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)

Autocrine motility factor (AMF), which is identical to phosphohexose isomerase (PHI)/glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), a ubiquitous enzyme essential for glycolysis, neuroleukin (NLK), a neurotrophic growth factor, and maturation factor (MF) mediating the differentiation of human myeloid cells, enhances the motility and metastatic ability of tumor cells. AMF/PHI activity is elevated in the serum or urine in patients with malignant tumors. Here, we constructed an amf/phi/nlk/mf gene using adenovirus vector and transfected into two tumor cell lines. Overexpression of AMF/PHI/NLK/MF enhanced AMF secretion into the culture media in both tumor cell lines. However, upregulation of motility and metastatic ability was found only in metastatic fibrosarcoma cells expressing an AMF receptor, gp78, and was not found in gp78-undetectable osteosarcoma cells. Thus, not only serum AMF activity but also gp78-expression in tumor cells may be required for metastasis-related motility induction. With the use of microarray analyses, we detected two augmented genes, rho GDP dissociation inhibitor beta and kinesin motor 3A, as well as AMF itself. The RNA message and protein expression of these two molecules was confirmed to be upregulated, suggesting a possible association with AMF-induced signaling for cell motility and metastasis.
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PMID:Overexpression of autocrine motility factor in metastatic tumor cells: possible association with augmented expression of KIF3A and GDI-beta. 1496 21

Terminally postmitotic neurons continue to express many of the kinesin-related proteins known to configure microtubules during mitosis. Drugs that inhibit these kinesins are being developed as anti-cancer agents with the hope that they will inhibit proliferation of tumor cells without having adverse effects on the nervous system. The prototype, termed monastrol, inhibits the kinesin known as Eg5, which is essential for maintaining separation of the half-spindles. Eg5 is also highly expressed in neurons, particularly during development. Exposure of cultured sympathetic neurons to monastrol for a few hours increased both the number and the growth rate of the axons. With additional time, the overall lengths of the axons were indistinguishable from controls. Sensory neurons showed a similar short-term increase in axonal growth rate. However, prolonged exposure resulted in shorter axons, suggesting that sensory neurons may be more sensitive to toxic effects of the drug. Nevertheless, the overall health of the cultures was still far more robust than cultures treated with taxol, a drug commonly used for anti-cancer therapy. On the basis of these results, we conclude that Eg5 normally generates forces that oppose axonal growth, presumably by partially suppressing the forward advance of microtubules. We speculate that local regulation of Eg5 could be a means by which neurons coordinate rapid bursts of axonal growth with appropriate environmental cues. The comparatively modest toxic effects on the neurons over time are a hopeful sign for clinicians interested in using anti-Eg5 drugs for cancer therapy.
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PMID:Monastrol, a prototype anti-cancer drug that inhibits a mitotic kinesin, induces rapid bursts of axonal outgrowth from cultured postmitotic neurons. 1498 20

Several members of the kinesin family of microtubule motor proteins play essential roles in mitotic spindle function and are potential targets for the discovery of novel antimitotic cancer therapies. KSP, also known as HsEg5, is a kinesin that plays an essential role in formation of a bipolar mitotic spindle and is required for cell cycle progression through mitosis. We identified a potent inhibitor of KSP, CK0106023, which causes mitotic arrest and growth inhibition in several human tumor cell lines. Here we show that CK0106023 is an allosteric inhibitor of KSP motor domain ATPase with a Ki of 12 nM. Among five kinesins tested, CK0106023 was specific for KSP. In tumor-bearing mice, CK0106023 exhibited antitumor activity comparable to or exceeding that of paclitaxel and caused the formation of monopolar mitotic figures identical to those produced in cultured cells. KSP was most abundant in proliferating human tissues and was absent from cultured postmitotic neurons. These findings are the first to demonstrate the feasibility of targeting mitotic kinesins for the treatment of cancer.
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PMID:Antitumor activity of a kinesin inhibitor. 1512 70

Human Eg5, a member of the kinesin superfamily, plays a key role in mitosis, as it is required for the formation of a bipolar spindle. We describe here the first in vitro microtubule-activated ATPase-based assay for the identification of small-molecule inhibitors of Eg5. We screened preselected libraries obtained from the National Cancer Institute and identified S-trityl-L-cysteine as the most effective Eg5 inhibitor with an IC50 of 1.0 micromol/L for the inhibition of basal ATPase activity and 140 nmol/L for the microtubule-activated ATPase activity. Subsequent cell-based assays revealed that S-trityl-L-cysteine induced mitotic arrest in HeLa cells (IC50, 700 nmol/L) with characteristic monoastral spindles. S-trityl-L-cysteine is 36 times more potent for inducing mitotic arrest than the well-studied inhibitor, monastrol. Gossypol, flexeril, and two phenothiazine analogues were also identified as Eg5 inhibitors, and we found that they all result in monoastral spindles in HeLa cells. It is notable that all the Eg5 inhibitors identified here have been shown previously to inhibit tumor cell line growth in the NCI 60 tumor cell line screen, and we conclude that their antitumor activity may at least in part be explained by their ability to inhibit Eg5 activity.
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PMID:In vitro screening for inhibitors of the human mitotic kinesin Eg5 with antimitotic and antitumor activities. 1536 2

