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)

We are studying the biological activity and regulation of mammalian Ras protein in tumours and in physiological signalling. We have shown that GAP (the GTPase-activating protein) is a potent negative regulator of normal Ras in cells. Reduction or loss of the NF1 gene product neurofibromin, in association with genetic abnormalities of the NF1 locus, has been identified in schwannoma cell lines from patients with neurofibromatosis and in melanoma and neuroblastoma lines from patients without neurofibromatosis. Although loss of neurofibromin in the schwannoma lines was associated with a high proportion of normal Ras protein in the active GTP-bound state, Ras-GTP appeared to be appropriately regulated in the melanoma and neuroblastoma lines, which contain normal levels of GAP. Therefore the GTPase-activating activity of neurofibromin is not essential for negative regulation of Ras in some cell types and the putative tumour suppressor function of neurofibromin in such cell types is independent of its GTPase-activating activity. Mitogen activation of Ras in fibroblasts is mediated primarily by exchange factors, which probably interact with a region on the Ras protein distinct from the region required for interaction with GAP. Multiple full-length cDNAs have identified a mouse gene whose products are related to yeast CDC25 guanine nucleotide exchange factor.
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PMID:Cell transformation by ras and regulation of its protein product. 829 27

Guanosine is shown to potentiate markedly the antiproliferative effect of cytosine-beta-D-arabinoside (ara-C) on B16 F10 mouse and SKMEL-28 human melanoma cell lines. Several metabolic consequences of the synergistic interaction between ara-C and guanosine on cell growth were determined in B16 F10 mouse melanoma cells. Treatment of the cells with guanosine for 24 hr resulted in an increase in the percentage of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle, a threefold increase in intracellular GTP concentration, and an increase in the incorporation of ara-C into acid-insoluble material and phosphorylated metabolites. These findings suggest that guanosine potentiates the growth-inhibitory effect of ara-C in B16 F10 melanoma cells by increasing the intracellular concentration of its active metabolites.
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PMID:Guanosine potentiates the antiproliferative effect of cytosine-beta-D-arabinofuranoside in melanoma cell lines. 840 21

The NF1 gene, which is altered in patients with type 1 neurofibromatosis, encodes neurofibromin, a protein whose GTPase-activating function can negatively regulate GTP-Ras by accelerating its conversion to inactive GDP-Ras. In schwannoma cell lines from patients with neurofibromatosis, loss of neurofibromin was previously shown to be associated with impaired regulation of GTP-Ras. Our analysis of other neural crest-derived tumor cell lines has shown that some melanoma and neuroblastoma cell lines established from tumors occurring in patients without neurofibromatosis contain reduced or undetectable levels of neurofibromin, with concomitant genetic abnormalities of the NF1 locus. In contrast to the schwannoma cell lines, GTP-Ras was appropriately regulated in the melanoma and neuroblastoma lines that were deficient in neurofibromin, even when c-H-ras was overexpressed in the lines. These results demonstrate that some neural crest tumors not associated with neurofibromatosis have acquired somatically inactivated NF1 genes and suggest a tumor-suppressor function for neurofibromin that is independent of Ras GTPase activation.
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PMID:Inactivation of the NF1 gene in human melanoma and neuroblastoma cell lines without impaired regulation of GTP.Ras. 851 98

GTP is one of the major cellular molecules involved in fundamental functions of cell life. Ribavirin, and antiviral and antitumoral agent, the primary site of action of which is the IMP deshydrogenase, was used in order to depress the intracellular GTP level. Consequential effects were tested on the property and dynamic of the VIP receptor on human melanoma IGR 39 cells. A concentration of 100 microM of Ribavirin reduced the intracelluar GTP level by more than 60% and induced a reversible growth arrest. Nevertheless this drug displayed no effect on: i) the VIP binding parameters (Kd and Bmax) of both high and low affinity receptors; ii) the cycling of the VIP receptor; iii) the based and VIP-stimulated cAMP production and iv) the subcellular GTP distribution. We show that Ribavirin, in the range of concentrations used, is very efficient to inhibit GTP synthesis in the human melanoma cell line IGR 39 and its growth, without affecting VIP receptor functions.
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PMID:The effects of ribavirin on the GTP level and the VIP receptor dynamic of human IGR39 cells. 877 30

