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 neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) plays an important role in normal development. Many variants of NCAM are generated through post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications. These variants are tissue-specific and their expression is developmentally regulated. NCAM is also re-expressed in a number of human tumours, including neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Wilms' tumour and Ewing's sarcoma. We have characterized the NCAM variants associated with rhabdomyosarcoma. Polysialylated NCAMs are present in this tumour and, after neuraminidase treatment, they resolve into 2 bands of 140 and 120 kDa. These data were corroborated by Northern-blot analysis where mRNA species of 6.7 and 5.5 kb are detected. These mRNA code for the 140- and 120-kDa NCAM proteins respectively. PCR analysis shows that the previously described VASE mini-exon is also present in NCAM found in rhabdomyosarcoma. The VASE mini-exon, spliced at exon 7-8 junctions, has previously been detected in neural and heart NCAM, as well as in NCAMs found in human small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). DNA sequencing confirmed that the VASE mini-exon in rhabdomyosarcoma is identical to that found in neuroblastoma and SCLC.
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PMID:Vase mini-exon usage by NCAM is not restricted to tumours of neuroectodermal origin. 832 6

Neural crest tumor cells which have been pharmacologically induced in culture to undergo neuronal 'differentiation' have been proposed as a model for normal neural crest cell differentiation. We have previously reported that murine neuroblastoma cells treated with the antineoplastic agent neocarzinostatin (NCS) adopt the light microscopic appearance of differentiated neurons. After undergoing morphologic change, the cells no longer divide. As part of an effort to compare the process of differentiation in these cells with what is known about normal neural crest cells, we have examined the cellular distribution and isoform complement of neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) in native and NCS-treated neuroblastoma cells. Our studies show that NCS induces profound changes in NCAM distribution. Immunohistochemical staining indicates that, in contrast to native neuroblastoma cells, more than 80% of treated cells display surface NCAM by 4 days following treatment. Unlike the case for normal neurons, NCAM is uniformly distributed over the treated cell surface. Neuroblastoma cells treated with NCS are more avidly adherent to culture plates coated with NCAM than are control neuroblastoma cells, reflecting the homophilic binding characteristics of NCAM. Interestingly, Western blot analysis for NCAM demonstrates similar total cellular content of a single NCAM species in both control and treated neuroblastoma cells. Furthermore, this 120 kDa mol. wt. NCAM is an isoform of NCAM not found on normally differentiated cerebellar neurons. While the presence of NCAM on these treated murine neuroblastoma cells is evidence for 'differentiation' along neuronal lines, the isoform complement and cell surface distribution of NCAM in treated cells are not normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Neuronal 'differentiation' of murine neuroblastoma cells induced by neocarzinostatin: neural cell adhesion molecules. 834 95

Amplification of the N-myc oncogene is associated with progression of neuroblastoma in humans. Previous studies indicated that neuroblastoma cell lines which are amplified for the N-myc gene and over-express N-myc exhibit enhanced tumorigenic properties when injected into athymic nude mice. In addition, neuroblastoma cells which over-express N-myc (IMR32 cells) expressed little or no beta 1, alpha 2, or alpha 3 integrin subunits, as compared with cells which do not express N-myc (SKNSH cells). In order to probe the possible relationship between N-myc and beta 1 integrin gene expressions more directly, transfection experiments were performed in which an N-myc cDNA (on the episomal expression vector pREP4; high-level constitutive expression is driven by an RSV-LTR promoter) was introduced into SKNSH cells. Expression of N-myc produced significant morphological alterations in transfected cells; one subpopulation of cells remained spread on tissue culture substrata, while a second subpopulation became rounded and grew as multi-cellular aggregates. Spread (attached) cells expressed low levels of N-myc and high levels of beta 1 integrin, while rounded (loose) cells expressed relatively high levels of N-myc and low levels of beta 1 integrin. Maintenance of transfected cells in higher concentrations of selective agent produced a higher proportion of loose cells, which expressed even greater amounts of N-myc and even less beta 1 integrin; a similar effect was observed in attached cells. Interestingly, loose cell populations expressed elevated levels of the neural cell adhesion molecule [NCAM]. The results presented here infer that N-myc regulates the expression of the beta 1 integrin and NCAM cell-surface receptors responsible for cell:extracellular cellular matrix interaction and possibly cell:cell adhesion.
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PMID:Over-expression of transfected N-myc oncogene in human SKNSH neuroblastoma cells down-regulates expression of beta 1 integrin subunit. 854 17

