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)

WNT signaling pathway is implicated in embryogenesis as well as in carcinogenesis. We have previously cloned and characterized Frizzled-1 (FZD1), FZD2, FZD3, FZD4, FZD5, FZD6, FZD7, FZD8, and FZD10, encoding seven-transmembrane-type WNT receptors. Here, expression of FZD10 mRNA in various types of human cancer and effects of FZD10 mRNA microinjection into Xenopus early embryos were investigated. Northern blot analyses revealed relatively high-level expression of 4.0-kb FZD10 mRNA in cervical cancer cell lines HeLa S3, SKG-I, SKG-IIIa, and in a glioblastoma cell line A-172. Matched tumor/normal expression array analysis revealed significant up-regulation of FZD10 mRNA in 2 cases of primary colon cancer. Function of FZD10 was next investigated by using Xenopus axis duplication assay, in which positive regulators of the WNT - beta-catenin - TCF signaling pathway induce axis duplication. Injection of wild-type FZD10 mRNA into the ventral marginal zone of 4-cell-stage Xenopus embryos induced partial axis duplication in 40% of embryos. Ventral injection of Thr579Ala FZD10 mRNA or Val581Leu FZD10 mRNA with mutations in the C-terminal Ser/Thr-X-Val motif also induced partial axis duplication in about 40% of embryos. Furthermore, ventral injection of FZD10 mRNA significantly augmented the potential of co-injected Xenopus wnt-8 (Xwnt-8) mRNA to induce complete axis duplication. These results suggest that up-regulation of FZD10 mRNA in several types of human cells might lead to carcinogenesis through activation of the beta-catenin - TCF signaling pathway synergistically with some class of WNTs.
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PMID:Frizzled-10, up-regulated in primary colorectal cancer, is a positive regulator of the WNT - beta-catenin - TCF signaling pathway. 1178 18

We examined the mechanism of action of nitrosoureas as represented by 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl) methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea (ACNU) with respect to p53 and the G2M cell cycle checkpoint using two glioblastoma cell lines: U251MG and U373MG, with mutated p53. At log-phase cell growth, fresh medium containing ACNU (final concentration, 3, 10, or 30 microg/ml) was added. After 24 h of incubation, cells were harvested for flow cytometric or Western analysis. In both lines, cell numbers in the G0/G1 phase decreased with ACNU treatment. Cells accumulated in G2M and S phases, and the peak was shifted from G2M to the S phase in a concentration-dependent manner. In both cell lines, the amount of Cdc2 protein phosphorylated at the tyrosine 15 residue was increased 2- to 6-fold by treatment with ACNU compared with untreated control cells. Expression of cyclin B protein was suppressed in cells treated with 30 microg/ml ACNU. Protein abundance for total Cdc2, Cdc2 phosphorylated at the threonine 161 residue, Wee 1, Myt 1, Chk 1, and 14-3-3sigma was not affected by treatment with ACNU in either cell line. We suggest that a low concentration of ACNU should be used with adjuvant therapies that act upon cells in the G2M phase. A high concentration of ACNU should be used with adjuvant therapies that act upon cells in the S phase.
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PMID:Suppression of Cdc2 dephosphorylation at the tyrosine 15 residue during nitrosourea-induced G2M phase arrest in glioblastoma cell lines. 1222 40

The PTEN tumor suppressor gene encodes a phosphatidylinositol 3'-phosphatase that is inactivated in a high percentage of human tumors, particularly glioblastoma, melanoma, and prostate and endometrial carcinoma. Previous studies showed that PTEN is a seryl phosphoprotein and a substrate of protein kinase CK2 (CK2). However, the sites in PTEN that are phosphorylated in vivo have not been identified directly, nor has the effect of phosphorylation on PTEN catalytic activity been reported. We used mass spectrometric methods to identify Ser(370) and Ser(385) as in vivo phosphorylation sites of PTEN. These sites also are phosphorylated by CK2 in vitro, and phosphorylation inhibits PTEN activity towards its substrate, PIP3. We also identify a novel in vivo phosphorylation site, Thr(366). Following transient over-expression, a fraction of CK2 and PTEN co-immunoprecipitate. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of CK2 activity leads to decreased Akt activation in PTEN+/+ but not PTEN-/- fibroblasts. Our results contrast with previous assignments of PTEN phosphorylation sites based solely on mutagenesis approaches, suggest that CK2 is a physiologically relevant PTEN kinase, and raise the possibility that CK2-mediated inhibition of PTEN plays a role in oncogenesis.
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PMID:Direct identification of PTEN phosphorylation sites. 1229 95

