Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0017638 (glioma)
 30,880 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that proliferation of human malignant gliomas in vitro depends in part upon the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and, conversely, can be blocked by inhibitors of PKC. Here, we examined the effect of tamoxifen, a known PKC inhibitor, on DNA synthesis and proliferation of an established human glioma line (U138) and two low passage cultures of explanted human glioblastomas. Tamoxifen produced a profound, dose-dependent inhibition of both [3H] thymidine incorporation and cell proliferation, with a 50% effective dose of 20 ng/ml under serum-free conditions and 50 to 200 ng/ml in the presence of 10% serum. These tumors were estrogen receptor negative and showed no mitogenic response to estradiol. Furthermore, concentrations of estradiol as high as 10 micrograms/ml had no effect on the tamoxifen-induced inhibition. This suggests that the mechanism of growth inhibition by tamoxifen in these gliomas did not involve an estrogen receptor-mediated process but may instead result from its inhibition of PKC. In view of the profound effect of tamoxifen on cultured gliomas at concentrations that can safely be achieved therapeutically, further in vitro and in vivo studies of this agent are warranted.
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PMID:Effect of tamoxifen on DNA synthesis and proliferation of human malignant glioma lines in vitro. 222 48

Recent studies have suggested that the triphenylethylene antiestrogen tamoxifen inhibits the proliferation in vitro of a substantial percentage of cell lines derived from adult high-grade gliomas, potentially acting through inhibition of the second messenger protein kinase C. These findings have formed the impetus for clinical trials of this agent in adults with malignant gliomas. However, it has previously remained uncertain whether tamoxifen has a similar inhibitory effect on the proliferation of pediatric high-grade gliomas, and whether low-grade gliomas, which constitute the majority of glial neoplasms in children, are also inhibited by this agent. To address these issues, the present study examined the effect of tamoxifen on proliferation and viability in a series of low-passage cell lines derived both from low-grade and high-grade pediatric gliomas. This agent was tested in three malignant gliomas, two pilocytic astrocytomas, two non-pilocytic low-grade astrocytomas, 1 mixed glioma, and 1 oligodendroglioma. Tamoxifen produced a dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation in two of the three malignant glioma cell lines and in each of the low-grade glioma cell lines with a 50% effective dose of approximately 3 micrograms/ml (5.4 microM), which is comparable to the IC50 for inhibition of PKC activity by this agent. No significant cytotoxicity was encountered at this concentration. However, complete elimination of proliferation was achieved with a dose of 10 micrograms/ml (17.8 microM), which produced a direct cytotoxic effect. We conclude that tamoxifen inhibits proliferation of cell lines derived from both low-grade and high-grade pediatric glial tumors in vitro at concentrations that may be achievable clinically with high-dose oral therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:The efficacy of tamoxifen as an antiproliferative agent in vitro for benign and malignant pediatric glial tumors. 757 61

The incidence of seizures related to primary brain tumors is 20-80%. High-dose tamoxifen was recently reported as a novel treatment for patients with malignant gliomas who have failed standard therapies. Tamoxifen inhibits protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro and thus may regulate glioma cell growth by modulating intracellular signal transduction. We report a patient with a recurrent supratentorial pilocytic astrocytoma who had an untoward interaction between high-dose tamoxifen therapy and phenytoin (PHT), drugs that share a common enzyme for metabolism, therefore emphasizing the need to monitor concomitant antiepileptic drug (AED) levels when high-dose tamoxifen therapy is instituted.
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PMID:High-dose tamoxifen in treatment of brain tumors: interaction with antiepileptic drugs. 761 29

