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)

Transplantation of Yoshida sarcoma (solid type) and Zajdela ascites hepatoma tumors in rats induces a biphasic change in the concentration of the following five acute-phase proteins: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein; alpha-1-antitrypsin; haptoglobin; hemopexin; and ceruloplasmin. These proteins and other plasma proteins were quantitated by two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis relative to normal serum concentrations. The elevation of most of these acute-phase proteins was greater in the second phase, during which serum levels increased continuously as the tumor burden increased until the animals died. The increase in haptoglobin concentration during the second phase was much higher in rats bearing Yoshida sarcoma than in rats bearing Zajdela tumors. Rats receiving irradiated tumor cells showed neither tumor growth nor second-phase protein changes. Significant increases in uptake of 3H-amino acids by isolated perfused livers of tumor-bearing rats provided evidence for an increase in the hepatic synthesis rates of the acute-phase proteins. Removal of the solid tumor resulted in a gradual decrease of acute-phase protein concentrations with concomitant increase in serum albumin concentration. These alterations in serum acute-phase proteins during tumor growth and after removal of the tumor may make their use attractive as biological markers of the response of the tumor-bearing animal to its tumor.
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PMID:Kinetics of the acute-phase reaction in rats after tumor transplantation. 697 53

Subconfluent monolayers of human hepatoma HepG2 cells were cultured for 2 days in serum-free DMEM containing 1 microM dexamethasone and human recombinant hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), retinoic acid (RA), IL-1, IL-6, LIF and mixtures of these factors. Incorporation of labelled thymidine was significantly decreased by IL-6, IL-1 and HGF but only slightly by LIF and RA. Synthesis of acute phase proteins secreted daily to the media was measured by electroimmunoassay with monospecific antisera. In addition, the synthesis and secretion of some proteinase inhibitors (alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor, alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, C1-inactivator, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor and pre-alpha-inhibitor) was evaluated by incorporation of labelled methionine and fluorography. Among the cytokines tested IL-6 was the most potent regulator of acute phase protein synthesis. Hepatocyte growth factor stimulated basal synthesis of alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, and to a lesser extent affected some other proteins. Retinoic acid preferentially increased synthesis of alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, ceruloplasmin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Both HGF and RA slightly modulated cytokine-induced synthesis of several acute phase proteins in HepG2 cells.
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PMID:Regulation of synthesis of some proteinase inhibitors in human hepatoma cells HepG2 by cytokines, hepatocyte growth factor and retinoic acid. 768 88

The accumulation process of copper (Cu) in the liver and the following metabolic disorder of Cu were examined in LEC rats, a mutant strain which accumulates Cu with age and shows spontaneous acute hepatitis and/or hepatoma. Cu concentration in the liver of female rats was approximately 220 micrograms/g liver at 2 weeks of age, decreased to 100 micrograms/g liver at 4-6 weeks, and then started to increase with age linearly to the highest concentration of 250 micrograms/g liver at 16 weeks. Although the Cu level expressed by concentration (microgram/g liver) decreased during weaning, it increased linearly with age when it was expressed by content (mg/liver), indicating a constant and preferential accumulation of Cu in the liver. Cu concentration stopped increasing at 16 weeks in the liver, followed by a sudden decrease to 1/2 the highest level. Biological markers (serum lactate dehydrogenase and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase activities) for liver damage started to increase, together with the appearance of signs of jaundice, when Cu attained the highest concentration. Distributions of Cu and zinc (Zn) in the supernatant fraction of the liver indicated that both metals were mostly distributed to metallothionein (MT) and, to a small extent, to superoxide dismutase on a gel filtration column throughout the course of the experiments. Serum Cu concentration started to increase in a form of ceruloplasmin, together with serum marker enzyme activities for liver damage. Cu concentration in the kidneys also started to increase after the increase of serum Cu. The results indicate that Cu accumulates in the form of MT in the liver of LEC rats to a maximum level of approximately 250 micrograms/g liver, and then decreases suddenly with the onset of acute hepatitis. The maximum level seems to be related to the capacity of MT synthesis, and acute hepatitis is assumed to occur when Cu accumulates beyond the capacity. Serum Cu started to increase, from the abnormally low level, when the metal accumulated beyond the capacity of MT synthesis in the liver, and it was partly reabsorbed by the kidneys and the rest was excreted into urine. Changes in iron and zinc levels were determined and discussed in relation to those of Cu.
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PMID:Copper metabolism leading to and following acute hepatitis in LEC rats. 771 95

