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)

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a transcriptional activator of genes encoding a group of drug-metabolizing enzymes, including cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), glutathione S-transferase, tumor-associated aldehyde dehydrogenase and quinone reductase. Both the constitutive and inducible expression of these genes in the liver is zonated, i.e., dominant in hepatocytes of the centrilobular region, a poorly understood position-dependent phenomenon. By comparing cell lysates obtained from opposite acinar regions we observed that immunoreactive AHR protein was almost exclusively confined to centrilobular cells. The AHR mRNA, as analyzed from cell lysates by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, exhibited a similar, although somewhat less pronounced zonation. By contrast, only slight zonation of the AHR nuclear translocator mRNA was observed. Treatment of rats with omeprazole, an atypical nonligand activator of the AHR, caused a zone-specific induction of CYP1A1 in the centrilobular region similar to that seen after pretreatment with the AHR ligand 3-methylcholanthrene. Our results suggest that the zone-restricted expression of AHR protein will allow the constitutive and inducible expression of AHR-regulated genes in the centrilobular region, but will limit their expression in the periportal region.
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PMID:Selective centrilobular expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in rat liver. 899 35

It has been demonstrated that synthetic quinones, such as menadione, cause DNA damage in different cell systems, possibly being mediated by free radicals generated during redox cycling. It has been suggested that the damage caused could be related to tumor induction in different sites. To our knowledge it has not yet been demonstrated that the natural quinones, vitamin K1 and K2, exert the same activity. Using a colon carcinoma cell line, HT-29, we examined the extent of DNA damage induced by menadione, vitamin K1 and K2. Menadione caused significant DNA damage at low concentrations (25-200 microM) with a linear correlation of r = 0.95. In the presence of dicoumarol, a DT-diaphorase inhibitor, the damage was detected at concentrations five times lower indicating that free radicals generated during the redox cycling play a key role. Neither vitamin K1, incorporated in micelles, nor K2 caused detectable single strand breaks with respect to the controls either in the presence or in absence of dicoumarol. Our results demonstrate that, despite their redox cycling properties, the natural forms of vitamin K do not cause DNA damage in HT-29 cells as menadione does in the experimental conditions used.
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PMID:Quinone-induced DNA single strand breaks in a human colon carcinoma cell line. 905 88

In 10 human cancer cell lines, the activity of mitomycin C (MMC) was found to be determined by an interplay between activation by DT-diaphorase (DTD) and inactivation by glutathione S-transferase (GST). NADPH/cytochrome P-450 reductase was not responsible for MMC activation and expression of MDRI (Mr 170,000 P-glycoprotein), and MRP (multidrug resistance-associated protein) genes did not relate to MMC resistance. Gene expression analysis for NQO1 (DTD gene) and GSTpi predicted which enzyme activity predominated in a cell line, except K562 and K562/DOX. For tumors with DTD activity only, MMC given by itself was most active. In cell lines in which DTD action was predominant, tumor selectivity was achieved by enhancing DTD-mediated activation with m-iodobenzylguanidine and hyperglycemia, which reduced the intra-tumoral pH. KW2149, a novel MMC analogue activated by glutathione, was most active against tumors in which GSTpi predominated. These various enzyme-specific effects could be observed even in cell lines derived from tumors with multidrug resistance. Such MMC treatment based on cell enzymology may enhance significantly MMC efficacy, helping to overcome multidrug resistance.
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PMID:Molecular targeting of mitomycin C chemotherapy. 925 6

