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Query: UMLS:C0027651 (tumor)
 685,946 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The N-myc proto-oncogene is a member of the superfamily of transcription factors. In mammals, expression of this gene is predominantly restricted to the developing embryo. Specifically, the level of expression is highest in differentiating epithelial components of the embryo including those of the developing brain, kidney and lung. The observation that N-myc is expressed in differentiating but not terminally differentiated structures suggests that these genes may function in the maintenance of cells in a determined or proliferative state. Available evidence suggests that when N-myc expression is down-regulated, cells progress through differentiation and acquire their terminal phenotype. N-myc expression is also correlated with poor prognosis in a number of tumor systems. Since malignant tumors are usually poorly differentiated, this may reflect the role that N-myc plays in preventing differentiation of otherwise determined cells. In vivo site-directed mutagenesis by homologous recombination has made it possible to introduce a variety of mutations into mice. This review summarizes this technology and describes our initial results in the characterization of mice that lack a functional N-myc gene. Specifically, we have observed that in the absence of a functional N-myc gene, embryos arrest in midgestation. This body of work demonstrates that this gene is not required for normal development until the onset of organogenesis.
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PMID:The N-myc proto-oncogene: developmental expression and in vivo site-directed mutagenesis. 134 49

The genomic organization of four oncogenes, i.e., c-myc, c-myb, c-Ha-ras, and c-fms, was investigated in fresh surgical specimens from 10 patients with cartilaginous tumors. Among nine chondrosarcomas, six were primary lesions and three local recurrences. The remaining case was a chondroblastoma. Amplification of the c-myc proto-oncogene was the sole abnormality detected in this series, occurring in two chondrosarcomas (four- and eight-fold). No other genetic alteration such as oncogene rearrangement was found. Nor was there any amplification of the other oncogenes studied. Both c-myc-amplified tumors were primary lesions and histologically classified as grade II; according to flow DNA cytometry, one was diploid and the other aneuploid. In our limited series, there was no overall relationship between c-myc amplification, on the one hand, and histologic subtype, malignancy grade, surgical stage, or ploidy level, on the other. Our study shows that amplification of the c-myc oncogene, presumed to be involved in the development of malignancy, is encountered in occasional human chondrosarcomas, however, without any relationship to other well-known features of this tumor entity. The clinical significance of this gene amplification remains to be established.
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PMID:Amplification of the c-myc proto-oncogene in human chondrosarcoma. 134 71

To develop an efficient strategy for the targeting of anti-tumor effector cells, we prepared bispecific antibody (BsAb) containing anti-CD3 and an anti-c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene product. The prepared BsAb specifically reacts with both c-erbB-2-positive tumor cells and CD3+ CTL. Human CD4+ helper/killer T cells, induced from peripheral-blood mononuclear cells by activation with immobilized anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (MAb) plus IL-2, showed no significant cytotoxicity against tumor cells. However, treatment of human CD4+ helper/killer cells with the BsAb caused the induction of specific cytotoxicity against c-erbB-2-positive tumor cells. CD4+ helper/killer cells also produced significant amounts of IL-2 during co-culture with c-erbB-2-positive tumor cells in the presence of the BsAb. Moreover, by combination with the BsAb, CD4+ helper/killer cells showed a strong in vivo anti-tumor effect against c-erbB-2 transfectant or human colon-cancer cells implanted in nude mice. Our results strongly suggest that the c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene product on human tumor cells may be a good target for BsAb-directed adoptive tumor immunotherapy.
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PMID:Human c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene product as a target for bispecific-antibody-directed adoptive tumor immunotherapy. 134 16

The concept of autocrine stimulation of cell proliferation postulates growth autonomy by acquisition of the ability to produce and respond to growth factors. Overproduction of several growth factors in a variety of human tumors and cell lines derived from these tumors has been reported. We have screened several cell lines derived from glioblastomas for anomalies in the expression of genes encoding transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha), TGF-beta, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its high-affinity receptor, flg. Compared with normal human brain tissue, we observed a generalized elevation in the levels of expression of these genes in glioblastoma cell lines and an SV40-transformed human astroglial cell line. Overexpression of these genes does not appear to be merely a reflection of the proliferative state of transformed cells since some other human tumor cell lines, when analysed for the expression of TGF-beta and bFGF, did not show a significant increase in these transcripts. The specificity of the elevated transcription of TGF-alpha, TGF-beta, bFGF and flg in glioblastoma cell lines is further suggested by the fact that the transcription of the proto-oncogene c-erbB2, which is overproduced in breast tumor cell lines, was not elevated in glioblastoma cell lines. Increased expression of growth factors, which are potent mitogens and angiogens, and/or their receptors may have critical roles in autonomous proliferation as well as neovascularization of glioblastomas.
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PMID:Increased expression of genes from growth factor signaling pathways in glioblastoma cell lines. 134 15

