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)

(1) Oxygen uptake and lactate production of different strains of ascites tumor cells were assayed after exposure to an extracellular photochemical system known to produce reactive oxygen derivatives. The various cells tested showed differential sensitivity to the treatment, ranging from nearly full inactivation of Ehrlich cells to nearly full resistance of Yoshida cells. (2) Glucose plus succinate added after the treatment reestablished basal oxygen uptake capacity suggesting that the cell membrane was the primary site of damage. This was confirmed by dye-permeabilization and protein leakage in sensitive cells. (3) H2O2 was shown to be the only relevant oxygen derivative in the production of cell damage: catalase was the only externally added agent that protected sensitive cells, and H2O2 (congruent to 10(-3) M) had the same effects as the photochemical treatment. (4) While the absence of catalase is a feature common to all tumors tested, sensitivity to H2O2 appears to be related to cellular levels of glutathione peroxidase and of its subsidiary enzymes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase and glutathione synthetase.
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PMID:Differential sensitivity of tumor cells to externally generated hydrogen peroxide. Role of glutathione and related enzymes. 55 3

The enzymatic destruction of oxidizing products produced during metabolic reduction of oxygen in the cell (such as singlet oxygen, H2O2 and OH radical) involves the concerted action of superoxide dismutase-which removes O-2 and yields H2O2-and H2O2 removing enzymes such as catalase and glutathione peroxidase. A difference in distribution or ratio of these enzymes in various tissues may result in a different reactivity of oxygen radicals. It was found that in red blood cells superoxide dismutase and catalase are extracted in the same fraction as hemoglobin, while glutathione peroxidase appears to be "loosely" bound to the cellular structure. This suggests that in red blood cells catalase acts in series with superoxide dismutase against bursts of oxygen radicals formed from oxyhemoglobin, while glutathione & peroxidase may protect the cell membrane against low concentrations of H2O2. On the other hand, catalase activity is absent in various types of ascites tumor cells, while glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase are found in the cytoplasm. However, the peroxidase/dismutase ratio is lower than in liver cells, and this may provide an explanation for the higher susceptibility of tumor cells to treatments likely to involve oxygen radicals.
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PMID:Enzyme defense against reactive oxygen derivatives. II. Erythrocytes and tumor cells. 81 6

The influence of human recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha has been assessed on a cell line (U-251) derived from a human malignant glial tumor. The results of this study demonstrate that tumor necrosis factor-alpha at doses of 50 and 100 ng/ml: 1) did not have cytotoxic or cytostatic effects on the U-251 cell line; 2) significantly increased the intracellular activity of manganese superoxide dismutase but had no effect on copper and zinc superoxide dismutase, catalase, or glutathione peroxidase activity; and 3) did not significantly alter the intracellular or extracellular general protease and collagenase type IV activity of these cells. The resistance of the U-251 cell line to tumor necrosis factor-alpha cytotoxicity may be related in part to the high intrinsic manganese superoxide dismutase activity present in this cell line combined with the ability of this cell line to induce substantial amounts of protective manganese superoxide dismutase activity in response to tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
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PMID:The effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha on human malignant glial cells. 131 41

Selenium is increasingly recognized as a versatile anticarcinogenic agent. Its protective functions cannot be solely attributed to the action of glutathione peroxidase. Instead, selenium appears to operate by several mechanisms, depending on dosage and chemical form of selenium and the nature of the carcinogenic stress. In a major protective function, selenium is proposed to prevent the malignant transformation of cells by acting as a "redox switch" in the activation-inactivation of cellular growth factors and other functional proteins through the catalysis of oxidation-reduction reactions of critical SH groups of SS bonds. The growth-modulatory effects of selenium are dependent on the levels of intracellular GSH and the oxygen supply. In general, growth inhibition is achieved by the Se-mediated stimulation of cellular respiration. Selenium appears to inhibit the replication of tumor viruses and the activation of oncogenes by similar mechanisms. However, it may also alter carcinogen metabolism and protect DNA against carcinogen-induced damage. In additional functions of relevance to its anticarcinogenic activity, selenium acts as an acceptor of biogenic methyl groups, and is involved in the detoxification of metals and of certain xenobiotics. In its interactions with transformed cells at higher concentrations, it may induce effects ranging from metabolic and phenotypical changes, and partial renormalization to selective cytotoxicity owing to reversible or irreversible inhibition of protein and DNA synthesis. Selenium also has immunopotentiating properties. It is required for optimal macrophage and NK cell function. Its protective effects are influenced by synergistic and antagonistic dietary and environmental factors. The latter include a variety of toxic heavy metals and xenobiotic compounds, but they are also influenced by essential elements, such as zinc. The exposure to antagonistic factors must be minimized for the full expression of its anticarcinogenic potential.
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PMID:Selenium. Mechanistic aspects of anticarcinogenic action. 137 60

