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)

The molecular correlation concept proposed that IMP dehydrogenase activity should be a sensitive target of chemotherapy. This hypothesis received support from an array of evidence. IMP dehydrogenase has the lowest activity in purine biosynthesis; it is the rate-limiting enzyme in GTP production; the enzymic activity is transformation-and progression-linked; it is elevated in all examined animal and human neoplastic cells. The activity of GMP synthetase and the concentrations of GMP and dGTP were increased in cancer cells. Whereas guanine salvage has a high potential activity, the low guanine content may well curtail actual salvage capacity. Ribonucleotide reductase activity was two orders of magnitude lower than that of IMP dehydrogenase. Tiazofurin, a C-nucleoside, had marked cytotoxicity on hepatoma cells in vitro and was the first drug that as a single agent profoundly inhibited the proliferation of the subcutaneously inoculated solid hepatoma 3924A in the rat. The impact of tiazofurin administration in hepatoma cells was revealed in a cascade of biochemical alterations involving primary, secondary and tertiary targets and markers of this drug action. The primary target was IMP dehydrogenase where the active metabolite of tiazofurin, TAD, was thought to be absorbed to the NADH site of the enzyme. As a consequence, the enzymic activity declined rapidly to about 30-40% and returned to normal range by 36 to 48 hr after injection. The secondary targets and markers are the profoundly decreased pools of guanylates (GMP, GDP, GTP). Concurrently, the concentrations of IMP and PRPP were increased 8- to 15-fold. The elevated IMP pools were attributed to the de-inhibition of the AMP deaminase activity subsequent to the decline in GTP concentration. The rise in PRPP pools was attributed to the selective inhibition of GPRT and HPRT activities by the high IMP pool which did not affect APRT activity. This interpretation is supported by the 6- to 8-fold increase in the concentrations of guanine and hypoxanthine and the lack of change in the adenine pools inthe hepatomas after tiazofurin administration. The marked drop in NAD concentration which was drug dose- and time-dependent is attributed to the competition for NAD pyrophosphorylase activity by the precursors of NAD and tiazofurin monophosphate. The tertiary targets were dominated by the profound alterations in the concentrations of the dNTPs. This was characterized by a rapid and persistent drop (for 3 days) of the dGTP pool. The concentrations of dATP and dCTP also declined, but these alterations were less pronounced and the pools returned to normal after 2 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Targets and markers of selective action of tiazofurin. 242 86

A persuasive body of evidence indicates that substantial protection against chemical carcinogenesis can be achieved by induction of enzymes concerned with the metabolism of carcinogens. There are two classes of anticarcinogenic enzyme inducers: (a) monofunctional inducers (e.g., phenolic antioxidants, isothiocyanates, coumarins, thiocarbamates, cinnamates, 1,2-dithiol-3-thiones) that elevate Phase II enzymes (such as glutathione S-transferases, NAD(P)H:quinone reductase, UDP-glucuronosyl-transferases) in various tissues without significantly raising the Phase I enzyme, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (cytochrome P1-450); and (b) bifunctional inducers (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, flavonoids, and azo dyes) that induce both Phase I and Phase II enzymes of xenobiotic metabolism. Induction of Phase II enzymes appears to be a sufficient condition for achieving chemoprotection, and since certain Phase I enzymes are responsible for activating carcinogens to their ultimate reactive forms, selective Phase II enzyme inducers offer intrinsically safer prospects for achieving chemoprotection. Whereas induction of both Phase I and II enzymes by bifunctional inducers depends on the Ah receptor, induction of Phase II enzymes by monofunctional inducers is independent of a functional Ah receptor. Studies on the structural requirements for induction of quinone reductase [NAD(P)H:(quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase; EC 1.6.99.2] by monofunctional inducers in Hepa 1c1c7 murine hepatoma cells have revealed that such inducers contain a distinctive chemical feature (or acquire this feature by metabolism) that regulates the synthesis of this protective enzyme. The inducers are all Michael reaction acceptors characterized by olefinic (or acetylenic) linkages that are rendered electrophilic by conjugation with electron-withdrawing groups. Typical examples are alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes, ketones (including quinones), thioketones, sulfones, esters, nitriles and nitro groups. The potency of these inducers parallels their reactivity as Michael acceptors. These generalizations have provided mechanistic insight into the vexing question of how so many seemingly unrelated anticarcinogens induce chemoprotective enzymes. They have also led to the prediction of entirely new and unsuspected structures of inducers, with potential for chemoprotective activity.
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PMID:Mechanisms of induction of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogenesis. 269 44

