Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The possible role of hepatitis viruses in hepatocarcinogenesis was summarized. Some 2769 of 3017 patients (92%) with hepatocellular carcinoma had advanced liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis in Japan; and 129 of 135 patients (95%) tested positive for either hepatitis B surface antigen or hepatitis C virus antibodies. Therefore, most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had chronic viral hepatitis in Japan. When 212 patients with chronic hepatitis and 115 with liver cirrhosis were followed (average 8.5 and 6 years, respectively), 23 (10.8%) and 43 (37.4%) of them were complicated with hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. The ratio of these developing hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher among patients with viral infections than in those without them. Although these findings demonstrate a close relationship of hepatitis viral infections with hepatocarcinogenesis, the direct role of the virus on carcinogenesis has not been elucidated. The following issues were discussed with regard to hepatitis B virus: (1) "insertion-mutagenesis," (2) transactivation of X protein, and (3) genomic instability by viral integration. Since hepatocellular carcinoma was complicated after a long period of chronic viral hepatitis, further analyses about not only virology but changes of host chromosomal DNA during hepatitis are necessary for understanding its role.
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PMID:[Hepatitis viruses and hepatocarcinogenesis]. 838 55

The LEC rat is a mutant strain displaying hereditary hepatitis and hepatoma. We established enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of Cu,Zn- and Mn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn- and Mn-SOD) and measured the levels of both SODs in various organs of LEC and Wistar rats. Mn-SOD concentrations were higher in LEC rats than in Wistar rats in most tissues. Cu,Zn-SOD levels of liver, kidney and intestine were lower in LEC rats than in Wistar rats. Atomic absorbtion techniques indicated that in addition to high Cu concentrations as previously reported, LEC rat livers contained high Fe concentrations relative to those in Wistar rat livers. These data suggest that increased concentrations of Fe and Cu and decreased levels of Cu,Zn-SOD may facilitate the Fenton reaction to produce hydroxyl radicals in the tissues of the LEC rat. To compensate for the decreased scavenging effects due to low levels of Cu,Zn-SOD, an adaptive increase of Mn-SOD may occur in the process of hepatitis and hepatocarcinogenesis in LEC rats.
Carcinogenesis 1993 Sep
PMID:High copper and iron levels and expression of Mn-superoxide dismutase in mutant rats displaying hereditary hepatitis and hepatoma (LEC rats). 840 14

The expression of 14 forms of cytochrome P450 in the liver as well as changes in the testosterone hydroxylation activities of hepatic microsomes were investigated during the development of hepatitis in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats. P4501A1 and -1A2 (3-methylcholanthrene-inducible forms) and P4502B1 and -2B2 (phenobarbital-inducible forms) were barely detected in the hepatic microsomes of male and female LEC rats. In immature male rats, the levels of male-specific forms (P4502C11 and -2C13) were higher in LEC rats than in control Long-Evans Agouti (LEA) rats. P4502C11 appeared in female LEC rats from 4 to 16 weeks of age, reflecting that testosterone 2 alpha- and 16 alpha-hydroxylation activities were detected at significant levels in female LEC rats. In immature female rats, the level of P4502C12 (a major female-specific form) was higher in LEC rats than in LEA rats. The level of P4502C13 in male LEC rats and that of P4502C12 in female LEC rats decreased markedly with ageing or during the development of hepatitis. The level of P4503A2 (a male-predominant form) was especially high in immature male and female LEC rats, reflecting that both rats had high 2 beta- and 6 beta-hydroxylation activities toward testosterone. These sex-specific forms are regulated by androgens and by pituitary growth hormone. Thus, there may be abnormalities of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis in LEC rats. Furthermore, P4503A2 efficiently activates aflatoxin B1, a potent hepatocarcinogen, and the increased levels of this form in LEC rats may be related to the onset of hepatitis or liver cancer.
Carcinogenesis 1993 Jan
PMID:Expression of cytochrome P450 in LEC rats during the development of hereditary hepatitis and hepatoma. 842 59

The Long-Evans with a cinnamon-like color (LEC) rat is a mutant of the Long-Evans strain that develops hereditary hepatitis and hepatoma with ageing. Age-related changes in the mRNA expression of DNA methyltransferase (DNA MTase) were examined in livers of LEC rats using Long Evans with an agouti color (LEA) rats as controls. A dramatic increase in the expression of this mRNA was observed in LEC rats at 20 weeks when acute hepatitis appeared. Their high mRNA levels were maintained until 52 weeks of age. The mRNA expression as well as DNA MTase activities were found to be higher in cancer lesions than in adjacent normal tissue. These increases may be related to liver regeneration and to early events in cellular transformation of LEC rats.
Carcinogenesis 1993 Apr
PMID:Expression of DNA methyltransferase in LEC rats during hepatocarcinogenesis. 847 22