Anti-tumor quinone, including mitomycin C (MMC), needs to be activated by bioreduction to exert its cytotoxic activities. The enzymes underlying this bioreductive activation have been the subject of extensive research on Mitomycin C. Cytochrome P450 reductase, cytochrome b5 reductase, xanthine oxidase, xanthine dehydrogenase and DT-diaphorase (DTD) have been shown to be involved in the reduction of MMC. The relationship between bioreductive enzymes and the cytotoxicity of quinone, however, has not been analyzed yet. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the bioreductive enzymes and the cytotoxicity of MMC. We carried out the following experiments and the following results were obtained. I) We isolated an MMC-resistant variant. This cell showed five-fold resistance to MMC as compared with the parental cell line. DTD was deficient in this resistant cell. II) We have examined the bioreductive enzyme activities of DTD and cytochrome P450 reductase and IC50's of MMC in 13 colon and gastric carcinoma cell lines. A positive correlation was not found between the enzyme activities and MMC sensitivities, but the cells with little or no DTD activity showed higher IC50 values compared to the other cell lines. III) To elucidate directly the role of DTD in MMC sensitivity, we introduced NQO1 gene into St-4 cells. NQO1 gene encodes DTD and St-4 cells have no DTD activity. All of the transfectants showed five- to ten-fold higher sensitivity to MMC as compared to the parental St-4 cells. The above data indicate that DTD is a critical determinant of sensitivity to MMC in aerobic conditions.
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PMID:[DT-diaphorase]. 930 61

DT-diaphorase (EC 1.6.99.2) is a flavoprotein that catalyses two-electron reduction of quinones, quinone imines, and nitrogen oxides. It is a Phase II detoxifying enzyme that can detoxify chemically reactive metabolites, and may be important in an early cellular defense against tumorigenesis. DT-diaphorase is also an activating enzyme for bioreductive antitumor agents like mitomycin C (MMC) and EO9. DT-diaphorase is induced in many tissues by a wide variety of compounds including dithiolethiones and isothiocyanates. Dithiolethiones are chemoprotective agents against a variety of chemical carcinogens in animal models, and the dithiolethione analogue, oltipraz, is currently in Phase I and Phase II clinical chemoprevention trials. Similarly, the isothiocyanate derivative, sulforaphane, blocks the formation of carcinogen-induced mammary tumors in rats. The low toxicity of these inducers of DT-diaphorase makes them suitable for use as chemopreventive agents in high-risk individuals. Cells with elevated DT-diaphorase levels are generally more sensitive to bioreductive antitumor agents. Thus, we suggested that the antitumor efficacy of bioreductive agents can be enhanced by selective induction of DT-diaphorase in tumor cells compared with normal cells. We showed that 1,2-dithiole-3-thione (D3T) can increase the level of DT-diaphorase activity and the cytotoxic activity of bioreductive agents in mouse lymphoma cells without increasing these activities in normal mouse marrow cells. D3T also increased DT-diaphorase activity in 24 of 33 human tumor cell lines representing nine tissue types with no obvious relationships between the tumor type, or the base level of DT-diaphorase activity, and the ability to increase enzyme activity. A series of dithiolethione analogues and dietary components were also shown to be good inducers of DT-diaphorase in human tumor cells. D3T increased DT-diaphorase activity in normal human bone marrow and kidney cells but the increases were small in these cells. Combination treatment with D3T and EO9 increased cell kill in HL-60 human leukemia cells compared with EO9 alone, but had no effect on EO9 toxicity in normal human kidney cells. Similarly, D3T increased tumor cell kill by EO9 in H661 human lung cancer cells and by MMC in T47D human breast cancer cells. Thus, inducers of DT-diaphorase may play an important role in cancer chemoprevention programs and may also be useful in enhancing the antitumor efficacy of bioreductive agents.
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PMID:Induction of DT-diaphorase in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. 940 43

