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)

Three new tissue culture cell lines, CHP-100, CHP-126, and CHP-134, have been established from explant cultures of human neuroblastoma. The cell lines have been characterized with respect to morphology, chromosomes constitution, growth, neural enzyme content, and their ability to grow in nude mice. The cells grow as dense masses comprised of fibroblast-or neuroblast-like cells with small processes. The cell lines differ in their neural enzyme acitivity. The chromosomal content of the 3 cell lines is near diploid, and all are capable of forming tumors in nude mice. The morphological findings indicate that the cells in culture resemble those found in the tumor, and the enzyme activities are consistent with those of nervous tissue. This the morphological, biochemical, and tumorigenic properties confirm that the 3 cell lines are neoplastic cells of neural origin.
Cancer Res 1976 Sep
PMID:Establishment and characterization of human neuroblastoma cell lines. 1 79

Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) may be one of the important factors in regulating the expression of many differentiated functions in neuroblastoma cells, but some of these functions can be induced by agents that do not increase the intracellular level of cAMP. An elevation of the intracellular level of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) neither induced differentiation nor antagonized the effects of cAMP. Neuroblastoma cells increased the level of cAMP-binding proteins during differentiation, whereas glial cells and L-cells did not. This might have accounted in part for an increase in the intracellular level of cAMP even in the presence of high phosphodiesterase activity in neuroblastoma cells, since the protein-bound with the same proteins, but cAMP had about 10 times higher affinity than did cGMP. cAMP promoted the organization of microtubules and microfilaments necessary for the expression of differentiated phenotypes. The extension of neurites required the synthesis of new protein, but it did not need the synthesis of new RNA. cAMP induced differentiation in neuroblastoma cells by increasing the expression of some genetic information while suppressing the expression of others; e.g., the activities of neural enzymes increased, whereas the synthesis of histone and the phosphorylation of H1-histone markedly decreased in differentiated cells. A hypothesis was offered: An increase in cAMP phosphodiesterase activity as a result of mutation in the regulatory gene for phosphodiesterase in a single, or group of, dividing nerve cell(s) is the primary lesion that leads to malignancy. Based on the concept that selective cytocytoxic drugs should be used with agents that cause differentiation, a new therapeutic approach was suggested for the treatment of neuroblastoma. This involved administration of sodium butyrate followed by L-DOPA or prostaglandin E1 in the presence of cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor followed by the less immunosuppressive vincristine and 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-triazeno)imidazole-4-carboxamide.
J Natl Cancer Inst 1976 Sep
PMID:Cyclic nucleotides in the regulation of expression of differentiated functions in neuroblastoma cells. 1 Apr 49

Previous studies indicating the importance of catecholamine metabolism in neuroblastoma were briefly reviewed. Metabolic pathways were presented showing how the major urinary metabolites 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid (VMA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid (HVA) are formed from norepinephrine and from dopamine plus 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), respectively. For 289 neuroblastoma patients at the time of diagnosis, the urinary excretion of VMA was significantly elevated in 75%, and HVA was elevated in 80%. Periodic assay of these metabolites during the course of the disease revealed that the excretion trends were of prognostic value with 80-90% reliability. By contrast, when the excretion in only the initial urine specimens was considered, the survival rate was the same for patients with normal, and with significantly elevated, excretion. Review of the results of tracer studies aimed at elucidating the in vivo metabolic origins of the urinary metabolites suggested that a) in neuroblastoma, the catecholamines were largely inactivated by intracellular metabolism in the tumor cells; b) there was excess production and excretion of the norepinephrine precursors, DOPA and dopamine; and c) in the tumors of most neuroblastoma patients, the initial enzyme in catecholamine synthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase, had an activity comparable with that in normal adrenal glands. The importance of the metabolism of catecholamines in patients with neuroblastoma was stressed: a) The excretion of elevated levels of urinary catecholamine metabolites were useful in diagnosis and in following the course of the disease, and b) study of the catecholamine metabolism in these patients permitted examination of possible relationships between the activity of the enzymes involved in catecholamine synthesis and the malignancy of this tumor.
J Natl Cancer Inst 1976 Sep
PMID:Catecholamine metabolism in neuroblastoma. 1 Apr 50

