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

The effects on CTL recognition of individual amino acid substitutions within epitopes I, II, and III of SV40 tumor Ag (T Ag) were examined. Epitope I spans amino acids 207 to 215, and epitope II/III is within residues 223 to 231 of SV40 T Ag. An amino acid substitution at position 207 (Ala----Val) or 214 (Lys----Glu) of SV40 T Ag expressed in transformed cells resulted in loss of epitope I, recognized by CTL clone Y-1. The amino acid substitution at residue 214 in the corresponding synthetic peptide, LT207-215(214-Lys----Glu), also led to loss of recognition by CTL clone Y-1. The recognition, by CTL clone Y-1, of peptides LT207-215 and LT207-217 with an Ala----Val substitution at position 207 was severely affected. Peptides LT205-215 and LT205-219 with the Ala----Val substitution at residue 207 were, however, recognized by CTL clone Y-1, suggesting that residues 205 and 206 may be involved in presentation of site I. Alteration of residue 224 (Lys----Glu) in the native T Ag resulted in loss of recognition by both CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3. However, a peptide corresponding to epitope II/III with an identical amino acid substitution at residue 224 provided a target for CTL clone Y-3 but not clone Y-2. A change of Lys----Gln at residue 224 in both the native protein and a synthetic peptide caused loss of recognition by CTL clone Y-2 but not CTL clone Y-3. Further, an amino acid substitution of Lys----Arg at position 224 of the native T Ag decreased recognition of epitope II/III by CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3 but had no effect on recognition of a synthetic peptide bearing the same substitution. These results indicate that the mutagenesis approach, resulting in identical amino acid substitutions in the native protein and in the synthetic peptides, may provide insight into the role of individual residues in the processing, presentation, and recognition of CTL recognition epitopes.
 ...
PMID:Effect of point mutations in the native simian virus 40 tumor antigen, and in synthetic peptides corresponding to the H-2Db-restricted epitopes, on antigen presentation and recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocyte clones. 137 47

Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived biologic mediator that is shown to be induced in various cell types and to cause many metabolic changes in target cells. Inhibition of tumor cell growth and antimicrobial activity has been attributed to the stimulation of the inducible type of the NO synthase (NOS). However, there is limited evidence for the existence of such inducible NOS in a human cell type. We show here the induction of NO biosynthesis in freshly isolated human hepatocytes (HC) after stimulation with interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IFN-gamma, and endotoxin. Increased levels of nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) in culture supernatants were associated with NADPH-dependent NOS activity in the cell lysates. The production of NO2- and NO3- was inhibited by NG-monomethyl L-arginine and was associated with an increase in cyclic guanylate monophosphate release. The data presented here provide evidence for the existence of typical inducible NO biosynthesis in a human cell type.
 ...
PMID:Stimulation of the nitric oxide synthase pathway in human hepatocytes by cytokines and endotoxin. 137 25

Epithelial mucins have obtained increasing clinical relevance since they were found in the serum of cancer patients and were shown to be elevated in metastatic disease. We report here the characterization of the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 436 which recognises the protein core of the polymorphic epithelial mucin (PEM) of the human breast. MAb 436 was generated by immunizing Balb/c mice with membrane-enriched fractions prepared from metastatic lesions in the axillary lymph nodes. The antigenic determinant recognized by the MAb 436 is expressed on the surface of breast cancer cells and was measured by ELISA on all of 50 cytosol preparations of primary breast tumors. Immunohistochemistry showed 98% of primary and 100% of metastatic breast cancer lesions to be positive with the 436 antigenic determinant expressed both in the cytoplasm and at the plasma membrane level of the tumor cells. Moreover, the antigen was expressed in a homogeneous fashion (80-100% of the total number of tumor cells) in more than 60% of the tumors. Reactivity with normal tissues was rare and scattered and restricted to glandular structures particularly at the luminal border level except for the distal and collecting tubules of adult and fetal kidney, where a cytoplasmic 436 antigen distribution was observed. Other cancers proved positive but the reactivity was always variable and heterogeneous. The antigen recognized by MAb 436 appears in Western Blotting as a M(r) of more than 200,000 daltons protein resolved in two bands. Epitope mapping experiments using overlapping octapeptides in the repeat unit of the PEM identified in the RPAP (Arg-Pro-Ala-Pro) sequence the binding site of the 436 antigen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Characterization of monoclonal antibody 436 recognizing the Arg-Pro-Ala-Pro sequence of the polymorphic epithelial mucin (PEM) protein core in breast carcinoma cells. 137 74

A novel cyclic tetrapeptide containing L-arginine-glycine-L-aspartic acid-L-phenylglycine (cyclo-RGDPhg) was synthesized and found to be a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation induced by highly metastatic murine squamous cell carcinoma (SCCVII) cells (IC50 = 3.3 microM) as well as ADP (1.5 microM). This cyclic peptide, however, showed similar or less inhibitory activities on adhesion of SCCVII cells to fibronectin, vitronectin and type IV collagen as compared with those of parent linear tetrapeptide, RGDS. These results show that cyclo-RGDPhg peptide is a highly specific antagonist for gpIIb/IIIa on platelets. Moreover, this peptide failed to suppress pulmonary metastasis of SCCVII cells in an experimental metastasis model. These results indicate that RGD peptide-mediated inhibition of tumor metastasis is attributed to the suppression of cell adhesion but not platelet aggregation. These also suggest that platelet aggregation is not an essential step during blood circulation of tumor cells for the completion of metastasis.
 ...
PMID:A novel Arg-Gly-Asp containing peptide specific for platelet aggregation and its effect on tumor metastasis: a possible mechanism of RGD peptide-mediated inhibition of tumor metastasis. 138 Dec 72