In recent years, the concept of cancer chemoprevention has matured greatly. Significant reversal or suppression of premalignancy in several sites by chemopreventive agents appears achievable. This article summarizes experimental data on chemopreventive effects of tea polyphenols in different tumor bioassay systems. Tea (Camellia sinensis) is cultivated in about 30 countries, and is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Three main commercial tea varieties--green, black, and oolong--are usually consumed, but most experimental studies demonstrating the antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effects of tea have been conducted with water extract of green tea, or a polyphenolic fraction isolated from green tea (GTP). The majority of these studies have been conducted in a mouse skin tumor model system where tea is fed either as water extract through drinking water, or as purified GTP. GTP has been shown to exhibit antimutagenic activity in vitro, and inhibit carcinogen- as well as UV-induced skin carcinogenesis in vivo. Tea consumption has also been shown to afford protection against chemical carcinogen-induced stomach, lung, esophagus, duodenum, pancreas, liver, breast, and colon carcinogenesis in specific bioassay models. Several epicatechin derivatives (polyphenols) present in green tea have been shown to possess anticarcinogenic activity; the most active is (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, which is also the major constituent of GTP. The mechanisms of tea's broad cancer chemopreventive effects are not completely understood. Several theories have been put forward, including inhibition of UV- and tumor promoter-induced ornithine decarboxylase, cyclo-oxygenase, and lipoxygenase activities, antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity; enhancement of antioxidant (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and quinone reductase) and phase II (glutathione-S-transferase) enzyme activities; inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and anti-inflammatory activity. These properties of tea polyphenols make them effective chemopreventive agents against the initiation, promotion, and progression stages of multistage carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Tea antioxidants in cancer chemoprevention. 959 Nov 94

Mice develop lung tumors similar in their histogenesis and molecular features to peripheral adenocarcinomas in humans. The advantage of this model system is that events early in tumorigenesis can be delineated and their biological consequences tested by transgenic and knockout strategies. Both human and murine adenocarcinomas contain Kras mutations; in mice these occur within weeks following carcinogen administration. Decreased expression of similar tumor suppressor genes occur in both species due to mutation, deletion, altered DNA methylation, or unknown mechanisms. These genes include p15, p16, Rb, cyclin D1, p53, Apc, Mcc, and Gjal. Some genes have only been examined in one of these species, such as the deletions in chromosome 3p and the overexpression of bcl 2 in human adenocarcinoma. Not all molecular changes are identical to the two species, however. Quinone oxidoreductase (DT-diaphorase) levels rise in the human tumors but fall in the mouse; the extent of both changes is very dramatic. Similarly, EGF-receptor content often increases in human lung adenocarcinomas but decreases in the mouse tumors. In general, however, the nature of the molecular changes is quite similar.
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PMID:Molecular comparison of human and mouse pulmonary adenocarcinomas. 965 82

Premarin (Wyeth-Ayerst) is the estrogen replacement treatment of choice and continues to be one of the most widely dispensed prescriptions in North America. In addition to endogenous estrogens, Premarin contains unsaturated equine estrogens, including equilenin [1,3,5(10),6,8-estrapentaen-3-ol-17-one]. In previous work, we showed that the equilenin metabolite 4-hydroxyequilenin (4-OHEN) can be autoxidized to 4-OHEN-o-quinone which readily entered into a redox couple with the semiquinone radical catalyzed by NAD(P)H, P450 reductase, or quinone reductase, resulting in generation of reactive oxygen species [Shen, L., Pisha, E., Huang, Z., Pezzuto, J. M., Krol, E., Alam, Z., van Breemen, R. B., and Bolton, J. L. (1997) Carcinogenesis 18, 1093-1101]. As oxidative damage to DNA by reactive oxygen species generated by redox active compounds has been proposed to lead to tumor formation, we investigated whether 4-OHEN could cause DNA damage. We treated lambda phage DNA with 4-OHEN and found that extensive single-strand breaks could be obtained with increasing concentrations of 4-OHEN as well as increasing incubation times. If scavengers of reactive oxygen species are included in the incubations, DNA could be completely protected from 4-OHEN-mediated damage. In contrast, NADH and CuCl2 enhanced the ability of 4-OHEN to cause DNA single-strand breaks presumably due to redox cycling between 4-OHEN and the semiquinone radical generating hydrogen peroxide and ultimately copper peroxide complexes. We also confirmed that 4-OHEN could oxidize DNA bases since hydrolysis of 4-OHEN-treated calf thymus DNA and HPLC separation with electrospray MS detection revealed oxidized deoxynucleosides, including 8-oxodeoxyguanosine and 8-oxodeoxyadenosine. Our data suggest that DNA single-strand breaks and oxidation of DNA bases by 4-OHEN could contribute to the carcinogenic mechanism(s) of equine estrogens.
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PMID:The equine estrogen metabolite 4-hydroxyequilenin causes DNA single-strand breaks and oxidation of DNA bases in vitro. 976 Feb 86