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases that cleave and degrade a wide spectrum of extracellular matrix components. By enhancing turnover of extracellular matrix, MMP activity is also known to play a key role in tumor cell invasion. Because extracellular protease activity requires efficient release of these proteases to the cellular surface, we investigated storage, transport, and exocytosis of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in human melanoma cells using immunofluorescence, electrical, and biochemical techniques. Immunolabeling of melanoma cells with antibodies specific for MMP-2 and MMP-9 led to the identification of two distinct populations of small cytoplasmatic vesicles containing MMP-2 or MMP-9, respectively. In combination with alpha-tubulin-specific antibodies, both vesicle populations were found to be aligned along the microtubular network. Moreover, the molecular motor protein kinesin is shown to be localized on most of these vesicles, providing evidence that the identified vesicles are actively propelled along microtubules toward the plasma membrane. The functional relevance of these findings is demonstrated using low dosage (5.9 nmol/L) of paclitaxel to affect the microtubular function of melanoma cells. Although cell proliferation is not altered, paclitaxel treatment impairs secretion of MMP-2/MMP-9 and significantly reduces invasive activity in our new cell invasion assay. In conclusion, we demonstrate in melanoma cells that microtubule-dependent traffic of MMP-containing vesicles and exocytosis are critical steps for invasive behavior and therefore are potential targets for specific antitumor drugs.
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PMID:Microtubule-dependent matrix metalloproteinase-2/matrix metalloproteinase-9 exocytosis: prerequisite in human melanoma cell invasion. 1560 54

To identify novel molecular targets for treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we generated precise gene expression profiles of PDACs on a genome-wide cDNA microarray after populations of tumor cells were purified by laser microdissection. Through functional analysis of genes that were transactivated in PDACs, we identified RAB6KIFL as a candidate for development of drugs to treat PDACs at the molecular level. Knockdown of endogenous RAB6KIFL expression in PDAC cell lines by small interfering RNA drastically attenuated growth of those cells, suggesting an essential role for the gene product in maintaining viability of PDAC cells. RAB6KIFL belongs to the kinesin superfamily of motor proteins, which have critical functions in trafficking of molecules and organelles. Proteomics analyses using a polyclonal anti-RAB6KIFL antibody identified one of the cargoes transported by RAB6KIFL as discs, large homologue 5 (DLG5), a scaffolding protein that may link the vinexin-beta-catenin complex at sites of cell-cell contact. Like RAB6KIFL, DLG5 was overexpressed in PDACs, and knockdown of endogenous DLG5 by small interfering RNA significantly suppressed the growth of PDAC cells as well. Decreased levels of endogenous RAB6KIFL in PDAC cells altered the subcellular localization of DLG5 from cytoplasmic membranes to cytoplasm. Our results imply that collaboration of RAB6KIFL and DLG5 is likely to be involved in pancreatic carcinogenesis. These molecules should be promising targets for development of new therapeutic strategies for PDACs.
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PMID:Down-regulation of RAB6KIFL/KIF20A, a kinesin involved with membrane trafficking of discs large homologue 5, can attenuate growth of pancreatic cancer cell. 1566 85

A library of 2'-methoxyethyl-modified antisense oligonucleotides (2'MOE ASO) targeting 1,510 different genes has been developed, validated, and used to identify cell cycle regulatory genes. The most effective molecular target identified was Eg5 (kinesin-like-1), which when inhibited gave the largest increase in 4N DNA in various tumor cells. The Eg5 ASO reduced Eg5 levels, inhibited proliferation, increased apoptosis, and altered the expression of other cell cycle proteins, including survivin and Aurora-A. To examine the therapeutic utility of the Eg5 ASO, the compound was also evaluated in xenograft models. Treatment with Eg5 ASO produced a statistically significant reduction of tumor growth, reduction in Eg5 expression in the tumors, and changes in histone phosphorylation, consistent with a loss of Eg5 protein expression. These data show, for the first time, the utility of a 2'MOE ASO library for high-throughput cell culture-based functional assays and suggest that an Eg5 ASO also has potential in a therapeutic strategy.
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PMID:Use of a chemically modified antisense oligonucleotide library to identify and validate Eg5 (kinesin-like 1) as a target for antineoplastic drug development. 1648 5

