Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) arises as a clonal transformation of normal B and T cell differentiation and is often characterized by a higher incidence of specific chromosomal translocations. We have developed real-time TaqMan PCR assays directed toward two of these tumor-associated DNA markers, the t(14;18)(q32;q21.3) at the major breakpoint region of the bcl-2 gene and the t(11;14)(q13;q32) at the bcl-1 major translocation cluster. During analysis of serial dilutions of t(14;18)-positive DNA, the t(14;18) real-time PCR was at least as sensitive as nested PCR and demonstrated enhanced quantitative potential. Moreover, in a blinded comparison of the t(14;18) real-time PCR and a clinically validated nested PCR protocol using 134 cell line and patient DNA samples, the real-time PCR detected the translocation in 30.0% more cases than nested PCR. Both the t(14;18) and t(11;14) real-time PCR assays were used to quantitate minimal residual disease (MRD) in an NHL clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of a tumor-purging protocol in autologous stem cell transplantation. The assays were also used to evaluate disease depletion in an ex vivo tumor spiking model in which normal peripheral blood was spiked with tumor cell lines and processed according to the clinical purging method. PCR data from both the clinical trial and the ex vivo model demonstrated a 4 to 6 log reduction in tumor cells during CD34+ and CD34+ Thy-1+ enrichment. Because the t(14;18) and t(11;14) real-time PCR assays are very sensitive, quantitative, rapid, and require no post-PCR manipulation, they may serve as practical alternatives to nested PCR.
Leukemia 1999 Nov
PMID:Real-time t(11;14) and t(14;18) PCR assays provide sensitive and quantitative assessments of minimal residual disease (MRD). 1055 59

The p16 gene competes with cyclin D for binding to CDK4/CDK6 and therefore inhibits CDK4/6 complex kinase activity, resulting in dephosphorylation of pRb and related G1 growth arrest. Inactivation of this gene has been involved in a variety of tumors by different mechanisms: homozygous/hemyzygous deletions, point mutations and methylation of a 5' CpG island into exon E1alpha of the p16 gene. Homozygous deletions have been rarely found in multiple myeloma (MM) and no point mutations have been reported. Two recent studies have reported a high prevalence of methylation in the exon E1alpha of the p16 gene, but included only a small number of cases. We have analyzed the methylation pattern of exon E1alpha of the p16 gene in 101 untreated MM and five primary plasma cell leukemias (PCL). A PCR assay, relying on the inability of some restriction enzymes to digest methylated sequences, was used to analyze the methylation status. Southern blot analysis was used to confirm these results. Forty-one of 101 MM patients (40.5%) as well as four of the five (80%) primary PCL patients had shown methylation of the exon E1alpha. Our study confirms that hypermethylation of the p16 gene is a frequent event in MM. Leukemia (2000) 14, 183-187.
Leukemia 2000 Jan
PMID:De novo methylation of tumor suppressor gene p16/INK4a is a frequent finding in multiple myeloma patients at diagnosis. 1063 94

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is the etiological agent for adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and various human myopathies/neuropathies. HTLV-I encodes a 40 kDa phosphoprotein, Tax, which has been implicated in cellular transformation. In similarity with several other oncoproteins such as Myc, Jun, and Fos, Tax is a transcriptional activator. How Tax mechanistically dysregulates the cell cycle remains unclear. Recent findings from us and others have shown that Tax targets key regulators of G1/S and M progression such as p16INK4a, cyclin D1, cyclin D3-cdk, and the mitotic spindle checkpoint apparatus. Thus, Tax influences the progression of cells in various phases of the cell cycle. In this regard, we will discuss three distinct mechanisms through which Tax affects cell-cycling: a) through direct association Tax can abrogate the inhibitory function of p16INK4a on the G1-cdks, b) Tax can also directly influence cyclin D-cdk activities by a protein-protein interaction, and c) Tax targets the HsMAD1 mitotic spindle-assembly checkpoint protein. Through these varied routes, the HTLV-I oncoprotein dysregulates cellular growth controls and engenders a proclivity of cells toward a loss of DNA-damage surveillance.
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PMID:HTLV-I Tax and cell cycle progression. 1074 Aug 23