In some chemically-induced hepatomas and in cultured transformed cells the aldehyde dehydrogenase activity was found increased in the presence of aromatic aldehyde as substrate. We studied this enzyme during diethyl-nitrosamine carcinogenesis in rat liver by using an aliphatic aldehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal, as substrate. 4-Hydroxynonenal is an important product of lipid peroxidation. The NAD- and NADP-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase of the cytosolic fraction and the NADP-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase of the microsomes show higher values in nodules and hepatoma than in normal liver. These results suggest that increased aldehyde dehydrogenase, when 4-hydroxynonenal is used, can be considered a marker of the neoplastic process, in the same way as the level of aldehyde dehydrogenase increased in presence of aromatic aldehyde.
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PMID:Oxidative metabolism of 4-hydroxy-2,3-nonenal during diethyl-nitrosamine-induced carcinogenesis in rat liver. 273 11

The malate-aspartate shuttle activity for the reoxidation of cytosolic NADH was studied in MC29 avian hepatoma cells whose mitochondria preferentially utilized glutamine and produced aspartate for ATP formation. The tumour cells showed reoxidation of NADH, as evidenced by the accumulation of pyruvate, when incubated aerobically with L-lactate. The involvement of the respiratory chain and transaminase in the process was demonstrated by the addition of specific inhibitors. When the tumour cells were cultured in Eagle's medium with aminooxyacetate or in the absence of glutamine, a marked reduction in the cellular NAD/NADH ratio was observed. These results indicate that the malate-aspartate shuttle was actively functioning in the tumour cells and that this hepatoma may provide a suitable system for the investigation of the bioenergetics of malignant cells.
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PMID:Oxidation of cytosolic NADH by the malate-aspartate shuttle in MC29 hepatoma cells. 280 84

NAD(P)H:Quinone oxidoreductase (QR) is a widely-distributed enzyme that promotes obligatory two-electron reductions of quinones and thereby protects cells against the cytotoxicity of quinones and their metabolic precursors. QR is induced by a wide variety of chemoprotectors in many animal tissues as well as in the Hepa 1c1c7 murine hepatoma cell line. Such inducers fall into two families: dual inducers (e.g. polycyclic aromatics, azo dyes, beta-naphthoflavone) that elevate QR as well as cytochrome P1-450, and selective inducers of QR (e.g. tert-butylhydroquinone and other redox-labile diphenols). Induction by the first family of inducers depends on binding to the Ah (Aryl hydrocarbon) receptor and the associated expression of a functional cytochrome P1-450 enzyme, whereas the induction by redox-labile diphenols does not appear to be receptor-mediated. In order to analyze the possible role of the cytochrome P1-450 system in the induction of QR, we examined this process in the Hepa 1c1c7 cells and in four mutants of this cell line that are defective in the induction or expression of functional cytochrome P1-450. tert-Butylhydroquinone was an effective inducer of QR in all of the cell lines, and this process does not, therefore, depend on a functional cytochrome P1-450 enzyme. In contrast, azo dyes and polycyclic aromatics induce QR in the parent cell line but not in the various types of cytochrome P1-450-defective mutants. We conclude that the Ah receptor and cytochrome P1-450 function are involved in the induction of QR by certain azo dyes and polycyclic aromatics, but not by phenolic antioxidants.
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PMID:Role of cytochrome P1-450 in the induction of NAD(P)H:quinone reductase in a murine hepatoma cell line and its mutants. 282 Jun 4

