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)

Congeners of vitamin K are known to inhibit cell growth, although the precise mechanisms of growth inhibition are not well understood. To investigate the mechanisms involved, we synthesized several vitamin K analogs and examined their growth inhibitory activities for a human hepatoma cell line (Hep3B). The analogs included 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone and trimethyl-benzoquinone, with and without aliphatic side chains at position 3. The side chains were all-carbon, thioethers, or O-ethers. Growth inhibition was potent in the compounds with short chains. The presence of a sulfur (thioether) or oxygen atom (O-ether) at the site of attachment of the side chain to the ring potentiated the activity. Apoptotic cell death was induced by the potent growth inhibitory compounds at low concentrations (20-60 microM), whereas necrotic cell death followed treatment with the same compounds at high concentrations. Expression of c-myc, which is thought to be associated with apoptosis, was increased by most of the compounds tested. Both reduced glutathione and cysteine almost completely abrogated the growth inhibitory effects of the thioether analogs as well as of vitamin K3. The effect of glutathione was less prominent for the all-carbon and O-ether analogs, and cysteine had no effect on these analogs. Catalase and deferoxamine mesylate had no significant effect on the thioether analogs, although they showed partial antagonistic effects on the growth inhibition of vitamin K3 and the all-carbon and O-ether analogs. Other non-thiol antioxidants tested had no effect on any of the analogs. Our results indicated that vitamin K-related quinoid compounds cause growth inhibition and both apoptotic and necrotic cell death and that the effects may be mediated by interaction at position 3 of their quinoid nuclei with cellular thiols.
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PMID:Growth inhibition of hepatoma cells induced by vitamin K and its analogs. 749 29

Induction of Phase II enzymes of the [Ah] gene battery by L-buthionine (S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO) and other agents was examined in mouse hepatoma Hepa-1c1c7 cells. BSO, a nonelectrophilic inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS), is routinely used to examine the toxicological implications of GSH depletion. Exposure to BSO for 24 h produced a 75-85% depletion of GSH levels, proportional to the inhibition of GCS activity, as well as small increases in the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT, 60%) and glutathione transferase (GST, 30%) enzyme activities in Hepa-1 wild-type (wt) cells. However, for the NAD(P)H:menadione oxidoreductase (NMO1) and cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase class 3 (AHD4) enzyme activities, BSO produced larger increases (110% and 170%, respectively). The mechanisms of NMO1 and AHD4 induction were examined further. In Hepa-1 wt cells, NMO1 and AHD4 activities were increased by the aromatic hydrocarbon inducer 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and by the electrophile tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ), known inducing agents for these enzymes. However, NMO1 and AHD4 were induced in Ah receptor nuclear translocation-defective mutant (c4) cells by BSO and tBHQ, but not by TCDD, suggesting that the induction by BSO and tBHQ is not Ah receptor-mediated. In wt cells, N-acetylcysteine produced a concentration-dependent increase in intracellular cysteine levels, but not GSH levels, in the absence or presence of BSO. Furthermore, N-acetylcysteine had no effect on NMO1 activity under any conditions examined, suggesting that GSH levels per se, rather than change in overall thiol status, might be mediating increased NMO1 activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Enzyme induction by L-buthionine (S,R)-sulfoximine in cultured mouse hepatoma cells. 757 30

We have studied the effect of several environmental chemicals on the transient expression of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) reporter gene linked to the promoter sequences in the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Aflatoxin B1, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD; dioxin) and benzo[a]pyrene cause a significant increases in CAT expression in mouse hepatoma Hepa-1 cells. The induction of CAT after TCDD treatment is abolished by administration of N-acetyl-L-cysteine or 2-mercaptoethanol and does not take place in a mutant cell line that lacks CYP1A1 enzymatic activity. Linker-scanning mutational analysis of transcription factor binding sites in the promoter revealed that both the NF kappa B and an adjacent aromatic hydrocarbon response element (AhRE) are required for TCDD-dependent CAT expression. In addition, mutation of the NFAT/AP-1 binding sites in the negative regulatory region of the promoter increases the magnitude of the TCDD effect. We conclude that induction of a functional CYP1A1 monooxygenase by TCDD stimulates a pathway that generates thiol-sensitive reactive oxygen intermediates which, in turn, are responsible for the TCDD-dependent activation of genes linked to the LTR. These data might provide an explanation for findings that TCDD increases infectious HIV-1 titers in experimental systems and for epidemiologic reports suggesting that exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons, such as found in cigarette smoke, is associated with an acceleration in AIDS progression.
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PMID:Dioxin activates HIV-1 gene expression by an oxidative stress pathway requiring a functional cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 enzyme. 760 37