Human T cell leukemia virus protein induces T cells to permanent IL-2-dependent growth. These cells occasionally convert to factor independence. The viral oncoprotein Tax acts as an essential growth factor of transformed lymphocytes and stimulates the cell cycle in the G(1) phase. In T cells and fibroblasts Tax enhances the activity of the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) CDK4 and CDK6. These kinases, which require binding to cyclin D isotypes for their activity, control the G(1) phase. Coimmunoprecipitation from these cells revealed that Tax associates with cyclin D3/CDK6, suggesting a direct activation of this kinase. The CDK stimulation may account in part for the mitogenic Tax effect, which causes IL-2-dependent T cell growth by Tax. To address the conversion to IL-2-independent proliferation and to identify overexpressed genes, which contribute to the transformed growth, the gene expression patterns of HTLV-1-transformed T cells were compared with that of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Potentially overexpressed cDNAs were cloned, sequenced, and used to determine the RNA expression. Genes found to be up-regulated are involved in signal transduction (STAT5a, cyclin G(1), c-fgr, hPGT) and also glycoprotein synthesis (LDLC, ribophorin). Many of these are also activated during T cell activation and implicated in the regulation of growth and apoptosis. The transcription factor STAT5a, which is involved in IL-2 signaling, was strongly up-regulated only in IL-2-independent cells, thus suggesting that it contributes to factor-independent growth. Thus, the differentially expressed genes could cooperate with the Tax-induced cell cycle stimulation in the maintenance of IL-2-dependent and IL-2-independent growth of HTLV-transformed lymphocytes.
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PMID:Tax-dependent stimulation of G1 phase-specific cyclin-dependent kinases and increased expression of signal transduction genes characterize HTLV type 1-transformed T cells. 1108 Aug 10

The Tax oncoprotein of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) induces leukemia in transgenic mice and permanent T-cell growth in vitro. In transformed lymphocytes, it acts as an essential growth factor. Tax stimulates the cell cycle in the G(1) phase by activating the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) CDK4 and CDK6 holoenzyme complexes. Here we show that Tax directly interacts with CDK4. This binding to CDK4 was specific, since Tax did not bind to either CDK2 or CDK1. The interaction with CDK4/cyclin D complexes was observed in vitro, in transfected fibroblasts, in HTLV-1-infected T cells, and in adult T-cell leukemia-derived cultures. Binding studies with several point and deletion mutants indicated that the N terminus of Tax mediates the interaction with CDK4. The Tax/CDK complex represented an active holoenzyme which capably phosphorylates the Rb protein in vitro and is resistant to repression by the inhibitor p21(CIP). Binding-deficient Tax mutants failed to activate CDK4, indicating that direct association with Tax is required for enhanced kinase activity. Tax also increased the association of CDK4 with its positive cyclin regulatory subunit. Thus, protein-protein contact between Tax and the components of the cyclin D/CDK complexes provides a further mechanistic explanation for the mitogenic and immortalizing effects of this HTLV-1 oncoprotein.
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PMID:Physical interaction of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 Tax with cyclin-dependent kinase 4 stimulates the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. 1197 66

In response to PMA treatment K562 myelogenous leukemia cells undergo megakaryocytic differentiation, which is dependent on prolonged ERK activation and is characterized by growth arrest, upregulation of CD41 and IL-6, and, finally, by characteristic changes in cell morphology. The tyrosine phosphatase HePTP was recently demonstrated to regulate ERK activity and changes in HePTP expression have been associated with hematopoietic malignancies. Here, we have studied the function of HePTP during PMA-induced megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cells. Overexpression of HePTP or inhibition of HePTP expression with antisense cDNA had no effect on PMA-induced cell cycle arrest or upregulation of cyclin D in K562 cells. The expression of megakaryocytic markers such as CD41 and IL6, however, were highly reduced in cells overexpressing HePTP, due to reduced ERK activation, and the cells were impaired in their ability to differentiate. Compared to control cells, HePTP antisense expressing cells did not show increased basal or PMA-induced ERK activity. However, antisense inhibition of HePTP enhanced nuclear translocation of ERK and the expression of the megakaryocytic markers CD41 and IL-6. Interestingly, like cells overexpressing HePTP, morphological differentiation was also impaired in HePTP antisense expressing cells. The results for the first time demonstrate that different aspects of megakaryocytic differentiation have distinct requirements for ERK activity. They further show that HePTP is involved in the regulation of nuclear translocation of ERK2 and that HePTP protein levels can modulate K562 cell differentiation.
Leukemia 2003 Feb
PMID:The protein tyrosine phosphatase HePTP regulates nuclear translocation of ERK2 and can modulate megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cells. 1259 37

