Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027651 (tumor)
 685,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Butyrate induces cytodifferentiation in many tumor cells of different origin, suggesting that an as yet unidentified common mechanism inherent to malignant cells is the target of butyrate action. This study determined the role of different mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signal transduction pathways in butyrate-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 human leukemia cells. Using a panel of anti-ERK, JNK, and p38 phosphospecific antibodies, the study showed that phosphorylation of ERK and JNK is decreased following treatment of cells with butyrate, whereas phosphorylation of p38 is increased. In contrast, a K562 subline defective in butyrate-mediated induction of erythroid differentiation did not reveal these changes in phosphorylation patterns. Inhibition of ERK activity by UO126 induces erythroid differentiation and acts synergistically with butyrate on hemoglobin synthesis and inhibition of cell proliferation, whereas inhibition of p38 activity by SB203580 completely abolished induction of hemoglobin expression by butyrate. Taken together, our data suggest a model in which butyrate induces erythroid differentiation of K562 cells by inhibition of ERK and activation of p38 signal transduction pathways.
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PMID:Butyrate-induced erythroid differentiation of human K562 leukemia cells involves inhibition of ERK and activation of p38 MAP kinase pathways. 1073 12

Apoptois is an important determinant in the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in gastric cancer cells. In this study, we examined whether the introduction of the bax gene into MKN45 gastric cancer cells could enhance the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in association with apoptosis. Apoptosis in the bax-transfected gastric cancer cells was enhanced following the treatment of various chemotherapeutic agents including adriamycin (ADM), cisplatin (CDDP), etoposide (VP-16) and taxotere (TXT) as compared to those of neo gene-transfected cells. The enhancement of apoptosis was coincident with the increase of sensitivity in the ratio of IC50 value, that was 1.3-fold in ADM, 4.4-fold in CDDP, 4.6-fold in VP-16 and 2.5-fold in TXT, respectively. Further, the enhancement of apoptosis in the bax-transfected gastric cancer cells was associated with the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK 1) and caspase 3 (CPP32). The increases of sensitivities to these agents in the bax-transfected cells were also demonstrated in in vivo experiments using the tumor cells transplanted into nude mice. The tumor growth in the bax-transfected cells was significantly suppressed following the treatment of CDDP or VP-16 compared to that of neo-transfected cells (p < 0.05). These results indicated that, the bax gene might play a critical role in determination of sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agent in gastric cancer cells in vivo, and that the activation of JNK 1 and CPP32 might be involved in the signal transduction pathways leading to apoptosis.
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PMID:Enhancement of chemotherapeutic agents induced-apoptosis associated with activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 and caspase 3 (CPP32) in bax-transfected gastric cancer cells. 1076 93

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) pathway is activated by numerous cellular stresses. Although it has been implicated in mediating apoptosis and growth factor signaling, its role in regulating cell growth is not yet clear. Here, the influence of JNK on basal (unstimulated) growth of human tumor glioblastoma T98G cells was investigated using highly specific JNK antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit JNK expression. Transient depletion of either JNK1 or JNK2 suppressed cell growth associated with an inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell cycle arrest in S phase. The growth-inhibitory potency of JNK2 antisense ((JNK)2 IC(50) = 0.14 micrometer) was greater than that of JNK1 antisense ((JNK)1 IC(50) = 0.37 micrometer), suggesting that JNK2 plays a dominant role in regulating growth of T98G cells. Indeed, JNK2 antisense-treated populations exhibited greater inhibition of DNA synthesis and accumulation of S-phase cells than did the JNK1 antisense-treated cultures, with a significant proportion of these cells detaching from the tissue culture plate. JNK2 (but not JNK1) antisense-treated cultures exhibited marked elevation in the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(cip1/waf1) accompanied by inhibition of Cdk2/Cdc2 kinase activities. Taken together, these results indicate that JNK is required for growth of T98G cells in nonstress conditions and that p21(cip1/waf1) may contribute to the sustained growth arrest of JNK2-depleted T98G cultures.
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PMID:c-Jun N-terminal kinase is essential for growth of human T98G glioblastoma cells. 1082 81

