Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027819 (neuroblastoma)
 27,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Human telomeres are several kilobases of repeated (TTAGGG)(n) sequences at the ends of chromosomes, a short fragment of which is lost with each cell division. This shortening serves as a "mitotic clock" which limits the number of divisions that a normal somatic cell can undergo. Cells undergoing continuous division need some method of bypassing this clock. One such method is the expression of telomerase. This ribonucleoprotein is an enzyme that rebuilds the lost portion of the telomeres. Between 80-95% of tumors are telomerase-positive, including ovarian carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, neuroblastoma, leukemia/lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, kidneys and bladder, as well as many immortalized cell lines. While absent in most normal tissues, this enzyme is expressed at higher levels in germline tissues, bone marrow, and lymphocytes. Due to the expression of telomerase in most tumor cells and its absence in most normal tissues, telomerase inhibitors are being investigated as possible anticancer agents. This review focuses on non-reverse transcriptase inhibitor, non-oligonucleotide and non-G-quartet interactive agent telomerase inhibitors. These agents include: differentiating agents, kinases and phosphatases, cell cycle and apoptosis regulating agents, immunotherapeutic agents, antibiotics, steroids, bisindole derivatives, and a variety of other compounds. These agents hold much promise for the future treatment of malignancies.
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PMID:The 'other' telomerase inhibitors: non-G-quadruplex interactive agent, non-antisense, non-reverse transcriptase telomerase inhibitors. 1267 26

Charge-neutral DNA nanoparticles have been developed in which single molecules of DNA are compacted to their minimal possible size. We speculated that the small size of these DNA nanoparticles may facilitate gene transfer in postmitotic cells, permitting nuclear uptake across the 25-nm nuclear membrane pore. To determine whether DNA nanoparticles can transfect nondividing cells, growth-arrested neuroblastoma and hepatoma cells were transfected with DNA/liposome mixtures encoding luciferase. In both models, growth-arrested cells were robustly transfected by compacted DNA (6,900-360-fold more than naked DNA). To evaluate mechanisms responsible for enhanced transfection, HuH-7 cells were microinjected with naked or compacted plasmids encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein. Cytoplasmic microinjection of DNA nanoparticles generated a approximately 10-fold improvement in transgene expression as compared with naked DNA; this enhancement was reversed by the nuclear pore inhibitor, wheat germ agglutinin. To determine the upper size limit for gene transfer, DNA nanoparticles of various sizes were microinjected into the cytoplasm. A marked decrease in transgene expression was observed as the minor ellipsoidal diameter approached 25 nm. In summary, suitably sized DNA nanoparticles productively transfect growth arrested cells by traversing the nuclear membrane pore.
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PMID:Nanoparticles of compacted DNA transfect postmitotic cells. 1280 5

5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and its hexyl-ester (He-ALA) has shown promising results in photodynamic detection and therapy of tumors. In this work, the photodynamic effects of ALA and He-ALA on neuroblastoma cells, hepatoma cells and fibroblast cells were comparatively studied. With the detection of fluorescence emission spectra, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) induced by ALA or He-ALA was observed in these three cell lines. Confocal laser scanning microscope showed the diffuse PpIX fluorescence in cytoplasm of neuroblastoma cells. The kinetics of PpIX accumulation were different in these three kinds of cells. The PpIX content in hepatoma cells and fibroblast cells continuously increased with the incubation time of drugs until 12 h, while in neuroblastoma cells the PpIX content saturated around 8 h after incubation with ALA or He-ALA. In addition, the PpIX concentration in neuroblastoma cells was obviously higher than that in hepatoma cells and fibroblast cells, indicating that the PpIX production is cell line dependent. When incubated with ALA and irradiated with light, near 90% neuroblastoma cells were destroyed, while for hepatoma cells and fibroblast cells the death rate was around 50%. The results demonstrate that neuroblastoma cells are more sensitive to ALA-PDT and the neuro-tumor cells may be well suited for the treatment of ALA mediated photosensitization. Comparing to ALA, He-ALA can reach the similar results concerned PpIX production and PDT damaging in all three kinds of cells but with 10 times lower incubation concentration, demonstrating that He-ALA has higher efficiency than ALA on inactivation of cancer cells in vitro.
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PMID:Photodynamic effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid and its hexylester on several cell lines. 1288 37