Tiazofurin (2-beta-D-ribofuranosylthiazole-4-carboxamide, NSC-286193) has shown potent cytotoxic and antitumor activity against hepatoma 3924A carried in the rat [Lui et al. J. biol. Chem. 259, 5078 (1984)]. However, eventually the tumor emerged, proliferated and killed the host. To throw light on the factors that play a role in the resistance to this drug, a tiazofurin-induced resistant hepatoma 3924A line in culture was produced, and its biochemical and pharmacological pattern was examined. Resistance in hepatoma cells was expressed by a reprogramming of gene expression that entailed the display of a program of multiple biochemical alterations. In the resistant cells the activity of IMP dehydrogenase, the target enzyme of tiazofurin, was increased 2- to 3-fold. The steady-state guanylate pools were elevated 3-fold, and there was a decrease in the de novo synthesis of guanylate. There was an expansion of guanylate salvage, which could circumvent inhibition of de novo guanylate synthesis by tiazofurin. For the first time in studies on the resistance of different cell lines to tiazofurin, reduced tiazofurin transport (to 50%) in resistant hepatoma cells was identified which might account for the decreased concentration (50%) of the active metabolite, thiazole-4-carboxamide adenine dinucleotide (TAD), in these cells. NAD pyrophosphorylase activity also decreased to 53% of that of the sensitive line, which was responsible, in part at least, for the decreased TAD concentration of the resistant cells. When resistant cells were cultured in the absence of tiazofurin, resistance to the drug gradually decreased, and by 50 passages sensitivity returned. Resistance to tiazofurin in hepatoma cells appears to be a drug-induced metabolic adaptation which involves alterations in the activity of the target enzyme, in the transport and concentration of the drug and the active metabolite, and an increase of guanylate concentration and guanine salvage capacity.
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PMID:Mechanism of resistance to tiazofurin in hepatoma 3924A. 286 29

The hypothesis was tested that the increased IMP dehydrogenase activity in human myelocytic leukemic cells, and along with it guanylate biosynthesis, might be a sensitive target to chemotherapy by tiazofurin. 1. IMP dehydrogenase activity in normal leukocytes was 3.1 +/- 0.5 (means +/- S.E.) nmol/hr/mg protein and in leukemic cells it was elevated 15- to 41-fold. The activity of guanine phosphoribosyltransferase in normal leukocytes was 389 +/- 27 nmol/hr/mg protein and in the leukemic cells it increased 2.8- to 6.8-fold. 2. IMP dehydrogenase was purified 4,900-fold to homogeneity from rat hepatoma 3924A with a yield of 30%. The kinetic properties of the hepatoma enzyme were similar to those of the enzyme in human myelocytic leukemic blast cells because of the similarity of the Km's for IMP (23 microM), NAD (44 and 65 microM); the Ki for TAD was 0.1 microM in both enzymes. 3. There was a selectivity of the in vitro response to tiazofurin in human normal and leukemic leukocytes. When labeled tiazofurin was incubated with leukocytes from normal, healthy volunteers and from leukemic patients, the leukemic leukocytes made 20- to 30-fold more TAD and the GTP content decreased as compared to normal leukocytes. This procedure proved to be a suitable predictive test in a clinical setting because patients with positive tests responded to tiazofurin whereas those with negative ones did not. 4. The National Cancer Institute approved a chemotherapeutic phase I/II trial which concentrates on treatment of refractory acute myelocytic leukemia. Tiazofurin is infused in a 60-minute period with a pump to insure uniform delivery. A novel aspect of the trial was that it was directed primarily by the biochemical impact of tiazofurin on IMP dehydrogenase activity and GTP concentration and the tiazofurin doses were to be adjusted accordingly. Patients received allopurinol as a routine precaution against possible accumulation of uric acid in the kidney. 5. In the first eight patients, there was one complete remission, two entered the chronic phase, two entered into partial remission, one did not respond, and two were not evaluable. In the five patients who responded, there was a rapid, profound decrease in IMP dehydrogenase activity of the blast cells and a gradual decline in GTP concentrations. The blast cell count followed the decrease in the GTP concentration. The white blood cell count was largely preserved. 6. Bone marrow aspirates and peripheral blood samples showed that with tiazofurin treatment there was an induced differentiation of the myelocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Enzyme-pattern-targeted chemotherapy with tiazofurin and allopurinol in human leukemia. 290 68