Gain of chromosome 1q is a hallmark of breast cancer, and likely reflects oncogene amplification. We previously identified mitotic kinesin KIF14 (kinesin family member 14) as an overexpressed candidate oncogene in the 1q31.3-1q32.1 minimal region of genomic gain in breast cancer cell lines. KIF14 also showed high expression in other cancers, notably an association with survival in lung tumors. We now report KIF14 expression in 99 primary breast tumors and 10 normal breast controls. Measured by real-time RT-PCR, KIF14 was overexpressed 10-fold on average in tumors relative to normals (t test p = 0.000054); expression increased with grade (ANOVA p = 0.000006). Infiltrating ductal carcinomas had higher KIF14 levels than lobular (p = 0.017), and estrogen receptor (ER) negative tumors had higher KIF14 levels than ER positive tumors (t test p = 0.030). KIF14 expression correlated positively with Ki-67 mRNA level (Spearman r = 0.692, p = 0.000001), fraction of positive nodes (r = 0.227, p = 0.024) and percent invasive cells (r = 0.360, p = 0.0002), and negatively with percent fatty stroma (r = -0.258, p = 0.010) and percent normal epithelium (r = -0.291, p = 0.003). KIF14 expression is thus tumor-specific and increased in more aggressive tumors. Indeed, KIF14 expression predicted overall survival (univariate Cox p = 0.010), with an odds ratio of 3.60 (1.37-9.48), in 50 tumors with available outcome data. KIF14 overexpression also predicted decreased disease-free survival (log-rank p = 0.049). These findings are the first evidence of association between expression of a mitotic kinesin and prognostic variables in breast cancer.
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PMID:KIF14 mRNA expression is a predictor of grade and outcome in breast cancer. 1657 Feb 70

Aneuploidy has long been suggested to be causal in tumor formation. Direct testing of this hypothesis has been difficult because of the absence of methods to specifically induce aneuploidy. The chromosome-associated kinesin motor KIF4 plays multiple roles in mitosis, and its loss leads to multiple mitotic defects including aneuploidy. Here, we have taken advantage of the direct formation of aneuploidy in the absence of KIF4 to determine whether loss of a molecular motor and generation of aneuploidy during mitosis can trigger tumorigenesis. We find that embryonic stem cells genetically depleted of KIF4 support anchorage-independent growth and form tumors in nude mice. In cells lacking KIF4, mitotic spindle checkpoints and DNA-damage response pathways are activated. Down regulation or loss of KIF4 is physiologically relevant because reduced KIF4 levels are present in 35% of human cancers from several tissues. Our results support the notion that loss of a molecular motor leads to tumor formation and that aneuploidy can act as a primary trigger of tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Tumor formation via loss of a molecular motor protein. 1689 May 32

Spindle poisons such as paclitaxel are widely used as cancer therapeutics. By interfering with microtubule dynamics, paclitaxel induces mitotic arrest and apoptosis. Targeting the kinesin Eg5, which is required for the formation of a bipolar spindle, is a promising therapeutic alternative to drugs that interfere with microtubule dynamics. Recent data suggest that the spindle checkpoint can determine the response of tumor cells to microtubule poisons. The relationship between checkpoint function and Eg5 inhibition, however, has not yet been fully investigated. Here, we used time-lapse video microscopy and biochemical analysis to study the effect of spindle checkpoint abrogation on the response of HeLa cells to monastrol, a selective Eg5 inhibitor. In HeLa cells, monastrol activated the spindle checkpoint, leading to mitotic arrest and apoptosis. Small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of the spindle checkpoint proteins BubR1 or Mad2 significantly shortened drug-induced arrest, causing premature mitotic exit without cell division. Time-lapse microscopy as well as analysis of caspase activation shows that these checkpoint-deficient cells initiate apoptosis after mitotic exit in response to monastrol. Checkpoint-deficient cells treated with paclitaxel, on the other hand, yielded a higher frequency of cells with >4N DNA content and a decreased incidence of apoptotic events, particularly in Mad2-depleted cells. These results indicate that the immediate fate of postmitotic cells is influenced by both the nature of the checkpoint defect and the type of drug used. Furthermore, these results show that inactivation of the kinesin Eg5 can induce apoptosis in tumor cells in the absence of critical spindle checkpoint components.
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PMID:Induction of apoptosis by monastrol, an inhibitor of the mitotic kinesin Eg5, is independent of the spindle checkpoint. 1704 Nov 3


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