The mammalian period (Per) genes, which are components of the circadian clock, are mainly regulated via an autoregulatory feedback loop. Here we provide evidence that human Per1 (hPER1) reporter gene activity shows circadian rhythmicity in a human neuroblastoma, but not in a astrocytoma or a hepatoma cell line. Medium change and various pharmacological stimuli differentially induce this behavior. This circadian oscillation was strongly dampened and could be followed over maximally three cycles. It was even possible to phase-shift the course of this oscillation by repeated application of stimuli.
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PMID:Oscillation of human period 1 (hPER1) reporter gene activity in human neuroblastoma cells in vivo. 1291 19

Surface-shielded DNA delivery systems have been synthesized with virus-like characteristics that target gene expression into distant tumor tissues. Polyethylenimine (PEI)/DNA complexes ('polyplexes') conjugated with the cell-binding ligand transferrin (Tf) or epidermal growth factor (EGF) were used to achieve receptor-mediated endocytosis. The surface charge of the complexes was masked by covalently linking PEI to polyethylene glycol (PEG). Three alternatives for generating these surface-shielded formulations were utilized, attaching ligand and PEG molecules to PEI either before or after DNA complex formation. The stabilized formulations could be ultra-concentrated, stored frozen, and applied systemically after thawing. Intravenous injection of Tf-PEG-coated polyplexes resulted in gene transfer to subcutaneous Neuro2a neuroblastoma tumors of syngeneic A/J mice; EGF-PEG-coated polyplexes were intravenously applied for targeting human hepatocellular carcinoma xenografts in SCID mice. In these models, luciferase marker gene expression levels in tumor tissues were 10- to 100-fold higher than in other organ tissues. Repeated systemic application of Tf-PEG-PEI/DNA complexes encoding tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) into tumor-bearing mice induced tumor necrosis and inhibition of tumor growth in three murine tumor models of different tissue origin (Neuro2a, M-3 or B16 melanoma).
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PMID:Tumor-targeted gene therapy: strategies for the preparation of ligand-polyethylene glycol-polyethylenimine/DNA complexes. 1293 49

We present a casuistic revision of adrenal pathology, which was studied in our service during the period January 1977-July 2000. We reviewed 59.069 biopsies and 2.674 autopsies and we 84 cases. founded with the following findings: Primary tumors 25% Secundary tumors 51% Infectious diseases 11% Miscellaneous 12% Unsuitable for diagnosis 1% Hyperplasias, adenomas, pheochromocy-tomas, neuroblastoma, adenocarcinoma are included within primary tumors. The metastasic tumors corresponded to: lung, pancreas, mammary gland, kidney and carcinomas; endometrial adenocarcinoma, lymphoma, melanoma, hepatocarcinoma, gastric carcinoma, testicular teratocarcinoma, skin epidermoid carcinoma, uterus choriocarcinoma and a primary germinal tumor of the thymus. Within infectious diseases we founded tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococosis, hydatidosis. Miscellaneous included hematoma, hemorrhage, pseudocyst, Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), athrophy, Wegener's granulomatosis, myelolipoma, hemorrhagic necrosis. There was only one case which was unsuitable for diagnosis due to insufficient material.
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PMID:[Casuistic revision of adrenal pathology during last 23 years]. 1293 68

Cytokines, including interferon-gamma and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), act in common through tyrosine kinase-based Jak/STAT signaling pathways. We found that activation of the Jak/STAT pathway by both interferon-gamma and CNTF in nerve cells was rapidly terminated by tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors. Exposure of human neuroblastoma cells, BE(2)-C, first to tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors (either phenylarsine oxide or PTP inhibitor-2) prevented Jak1, STAT1 and STAT3 activation elicited subsequently by either CNTF or interferon-gamma. In contrast, exposure of these cells to phosphatase inhibitors after initial stimulation by CNTF or interferon-gamma prevented the normal time-dependent decrease of total cellular phosphotyrosine-STAT levels as expected, while excluding already formed phosphotyrosine-STAT from the nucleus. Thus, treatment of nerve cells with a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor blocked nuclear signal transduction. A similar inhibition of CNTF-Jak/STAT signaling was observed following tyrosine phosphatase inhibition in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, HMN-1 mouse motor neuron-neuroblastoma hybrid cells, HepG2 human hepatoma cells and embryonic chick ciliary ganglion and retinal neurons. Expression of dominant-negative forms of the tyrosine phosphatases, SHP-1 and/or SHP-2, in BE(2)-C cells had no effect on CNTF activation of STAT or on the ability of phosphatase inhibitors to block signaling. Further, results from H-35 cells expressing gp130 receptor subunits lacking functional SHP-2 binding sites revealed normal cytokine activation of Jak and STAT that was inhibited by phosphatase inhibitors. These findings suggest a critical control for regulating the initiation of Jak/STAT signaling requiring tyrosine phosphatase activity.
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PMID:Initiation and maintenance of CNTF-Jak/STAT signaling in neurons is blocked by protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors. 1294 69

