Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019204 (hepatocellular carcinoma)
 71,386 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Gene therapy using vector-mediated transfer of prodrug activating genes is a promising treatment approach for malignant tumors. As demonstrated recently, the novel prodrug activating gene coding for rabbit cytochrome P450 4B1 (CYP4B1) is able to induce tumor cell death at low micromolar concentrations in glioblastoma cells after treatment with the prodrug 4-ipomeanol (4-IM) in vitro and in vivo. The rabbit CYP4B1 converts this prodrug and other furane analogs and aromatic amines, such as 2-aminoanthracene, to highly toxic alkylating metabolites, whereas the human isoenzyme exhibits only minimal enzymatic activity. In the present study, the cDNA encoding rabbit CYP4B1 was used for pharmacogene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Cell clones derived from the human HCC cell lines Hep3B, HuH-7, and HepG2 and stably expressing the chimeric protein CYP4B1-EGFP (the CYP4B1 coding sequence fused to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene) were selected. HCC clones expressing EGFP served as controls. 4-IM rapidly induced tumor cell death in CYP4B1-EGFP-expressing clones at low concentrations (a 50% lethal dose of between 0.5 and 2 microg/mL). No signs of toxicity were found in control cells expressing EGFP even at high prodrug concentrations (20 microg/mL). Cell death occurred by apoptosis and was independent of functional p53. A pronounced direct bystander effect was observed in Hep3B cells, whereas bystander HepG2 and HuH-7 cells were highly resistant to toxic 4-IM metabolites. These results demonstrate that the CYP4B1/4-1M system efficiently and rapidly induces cell death in HCC cells, and that a cell line-specific mechanism may exist that limits the extent of the bystander effect of this novel prodrug activating system.
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PMID:Rabbit cytochrome P450 4B1: A novel prodrug activating gene for pharmacogene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma. 1091 3

A Phase I trial of irinotecan was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), and the incidence and severity of other toxicities in children with refractory solid tumors. Thirty-five children received 146 courses of irinotecan administered as a 60-min i.v. infusion, daily for 5 days, every 21 days, after premedication with dexamethasone and ondansetron. Doses ranged from 30 mg/m2 to 65 mg/m2. An MTD was defined in heavily pretreated and less-heavily pretreated (i.e., two prior chemotherapy regimens, no prior bone marrow transplantation, and no radiation to the spine, skull, ribs, or pelvic bones) patients. Myelosuppression was the primary DLT in heavily pretreated patients, and diarrhea was the DLT in less-heavily pretreated patients. The MTD in the heavily pretreated patient group was 39 mg/m2, and the MTD in the less-heavily pretreated patients was 50 mg/m2. Non-dose-limiting diarrhea that was well controlled and of brief duration was observed in approximately 75% of patients. A partial response was observed in one patient with neuroblastoma, and in one patient with hepatocellular carcinoma. Stable disease (4-20 cycles) was observed in seven patients with a variety of malignancies including neuroblastoma, pineoblastoma, glioblastoma, brainstem glioma, osteosarcoma, hepatoblastoma, and a central nervous system rhabdoid tumor. In conclusion, the recommended Phase II dose of irinotecan administered as a 60-min i.v. infusion daily for 5 days, every 21 days, is 39 mg/m2 in heavily treated and 50 mg/m2 in less-heavily treated children with solid tumors.
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PMID:A phase I study of irinotecan in pediatric patients: a pediatric oncology group study. 1120 14

Increases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the acute phase protein haptoglobin (Hp) occur in central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. To establish if Hp CSF level increases can be associated with Hp expression in brain, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments were conducted to determine if the Hp mRNA transcript is expressed in human glioblastoma cells. Furthermore, Western blots and immunoprecipitations were performed to elucidate if Hp protein is synthesized and secreted by human glioblastoma cells. The Hp mRNA (alpha2beta) transcript (1155 bp) was detected both in U-87MG and U-138MG cells, and was positively verified by nested PCR in which a part of the beta sequence (482 bp) was targeted for amplification. Despite the presence of Hp mRNA, Hp protein was not secreted by U-87MG cells as compared to the hepatoma cell line, HepG2, where Hp protein (approximately 46 kDa) was detected in the media. The results suggest the expression of Hp protein by glioblastoma cells is possible since the Hp mRNA transcript exist, but whether or not Hp mRNA is contained in a storage pool requiring a specific signal for translation or is transiently expressed remains to be uncovered in future studies.
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PMID:Haptoglobin gene expression in human glioblastoma cell lines. 1132 15