Different cholinergic cell lines were fused with an adrenergic neuroblastoma cell line (N115-BU-8). Its fusion with a cholinergic neuroblastoma-glioma hybrid produced a "hybrid-hybrid" line containing cholinergic and adrenergic enzyme activities. Both activities were also present in subclones of this line. The presence of catecholamines in single cells was confirmed by microspectrofluorimetry. These results are discussed with respect to the possibility of a simultaneous synthesis of noradrenaline and acetylcholine in single cells. The cholinergic and adrenergic enzyme activities are influenced by cell density, by dexamethasone, and by conditioned medium.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1979 Sep
PMID:Clonal hybrid cell lines expressing cholinergic and adrenergic properties. 4 Dec 46

The cell line C9 used in this paper has a resting potential of --50 mV (+/- 10 mV) but is unable to generate an action potential upon electrical stimulation. The cell membrane has receptors for the selectivity filter toxin tetrodotoxin as well as for the gating system toxins, veratridine, scorpion toxin and sea anemone toxin. The Na+ channel which remains silent to electrical stimulation in the absence of toxins can be chemically activated by the gating system toxins. This has been demonstarted by electrophysiological techniques and by 22Na+ flux studies. The electrophysiological approach has shown that the sea anemone toxin is able to induce a spontaneous slow-wave activity inhibited by tetrodotoxin. 22Na+ influx analyses have shown that veratridine and the sea anemone toxin produce an important increase of the initial rate of 22Na+ influx into the C9 cell. The stimulation of 22Na+ entry by these gating system toxins is similar to that found using spiking neuroblastoma cells. Veratridine and the sea anemone toxin on one hand as well as veratridine and the scorpion toxin on the other hand are synergistic in their action to stabilize an open and highly permeable form of the sodium channel. Stimulation of 22Na+ entry into the cell through the sodium channel maintained open by the gating system neurotoxins is completely suppressed by tetrodotoxin.
Biochim Biophys Acta 1979 Sep 21
PMID:The sodium channel in non-impulsive cells. Interaction with specific neurotoxins. 4 40

Four cell lines, SK-N-SH, SK-N-MC, SK-N-BE(2), and IMR-32, established in vitro from tumor tissue of patients with neuroblastoma were analyzed by trypsin-Giemsa banding methods. In two of the lines a large, abnormally staining chromosome region was observed. This "homogeneously staining region" (HSR) was considerably longer than any of the bands present in normal human cells and, as revealed by both G- and Q-banding, stained with an intermediate intensity. It was located on chromosomes No 6, 10, 17, or 19 of the SK-N-BE(2) cell line and on chromosome No 1 of the IMR-32 line. In concurrent studies, long HSR's were also observed in Chinese hamster sublines that had been exposed to and had developed high levels of resistance to methotrexate or methasquin and high levels of activity of target enzyme dihydrofolate reductase. For several sublines with the highest levels of enzyme activity, approximately 2% of the total cell protein was dihydrofolate reductase. Of 13 independently derived sublines with acquired resistance to antifolate, only those 7 with greater than 100-fold increases in enzyme activity consistently exhibited HSR's. These regions comprised 2-5% of the total length of the chromosome complement and were specifically localized, as demonstrated by G-banding. Analysis of chromosome replication patterns of the HSR in human neuroblastoma and in drug-resistant Chinese hamster cells by tritiated thymidine radioautography indicated that the long, abnormally staining region replicated relatively rapidly and synchronously and terminated replication before the midpoint of the S phase. The HSR thus appeared to represent a novel chromosome abnormality that may be present in cells with specialized functions. Drug-resistant Chinese hamster cells were characterized by overproduction of target enzyme, whereas human neuroblastoma cells had phenotypes of normal neuronal cells. Whether the HSR is transcriptionally active was not elucidated.
J Natl Cancer Inst 1976 Sep
PMID:A novel chromosome abnormality in human neuroblastoma and antifolate-resistant Chinese hamster cell lives in culture. 6 55

