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)

We report here that the human glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) protein, involved in phase II metabolism of many carcinogens and anticancer agents and in the regulation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase-mediated cell signaling, undergoes phosphorylation by the Ser/Thr protein kinases, cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC), resulting in a significant enhancement of its metabolic activity. GSTP1 phosphorylation by PKA was glutathione (GSH)-dependent, whereas phosphorylation by PKC did not require but was significantly enhanced by GSH. In the presence of GSH, the stoichiometry of phosphorylation was 0.4 +/- 0.03 and 0.53 +/- 0.02 mol incorporated phosphate per mole of dimeric GSTP1 protein. The GSTP1 protein was phosphorylated, in the presence of GSH, by eight different PKC isoforms (alpha, betaIota, betaIotaIota, delta, epsilon, gamma, eta, and zeta), belonging to the three major PKC subclasses, albeit with various efficiencies. The catalytic efficiency, k(cat)/K(m), of the phosphorylated GSTP1 was more than double that of the unphosphorylated protein. In MGR3 human glioblastoma cells, PKA and PKC activation resulted in a significant increase in the level of phosphorylation of the GSTP1 protein and was accompanied by a 2.1- and 2.7-fold increase, respectively, in specific GSTP1 activity in the cells. Peptide phosphorylation analyses and both phosphorylation and enzyme kinetic studies with GSTP1 proteins mutated at candidate amino acid residues established Ser-42 and Ser-184 as putative phospho-acceptor residues for both kinases in the GSTP1 protein. Together, these findings show PKA- and PKC-dependent phosphorylation as a significant post-translational mechanism of regulation of GSTP1 function. The GSH-dependence of the phosphorylation suggests that under high intracellular GSH conditions, such as is present in most drug-resistant tumors, the GSTP1 protein will exist in a hyper-phosphorylated and enzymatically more active state. In normal cells, the functional activation of the GSTP1 protein by PKA- and PKC-dependent phosphorylation could represent a potentially important mechanism of cellular protection, whereas in tumors, increased phase II metabolism of anticancer drugs by the more active phosphorylated GSTP1 protein could contribute to the drug resistance and therapeutic failure frequently associated with increased activities of these Ser/Thr kinases.
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PMID:The human glutathione S-transferase P1 protein is phosphorylated and its metabolic function enhanced by the Ser/Thr protein kinases, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C, in glioblastoma cells. 1560 83

Nitric oxide (NO) is a chemical messenger implicated in neuronal damage associated with ischemia neurodegenerative disease and excitotoxicity. In the present study, we examined the biological effects of NO and its mechanisms in human malignant glioblastoma cells. Addition of a NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP), induced apoptosis in U87MG human glioblastoma cells, accompanied by opening mitochondrial permeability transition pores, release of cytochrome c and AIF, and subsequently by caspase activation. NO-induced apoptosis occurred concurrently with significantly increased levels of the Bak and Bim. Treatment with SNAP resulted in sustained activation of JNK and its downstream pathway, c-Jun/AP-1. The expression of dominant-negative (DN)-JNK1 and DN-c-Jun suppressed the activation of AP-1, the induction of Bak and Bim, and the SNAP-induced apoptosis. In addition, de novo protein synthesis was required for the initiation of apoptosis in that the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX), inhibited NO-induced apoptotic cell death as well as up-regulation of Bak and Bim. These results suggest that NO activates an apoptotic cascade, involving sustained JNK activation, AP-1 DNA binding activity, and subsequent Bak and Bim induction, followed by cytochrome c and AIF releases and caspases cascade activation, resulting in human malignant brain tumor cell death.
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PMID:Up-regulation of Bak and Bim via JNK downstream pathway in the response to nitric oxide in human glioblastoma cells. 1615 21

