UMLS:C0027819 - FACTA Search

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

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a tumor which arises from neural crest cells. In the developing neural crest cells, the induction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) decarboxylase is more delayed than that of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. If NB cells are arrested in an early stage of neural crest development, the induction of DOPA decarboxylase is insufficient and the accumulation and secretion of DOPA can be caused. The biochemically immature phenotype is thought to represent the undifferentiated characteristics of the cells and might correlate with the grade of malignancy. To investigate whether the hypothesis is clinically applicable or not, we have measured plasma DOPA, dopamine and urinary catecholamine metabolites in NB patients. The levels of plasma DOPA, dopamine, urinary homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillactic acid (VLA) were significantly higher in patients with unfavorable NBs and the higher plasma DOPA level was significantly associated with the patients' age (> 1 year old), tumor stage (III, IV) and DNA diploidy. Serial determination of plasma DOPA was a good monitor of the disease course. These results are compatible with the hypothesis on DOPA decarboxylase deficiency and DOPA secretion in undifferentiated, unfavorable NBs. In conclusion, the plasma DOPA can be used to predict patients' prognosis as well as to follow up patients with NB.
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PMID:3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) decarboxylase deficiency and resultant high levels of plasma DOPA and dopamine in unfavorable neuroblastoma. 852 65

Human neuroblastoma cell line UKF-NB-4 persistently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strain AD169 was established to study the effects of long-term HCMV infection on virus production and phenotypic characteristics of tumour cells. The cells designated UKF-NB-4AD169 were subcultured (80 subcultures) over a period of more than 2 years after initiation of infection. UKF-NB-4AD169 cells continued to produce infectious virus in successive passages, with a titre ranging from 9 x 10(3) to 1 x 10(5) and from 2 x 10(1) to 2 x 10(2) plaque-forming units per 10(6) cells and 1 ml culture medium, respectively; 10-20% of the cells produced HCMV-specific antigens, while 6-13% produced infectious virus progeny. The number of HCMV-specific DNA copies ranged from 9 x 10(4) to 9 x 10(6) per 10(6) cells. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the productive nature of HCMV infection. UKF-NB-4AD169 cultures proliferated, with population doubling time ranging from 24.5 to 26.6 hr (19.5 to 20.3 hr for UKF-NB-4) and cell viability from 79% to 85% (91-96% for UKF-NB-4). Significantly lower amounts of tyrosine hydroxylase and decreased activity for dopamine-beta-hydroxylase than in uninfected cells were observed in UKF-NB-4AD169 cells. However, the expression of N-myc oncoprotein was significantly increased in persistently infected cultures. Our results show that long-term productive HCMV infection of UKF-NB-4 cell line is associated with the modulation of phenotypic properties, which may be related to the biological behaviour of neuroblastoma cells.
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PMID:Long-term productive human cytomegalovirus infection of a human neuroblastoma cell line. 854 3

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a malignant tumor of the nasal mucosa whose histogenesis is unclear. A relationship to neuroblastoma (NB), a pediatric tumor of the sympathetic nervous system, is based on morphologic similarities and the expression of similar neural antigens. However, the clinical presentation of ONB differs from that of NB, and MYCN amplification characteristic of NB is not observed. We have therefore examined the relationship of this malignancy to other classes of neural tumors. In previous studies, two ONB cell lines demonstrated cytogenetic features and patterns of protooncogene expression suggestive of a relationship to the Ewing sarcoma family of childhood peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (pPNETs). The pPNETs show t(11;22)(q24;q12) or t(21;22)(q22;q12) chromosomal translocations fusing the EWS gene from 22q12 with either the FL11 gene on 11q24 or the ERG gene on 21q22. We therefore analyzed ONBs for the presence of pPNET-associated gene fusions. Both cell lines showed rearrangement of the EWS gene, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of each case demonstrated fusion of EWS and FL11 genomic sequences. Moreover, both lines expressed EWS/FL11 fusion transcripts with in-frame junctions between exon 7 of EWS and exon 6 of FL11 as described for pPNETs. We identified similar gene fusions in four of six primary ONB cases. None of the cases expressed tyrosine hydroxylase, a catecholamine biosynthetic enzyme widely expressed in NB. Our studies indicate that ONB is not a NB but is a member of the pPNET family.
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PMID:Olfactory neuroblastoma is a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor related to Ewing sarcoma. 857 10