We have developed a method for assaying the activity of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) which is both more sensitive and specific than the spectrophotometric assay. The assay is based on the direct detection of the enzymatic product 1-palmitoyl-2-(13-hydroxy-cis-9, trans-11-octadecadienoyl)-L-3-phosphatidylcholine by HPLC. Under the conditions used, baseline separation is achieved for product and substrate. The utility of the method is demonstrated by the measurement of PHGPx activity in crude extracts from human lenses and from human Hep G2 hepatoma cells. This method is also suitable for measuring the specificity of PHGPx for cofactors apart from glutathione. The assay was used to demonstrate that cysteine alone at pH 7.4 mimics PHGPx activity.
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PMID:Direct separation of hydroperoxy- and hydroxy-phosphatidylcholine derivatives: application to the assay of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase. 771 98

Cells from the GGT-negative mouse hepatoma cell line, Hepa 1-6, were transfected with a human GGT cDNA and stably transformed clones were isolated. In standard tissue culture medium the GGT-positive cells and GGT-negative controls grew equally well. However, when the cysteine concentration of the medium was reduced to physiologic levels the GGT-positive cells had a growth advantage. Further investigation revealed that the medium of the GGT-negative Hepa 1-6 cells contained glutathione that had been excreted by the cells, but no glutathione was present in the medium of the GGT-positive cells. We have previously shown that expression of GGT enables cells to use extracellular glutathione as a source of cysteine (Hanigan and Ricketts, Biochem., 32:6302, 1993). These new data reveal that physiologic levels of cysteine can be limiting for cell growth and expression of GGT can provide the cells with a selective growth advantage. These data explain the observation that cells transfected with GGT grow at the same rate as the GGT-negative controls in tissue culture medium which contains a high level of cysteine, but the GGT-positive cells grow more rapidly than the GGT-negative cells when transplanted into animals (Warren et al., Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 202:9, 1993). GGT-positive tumor cells have a selective growth advantage in vivo in comparison to GGT-negative tumor cells because they are able to use serum glutathione as a secondary source of cysteine thereby overcoming the growth restriction imposed by serum levels of cysteine.
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PMID:Expression of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase provides tumor cells with a selective growth advantage at physiologic concentrations of cyst(e)ine. 785 46

Rhodostomin (Rho) from snake venom, a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation, contains 68 amino acids having an RGD sequence and 12 cysteine residues. A chemically synthesized Rho gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The expression of Rho gene fused with the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene was about 10-30% of total cell proteins. The Rho-fusion protein could be recognized by antibodies raised against either a native Rho peptide or a synthetic peptide. The purified GST-Rho coated on culture plates facilitated the attachment of human hepatoma cells, which was inhibitable by co-incubation with a synthetic hexapeptide GRGDSP but not with a related peptide of GRGESP, suggesting that the E. coli-expressed Rho-fusion protein was properly folded and biologically functional.
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PMID:Rhodostomin, an RGD-containing peptide expressed from a synthetic gene in Escherichia coli, facilitates the attachment of human hepatoma cells. 791 92

Infection with hepadnaviruses and exposure to dietary aflatoxin are considered major risk factors in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) both in humans and in animals. Recently, a broad range of mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene has been reported in human HCCs, predominantly from hepatitis B virus carriers in areas with either high or low levels of exposure to dietary aflatoxin. To determine whether p53 mutations are common to HCCs of hosts infected with related hepadnaviruses with and without treatment with aflatoxin, we studied the occurrence of mutations in the p53 gene in HCCs of ground squirrels and woodchucks with history of infection with ground squirrel hepatitis virus (GSHV) and woodchuck hepatitis virus, respectively. Sequencing of wild type p53 genes from ground squirrels and woodchucks revealed remarkable homology between the two species with only a few amino acid differences in exons 4, 8, and 9. Using direct polymerase chain reaction sequencing, we analyzed the state of the p53 gene (exons 4-9) in 20 HCCs from ground squirrels (2 uninfected, 7 with past, and 11 with ongoing infection with GSHV) and in 11 HCCs from woodchucks persistently infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus. Five GSHV carrier and two uninfected ground squirrels received i.p. administration of aflatoxin B1. We detected only one mutation in the p53 gene of the tested animals. This mutation was located in codon 176 of exon 5 in the HCC of a GSHV-positive ground squirrel treated with aflatoxin. Mutation was caused by a G to T transversion in the second position of the codon, resulting in the replacement of cysteine with phenylalanine, and was accompanied by a tumor-specific loss of heterozygosity. p53 allelic amino acid variation with sequences coding for aspartic acid or asparagine was present in codon 61 in the variable region of exon 4 in both HCCs and nonneoplastic tissues of ground squirrels. In view of the considerably lower apparent rate of mutations in comparison to human HCCs, we suggest a less important role for aflatoxin in the induction of p53 mutations in HCCs of ground squirrels. Alternatively, etiological factors other than p53 mutations may be of greater significance in the development of HCC in ground squirrels and woodchucks.
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PMID:State of the p53 gene in hepatocellular carcinomas of ground squirrels and woodchucks with past and ongoing infection with hepadnaviruses. 792 76

