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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The experiments in this study were designed to test the hypothesis that natural killer (NK) cells play a role in host surveillance against early neoplastic changes in the malignant process. C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts were transfected with a pSV2-neo plasmid vector which contains EJ, the mutated c-Ha-ras, regulated by its own promoter. Control cells were transfected with pSV2-neo alone and did not contain the ras gene. Oncogene-transfected cells were compared with control cells for lung colony formation following tail vein injection into C3H mice. Intravenous injection of ras-transfected 10T1/2 cells induced marked lung colony formation in vivo, whereas C3H 10T1/2 parental lines or 10T1/2 cells transfected with pSV2-neo alone induced no lung colonies in C3H mice. The colonising potential of ras transfectants could be decreased by augmentation of NK activity by injection of polyinosinic cytidylic acid and increased by depletion of NK effectors with anti-asialo GM1. Experiments with beige mice demonstrated that the mortality of syngeneic, NK-deficient C3H-bg/bg mice injected with ras tranfectants was significantly greater than similarly treated NK-normal C3H(-)+/bg littermate controls. The results support the view that NK cells are capable in vivo of recognizing early defined stages in the neoplastic process initiated by oncogenes.
Clin Exp Metastasis
PMID:The in vivo clearance of Ha-ras transformants by natural killer cells. 240 89

In the mouse embryo cell line BALB/3T3 Clone A31-1-1, dose-dependent morphologic neoplastic transformation was obtained with NaAsO2, Na2HAsO4, CdCl2, and K2CrO4. Cellular uptake was four fold higher for As3+ than for As5+, and As5- was metabolized to As3+ in cytosol. Cytotoxicity and transformation rates were four fold higher for As3+ than As5+, but when correlated to cellular As burden they were equivalent. As3+ appears responsible for the transforming activity. The foci transformed by metals (or by other carcinogens) gave rise to tumorigenic cell lines (sc sarcomas in nude mice), none of which, however, induced metastases when tested by sc or by iv injection in nude mice. Thus carcinogens change this aneuploid cell line from a preneoplastic stage to the expression of malignant growth but not of metastatic activity. Metastatic and type IV collagenolytic activities can be induced by transfection of the c-Ha-ras oncogene and inhibited by the Ad2-E1a gene (so far shown in other cell types). It remains to be seen whether metal or other carcinogens can induce the nonmetastatic phenotype to become metastatic. The molecular mechanisms of metal carcinogenesis, studied in cell culture systems, in combination with other factors or oncogenes, may reveal the effect of individual metal carcinogens on discrete steps of the complex process of carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Neoplastic transformation of BALB/3T3 cells by metals and the quest for induction of a metastatic phenotype. 248 30

Cell fusion experiments have predicted the existence of cancer metastasis suppressor genes. The E1a gene of Adenovirus 2 has been demonstrated to suppress c-Ha-ras induction of experimental metastatic potential in rat embryo fibroblasts. Another approach to the identification of candidate metastasis suppressor genes has utilized differential or subtraction hybridizations to clone genes which are downregulated as cells become highly metastatic. To date, three such genes have been identified: nm23, WDNM1, and fibronectin. With regard to nm23, downregulation of nm23 RNA levels in high metastatic potential cells has been demonstrated in a wide variety of rodent metastasis systems, including K-1735 murine melanoma cell lines, nitrosomethylurea-induced rat mammary tumors, MMTV-induced mouse mammary tumors, and ras +/- E1a transfected rat embryo fibroblasts. Whether the expression of the nm23 gene, and other down-regulated genes in tumor metastasis, correlates with changes in metastatic potential, or actually has suppressive activity, will require transfection experiments.
Invasion Metastasis 1989
PMID:Search for metastasis suppressor genes. 253 85

DNAs from 37 human gastric carcinomas and seven lymph node metastases were analyzed for alterations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene and oncogenes by the Southern blot hybridization method. The probes used were EGFR gene, c-Ha-ras, v-Ki-ras, N-ras, c-myc, v-myb, v-fos, c-erbB-2, v-erbA, v-abl and v-fes. Amplification of the EGFR gene was detected in only one poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Amplifications of c-myc gene and c-erbB-2 gene were each observed in two well differentiated adenocarcinomas. One of these tumors had coamplification of c-erbB-2 and c-erbA genes but there were no amplifications nor rearrangements of other oncogenes. The poorly differentiated adenocarcinom with amplified EGFR gene also showed enhanced expression of EGFR gene by Northern blot analysis and additionally had strong synchronous immunoreactivity for EGFR and EGF.
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PMID:Amplification of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene and oncogenes in human gastric carcinomas. 257 Apr 89