The chemopreventive effect of 40% and 80% maximum tolerated dose (MTD) levels of 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate (p-XSC) administered in the diet during the initiation phase (2 weeks before, during, and up to 3 days after carcinogen administration) and the post-initiation phase (3 days after carcinogen treatment until termination) of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon carcinogenesis was studied in male F344 rats. The MTD of p-XSC was determined in male F344 rats and found to be 50 ppm. Beginning at 5 weeks of age, all animals were divided into various experimental groups (42 rats/group) and fed the high-fat semipurified diet or diets containing 20 (40% MTD) and 40 (80% MTD) ppm p-XSC. At 7 weeks of age, all animals (30 rats/group) except the vehicle-treated groups (12 rats/group) were administered s.c. injections of AOM (15 mg/kg body weight/week for 2 weeks). Three days after the second injection of AOM or vehicle (normal saline), groups of animals fed the p-XSC diets and control diet were transferred, respectively, to control diet and p-XSC diets and continued on these diets until the termination of the study. All animals were necropsied during the 36th week after AOM treatment. Colonic mucosal prostaglandin E2 and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase were measured in animals fed the control and p-XSC diets at the termination of the study. The results indicate that 40 ppm p-XSC administered during the initiation phase significantly inhibited the colon tumor incidence (percentage of animals with tumors). Dietary p-XSC administered at 20 and 40 ppm levels during the initiation phase significantly inhibited colon tumor multiplicity (tumors/animal and tumors/tumor-bearing animal). Colon tumor incidence and multiplicity were significantly reduced in groups fed 20 and 40 ppm p-XSC diets at the postinitiation phase of carcinogenesis. Colonic mucosal selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was increased, and prostaglandin E2 was reduced in animals fed the p-XSC diet compared to animals fed the control diet. Whereas the precise mechanisms of p-XSC-induced inhibition of colon carcinogenesis remain to be elucidated, it is likely that the effect during the initiation and postinitiation phases may be due to alteration in carcinogen metabolism and to modulation of prostaglandin synthesis and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity.
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PMID:Chemoprevention of colon carcinogenesis by the synthetic organoselenium compound 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate. 139 88

Since human colorectal tumors are insensitive to most chemotherapeutic agents, there is a need for the discovery of new drugs that would show activity against this disease. In an attempt to better appreciate the relevance of a widely used mouse colon tumor (colon adenocarcinoma Co38) as a screening model for human colorectal tumors, we compared the main phase I and phase II drug-metabolizing enzyme systems in both tumoral and nontumoral colon tissues. The following enzymes were assayed by Western blot: cytochromes P-450 (1A1/A2, 2B1/B2, 2C, 2E1, and 3A), epoxide hydrolase, and glutathione-S-transferases (GST-alpha, -mu, and -pi). The activities of the following enzymes or cofactors were determined by spectrophotometric or fluorometric assays: total cytochrome P-450, 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene-GST, selenium-independent glutathione peroxidase, 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene-GST, ethacrynic acid-GST, total glutathione, epoxide hydrolase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, beta-glucuronidase, sulfotransferase, and sulfatase. Results obtained by Western blot showed that mouse colon adenocarcinoma Co38 did not express any of the probed cytochromes P-450, whereas human colorectal tumors expressed only low levels of cytochrome P-450 3A. GST-alpha and GST-pi were detected in all tumoral and nontumoral tissues of both species. The neutral GST-mu was expressed in all murine tissues investigated and was found to be polymorphic in human tissues. For human peritumoral and tumoral colorectal tissues there was no significant difference between GST isoenzyme levels, whereas mouse colon adenocarcinoma Co38 had a lower expression of GST-mu and GST-pi, compared to normal mouse colon. Enzymatic activities for glutathione peroxidase, 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene-GST, and ethacrynic acid-GST confirmed the Western blot results for GST-alpha, GST-mu, and GST-pi, respectively. Total GSH levels were similar between murine and human tumors but were 3-fold higher in human tumors than in peritumoral tissues, whereas they were 7-fold lower in mouse colon tumor Co38, compared to normal mouse colon. Epoxide hydrolase was not expressed in either mouse colon adenocarcinoma Co38 or normal mouse colon tissues, whereas it was expressed in human colon peritumoral and tumoral tissues at similar levels. No significant difference was observed between human tumors and peritumoral tissues for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, beta-glucuronidase, sulfotransferase, and sulfatase. For murine colon tissues, the conjugation pathways (UDP-glucuronosyltransferase and sulfotransferase) were lower in colon adenocarcinoma Co38, whereas the converse was observed for the corresponding hydrolytic enzymes (beta-glucuronidase and sulfatase).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Comparison of mouse and human colon tumors with regard to phase I and phase II drug-metabolizing enzyme systems. 142 2