Trehalose dimycolate (TDM), a mycobacterial glycolipid, is a powerful macrophage-priming agent. However, its efficiency seems limited in the case of BALB/c mice. Peritoneal macrophages harvested from TDM-treated BALB/c mice did not control BCG growth in vitro as efficiently as similar macrophages from two other mouse strains, (B6 x D2)F1 and C57BL/6, which are respectively Bcgr and Bcgs. BALB/c macrophages elicited by TDM also exhibited a low capacity to produce hydrogen peroxide and, after activation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), weak cytostatic activity against P815 mastocytoma cells. Finally, alkaline phosphodiesterase, a marker of resident and inflammatory macrophages, was still expressed at a high level in macrophages of BALB/c mice treated with TDM. Low responsiveness of BALB/c macrophages to stimuli was not observed with TDM only; activation for tumor cytotoxicity of thioglycolate-elicited macrophages from BALB/c mice required also higher doses of interferon-gamma, and LPS. L-Arginine-dependent production of nitric oxide was inducible in macrophages from BALB/c mice, but the conditions required for its induction were more stringent. Thus, the reduced antiproliferative effects of BALB/c macrophages may be due to uncomplete induction of NO synthase after suboptimal stimulation.
 ...
PMID:Low response of BALB/c macrophages to priming and activating signals. 138 43

Preliminary studies of RAS mutational activation in human testicular germ cell neoplasms have yielded conflicting results. Whereas two studies of clinical material revealed a significant incidence of N- and KRAS mutations, two studies of a variety of germ cell lines failed to document RAS mutations. To clarify the incidence of RAS mutations in these tumors, we studied archival paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed orchiectomy specimens from 25 nonseminomas (NSGCT), 18 seminomas (SEM), and one Leydig cell tumor. For 14 of the 44 neoplasms, DNA was also available from nonmalignant testis adjacent to the tumor. Six age-matched patients had testes removed because of nonmalignant disease and were studied as controls. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified the K-, N-, and HRAS 12, 13, and 61 codons of these specimens, and mutations were detected with mutation-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization of Southern and slot blots. Four mutations were found in KRAS 12 (4/44;[9.1%]). One seminoma [1/18(5.6%)] contained the mutation GGT(GLY)----CGT(ARG), and three NSGCT [3/25(12%)] were found to have GGT(GLY)----GAT(ASP) mutations. One of the NSGCT mutations was detected in adjacent nonmalignant tissue, but the corresponding tumor did not contain any detectable mutation. No mutations were detected at KRAS 13 or 61, in NRAS or HRAS 12, 13, or 61, or in the control normal testes. PCR, slot blots, and hybridizations were performed twice by two separate investigators for confirmation of results. PCR-generated mutation-specific positive controls were created for all possible RAS mutations, and these along with wild-type DNA controls were integral to interpretation of the oligonucleotide mismatch hybridization assay. By using positive and negative controls, we have detected a relatively low incidence of RAS mutations in archival human testicular germ cell tumors.
 ...
PMID:Detection of RAS mutations in archival testicular germ cell tumors by polymerase chain reaction and oligonucleotide hybridization. 138 46

The possible mitogenic activity of fibronectin (FN) in human primary and metastatic melanoma lines and clones and the involvement of integrins in mediating this effect were evaluated. Quescent human melanoma cells cultured in serum-free medium proliferated in a dose- and time-dependent fashion to immobilized FN as indicated by [3H]thymidine incorporation, increment of cell number, and cell cycle analysis. This response to FN was observed with tumor clones isolated from a subcutaneous metastasis and with primary or metastatic melanomas from different patients, but only when tumor cells expressed the alpha 5 subunit of the FN receptor (i.e., VLA-5). Proliferation to FN by a primary tumor (Me4405) expressing all FN receptors and by a tumor clone (2/60) lacking only the alpha 4 subunit was inhibited by monoclonal antibodies to the alpha 5 and beta 1 but not by monoclonal antibodies to other subunits of FN receptors. Mapping of FN regions responsible for the proliferative signal was performed by stimulating melanoma cells with different FN proteolytic fragments and indicated that a significant mitogenic signal was provided by the M(r) 120,000 alpha-chymotrypsin fragment containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence. The proliferation of melanoma cells to FN and to FN fragments was also significantly inhibited by peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence. These data indicate that FN can stimulate the proliferation of quiescent melanoma cells and that integrins as alpha 5 beta 1 are involved in the response of tumor cells to this extracellular matrix protein.
 ...
PMID:Role of the alpha 5 beta 1 integrin receptor in the proliferative response of quiescent human melanoma cells to fibronectin. 138 57

