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)

The fact that fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose ([(18)F]FDG) accumulates in inflammatory lesions as well as in tumours reduces the diagnostic specificity of positron emission tomography (PET) in oncology. The aim of this study was to characterise the uptake of [(18)F]FDG in isolated human monocyte-macrophages (HMMs) in vitro in comparison with that in human glioblastoma (GLI) and pancreatic carcinoma cells (PAN). The purity of HMM preparations was determined by immunohistochemical staining and their functional integrity was assessed by long-term incubation with iodine-131 acetylated bovine serum albumin. [(18)F]FDG uptake in HMMs was quantified as percent of whole [(18)F]FDG activity per well (% ID) or as % ID in relation to total protein mass. [(18)F]FDG uptake in HMMs significantly increased with culture duration, yielding 7.5%+/-0.9% (% ID/100 micro g) at day 14. Stimulation by lipopolysaccharide further enhanced [(18)F]FDG uptake in HMMs by a factor of 2. [(18)F]FDG uptake significantly decreased with increasing glucose concentration in the medium. Radio-thin layer chromatography of intracellular metabolites revealed that [(18)F]FDG was trapped by HMMs mainly as [(18)F]FDG-6-phosphate and [(18)F]FDG-1,6-diphosphate. [(18)F]FDG uptake was in the range of uptake values measured in GLI and PAN. By accumulating [(18)F]FDG in a manner analogous to uptake by tumour cells, activated HMMs may contribute to the [(18)F]FDG uptake values measured by PET in neoplasms.
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PMID:Uptake of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose in human monocyte-macrophages in vitro. 1255 45

Neovascularization and invasion are key features of malignant gliomas. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are supposed to play a major role mediating these processes. To analyze the expression patterns of MMPs in microvascular human cerebral endothelial cells (HCEC), we isolated endothelial cells from normal human brain microvessels. Characterization of cellular origin was performed by immunostaining, using the endothelial cell markers Ulex europaeus Agglutinin-1, von-Willebrand-Factor and Glucose-transporter-1. Contamination by other cell types was tracked by immunohistochemistry for GFAP (astrocytes), ASM (pericytes) and CD68 (macrophages). Secretion of MMPs was evaluated by ELISA and zymography. To determine whether HCEC show any difference in MMP expression compared to endothelial cells of other origin we analyzed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). HCEC show a decrease of MMP-3 and MMP-2 protein when treated with SU5416, a VEGF-R2 (KDR/flk-1) inhibitor, whereas MMP expression remained unchanged in HUVEC. To determine whether these findings show any effect in the motility of these cells we used a three-dimensional co-culture assay of avascular glioblastoma spheroids with primary HCEC spheroids. Untreated controls showed invasion of both cell populations into each other whereas treatment of the co-cultures with SU5416 resulted in complete inhibition of endothelial cell invasion hence indicating that flk-1 related motility of endothelial cells is critically involved in this process and can be studied with this assay. The results of different effects of anti-angiogenic treatment on proteolytic properties of two endothelial cell populations suggest that neovascularization of human brain tumors in vitro is dependent on the surrounding endothelial cell type and should therefore be studied with organ-specific human microvascular cerebral endothelial cells.
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PMID:Influence of VEGF-R2 inhibition on MMP secretion and motility of microvascular human cerebral endothelial cells (HCEC). 1277 73

Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) mediates uptake of glucose and is up-regulated in some cancers. The amount of this membrane protein is regulated by a post-transcriptional mechanism in which mRNA binding proteins recognize cis-acting elements in the 3'-untranslated (3'UTR) of the mRNA. To identify cis elements in GLUT1 mRNA we introduced 3'UTR sequences into the 3'UTR of the luciferase gene in a reporter construct. A 30 nt adenosine-uridine-rich element ("GLUT1 AURE") inhibited luciferase activity in HEK-293 cells. This inhibitory effect was confirmed by deleting the GLUT1 AURE from a reporter containing the full-length 3'UTR. Deletion of the GLUT1 AURE caused reporter activity to increase. Deletion of a larger fragment ("Bsu" region) containing the GLUT1 AURE increased reporter activity still further, suggesting that there are additional cis elements in the GLUT1 mRNA. The GLUT1 AURE was also active in GBM-T98G glioblastoma cells. Next, we tested the action of a trans-acting factor, hnRNP A2, on GLUT1 gene expression. We show that a cytoplasmic-localizing isoform of hnRNP A2 binds human GLUT1 RNA by gel-shift assay and by UV-crosslinking. Finally, over-expression of the hnRNP A2 isoform inhibited GLUT1 reporter expression in GBM-T98G cells. These results identify the AURE cis element in human GLUT1 mRNA and show that hnRNP A2 acts on GLUT1 mRNA to inhibit expression of GLUT1 in a brain cancer cell line.
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PMID:Post-transcriptional regulation of glucose transporter-1 by an AU-rich element in the 3'UTR and by hnRNP A2. 1514 68

