Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

An RNA-direct DNA polymerase was purified from human melanoma tissue by successive column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose (DE-23 and DE-52) and phosphocellulose. The purified reverse transcriptase has a mol. wt. of 68,000, a pH optimum of 8.0, a Mn2+ optimum of 0.6 mM, and a KCl optimum of 60 mM. The purified enzyme transcribes (rA)n - (dT)12, (rC)n - (dG)18, (Ome-rC)n - (dG)18 and a 70s RNA from Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV), but failed to transcribe (dA)n - (dT)12. This enzyme has no terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase activity. Serological studies have shown that the reverse transcriptase from human melanoma tissue is antigenically not related to DNA polymerases from Simian sarcoma virus (SiSV), Avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV), RLV, and human spleen of a patient with myelofibrosis. The purified enzyme showed a close antigenic resemblance to DNA polymerases from baboon endogenous virus (BEV) and rhabdomyosarcoma virus (RD-114), the endogenous virus of the cat.
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PMID:Biochemical and immunological characterization of a reverse transcriptase from human melanoma tissue. 8 88

Several newly synthesized boron betaine analogs had antitumor activity in Ehrlich ascites, Walker 256 ascites carcinosarcoma, and Lewis lung screens and marginal activity in the B-16 melanotic melanoma screen. In vivo testing demonstrated that trimethylamine-cyanoborane inhibied Ehrlich ascites cell DNA and protein syntheses as well as gene modulation by chromatin protein phosphorylation and methylation. Trimethylamine-cyanoborane increased cyclic-AMP levels. In vitro testing showed that nuclear DNA polymerase, thymidylate synthetase, S-adenosylmethyltransferase, nonhistone chromatin methylation, deoxyribonuclease, ribonuclease, and cathepsin were inhibited by the boron analogs. These compounds did not demonstrate high antitumor activity at the doses employed, but blockage of methyl transfer from S-adenosylmethionine was established as a feasible method for controlling cell proliferation.
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PMID:Boron betaine analogs: antitumor activity and effects on Ehrlich ascites tumor cell metabolism. 22 87

L-dopa methyl ester has been shown to be an effective antitumor agent against the B-16 melanoma in vivo. We have now examined the analog, dopamine, a major catabolite of L-dopa. Dopamine administration at a daily dose of 600 mg/kg resulted in a 48% (p less than .001) increase in survival of treated mice as compared to non-treated controls. In vitro, an effect similar to that observed with L-dopa methyl ester was noted, specifically, a rapid and profound inhibition of thymidine incorporation with little effect on uridine or leucine incorporation. We have postulated that the inhibition of a DNA polymerase might be the site of action of these novel antitumor agents.
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PMID:Dopamine: a novel antitumor agent active against B-16 melanoma in vivo. 68 87

To compare the time course of in vitro expression of various proliferation-associated markers including Ki-67 antigen, transferrin receptors (TfR), and DNA polymerase alpha, six human tumour cell lines of different histological origin were studied under defined conditions. Proliferation markers were demonstrated by peroxidase/anti-peroxidase staining using specific monoclonal antibodies, and their expression was compared to results obtained from [3H]-thymidine incorporation assays and cell counting. Expression of all proliferation markers began to increase during the lag phase, and occurred earlier than elevations of [3H]dT incorporation and cell numbers were recorded. Maximum expression was observed before cell growth reached plateau phase. The time courses of expression of DNA polymerase and Ki-67 were almost identical. The closest correlation of [3H]dT incorporation with time course of expression of proliferation-associated markers was observed, when intranuclear staining of DNA polymerase was analysed. TfR were expressed earlier than the polymerase and Ki-67. Since TfR were also found at remarkable levels in resting cells, they seem less proliferation-specific than Ki-67 and DNA polymerase. While in rapidly growing cell lines more than 95% of the cells expressed Ki-67, TfR, and more than 75% DNA polymerase in cell nuclei, a malignant melanoma and a pleural mesothelioma line displayed fewer than 35% of cells stained for DNA polymerase in cell nuclei during log phase. Determination of growth fractions by monoclonal antibodies may thus contribute to the prediction of chemoresistance by identifying quiescent cells that are not sensitive to S-phase-specific drugs.
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PMID:Expression of the proliferation-associated Ki-67 antigen of transferrin receptors and of DNA polymerase alpha in human tumour lines: implications for in vitro chemoresistance. 173 31