Cell-cell interactions play an important role in the development of cartilage. Heterologous and homologous cell-cell interactions are critical for chondrogenic differentiation during development. Cell-cell interactions in the formation of fracture callus and cartilage neoplasia also invoke the process of cartilage differentiation. We have investigated cell-cell interactions between articular chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts and show that there was enhanced binding between these two cell types compared to background binding of the labelled cells to the tissue culture plastic surface. The binding of chondrocytes to fibroblasts was temperature- and calcium-dependent, suggesting ligand-integrin involvement. The peptide, GRGDSP, which competes with the ligand-integrin through the tripeptide RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid), almost completely inhibited chondrocyte attachment to synovial fibroblasts. The control peptide, GRGESP, had no inhibitory effect on binding. Antibodies to fibronectin (Fn) inhibited chondrocyte attachment by about 50%. Monoclonal antibodies to the alpha and beta chains of the fibronectin receptor (FnR) interfered with the attachment of chondrocytes to synovial fibroblasts. A combination of antibodies to Fn and to FnR did not completely abrogate chondrocyte binding, suggesting that other ligand-receptors were involved in the adhesion process. Chondrocytes and fibroblasts were shown to express membrane-associated Fn and FnR, by immunofluorescence. The alpha and beta chains of FnR, migrating at 110 and 140 kDa, respectively, could be immunoprecipitated from [35S]methionine-labelled synovial fibroblasts and chondrocytes. Northern blots showed the presence of mRNA for the alpha and beta chains of fibronectin receptors in fibroblasts and chondrocytes. Changes in cell shape were observed in chondrocytes on attachment to fibroblasts, i.e. the chondrocytes appeared fibroblast-like, suggesting that the chondrocytes had dedifferentiated. These studies suggest that chondrocytes specifically bind to synovial fibroblasts through RGD-dependent receptors. beta 1 Integrins are involved in this adhesion process and these heterlogous cell interactions appear to have a negative influence on chondrogenic differentiation.
 ...
PMID:Tripeptide RGD-dependent adhesion of articular chondrocytes to synovial fibroblasts. 138 77

It is well known that chronic inflammation of the colon and rectum is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, but the mechanisms by which inflammation promotes neoplasia remain undefined. The authors propose that inflammatory neutrophils may produce carcinogenic nitrosamines via the L-arginine-dependent formation of nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to characterize the L-arginine-dependent formation of nitrogen oxides by inflammatory (elicited) neutrophils using conditions that more closely mimic the extravascular (i.e., interstitial) compartment of the gut and to characterize the neutrophil-dependent N-nitrosation of a model amine to yield its nitrosamine derivative. In the absence of any metabolic activation, adherent, inflammatory neutrophils (2 x 10(6) cells) produced 12.8 +/- 1.4 mumol/L of nitrite during a 4-hour incubation period. Omission of L-arginine and/or inhibition of nitric oxide synthase by the addition of 1 mmol/L NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) resulted in 35%-78% inhibition of nitrite production, suggesting that nitrite was derived from nitric oxide. By comparison, neither circulating rat neutrophils nor elicited rat macrophages produced significant amounts of nitrite under the same conditions. Furthermore, elicited neutrophils (2 x 10(6) cells) were capable of N-nitrosating 2,3-diaminonaphthalene to yield its nitrosamine derivative 1-naphtho-2,3-triazole (282 +/- 12 nmol/L) in a time- and cell-dependent pattern similar to that of nitrite production. Addition of a variety of antioxidants (e.g., ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, alpha-tocopherol analog), 5-aminosalicylic acid, or L-NAME resulted in 80%-85% inhibition of neutrophil-mediated nitrosamine formation. Taken together, these data suggest that inflammatory neutrophils may represent an important metabolic source of endogenous carcinogens during times of active intestinal inflammation.
 ...
PMID:Neutrophil-mediated nitrosamine formation: role of nitric oxide in rats. 139 83

Triflavin, an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) containing peptide purified from Trimeresurus flavoviridis snake venom, inhibits human platelet aggregation by blocking fibrinogen binding to fibrinogen receptors associated with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex. In this study, we show that triflavin (1-30 micrograms/mouse) inhibits B16-F10 melanoma cell-induced lung colonization in C57BL/6 mice in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro, triflavin dose-dependently inhibits adhesion of B16-F10 melanoma cells to extracellular matrices (ECMs; i.e., fibronectin, fibrinogen, vitronectin, and collagen type I). Triflavin is approximately 600-800 times more potent than GRGDS at inhibiting cell adhesion. In addition, triflavin dose-dependently inhibits B16-F10 cell-induced platelet aggregation. These results imply that the inhibitory effect of triflavin on the adhesion of tumor cells to ECMs (e.g., fibronectin, vitronectin and collagen type I) and/or tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation may be partially responsible for its antimetastatic activity in C57BL/6 mice.
 ...
PMID:Triflavin, an Arg-Gly-Asp-containing antiplatelet peptide inhibits cell-substratum adhesion and melanoma cell-induced lung colonization. 139 25


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>