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

Glioma tumour-suppressor candidate region gene 2 (GLTSCR2/PICT-1) is localized within the well-known 1.4 Mb tumour-suppressive region of chromosome 19q, which is frequently altered in various human tumours, including diffuse gliomas. Aside from its chromosomal localization, several lines of evidence, including PTEN-phosphorylating and cell-killing activities, suggests that GLTSCR2 participates in the suppression of tumour growth and development. However, little is known about the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of GLTSCR2 as a tumour suppressor gene. We investigated the pathological significance of GLTSCR2 expression in association with the development and progression of glioblastomas, the most common malignant brain tumour. We used real-time PCR and western blot analysis to examine the expression levels of GLTSCR2 mRNA and protein in glioblastomas, normal brain tissue and in non-glial tumour tissue of different origin, and found that GLTSCR2 expression is down-regulated in glioblastomas. In addition, direct sequencing analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization clearly demonstrates the presence of genetic alterations, such as a nonsense mutation and deletion, in the GLTSCR2 gene in glioblastomas. Finally, our immunohistochemical study demonstrates that GLTSCR2 is sequentially down-regulated according to the histological malignant progression of the astrocytic glial tumour. Taken together, our results suggest that GLTSCR2 is involved in astrocytic glioma progression.
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PMID:Suppression of putative tumour suppressor gene GLTSCR2 expression in human glioblastomas. 1872 76

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

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly lethal brain tumour presenting as one of two subtypes with distinct clinical histories and molecular profiles. The primary GBM subtype presents acutely as a high-grade disease that typically harbours mutations in EGFR, PTEN and INK4A/ARF (also known as CDKN2A), and the secondary GBM subtype evolves from the slow progression of a low-grade disease that classically possesses PDGF and TP53 events. Here we show that concomitant central nervous system (CNS)-specific deletion of p53 and Pten in the mouse CNS generates a penetrant acute-onset high-grade malignant glioma phenotype with notable clinical, pathological and molecular resemblance to primary GBM in humans. This genetic observation prompted TP53 and PTEN mutational analysis in human primary GBM, demonstrating unexpectedly frequent inactivating mutations of TP53 as well as the expected PTEN mutations. Integrated transcriptomic profiling, in silico promoter analysis and functional studies of murine neural stem cells (NSCs) established that dual, but not singular, inactivation of p53 and Pten promotes an undifferentiated state with high renewal potential and drives increased Myc protein levels and its associated signature. Functional studies validated increased Myc activity as a potent contributor to the impaired differentiation and enhanced renewal of NSCs doubly null for p53 and Pten (p53(-/-) Pten(-/-)) as well as tumour neurospheres (TNSs) derived from this model. Myc also serves to maintain robust tumorigenic potential of p53(-/-) Pten(-/-) TNSs. These murine modelling studies, together with confirmatory transcriptomic/promoter studies in human primary GBM, validate a pathogenetic role of a common tumour suppressor mutation profile in human primary GBM and establish Myc as an important target for cooperative actions of p53 and Pten in the regulation of normal and malignant stem/progenitor cell differentiation, self-renewal and tumorigenic potential.
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PMID:p53 and Pten control neural and glioma stem/progenitor cell renewal and differentiation. 1894 56

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway is a central regulator of cell proliferation, migration, tumor growth, survival, angiogenesis and metabolism, contributing to the malignant phenotype of gliomas. Trials using targeted therapeutics against growth factor receptors and downstream signal mediators of the PI3K pathway have demonstrated only modest clinical benefit. Although recent clinical data suggests that malignant gliomas with PTEN are more likely to respond to EGF receptor inhibitors, gliomas have multiple concomitantly activated pathways, making them highly resistant to single-targeted therapy. This review discusses the importance of the PI3K pathway in glioma, the potential role of PTEN status in directing specific therapies, discusses clinical trial development of drug combinations to treat malignant gliomas and offers strategies for trial design that will be necessary to fully understand the successes and failures of current approaches to glioma therapy.
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PMID:Combination therapy for malignant glioma based on PTEN status. 1898 37