Immortalized rat mesencephalic cells (1RB3AN27) produced dopamine (DA) at a level that was higher than produced by undifferentiated or differentiated murine neuroblastoma cells (NBP2) in culture. Treatment of 1RB3AN27 and NBP2 cells with a cAMP stimulating agent increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and the intensity of immunostaining for the DA transporter protein (DAT). 1RB3AN27 cells were labelled with primary antibodies to neuron specific enolase (NSE) and nestin and exhibited very little or no labeling with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). 1RB3AN27 cells exhibited beta- and alpha-adrenoreceptors, and prostaglandin E1 receptors, all of which were linked to adenylate cyclase (AC). Dopamine receptor (D1) and cholinergic muscarinic receptors linked to AC were not detectable. The levels of PKC alpha and PKC beta isoforms were higher than those of PKC gamma and PKC delta in 1RB3AN27 cells. The 1RB3AN27 cells were more effective in reducing the rate of methamphetamine-induced turning in rats with unilateral 6-OHDA lesion of the nigrostriatal system than differentiated NBP2 cells. The grafted 1RB3AN27 were viable as determined by DiI labelling, but they did not divide and did not produce T-antigen protein; however, when these grafted cells were cultured in vitro, they resumed production of T-antigen and proliferated after the primary glia cells and neurons of host brain died due to maturation and subsequent degeneration. Examination of H&E stained sections of the grafted sites revealed no evidence of infiltration of inflammatory cells in the grafted area suggesting that these cells were not immunogenic. They also did not form tumors.
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PMID:Characterization and transplantation of two neuronal cell lines with dopaminergic properties. 872 72

We investigated transcriptional regulation of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene by muscarinic stimulation in human neuroblastoma SK-N-BE(2)M17 cells. Carbachol treatment increased the levels of intracellular Ca2+ and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and enhanced transcription of the TH gene. The muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine completely abolished the carbachol effect on TH gene expression. When cells were loaded with 50 microM 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid/acetoxymethyl ester (BAPTA/AM) to chelate intracellular Ca2+, carbachol still raised intracellular IP3 level and enhanced TH gene expression. Transient transfection analysis of the 5' upstream region of TH gene revealed that the AP1 cis-acting element at -205 to -199 bp was responsible for carbachol stimulation. But carbachol did not enhance TH gene expression in protein kinase C (PKC)-activated or down-regulated cells that had been induced by 5-min or 24-h exposure to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), respectively. Thus, Ca(2+)-independent PKC may play a role in carbachol-induced TH gene expression. We demonstrated by gel retardation and competition assays that a DNA sequence containing the wild-type AP1 site formed the specific DNA-protein complex. However, treatment with carbachol or PMA did not change the amount of the specific DNA-protein complex. Our results indicate that stimulation of phospholipase C-linked muscarinic receptors leads to elevated TH gene expression via AP1-mediated enhancement in a PKC-dependent pathway.
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PMID:AP1-mediated transcriptional enhancement of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase gene by muscarinic stimulation. 876 93

Transcriptional regulation of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was investigated in human neuroblastoma SK-N-BE(2)C cells. Prostaglandins increased intracellular cAMP in the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), a cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor. Among the prostaglandins tested for their cAMP raising property PGE2 was the most effective. The results suggest that the cells express adenylyl cyclase-linked prostanoid receptors that have a higher affinity for PGE2 than for any other naturally occurring prostaglandin. The treatment of cells with PGE2 increased the TH gene expression approximately 2-fold, even though the cAMP accumulation induced by PGE2 alone was almost negligible. Simultaneous treatment with PGE2 and IBMX enhanced the gene expression concomitantly with a marked accumulation of cAMP. Transient transfection assays with 5' upstream serially deleted constructs of the rat TH gene promoter region fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene revealed that a cAMP response element (CRE) located at -45 to -38 from the start of the TH gene was essential for the enhancement of TH gene expression by PGE2. Site-directed mutagenesis and specific deletion within the sequence of the CRE motif abolished the transcriptional enhancement by PGE2. In addition, a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, H89, specifically blocked the PGE2 effect on TH gene expression. Northern blot analysis revealed that the increase in TH gene transcription with PGE2 is associated with an elevated TH mRNA level. Gel retardation and competition assays confirmed that the binding of nuclear factors to the CRE site was sequence specific and was augmented by PGE2. Our data indicate that PGE2 enhances transcription of the TH gene mediated by the CRE motif through the activation of PKA. They also suggest that the signal flow from the adenylyl cyclase-linked prostanoid receptor to the nucleus is efficient although cAMP accumulation is not prominent.
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PMID:Transcriptional enhancement of tyrosine hydroxylase by prostaglandin E2 in SK-N-BE(2) C cells. 880 26

Members of the CREB/CREM/ATF family of transcription factors either enhance or repress transcription after binding to the cAMP response elements (CREs) of numerous genes. The rat gene for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) bears a canonical CRE, at base pairs -38 through -45 from the transcription initiation site, that is essential for basal and cAMP-stimulated transcription (Kim, K.-S., Lee, M. K., Carroll, J., and Joh, T. H. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 15689-15695; Lazaroff, M., Patankar, S., Yoon, S. O., and Chikaraishi, D. M. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 21579-21589). The current study identifies CRE-binding proteins induced in pharmacological paradigms characterized by TH activation. PC12- and rat adrenal gland-derived nuclear proteins retarded a TH-CRE oligonucleotide in gel mobility shift assays with virtually identical patterns. These differed substantially from patterns exhibited by extracts from locus ceruleus or from neuroblastoma (SK-N-BE()C) and locus ceruleus-derived (CATH.a) cell lines. Forskolin stimulation of PC12 cells and reserpine treatment of rats increased, in nuclear extracts derived from cells and adrenal glands, respectively, the amount of a fast moving CRE/protein complex that was supershifted by an anti-CREM antibody. Subsequent Western, Northern, and polymerase chain reaction analyses indicated that a specific member of the CREM family, the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), was strongly induced in both systems. Cotransfection of PC12 cells with TH2400CAT plasmid and the expression vector pCMV-ICER-Ib demonstrated that ICER efficiently represses the transcriptional activity of the TH gene promoter. In addition, PKA-stimulated transcriptional activity of the promoter was effectively suppressed by ICER. These results suggest that ICER can modulate cAMP-stimulated transcription of the TH gene and provide a model accounting for rapid reversal of increased TH transcription following elevations in cAMP.
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PMID:Inducible cAMP early repressor can modulate tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression after stimulation of cAMP synthesis. 881 Mar 3

