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 monoterpenes limonene and perillyl alcohol have been shown to induce the complete regression of rat mammary carcinomas by what appears to be a cytostatic and differentiation process. In order to evaluate the differentiating effects of the monoterpenes we tested the ability of perillyl alcohol to induce differentiation in a well-characterized neuroblastoma cell model. Perillyl alcohol was found to be a potent inducer of the neuroblastoma-derived cell line Neuro-2A. Several cellular effects of monoterpenes were ruled out as contributing to Neuro-2A differentiation including its cytostatic effect and its ability to inhibit ubiquinone (CoQ) syntheses.
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PMID:Induction of differentiation in neuro-2A cells by the monoterpene perillyl alcohol. 765 15

Perillyl alcohol is a monoterpene isolated from the essential oils of lavendin, peppermint, spearmint, cherries, celery seeds, and several other plants. In animal studies it has been shown to regress pancreatic, mammary, and liver tumors, to exhibit possible application as a chemopreventative agent for colon, skin, and lung cancer, and as a chemotherapeutic agent for neuroblastoma, and prostate and colon cancer. Perillyl alcohol is active in inducing apoptosis in tumor cells without affecting normal cells and can revert tumor cells back to a differentiated state. Its mechanism of action is unclear, but it has actions on various cellular substances which control cell growth and differentiation. It has been shown to increase mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptors, increase tissue growth factor beta receptors, increase Bak, decrease ras protein prenylation, decrease ubiquinone synthesis, and induce Phase I and Phase II detoxification systems. Preliminary human trials have not demonstrated tumor regression at a four times daily dosage schedule. In addition, significant side-effects, mainly gastrointestinal, have been experienced.
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PMID:Perillyl alcohol: applications in oncology. 985 69