Amplification of the gene encoding the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) occurs commonly in glioblastoma, leading to activation of downstream kinases including phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K), Akt, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Here, we show that phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream substrate rpS6 (ribosomal protein S6) are robust biomarkers for the antiproliferative effect of EGFR inhibitors. Inhibition of EGFR signaling correlated with decreased abundance of phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR) and rpS6 (p-rpS6) in cells wild type for the gene encoding PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome 10), a negative regulator of PI3K. In contrast, inhibition of EGFR signaling failed to affect p-mTOR or p-rpS6 in cells mutant for PTEN, which are resistant to EGFR inhibitors. Although the abundance of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) decreased in response to inhibition of EGFR signaling, Akt was dispensable for signaling between EGFR and mTOR. We identified an Akt-independent pathway linking EGFR to mTOR that was critically dependent on protein kinase C (PKC). Consistent with these observations, the abundance of EGFR generally correlated with phosphorylation of rpS6 and PKC in primary human glioblastoma tumors, and correlated poorly with phosphorylation of Akt. Inhibition of PKC led to decreased viability of glioma cells regardless of PTEN or EGFR status, suggesting that PKC inhibitors should be tested in glioma. These findings underline the importance of signaling between EGFR and mTOR in glioma, identify PKCalpha as essential to this network, and question the necessity of Akt as a critical intermediate coupling EGFR and mTOR in glioma.
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PMID:EGFR signals to mTOR through PKC and independently of Akt in glioma. 1917 18

Glioblastoma is defined by its aggressive invasion, microvascular proliferation, and central necrosis. BMS-354825 (dasatinib) is an ATP-competitive small-molecule inhibitor effective in treating drug-resistant tumors with mutant BCR-ABL, KIT, and epidermal growth factor receptor by blocking tyrosine phosphorylation sites that are critical in tumorigenesis. In studying the action of dasatinib in human glioblastoma, we found that levels of phospho-SRC, AKT, and ribosomal protein S6 were decreased in cell lines treated with low nanomolar concentrations of dasatinib at baseline and following stimulation with epidermal growth factor. Furthermore, an increased sensitivity to dasatinib was noted in glioma cells with functional PTEN. Reduction of invasive potential was observed in vitro at concentrations well below the IC(50) of dasatinib, which was corroborated by immunofluorescence staining showing disruption of paxillin localization to focal adhesions and decreases in focal adhesion kinase autophosphorylation. Cell cycle analysis revealed minimal G(1) arrest but a significant increase in autophagic cell death in glioma cells treated with dasatinib as assessed by acridine orange staining and a concomitant increase in light chain 3 expression and processing. Combination treatment of glioma cells with dasatinib and temozolomide resulted in a significant increase in cell cycle disruption and autophagic cell death. Dasatinib in combination with temozolomide more effectively increased the therapeutic efficacy of temozolomide than when dasatinib was combined with carboplatin or irinotecan. These results strongly support the clinical use of dasatinib in the treatment of glioblastoma and provide a rationale for combination therapy with dasatinib and temozolomide.
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PMID:Dasatinib-induced autophagy is enhanced in combination with temozolomide in glioma. 1919 Jan 19

The tyrosine kinase receptor c-Met and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) are frequently overexpressed and the tumor suppressor PTEN is often mutated in glioblastoma. Because PTEN can interact with c-Met-dependent signaling, we studied the effects of PTEN on c-Met-induced malignancy and associated molecular events and assessed the potential therapeutic value of combining PTEN restoration approaches with HGF/c-Met inhibition. We studied the effects of c-Met activation on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell migration, cell invasion, and associated molecular events in the settings of restored or inhibited PTEN expression in glioblastoma cells. We also assessed the experimental therapeutic effects of combining anti-HGF/c-Met approaches with PTEN restoration or mTOR inhibition. PTEN significantly inhibited HGF-induced proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cells. PTEN attenuated HGF-induced changes of signal transduction proteins Akt, GSK-3, JNK, and mTOR as well as cell cycle regulatory proteins p27, cyclin E, and E2F-1. Combining PTEN restoration to PTEN-null glioblastoma cells with c-Met and HGF inhibition additively inhibited tumor cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Similarly, combining a monoclonal anti-HGF antibody (L2G7) with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin had additive inhibitory effects on glioblastoma cell proliferation. Systemic in vivo delivery of L2G7 and PTEN restoration as well as systemic in vivo deliveries of L2G7 and rapamycin additively inhibited intracranial glioma xenograft growth. These preclinical studies show for the first time that PTEN loss amplifies c-Met-induced glioblastoma malignancy and suggest that combining anti-HGF/c-Met approaches with PTEN restoration or mTOR inhibition is worth testing in a clinical setting.
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PMID:Interactions between PTEN and the c-Met pathway in glioblastoma and implications for therapy. 1919 Jan 20

