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Query: UMLS:C0027819 (neuroblastoma)
 27,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neuroblastomas in culture are characterized by the presence of 2 morphologically and biochemically distinct phenotypes (i.e., neural "N-type" and flat substrate-adherent "S-type") which undergo transdifferentiation. Human neuroblastoma SK-N-BE(2) cells differentiate toward a neural phenotype upon retinoic acid (RA) treatment. However, we recently showed that, during the RA treatment, a subset of SK-N-BE(2) cells undergo apoptosis; these cells specifically express a high "tissue" transglutaminase (tTG) level. This study was undertaken to investigate the cellular and molecular basis of the action of retinoic acid on apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cells. As a biochemical marker of the phenomenon we studied the tTG gene expression in the parental line SK-N-BE(2) and in 2 clones which stably express neuroblastic [BE(2)-M17] and substrate-adherent [BE(2)-C] features, respectively. Data showed a differential phenotype-specific regulation of tTG gene expression. In fact, RA treatment enhanced tTG expression and apoptotic index in the flat substrate-adherent variant, whereas, in cells expressing the neural phenotype, very low tTG expression and apoptosis were found. Northern-blotting analysis revealed that the substrate-adherent cells had a basal 3-fold higher level of tTG mRNA. An increase in tTG mRNA major transcript levels (3.7 kb) occurred within a few hours of exposure to RA in both the phenotypic variants. By contrast, tTG protein level was very low in the cell expressing the neuronal phenotype, even after prolonged exposure to RA. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that tTG protein, in addition to mature apoptotic cells, was specifically localized in the flat substrate-adherent variant both in the wild-type and in the BE(2)-C clone. These findings suggest that the ability to undergo apoptosis in the neuroblastoma cells is associated with the expression of a non-neuronal neuroectodermal (substrate-adherent cells) immature phenotype.
Int J Cancer 1992 Sep 09
PMID:Phenotype-specific "tissue" transglutaminase regulation in human neuroblastoma cells in response to retinoic acid: correlation with cell death by apoptosis. 138 4

Neuroblastoma tumors are characterized by aberrations of chromosome 1. Rapid detection of these chromosomal aberrations at diagnosis could give important clues to outcome and therapy. We attempted to detect numerical and structural aberrations of chromosome 1 not only by classical metaphase cytogenetics but also by interphase cytogenetics in order to overcome difficulties of karyotyping due to diminished metaphase quality and quantity in primary neuroblastoma samples. Karyotypic changes of chromosome 1 in 53 primary neuroblastomas were evaluated. In addition, we successfully performed interphase cytogenetics using single and double in situ hybridization procedures with chromosome 1-specific repetitive DNA probes on nuclei preparations obtained from 46 and 20 tumors, respectively. Polysomies of structurally normal chromosomes 1 were predominantly seen in tumors with good prognosis, whereas deletions of 1p material were nearly exclusively confined to progressive tumors. Numerical and structural chromosome 1 aberrations as studied by metaphase and interphase cytogenetics are thus valuable prognostic markers in neuroblastoma.
Genes Chromosomes Cancer 1992 Sep
PMID:Clinical impact of chromosome 1 aberrations in neuroblastoma: a metaphase and interphase cytogenetic study. 138 50

Dopamine beta-hydroxylase, the enzyme which converts dopamine to norepinephrine, is expressed in a cell type-restricted pattern in neuroendocrine tissue. A segment of the rat gene containing 395 bases of 5'-flanking sequence regulates expression of a reporter gene in a cell type-selective pattern in mammalian cell cultures. Using deletion mutants of the 5'-flanking sequence, we have identified a 30-base genetic regulatory element, designated DB1, which enhances transcription from a heterologous promoter 5-20-fold in neuroendocrine cell lines. DB1-specific DNA-protein complexes are found in nuclear extracts from all cell lines examined, but the migration pattern differs between cell lines. The 5'-flanking region of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene is also responsive to cyclic AMP and phorbol ester treatment of SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma cells. The simultaneous presence of both effectors results in synergistic increases in DBH1 mRNA and reporter gene activity. The second messenger regulatory element was localized to the region containing the DB1 element, and reporter plasmids containing multiple copies of the DB1 element are responsive to treatment with inducers. The results of this study identify a cis-acting regulatory element which influences both cell type selectivity and second messenger responsiveness of the rat dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene.
J Biol Chem 1992 Sep 15
PMID:A bifunctional genetic regulatory element of the rat dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene influences cell type specificity and second messenger-mediated transcription. 138 62

