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)

To investigate the regulatory mechanisms of human angiotensinogen (ANG) gene expression in the brain, we analyzed the 1.3-kb promoter by transfection studies and gel shift assays. The region from -106 to +44 was sufficient for promoter activity in glioblastoma cells, and multiple nuclear factors including AGCF2 (human ANG core promoter binding factor 2) bound within this 150-bp region. The mutations within AGCF2-binding elements decreased the transcriptional activity in glioblastoma cells but rather increased it in hepatoma cells. These results indicate that AGCF2 has a differential function between these cells and contributes to the glia-dependent angiotensinogen promoter activity.
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PMID:Differential action of AGCF2 upon cell type-dependent expression of human angiotensinogen gene. 925 36

Angiotensinogen is the precursor protein of angiotensin II that is involved in regulating blood pressure and electrolyte homeostasis, and it is mainly synthesized in the liver. In the present study, we analyzed the human angiotensinogen proximal promoter region by means of Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays, and suggested that the region from -106 to +44 is sufficient for hepatoma cell line (HepG2)-specific expression. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using ALE (ATF-like element, -102 to -87) fragment identified CREB/ATF family nuclear factors and novel ones, ALF (ALE-binding factor). The deletion and in vivo competition of ALE decreased the human angiotensinogen promoter activity. Furthermore, the heterologous promoter analysis demonstrated that ALE acts as a HepG2-dependent activating element. These results indicate that ALE plays an important role in hepatic expression of human angiotensinogen gene.
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PMID:ATF-like element contributes to hepatic activation of human angiotensinogen promoter. 926 49

-Angiotensinogen is the glycoprotein precursor of 1 of the most potent vasoactive hormones, angiotensin II. Human angiotensinogen gene contains a C/A polymorphism at -20 located between the TATA box and transcriptional initiation site. We show here that when nucleoside A is present at -20, this sequence binds to the estrogen receptor. We also show that transcriptional activity of reporter constructs containing human angiotensinogen gene promoter with nucleoside A at -20 is increased on cotransfection of an expression vector containing human estrogen receptor-alpha coding sequence in human hepatoma cells (HepG2) followed by estrogen treatment. On the other hand, adenoviral major late transcription factor binds preferentially to this region of the promoter when nucleoside C is present at -20. We also show that reporter constructs containing human angiotensinogen gene promoter with nucleoside C at -20 have increased basal promoter activity on transient transfection in HepG2 cells as compared with reporter constructs with nucleoside A at -20. Our data suggest that C/A polymorphism at -20 may modulate the expression of human angiotensinogen gene in a sex-specific manner.
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PMID:Role of C/A polymorphism at -20 on the expression of human angiotensinogen gene. 993 Oct 90

To differentiate the relative effects of nuclear and cell surface angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors, we mutated the angiotensinogen cDNA by removing the signal sequence-encoding region to produce a nonsecreted form of angiotensinogen [Ang(-S)Exp]. Rat hepatoma cells (which produce renin and angiotensin-converting enzyme mRNAs) were stably transfected with Ang(-S)Exp/pSVL (or a corresponding control) expression plasmid, and mitotic indices were measured for stably transfected cell lines. Experimental clonal cell lines demonstrate an average of 33+/-4.4% (P<0.001) increase in percentage-labeled nuclei compared with control cell lines. The mitogenic effect is blocked by 10(-6) mol/L losartan and by 1 micromol/L renin antisense phosphorothioate oligomers but not by 10(-6) mol/L candesartan. In addition, phenylarsine oxide, which blocks angiotensin receptor internalization, abolishes the losartan inhibitory effect, suggesting that after cell-surface receptor-mediated endocytosis, losartan blocks Ang II nuclear receptors. PDGF mRNA levels are elevated 2.2-fold in Ang(-S)Exp transfected cell lines; addition of anti-PDGF antibodies to the culture medium partially blocks the mitogenic effect of Ang(-S)Exp, while anti-Ang II antibodies have no effect. These results suggest that the Ang(-S)Exp growth effect is due, in part, to autocrine/paracrine stimulation by secreted PDGF after Ang II/Ang II receptor intracellular interactions. We further demonstrate that these cells produce the alternative renin transcript, renin 1A, which apparently lacks a signal sequence and is maintained intracellularly. Collectively, these studies of cultured cells suggest that some cell types may possess components of the renin-angiotensin system that permit intracellular processing of angiotensinogen to Ang II and that Ang II generated intracellularly may be mitogenic.
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PMID:In vitro evidence for an intracellular site of angiotensin action. 1173 78