We have examined the killing effect of 4-S-cysteaminylphenol (4-S-CAP), a newly synthesised melanin precursor, on B16 melanoma cell lines possessing different melanin-producing activities and found it to be particularly effective in heavily melanised melanoma cells, but less so in moderately melanised melanoma cells, and having no effect on amelanotic melanoma cells and nonmelanoma cells. Thus, it was found that the killing effect of 4-S-CAP is highly dependent upon the synthesis of melanin and tyrosinase in melanoma cells, suggesting that 4-S-CAP may become toxic to melanoma cells only after oxidation by tyrosinase. The killing activity of 4-S-CAP also was found to be associated with a profound inhibition of the thymidine incorporation in pigmented melanoma cells, as compared to the uridine and leucine incorporation. Further, the inhibition of DNA synthesis was most pronounced in heavily melanised melanoma cells, less so in moderately melanised melanoma cells, and not seen in amelanotic melanoma cells. As a possible mechanism that might account for this action, it may be that 4-S-CAP is oxidised by tyrosinase to the o-quinone form via the catechol derivative and that some of the quinones then conjugate with sulfhydryl enzymes including DNA polymerase, thus exerting a killing activity for pigmented melanoma cells. Thus, 4-S-CAP appears to provide a new, effective cytotoxic agent for rational chemotherapy of malignant melanomas.
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PMID:The killing effect of 4-S-cysteaminylphenol, a newly synthesised melanin precursor, on B16 melanoma cell lines. 199 95

L-Glutamic acid (gamma-4'-hydroxyanilide) (GHB) is oxidized by tyrosinase to a quinone which inhibits DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase, and mitochondrial energy production within mushrooms. It was previously shown that GHB can kill B16 melanoma cells in culture, but lacks cytotoxicity for nontyrosinase-containing cells. We have conjugated this drug to a superpotent melanotropic peptide and examined the bioactivity of this conjugate to melanoma cells. 4'-Hydroxyaniline was attached to glutamic acid at position 5 in the superpotent melanotropin fragment analogue, Ac-[Nle4, D-Phe7]alpha-MSH4-10-NH2. The melanotropin:anilide conjugate, Ac-[Nle4, Glu(gamma-4'-hydroxyanilide)5, D-Phe7]alpha-MSH4-10-NH2, was not cytotoxic to B16 or Cloudman S91 mouse melanoma cells in culture, as determined by cell counts and protein assays. Interestingly, we also found that GHB stimulated melanoma cell tyrosinase above control levels in both melanoma cell lines. In our study, GHB itself also was found not to be cytotoxic to B16 or S91 melanoma cells in culture. In the frog skin bioassay, the melanotropin conjugate was more potent than alpha-MSH or Ac-[Nle4, D-Phe7]alpha-MSH4-10 in stimulating melanosome dispersion. These results demonstrate that putative chemotherapeutic ligands can be incorporated into active-site fragment analogues of MSH without loss of biological activity.
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PMID:Synthesis and actions of a melanotropin conjugate, Ac-[Nle4, Glu(gamma-4'-hydroxyanilide)5, D-Phe7]alpha-MSH4-10-NH2, on melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro. 216 79

We now show that exposure of B16 melanoma cells to bromodeoxyuridine increases cell-substratum interactions concurrent with an increase in genome susceptibility to nucleases. Hypersensitive DNA was isolated after mild nicking of nuclei with DNase I followed by repair with DNA polymerase I in the presence of biotin-19-SS-dUTP and affinity chromatography on streptavidin-agarose. Dot blot studies showed that the hypersensitive DNA is enriched in c-myc sequences compared to total tumor genomic DNA, and hybridizes preferentially to the latter, compared to normal genomic DNA, particularly when prepared from BrdU-treated cells. Since hypersensitive DNA can hybridize with multiple Alu sequences in the genome, we postulate that one of the mechanisms for its differential reactivity may be by recognition of an unequal number of Alu repeats in normal and tumor genomic DNA.
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PMID:Tumor hypersensitive DNA is enriched in c-myc sequences and reacts differentially with normal and malignant genomic DNA. 219 5