A recombinant adenovirus expressing human interferon alpha2b driven by the cytomegalovirus promoter, IACB, was shown to produce and secrete biologically active protein in vitro and in vivo. Intravenous administration of IACB in Buffalo rats resulted in circulating levels of biologically active human interferon at 70,000 international units/mL for up to 15 days. Distribution of interferon protein after IACB administration was different from that seen with the subcutaneous delivery of interferon protein. Higher levels of interferon protein were observed in liver and spleen after IACB delivery compared to protein delivery. The antitumor efficacy of IACB, as measured by suppression of tumor growth, was tested in athymic nude mice bearing established human tumor xenografts from different types of human cancer. Subcutaneous tumors most responsive to the intratumoral administration of IACB ranked as U87MG (glioblastoma) and K562 (chronic myelogenous leukemia), followed by Hep 3B (hepatocellular carcinoma) and LN229 cells (glioblastoma). Intravenous administration of IACB in animals bearing U87MG or Hep 3B xenografts was also effective in suppressing tumor growth, although to a lesser extent than the intratumoral administration. IACB was also tested in a metastatic model in beige/SCID mice generated with H69 (small cell lung carcinoma) cells and was found to prolong survival in tumor-bearing animals. This suggested that interferon gene delivery can be effective in suppressing tumor growth in a wide variety of cells.
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PMID:Interferon alpha2b gene delivery using adenoviral vector causes inhibition of tumor growth in xenograft models from a variety of cancers. 1168 2

Glioma constitutes the most frequent brain tumour in man with glioblastoma as the most prevalent and malignant type. The average survival time of less than 16 months underlines the need for improvements in diagnosis and therapy. Here, we report the identification of a novel antigen termed glioma-expressed antigen 2 (GLEA2) causing a frequent immune response in glioma patients. Screening of 450 000 clones from a glioblastoma lambda zap expression library with autologous patient serum revealed a group of five serum-positive clones sharing a high sequence homology. Further sequence analysis showed a sequence homology to a hepatocellular carcinoma associated antigen 58 (HCA58). We localized the novel HCA homologous gene termed glioma-expressed antigen 2 (GLEA2) on chromosome 20 by somatic cell hybrid panel mapping. Using allogenic sera from 39 glioblastoma patients, we found an immune response against GLEA2 in 17 patients (43%). In addition, screening with allogenic sera from other glioma patients revealed GLEA2 directed antibodies in two out of five pilocytic astrocytomas and in one out of two astrocytomas. Unrelated tumour sera revealed no immune response and sera from healthy persons showed an immune response in two out of 14 cases (14%). Northern blot hybridization and RT-PCR showed ubiquitous GLEA2 gene expression in glioma and normal tissues. The novel HCA homologous gene, GLEA2, appears to induce a frequent immune response in glioma. In the light of the lack of useful glioma markers, it appears reasonable to consider GLEA2 as a potential future diagnostic marker.
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PMID:Glioma-expressed antigen 2 (GLEA2): a novel protein that can elicit immune responses in glioblastoma patients and some controls. 1170 62

We have used the yeast one-hybrid system to identify transcription factors with binding capability to specific sequences in proximal regions of the apolipoprotein E gene ( APOE ) promoter. The sequence between -113 and -80 nt, which contains regulatory elements in various cell types, was used as a bait to screen a human brain cDNA library. Four cDNA clones that encoded portions of the human upstream-stimulatory-factor (USF) transcription factor were isolated. Electrophoretic-mobility-shift assays ('EMSAs') using nuclear extracts from various human cell lines as well as from rat brain and liver revealed the formation of two DNA-protein complexes within the sequence CACCTCGTGAC (region -101/-91 of the APOE promoter) that show similarity to the E-box element. The retarded complexes contained USF1, as deduced from competition and supershift assays. Functional experiments using different APOE promoter-luciferase reporter constructs transiently transfected into U87, HepG2 or HeLa cell lines showed that mutations that precluded the formation of complexes decreased the basal activity of the promoter by about 50%. Overexpression of USF1 in U87 glioblastoma cells led to an increased activity of the promoter that was partially mediated by the atypical E-box. The stimulatory effect of USF1 was cell-type specific, as it was not observed in hepatoma HepG2 cells. Similarly, overexpression of a USF1 dominant-negative mutant decreased the basal activity of the promoter in glioblastoma, but not in hepatoma, cells. These data indicated that USF, and probably other related transcription factors, might be involved in the basal transcriptional machinery of APOE by binding to a non-canonical E-box motif within the proximal promoter.
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PMID:Identification of a non-canonical E-box motif as a regulatory element in the proximal promoter region of the apolipoprotein E gene. 1244 25