We sought to determine whether the transfection of tumorigenic but not metastatic cells with the activated c-Ha-ras oncogene was invariably associated with acquisition of the metastatic phenotype. Three clonally derived lines of the K-1735 murine melanoma, characterized as nonmetastatic or poorly metastatic, were transfected with plasmids containing the 6.6-kilobase BamHI fragment of the mutant human c-Ha-ras gene and the neo gene, that confers resistance to neomycin (pSV2neoEJ). Cells transfected with pSV2neo, a plasmid containing the neo gene, served as controls for the procedure of Polybrene-mediated transfection. All cell lines were injected into syngeneic C3H/HeN and into athymic mice, and the results were compared with those produced by highly metastatic K-1735 M-2 cells. Although the pSV2neoEJ-transfected cells produced more rapidly growing s.c. tumors than the control cell lines did, the incidence of spontaneous metastasis was not increased. Following i.v. inoculation, the c-Ha-ras transfectants were retained in lung vasculature in greater proportions than pSV2neo counterpart transfectants were. The c-Ha-ras transfectants also produced significantly more lung tumor colonies, which grew faster than the few lung tumor colonies in mice given injections of control melanoma cells. We concluded that transfection of the activated c-Ha-ras oncogene into nonmetastatic K-1735 melanoma cells leads to accelerated tumor growth in vivo and can confer the ability to form lung colonies after i.v. injection but not the ability to metastasize from a primary s.c. tumor.
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PMID:Metastatic potential of cloned murine melanoma cells transfected with activated c-Ha-ras. 266 41

We have discussed the use of BW5147 T-lymphoma cells as a model system to explore the genetic basis of invasion and metastasis. The degree of invasiveness of these cells in vitro is highly correlated with experimental metastasis formation in vivo upon tail vein injection in syngeneic AKR mice. A powerful in vitro selection system has been developed which allows to select rare invasive cell variants obtained by various experimental manipulations. We found that introduction of the human c-Ha-ras oncogene, the presence of human chromosome 7 from normal activated T-cells, DNA hypomethylation induced by 5-azacytidine treatment, and possibly also retrovirus insertional mutagenesis can convert noninvasive BW5147 T-lymphoma cells into invasive and metastatic cells. Several experimental approaches are discussed to identify the gene(s) involved.
Invasion Metastasis 1989
PMID:Genetic basis of T-lymphoma invasion. 268 85

Activated ras oncogene transfection into suitable recipient cells has been shown to induce the metastatic phenotype (Thorgeirsson, et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 5: 259-262, 1985). We have used this model system to study the correlation of basement membrane collagenolysis with metastatic propensity. The c-Ha-ras oncogene alone, or combined with v-myc, transfected into early passage rat embryo fibroblasts, induce these cells to secrete high levels of type IV collagenolytic metalloproteinase and to concomitantly exhibit a high incidence of spontaneous metastases in nude mice. Cotransfection of c-Ha-ras plus the adenovirus type 2 E1a gene yields cells which are highly tumorigenic but nonmetastatic and fail to produce type IV collagenase. This effect is due to a suppression of collagenase elaboration, not increased production of a collagenase inhibitor, and not decreased production of a collagenase activator. The characteristics of the collagenase are identical to tumor type IV collagenase described previously. The nonmetastatic cells which failed to produce type IV collagenase retain the ability to secrete high levels of plasminogen activator. Transfection with the protooncogenic forms of Ha-ras or mos, or spontaneous transformation of NIH 3T3 cells or chemical transformation of BALB 3T3 cells yields cells which fail to produce collagenase, are tumorigenic, but totally nonmetastatic. These data support a biochemical linkage of type IV collagenase expression with the metastatic phenotype in this rodent system.
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PMID:Secretion of type IV collagenolytic protease and metastatic phenotype: induction by transfection with c-Ha-ras but not c-Ha-ras plus Ad2-E1a. 302 10

