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 mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) synthase gene is expressed in a limited set of tissues in the adult rat. Methylation of the 5' flanking region of the gene in vitro leads to its transcriptional inactivation when transfected in hepatoma-derived cell lines. In liver and kidney, expression of the gene correlates inversely with its degree of methylation, indicating that the methylation of the 5' flanking region and the first exon of the gene may be one of the factors responsible for the repression of its transcription. During the fetal/neonatal transition, a process of selective undermethylation of specific sites takes place in the 5' flanking region of the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase gene. Moreover, treatment with the hypomethylating agent 5-azacytidine of a hepatoma-derived cell line that presents barely detectable levels of mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase mRNA leads to a significant increase in the mRNA levels. These results point to methylation as one of the regulatory mechanisms that operate on the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase gene.
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PMID:Methylation of the regulatory region of the mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase gene leads to its transcriptional inactivation. 769 71

N-[(1,5,9)-trimethyldecyl]-4 alpha,10-dimethyl-8-aza-trans-decal-3 beta-ol (8-azadecalin 1), a high-energy intermediate analogue for the 2,3-oxidosqualene-lanosterol cyclase, was found to be a powerful (IC50 approximately 0.1 microM) inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. In analogy with other mammalian cells grown in the presence of cyclase inhibitors, the decrease in C27-sterol formation was accompanied by an accumulation of 2,3-oxidosqualene, 2,3:22, 23-dioxidosqualene, and by the formation of a compound characterized as 24,25-epoxycholesterol, a repressor of HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase activity. In order to assess the cyclase as a potential pharmacological target for the design of hypocholesterolemic drugs, it is important to test whether inhibitors of this enzyme are able to act synergistically on the biosynthesis of cholesterol, i.e. by decreasing the amount of lanosterol formed and by repressing the regulatory HMG-CoA reductase via the formation of regulatory oxysterols. The accumulation of 24,25-epoxycholesterol in relationship to the decrease of C27-sterol biosynthesis and of HMG-CoA reductase activity showed only a partial correlation: e.g. at [1] = 100 x IC50 only a 50% reduction in enzyme activity could be attained. In contrast, when HepG2 cells were treated with 2,3:22,23-dioxidosqualene or 24,25-epoxycholesterol, excellent correlations were found between the inhibition of C27-sterol biosynthesis and the repression of HMG-CoA reductase activity, which was almost complete at the highest concentrations of these epoxides (10(-5) M). Altogether, our results suggest that treatment of HepG2 cells with a cyclase inhibitor such as 8-azadecalin (1) does not lead to an intracellular accumulation of repressor molecules high enough to fully trigger a regulatory pathway resulting in a complete down-regulation of HMG-CoA reductase. At intermediary concentrations of cyclase inhibitors (IC50), however, a synergistic mode of action of these inhibitors seems plausible.
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PMID:Effects of a 2,3-oxidosqualene-lanosterol cyclase inhibitor 2,3:22,23-dioxidosqualene and 24,25-epoxycholesterol on the regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis in human hepatoma cell line HepG2. 804 30

Modulation of cell growth by a combination of pravastatin [a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor] and d-limonene (an inhibitor of protein isoprenylation) was studied using Hep G2, a human hepatoma-derived cell line. Pravastatin, at 0.1 mM, produced 85% inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis in Hep G2 cells. The combination of 0.1 mM pravastatin and 1.0 mM d-limonene had no further effect on the reduction seen with pravastatin alone. Addition of 0.1 mM pravastatin or 1.0 mM d-limonene did not significantly suppress DNA synthesis by the cells, whereas the combination suppressed it to 50% of the control level. Production of m-p21ras was markedly decreased to 35% of the control level by the combination of these two inhibitors. Both the reduction by pravastatin of farnesylpyrophosphate as substrate for protein:farnesyl transferase and inhibition of protein farnesylation by d-limonene seem to be responsible for the profound suppression of m-p21ras formation in the cells. However, dolichol synthesis was not suppressed by the combination of these inhibitors. In human fibroblasts, the combination suppressed m-p21ras production but not DNA synthesis. These findings suggest that the combination of pravastatin and d-limonene acts on cancer cell growth through inhibition of the post-translational processing of cellular proteins including p21ras, rather than through the suppression of cholesterol and dolichol biosynthesis. Thus, the combination of an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor and an inhibitor of protein isoprenylation offers potential as a new approach for cancer therapy.
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PMID:Modulation of the mevalonate pathway and cell growth by pravastatin and d-limonene in a human hepatoma cell line (Hep G2). 819 62