Our recent published studies suggest that angiotensin II (AII), generated and retained intracellularly, enhances growth of H4-II-E-C3 rat hepatoma cells, an average of 33%. Proliferation conferred by introduction of a plasmid [ Ang(-S)Exp/pSVL ] encoding a signal sequence-depleted angiotensinogen [Ang(-S)Exp] into these cells (which we have shown possess ACE and renin mRNAs) is mediated, at least in part, by enhanced PDGF-A chain mRNA production and protein secretion. The mitogenic effect is inhibited by losartan suggesting that it involves AII interaction with an AT(1)-like receptor. Introduction of anti-AII antibodies into the medium of these transfected cells has no effect upon growth of the cells, suggesting that AII is retained by the cells and that intracellular AII is growth stimulatory. In the present study, we sought to further characterize the intracellular localization and mode of action of Ang(-S)Exp. Consistent with our expectations, we now show that a fusion product of Ang(-S)Exp with green fluorescent protein [Ang(-S)Exp/EGFP], generated from an expression plasmid, is abundant and primarily cytoplasmic. Wild-type angiotensinogen/EGFP, in contrast, is only detectable following a cold-block (which acts to enhance folding-kinetics and slow secretion) and is largely restricted to the secretory pathway. We further show, using semi-quantitative RT/PCR that the long isoform of PDGF mRNA is elevated in Ang(-S)Exp transfected cells and in AII-treated naive cells but not in losartan-treated Ang(-S)Exp transfected cells. We identify C-terminal amidation recognition sites within the long-form protein (that are not present in the short-form) and show that these cells possess PAM (amidating enzyme precursor) and carboxypeptidase E mRNAs (the corresponding proteins of which are sufficient for amidation). Inhibitors of amidation inhibit growth of naive and Ang(-S)Cntr/ pSVL -transfected cells (2.6-fold for phenylbutenoic acid and 3.5-fold for disulfiram treatment) but more profoundly inhibit growth of Ang(-S)Exp/pSVL -transfected cells (6.7-fold for phenylbutenoic acid and 13-fold for disulfiram). In conclusion, these data confirm that signal sequence-depleted Ang(-S)Exp is retained within cells and is largely cytoplasmic. Because C-terminal amidation is absolutely required for full biological potency of a number of peptide hormones (including oxytocin, gastrin and calcitonin), we postulate that growth effects of both intracellular AII and exogenous AII can be conferred by PDGF long-form, possibly through an amidation-dependent mechanism.
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PMID:Intracellular angiotensin II increases the long isoform of PDGF mRNA in rat hepatoma cells. 1243 51

Thyroid hormones (THs) regulate growth, development, differentiation and metabolic processes by interacting and activating thyroid hormone receptors (TRs). Although much progress has been made in our understanding of the transcriptional regulation of many TR target genes, little is known of the regulation of plasma protein gene expression by TRs. To investigate the role of TRs in plasma protein expression we used human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and carried out cDNA microarray analysis. Our results indicate that several plasma proteins including transferrin, prothrombin, angiotensinogen, haptoglobin, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein alpha and beta chain, complement, lipoproteins and fibrinogen are up-regulated by THs. Furthermore, clusterin, alpha-2-macroglobulin precursor, prothymosin alpha and alpha-fetoprotein were found to be down-regulated by THs.Transferrin, an iron-binding protein expressed in all mammals, and mainly synthesized in the liver, was investigated further. Immunoblot and Northern blot analyses revealed that exposure of HepG2-TRalpha1 sub-lines and HepG2-Neo cells to tri-iodothyronine (T(3)) induced time- and dose-dependent increases in the abundance of transferrin mRNA and protein, with the extent of these effects correlating with the level of expression of TRalpha1. Nuclear run-on experiments indicate that this induction is functioning at the transcriptional level. Moreover, cyclohexamide treatment did not eliminate the induction of transferrin by TH. Thus, our results suggest that the induction of transferrin by TH is direct and may in fact be mediated by an as yet unidentified response element in the promoter region.
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PMID:Plasma protein regulation by thyroid hormone. 1465 6

In recently published studies, we show that angiotensin II (AII) generated from an engineered rat angiotensinogen cDNA, and maintained intracellularly, is growth stimulatory for a rat hepatoma cell line. In the present study, we report that co-expression of AII fused to cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP/AII) and angiotensin type I receptor fused to yellow fluorescent protein (AT1R/EYFP) enhances proliferation of COS-7 and CHO-K1 cells by 59% and 64%, respectively, compared to cells expressing the corresponding independent proteins (P < 0.001 for both). This effect is inhibited by losartan, suggesting (as in our previous published studies) that losartan is internalized by the cells, via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and thus inhibits intracellular receptor-ligand interaction. The growth effect is independent of anti-AII antibodies suggesting that it does not reflect AII secretion into the culture media; AII is also undetectable in the media. Expression of AT1R/EYFP with ECFP/AIIC (control scrambled sequence AII fused to ECFP) has no effect upon cell proliferation. ECFP/AII also alters the cellular localization of AT1R/EYFP. ECFP/AII is concentrated in the nucleus, but shows diffuse cytoplasmic fluorescence as well. AT1R/EYFP, expressed independently, is visible in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus of COS-7 and CHO-K1 cells as early as 24-h post-transfection. At 72 h, it is visibly associated with the plasma membrane. By 144 h, 85% of the cells show detectable circumferential fluorescence. In contrast, in cells that express AT1R/EYFP and ECFP/AII, both proteins accumulate in the nucleus and only 13% of the cells show visible plasma membrane-associated yellow fluorescence at 144 h (P < 0.001). Furthermore, co-expression of ECFP/AII with AT1R/EYFP stimulates cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) activity in CHO-K1 and COS-7 cells. Exogenous AII similarly significantly increases CREB activation in AT1R/EYFP-stably transfected CHO-K1 and COS-7 cells.
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PMID:Intracellular angiotensin II fusion protein alters AT1 receptor fusion protein distribution and activates CREB. 1473 50