We isolated the genes of two small GTP-binding proteins of the rab family from a human melanocyte cDNA library and from melanoma cells. One gene, rab30 codes for a novel rab protein of 203 amino acids with minimal homology to previously documented GTPases. The other, rab22b, appears to be an isoform of the human homologue of canine rab22. Both rab mRNAs displayed a nearly ubiquitous pattern of expression in the various tissues examined. Rab22b and rab30 were mapped to chromosomes 18 and 11, respectively.
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PMID:Molecular cloning of two novel rab genes from human melanocytes. 886 39

The monoclonal antibody (mAb) R24 is a murine immunoglobulin G3 (IgG3) that reacts with the GD3 disialoganglioside present on melanoma cells as well as a subset of T cells. R24 mAb has induced antitumor responses both alone and in combination with interleukin-2 (IL-2) in clinical trials. We have reported T cell activation via GD3 as measured by the induction of tyrosine phosphorylation. In this study a more detailed analysis of signal transduction after ligation of GD3 was performed in an attempt to understand the mechanism of in vivo therapeutic benefits observed. Analysis of subsequent events indicated that GD3 engagement resulted in phospholipase C(gamma) phosphorylation and calcium flux. When ras-associated events were examined, GD3 signaling resulted in ras activation as determined by GDP/GTP conversion as well as dose-and time-dependent IP3 activation. In addition, the majority of the IP3 activation by GD3 was inhibited by herbimycin A pretreatment. Elucidation of the nature and potential role of this moiety in GD3 signal transduction should be useful. Collectively, these data suggest a novel mechanism of T cell activation via a single, non-protein, surface moiety. This novel form of T cell-mediated activation may permit the delivery and local activation of effector cells at the tumor resulting in site-specific activation of the immune system.
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PMID:T cell activation via the disialoganglioside GD3: analysis of signal transduction. 886 39

The pineal hormone melatonin modulates constitutive protein secretion from murine melanoma M2R cells in vitro, in a cholera-toxin (CTX)-sensitive process, without effecting major changes in cAMP. The effects of melatonin on GTP binding proteins and putative CTX substrates in these cells were investigated. Melatonin enhanced GTP gamma 35S binding and the incorporation of 32P-P3-(4-azidoanilido)-P1-5'-guanosine triphosphate (Az-32P-GTP) into 94, 40 and 28 kilodalton proteins. Similar changes were induced by CTX treatment. In addition, melatonin enhanced ADP ribosylation of several proteins, among them 94 and 40 kilodalton bands, apparently at arginyl residues. CTX catalyzed the ADP ribosylation of 45 and 40 (both recognized by antibodies specific to the C-terminal peptide of the Gs alpha subunit) and 94 kilodalton proteins and attenuated melatonin's effect. The melatonin-mediated ADP ribosylation reactions were attenuated by nicotinamide which inhibits mono(ADP ribosyl)transferases and poly(ADP-ribose)synthetase, but not by 3-amino benzamide, a specific inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose)synthetase. Nicotinamide but not 3-amino benzamide prevented the enhancement by melatonin of GTP gamma 35S binding. These results indicate that melatonin enhances protein ADP ribosylation and consequently GTP exchange in a number of CTX-sensitive G proteins. They demonstrate a novel route for concerted activation of multiple GTP binding proteins by a single hormone.
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PMID:Enhancement by melatonin of GTP exchange and ADP ribosylation reactions. 896 Dec 51