The highly sensitive method to detect neuroblastoma (NB) cells using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied in the practical clinics, and its efficacy was assessed in the present study. Human tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a rate-limiting enzyme in the catecholamine biosynthesis, was used as the marker for NB cells, and the expression of THmRNA was examined in 13 samples (four peripheral blood and nine bone marrow) harvested from seven patients (four with stage IV, one with stage III, two with stage II) using RT-PCR with our original primers. The positive signals for NB cells were detected in four samples (one peripheral blood and three bone marrow) by the PCR method, but were undetectable by the conventional histological examinations. In the present series, a case that showed a positive signal for NB cells in the peripheral blood showed a remarkably unfavorable clinical course, indicating that the circulating NB cells detected by the PCR method can be a sign of the progressively advanced NB, and may define a new prognostic factor suggesting higher risk. In another case, the PCR detection for the residual NB cells in the bone marrow provided important supporting evidence to determine the necessity of the additional chemotherapy and the suitable timing for bone marrow transplantation. This detection also guaranteed the safety of the bone marrow for transplantation. The PCR method was considered to be very beneficial in the selected cases. However, some problems such as the false-negative results in the negative urinary vanillylmandelic acid secretor were also highlighted in the present study.
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PMID:Clinical application of minimal residual neuroblastoma cell detection by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. 902 73

While not all circulating tumor cells survive, one could postulate that patients with circulating tumor cells might be candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy because of the risk of relapse. Recently, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of circulating tumor cells has been suggested as a potential technique for staging of cancer. In malignant melanoma, the detection of circulating melanoma cells by tyrosinase RT-PCR correlated with the clinical stage of patients and was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence. A strong association was found between the detection of neuroblastoma cells in circulation by tyrosine hydroxylase RT-PCR with bone marrow micrometastasis. This method may be of use to identify early signs of relapse in disease-free patients. In prostatic cancer, the frequency of positivity for detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood by PSA RT-PCR increased with tumor stages but a significant proportion of patients with metastatic disease were negative. The prognostic significance of the detection of tumor cell in blood in other epithelial tumors is not established and will require further long-term follow-up study.
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PMID:[Molecular diagnostic detection of circulating tumor cells and their prognostic implications]. 905 Nov 25

Although there is no definitive evidence of the association of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection with human cancers, the oncogenic potential of HCMV has been well established by in vitro studies demonstrating the ability of UV-irradiated or infectious virus to transform a variety of cells. After prolonged passaging the transformed cell type was maintained while HCMV DNA sequences were no more detectable. Three morphological transforming regions (mtr) of HCMV have been identified. The effects of HCMV on cellular functions which may be associated with the malignant phenotype include the expression of oncogenes and transcriptional activation of growth factors and interleukin synthesis. In infected cells, HCMV induces cytoskeletal alterations and changes in expression of cell surface receptors for extracellular matrix proteins which could result in increased motility and dissemination of cancer cells. Several human neuroblastoma cell lines undergo maturation in different neural crest derived cell types upon treatment with oncogenic potential agents, i.e. retinoic acid. The persistent HCMV infection of neuroblastoma cells (> 1 year) is accompanied by the increased expression of oncoproteins (i.e. N-myc) and decreased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase. The activation of the cellular metabolism is due to HCMV binding to cellular receptors (prior to virus gene expression) and to the activity of HCMV immediate early (IE) gene products. IE proteins act directly as transcriptional activators or their activity is mediated by a variety of cellular transcription factors. HCMV infection may result in activation of promoters of cellular genes coding for cytokines, replication enzymes, proto-oncogenes and viral promoters. Recently it has been demonstrated that HCMV IE proteins block apoptosis probably by suppressing the ability of the antioncogene p53 to activate a reporter gene. The interactions of HCMV with tumor suppressor proteins such as p53 or retinoblastoma (pRb) susceptibility protein are reminiscent of those mediated by the oncoproteins of DNA tumor viruses. The acquisition of a fully malignant phenotype by normal cells is thought to require several mutations in a number of cellular genes. In this connection, HCMV may play the role of a nonobligate either direct or indirect cofactor for tumor genesis, e.g. by blocking apoptosis, which may be an essential requirement for tumor progression. Due to the stimulation of growth factors and/or inhibition of antioncogenes by its gene products, HCMV may modulate the malignant potential for tumor cells.
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PMID:Modulatory effects of human cytomegalovirus infection on malignant properties of cancer cells. 907 67

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