Cancer cells frequently display high rates of aerobic glycolysis in comparison to their nontransformed counterparts, although the molecular basis of this phenomenon remains poorly understood. Constitutive activity of the serine/threonine kinase Akt is a common perturbation observed in malignant cells. Surprisingly, although Akt activity is sufficient to promote leukemogenesis in nontransformed hematopoietic precursors and maintenance of Akt activity was required for rapid disease progression, the expression of activated Akt did not increase the proliferation of the premalignant or malignant cells in culture. However, Akt stimulated glucose consumption in transformed cells without affecting the rate of oxidative phosphorylation. High rates of aerobic glycolysis were also identified in human glioblastoma cells possessing but not those lacking constitutive Akt activity. Akt-expressing cells were more susceptible than control cells to death after glucose withdrawal. These data suggest that activation of the Akt oncogene is sufficient to stimulate the switch to aerobic glycolysis characteristic of cancer cells and that Akt activity renders cancer cells dependent on aerobic glycolysis for continued growth and survival.
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PMID:Akt stimulates aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. 1517 99

Activation of the oncogenic kinase Akt stimulates glucose uptake and metabolism in cancer cells and renders these cells susceptible to death in response to glucose withdrawal. Here we show that 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) reverses the sensitivity of Akt-expressing glioblastoma cells to glucose deprivation. AICAR's protection depends on the activation of AMPK, as expression of a dominant-negative form of AMPK abolished this effect. AMPK is a cellular energy sensor whose activation can both block anabolic pathways such as protein synthesis and activate catabolic reactions such as fatty acid oxidation to maintain cellular bioenergetics. While rapamycin treatment mimicked the effect of AICAR on inhibiting markers of cap-dependent translation, it failed to protect Akt-expressing cells from death upon glucose withdrawal. Compared to control cells, Akt-expressing cells were impaired in the ability to induce fatty acid oxidation in response to glucose deprivation unless stimulated with AICAR. Stimulation of fatty acid oxidation was sufficient to maintain cell survival as activation of fatty acid oxidation with bezafibrate also protected Akt-expressing cells from glucose withdrawal-induced death. Conversely, treatment with a CPT-1 inhibitor to block fatty acid import into mitochondria prevented AICAR from stimulating fatty acid oxidation and promoting cell survival in the absence of glucose. Finally, cell survival did not require reversal of Akt's effects on either protein translation or lipid synthesis as the addition of the cell penetrant oxidizable substrate methyl-pyruvate was sufficient to maintain survival of Akt-expressing cells deprived of glucose. Together, these data suggest that activation of Akt blocks the ability of cancer cells to metabolize nonglycolytic bioenergetic substrates, leading to glucose addiction.
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PMID:The glucose dependence of Akt-transformed cells can be reversed by pharmacologic activation of fatty acid beta-oxidation. 1580 54

We examined how the effect of topotecan is modulated by transient hypoxia in three different tumor lines, Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC), U87 human glioblastoma and DMS273 human small cell lung cancer. Four groups of tumor bearing mice were treated with saline or a single dose of topotecan, immediately followed by 6-h or 72-h exposure to a hypoxic environment (10% O(2)) or normal air. Topotecan + hypoxia resulted in significantly greater suppression of tumor growth than normoxic topotecan or hypoxia alone. Correspondingly, the sensitivity of LLC cells to topotecan in a clonogenic survival assay was significantly higher under hypoxia. This effect of hypoxia was not a general phenomenon, since the tumor growth inhibitory effect of the alkylating agent cisplatin was not changed by hypoxic environment. In a parallel series of in vitro experiments, cell cultures were exposed to hypoxia (0.1% or 0.7% O(2)) in a hypoxic chamber or normoxia for 24 h. We found a dose-dependent downregulation of HIF-1alpha by topotecan (30-270 nM). The hypoxic upregulation of Glucose transporter-1 and VEGF secretion to the culture medium was inhibited by the addition of topotecan, while doses up to 270 nM had no effect on VEGF under normoxia. VEGF protein levels in tumors were also reduced by topotecan. These data show that the effect of topotecan is increased by transient hypoxia, and this may be a direct effect on the ability of cells to survive under hypoxia as well as an antiangiogenic effect, mediated through the HIF-1 inhibitory effect of topotecan.
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PMID:Augmenting tumor sensitivity to topotecan by transient hypoxia. 1589 31

Reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (O2*-, H2O2, NO* and ONOO-) have been strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and mitochondrial diseases. In the present study, we examined the effects of nitrosative and/or nitrative stress generated by DETA-NO {(Z)-1-[2-aminoethyl-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate}, SIN-1 (3-morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride) and SNP (sodium nitroprusside) on U87MG glioblastoma cybrids carrying wt (wild-type) and mutant [A3243G (Ala3243-->Gly)] mtDNA (mitochondrial genome) from a patient suffering from MELAS (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes). The mutant cybrids had reduced activity of cytochrome c oxidase, significantly lower ATP level and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. However, endogenous levels of reactive oxygen species were very similar in all cybrids regardless of whether they carried the mtDNA defects or not. Furthermore, the cybrids were insensitive to the nitrosative and/or nitrative stress produced by either DETA-NO or SIN-1 alone. Cytotoxicity, however, was observed in response to SNP treatment and a combination of SIN-1 and glucose-deprivation. The mutant cybrids were significantly more sensitive to these insults compared with the wt controls. Ultrastructural examination of dying cells revealed several characteristic features of autophagic cell death. We concluded that nitrosative and/or nitrative stress alone were insufficient to trigger cytotoxicity in these cells, but cell death was observed with a combination of metabolic and nitrative stress. The vulnerability of the cybrids to these types of injury correlated with the cellular energy status, which were compromised by the MELAS mutation.
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PMID:Effects of nitric oxide donors on cybrids harbouring the mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) A3243G mitochondrial DNA mutation. 1596 53

