Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Variants of B16 melanoma exhibit strikingly different metastatic potential in AY/a (YB16 tumours) and a/a C57BL/6J (MB16 tumours) syngeneic mice. This study focused on relative pigmentation and metastatic potential in eight subline cultures initiated from B16 control and YB16 and MB16 tumours. During 6 months of in vitro growth in minimal essential medium, cells displayed a continuous decrease in their ability to form spontaneous lung colonies in 140 syngeneic mice with only persistence of enhanced metastasis-related characteristics depending on genetic change in yellow AY/a mice. Conversely, in a parallel experiment in 101 syngeneic mice in vitro, cells had a greater capacity to generate experimental metastases; this might be related to successive different environmental factors. In order to compare these prior results obtained in syngeneic mice, the above eight secondary cell lines were inoculated subcutaneously into Swiss nude mice. The primary tumours thus obtained were then serially transplanted monthly during 4 months. The new results obtained in a total of 277 mice showed that metastatic properties of cells were enhanced or restored in nude mice. Various tumour cell environments seem to be responsible for selective pressures that determine the melanoma metastatic potential. New, enhanced, heritable, metastasis-related characteristics can occur in melanoma cells as a result of genetic and metabolic changes and immunologic deficiency of the host. Apparent tumour-host relationship should not be neglected, since it has a clear influence on neoplastic diversity and malignant behaviour.
Melanoma Res 1995 Jun
PMID:Metastatic variants of the B16 melanoma: metastasis is related to environmental conditions. Phenotypic changes in vitro and metastatic colonization potential in nude mice. 764 May 14

Paraffin-embedded tissue from the primary tumours of 116 patients with malignant melanoma, and in 40 cases also from corresponding metastases, were examined for accumulation of p53 protein. The fraction of tumours with positive p53 immunostaining was 13% in the least invasive and 36% in the most invasive primary lesions and 48% in the metastases. Where comparisons could be made, both the level and pattern of p53 immunoreactivity were the same in the primary and metastatic tumours. Nine (50%) patients with p53-positive and 34 (39%) with p53-negative primaries relapsed during the first 5 years, but no difference in disease-free period was observed between the two groups. However, an overall longer survival time was observed among patients with p53-positive primaries, especially for those with tumours less invasive than 3.0 mm. Notably, all 11 patients in this group were alive 5 years after diagnosis of the disease, whereas 15 out of 70 (21%) patients with p53-negative tumours died in same period. The results show that an increased level of p53 protein does not indicate increased degree of malignancy in melanoma, but rather suggests a more favourable disease progression.
Melanoma Res 1995 Jun
PMID:Accumulation of p53 protein in human malignant melanoma. Relationship to clinical outcome. 764 May 20

The purpose of this study was to determine the mRNA expression level of multiple cytokine and growth factor genes in human malignant melanoma. Melanoma cells were isolated from several surgical specimens, adapted to growth in culture, characterized for their ability to produce experimental metastases in nude mice, and assessed for cytokine and growth factor steady-state gene expression. Highly metastatic in vivo- and in vitro-derived variants isolated from a single melanoma, A375, were also analyzed. Northern blot analyses revealed that all melanomas analyzed constitutively expressed steady-state mRNA transcripts for the growth and angiogenic factors, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), which correlated with metastatic propensity. Only one highly metastatic melanoma, TXM-1, originally isolated from a lymph node metastasis, expressed mRNA transcripts specific for monocyte chemotactic and activating factor (MCAF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Similarly, of the nine melanomas examined, only TXM-1 expressed interleukin (IL)-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-6, important immunomodulatory cytokines. These data demonstrate the differential and heterogeneous expression of cytokine and growth factor genes in human malignant melanoma.
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PMID:Heterogeneity of cytokine and growth factor gene expression in human melanoma cells with different metastatic potentials. 764 37

Melanoma often develops from clinically and histologically well-defined precursor lesions. During progression of normal melanocytes to benign nevi, dramatic changes in the expression of adhesion receptors are observed, most notably loss of E-cadherin which mediates adhesion of melanocytes to keratinocytes, and gain of Mel-CAM which predominantly mediates heterotypic adhesion between cells. Major changes in adhesion receptors also occur when cells progress from dysplastic nevi or biologically early radial-growth-phase primary melanomas to biologically late (tumorigenic) vertical-growth-phase primary melanomas. The integrin subunit beta 3 is up-regulated, whereas other integrins such as alpha 6 beta 1 and alpha V beta 1 are down-regulated. This review highlights the major changes in adhesion receptor expression on melanocytes at various stages of tumor progression.
Invasion Metastasis
PMID:Adhesion receptors in human melanoma progression. 765 8