Gliomas are the most common and deadly form of malignant primary brain tumors. Loss of the tumor-suppressor PTEN and activation of the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) EGF receptor, c-Met, PDGF receptor and VEGF receptor are among the most common molecular dysfunctions associated with glioma malignancy. PTEN interacts with RTK-dependent signaling at multiple levels. These include the ability of PTEN to counteract PI3K activation by RTKs, as well as possible effects of PTEN on RTK activation of the MAPK pathway and RTK-dependent gene-expression regulation. Consequently, PTEN expression affects RTK-induced malignancy. Importantly, the PTEN status was recently found to be critical for the outcome of RTK-targeted clinical therapies that have been developed recently. Combining RTK-targeted therapies with therapies aimed at counteracting the effects of PTEN loss, such as mTOR inhibition, might also have therapeutic advantage. This article reviews the known molecular and functional interactions between PTEN and RTK pathways and their implications for glioma therapy.
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PMID:Interactions between PTEN and receptor tyrosine kinase pathways and their implications for glioma therapy. 1919 61

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly lethal brain tumor for which little treatment is available. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway is thought to play a crucial role in GBM pathogenesis, initiating the early stages of tumor development, sustaining tumor growth, promoting infiltration, and mediating resistance to therapy. The importance of this pathway is highlighted in the fact that EGFR is mutationally activated in over 50% of GBM tumors. Consistent with this, we show here that concomitant activation of wild-type and/or mutant (vIII) EGFR and ablation of Ink4A/Arf and PTEN tumor suppressor gene function in the adult mouse central nervous system generates a fully penetrant, rapid-onset high-grade malignant glioma phenotype with prominent pathological and molecular resemblance to GBM in humans. Studies of the activation of signaling events in these GBM tumor cells revealed notable differences between wild-type and vIII EGFR-expressing cells. We show that wild-type EGF receptor signals through its canonical pathways, whereas tumors arising from expression of mutant EGFR(vIII) do not use these same pathways. Our findings provide critical insights into the role of mutant EGFR signaling function in GBM tumor biology and set the stage for testing of targeted therapeutic agents in the preclinical models described herein.
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PMID:Oncogenic EGFR signaling cooperates with loss of tumor suppressor gene functions in gliomagenesis. 1919 66

A commonly activated signaling cascade in many human malignancies, including glioblastoma multiforme, is the Akt pathway. This pathway can be activated via numerous upstream alterations including genomic amplification of epidermal growth factor receptor, PTEN deletion, or PIK3CA mutations. In this study, we screened phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt small-molecule inhibitors in an isogenic cell culture system with an activated Akt pathway secondary to a PIK3CA mutation. One small molecule, A-443654, showed the greatest selective inhibition of cells with the mutant phenotype. Based on these findings, this inhibitor was screened in vitro against a panel of glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. All cell lines tested were sensitive to A-443654 with a mean IC(50) of approximately 150 nmol/L. An analogue of A-443654, methylated at a region that blocks Akt binding, was on average 36-fold less active. Caspase assays and dual flow cytometric analysis showed an apoptotic mechanism of cell death. A-443654 was further tested in a rat intracranial model of glioblastoma multiforme. Animals treated intracranially with polymers containing A-443654 had significantly extended survival compared with control animals; animals survived 79% and 43% longer than controls when A-443654-containing polymers were implanted simultaneously or in a delayed fashion, respectively. This small molecule also inhibited glioblastoma multiforme stem-like cells with similar efficacy compared with traditionally cultured glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. These results suggest that local delivery of an Akt small-molecule inhibitor is effective against experimental intracranial glioma, with no observed resistance to glioblastoma multiforme cells grown in stem cell conditions.
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PMID:Inhibition of Akt inhibits growth of glioblastoma and glioblastoma stem-like cells. 1920 28


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