Over 50% of the hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) arising in the livers of woodchucks with persistent woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) infection contain integrations of WHV DNA within, or immediately adjacent to, a unique and functional N-myc 2 retroposon [G. Fourel et al., Nature (Lond.), 347: 294-298, 1990; Y. Wei et al., J. Virol., 66: 5265-5276, 1992]. The integrations are believed to activate the expression of N-myc 2 by an enhancer insertion mechanism [Y. Wei et al., J. Virol., 66: 5265-5276, 1992]. Since the fetal growth factor insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is also expressed in woodchuck HCCs [X. X. Fu et al., J. Virol., 62: 3422-3430, 1988; D. Yang and C. E. Rogler, Carcinogenesis (Lond.), 12: 1893-1901, 1991] we sought to determine the earliest stage in hepatocarcinogenesis at which overexpression of N-myc and IGF-II could be detected. The earliest precancerous lesions so far identified in woodchucks are altered hepatic foci (AHFs) [K. Abe et al., Jpn. J. Cancer Res., 79: 466-472, 1988; H. Popper et al., Hepatology (Baltimore), 1: 91-98, 1981]. Using in situ hybridization, we have demonstrated that both the N-myc and IGF-II genes are coordinately overexpressed in nearly all AHFs in precancerous woodchuck livers. In contrast, WHV replication was either repressed or undetectable in the same AHFs. The use of probes selective for N-myc 2 versus N-myc 1 (the normal mammalian homologue) revealed nearly exclusive expression of N-myc 2 in AHFs. Cells within AHFs were generally slow growing, as determined by frequency of histone III-expressing hepatocytes; however, a few fast-growing AHFs, with growth rates nearly equivalent to those of HCCs, were identified. Furthermore, very highly elevated N-myc 2 or IGF-II expression was detected in a few subregions within AHFs which otherwise exhibited a uniformly moderate expression, suggesting that selection for higher levels of N-myc or IGF-II expression may occur within AHFs. These data suggest that coordinate expression of N-myc 2 and IGF-II and repression of WHV replication may be functionally involved in the development of AHFs and that cells expressing very high levels of N-myc and IGF-II may be selectively enriched as AHFs progress to HCC, since high levels of N-myc and IGF-II are common in HCCs.
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PMID:Coordinate expression of N-myc 2 and insulin-like growth factor II in precancerous altered hepatic foci in woodchuck hepatitis virus carriers. 848 4

Male A/JCr mice with naturally occurring Helicobacter hepaticus infection develop a progressive chronic active hepatitis and liver tumors, despite the presence of serum antibodies to Helicobacter proteins. A rabbit antiserum prepared against the bacterial proteins immunoreacted with hepatocytes present in liver sections from infected mice with progressive lesions. We found that sera from these mice contained IgG antibodies that reacted in immunoblots with recombinant heat shock protein 70 (DmaK from Escherichia coli) but not with heat shock protein 60 (GroEL) or heat shock protein 10 (GroES). A rabbit antibody to heat shock protein 70 reacted with H. hepaticus in tissue sections and to a H. hepaticus protein (70 kd) in Western blots. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization for heat shock protein 70 revealed that individual hepatocytes and other cells expressed the protein in livers with hepatitis but not usually in normal livers. Liver tumors and preneoplastic lesions in infected mice did not usually express heat shock protein 70 except focally in a few tumors. In situ hybridization for H. hepaticus 16S rRNA showed that the bacteria was found throughout the liver associated with hepatitis but not within tumors. CD3+ T lymphocytes were found in close association with hepatic lesions. These data suggest a role for autoimmunity in progressive hepatitis and carcinogenesis in livers infected with H. hepaticus.
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PMID:Autoimmunity in chronic active Helicobacter hepatitis of mice. Serum antibodies and expression of heat shock protein 70 in liver. 857 13

Induction of hepatocellular carcinoma in woodchucks by woodchuck hepatitis virus is associated with the activation of N-myc gene expression, usually by viral DNA integration in cis to the N-myc locus. We have examined the consequences of N-myc up-regulation in rodent hepatic cells in culture. Mouse alpha ML hepatocytes infected with a retroviral vector overexpressing the woodchuck N-myc2 gene display a higher proliferation rate than parental alpha ML cells but are morphologically unchanged and do not form colonies in soft agar. However, they display an increased propensity to undergo apoptosis, an effect that is markedly augmented by serum deprivation. Expression of the woodchuck hepatitis virus X gene in alpha ML cells does not alter the growth phenotype of the cells and has no effect upon N-myc-dependent apoptosis. However, apoptosis in N-myc2-expressing alpha ML cells is strongly inhibited by insulin-like growth factor II (IGF II). IGF II gene expression is also strongly up-regulated during hepatic carcinogenesis in vivo in virally infected animals and has been speculated to be part of an autocrine growth-stimulatory pathway. Our results suggest that IGF II may play another role in the development of virus-induced hepatoma: the prevention of programmed cell death triggered by deregulated N-myc expression.
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PMID:Apoptosis is induced by N-myc expression in hepatocytes, a frequent event in hepadnavirus oncogenesis, and is blocked by insulin-like growth factor II. 862 53