The sugar chain structures of the cell surface change dramatically during cellular differentiation. A human neuroblastoma cell line, GOTO, is known to differentiate into neuronal cells and Schwannian cell-like cells on treatments with dibutyryl cAMP and bromodeoxyuridine, respectively. We have examined the expression of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: beta-D-mannoside beta-1,4N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnT-III: EC 2.4.1.144) and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: alpha-6-D-mannoside beta-1,6N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (GnT-V: EC 2.4.1.155), two major branch forming enzymes in N-glycan synthesis, in GOTO cells on two distinct directions of differentiation. In neuronal cell differentiation, GnT-III activity showed a slight increase during initial treatment with Bt2cAMP for 4 days and decreased drastically after the fourth day, but the mRNA level of GnT-III did not show a decrease but in fact a slight increase. GnT-V activity increased to approximately two- to three-fold the initial level with increasing mRNA level after 8 days, and lectin blot analysis showed an increase in reactivity to Datsura stramonium (DSA) of the immunoprecipitated neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). In Schwannian cell differentiation, the activity and mRNA level of GnT-III showed no significant change on treatment with BrdU. GnT-V activity also showed no change in spite of the gradual increase in the mRNA level. These results suggest that the activation of GnT-V during neuronal cell differentiation of GOTO cells might be a specific change for branch formation in N-glycans, and this affects the sugar chain structures of some glycoproteins such as NCAM.
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PMID:Effects of dibutyryl cAMP and bromodeoxyuridine on expression of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases III and V in GOTO neuroblastoma cells. 874 56

A method for the assay of CMP-NeuAc:(NeuAc alpha 2-->8)n (colominic acid) sialyltransferase activity was developed. Using a 1-day-old rat brain membrane fraction as an enzyme preparation optimal activity was obtained at pH 6.5, 0.3% Triton X-100, and 5 mM MnCl2. However, no absolute cation requirement was found as EDTA only partially inhibited the activity. Within a concentration range of 0.3-3 mg colominic acid (which consists of a mixture of oligomers of alpha 2-->8-linked sialic acid) per 50 microliters a V of 0.61 nmol per mg protein h-1 was estimated while a half-maximal reaction velocity was obtained at a concentration of 1.75 mg per 50 microliters. High performance anion-exchange chromatography of the radioactive products formed in the reaction showed that sialic acid oligomers ranging in size from a degree of polymerization (DP) of 2 up to at least DP 9 could serve as acceptor substrates. Comparison of the acceptor properties of DP 3 and DP 6 showed that the larger oligomer was acted upon with a 10-fold higher efficiency. Periodate oxidation of the products followed by reduction and hydrolysis yielded the C7 analogue of NeuAc as the only radioactive product, indicating that under the conditions of the assay only a single sialic acid residue was introduced into the acceptor molecules. Using the assay it appeared that in rat brain the activity of this sialyltransferase decreased six-fold during postnatal development to the adult stage. The assay method was also applied to lysates of several neuroblastoma and small cell lung tumour cell lines, which differ in the expression of polysialic acid as well as of the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM, a major carrier of this polymer. Activity of the sialyltransferase appeared to be correlated with the expression of polysialic acid present on NCAM. These results indicate that this sialyltransferase might function in the process of poly-sialylation.
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PMID:CMP-NeuAc:(NeuAc alpha 2-->8)n (colominic acid) sialyltransferase activity in rat brain and in tumour cells that express polysialic acid on neural cell adhesion molecules. 874 61

Valproic acid (VPA) is a simple branched-chain fatty acid that has anticonvulsant activity and is widely used in the treatment of epilepsy. VPA was found to effect growth and differentiation of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells in vitro at concentrations that have been achieved in humans with no significant adverse effects. Treatment of UKF-NB-2 and UKF-NB-3 NB cell lines with VPA at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2 mM resulted in neuronal morphological differentiation characterized by extension of cellular processes without significant effects on cell viability. Ultrastructural features of VPA-treated cells were consistent with the neuronal type of differentiation. VPA treatment of NB cells was associated with decreased expression of N-myc oncoprotein and increased expression of neural cell adhesion molecule in their membrane. Treatment of NB cells with 0.5 mM VPA increased their sensitivity to lymphokine-activated killer lysis. The results indicate that VPA, at non-toxic pharmacological concentrations, arrests the growth, induces differentiation and increases immunogenicity of NB cells through non-toxic mechanisms.
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PMID:Antitumor activity of sodium valproate in cultures of human neuroblastoma cells. 894 88

Axonal growth cones respond to adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix components by rapid morphological changes and growth rate modification. Neurite outgrowth mediated by the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) requires the src family tyrosine kinase p59(fyn) in nerve growth cones, but the molecular basis for this interaction has not been defined. The NCAM140 isoform, which is found in migrating growth cones, selectively co-immunoprecipitated with p59(fyn) from nonionic detergent (Brij 96) extracts of early postnatal mouse cerebellum and transfected rat B35 neuroblastoma and COS-7 cells. p59(fyn) did not associate significantly with the NCAM180 isoform, which is found at sites of stable neural cell contacts, or with the glycophosphatidylinositol-linked NCAM120 isoform. pp60(c-)src, a tyrosine kinase that promotes neurite growth on the neuronal cell adhesion molecule L1, did not interact with any NCAM isoform. Whereas p59(fyn) was constitutively associated with NCAM140, the focal adhesion kinase p125(fak), a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase known to mediate integrin-dependent signaling, became recruited to the NCAM140-p59(fyn) complex when cells were reacted with antibodies against the extracellular region of NCAM. Treatment of cells with a soluble NCAM fusion protein or with NCAM antibodies caused a rapid and transient increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of p125(fak) and p59(fyn). These results suggest that NCAM140 binding interactions at the cell surface induce the assembly of a molecular complex of NCAM140, p125(fak), and p59(fyn) and activate the catalytic function of these tyrosine kinases, initiating a signaling cascade that may modulate growth cone migration.
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PMID:NCAM140 interacts with the focal adhesion kinase p125(fak) and the SRC-related tyrosine kinase p59(fyn). 907 53