The possible difference between lovastatin (mevinolin, MK-803), simvastatin (MK-733) and pravastatin (CS-514), all chemically-related competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, were tested in the human hepatoma cell line Hep G2, which is often used as a model for the human hepatocyte. After an 18-hr incubation of the cells with the drugs, pravastatin (IC50 = 1900 nM) was less potent than simvastatin and lovastatin (IC50 = 34 and 24 nM, respectively) in inhibiting the sterol synthesis. As a consequence of this inhibition, the HMG-CoA reductase mRNA levels and squalene synthase activity, both negatively-regulated by sterols, were increased equally by simvastatin and lovastatin, whereas the induction by pravastatin was much less. In contrast, there were fewer differences between the compounds in inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase activity, when assayed directly in Hep G2 cell homogenates (IC50 values = 18, 61 and 95 nM for simvastatin, lovastatin and pravastatin, respectively). Moreover, in experiments with human hepatocytes in primary culture the IC50 values for inhibition of the cholesterol synthesis by simvastatin and pravastatin were of the same order of magnitude (23 and 105 nM, respectively). The results are therefore explained as follows: the three drugs act in the same way within the Hep G2 cell in terms of inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase and their subsequent effect on the feedback regulation of the cholesterol synthesis, i.e. increasing squalene synthase and HMG-CoA reductase mRNA. However, pravastatin seems to be less able to enter the cells compared with simvastatin and lovastatin, possibly because of the higher hydrophobicity of the latter compounds. The observation with human hepatocytes suggests that in Hep G2 cells a specific hepatic transporter is missing. On one hand the human hepatoma cell line Hep G2 has proved to be a good model for the study of the feedback regulation of enzymes of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway such as HMG-CoA reductase and squalene synthase, but, on the other hand seems to be less suitable as a model for the study of specific uptake of drugs, e.g. the vastatins, in human hepatocytes.
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PMID:Pravastatin inhibited the cholesterol synthesis in human hepatoma cell line Hep G2 less than simvastatin and lovastatin, which is reflected in the upregulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and squalene synthase. 851 61

The chicken ovalbumin upstream-promoter transcription factor (COUP-TF) has a dual effect on the regulation of the mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) synthase gene. COUP-TF could act as a transcriptional activator or repressor of this gene through different DNA sequences. COUP-TF induces expression of a reporter gene linked to the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase gene promoter in human hepatoma HepG2 cells, but represses it in a Leydig tumour cell line (R2C); in both these cell lines the expression of the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase gene mimics that of liver and testis. The activation is promoted by a fragment of the gene from coordinates -62 to +28, which contains a GC box and a TATA box, and where no COUP-TF binding site was observed by in vitro DNA binding studies. On the other hand, the COUP-TF inhibitory effect is mainly due to repression of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-dependent activation of the gene, interacting with the region from -104 to -92. To our knowledge this work represents the second example of a target gene for COUP-TF I that could be either activated or repressed by the action of this receptor through different DNA sequences of the same gene.
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PMID:Chicken ovalbumin upstream-promoter transcription factor (COUP-TF) could act as a transcriptional activator or repressor of the mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase gene. 929 Nov 36

The pyridine derivative cerivastatin is a new entirely synthetic and enantiomerically pure inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. As a sodium salt cerivastatin is present in the active, open ring form. Cerivastatin inhibited the membrane-bound (non-solubilized) HMG-CoA reductase of the native microsomal fraction isolated from rat liver with a Ki value of 1.3 x 10(-9) M. The reference compound lovastatin was 100-fold less potent and exhibited a Ki value of 150 x 10(-9) M. Cerivastatin inhibited the cholesterol synthesis in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 cells with a similar IC50 value of 1.0 x 10(-9) M. In vivo studies reflected its high in vitro activity. In both rats and dogs, cerivastatin inhibited the hepatic [14C]cholesterol synthesis from [14C]acetate with an oral ED50 value of 0.002 mg/kg body weight, while lovastatin exhibited an oral ED50 value of 0.3 mg/kg in rats, showing again the ratio of 100 or more between cerivastatin and lovastatin. In the small intestine and testes, cerivastatin was at least 50-fold less active with oral ED50 values higher than 0.1 mg/kg, which is indicative for a high liver selectivity of cerivastatin. In cholestyramine-primed dogs cerivastatin dose-dependently lowered the serum cholesterol concentrations by up to 59% with 0.1 mg/kg after 20 days. Interestingly, the serum triglycerides were markedly reduced by 53 and 76% with 0.03 and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. In normal chow fed dogs the low density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations were reduced by up to 75% after 0.1 mg cerivastatin/kg. The ratio of HDL/LDL increased by 81% compared with a change of only 14% in the placebo treated control group. The antiatherogenic effect of cerivastatin was shown in rabbits fed a diet enriched with 0.2% cholesterol. After 9 weeks on diet 0.1 mg cerivastatin/kg decreased the accumulation of cholesterol ester in the arterial tissue by 73%. In summary, these data as compared to published data on other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors demonstrate cerivastatin to be the most active compound in this class. Vastatins used in therapy are effective in mg doses, while cerivastatin offers a new low dose therapy in the microg range.
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PMID:Cerivastatin: pharmacology of a novel synthetic and highly active HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. 939 80