The presence of estramustine binding protein (EMBP), a 54 kD cytosolic glycoprotein, which is distinct from the estrogen receptor, was investigated in a pilot study of primary malignant melanomas and their metastases. In 11 primary melanomas EMBP was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. The percentage of positive melanoma cells ranged between 11-91% with a mean of 57%. Radioimmunoassay on metastatic tissue revealed significant amounts of EMBP, with values ranging between 0.6-4.2 with a mean of 1.6 ng/mg protein. A high number of cells with a positive stain for EMBP in the primary tumours was significantly correlated to a short interval between diagnosis and the occurrence of metastases. Presence of EMBP in malignant melanoma may have prognostic significance and the role of hormone-linked cytostatic drugs in the treatment of this disease needs further investigation.
Melanoma Res 1994 Dec
PMID:Estramustine binding protein in primary tumours and metastases of malignant melanoma. 770 21

The effect of elective lymph node dissection in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma of the head and neck was investigated in a retrospective study. Of 517 patients in clinical stage I, 84 underwent elective dissection of the ipsilateral neck lymph nodes. In six of these patients, lymph node metastases were demonstrated at histopathological examination. There was a slight reduction in the incidence of recurrent disease in the regional lymph nodes in the group of patients who had undergone elective lymph node dissection, but this difference was not statistically significant. No significant differences were seen between the two groups regarding overall survival of disease-related survival.
Melanoma Res 1994 Dec
PMID:Elective lymph node dissection in stage I cutaneous malignant melanoma of the head and neck. A report from the Swedish Melanoma Study Group. 770 22

In recent years, several studies have documented that melanoma cell lines produce various cytokine/growth factors and their receptors. Since cell lines can acquire altered properties, such as changes in growth requirements, we studied constitutive cytokine gene expression in melanoma cells from 20 fresh surgical specimens: seven primary melanomas and 13 metastases (12 lymph-node metastases and one subcutaneous metastasis). After tumour cell isolation by discontinuous gradient, we tested for mRNA expression by means of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Most melanoma cells tested expressed growth factors: basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), interleukin (IL)1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8 and, in five cases out of 20, expressed granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (two out of five were also positive for GM-CSF receptor). Our results do not point to a direct correlation between cytokine expression and clinical stage at the time when the bioptic specimen was obtained. However, they allow us to suggest a possible metastatic tumour cell phenotype, in which autogenous GM-CSF expression could modulate immune response against the tumour cell itself or could potentiate metastatic colonization properties.
Melanoma Res 1995 Feb
PMID:Cytokine expression in human primary and metastatic melanoma cells: analysis in fresh bioptic specimens. 773 55

Interleukin-10 (IL-10), originally described as a product of TH2 cell clones, has been recognized as a potential immunosuppressive cytokine. To investigate the relevance of IL-10 in melanoma patients in vivo, we studied IL-10 serum levels in 104 untreated patients in different stages of the disease; 20 healthy subjects and 22 patients with inflammatory dermatoses served as controls. Serum levels were measured by ELISA. Only one of 31 patients with stage I melanoma (3%) and one of 16 stage II patients (6%) showed detectable IL-10 levels. Interestingly, six of 17 patients with lymph node metastases (stage III, 35%) and 29 of 40 patients with widespread disease (stage IV, 73%) revealed IL-10 levels of 15-480 pg/ml. No healthy person and only one control patient had a detectable IL-10 serum level. The data suggest that IL-10 in melanoma patients may contribute to down-modulation of anti-tumour responses in vivo.
Melanoma Res 1995 Feb
PMID:Elevated serum levels of interleukin-10 in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. 773 58

Melanoma is one of the first tumors in which gene therapy protocols are being tested. The promising results of in vitro and animal studies are now being translated into phase I studies in patients with metastatic disease. Attention is being paid to the safety of the various techniques for gene transfer. As yet, almost all protocols involve ex vivo delivery of genetic material because we lack techniques to ensure 100% transduction of target cells in vivo. The majority of studies in animal models and most current clinical trials involve cytokine gene-modified cells. For melanoma, a number of the target epitopes for cytotoxic lymphocytes have been discovered so that rational testing of the immunomodulatory effects of such therapy is now possible.
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PMID:Scientific aspects of gene therapy in melanoma. 775 81

Epithelial cell kinase (ECK) is a receptor protein tyrosine kinase, the role of which in melanoma biology is unclear. Here we studied the role of ECK during melanoma progression. ECK mRNA was overexpressed in virtually all melanoma lines tested, and levels were significantly higher in cell lines from distant metastases than primary melanomas; melanocytes were negative. Gene amplification was not detected in melanomas. Levels of ECK protein corresponded well with mRNA levels. B61 or LERK-1, recently identified as an ECK ligand, stimulated the growth of ECK-expressing melanoma cell lines, its first identified biological activity. Melanoma chemotaxis and chemoinvasion were not affected by B61. Growth of normal melanocytes was not affected. mRNA for B61 was detected in both melanoma cell lines and normal melanocytes. B61 was also identified by Western blotting and ECK binding activity with the use of a BIAcore binding assay in melanoma cell-conditioned media. These results suggest that B61 is an autocrine growth factor for melanomas but not normal melanocytes.
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PMID:Protein B61 as a new growth factor: expression of B61 and up-regulation of its receptor epithelial cell kinase during melanoma progression. 778 Sep 63


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