Although essential, manganese (Mn) intake in excess leads to neurotoxicity. Mn neurotoxicity induces impairment of energy metabolism and ultimately cell death. Nevertheless, the signaling mechanisms underlying Mn toxicity are unknown. Employing human glioblastoma (U87) cells, we investigated several signaling pathways (ones promoting cellular proliferation and invasion) underlying Mn toxicity. Mn-treatment of U87 cells induced a down-regulation of MAPK pathway but the AKT pathway was not markedly affected. Mn-treatment of these cells induced decreases in their levels of c-Jun and c-Fos transcription factors and extracellular matrix degrading enzymes like MMP-2, which are associated with glioblastoma invasiveness. Mn-treatment also induced apoptosis in U87 cells. Thus, our results indicate that other than inducing apoptosis in U87 cells, Mn exerts differential effects on several signaling pathways promoting glioblastoma proliferation and invasion. Consequently, Mn may have pathophysiological roles in inducing apoptosis and in blocking glioblastoma invasion. Our results may thus have therapeutic implications.
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PMID:Signaling pathways mediating manganese-induced toxicity in human glioblastoma cells (u87). 1704 66

c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases (JNK) are members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family and have been implicated in the formation of several human tumors, especially gliomas. We have previously shown that a 55 kDa JNK isoform is constitutively active in 86% of human brain tumors and then showed that it is specifically a JNK2 isoform and likely to be either JNK2alpha2 or JNK2beta2. Notably, we found that only JNK2 isoforms possess intrinsic autophosphorylation activity and that JNK2alpha2 has the strongest activity. In the present study, we have further explored the contribution of JNK2 isoforms to brain tumor formation. Analysis of mRNA expression by reverse transcription-PCR revealed that JNK2alpha2 is expressed in 91% (10 of 11) of glioblastoma tumors, whereas JNK2beta2 is found in only 27% (3 of 11) of tumors. Both JNK2alpha2 and JNK2beta2 mRNAs are expressed in normal brain (3 of 3). Using an antibody specific for JNK2alpha isoforms, we verified that JNK2alpha2 protein is expressed in 88.2% (15 of 17) of glioblastomas, but, interestingly, no JNK2alpha2 protein was found in six normal brain samples. To evaluate biological function, we transfected U87MG cells with green fluorescent protein-tagged versions of JNK1alpha1, JNK2alpha2, and JNK2alpha2APF (a dominant-negative mutant), and derived cell lines with stable expression. Each cell line was evaluated for various tumorigenic variables including cellular growth, soft agar colony formation, and tumor formation in athymic nude mice. In each assay, JNK2alpha2 was found to be the most effective in promoting that phenotype. To identify effectors specifically affected by JNK2alpha2, we analyzed gene expression. Gene profiling showed several genes whose expression was specifically up-regulated by JNK2alpha2 but down-regulated by JNK2alpha2APF, among which eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) shows the greatest change. Because AKT acts on eIF4E, we also examined AKT activation. Unexpectedly, we found that JNK2alpha2 could specifically activate AKT. Our data provides evidence that JNK2alpha2 is the major active JNK isoform and is involved in the promotion of proliferation and growth of human glioblastoma tumors through specific activation of AKT and overexpression of eIF4E.
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PMID:c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase 2alpha2 promotes the tumorigenicity of human glioblastoma cells. 1704 65

In this study, we have shown the transcriptional regulation of the human Sia-alpha2,3-Gal-beta1,4-GlcNAc-R:alpha2,8-sialyltransferase (hST8Sia III) induced by retinoic acid (RA), a potent neuronal cell regulator in glioblastoma cell line (U-87MG). The induction of hST8Sia III by RA is regulated at the transcriptional level in a dose- and time-dependent manner, as evidenced by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). To elucidate the mechanism underlying the regulation of hST8Sia III gene expression in RA-stimulated U-87MG cells, we characterized the promoter region of the hST8Sia III gene. Functional analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the hST8Sia III gene by the transient expression method showed that the -1194 to -816 region, which contains a retinoic acid nucleic receptor (RAR) at -1000 to -982, functions as the RA-inducible promoter in U-87MG cells. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated that the RA binding site at -996 to -991 is crucial for the RA-induced expression of the hST8Sia III in U-87MG cells. In addition, the transcriptional activity of hST8Sia III induced by RA in U-87MG cells was strongly inhibited by SP600125, c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) inhibitor, as determined by RT-PCR and luciferase assay of hST8Sia III promoter containing the -1194 to -816 regions. These results suggest that RA markedly modulates transcriptional regulation of hST8Sia III gene expression through JNK signal pathway in U-87MG cells.
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PMID:Transcriptional regulation of the human Sia-alpha2,3-Gal-beta1,4-GlcNAc-R:alpha2,8-sialyltransferase (hST8Sia III) by retinoic acid in human glioblastoma tumor cell line. 1706 99

