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)

The ligand specificity of the integrin cell adhesion receptors probably determines the ability of specific integrins to promote tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. Therefore, we compared the expression of integrin alphaVbeta3, a promiscuous receptor that binds with high affinity to numerous cell matrix proteins, with the expression of integrin alphaVbeta5 and the integrin beta 1 subunit (which pairs with multiple alpha subunits) in neuroblastic tumors at various stages of differentiation. Undifferentiated neuroblastoma tumors rapidly invade and metastasize, whereas ganglioneuroblastomas rarely metastasize. Differentiating neuroblastomas are associated with an intermediate prognosis. Paraffin sections of neuroblastic tumors at various stages of differentiation obtained at biopsy from 17 patients were hybridized with antisense integrin subunit-specific alphaV, beta3, beta1, and beta5 riboprobes. All neuroblastic tumors and seven adrenal glands obtained at autopsy were analyzed immunohistochemically with antibodies directed toward the alphaV, beta3, beta1, and beta5 subunits. The alphaV subunit was expressed in neuroblastic tumors independent of the stage of differentiation, although mRNA and protein expression were generally weak in ganglioneuroblastomas, and was also detected in adrenal gland medullae. The beta1 subunit was detected in most neuroblastic tumors independent of the stage of differentiation as well as in adrenal gland medullae. In contrast, the beta3 subunit, which was not expressed in adrenal gland medullae, was expressed at the protein and mRNA levels in undifferentiated neuroblastomas (six of seven and seven of seven, respectively) but was not expressed in neuroblasts or ganglion cells in ganglioneuroblastomas (one case weakly positive out of five). The beta 5 subunit was expressed at the protein (five of five) and mRNA (four of five) levels in the ganglion cells of ganglioneuroblastomas and, although mRNA for this subunit was detectable in undifferentiated tumors, the protein was not detectable. The expression of integrin alphaVbeta3 in undifferentiated neuroblastomas may contribute to the rapid growth of these tumors and their tendency to metastasize.
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PMID:Stage-specific expression of integrin alphaVbeta3 in neuroblastic tumors. 862 14

Neural cell adhesion molecules (N-CAMs) are expressed in neuromuscular tissues, neuroblastoma, and small cell lung carcinoma. Adenoid cystic carcinoma may invade the skull by either direct extension or neural involvement, particularly along the second and third divisions of the trigeminal nerve (V2 and V3). Eighteen patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma that invaded the skull base were studied. The tumors were graded into predominantly solid (3), cribriform (11), or tubular-trabecular (4) patterns, and neural involvement was evaluated histologically. Paraffin sections were examined by use of monoclonal antibodies for N-CAM and Ki-67, a proliferation marker, with the avidin-biotin-peroxidase method. Fifteen (83%) tumors showed perineural involvement; in the remaining three cases no nerves were present for histologic examination. Fourteen (93%) of 15 tumors with perineural involvement were reactive with N-CAM. Proliferation, measured by the presence of nuclear Ki-67, was markedly increased in tumors with predominantly solid patterns. We demonstrated that N-CAM is expressed in adenoid cystic carcinoma. The role of N-CAM as a neurodeterminant that facilitates the spread of adenoid cystic carcinoma along nerves, however, remains unanswered and warrants further study.
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PMID:Neural cell adhesion molecule in adenoid cystic carcinoma invading the skull base. 937 66