Messenger RNA levels of the c-fos, c-myc, c-Ha-ras and c-Ki-ras genes were studied in 39 tissue samples obtained from 17 patients undergoing surgery for colon carcinoma and other colon diseases. DNA extracted from the same samples was studied by Southern analysis. The tissues were tumors and grossly normal mucosa from each case and in some instances benign polyps and metastases. Our results indicate: (1) that 50% of cases studied show an increase in expression of at least one of the oncogenes studied; (2) that over-expression is not random, some cases over-expressing several of the genes studied; (3) that the expression pattern of the oncogenes studied varies between primary tumor and metastases; (4) that amplification is a rare event, being limited to one instance in which c-myc was amplified in a metastasis; (5) that cases which exhibit high levels of mRNA in one or more genes studied correlate with biologically aggressive tumors; and (6) that "non-expressors" are at higher risk for local recurrence based on correlations with mucin histochemistry.
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PMID:Prognostic implications of expression of the cellular genes myc, fos, Ha-ras and Ki-ras in colon carcinoma. 304 May 97

We have adopted various approaches to identifying the genes(s) involved in metastasis. The first has been to observe whether introducing a defined activated oncogene (c-Ha-ras 1) into non-neoplastic cells confers not only tumorigenicity but other characteristics of malignancy. A second approach involves transfection of total genomic DNA from highly metastatic into nonmetastatic tumour cells. Thirdly, we are studying whether treatment of weakly metastatic tumour cells with agents known to influence tumour progression and gene expression (e.g. 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or 2'-deoxy-5-azacytidine) can affect metastatic capability. It was found that 3T3 fibroblasts which incorporated and expressed the activated rasH oncogene became tumorigenic and capable of lung colonization but not spontaneously metastatic. Additionally, transfection of inert tumour cells with DNA from highly metastatic human and animal cell lines sometimes markedly augmented their spontaneous metastatic capability and their lung colony-forming potential and induced them to form deposits in many extrapulmonary sites. Treatment of some tumour cell lines with azacytidine and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate markedly increased their metastatic behaviour after subcutaneous inoculation. Because several cell divisions occurred to produce the subcutaneous tumour before the cells disseminated, we consider the changed phenotype to be heritable and probably caused by alterations in gene expression. These results suggest that components of the metastatic phenotype are heritable and highly conserved in evolution and can be conferred on previously non-metastatic tumour cells by transfer of genomic DNA. In other studies we found that metastasizing tumour cells reach all organs in the body within minutes of entry into the blood but that the distribution of subsequent secondary tumours is neither uniform nor proportional to the numbers of cells retained in each site. The patterns of distribution of metastases tend to be related to the tissue of origin of the primary tumour. This was confirmed in observations on patients with intractable malignant ascites treated with peritoneo-venous shunts. Co-culture of tumour cells with fragments of various organs in vitro supported the conclusion that the normal cells of organs can support or inhibit secondary tumour formation. These observations collectively indicate that metastasis results from acquired abnormalities in gene regulation in tumour cells, but that the resulting abnormal cell behaviour can sometimes be modified or inhibited by local or systemic conditions in the host.
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PMID:Molecular genetics of metastasis. 307 33

A metastatic colony is the end result of a complex series of steps involving multiple gene products. In some cases, the augmented metastatic potential of certain tumour cells may be due to the increased expression of specific gene products which confer a selective advantage. Transfection of the c-Ha-ras oncogene into suitable recipient cells constitutes a powerful experimental model with which to identify putative gene products augmented in highly metastatic tumour cells compared to their non-metastatic counterparts. Transfection of the activated ras oncogene into 3T3 and 10T1/2 embryo fibroblasts, and adult rat fibroblasts, results in transformants which produce high numbers of spontaneous metastases in nude mice or syngeneic recipients. The ras oncogene will also increase the metastatic aggressiveness of murine tumours with low metastatic potential. However, the ras oncogene will not induce the metastatic phenotype in all recipient cells. Furthermore, specific genes such as adenovirus 2 E1A suppress the ability of ras to induce the metastatic phenotype. Natural 'suppressor' gene products may exist which render certain cells resistant to the induction of metastases by ras. Ras oncogene transfection induces the production of type IV collagenase, motility factors and growth factors. The ras oncogene therefore induces a cascade of gene functions leading to rapid progression to the metastatic phenotype. The mechanism of the induction probably involves complex interactions between the ras p21 product and multiple cellular gene products.
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PMID:Oncogene induction of metastases. 307 39


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