The impact of disruption of the PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase) pathway on the response of human leukemia cells to pharmacological cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors has been examined. Exposure of U937 monocytic leukemia cells to minimally toxic concentrations of flavopiridol (FP), roscovitine, or CGP74514A for 3 h in conjunction with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (abbreviated LY in the article) resulted in a marked decrease in Akt phosphorylation. Coexposure of cells to LY and CDK inhibitors also resulted in an early (i.e., within 3 h) and striking increase in mitochondrial damage [e.g., cytochrome c, second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases/direct inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP)-binding protein with low isoelectric point (Smac/DIABLO), and apoptosis-initiating factor (AIF) release], caspase activation, and apoptosis. Similar interactions were observed in a variety of other leukemia cell types (e.g., HL-60, Jurkat, Raji, and NB4). Apoptosis, induced by FP/LY, was substantially blocked by ectopic expression of Bcl-2, but to a considerably lesser extent by dominant-negative caspase-8. FP-induced apoptosis was not enhanced by agents that inhibited protein kinase (PK) A (H89), PKC (GFX), mitogen-activated protein (MAP)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK1/2; U0126), p38 MAP kinase (MAPK; SB202190), m-target of rapamycin (TOR; rapamycin), or ataxia-telangiectasia mutation (ATM; caffeine), whereas the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin exerted effects similar to those of LY. The dramatic potentiation of CDK inhibitor-induced apoptosis by LY was accompanied by diminished Bad phosphorylation, induction of Bcl-2 cleavage, and down-regulation of X-linked IAP (XIAP) and Mcl-1. Cells exposed to CDK inhibitors + LY also exhibited reduced phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3, forkhead transcription factor (FKHR), p70(S6K), and ERK, but increased activation of p34(cdc2) and p38 MAPK. LY/CDK inhibitor-treated cells also displayed diminished pRb dephosphorylation on CDK2- and CDK4-specific sites, retinoblastoma protein cleavage, and down-regulation of cyclin D(1). Inducible expression of constitutively active (myristolated) Akt significantly, albeit partially, attenuated apoptosis in Jurkat leukemia cells treated with either FP alone or the combination of FP and LY. Finally, cotreatment with LY and FP resulted in a dramatic increase in apoptosis in primary leukemic blasts obtained from a patient with acute myeloblastic leukemia. Together, these findings suggest that the PI3K/Akt pathway plays a major role in regulating the apoptotic response of human leukemia cells to pharmacological CDK inhibitors and raise the possibility that combined interruption of CDK- and PI3K-related pathways may represent a novel therapeutic strategy in hematological malignancies.
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PMID:The lethal effects of pharmacological cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in human leukemia cells proceed through a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt-dependent process. 1270 69

The involvement of Tax oncoprotein in the INK4-CDK4/6-Rb pathway has been regarded as a key factor for immortalization and transformation of human T-cell leukemia virus 1 (HTLV-1) infected cells. In both p16 -/- and +/+ cells, expression of Tax has been correlated with an increase in CDK4 activity, which subsequently increases the phosphorylation of Rb and drives the infected cells into cell cycle progression. In relation to these effects, Tax has been shown to interact with two components of the INK4-CDK4/6-Rb pathway, p16 and cyclin D(s). While Tax competes with CDK4 for p16 binding, thus suppressing p16 inhibition of CDK4, Tax also binds to cyclin D(s) with concomitant increases in both CDK4 activity and the phosphorylation of cyclin D(s). Here we show that both Tax and residues 1-40 of the N-terminus of Tax, Tax40N, bind to and activate CDK4 in vitro. In the presence of INK4 proteins, binding of Tax and Tax40N to CDK4 counteracts against the inhibition of p16 and p18 and acts as the major path to regulate Tax-mediated activation of CDK4. We also report that Tax40N retains the transactivation ability. These results of in vitro studies demonstrate a potentially novel, p16-independent route to regulate CDK4 activity by the Tax oncoprotein in HTLV-1 infected cells.
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PMID:Direct binding of the N-terminus of HTLV-1 tax oncoprotein to cyclin-dependent kinase 4 is a dominant path to stimulate the kinase activity. 1277 47