Tamoxifen has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of human gliomas in vitro. This inhibition is independent of tamoxifen's known anti-estrogenic properties. Tamoxifen is an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), a calcium- and phospholipid-dependent serine kinase which plays a critical role in the proliferation of certain cell lines. Gliomas overexpress PCK, and their growth rate is coupled to the level of this key enzyme. As such, the effect of tamoxifen may be mediated by its inhibitory effect on PKC. To further investigate this possibility, we compared the chemosensitivity of cultured glioma lines to both tamoxifen and N-desmethyltamoxifen (DMT). DMT is the major metabolite of tamoxifen in humans and is a ten-fold more potent inhibitor of PKC. Seven lines were tested using the standard MTT assay, which quantitates metabolically active cells colorimetrically using a tetrazolium dye. Four of the seven lines were also tested using a tritiated thymidine uptake assay. In the MTT assay, all seven lines showed significantly greater sensitivity to DMT, while three of the four lines tested in the thymidine uptake assay were more sensitive to DMT. Correlation between the two assays was good. The dose of tamoxifen required to produce a 50% inhibition of optical absorbance or thymidine uptake (ID50) was typically five- to ten-fold greater than the ID50 for DMT, approximating the relative strength of the two compounds as PKC inhibitors. In addition to providing some support for the ypothesis that triphenylethylenes inhibit gliomas via PKC inhibition, these findings have clinical significance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:A comparison of the relative chemosensitivity of human gliomas to tamoxifen and n-desmethyltamoxifen in vitro. 796 94

The present study was undertaken to explore the role of the Protein Kinase C (PKC) signal transduction system in growth regulation of pituitary adenomas. Primary tumor cultures were plated from fresh surgical tumor specimens. The PKC inhibitors Staurosporine and Tamoxifen were added at varying dosages to the cell cultures. Measurements of cell proliferation were performed by [3H]-thymidine uptake and the [3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay. After a 48 h treatment period, both [3H]-thymidine uptake and absorbance on the MTT assay decreased in a dose-related manner in both the staurosporine and tamoxifen-treated cultures (IC50 of 10 nM and 30 microM respectively). Direct measurement of PKC activity using an in vitro assay revealed very high activity (range of 1465-5708 pmol/min/mg protein; within the range previously published for malignant glioma specimens) in 12 frozen specimens of pituitary adenomas (9 nonfunctional adenomas, 1 prolactinoma, 1 gonadotrophin-secreting and 1 corticotroph-secreting adenoma). In contrast, PKC activity measured in normal adenohypophysis was comparatively very low. These data indicate that pituitary adenoma cells display high PKC activity and are sensitive to growth inhibition by PKC inhibitors. These data suggest a role for the PKC system in regulating pituitary tumor growth, which may have implications for future therapy of these tumors.
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PMID:Protein kinase C and growth regulation of pituitary adenomas. 873 88

Previous work has demonstrated the importance of protein kinase C in regulating glioma cell proliferation in vitro. Tamoxifen, a protein kinase C inhibitor when administered in high dosages, is currently being used as an adjuvant in the treatment of patients with malignant gliomas. The patient in the present study harbored a left frontal anaplastic astrocytoma adjacent to Broca's area and the paracentral region, which limited gross resection. After a subtotal resection of the tumor and after radiation, the patient was administered high-dose tamoxifen therapy for gross residual gadolinium-enhancing regions that were revealed by magnetic resonance imaging and by high glucose uptake as demonstrated by positron emission tomography. After treatment, a decrease in gadolinium enhancement on magnetic resonance images and a decrease in glucose uptake revealed by positron emission tomography were noted. A laboratory examination of the tissue obtained from the original surgical resection revealed resistance to radiation therapy but sensitivity to tamoxifen as measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The subsequent in vitro testing of the tumor that was removed after the recurrence of tumor (22 months after the initiation of tamoxifen) revealed loss of sensitivity to tamoxifen. However, the recurrent tumor remained sensitive to growth inhibition by the potent protein kinase C inhibitor, hypericin, despite loss of sensitivity to tamoxifen in vitro, suggesting the potential clinical application of this agent. This close in vitro correlation with the clinical course of the patient in the present study suggests a potential role for such in vitro radiation and chemosensitivity testing in designing a rational individualized clinical course of treatment.
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PMID:Malignant glioma sensitivity to radiotherapy, high-dose tamoxifen, and hypericin: corroborating clinical response in vitro: case report. 883 15