The mammalian protein DEK has been implicated in multiple cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation, mRNA processing, and chromatin remodeling, and is associated with a number of clinical autoimmune and neoplastic conditions. The connection between DEK and cancer exists at multiple levels: (a) the t(6;9) chromosomal translocation that characterizes a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia cases results in the formation of a DEK-CAN fusion oncoprotein; (b) a fragment of dek cDNA is capable of partially reversing the radiation-sensitive phenotype of fibroblasts cultured from ataxia-telangiectasia patients; and (c) increased levels of dek mRNA have been found to be associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, glioblastoma, and melanoma. Despite the growing list of cancer subtypes with a connection to DEK, the factors that mediate its expression have yet to be characterized. Here we undertake the analysis of DEK regulation by mapping the discrete elements within the proximal promoter that are responsible for constitutive transcription of dek in transformed cells. We find that functional elements include an inverted CCAAT box and a YY1 consensus binding site, and the introduction of point mutations into these sites markedly diminishes transcriptional activity. In addition, we identify the transcriptional activator NF-Y as a member of the CCAAT-binding complex, and verify binding of the transcription factor YY1 at its consensus site in the dek promoter. The discovery of NF-Y and YY1 as regulatory determinants of DEK expression is consistent with the well-documented roles of these two factors in cellular proliferation and transformation.
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PMID:YY1 and NF-Y binding sites regulate the transcriptional activity of the dek and dek-can promoter. 1248 38

Norcantharidin (NCTD), the demethylated analogue of cantharidin, has been used to treat human cancers in China since 1984. It was recently found to be capable of inducing apoptosis in human colon carcinoma, hepatoma and glioblastoma cells by way of an elusive mechanism. In this study, we demonstrated that NCTD also induces apoptosis in human oral cancer cell lines SAS (p53 wild-type phenotype) and Ca9-22 (p53 mutant) as evidenced by nuclear condensation, TUNEL labeling, DNA fragmentation and cleavage of PARP. Apoptosis induced by NCTD was both dose- and time-dependent. We found NCTD did not induce Fas and FasL, implying that it activated other apoptosis pathways. Our data showed that NCTD caused accumulation of cytosolic cytochrome c and activation of caspase-9, suggesting that apoptosis occurred via the mitochondria mediated pathway. NCTD enhanced the expression of Bax in SAS cells consistent with their p53 status. Moreover, we showed that NCTD downregulated the expression of Bcl-2 in Ca9-22 and Bcl-XL in SAS. Our results suggest that NCTD-induced apoptosis in oral cancer cells may be mediated by an increase in the ratios of proapoptotic to antiapoptotic proteins. Since oral cancer cells with mutant p53 or elevated Bcl-XL levels showed resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic agents, NCTD may overcome the chemoresistance of these cells and provide potential new avenues for treatment.
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PMID:Norcantharidin-induced apoptosis in oral cancer cells is associated with an increase of proapoptotic to antiapoptotic protein ratio. 1559 95

Myc is a ubiquitous mediator of cell proliferation that transactivates the expression of various genes through E-box sites. Here we report a novel gene, mimitin (Myc-induced mitochondrial protein), that encodes a mitochondrial protein with a molecular mass of 20 kDa. We demonstrated that the transcription of mimitin is directly stimulated by c-Myc. To investigate the role of Mimitin, its expression was suppressed by the RNA interference (RNAi) technique. Whereas specific inhibition of mimitin expression did not affect cell proliferation in human cervical carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, and hepatocarcinoma cell lines, it did suppress cell proliferation in human glioblastoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and embryonic lung fibroblastic cells, with the greatest suppression efficiency in ESCC cells. To investigate whether mimitin is related to tumorigenesis in ESCC in vivo, the expression of Mimitin protein in ESCC tissues was studied. Mimitin was highly expressed in 80% (28 of 35) of ESCC tumors, suggesting that high expression of Mimitin is a characteristic feature of ESCC. The expression level of Mimitin was found to be correlated with that of c-Myc and cell proliferation, but not with the histopathological grade, stage of cancer, or age of patients. Taken together, these results suggest that the novel gene mimitin is a direct transcriptional target of c-Myc, and is involved in Myc-dependent cell proliferation at least in ESCC cells.
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PMID:A novel Myc-target gene, mimitin, that is involved in cell proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. 1577 66

DEK is a mammalian protein that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and cancer, including acute myeloid leukemia, melanoma, glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and bladder cancer. In addition, DEK appears to participate in multiple cellular processes, including transcriptional repression, mRNA processing, and chromatin remodeling. Sub-nuclear distribution of this protein, with the attendant functional ramifications, has remained a controversial topic. Here we report that DEK undergoes acetylation in vivo at lysine residues within the first 70 N-terminal amino acids. Acetylation of DEK decreases its affinity for DNA elements within the promoter, which is consistent with the involvement of DEK in transcriptional repression. Furthermore, deacetylase inhibition results in accumulation of DEK within interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs), sub-nuclear structures that contain RNA processing factors. Overexpression of P/CAF acetylase drives DEK into IGCs, and addition of a newly developed, synthetic, cell-permeable P/CAF inhibitor blocks this movement. To our knowledge, this is the first reported example of acetylation playing a direct role in relocation of a protein to IGCs, and this may explain how DEK can function in multiple pathways that take place in distinct sub-nuclear compartments. These findings also suggest that DEK-associated malignancies and autoimmune diseases might be amenable to treatment with agents that alter acetylation.
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PMID:p300/CBP-associated factor drives DEK into interchromatin granule clusters. 1598 77


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