Nitric oxide has been shown to be a mediator molecule in the regulation of many physiological functions. However, this small diatomic molecule in the presence of O2 generates reactive intermediates which modify DNA bases and inactive enzymes at high concentrations (100 microM). We report that NO generated by 1,1-diethyl-2-hydroxy-2-nitrosohydrazine (DEA/NO, Et2NN(O)NO-Na+), a compound known to release NO in a predictable manner, caused irreversible damage at physiological concentrations to the zinc finger-containing DNA repair enzyme formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycolyase (Fpg protein). The inhibition of the enzyme activity was DEA/NO dose and time dependent with IC50s with respect to total NO released from this compound of approximately 110 and approximately 120 mumol/l respectively. This inhibitory effect by P3 was not reversible over time in the presence of reducing agents and/or Zn2+. Nitrite and diethylamine, the nitrogenous products of the decomposition of DEA/NO, did not inhibit the enzyme. The presence of 500 micrograms/ml bovine serum albumin did not protect the protein from the inhibitory effects of DEA/NO, however, the presence of 10 mM cysteine did dramatically abate the inhibition of the Fpg protein by DEA/NO. Other DNA glycosylases tested were not inhibited by exposure to these concentrations of NO. These results, together with reports of site-directed mutagenesis of this protein, suggest that the cysteine residues contained within the zinc finger motif of the Fpg protein are the primary sites of NO interaction. Our studies were then extended to intact cells. The Fpg protein activity was decreased following treatment in vivo when Escherichia coli MH321 (acr A-) cells were treated with DEA/NO. Furthermore, the Fapy-DNA glycosylase activity in H4 cells, a rat hepatoma line, was decreased when intact cells were incubated with DEA/NO.
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PMID:The Fpg protein, a DNA repair enzyme, is inhibited by the biomediator nitric oxide in vitro and in vivo. 795 43

The murine aromatic hydrocarbon ([Ah]) gene battery consists of at least six genes that code for two functionalizing (Phase I) enzymes and four non-functionalizing (Phase II) enzymes. These enzymes are induced by compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) that bind to the cytosolic Ah receptor protein. Studies in rodents indicate that certain enzymes of this battery, namely cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1), UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1*06) and NAD(P)H: quinone acceptor oxidoreductase (NMO1) are induced by the synthetic antioxidant 5,10-dihydroindeno[1,2-b]indole (DHII). The induction of [Ah] gene battery enzymes and the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) were examined in mouse Hepa-1c1c7 hepatoma wild-type cells (wt), a CYP1A1 metabolism-deficient mutant (c37) and an Ah receptor nuclear translocation-defective mutant (c4). DHII and TCDD increased the activities of ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, an indicator of CYP1A1 activity, as well as NMO1, UGT1*06, cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase class 3 and glutathione S-transferase form A1 in wt cells, but had little or no induction effect in c37 or c4 cells. DHII and TCDD differed in their effects on GSH levels; while DHII increased GSH levels 3-fold in wt, but not at all in c37 or c4 cells, TCDD had no effect on GSH levels in any cell type. However, GSH levels were enhanced in both wt and c4 cells by tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ). L-Buthionine S,R-sulfoximine, an inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, prevented DHII-induced increases in wt cell GSH. The increase in GSH levels occurred after 8 h, while the induction of enzymes occurred within 4 h. The induction of the higher GSH levels in wt cells by DHII and TBHQ correlated with increases in intracellular levels of the GSH precursor thiol cysteine, as well as with increased activities of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, the rate-limiting enzyme of GSH synthesis. However, TBHQ-mediated GSH increases in c4 cells were accompanied by increased gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity with no change in intracellular cysteine concentration. The results suggest that DHII induction of [Ah] gene battery enzymes requires a functional Ah receptor, but not the functional gene product CYP1A1. Furthermore, metabolism, possibly via CYP1A1, appears to be required for DHII to enhance intracellular levels of cysteine and GCS activity that result in higher GSH levels.
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PMID:Regulation of [Ah] gene battery enzymes and glutathione levels by 5,10-dihydroindeno[1,2-b]indole in mouse hepatoma cell lines. 795 76

Much effort has been directed toward the development of serum-free, hormonally defined culture conditions for the maintenance of differentiated functions in many cell types, including hepatocytes. However, in the development of a hepatocyte bioreactor for artificial liver support, many designs propose the maintenance of cells in plasma as opposed to defined culture medium. There is very little reported literature on the growth and function of cells cultured in plasma or serum; therefore, the effect of increasing serum concentrations was investigated using the human hepatoma, Hep G2, as a model cell line. It was found that Hep G2 can survive and grow in 100% serum if the serum is supplemented with L-glutamic acid, glycine, and L-cysteine.
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PMID:Culture of a differentiated liver cell line, Hep G2, in serum with application to a bioartificial liver: effect of supplementation of serum with amino acids. 799 97


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