Although the mechanisms underlying benzene-induced toxicity and leukemogenicity are not yet fully understood, they are likely to be complicated by various pathways, including those of metabolism, growth factor regulation, oxidative stress, DNA damage, cell cycle regulation, and programmed cell death. With this as a background, we performed cDNA microarray analyses on mouse bone marrow tissue during and after a 2-week benzene exposure by inhalation. Our goal was to clarify the mechanisms underlying the hematotoxicity and leukemogenicity induced by benzene at the level of altered multigene expression. Because a few researchers have postulated that the cell cycle regulation mediated by p53 is a critical event for benzene-induced hematotoxicity, the present study was carried out using p53-knockout (KO) mice and C57BL/6 mice. On the basis of the results of large-scale gene expression studies, we conclude the following: (a) Benzene induces DNA damage in cells at any phase of the cell cycle through myeloperoxidase and in the redox cycle, resulting in p53 expression through Raf-1 and cyclin D-interacting myb-like protein 1. (b) For G1/S cell cycle arrest, the p53-mediated pathway through p21 is involved, as well as the pRb gene-mediated pathway. (c) Alteration of cyclin G1 and Wee-1 kinase genes may be related to the G2/M arrest induced by benzene exposure. (d) DNA repair genes such as Rad50 and Rad51 are markedly downregulated in p53-KO mice. (e) p53-mediated caspase 11 activation, aside from p53-mediated Bax gene induction, may be an important pathway for cellular apoptosis after benzene exposure. Our results strongly suggest that the dysfunction of the p53 gene, possibly caused by strong and repeated genetic and epigenetic effects of benzene on candidate leukemia cells, may induce fatal problems such as those of cell cycle checkpoint, apoptosis, and the DNA repair system, finally resulting in hemopoietic malignancies. Our cDNA microarray data provide valuable information for future investigations of the mechanisms underlying the toxicity and leukemogenicity of benzene.
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PMID:Mechanisms of benzene-induced hematotoxicity and leukemogenicity: cDNA microarray analyses using mouse bone marrow tissue. 1294 Feb 87

N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (HPR) is a synthetic retinoid that inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in many human cell lines. We explored the effects of HPR on human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-positive and HTLV-I-negative malignant T-cell lines, most of which are resistant to all-trans retinoic acid. Clinically achievable concentrations of HPR caused a dramatic inhibition of cell proliferation, G(0)/G(1) arrest, and massive apoptosis in all tested malignant T cells, while no effect was observed on resting or activated normal lymphocytes. Interestingly, HTLV-I-negative cell lines were significantly more sensitive to HPR compared to HTLV-I-positive and Tax-transfected cells. In HTLV-I-negative cells only, HPR-induced apoptosis was associated with ceramide accumulation, sharp decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, and activation of caspases 8, 9 and 3, and could be partially reverted by the caspase inhibitor z-VAD suggesting that Tax protects infected cells from ceramide accumulation and caspase-mediated apoptosis. In HTLV-I-positive cells, HPR treatment rapidly induced proteasomal-mediated degradation of p21, downregulated cyclin D(1), and upregulated bax protein levels. These findings support a potential therapeutic role for HPR in both HTLV-I-associated adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-I-negative peripheral T-cell lymphomas.
Leukemia 2004 Mar
PMID:N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide induces growth arrest and apoptosis in HTLV-I-transformed cells. 1471 89


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