We employed an in vitro hypoxia cell culture model system and gene transfer technology to examine the effect of the decorin gene on cell survival against oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). Ectopic expression of decorin in subventricular zone (SVZ) cells from adult male mouse brain and human glioblastoma U-87 cells kept the cells viable against 24 h of OGD. Fewer than 1% of decorin-synthesizing cells were apoptotic after 12 h of OGD. In contrast, 100% of the control cells were apoptotic even after 4 h of OGD. De novo decorin synthesis in SVZ and U-87 cells induced expression of p21, p27 and Ras, AKT (acutely transforming retrovirus AKT8 in rodent T-cell lymphoma), and phosphorylated AKT. Blocking of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI-3K), Ras, and the epidermal growth factor receptor with specific inhibitors had no effect on induction of Ras, p21, and p27 at the messenger RNA level in decorin-synthesizing SVZ and U-87 cells. PI-3K inhibitors significantly increased apoptosis in decorin-expressing cells. Our data indicate that induction of p21, p27, Ras, AKT, and phosphorylated AKT by decorin inhibits apoptosis and protects U-87 and SVZ cells against OGD. Therefore, our data suggest that decorin is a potent trophic factor that protects neuronal progenitor cells and glioma cells from OGD.
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PMID:Protection of adult mouse progenitor cells and human glioma cells by de novo decorin expression in an oxygen- and glucose-deprived cell culture model system. 1646 81

Tumor cells respond to hypoxic stress by upregulating a variety of genes involved in glucose uptake, glycolysis, and angiogenesis, all essential to maintaining nutrient availability and intracellular ATP levels. Adenosine monophosphate-dependent kinase (AMPK) is a key sensor for cellular homeostasis and is highly sensitive to changes in AMP:ATP ratios. The two catalytic AMPK alpha isoforms (AMPKalpha1, AMPKalpha2) were investigated with respect to their expression, cellular distribution, and contribution to VEGF expression under hypoxic stress in human U373 glioblastoma cells. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed AMPKalpha1 mRNA to be constitutively expressed in normoxia and hypoxia, whereas AMPKalpha2 mRNA levels were low in normoxia and significantly induced in hypoxia. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry showed that AMPKalpha2 protein redistributed to the nucleus under hypoxia, whereas AMPKalpha1 remained distributed throughout the cell. The AMPK chemical inhibitor, 5-iodotubericidin, effectively repressed the hypoxic induction of VEGF mRNA levels and hypoxia inducible factor-1 dependent transcription. AMPKalpha2 repression with RNA interference reduced hypoxia-induced VEGF mRNA and HIF-1 transcription, whereas AMPKalpha1 repression did not. Human glioblastoma cell lines U118 and U138 also showed hypoxia-induction of AMPKalpha2 as well as VEGF. Immunohistochemistry analysis of human astrocytoma/glioma samples revealed AMPKalpha2 present in high grade gliomas within hypoxic pseudopalisading microenvironments. These data suggest that prolonged hypoxia promotes the expression and functional activation of AMPKalpha2 and VEGF production in glioma cell lines and glioblastoma multiform tumors, thus contributing to tumor survival and angiogenesis in high grade human gliomas.
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PMID:AMP-dependent protein kinase alpha 2 isoform promotes hypoxia-induced VEGF expression in human glioblastoma. 1651 31

The phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase (PI3K)-signaling pathway plays a critical role in a variety of cellular responses such as modulation of cell survival, glucose homeostasis, cell division, and cell growth. PI3K generates important lipid second messengers-phosphatidylinositides that are phosphorylated at the 3' position of their inositol ring head-group. These membrane restricted lipids act by binding with high affinity to specific protein domains such as the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Effectors of PI3K include molecules that harbor such domains such as phosphoinositide-dependent kinase (PDK1) and protein kinase B (PKB), also termed Akt. The mammalian genome encodes three different PKB genes (alpha, beta, and gamma; Akt1, 2, and 3, respectively) and each is an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in diseases such as glioblastoma and breast cancer. A second family of three protein kinases, termed serum and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinases (SGKs), is structurally related to the PKB family including regulation by PI3K but lack a PH domain. However, in addition to PH domains, a second class of 3' phosphorylated inositol phospholipid-binding domains exists that is termed Phox homology (PX) domain: this domain is found in one of the SGKs (SGK3). Here, we summarize knowledge of the three SGK isoforms and compare and contrast them to PKB with respect to their possible importance in cellular regulation and potential as therapeutic targets.
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PMID:Serum and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinases: variations on a theme. 1661 68


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