Nerve growth cones of primary neurons are highly enriched in the proto-oncogene product pp60c-src. In order to investigate this molecule further in growing neuronal cells, growth cone and cell body fractions were prepared from human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells differentiated neuronally in vitro under the influence of phorbol ester. The fractions were characterized ultrastructurally and by biochemical criteria. The neuronal (pp60c-srcN) and the fibroblastic (pp60c-src) forms of pp60src are slightly enriched and activated in the growth cones relative to the perikarya. Immunoprecipitates of pp60src from differentiated SH-SY5Y growth cones contain at least four phosphoproteins in addition to pp60src. One of these, pp38, migrates as a 100-140 kDa complex with pp60src under non-reducing conditions of gel electrophoresis. The pp38/pp60src complex is not easily detected in non-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells or perikarya of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, but it is highly enriched in the growth cone preparation. These data suggest that growth-cone pp60src exists in a disulfide-linked oligomeric complex. The complex appears to be assembled only in the cell periphery and may be dependent upon neuronal differentiation.
J Cell Sci 1992 Sep
PMID:A complex consisting of pp60c-src/pp60c-srcN and a 38 kDa protein is highly enriched in growth cones from differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. 138 59

To investigate the regulatory processes involved in the expression of the D2 dopamine receptor gene, a rat genomic clone was isolated using a 21-mer oligonucleotide probe made of exon 1 sequences. A 1.3-kb region including all of exon 1, its 5'-flanking region, and part of intron 1 was sequenced. S1 nuclease analysis indicated three consecutive nucleotides as the main transcription start sites; several weaker sites were also noted between 321 and 363 nucleotides upstream from the 3' end of exon 1. The promoter region lacks TATA and CAAT boxes and is rich in G+C content with several putative Sp1 binding sites. Transient expression assays using chimeric constructs of D2 promoter deletion mutants-chloramphenicol acetyl-transferase gene in the neuroblastoma cell line NB41A3 which expresses D2 binding sites indicated strong transcription enhancing activity between nucleotides -75 and -30 and silencing activity between nucleotides -217 and -76. DNase I footprinting studies using nuclear extract from NB41A3 suggested Sp1 binding to its consensus sequence at nucleotide -48 but inhibition of Sp1 binding at nucleotide -86 by the extract. The D2 promoter could not induce transcription of the heterologous CAT gene in C6 glioma, embryonal NIH 3T3, or hepatic Hep G2 cells. It is concluded that the rat D2 gene shares with the human D1A dopamine receptor gene several features typical of "housekeeping" genes but they are both tissue-specific, regulated genes. Unlike the D1A gene, however, the D2 gene has a strong preference for transcription initiation to three consecutive nucleotides.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Biochemistry 1992 Sep 15
PMID:Analysis of the promoter region of the rat D2 dopamine receptor gene. 139 Jun 23

Bordetella pertussis produces a calmodulin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase that invades animal cells and raises intracellular cAMP levels [Confer, D. L., & Eaton, J. W. (1982) Science 217, 948-950; Shattuck, R. L., & Storm, D. R. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 6323-6328]. The mechanism for invasion of animal cells by this enzyme has not been defined, but there is considerable evidence that it does not enter by receptor-mediated endocytosis [Gordon, V. M., Leppla, S. H., & Hewlett, E. L. (1988) Infect. Immun. 56, 1066-1069; Donovan, M. G., & Storm, D. R. (1990) J. Cell. Physiol. 145, 444-449]. In this study, the importance of high-affinity calmodulin (CaM) binding for entry of the enzyme into neuroblastoma cells was evaluated using a mutant enzyme that has significantly lower affinity for calmodulin than the wild-type enzyme. Oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis was used to create a point mutant at a critical tryptophan residue (Trp-242) within the proposed CaM binding domain of the B. pertussis adenylyl cyclase. Substitution of Trp-242 with Glu lowered the apparent affinity of the enzyme for calmodulin by 250-fold; however, the maximal enzyme activity in the presence of saturating calmodulin was equivalent to the wild-type enzyme. The Glu-242 mutant adenylyl cyclase was returned to B. pertussis by homologous recombination, and the enzyme produced by this strain was examined for invasion of neuroblastoma cells. Although the mutant enzyme stimulated the production of intracellular cAMP in neuroblastoma cells, the rate of cAMP accumulation was at least 10-fold lower than that caused by the wild-type enzyme.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Biochemistry 1992 Sep 22
PMID:High-affinity calmodulin binding is required for the rapid entry of Bordetella pertussis adenylyl cyclase into neuroblastoma cells. 139 Jun 75