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant cancers closely associated with chronic infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) or the hepatitis C virus (HCV) throughout the world. In this study, the genetic associations of 20 known polymorphisms in eight candidate genes, including angiotensinogen (AGT), cadherin 1 (CDH1), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP1), multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), chemokine ligand 5 (RANTES), thrombospondin 2 (THBS2), and thrombospondin 4 (THBS4), were analyzed in a large chronic hepatitis B cohort (n=1,095) recruited from the Korean population. In addition, three polymorphisms in chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and vimentin (VIM) identified in this study were also genotyped. Using logistic regression analysis controlling possible confounding factors, one common (freq.=0.367) promoter polymorphism of MCP1 (MCP1-2518G>A) among analyzed polymorphisms was significantly associated with clearance of HBV infection. The frequency of homozygotes for the MCP1-2518A allele (MCP1-2518A/A) among chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier patients was significantly higher than that among spontaneously recovered (SR) subjects (17.7% vs. 10.4%)(OR=1.78, P=0.004). Our findings imply a plausible explanation for the contribution of host genetic determinants to the variable outcome of HBV infection, which might provide valuable information for future genetic study in this area.
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PMID:Association of common promoter polymorphisms of MCP1 with hepatitis B virus clearance. 1720 46

Angiotensinogen, a member of the serpin family, is involved in the suppression of tumor growth and metastasis. To investigate whether human angiotensinogen protects against tumor progression in vivo, we established an original bitransgenic model in which transgenic mice expressing human angiotensinogen (Hu-AGT-TG mice) were crossed with a transgenic mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC-TG mice). Bitransgenic mice overexpressing human angiotensinogen (HCC/Hu-AGT-TG) had a significantly longer survival time than the HCC-TG mice and a reduction of both tumor growth and blood flow velocities in the liver. This antitumor effect of angiotensinogen is related to a reduced angiogenesis, impaired expression of endothelial arterial markers (active Notch4, Delta-like 4 ligand, and ephrin B2) with a decrease of arterial vessel density in HCC/Hu-AGT-TG mice liver. Overexpression of human angiotensinogen decreases angiogenesis, and prevents tumor sinusoids from remodeling and arterialization, thus delaying tumor progression in vivo.
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PMID:Angiotensinogen delays angiogenesis and tumor growth of hepatocarcinoma in transgenic mice. 1931 81

Liver fibrosis is a common consequence of chronic liver diseases resulting from multiple etiologies. Furthermore, prolonged unresolved liver fibrosis may gradually progress to cirrhosis, and eventually evolve into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Corydalis saxicola Bunting (CS), a type of traditional Chinese folk medicine, has been reported to have hepatoprotective effects on the liver. However, the exact mechanism of how it cures liver fibrosis requires further elucidation. In this work, an integrated approach combining proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR)-based metabonomics and network pharmacology was adopted to elucidate the anti-fibrosis mechanism of CS. Metabonomic study of serum biochemical changes by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis in rats after CS treatment were performed using 1H-NMR analysis. Metabolic profiling by means of partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) indicated that the metabolic perturbation caused by CCl4 was reduced after CS treatment. As a result, lipids, leucine, alanine, acetate, O-acetyl-glycoprotein and creatine were significantly restored after CS treatment, which regulated valine, leucine and isoleucine metabolism; arginine and proline metabolism; lipid metabolism and pyruvate metabolism. Additionally, 157 potential targets of CS and 265 targets of liver fibrosis were identified by means of network pharmacology. Subsequently, 5 target proteins, which are the intersection of potential CS targets and liver fibrosis targets, indicated that CS has potential anti-fibrosis effects through regulating alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and angiotensinogen. Chelerythrine and sanguinarine were the potential active compounds in CS for treating liver fibrosis through regulating ALT activity. This study is the first report to study the anti-fibrosis effects of CS on the basis of combining a metabonomics and network pharmacology approaches, and it may be a potentially powerful tool to study the efficacy and mechanisms of traditional Chinese folk medicines.
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PMID:Investigation of the hepatoprotective effect of Corydalis saxicola Bunting on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in rats by 1H-NMR-based metabonomics and network pharmacology approaches. 2999 Aug 93


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