Hepatocarcinogenesis in rats treated with several chemicals is associated with changes in aldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH) activity, particularly heterogeneous expression of a "tumor specific" phenotype that is very active with aromatic aldehydes, e.g., benzaldehyde (Bz). Objectives of this study were first, to determine if liver cancers in vinyl chloride-treated rats also expressed this AlDH phenotype, and second, to quantitate the NAD- and NADP-dependent AlDH activity for the substrates Bz and acetaldehyde (Ac) in the cancers and surrounding tissue. Small cubes of tissue containing well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma were obtained from five Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 2500 ppm vinyl chloride for 55 weeks. An optimized procedure was developed for AlDH histochemistry. Frozen sections were preincubated in nitroblue tetrazolium/acetone and then incubated at 20 degrees C in viscous polyvinyl alcohol media containing buffer, phenazine methosulfate, sodium azide, substrate, coenzyme, and nitroblue tetrazolium. Background activity was evaluated by omission of substrate. Activity was quantitated by computer-assisted microscopic photometry. All five carcinomas had heterogeneous staining of NADP- and NAD-dependent BzDH and AcDH activity, with clusters of very high-activity cells. The magnitude of staining in the high-activity neoplastic cells was at least tenfold greater for BzDH-NADP and about twofold greater for BzDH-NAD, AcDH-NADP, and AcDH-NAD than the staining in other liver cells. More neoplastic cells had high BzDH than high AcDH activity. Only BzDH-NADP was localized predominantly to the carcinoma.
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PMID:Quantitative histochemistry of benzaldehyde dehydrogenase in hepatocellular carcinomas of vinyl chloride-treated rats. 300 81

Well coupled mitochondria were isolated from transplantable chicken hepatoma induced by MC-29 virus. The mitochondrial phosphate-dependent and phosphate-independent glutaminase activities were increased compared with those from normal chicken liver. Glutamate dehydrogenase was undetectable in the tumor mitochondria. Oxypolarographic tests showed the following: glutamine oxidation was prominent in the tumor mitochondria and was mediated through an NAD-linked reaction, while mitochondria from the liver showed a feeble glutamine oxidation; glutamine oxidation by tumor mitochondria was inhibited either by aminooxyacetate, inhibitor of transaminases, or prior incubation of mitochondria with DON (6-diazo-5-oxonorleucine), which inhibited mitochondrial glutaminases. Bromofuroate, inhibitor of glutamate dehydrogenase, had little or no effect; and glutamate oxidation was also inhibited by aminooxyacetate, while it was not affected by DON. These findings clearly show a high glutamate oxidation activity in the hepatoma and indicate that the product of glutamine hydrolysis, glutamate, is catabolized via transamination in the mitochondria to supply ATP.
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PMID:Prominent glutamine oxidation activity in mitochondria of avian transplantable hepatoma induced by MC-29 virus. 301 1

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity was measured in primary cultures of normal human hepatocytes and of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 after application of phenobarbital (PB) or 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) for 5 days. Treatment with PB alone resulted in a significant increase in both protein and DNA content at concentrations of 2 and 3 mM. Treatment with MC at a concentration as low as 5 microM led to a significant loss of cells when it lasted more than 5 days. Concentrations of 3-5 mM of PB in the media of HepG2 cell cultures caused a 2-fold enhancement of the activity of ALDH, as measured with NAD and propionaldehyde (P/NAD) or benzaldehyde (B/NAD). On the other hand, MC-treated cultures (5 microM) showed a 20-fold increase in enzyme activity measured with NADP and benzaldehyde (B/NADP), and a 2-fold increase in B/NAD activity. Combined treatment with both PB and MC led to an effect of dynamic synergism as far as B/NAD and B/NADP activities are concerned, suggesting a metabolite of MC as the mediator for the increase of ALDH activity. Normal human hepatocytes in primary cultures responded to PB (3 mM) in a similar way as HepG2 cells as far as DNA and protein content and ALDH activity are concerned. It is concluded, that HepG2 hepatoma cells behave similar to the normal hepatocytes in terms of ALDH regulation and can be used for studies on the activity of ALDH as modified by added xenobiotics.
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PMID:Effect of phenobarbital and 3-methylcholanthrene on aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in cultures of HepG2 cells and normal human hepatocytes. 303 38


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