagate hypoxia and necrosis in GBM. Tissue factor (TF), the main cellular initiator of coagulation, is overexpressed in GBMs and likely favors a thrombotic microenvironment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification and PTEN loss are two common genetic alterations seen in GBM but not in lower-grade astrocytomas that could be responsible for TF up-regulation. The most frequent EGFR mutation in GBM involves deletion of exons 2 to 7, resulting in the expression of a constitutively active receptor, EGFRvIII. Here, we show that overexpression of EGFR or EGFRvIII in human glioma cells causes increased basal TF expression and that stimulation of EGFR by its ligand, EGF, leads to a marked dose-dependent up-regulation of TF. In all cases, increased TF expression led to accelerated plasma coagulation in vitro. EGFR-mediated TF expression depended most strongly on activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcriptional activity and was associated with c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) and JunD activation. Restoration of PTEN expression in PTEN-deficient GBM cells diminished EGFR-induced TF expression by inhibiting JunD/AP-1 transcriptional activity. PTEN mediated this effect by antagonizing phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, which in turn attenuated both Akt and JNK activities. These mechanisms are likely at work in vivo, as EGFR expression was highly correlated with TF expression in human high-grade astrocytoma specimens.
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PMID:Epidermal growth factor receptor and PTEN modulate tissue factor expression in glioblastoma through JunD/activator protein-1 transcriptional activity. 1927 85


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