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional cytokine involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Malignant tumour cells often do not respond to TGF-beta by growth inhibition, but retain responsiveness to cytokine in regulating extracellular matrix deposition, cell adhesion, and migration. We demonstrated that TGF-beta1 does not affect viability or proliferation of human glioblastoma T98G, but increases transcriptional responses exemplified by induction of MMP-9 expression. TGF-beta receptors were functional in T98G glioblastoma cells leading to SMAD3/SMAD4 nuclear translocation and activation of SMAD-dependent promoter. In parallel, a selective activation of p38 MAPK, and phosphorylation of its substrates: ATF2 and c-Jun proteins were followed by a transient activation of AP-1 transcription factor. Surprisingly, an inhibition of p38 MAPK with a specific inhibitor, SB202190, abolished TGF-inducible activation of Smad-dependent promoter and decreased Smad2 phosphorylation. It suggests an unexpected interaction between Smad and p38 MAPK pathways in TGF-beta1-induced signalling.
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PMID:Cross-talk between Smad and p38 MAPK signalling in transforming growth factor beta signal transduction in human glioblastoma cells. 1727 99

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1, a critical regulator of the cell cycle, is mainly regulated by p53 tumour suppressor at the transcriptional level. Restoration of p21WAF1/Cip1 expression in p53-deficient malignant cells suppress tumour growth. Cyclosporine A (CsA) affects proliferation and survival of cultured malignant glioma cells and impairs growth of experimental gliomas. CsA induced p21WAF1/Cip1 expression de novo in human glioblastoma cells with p53 deficiency. We demonstrate that transcriptional activation of p21WAF1/Cip1 expression correlated with induction of ERK1/2 and c-Jun phosphorylation in CsA-treated glioblastoma cells. Pre-treatment with ERK pathway inhibitors or overexpression of dominant-negative mutants MKK1, ERK2 and c-Jun reduced activation of the p21WAF1/Cip1 promoter. Overexpression of tethered AP-1 dimers containing c-Jun was sufficient to activate the truncated -200 bp p21WAF1/Cip1 promoter, which does not contain p53 binding sites. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that P-c-Jun is bound to the proximal part of p21WAF1/Cip1 promoter in CsA-treated glioblastoma cells. It suggests that CsA activates p53-independent, transcriptional activation p21WAF1/Cip1 expression, mediated by ERK/c-Jun/AP-1 signaling pathway.
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PMID:Alternative pathway of transcriptional induction of p21WAF1/Cip1 by cyclosporine A in p53-deficient human glioblastoma cells. 1732 21

