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)

Chloroethylnitrosoureas (CNUs) are being used in the therapy of various neoplastic diseases, including skin cancer. Because secondary tumor formation is a serious threat in chemotherapy with these drugs, we explored whether and to what extent the DNA repair protein DNA-O6-methylguanine:protein-L-cysteine S-methyltransferase (MGMT) protects against CNU-induced tumors. We made use of transgenic mice overexpressing human MGMT in their skin and the initiation-promotion protocol on treatment with 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea (ACNU, nimustine) that is representative of CNUs. ACNU applied topically as a single low dose to the dorsal skin was highly effective in tumor induction in nontransgenic mice, whereas in cytokeratin MGMT transgenic mice, tumor formation was remarkably reduced. ACNU-induced skin tumors harbored mutations in the c-Ha-ras gene in both groups of mice. The results provide clear evidence that MGMT exerts protection against CNU-induced cancer. Our data also indicate that O6-chloroethylguanine, which is repaired by MGMT, is a main precarcinogenic CNU-induced DNA lesion.
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PMID:The DNA repair protein O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase protects against skin tumor formation induced by antineoplastic chloroethylnitrosourea. 926 90

The apoptosis-resistant phenotype of cloned high-metastatic A11 and low-metastatic P29 cells isolated from Lewis lung carcinoma was compared. The results showed that A11 cells were more resistant to apoptosis induced by microenvironmental stresses such as serum starvation, glucose deprivation and hypoxia than P29 cells as judged by viability, DNA laddering, and chromatin condensation and fragmentation. Both cell lines were insensitive to tumor necrosis factor-alpha-mediated apoptosis. P29 cells expressed a much higher level of Fas antigen on the cell surface than A11 cells. However, both cell lines were also insensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis. The apoptosis resistant phenotype of A11 cells was associated with the expression level of caspase-3, but not with those of Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L) Bax, p27Kip1 and DAP kinase. There was no difference between A11 and P29 cells in the expression of E-cadherin, the adhesiveness to the extracellular matrix components or the expression levels of metastasis-associated genes such as c-Ha-ras, c-jun, p53 and nm23. Furthermore, A11 cells exhibited lower motile and invasive abilities than P29 cells. These results suggest that the apoptosis-resistant phenotype is an important factor for determining the metastatic ability of A11 cells. Supporting this, P29 cells became more apoptosis-resistant after treatment of the cells with dimethylsulfoxide which is reported to enhance the experimental metastatic potential of the cells.
Clin Exp Metastasis 1999 Jul
PMID:Resistance to apoptosis induced by microenvironmental stresses is correlated with metastatic potential in Lewis lung carcinoma. 1065 7

Tumor cells traverse the basement membrane zone and gain access to the underlying mesenchyme to eventually form metastases. Laminin 5 is a major component of the basement membrane and connects keratinocytes at the level of hemidesmosomes to the mesenchyme. Underneath invading tumor cells anti-laminin 5 staining is diminished, and laminin 5 degradation products can stimulate cell migration and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signaling. To investigate laminin 5 expression in parental HaCaT and tumorigenic c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt keratinocytes, the cells were cultivated under monolayer and organotypic culture conditions. In monolayer cultures, HaCaT and c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt keratinocytes secreted comparable amounts of laminin 5. After 7 days of organotypic cultures, collagen IV, beta4-integrin, nidogen and laminin 5 were detected along the epithelial-mesenchymal interface of parental HaCaT keratinocytes, while staining for these proteins was patchy or absent in the organotypic cultures with c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt cells. Immunoblotting analysis confirmed absence of laminin 5 deposition in organotypic cultures of c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt while the protein was detected in organotypic cultures of HaCaT keratinocytes. Surprisingly, however, the alpha3 and gamma2 laminin chain transcripts were strongly induced in c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt cells by organotypic culture conditions, indicating that invasive epidermal tumor cells retain high mRNA levels for laminin 5 chains and suggesting an autocrine/paracrine induction of the laminin chain mRNAs. Moreover, as laminin 5 was absent in organotypic cultures of c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT II-4rt cells, it suggests immediate degradation of the protein. Degradation products may further contribute to the malignant phenotype by enhancing cellular migration and EGF-receptor activation.
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PMID:Expression of laminin 5 by parental and c-Ha-ras-transformed HaCaT keratinocytes in organotypic cultures. 1646 Aug 39


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