The proto-oncogene designated erbB2 or HER2 encodes a 185-kilodalton transmembrane tyrosine kinase (p185erbB2), whose overexpression has been correlated with a poor prognosis in several human malignancies. A 45-kilodalton protein heregulin-alpha (HRG-alpha) that specifically induced phosphorylation of p185erbB2 was purified from the conditioned medium of a human breast tumor cell line. Several complementary DNA clones encoding related HRGs were identified, all of which are similar to proteins in the epidermal growth factor family. Scatchard analysis of the binding of recombinant HRG to a breast tumor cell line expressing p185erbB2 showed a single high affinity binding site [dissociation constant (Kd) = 105 +/- 15 picomolar]. Heregulin transcripts were identified in several normal tissues and cancer cell lines. The HRGs may represent the natural ligands for p185erbB2.
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PMID:Identification of heregulin, a specific activator of p185erbB2. 135 Mar 81

The extent and the variation of losses of genetic material were examined in a series of 191 human breast cancers by means of a set of 18 polymorphic DNA probes, specific of 7 chromosomal arms (1p, 1q, 3p, 11p, 13q, 17p and 18q) known to be frequently affected by allele losses. Frequencies of losses of heterozygosity ranged from a low of 3.5% (chromosome 13q) to a high of 27% (chromosome 3p). The number of sites involved in breast cancer added to the frequent occurrence of concomitant losses at several chromosomal arms within the same tumor suggest cooperative effects of these LOHs. We were therefore interested in assessing the existence of preferential associations between sets of LOHs in our panel of tumors. Statistically significant associations were found between LOHs at chromosomes 1p and 17p, and between LOHs at chromosomes 11p and 17p. Furthermore, since all the tumors presently studied had previously been analyzed for proto-oncogene amplification at 5 distinct chromosomal sites, we tested for associations between LOH and DNA amplification. Such associations were indeed observed as exemplified by the correlations observed between the LOH at 11p and amplification of the erbB2 gene and LOH at 17p and the amplification of the flg gene. The only correlation with clinico-pathological parameters that could be observed linked the occurrence of LOHs on 11p with recurrent breast cancer (p = 0.015). Sets of several LOHs or LOHs and gene amplifications could not be significantly related to any marker of tumor aggressiveness.
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PMID:An attempt to define sets of cooperating genetic alterations in human breast cancer. 135 Oct 44

MCF-10A cells are a spontaneously immortalized untransformed human mammary epithelial cell line. We have previously shown that overexpression of a human point-mutated c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene, the rat c-neu (c-erbB-2) proto-oncogene, or the human transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) gene in MCF-10A cells leads to in vitro transformation of such cells. To ascertain whether the introduction of two of these genes into MCF-10A human mammary epithelial cells induces a completely tumorigenic phenotype, we infected MCF-10A Ha-ras and MCF-10A TGF-alpha cells with a recombinant retroviral vector containing the human c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene and the hygromycin-resistance gene. Ten MCF-10A TGF-alpha/c-erbB-2 (MCF-10A TE) and 10 MCF-10A Ha-ras/c-erbB-2 (MCF-10A HE) hygromycin-resistant clones were randomly selected and expanded into cell lines. MCF-10A TE and MCF-10A HE clones expressed a 10-fold to 40-fold increase in p185 erbB-2 protein levels compared with parental uninfected cells. These cells exhibited a fourfold increase in their growth rate in serum-free medium and showed a strongly reduced mitogenic response to exogenous epidermal growth factor or TGF-alpha compared with MCF-10A cells. Moreover, both MCF-10A TE and MCF-10A HE clones exhibited a fivefold to 20-fold higher cloning efficiency in soft agar than MCF-10A Ha-ras, MCF-10A c-erbB-2, or MCF-10A TGF-alpha clones. However, neither MCF-10A TE nor MCF-10A HE cells were able to grow as tumors in vivo when they were injected into nude mice. These results suggest that c-Ha-ras, c-erbB-2, and TGF-alpha genes have an additive effect on the in vitro transformation of an immortalized human mammary epithelial cell line, but that additional genetic changes such as activation of other proto-oncogenes or inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene may be necessary to elicit a fully tumorigenic phenotype.
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PMID:Additive effects of c-erbB-2, c-Ha-ras, and transforming growth factor-alpha genes on in vitro transformation of human mammary epithelial cells. 135 42