Cytogenetic alterations that characterize different histologic subtypes of soft tissue sarcomas have been identified. In a few situations, more precise chromosomal mapping has allowed identification of certain genes that may be involved in the development or tumor progression of sarcomas. Careful family histories must be elicited in sarcoma patients. While "cancer families" are rarely identified when screening close relatives of sarcoma patients, the discovery of the currently known tumor suppressor gene syndromes associated with germ line retinoblastoma gene and p53 gene defects were made possible by their association with sarcomas. Optimal management of primary sarcomas includes function-sparing complete resection and radiotherapy. Innovative radiotherapy, utilizing radiation sensitizers or brachytherapy, may increase local control in patients with unresectable tumors. New drugs are needed. Epirubicin and other anthracycline analogues do have significant activity; however, no other novel drugs have documented efficacy. Dose intensity is being explored with sarcoma trials providing the "vehicle" to evaluate new cytokines. Several mechanisms of doxorubicin resistance have been identified in cell lines and fresh tumors, including alterations in glutathione peroxidase activity and MDR-1 gene expression. These observations need to be taken to the clinic.
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PMID:Advances in the diagnosis and management of sarcomas. 151 Oct 24

Drug resistance is a major problem in cancer chemotherapy. Treatment protocols generally include a number of different cytotoxic drugs given in combination. Therefore, drug resistance in the tumor is likely to result from the coexpression of several cellular activities able to prevent cell killing by any of the drugs used. In this study we have measured several potential drug resistance mechanisms consisting of the multidrug resistance gene product P-glycoprotein, glutathione, glutathione-transferase and -peroxidase, and the DNA repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase in samples of colon carcinoma and normal adjacent mucosa from 23 untreated patients. All of these, with the exception of P-glycoprotein, showed significant increases in tumor tissue levels when compared with normal tissue from the same patient. The significance was highest for glutathione peroxidase (P less than or equal to 0.0005). Individual patients, however, showed very different patterns, with none, several, or all monitored resistance mechanisms elevated in the tumor. The implications both in the choice of drugs and in the use of resistance modifying agents to improve therapy for the individual patient are discussed.
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PMID:Assessment of P-glycoprotein, glutathione-based detoxifying enzymes and O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase as potential indicators of constitutive drug resistance in human colorectal tumors. 167 23

1. Oxidative stress, potentially, is experienced by all aerobic life when antioxidant defenses are overcome by prooxidant forces, and is the basis of many physiological abberations. 2. Environmental contaminants may enhance oxidative stress in aquatic organisms, e.g. highly elevated rates of ideopathic lesions and neoplasia among fish inhabiting polluted environments is increasingly related to oxidative stress associated with environmental pollution. 3. Metabolism of redox cycling xenobiotics in aquatic organisms is very similar to that of mammals suggesting similarities in the health consequences of exposure to such compounds. 4. The expression of specific lesions known to arise specifically from oxidative stress, e.g. lipid peroxidation, oxidized bases in DNA and accumulation of lipofuscin pigments are present in many aquatic animals exposed to contaminants. 5. Aquatic organisms contain the major antioxidant enzymes SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, albeit there are marked quantitative differences among the various species reported.
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PMID:Oxidants and antioxidants in aquatic animals. 167 50

A B16 melanoma line was repeatedly transplanted subcutaneously in C57BL/6 mice. On day 4 after every transplant, the animals were treated with doxorubicin (DXR), 10 mg/kg i.p. The aim of the work was to develop an in-vivo model of resistance to the antiblastic in order to analyze some possible mechanistic aspects of the process in the course of time. After 16 transplants and treatments the melanoma completely lost its sensitivity to the antiproliferative effects of maximal tolerated doses of DXR and showed over-expression of P-glycoprotein. Compared to the parental line, the in vitro resistance index was 4.6. After 27 transplants and treatments the melanoma did not increase its in vitro resistance to DXR further, and this resistance was completely reversed by verapamil. The behavior of the antioxidant defenses (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione transferase, glutathione reductase and glutathione) was evaluated after 4, 16 and 27 transplants and treatments with DXR. At no stage did the treated melanoma show any variation in the antioxidant enzymes. Compared to the parental counterpart its glutathione levels were elevated after four treatments (+80%), when, however, the line was still sensitive to the in vivo effects of DXR, and after 16 treatments (+30%). Instead, no variation of the glutathione content was seen after 27 treatments with DXR. These results seem to exclude the possibility that the antioxidant defenses play a major role in the resistance of this B16 melanoma line to DXR. On the other hand, the low but, however, 'clinically' significant resistance of the tumor to the antiblastic seems mainly related to the mechanisms linked to the P-glycoprotein over-expression.
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PMID:Antioxidant defenses in a B16 melanoma line resistant to doxorubicin: an in vivo study. 168 13


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