A prominent feature of glioblastoma is its resistance to death receptor-mediated apoptosis. In this study, we explored the possibility of modulating death receptor-induced cell death with the c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) activator anisomycin. Anisomycin activates JNK by inactivating the ribosome and inducing "ribotoxic stress." We found that anisomycin and death receptor ligand anti-Fas antibody CH-11 or tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) synergistically induce apoptosis in multiple human glioblastoma cell lines. For example, in U87 cells, anisomycin reduced the IC50 of CH-11 by more than 20-fold (from 500 to 25 ng/mL). Cell viability in response to anisomycin, CH-11, and their combination was 79%, 91%, and 28% (P<0.001), respectively. Anisomycin and TRAIL were found to be similarly synergistic in glioblastoma cells maintained as tumor xenografts. The potentiation of death receptor-dependent cell death by anisomycin was specific because emetine, another ribosome inhibitor that does not induce ribotoxic stress or activate JNK, did not have a similar effect. Synergistic cell death was predominantly apoptotic involving both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. Expression of Fas, FasL, FLIP, and Fas-associated death domain (FADD) was not changed following treatment with anisomycin+CH-11. JNK was activated 10- to 22-fold by anisomycin+CH-11 in U87 cells. Inhibiting JNK activation with pharmacologic inhibitors of JNKK and JNK or with dominant negative mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinase 2 (MEKK2) significantly prevented cell death induced by the combination of anisomycin+CH-11. We further found that anisomycin+CH-11 up-regulated the proapoptotic protein Bim by approximately 14-fold. Simultaneously inhibiting Bim expression and JNK activation additively desensitized U87 cells to anisomycin+CH-11. These findings show that anisomycin-induced ribotoxic stress sensitizes glioblastoma cells to death receptor-induced apoptosis via a specific mechanism requiring both JNK activation and Bim induction.
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PMID:Ribotoxic stress sensitizes glioblastoma cells to death receptor induced apoptosis: requirements for c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and Bim. 1769 4

We hypothesized that induction of differentiation with retinoid could increase sensitivity to microtubule-binding drug taxol (TXL) for apoptosis in human glioblastoma T98G and U87MG cells. Treatment of cells with 1 microM all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) or 1 microM 13-cis retinoic acid (13-CRA) for 7 days induced astrocytic differentiation, overexpression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and also down regulated telomerase expression and activity, thereby increased sensitivity to TXL for apoptosis. Treatment of glioblastoma cells with TXL triggered production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), induced phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and activated the redox-sensitive c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) pathway. Moreover, TXL activated Raf-1 kinase for phosphorylation and inactivation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. The events of apoptosis included increase in expression of Bax, down regulation of Bcl-2 and baculoviral inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing (BIRC) proteins, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and Smac into the cytosol, increase in intracellular free [Ca(2+)], and activation of calpain, caspase-9, and caspase-3. Increased activity of caspase-3 cleaved inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase (ICAD) to release and translocate CAD to the nucleus for DNA fragmentation. Involvement of stress signaling kinases and proteolytic activities of calpain and caspase-3 in apoptosis was confirmed by pretreating cells with specific inhibitors. Taken together, our results suggested that retinoid (ATRA or 13-CRA) induced astrocytic differentiation with down regulation of telomerase activity to increase sensitivity to TXL to enhance apoptosis in glioblastoma cells. Thus, combination of retinoid and TXL could be an effective therapeutic strategy for controlling the growth of glioblastoma.
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PMID:Retinoids induced astrocytic differentiation with down regulation of telomerase activity and enhanced sensitivity to taxol for apoptosis in human glioblastoma T98G and U87MG cells. 1798 64

The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade) is known to trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress via the accumulation of obsolete and damaged proteins. The selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) causes ER stress through a different mechanism (i.e., by causing leakage of calcium from the ER into the cytosol). Each of these two mechanisms has been implicated in the anticancer effects of the respective drug. We therefore investigated whether the combination of these two drugs would lead to further increased ER stress and would enhance their antitumor efficacy. With the use of human glioblastoma cell lines, we show that this is indeed the case. When combined, bortezomib and celecoxib triggered elevated expression of the ER stress markers GRP78/BiP and CHOP/GADD153, caused activation of c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase and ER stress-associated caspase-4, and greatly increased apoptotic cell death. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of the protective ER chaperone GRP78/BiP further sensitized the tumor cells to killing by the drug combination. The contribution of celecoxib was independent of the inhibition of COX-2 because a non-coxib analogue of this drug, 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib (DMC), faithfully and more potently mimicked these combination effects in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our results show that combining bortezomib with celecoxib or DMC very potently triggers the ER stress response and results in greatly increased glioblastoma cytotoxicity. We propose that this novel drug combination should receive further evaluation as a potentially effective anticancer therapy.
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PMID:Aggravated endoplasmic reticulum stress as a basis for enhanced glioblastoma cell killing by bortezomib in combination with celecoxib or its non-coxib analogue, 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib. 1824 86


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