In order to identify potential markers of malignancy in diagnostic respiratory cytopathology, c-myc and c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression was studied in fine needle aspirates from 14 consecutive fresh operation tissue samples (after surgical removal) representing lung tumors and a variety of other cell samples by in situ hybridization of 35S-labeled antisense and sense RNA c-myc and c-erbB-2 specific proto-oncogene probes. All 14 lung tumors showed c-myc expression and eight also showed c-erbB-2 expression. On average, the c-myc expression was about 4 times higher than that of c-erbB-2 (P less than 0.001). c-erbB-2 expression, confirmed also as a cytoplasmic membrane-bound reactivity by immunohistochemical stainings for c-erbB-2 oncoprotein, was significantly related to adenocarcinoma (P less than 0.025), whereas increasing tumor size correlated significantly with increasing c-myc expression (P less than 0.05). On average, all the tumor cell lines showed 2-fold expression of c-myc compared with the lung tumors (P less than 0.025). c-erbB-2 expression was found in six of 11 cell lines. High c-myc proto-oncogene expression was also found in broncho-epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages, and a low expression was found in lymphocytes but not in neutrophils, while none of these cells showed c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression. Our results demonstrate extensive c-myc proto-oncogene expression in both malignant and non-neoplastic proliferating cells, but not in terminally differentiated cells such as neutrophils. Therefore c-myc expression must also be related to general cell proliferation and not only malignancy per se. In marked contrast, c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression was found only in adenocarcinoma cells, and thus can be used as a marker for malignancy in diagnostic respiratory cytopathology.
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PMID:Evidence by in situ hybridization that c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene expression is a marker of malignancy and is expressed in lung adenocarcinomas. 135 55

We have previously described a neurological phenotype for transgenic mice carrying the c-Mos proto-oncogene. Pheochromocytomas and C-cell thyroid neoplasms occur in these transgenic lines in patterns that are similar to those seen in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2). Characterization of the pathological lesions via immunohistochemistry underscores similarities between MEN 2 and these transgenic mice. When transgenic mice that do not display the MEN 2 phenotype are crossed to a different background, the progeny display the MEN 2 phenotype. Thus the interaction of the background with the transgene is such that it can suppress tumor information. This observation bears special relevance to the human syndrome in that this model system may be used to study the question of penetrance of phenotype.
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PMID:Patterns of neoplasia in c-mos transgenic mice and their relevance to multiple endocrine neoplasia. 136 27

A number of primary human breast carcinomas exhibit amplification of the chromosome 11 region containing the int-2/fgf-3 proto-oncogene, and progression of breast cancer has been correlated with int-2 amplification or with certain restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of the int-2 gene. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we obtained the int-2 coding sequences from six primary tumors, four of which exhibited amplification of the int-2 gene and one of which exhibited amplification of the neu gene. The majority of these tumors (five of six) were aggressive, as judged by their early recurrence, metastasis, or both. Nucleotide sequencing of PCR products revealed that previously described BamHI and PstI RFLPs of the int-2 gene, as well as a new polymorphism at position 9154, were located within the intron between the second and third exons. A seventh tumor was used to localize one of the PstI RFLPs 5 bp from the splice-acceptor site of the third exon. However, none of the tumor DNAs analyzed showed differences in the int-2 protein coding regions when compared with normal placenta DNA. These results imply that aggressive human breast cancers encode an unaltered form of the int-2 protein.
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PMID:Sequence analysis of the int-2/fgf-3 gene in aggressive human breast carcinomas. 136 93


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