Tamoxifen has been used most commonly to treat breast and endometrial cancer, two malignancies in which the antiestrogenic properties of tamoxifen have substantial therapeutic benefit. However, tamoxifen has been used in the treatment of other cancers as well, some in which an antiestrogen may be effective, but others in which estrogen receptor is not expressed. In estrogen receptor-negative cancers, tamoxifen has been shown to have therapeutic activity at doses approximately fourfold to eightfold above those used for estrogen receptor inhibition. It is thought that the primary mechanism of tamoxifen in estrogen-negative tumors is inhibition of protein kinase C. Clinical trials of tamoxifen in ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, desmoid tumors, malignant glioma, pancreatic carcinoma, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma are reviewed.
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PMID:Tamoxifen for the treatment of malignancies other than breast and endometrial carcinoma. 904 18

Glioma cells express high protein kinase C (PKC) activity, which may represent an important therapeutic target. Tamoxifen (TAM) has moderate PKC-inhibiting activity, blocking DNA synthesis and cellular proliferation in human glioma cells at concentrations that can be achieved therapeutically. Carboplatin (CBDCA), a second-generation platinum derivative, induces intra- and interstrand DNA-protein crosslinks producing inhibition of tumor-cell growth. In the present study, the effect of TAM, CBDCA, and the combination of both was evaluated against the human established U-138 glioma cell line during the exponential growth phase (48-72 h) by means of both the Biorad protein assay (BPA) method and Trypan blue exclusion study (TBES). Both TAM and CBDCA reduced the cellular growth rate, with a median 50%-inhibiting concentration (IC50) of 12.5 microM for TAM and 350 microM for CBDCA. The U-138 glioma cell line showed a moderate response to 100 microM of CBDCA, with < or = 10% reduction of the growth rate. The association of both chemotherapeutic agents induced a 98% reduction of the IC50 dose of TAM (0.1 microM), and a 71% reduction of the IC50 dose of CBDCA (100 microM). During the combinational TAM CBDCA exposure we observed a cytotoxic effect of TAM at concentrations lower than 0.1 microM, not recognized using it as a single drug. The differences observed among the IC50 doses (TAM, CBDCA, TAM-CBDCA) and among treated and untreated matched control cells were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Our results confirm previous observations about the efficacy in vitro of TAM against human glioma cell lines and show a marked enhancement of this activity by CBDCA.
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PMID:Tamoxifen modulation of carboplatin cytotoxicity in a human U-138 glioma cell line. 974 94

The nonsteroidal antioestrogen tamoxifen has been shown to block a number of voltage-gated cation-selective channels but its effect on ligand-gated cation-selective channels has not been studied. We have investigated the action of tamoxifen and the related derivative toremifene on ligand-gated cationic nicotinic acetylcholine and 5-HT3 receptor channels. Tamoxifen and toremifene both inhibited cationic currents of adult-type human muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes with similar IC50 values of 1.2 +/- 0.03 microM (nH = 0.84 +/- 0.02) and 1.2 +/- 0.1 microM (nH = 1.1 +/- 0.1), respectively. Tamoxifen could also block native 5-HT3 receptors in NG108-15 neuroblastoma/glioma hybrid cells with IC50 = 0.81 +/- 0.15 microM and nH of 1.3 +/- 0.3. The characteristics of block by tamoxifen at the 5-HT3 receptor were voltage- and use-independent. The inhibition of the 5-HT-evoked currents were not overcome by increasing concentrations of 5-HT consistent with a noncompetitive mechanism of block.
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PMID:Inhibition of ligand-gated cation-selective channels by tamoxifen. 975 28

Cerebral gliomas have a poor survival time even after multimodal treatment, because of the unavoidable recurrence of tumor. Several trials with a combination of old and new chemotherapics have been performed, but survival time remains generally less than 12 months. Tamoxifen (TAM) has recently been shown to inhibit the growth rate of established and low-passage human glioma cell lines. Furthermore, this drug has enabled stabilization of the clinical and radiographic picture in selected patients with recurrent glioma. Here we review published data to discuss a potential role of TAM in the multimodal postoperative treatment of cerebral gliomas.
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PMID:Tamoxifen as a potential treatment of glioma. 977


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