The DNA 5-methylcytosine content has been analyzed in the human melanoma cell line M21 at several time points after induction of differentiation by a variety of inducers. 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine reduces DNA methylation to about 50% of the control level and this demethylation occurs prior to the establishment of the differentiated phenotype. The DNA synthesis inhibitors cytosine arabinoside, aphidicolin, and hydroxyurea exert different effects on DNA methylation in these cells. Cytosine arabinoside induces an early DNA hypermethylation, which is however reversible and drops to the original level after 24 h. Hydroxyurea induces DNA hypermethylation after a lag period of more than 48 h and the DNA polymerase alpha inhibitor aphidicolin has no effect on the DNA methylation level. Treatment of cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, another potent inducer of melanoma cell differentiation, does not result in a change of total DNA methylation over a period of 96 h. These results indicate that differentiation of human melanoma cells can be accompanied by variable changes of the DNA methylation pattern. These changes can be neither generally related to the differentiation process itself nor related to the effects of DNA synthesis inhibition on DNA methylation, but may more likely reflect a direct or indirect particular effect of the inducer on the DNA methylation process.
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PMID:Variable DNA methylation changes during differentiation of human melanoma cells. 245 5

Azelaic acid (AZA) has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on DNA synthesis of melanoma cell lines. In order to elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying this inhibitory effect, I elected to study the effects of AZA and, for control purposes, adipic acid (ADA) on DNA synthesis rate of nuclei isolated from melanoma cells and keratinocytes cultured in the presence of different concentrations of the dicarboxylic acids. Before doing so, I found, by autoradiography, that [3H]AZA is incorporated into the nuclei in a time-dependent manner. AZA, and to a lesser extent ADA, caused a dose-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis, regardless of whether these substances were present in cell cultures before isolation of nuclei, or were incubated with already isolated nuclei. In searching for the target for this inhibitory effect on nuclear DNA synthesis, I found that AZA, and to a lesser extent ADA, is a potent inhibitor of both bacterial DNA polymerase and of multienzyme complexes isolated from cultured melanoma cells and keratinocytes. These data suggest that the inhibitory effect of the dicarboxylic acids AZA and ADA on DNA synthesis of several cell lines is due to the interference of these substances with the activation of enzymes (e.g. DNA polymerases) required for DNA synthesis.
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PMID:Azelaic acid: mode of action at cellular and subcellular levels. 247 96

A new cytotoxic acridine alkaloid that exhibited antitumor activity in vivo was isolated from a marine Dercitus species sponge collected at a depth of 160 m in the Bahamas. This violet alkaloid, designated dercitin, inhibited the proliferation of cultured murine and human leukemia, lung, and colon tumor cells at nM concentrations (IC50 values of 63-150 nM) and prolonged the life of mice bearing ascitic P388 tumors (%T/C = 170, 5 mg/kg, i.p., QD1-9). Dercitin was also active against i.p. B16 melanoma and modestly inhibited the growth of s.c. Lewis lung carcinoma on the same schedule. DNA blocked the antiproliferative effects of the agent in culture, and incorporation studies indicated that dercitin disrupted DNA and RNA synthesis with less effects on protein synthesis, similar to the effects of known DNA intercalators. After 1-h exposure to 400 nM dercitin, the rates of incorporation of [3H]uridine, [3H]thymidine, and [3H]leucine by cultured P388 cells were inhibited 83, 61, and 23%, respectively. Equilibrium dialysis indicated that dercitin bound calf thymus DNA with an affinity of 3.1 microM and maximal binding of 0.20 mol dercitin/mol base pair. Binding involved intercalation as evidenced by ability to relax supercoiled phi X174 DNA (half maximal concentration for dercitin relaxation was 36 nM). The effects of dercitin on DNA mobility were reversible, and complete relaxation of DNA with topoisomerase I in the presence of dercitin followed by phenol extraction resulted in the appearance of supercoiled DNA. Dercitin, at microM concentrations, had a small effect in the K+-sodium dodecyl sulfate assay using cultured P388 cells, suggesting minimal inhibition of topoisomerase activity. But, dercitin completely inhibited DNA polymerase I/DNase nick translation of DNA at 1 microM. Relaxation of DNA at a given concentration was greater than inhibition of nick translation suggesting that the effects of dercitin on enzyme activity were secondary to changes in DNA conformation. Results indicate that dercitin is a new marine natural product that probably exerts its biological effects through intercalation into nucleic acids.
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PMID:Antitumor activity and nucleic acid binding properties of dercitin, a new acridine alkaloid isolated from a marine Dercitus species sponge. 254 17


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