Lifibrol (4-(4'-tert. butylphenyl)-1-(4'-carboxyphenoxy)-2-butanol) is a new hypocholesterolemic compound; it effectively lowers low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. We studied the effects of lifibrol on the cholesterol metabolism of cultured cells. In the hepatoma cell line HepG2, Lifibrol decreased the formation of sterols from [14C]-acetic acid by approximately 25%. Similar to lovastatin, lifibrol had no effect on the synthesis of sterols from [14C]-mevalonic acid. Lifibrol did not inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Instead, cholesterol synthesis inhibition by lifibrol was entirely accounted for by competitive inhibition of HMG-CoA synthase. Lifibrol enhanced the cellular binding, uptake, and degradation of LDL in cultured cells in a dose dependent fashion. The stimulation of LDL receptors was significantly stronger than expected from the effect of lifibrol on sterol synthesis. In parallel, lifibrol increased the amount of immunologically detectable receptor protein. Stimulation of LDL receptor mediated endocytosis was observed both in the presence and in the absence of cholesterol-containing lipoproteins. In the absence of an extracellular source of cholesterol, both lifibrol and lovastatin induced microsomal HMG-CoA reductase. Co-incubation with LDL was sufficient to suppress the lifibrol mediated increase in reductase activity, indicating that lifibrol does not affect the production of the non-sterol derivative(s) which are thought to regulate HMG-CoA reductase activity at the post-transcriptional level. Considered together, the data suggest that the hypolipidemic action of lifibrol may, at least in part, be mediated by sterol-independent stimulation of the LDL receptor pathway. A potential advantage of lifibrol is that therapeutic concentrations do not interfere with the production of mevalonate which is required not only to synthesize sterols but also as a precursor of electron transport moieties, glycoproteins and farnesylated proteins.
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PMID:The effects of lifibrol (K12.148) on the cholesterol metabolism of cultured cells: evidence for sterol independent stimulation of the LDL receptor pathway. 1105 1

The optimal conditions for measuring 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase activity in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells are described in this paper. Cells in the exponential phase of growth were lysed by incubation with Brij 97 detergent for 30 min. We used imidazole buffer supplemented with EDTA and leupeptine, two inhibitors of proteases. Disrupted cells were then centrifuged at 12,000 g. Although microsomes are usually reported as enzyme preparations for measuring HMG-CoA reductase, our data showed that hepatoma cells may be used without previous isolation of microsomes. The 12,000 g supernatant showed similar levels of total and specific activities to those found in the microsomal fraction obtained after 105,000 g centrifugation. The soluble fraction showed less than 10% of reductase activity. Reductase activity from Reuber H35 hepatoma cells increased proportionally to the reaction time from 30 to 90 min and to the amount of protein added in a range of 50-500 micrograms. Our modified method was very sensitive and reproducible, because very low specific activity (about 15-100 pmol min-1 per mg protein) could be quantified in different assay conditions obtaining similar values.
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PMID:An improved assay of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity in Reuber H35 hepatoma cells without microsomes isolation. 1106 38

Chemotherapy is not effective for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HMG-CoA redutase inhibitors have cytostatic activity for cancer cells, but their clinical usefulness is unknown. To investigate whether pravastatin, a potent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, prolongs survival in patients with advanced HCC, this randomized controlled trial was conducted between February 1990 and February 1998 at Osaka University Hospital. 91 consecutive patients <71 years old (mean age 62) with unresectable HCC were enroled in this study. 8 patients were withdrawn because of progressive liver dysfunction; 83 patients were randomized to standard treatment with or without pravastatin. All patients underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) followed by oral 5-FU 200 mg(-1)d for 2 months. Patients were then randomly assigned to control (n = 42) and pravastatin (n = 41) groups. Pravastatin was administered at a daily dose of 40 mg. The effect of pravastatin on tumour growth was assessed by ultrasonography. Primary endpoint was death due to progression of HCC. The duration of pravastatin administration was 16.5 +/- 9.8 months (mean +/- SD). No patients in either group were lost to follow-up. Median survival was 18 months in the pravastatin group versus 9 months in controls (P = 0.006). The Cox proportional hazards model showed that pravastatin was a significant factor contributing to survival. Pravastatin prolonged the survival of patients with advanced HCC, suggesting its value for adjuvant treatment.
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PMID:Effect of pravastatin on survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. A randomized controlled trial. 1128 66

There is controversy about the effect of saturated and polyunsaturated fats on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase, the main regulatory enzyme of cholesterogenic pathway. Results from dietary studies are difficult to interpret because diets normally contain a mixture of fatty acids. Therefore, we have used Reuber H35 hepatoma cells whose phospholipids were enriched in different individual fatty acids and have studied their effects on the cellular reductase activity. Lauric, myristic, eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were supplemented to the culture medium coupled to bovine serum albumin. The four fatty acids were incorporated into phospholipids from cells grown in media containing whole serum or lipoprotein-poor serum (LPPS). Reductase activity of cells cultivated in a medium with LPPS was three to four times higher than those cultivated in medium with whole serum. Saturated fatty acids increased reductase activity of cells grown in medium with whole serum, whereas n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased it. However, both saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased reductase activity when serum lipoproteins were removed. In conclusion, this is one of the first reports demonstrating that saturated and n-3 PUFA only show differential effects on HMG-CoA reductase activity in the presence of lipoproteins.
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PMID:Modification of phospholipids fatty acid composition in reuber H35 hepatoma cells: effect on HMG-CoA reductase activity. 1452 92


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