The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) plays a significant role in the development of the nervous system. Three different isoforms of the molecule have been described, with molecular masses of 180, 140 and 120 kDa, whose differential expression in neurons seems to be related to their state of differentiation. We took advantage of the use of the human neuroblastoma cell line LAN-5, which can be differentiated in vitro by retinoic acid (RA) into neuronal cells, for studying the expression of N-CAM isoforms, and their polysialic acid (PSA) content, at the protein and mRNA levels. Anti-N-CAM polyclonal antibodies recognizing all the N-CAM isoforms and a monoclonal antibody recognizing PSA were used in Western blot experiments with extracts from undifferentiated and RA-differentiated cells. We found that undifferentiated cells express very little of the 180 kDa N-CAM isoform and a large amount of the 140 kDa isoform. A 4-fold increase in the expression of the 180 kDa N-CAM isoform was obtained when LAN-5 cells were differentiated by RA for 8 days, whereas a 1.8-fold increase in the expression of the 140 kDa N-CAM isoform was observed upon differentiation. Similarly, the levels of the 7.4 kb mRNA coding for N-CAM 180 kDa, determined by Northern blot analysis, were barely detectable in undifferentiated cells, and showed a 3.8-fold increase upon differentiation. By contrast, only a 1.3-fold increase in the 6.7 kb mRNA, coding for the 140 kDa N-CAM isoform, was observed. N-CAM was always found in its polysialylated form in both undifferentiated and RA-differentiated cells. This indicates that, in LAN-5 cells, the expression and activity of the polysialytransferase enzyme precedes the acquisition of a neuronal phenotype.
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PMID:Expression of PSA-N-CAM in human neuroblastoma cells induced to neuronal differentiation by retinoic acid. 924 88

Sodium valproate (VPA) belongs to the group of simple branched-chain fatty acids and due its anticonvulsive activity is broadly applied in the treatment of epilepsy. We previously showed that VPA is able to induce cellular differentiation, to enhance immunogenicity and to inhibit proliferation of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrated that VPA inhibits proliferation, enhances neural cell adhesion molecule expression and decreases CD44 expression of human and rat glioma cells in vitro. In the present study we investigated the antitumoral effects of VPA on established human NB xenografts from UKF-NB-3 human NB cells in athymic (nude) mice. When the animals developed s.c. tumors of about 100 mm3 volume they were treated with 400 or 200 mg/kg/day VPA i.p. At the end of the treatment period (40 days) tumor volumes in animals treated with 400 and 200 mg/kg VPA were about 4- (p < 0.0001) and 2-fold (p < 0.0005) smaller than in the saline-treated control group, respectively. Histological examination of the remnant tumors of treated animals revealed induction of differentiation by induction of stroma-rich tumors and nodules that contained elongated NB cells. Pyknotic nuclei and apoptotic bodies indicated induction of apoptosis. We conclude that VPA is able to abrogate NB growth in vivo and may therefore be useful in the treatment of NB patients.
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PMID:Sodium valproate inhibits in vivo growth of human neuroblastoma cells. 943 39

Neuroblastomas and cell lines derived from these tumors bear the oncodevelopmental antigen polysialic acid (PSA) bound to the neural cell adhesion molecule. Polysialyation of neural cell adhesion molecule can be achieved by two different polysialyltransferases, ST8SiaII and ST8SiaIV. This study was undertaken to investigate the pattern of polysialyltransferases expressed in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Reverse transcription-PCR showed simultaneous expression of the two enzymes, and in situ hybridization demonstrated that the polysialyltransferase mRNA expression parallels immunoreactivity with the PSA-specific monoclonal antibody 735. After retinoic acid-induced differentiation, only the PSA-positive, neuron-like cell type gave clear signals for ST8SiaII and ST8SiaIV in in situ hybridization, whereas both signals were drastically reduced in the weakly PSA-positive substrate adherent phenotype. Like the SH-SY5Y cells, a primary, PSA-positive neuroblastoma specimen revealed expression of the two polysialyltransferases. To investigate the role of PSA for cell growth and differentiation, SH-SY5Y cells were treated with the PSA-specific endo-N-acetylneuraminidase E. Although loss of PSA was accompanied with a marked reduction of cell growth, it did not interfere with retinoic acid-induced differentiation. Together, our results suggest that PSA surface expression is regulated on the level of polysialyltransferase transcription. Moreover, the similarity to the primary neuroblastoma tissue makes SH-SY5Y cells a suitable model system to examine further the role of polysialylation in tumor cell growth and the orchestration of PSA synthesis in neuroblastoma.
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PMID:Polysialic acid on the neural cell adhesion molecule correlates with expression of polysialyltransferases and promotes neuroblastoma cell growth. 948 34


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