The effect of six sesquiterpenes containing an unsaturated dialdehyde functionality, on cell membrane permeability in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y has been studied. The kinetics of the membrane leakage after addition of the sesquiterpenes were determined by measuring the efflux of radioactivity from cells preloaded with tritiated 2-deoxyglucose. The concentrations that gave 5% and 20% efflux of radioactivity as compared with control cells (EC5 and EC20) were determined for each compound. In spite of the structural similarities between the compounds, the effects on cell membrane permeability varied considerably. EC20 for polygodial, which is the most active compound, is 2.5 microM after 20-min incubation, but no leakage could be determined for merulidial even at concentrations as high as 4 mM. Rather, this compound seems to stabilize or fix the cell membrane and a lower efflux of radioactivity was observed as compared to the control cells. A quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis for the five active compounds showed a good correlation between the membrane leakage activity and certain chemical characteristics. Structural features strongly correlated with high activity were found to be: The geometry and the atomic charges of the unsaturated dialdehyde functionality, the dipole moment, the energy difference between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lipophilicity.
Chem Biol Interact 1992 Sep 14
PMID:The effect of six sesquiterpenoid unsaturated dialdehydes on cell membrane permeability in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. 139 18

Two cell clones [BE(2)-C and BE(2)-M17] derived from the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-BE(2) express corticotrophin-releasing hormone as well as interleukin-6 mRNA. Both genes are overexpressed, although with a different time course, following exposure to 5 microM retinoic acid, in parallel to the induction of neuroblastic differentiation. On the contrary, we are unable to detect interleukin-1 beta mRNA in these cell lines. Both cytokines are known to increase hypothalamic CRH mRNA. The production of cytokines and neuropeptides by neuroblastoma cells indicate a complex dialogue between tumour cells and anti-tumour immunity.
Neuropeptides 1992 Sep
PMID:Interleukin-6 and corticotrophin-releasing hormone mRNA are modulated during differentiation of human neuroblastoma cells. 140 16

A UK multi-centre study has been carried out to collect medical and dosimetry data from treatments with 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (mIBG) for patients suffering from resistant neuroblastoma. All data have been acquired in a standardised way, following strict physics and clinical protocols. The accuracy of three different methods of dose prescription was studied. The results show that the most accurate method involved the use of an initial tracer study to determine the therapeutic activity required to deliver a predetermined absorbed whole-body (WB) dose.
Radiother Oncol 1992 Sep
PMID:The treatment of resistant neuroblastoma with 131I-mIBG: alternative methods of dose prescription. 141 May 94

Treatment of the neuroblastoma cell line SHSY5Y with nerve growth factor (NGF) resulted in limited neurite extension, but proliferation continued. However, SHSY5Y cells treated with NGF and a pulse of the DNA polymerase alpha and delta inhibitor aphidicolin showed dramatic neuronal differentiation. Few differentiated cells were observed immediately following the NGF-aphidicolin treatment; however, continued treatment of the cells with NGF in the ensuing week resulted in extension of long neurites (> 400 microns). Neurite extension was not observed for cells treated with aphidicolin alone. Hence, aphidicolin and NGF act synergistically to induce differentiation of SHSY5Y cells. If maintained in NGF, the differentiated cells were stable for at least 1 month and displayed many neuronal characteristics. They were mitotically inactive, and, in contrast to control or NGF-treated cells, the differentiated cells required NGF for survival. The cells expressed multiple microtubule-associated proteins (MAP), including MAP 1A, MAP 1B, and tau. There was expression of synaptic vesicle antigens synaptophysin and SV2, but not synapsin Ia/b or synapsin IIa/b. Both hydroxyurea and thymidine, which inhibit synthesis of nucleotides, act synergistically with NGF to induce differentiation of SHSY5Y cells. Since aphidicolin, hydroxyurea, and thymidine are chemically unrelated, we conclude that these drugs enhance NGF-induced differentiation by blocking cell proliferation and not through an unrelated side effect. The model suggested by these studies is that differentiation is triggered by two simultaneous signals: NGF and cessation of cell proliferation.
Cell Growth Differ 1992 Sep
PMID:Neuronal differentiation triggered by blocking cell proliferation. 141 12


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