To date, 10 members of the UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-d-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (pp-GalNAc-T) family have been cloned and analyzed in human. In this study, we cloned and analyzed a novel human pp-GalNAc-T from an NT2 cell cDNA library, and we named it pp-GalNAc-T13. In amino acid sequences, pp-GalNAc-T13 was highly homologous, showing 84.3% identity, to pp-GalNAc-T1. Real time PCR analysis revealed pp-GalNAc-T13 to be highly and restrictively expressed in the brain and present at very low or undetectable levels in other tissues, in contrast to the ubiquitous expression of pp-GalNAc-T1. pp-GalNAc-T13 was abundantly expressed in all neuroblastoma cells examined and primary cultured neurons but not in glioblastoma cells and primary cultured astrocytes. pp-GalNAc-T13 exhibited much stronger activity to transfer GalNAc to mucin peptides, such as Muc5Ac and MUC7, than did pp-GalNAc-T1. In addition, pp-GalNAc-T13 differed in substrate specificity to pp-GalNAc-T1. pp-GalNAc-T13 was able to form a triplet Tn epitope, three consecutive GalNAc-Ser/Thr structures, on peptides encoded in syndecan-3, a proteoglycan expressed in neurons. pp-GalNAc-T13-deficient mice have been established in a previous work. Immunohistochemical study showed a remarkable decrease in Tn antigen expression in the cerebellum of the pp-GalNAc-T13 knockout mouse. pp-GalNAc-T13 would be a major enzyme responsible for the synthesis of O-glycan and specifically the Tn antigen epitope in neurons.
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PMID:Cloning and characterization of a new human UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase, designated pp-GalNAc-T13, that is specifically expressed in neurons and synthesizes GalNAc alpha-serine/threonine antigen. 1240 14

We searched by a cDNA subtraction screen for differentially expressed transcripts in MCF-7 mammary carcinoma cells grown on tenascin-C versus fibronectin. On tenascin-C, cells had irregular shapes with many processes, whereas on fibronectin they were flat with a cobble stone-like appearance. We found elevated levels of 14-3-3 tau transcripts and protein in cells grown on tenascin-C. To investigate the consequences of an increased level of this phospho-serine/threonine-binding adaptor protein, we transfected MCF-7 cells with a construct encoding full-length 14-3-3 tau protein and selected clones with the highest expression levels. The morphology of these cells on tenascin-C was flat, resembling that of cells on fibronectin. This was reflected by a similar pattern of F-actin staining on either substratum. Furthermore, the growth rate on tenascin-C was increased compared with the parental cells. After transient transfection of HT1080 fibrosarcoma and T98G glioblastoma cells with 14-3-3 tau, only the 14-3-3 tau-expressing cells were able to adhere and survive on tenascin-C, whereas all cells adhered well on fibronectin. Therefore, we postulate that tenascin-C promotes the growth of tumor cells by causing an increase in the expression of 14-3-3 tau, which in turn has a positive effect on tumor cell adhesion and growth.
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PMID:Tenascin-C signaling through induction of 14-3-3 tau. 1252 48

Dual-specificity phosphatase 5 (DUSP5), a VH1-like enzyme that hydrolyses nuclear substrates phosphorylated on both tyrosine and serine/threonine residues, has a potential role in deactivation of mitogen- or stress-activated protein kinases. Using cDNA-microarray technology, we found that the expression of DUSP5 mRNA was dramatically increased by exogenous p53 in U373MG, a p53-mutant glioblastoma cell line. Transcription of DUSP5 was also remarkably activated by endogenous p53 in response to DNA damage in colon-cancer cells (p53+/+) that contained wild-type p53, but not in p53-/- cells. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and reporter assays demonstrated that endogenous p53 protein would bind directly to the promoter region of the DUSP5 gene, implying p53-dependent transcriptional activity. Overexpression of DUSP5 suppressed the growth of several types of human cancer cells, in which Erk1/2 was significantly dephosphorylated. If, as the results suggest, DUSP5 is a direct target of p53, it represents a novel mechanism by which p53 might negatively regulate cell-cycle progression by downregulating mitogen- or stress-activated protein kinases.
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PMID:Dual-specificity phosphatase 5 (DUSP5) as a direct transcriptional target of tumor suppressor p53. 1294 6