Exposure to a common phthalate, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), is associated with liver hyperplasia prior to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in rodents. The exact mechanism of liver hyperplasia as well as tumorigenesis by this agent is not known. Since other lines of evidence point to estrogens as mediators of liver hyperplastic changes, we investigated whether DEHP exposure might alter hepatic estrogen metabolism and induce hyperplasia. Male Fischer 344 rats were fed either control or 1.2% DEHP-containing diets and sacrificed after 4, 8 and 16 weeks of exposure; activities of several sex hormone-responsive markers were measured. Rats fed DEHP had significantly increased serum estradiol levels, but hepatic activity of both cytosolic and nuclear estrogen receptor (ER) was significantly reduced. The serum content of ceruloplasmin, an estrogen-responsive protein synthesized by the liver, was also reduced, perhaps as a consequence of loss of ER activity. The rise in serum estradiol in DEHP-treated rats may be explained by the observation that these rats showed significant losses in hepatic activity of both a major male estrogen-metabolizing enzyme, estrogen 2-hydroxylase, and a male-specific estrogen-sequestering protein. In contrast to reductions in these activities, the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and mRNAs for both ER and fos increased significantly as a result of exposure to DEHP. Our results suggest that changes in estrogen metabolism, receptor activity and activation of genes for cell proliferation are among the earliest metabolic alterations induced by DEHP. These changes together with the induced hyperplasia could play a crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma development as a result of continuous exposure to DEHP.
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PMID:Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate-induced changes in liver estrogen metabolism and hyperplasia. 791 5

Copper contents (Cu) in bodies and serum ceruloplasmin (Cp) were assayed in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocarcinoma (HCC) with atomic absorption and other methods. The results were shown as follows: 1. The mean levels of serum Cp and urine Cu in LC were higher than those of normal (P < 0.05 and 0.01). 2. Serum Cu and Cp levels were consistently high in HCC. Urine Cu level was also elevated and had positive correlation with that of serum Cu (r = 0.567, P < 0.01). 3. Cirrhotic liver Cu content was almost the same as that of pericarcinomatous liver Cu, being higher than that of normal and carcinomatous liver. 4. Hair Cu level in both LC and HCC was apparently lower than that of normal subjects. 5. Serum Cu level in patients with tumor more than 5 cm in size was higher than that in patients with tumor less than 5 cm (P < 0.05). 6. Serum Cu level decreased along with the reduction of tumor size after treatment. 7. Serum Cu and Cp levels may be used as markers for detection of HCC, especially for AFP-negative HCC. Serum Cu estimation is valuable in assessment of the therapeutic effect and prognosis in patients with HCC.
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PMID:[The changes in copper contents and its clinical significance in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma]. 807 Feb 91

To analyze the importance of the endoplasmic reticulum oxidizing state for the folding and aggregation of newly made polypeptides, we have incubated intact HepG2 hepatoma cells in the presence of dithiothreitol. When dithiothreitol-treated cells were extracted under nondenaturing conditions immunoprecipitates of newly synthesized albumin showed a complex polypeptide profile. Using direct and sequential immunoprecipitation protocols we identified eight other polypeptide chains, transferrin, plasminogen, ceruloplasmin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, the three fibrinogen chains, and haptoglobin, that were among the proteins co-immunoprecipitated with albumin. The heterotypic aggregates are larger than several hundred kilodaltons and are stabilized by noncovalent interactions. Of the 10 polypeptide chains we examined, only one, alpha 1-antitrypsin, failed to aggregate. This protein is distinguished from the others by the absence of disulfide bonds. We propose a model in which the function of the oxidizing conditions of the endoplasmic reticulum is to promote the rapid formation of disulfide bonds that stabilize adhesive domains in a buried state, thus preventing "global" heterotypic aggregation of newly synthesized chains.
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PMID:Dithiothreitol treatment induces heterotypic aggregation of newly synthesized secretory proteins in HepG2 cells. 807 73

The bisecting N-acetylglucosamine residue is formed by UDP-N-acetylglucosamine:beta-D-mannoside-beta-1, 4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnT-III), a key branching enzyme for N-glycans. We found that forskolin, an adenylyl cyclase activator, markedly enhanced GnT-III at the transcriptional level in various hepatoma cells and hepatocytes, resulting in an increase of bisecting GlcNAc residues in various glycoproteins, as judged from the lectin binding to erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA). In whole cell lysates, the E-PHA binding was increased, and leukoagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (L-PHA) binding was decreased at 12 h after forskolin treatment, by time, both GnT-III activity and mRNA had reached the maximum levels. In contrast, the binding capacity as to E-PHA, determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting on the cell surface, was decreased, suggesting that bisecting GlcNAc structures in certain glycoproteins changed the expression levels of glycoproteins and decreased their sorting on the cell surface. Fractionated organelles of M31 cells showed that the binding capacity as to E-PHA was mainly localized in Golgi membranes and lysosomes. This was also supported by a fluorescence microscopy. In order to determine whether or not the bisecting GlcNAc residue acts as a sorting signal for glycoproteins, N-oligosaccharide structures of lysosomal-associated membrane glycoprotein 1 and beta-glucuronidase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, and secretory glycoproteins such as ceruloplasmin and alpha-fetoprotein were measured by E-PHA and L-PHA blotting after immunoprecipitation. The expression levels of lysosomal membrane glycoprotein 1 and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase on the cell surface were decreased at 12 h after forskolin treatment, indicating that the bisecting GlcNAc structure may act as a negative sorting signal for the cell surface glycoproteins and may alter the characteristics of hepatoma cells. This is the first report on glycoprotein sorting related to a specific structure of oligosaccharides, bisecting GlcNAc.
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PMID:Bisecting GlcNAc structures act as negative sorting signals for cell surface glycoproteins in forskolin-treated rat hepatoma cells. 900 30