We have directly demonstrated the involvement of human NADPH: cytochrome c (P-450) reductase in the aerobic/hypoxic differential toxicity of mitomycin C and porfiromycin in living cells by varying only this enzyme in a transfected cell line. In the same manner, we have implicated rat DT-diaphorase in the aerobic and hypoxic activation of mitomycin C, but found only a minor role for this enzyme in the aerobic activation of porfiromycin. DT-Diaphorase does not cause the production of an aerobic/hypoxic differential toxicity by mitomycin C, but rather activates this agent through an oxygen insensitive pathway. The evidence suggests that DT-diaphorase activates mitomycin C more effectively than porfiromycin, with porfiromycin being preferentially activated through a one-electron reductive pathway. The therapeutic potential of mitomycin antibiotics in the treatment of cancer can be envisioned to be enhanced for those tumors containing elevated levels of the bioreductive enzymes. However, cytogenetic heterogeneity within the tumor cell population and the various environmental factors which impact on bioreductive enzyme function, including pH and oxygen tension, may subvert this approach. Moreover, if high tumor levels of a drug activating enzyme reflect high levels in the normal tissues of the patient, normal tissue damage may also be enhanced with possibly no improvement in the therapeutic ratio. Approaches utilizing gene therapy, whereby a specific bioreductive catalyst is introduced into the tumor cell population via a targeting vehicle to activate a particular prodrug, may be more effective in that not only will the prodrug of choice be specifically activated in the tumor, but the source of the catalyst, be it bacterial, rodent, or human, will not be important. In fact, in the case of DT-diaphorase and mitomycin C, the rat form of the enzyme could be advantageous because it is more effective in activating mitomycin C than is the human form of this enzyme. Assuming targeted gene delivery to malignant cells, a non-host enzyme which is more effective at activating mitomycin C than the analogous host enzyme might also result in less drug activation in normal tissue and, hence, less normal tissue toxicity.
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PMID:Exploring the mechanistic aspects of mitomycin antibiotic bioactivation in Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing NADPH:cytochrome C (P-450) reductase and DT-diaphorase. 976 50

1. Mitomycin C (MMC) is considered to be the prototype bioreductive drug undergoing activation to toxic species preferentially under hypoxic conditions. Therefore a proper understanding of the enzymology of bioreduction in tumor tissue is of great importance. 2. DT-diaphorase and NADPH:cytochrome P-450 reductase (quinone reductases) are believed to have established roles in this activation pathway, but these roles are now undergoing revision. 3. It is emerging, however, that different reductases prevail under different physiological conditions. Indeed, DT-diaphorase has been found to protect cells from the hypoxic cytotoxicity of MMC in cell lines expressing high levels of the enzyme. 4. A novel mitochondrial reductase(s) has been identified in solid tumor tissue and is active only under hypoxic conditions and is more efficient at metabolizing MMC than are the other reductases identified. 5. Thus, this newly identified mitochondrial reductase(s) is a potential new target for enzyme-directed bioreductive drug therapy if tumor hypoxia can be achieved. However, because most tumors overexpress DT-diaphorase, this enzyme may prove optimal for MMC drug therapy.
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PMID:Current issues in the enzymology of mitomycin C metabolic activation. 979 12


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