The progression of mammalian cells through G1 phase of the cell cycle is governed by the D-type cyclins (D1, D2, D3). These proteins are induced at the beginning of the G1 phase and associate with serine/threonine cyclin-dependent kinases to form holoenzymes. Overexpression of cyclin D1 in human cancers as well as in several cancer cell lines has been reported. Here, we employed mitotic selection to synchronize the C6 glioma cell cycle at the start of the G1 phase and assessed the effects of neomycin on cyclin D1 protein detection by immunocytochemical analysis. Cyclin D1 activation as well as cell proliferation were already significantly reduced after 3 h of incubation of the cells with neomycin. These findings suggested that the antiproliferative effects of neomycin in gliomas could be mediated by inhibition of the expression of cyclin D1 gene and support further consideration of therapeutic use of neomycin in a Phase I clinical study for patients with recurrent glioblastoma.
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PMID:Antiproliferative action of neomycin is associated with inhibition of cyclin D1 activation in glioma cells. 1457 83

The mechanism by which the tumor suppressor PTEN slows tumor cell migration is not well characterized. A recent study by Raftopoulou et al. shows that a lack of PTEN protein phosphatase activity accelerates the migration of glioblastoma cells. The protein phosphatase activity of PTEN is directly or indirectly responsible for dephosphorylating a PTEN residue, threonine-383, which is necessary for slowing cell migration. These findings have implications for the design of new therapies against glioblastomas and other highly invasive cancers.
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PMID:Glioblastomas on the move. 1510 Apr 29

Full activation of protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt requires phosphorylation on Thr-308 and Ser-473 by 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1) and Ser-473 kinase (S473K), respectively. Although PDK1 has been well characterized, the identification of the S473K remains controversial. A major PKB Ser-473 kinase activity was purified from the membrane fraction of HEK293 cells and found to be DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). DNA-PK co-localized and associated with PKB at the plasma membrane. In vitro, DNA-PK phosphorylated PKB on Ser-473, resulting in a approximately 10-fold enhancement of PKB activity. Knockdown of DNA-PK by small interfering RNA inhibited Ser-473 phosphorylation induced by insulin and pervanadate. DNA-PK-deficient glioblastoma cells did not respond to insulin at the level of Ser-473 phosphorylation; this effect was restored by complementation with the human PRKDC gene. We conclude that DNA-PK is a long sought after kinase responsible for the Ser-473 phosphorylation step in the activation of PKB.
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PMID:Identification of a PKB/Akt hydrophobic motif Ser-473 kinase as DNA-dependent protein kinase. 1526 62

The adenoviral protein E4orf6 has been shown to inhibit both in vitro V(D)J recombination and adenoviral DNA concatenation, two processes that rely on cellular DNA double strand break repair (DSBR) proteins. Most of the known activities of E4orf6 during adenoviral infection require its interaction with another adenoviral protein, E1B-55K. Here we report that E4orf6, stably expressed in RKO human colorectal carcinoma cells or transiently expressed by adenoviral vector in U251 human glioblastoma cells, inhibits DSBR and induces significant radiosensitization in the absence of E1B-55K. Expression of a mutant form of E4orf6 (L245P) failed to radiosensitize RKO cells. E4orf6 reduced DSBR capacity in transfected and infected cells, as measured by sublethal DNA damage repair assay and phosphorylated H2AX (gamma-H2AX) levels, respectively. Consistent with the inhibitory effect of E4orf6 on DSBR, expression of wild-type but not mutant E4orf6 reduced recovery of a transfected, replicating reporter plasmid (pSP189) in 293 cells but did not increase the mutation frequency measured in the reporter plasmid. The kinase activity of DNA-PKcs (the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit) toward heterologous substrates was not affected by expression of E4orf6; however, autophosphorylation of DNA-PKcs at Thr-2609 following ionizing radiation was prolonged in the presence of E4orf6 when compared with control-infected cells. Our results demonstrate for the first time that E4orf6 expression hinders the cellular DNA repair process in mammalian cells in the absence of E1B-55K or other adenoviral genes and suggest that viral-mediated delivery of E4orf6, combined with localized external beam radiation, could be a useful approach for the treatment of radioresistant solid tumors such as glioblastomas.
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PMID:The adenovirus E4orf6 protein inhibits DNA double strand break repair and radiosensitizes human tumor cells in an E1B-55K-independent manner. 1550 30


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