Recently, glucose deprivation-induced oxidative stress has been shown to cause cytotoxicity, activation of signal transduction (i.e., ERK1, ERK2, JNK, and Lyn kinase), and increased expression of genes associated with malignancy (i.e., bFGF and c-Myc) in MCF-7/ADR human breast cancer cells. These results have led to the proposal that intracellular oxidation/reduction reactions involving hydroperoxides and thiols may provide a mechanistic link between metabolism, signal transduction, and gene expression in these human tumor cells. The current study shows that several other transformed human cell types appear to be more susceptible to glucose deprivation-induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress than untransformed human cell types. In a matched pair of normal and SV40-transformed human fibroblasts the cytotoxic process is shown to be dependent upon ambient O2 concentration. A theoretical model to explain the results is presented and implications to unifying modern theories of cancer are discussed.
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PMID:Glucose deprivation-induced oxidative stress in human tumor cells. A fundamental defect in metabolism? 1086 52

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor that is widely expressed, has tissue-specific functions, and regulates cell growth. Activating mutations of this receptor cause autosomal dominant hypocalcemia, a syndrome characterized by hypocalcemia and hypercalciuria. The identification of a family with an activating mutation of the CaR (Thr151Met) in which hypocalcemia cosegregates with several unusual neoplasms led us to examine the transforming effects of this mutant receptor. Transfection of NIH/3T3 cells with the mutant but not the normal receptor supported colony formation in soft agar at subphysiologic calcium concentrations. The mutant CaR causes a calcium-dependent activation of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) 1/2 and Jun-N-terminal kinase/stress-activated (JNK/ SAPK) pathways, but not P38 MAP kinase. These findings contribute to a growing body of information suggesting that this receptor plays a role in the regulation of cellular proliferation, and that aberrant activation of the mutant receptor in this family may play a role in the unusual neoplastic manifestations.
Neoplasia 1999 Dec
PMID:Calcium-induced activation of a mutant G-protein-coupled receptor causes in vitro transformation of NIH/3T3 cells. 1093 95

Ras activates three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) including ERK, JNK, and p38. Whereas the essential roles of ERK and JNK in Ras signaling has been established, the contribution of p38 remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that the p38 pathway functions as a negative regulator of Ras proliferative signaling via a feedback mechanism. Oncogenic Ras activated p38 and two p38-activated protein kinases, MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) and p38-related/activated protein kinase (PRAK). MK2 and PRAK in turn suppressed Ras-induced gene expression and cell proliferation, whereas two mutant PRAKs, unresponsive to Ras, had little effect. Moreover, the constitutive p38 activator MKK6 also suppressed Ras activity in a p38-dependent manner whereas arsenite, a potent chemical inducer of p38, inhibited proliferation only in a tumor cell line that required Ras activity. MEK was required for Ras stimulation of the p38 pathway. The p38 pathway inhibited Ras activity by blocking activation of JNK, without effect upon ERK, as evidenced by the fact that PRAK-mediated suppression of Ras-induced cell proliferation was reversed by coexpression of JNKK2 or JNK1. These studies thus establish a negative feedback mechanism by which Ras proliferative activity is regulated via signaling integrations of MAPK pathways.
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PMID:The p38 pathway provides negative feedback for Ras proliferative signaling. 1097 13

The anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol) alters microtubule assembly and activates pro-apoptotic signaling pathways. Previously, we and others found that paclitaxel activates endogenous JNK in tumor cells, and the activation of JNK contributes to tumor cell apoptosis. Here we find that paclitaxel activates the prosurvival MEK/ERK pathway, which conversely may compromise the efficacy of paclitaxel. Hence, a combination treatment of paclitaxel and MEK inhibitors was pursued to determine whether this treatment could lead to enhanced apoptosis. The inhibition of MEK/ERK with a pharmacologic inhibitor, U0126, together with paclitaxel resulted in a dramatic enhancement of apoptosis that is four times more than the additive value of the two drugs alone. Enhanced apoptosis was verified by the terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay, by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for histone-associated DNA fragments, and by flow cytometric analysis for DNA content. Specificity of the pharmacologic inhibitor was confirmed by the use of (a) a second MEK/ERK inhibitor and (b) a transdominant-negative MEK. Enhanced apoptosis was verified in breast, ovarian, and lung tumor cell lines, suggesting this effect is not cell type-specific. This is the first report of enhanced apoptosis detected in the presence of paclitaxel and MEK inhibition and suggests a new anticancer strategy.
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PMID:MEK inhibition enhances paclitaxel-induced tumor apoptosis. 1103 47