Most of copper present in rat plasma and liver binds to caeruloplasmin and metallothionein, respectively, and is not redox active. However, free forms of copper including loosely bound forms to other molecules are redox active. We assessed the free copper in Long-Evans rats with a cinnamon-like coat color (LEC rats), an animal model of Wilson disease and liver cancer. Compared to those of control rats, the liver and plasma of LEC rats showed a marked elevation of free copper, especially at the stage of acute hepatitis, in parallel with an increase of total copper levels in the livers and a decrease of plasma caeruloplasmin (ferroxidase I) activity. At the onset of jaundice, the total copper levels, however, decreased in liver, but increased in plasma, while free copper levels in both liver and plasma remained higher. Free iron levels in both liver and plasma were also determined and did not change significantly, except for the case of plasma in jaundiced rats. The data are consistent with a proposal in which increased levels of redox active free copper in the liver of LEC rats catalyze Fenton-type reactions, producing a large flux of hydroxyl radicals that would play an important role in the observed liver dysfunction, leading to acute hepatitis, and finally, hepatocarcinoma. This is the first demonstration that the free copper may participate in the pathophysiology of the LEC rats and Wilson disease.
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PMID:A marked increase in free copper levels in the plasma and liver of LEC rats: an animal model for Wilson disease and liver cancer. 970 24

A role of the copper protein ceruloplasmin (Cp) in iron metabolism is suggested by its ferroxidase activity and by the tissue iron overload in hereditary Cp deficiency patients. In addition, plasma Cp increases markedly in several conditions of anemia, e.g. iron deficiency, hemorrhage, renal failure, sickle cell disease, pregnancy, and inflammation. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanism(s) involved. We have reported that iron chelators increase Cp mRNA expression and protein synthesis in human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Furthermore, we have shown that the increase in Cp mRNA is due to increased rate of transcription. We here report the results of new studies designed to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying transcriptional activation of Cp by iron deficiency. The 5'-flanking region of the Cp gene was cloned from a human genomic library. A 4774-base pair segment of the Cp promoter/enhancer driving a luciferase reporter was transfected into HepG2 or Hep3B cells. Iron deficiency or hypoxia increased luciferase activity by 5-10-fold compared with untreated cells. Examination of the sequence showed three pairs of consensus hypoxia-responsive elements (HREs). Deletion and mutation analysis showed that a single HRE was necessary and sufficient for gene activation. The involvement of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) was shown by gel-shift and supershift experiments that showed HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta binding to a radiolabeled oligonucleotide containing the Cp promoter HRE. Furthermore, iron deficiency (and hypoxia) did not activate Cp gene expression in Hepa c4 hepatoma cells deficient in HIF-1beta, as shown functionally by the inactivity of a transfected Cp promoter-luciferase construct and by the failure of HIF-1 to bind the Cp HRE in nuclear extracts from these cells. These results are consistent with in vivo findings that iron deficiency increases plasma Cp and provides a molecular mechanism that may help to understand these observations.
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PMID:Role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in transcriptional activation of ceruloplasmin by iron deficiency. 1077 86

Transgenic mice expressing the Simian virus 40 large T antigen under the control of the liver-specific human antithrombin-III promoter all develop well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. During tumour development serum ceruloplasmin (Cp) increases gradually until it reaches 30 times control levels in all transgenic mice at 6 months of age. The accumulation of Cp in the serum is due to the increased transcription of the Cp gene as well as to the increase in Cp mRNA stability in the livers of the transgenic mice. One-half of the overproduced Cp is charged with copper and Cp-associated serum oxidase activity increases in parallel with the holo-Cp concentration. Through its ferroxidase activity Cp is involved prominently in iron metabolism. Analysis of copper and iron in serum and liver revealed increased copper levels in the serum of tumour-bearing animals and which increased in parallel with Cp concentration; the amounts of copper in the liver were unchanged. In contrast, serum iron remained constant during tumour development whereas the iron concentration in the livers of the transgenic mice decreased.
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PMID:High levels of ceruloplasmin in the serum of transgenic mice developing hepatocellular carcinoma. 1123 3


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