Morphological differentiation has been induced in vitro in mouse neuroblastoma cells by quinidine, dinitrophenol and dicoumarol. These agents are known to release calcium from mitochondria. Drugs acting in this way might be exploited in cancer therapy.
Cell Biol Int Rep 1977 Sep
PMID:Differentiation of malignant neuroblastoma cells: evidence for a mitochondrial role. 7 71

Immune reactions to tumor-specific and tumor-associated antigens have been demonstrated in animals with neoplasms with in vitro and in vovo techniques. Some of the antigens detected in vitro induce transplantation resistance in vivo, while others do not. Human neuroblastoma cells cultivated in vitro have been shown to possess common antigens to which lymphocytes from neuroblastoma patients react. Whether it is possible to augment the immune reactivity of patients with neuroblastoma to these common antigens and, if so, whether this heightened immune reactivity would have clinically beneficial effects are as yet unknown. These reactions are complex, involving both cellular and humoral mechanisms. The fact that one type of immune response can be detected to one type of antigen present in a tumor in vitro does not necessarily mean that the immune response is effective in vivo. Responses to other tumor antigens may be deficient, or the immune response may be depressed. This may be due to active suppression of and/or selective deficiencies in critical cell populations required for an augmented immune response; this possibility may be evaluated with techniques allowing for in vitro sensitization to tumor antigens.
J Natl Cancer Inst 1976 Sep
PMID:Immunity to tumor antigens: potential implications in human neuroblastoma. 13 46

The phenylalanine analogues p-chlorophenylalanine and alpha-methylphenylalanine were used to inhibit phenylalanine hydroxylase in animal models for phenylketonuria. The present report examines the affects of these analogues on the metabolism of neuroblastoma cells. p-Chlorophenylalanine inhibited growth and was toxic to neuroblastoma cells. Although in vivo this analogue increased cell monoribosomes by 42%, it did not significantly affect poly(U)-directed protein synthesis in vitro. P-Chlorophenylalanine did not compete with phenylalanine or tyrosine for aminoacylation of tRNA and was therefore not substituted for those amino acids in nascent polypeptides. The initial cellular uptake of various large neutral amino acids was inhibited by this analogue but did not affect the flux of amino acids already in the cell; this suggested that an alteration of the cell's amino acid pools was not responsible for the cytotoxicity of the analogues. In contrast with p-chlorophenylalanine, alpha-methylphenylalanine did not exert these direct toxic effects because the administration of alpha-methylphenylalanine in vivo did not affect brain polyribosomes and a comparable concentration of this analogue was neither growth inhibitory nor cytotoxic to neuroblastoma cells in culture. The suitability of each analogue as an inhibitor of phenylalanine hydroxylase in animal models for phenylketonuria is discussed.
Biochem J 1978 Sep 15
PMID:Effects of p-chlorophenylalanine and alpha-methylphenylalanine on amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in mouse neuroblastoma cells. 15 35

For establishment of a reproducible model of human neuroblastoma, 2 to 5 million of established neuroblastoma cell lines (SK-N-SH, SK-N-MC) were injected s.c. or i.p. into 20 nu/nu mice of a predominantly Swiss back-ground. Following latency periods of 8 to 21 days, tumors developed at the injection site and grew to 4-ml volumes within 3 weeks. Histologically, the tumors resembled the original metastases from which the tumors were derived; however, the SK-N-SH appeared to have evidence of morphological differentiation. When compared to monolayer culture, the heterotransplanted SK-N-SH tumor had decreased dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity and elevated cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase activity. Activity of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate phosphodiesterase in the transplanted SK-N-MC tumor was not appreciably different from the activity in the cultured cells. Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase levels in the mice bearing SK-N-SH tumor increased threefold. The SK-N-MC cultured cells lacked dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and did not alter existing serum levels in the SK-N-MC tumor-bearing mice. 67Ga injected i.v. was found to localize in the tumor after 24 hr. Human neuroblastoma in the nude mouse can be a reproducible and informative model for tumor pharmacology, screening, radionuclides, tumor localization and imaging, and investigating morphological differentiation.
Cancer Res 1975 Sep
PMID:Human neuroblastoma in nude mice. 16 65


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