Mutations of ras are tumor-initiating events for many cell types, including thyrocytes. To explore early consequences after oncogenic Ras activation, we developed a doxycycline-inducible expression system in rat thyroid PCCL3 cells. Beginning 3-4 days after H-Ras(v12) expression, cells underwent apoptosis. The H-Ras(v12) effects on apoptosis were decreased by a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK1) inhibitor and recapitulated by doxycycline-inducible expression of an activated MEK1 mutant (MEK1(S217E/S221E)). As reported elsewhere, acute expression of H-Ras(v12) also induces mitotic defects in PCCL3 cells through ERK (extracellular ligand-regulated kinase) activation, suggesting that apoptosis may be secondary to DNA damage. However, acute activation of SAPK/JNK (stress-activated protein kinase/Jun N-terminal kinase) through acute expression of Rac1(v12) also triggered apoptosis, without inducing large-scale genomic abnormalities. H-Ras(v12)-induced apoptosis was dependent on concomitant activation of cAMP by either TSH or forskolin, in a protein kinase A-independent manner. Thus, coactivation of cAMP-dependent pathways and ERK or JNK (either through H-Ras(v12), Rac1(v12), or MEK1(S217E/S221E)) is inconsistent with cell survival. The fate of thyrocytes within the first cell cycles after expression of oncogenic Ras is dependent on ambient TSH levels. If both cAMP and Ras signaling are simultaneously activated, most cells will die. Those that survive will eventually lose TSH responsiveness and/or inactivate the apoptotic cascade through secondary events, thus enabling clonal expansion.
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PMID:Conditional apoptosis induced by oncogenic ras in thyroid cells. 1107 8

In the present study, we investigated the effects of geranylgeraniol (GGO), a potent inducer of apoptosis in various lines of human tumor cells, on signal transduction cascades involved in apoptosis in human leukemia cells. GGO strongly induced the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK/SAPK) within 2 h in U937 and K562 cells, while neither ERK nor p38 was activated to any considerable extent during GGO-induced apoptosis. Transient expression of a constitutively active mutant form of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1), deltaMEKK1, or of deltaMEKK1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) in K562 cells activated JNK, but not a caspase-3-like protease, and was insufficient to induce cell death but rendered cells susceptible to GGO-induced cell death. Stable expressions of deltaMEKK1-GFP in U937 cells gave similar results. In contrast to VP-16-induced apoptosis, GGO-induced activation of JNK was almost completely inhibited by benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone (Z-DEVD) and by benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp-CH2OC[O]-2,6,-dichlorobenzene (Z-Asp), indicating that the JNK-activation step is located downstream of the caspase signaling pathway in GGO-induced apoptosis. Moreover, apoptosis induced by GGO was significantly inhibited in two lines of cells with a dominant-negative deletion mutation in c-Jun, indicating a requirement for JNK signaling. In addition, unlike the effects on other inducers of apoptosis, the activation of JNK and of the caspase-3-like protease by GGO was significantly delayed by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), suggesting that the site of inhibition by TPA might be located upstream of the protease and JNK in the GGO-induced apoptotic signaling pathway.
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PMID:The mechanism of geranylgeraniol-induced apoptosis involves activation, by a caspase-3-like protease, of a c-jun N-terminal kinase signaling cascade and differs from mechanisms of apoptosis induced by conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. 1108 77

Onconase, an anticancer ribonuclease, damages cellular tRNA and causes caspase-dependent apoptosis in targeted cells (M. S. Iordanov, O. P. Ryabinina, J. Wong, T. H. Dinh, D. L. Newton, S. M. Rybak, and B. E. Magun. Cancer Res. 60, 1983-1994, 2000). The proapoptotic action of onconase depends on its RNase activity, but the molecular mechanisms leading to RNA damage-induced caspase activation are completely unknown. In this study, we have investigated whether onconase activates two signal-transduction pathways commonly stimulated by conventional chemo- and radiotherapy, namely the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascade and the pathway leading to the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB). We found that, in all cell types tested, onconase is a potent activator of SAPK1 (JNK1 and JNK2) and SAPK2 (p38 MAP kinase), but that it is incapable of activating NF-kappaB. Inhibition of p38 MAP kinase activity with a pharmacological inhibitor, SB203580, demonstrated that p38 MAP kinase is not required for onconase cytotoxicity. Using explanted fibroblasts from mice that contain targeted disruption of both jnk1 and jnk2 alleles, we found that JNKs are important mediators of onconase-induced cytotoxicity. Surprisingly, following the immortalization of these same cells with human papilloma virus (HPV16) gene products E6 and E7, additional proapoptotic pathways (exclusive of JNK) were provoked by onconase. Our results demonstrate that onconase may activate proapoptotic pathways in tumor cells that are not able to be accessed in normal cells. These results present the possibility that the cytotoxic activity of onconase in normal cells may be reduced by blocking the activity of JNKs.
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PMID:Differential requirement for the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase in RNAdamage-induced apoptosis in primary and in immortalized fibroblasts. 1117 Aug 43


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