The induction of apoptotic cell death is a prominent cytopathic effect of dengue (DEN) viruses. One of the key questions to be addressed is which viral components induce apoptosis in DEN virus-infected cells. This study investigated whether the small membrane (M) protein was involved in the induction of apoptosis by DEN virus. This was addressed by using a series of enhanced green fluorescent protein-fused DEN proteins. Evidence is provided that intracellular production of the M ectodomains (residues M-1 to M-40) of all four DEN serotypes triggered apoptosis in host cells such as mouse neuroblastoma Neuro 2a and human hepatoma HepG2 cells. The M ectodomains of the wild-type strains of Japanese encephalitis, West Nile and yellow fever viruses also had proapoptotic properties. The export of the M ectodomain from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane appeared to be essential for the initiation of apoptosis. The study found that anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 protected HepG2 cells against the death-promoting activity of the DEN M ectodomain. This suggests that the M ectodomain exerts its cytotoxic effects by activating a mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. The cytotoxicity of the DEN M ectodomain reflected the intrinsic proapoptotic properties of the nine carboxy-terminal amino acids (residues M-32 to M-40) designated ApoptoM: Residue M-36 was unique in that it modulated the death-promoting activity of the M ectodomain. Defining the ApoptoM-activated signalling pathways leading to apoptosis will provide the basis for studying how the M protein might play a key role in the fate of the flavivirus-infected cells.
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PMID:Dengue virus M protein contains a proapoptotic sequence referred to as ApoptoM. 1367 13

Glypican-3 (GPC3) encodes a cell-surface heparan- sulfate proteoglycan and its expression is frequently silenced in ovarian cancer, mesotheliomas, and breast cancer cell lines and ectopic expression of GPC3 inhibited the growth of these cells, suggesting that GPC3 plays a negative role in cell proliferation. In contrast, up-regulation of GPC3 is often observed in hepatoma, neuroblastoma, and Wilms' tumor. Whether GPC3 plays the same growth inhibitory role in these tumors remains to be studied. Here we report that antisense-mediated knockdown of GPC3 in the HepG2 hepatoma cells significantly promotes the growth of hepatoma cells. In addition, we show that this growth promotion is independent of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) signaling. Our data suggest that GPC3 plays a growth-suppressing role in hepatoma and provide cell biological evidence inconsistent with the hypothesis that GPC3 acts as a growth suppressor by downregulating IGF2.
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PMID:Growth promotion of HepG2 hepatoma cells by antisense-mediated knockdown of glypican-3 is independent of insulin-like growth factor 2 signaling. 1450 64

Many cytokines mediate their effects through Jak/STAT signaling pathways providing many opportunities for cross-talk between different cytokines. We examined the interaction between two cytokine families, gp130-related cytokines and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), which are coexpressed in the nervous system during acute trauma and pathological conditions. Typical nerve cells show an IFN-gamma response that is restricted to activating STAT1, with minor activation of STAT3. IFN-gamma elicited a pronounced STAT3 response in cells pre-treated for 5-7 h with ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), leukemia inhibitory factor or interleukin-6. CNTF or interleukin-6 induced an IFN-gamma STAT3 response in a variety of cells including SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma, HMN-1 murine motor neuron hybrid cells, rat sympathetic neurons and human hepatoma HepG2 cells. The enhancement was measured as an increase in tyrosine phosphorylated STAT3, in STAT3-DNA binding and in STAT-luciferase reporter gene activity. The enhanced STAT3 response was not due to an increase in overall STAT3 levels but was dependent upon ongoing protein synthesis. The induction by CNTF was inhibited by the protein kinase C inhibitor, BIM, and the MAPK-kinase inhibitor, U0126. Further, H-35 hepatoma cells expressing gp130 receptor chimeras lacking either the SHP-2 docking site or the Box 3 STAT binding sites failed to enhance the IFN-gamma STAT3 response. These results provide evidence for an interaction between gp130 and IFN-gamma cytokines that can significantly alter the final cellular response to IFN-gamma.
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PMID:Induction of an interferon-gamma Stat3 response in nerve cells by pre-treatment with gp130 cytokines. 1451 Nov 21


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