Autotaxin (ATX) is an extracellular enzyme and an autocrine motility factor that stimulates pertussis toxin-sensitive chemotaxis in human melanoma cells at picomolar to nanomolar concentrations. This 125-kDa glycoprotein contains a peptide sequence identified as the catalytic site in type I alkaline phosphodiesterases (PDEs), and it possesses 5'-nucleotide PDE (EC 3.1.4.1) activity (Stracke, M. L., Krutzsch, H. C., Unsworth, E. J., Arestad, A., Cioce, V., Schiffmann, E., and Liotta, L. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 2524-2529; Murata, J., Lee, H. Y., Clair, T., Krutsch, H. C., Arestad, A. A., Sobel, M. E., Liotta, L. A., and Stracke, M. L. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 30479-30484). ATX binds ATP and is phosphorylated only on threonine. Thr210 at the PDE active site of ATX is required for phosphorylation, 5'-nucleotide PDE, and motility-stimulating activities (Lee, H. Y., Clair, T., Mulvaney, P. T., Woodhouse, E. C., Aznavoorian, S., Liotta, L. A., and Stracke, M. L. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 24408-24412). In this article we report that the phosphorylation of ATX is a transient event, being stable at 0 degrees C but unstable at 37 degrees C, and that ATX has adenosine-5'-triphosphatase (ATPase; EC 3.6.1.3) and ATP pyrophosphatase (EC 3.6.1.8) activities. Thus ATX catalyzes the hydrolysis of the phosphodiester bond on either side of the beta-phosphate of ATP. ATX also catalyzes the hydrolysis of GTP to GDP and GMP, of either AMP or PPi to Pi, and the hydrolysis of NAD to AMP, and each of these substrates can serve as a phosphate donor in the phosphorylation of ATX. ATX possesses no detectable protein kinase activity toward histone, myelin basic protein, or casein. These results lead to the proposal that ATX is capable of at least two alternative reaction mechanisms, threonine (T-type) ATPase and 5'-nucleotide PDE/ATP pyrophosphatase, with a common site (Thr210) for the formation of covalently bound reaction intermediates threonine phosphate and threonine adenylate, respectively.
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PMID:Autotaxin is an exoenzyme possessing 5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase/ATP pyrophosphatase and ATPase activities. 899 94

Anti-tumor effects of agents known to intervene with signal transduction pathways (ras and protein kinase c cascades) were examined in the B16 melanoma cell model. The compounds examined included: lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase, which interferes with membrane localization of p21 ras protein; H-7, a classic inhibitor of protein kinase C; and tiazofurin, a GTP depleting agent, that might affect the GTP/GDP ratio on p21ras. The three agents were found to inhibit the proliferation of B16 melanoma cells. Only tiazofurin, as expected, induced a significant decrease in GTP levels. Lovastatin and H-7 altered p21 subcellular localization. They reduced membrane expression of p21 ras, while increasing its expression in the cytosol. Following tiazofurin treatment a trend towards increased membranal p21 was observed. These results suggest that p21 is a target for the action of signal transduction inhibitors. However, the relationship between growth inhibition and altered p21 expression is not yet clear.
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PMID:Inhibition of B16 melanoma cell proliferation and alterations in p21 ras expression induced by interceptors of signal transduction pathways. 900 43

Rabs are prenylated, membrane-bound proteins involved in vesicular fusion and trafficking. We isolated the complete cDNAs of two rab isoforms, rab27a and rab27b, from human melanoma cells and melanocytes, Rab27a is the human homolog of a rat megakaryocyte rab called ram p25. Rab27b corresponds to a small GTP-binding protein, c25KG, which was previously purified from platelets but whose cDNA had not been cloned. Sequence comparisons with known rabs indicate that rab27a and rab27b comprise a melanocyte/platelet subfamily within the rab family. In addition, rab27a was expressed in a large variety of cell and tissue types, excluding brain, and rab27b manifested itself primarily in testis. Bacterially expressed and purified rab27a and rab27b exhibited GTP-binding activity and can now be used for antibody production and studies of the substrate specificities of geranylgeranyl transferase. In addition, the expression of rab27a and rab27b in both melanocytes and platelets makes them candidates for involvement in mouse and human disorders characterized by the combination of pigment dilution and a platelet storage pool defect.
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PMID:Molecular cloning and characterization of rab27a and rab27b, novel human rab proteins shared by melanocytes and platelets. 906 79


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