Formation of etheno-DNA adducts in the liver was investigated in Long Evans cinnamon (LEC) rats, a Long Evans strain with hereditary abnormal copper metabolism, which develop spontaneous hepatitis and later hepatocellular carcinoma. Using an ultrasensitive immunoaffinity/32P-postlabeling assay (J. Nair et al., Carcinogenesis, 16: 613-617, 1995), the etheno adducts 1,N6-ethenodeoxyadenosine (epsilon dA) and 3,N4-ethenodeoxycytidine (epsilon dC) were measured in the liver of 7-, 18-, 30-, and 87-week-old LEC rats. Levels were highest in the liver of 18-week old rats 85 +/- 17 (epsilon dA) and 85 +/- 30 (epsilon dC) adducts per 10(9) parent nucleotides, and the increase in the levels of etheno adducts was age dependent. Age-matched Long Evans agouti rats, a tumor-free sibling line of LEC rats, had much lower levels of both etheno adducts. Etheno adduct levels in LEC rats were well correlated with the hepatic copper levels, and peak adduct levels coincided with the age of commencement of fulminant hepatitis. Our results demonstrate for the first time a copper- and age-dependent formation of highly miscoding etheno-DNA adducts in the liver of LEC rats. These adducts are formed from lipid peroxidation products (F. El-Ghissassi et al., Chem. Res. Toxicol., 8: 273-283, 1995) and thus could arise in the liver of LEC rats from oxygen radicals generated by copper-catalyzed Fenton-type reactions. Etheno-DNA adducts along with other oxidative DNA base damages may thus be involved in liver carcinogenesis in LEC rats.
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PMID:Copper-dependent formation of miscoding etheno-DNA adducts in the liver of Long Evans cinnamon (LEC) rats developing hereditary hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. 864 Aug 12

The p53 tumor suppressor gene is commonly mutated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most frequent mutation in HCC in populations exposed to a high dietary intake of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is an AGGarg-->AGTser missense mutation in codon 249 of the p53 gene. We analyzed HCCs from Monterrey, Mexico, for the codon 249ser hotspot mutation. We also analyzed the serum AFB1-albumin adduct levels of the donors and family members to measure the current AFB1 exposure in this population. Moreover, the presence of hepatitis B and/or C viral infection (HBV or HCV) was analyzed serologically in the patients. Tumor cells were microdissected from tissue sections and exon 7 p53 sequences were amplified by polymerase chain reaction from genomic DNA and sequenced directly. The serological tests for anti-p53 antibodies, HBV or HCV were done by ELISA. Immunohistochemical analysis of p53 protein was done using a polyclonal rabbit antiserum (CM-1). Eight of 21 cases were positive by p53 immunohistochemistry. Of the 16 cases sequenced for exon 7 of p53 three codon 249 AGGarg-->AGTser mutations were found. Serum antibodies recognizing p53 protein were found in one of 18 patients. Positive serology for HBV and/or HCV was found in 12 of 20 cases. The serum AFB1-albumin adduct levels in this population ranged from 0.54 to 4.64 pmol aflatoxin/mg albumin. These results indicate that dietary AFB1 and hepatitis viruses are etiological agents in the molecular pathogenesis of HCC in this geographic region of Mexico.
Carcinogenesis 1996 May
PMID:An aflatoxin-associated mutational hotspot at codon 249 in the p53 tumor suppressor gene occurs in hepatocellular carcinomas from Mexico. 864 Sep 5

Since the discovery of woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV) in 1978, the virus and its host, the American woodchuck, have been studied and used as the most suitable model for human hepatitis B virus infection. WHV is closely related to the human virus, having strong similarities in morphology, genome structure and gene products, replication, epidemiology, the course of infection and in the development of illness and hepatocellular carcinoma. Because of this high homology, the woodchuck model is used for many studies for the development of new vaccines, therapeutic vaccination and antiviral agents. In addition, the woodchuck system is used for investigation of molecular mechanisms of the viral life cycle, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and cell infection.
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PMID:The woodchuck: an animal model for hepatitis B virus infection in man. 866 18


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