Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038187 (starvation)
 24,951 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

PTHrP is secreted by breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. In the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, PTHrP overexpression is associated with increased mitogenesis. We used this cell line to study the mechanism for the proliferative effects of PTHrP. Clonal MCF-7 lines were established overexpressing wild-type PTHrP or PTHrP mutated in the nuclear localization signal (NLS). Mutation of the NLS negated the proliferative effects and nuclear trafficking of PTHrP, indicating that increased mitogenesis is mediated via an intracrine pathway. Cells overexpressing wild-type PTHrP were enriched in G2 + M stage of the cell cycle compared with cells overexpressing NLS-mutated PTHrP, indicating an intracrine role for PTHrP in cell cycle regulation. Wild-type PTHrP also protected MCF-7 cells from serum starvation-induced apoptosis. Cells overexpressing wild-type PTHrP showed significantly greater cell survival than cells overexpressing NLS-mutated PTHrP. The ratios of the apoptosis-regulating proteins Bcl-2 to Bax and Bcl-x(L) to Bax were higher in cells overexpressing wild-type, but not NLS-mutated, PTHrP compared with control cells. These findings suggest that the proliferative effects of PTHrP in breast cancer cells are mediated through regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis, and that controlling PTHrP production in breast cancer may be therapeutically useful.
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PMID:Intracrine PTHrP protects against serum starvation-induced apoptosis and regulates the cell cycle in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. 1179 15

Prolidase [E.C. 3.4.13.9] plays an important role in the recycling of proline for collagen synthesis and cell growth and this enzyme activity determines the rate of collagen turnover. It has been previously suggested that prolidase activity is regulated through signal mediated by the interaction of ECM proteins, with b1 integrin receptor and that this interaction is disturbed in MCF-7 cells. The potential candidates for mediating signal transduction are the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase p125FAK and two mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, ERK-1 and ERK-2, which are activated upon attachment of cells to ECM. We found that serum starvation of MCF-7 cells for 24 hours contributed to a significant decrease (by about 30%) in prolidase activity and collagen biosynthesis. These phenomena were accompanied by suppression of MAP kinases expression without any effect on the expression of FAK. The data suggest that prolidase activity and collagen biosynthesis respond to signal mediated by MAP kinases, independently of FAK expression in MCF-7 cells.
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PMID:FAK-independent regulation of prolidase activity and collagen biosynthesis in MCF-7 cells. 1182 Jun 13

An effect on the tumor promotion process, as represented by accelerated cell growth, has been indicated as one example of areas that demonstrate the possibility of biological effects of extremely-low frequency magnetic fields. We, therefore, exposed the five cell lines (HL-60, K-562, MCF-7, A-375, and H4) derived from human tumors to a magnetic field for 3 days to investigate the effects on cell growth. Prior to exposure or sham exposure, the cells were precultured for 2 days in low serum conditions. The number of growing cells was counted in a blind manner. To investigate the effect on the initial response of cell proliferation, two cell lines were synchronized in G1 phase by serum starvation and then exposed to a magnetic field for 18 h (H4 cells) or 24 h (MCF-7 cells), both with and without serum stimulation. The rate of DNA synthesis, taken as a measure of the cell proliferation, was determined by following the incorporation of [(3)H]-thymidine into the DNA. Three different magnetic field polarizations at both 50 and 60 Hz were used: linearly polarized (vertical); circularly polarized; and an elliptically polarized field. Magnetic field flux densities were set at 500, 100, 20 and 2 microT (rms) for the vertical field and at 500 microT (rms) for the rotating fields. No effect of magnetic field exposure was observed on either cell growth or the initial response of cell proliferation.
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PMID:No effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic field observed on cell growth or initial response of cell proliferation in human cancer cell lines. 1211 56

Survivin is a new member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family that is implicated in the control of cell proliferation and the regulation of cell life span. This protein is selectively expressed in most human carcinomas but not in normal adult tissues. To down-regulate a human survivin expression as a strategy for cancer gene therapy, we designed two hammerhead ribozymes (RZ-1, RZ-2) targeting human survivin mRNA. RZ-1 and RZ-2 efficiently cleaved the human survivin mRNA at nucleotide positions +279 and +289, which was identified by in vitro cleavage assay using in vitro transcribed ribozymes and truncated survivin mRNA substrate. To investigate the function of the ribozymes in cells, the sequences of the ribozymes were cloned into replication-deficient adenoviral vector and transferred to breast cancer cell, MCF-7. The infection with adenovirus encoding the ribozymes resulted in a significant reduction of survivin mRNA (74% and 73%, respectively) and protein. As revealed by nuclear condensation/ fragmentation and flow cytometry analysis, inhibition of survivin gene by ribozymes increased apoptosis and sensitivity induced by etoposide or serum starvation. Our results suggest that the designed hammerhead ribozymes against survivin mRNA are good candidates for feasible gene therapy in the treatment of cancer.
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PMID:Ribozyme-mediated cleavage of the human survivin mRNA and inhibition of antiapoptotic function of survivin in MCF-7 cells. 1253 96

Activated telomerase is frequently detected in cancer cells and is able to maintain and stabilize the integrity of telomeres; it also contributes to unlimited divisions in cancer cells. Recently, a new generation of selective anticancer strategies is under development targeting the blockage of telomerase activity either at the protein level or telomerase RNA. Here, we report suppression of the malignant phenotype by the expression of the full-length antisense human telomerase RNA (hTR) delivered by a novel hybrid vector recombining adenovirus and adeno-associated virus (vAd-AAV). The hybrid vector vAd-AAV retained the unique traits from two parental viruses, such as high efficiency of gene transfer in mammalian cells and the ability to integrate into the genomic DNA of host cells. The stable expression of antisense hTR in MCF-7 cells significantly suppressed telomerase activity and progressively shortened telomere length for 30 population doublings (PD30). Expression of antisense hTR leads to a telomere-based growth arrest and the induction of spontaneous apoptosis. Antisense hTR decreased soft agar colony formation and reduced the cell proliferation, leading to exit from the cell cycle at G1 at PD15. The expression of antisense hTR also sensitized MCF-7 cells to apoptosis induced by sodium butyrate or serum starvation. Our study demonstrates that delivering antisense hTR by the hybrid Ad/AAV vector is an effective antineoplastic gene therapeutic strategy, which significantly suppresses the malignant phenotype and enhances apoptosis of human breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Delivering antisense telomerase RNA by a hybrid adenovirus/ adeno-associated virus significantly suppresses the malignant phenotype and enhances cell apoptosis of human breast cancer cells. 1271 17

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a multigene family consisting of at least 11 isoforms that play key roles in growth control and tumorigenesis. To understand the roles of specific isoforms of PKC in breast cancer, we generated derivatives of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 that stably overexpress dominant negative mutants (REG) of PKC-alpha, -epsilon, or -zeta, which encode only the regulatory domains of the respective isoforms. When stimulated to re-enter the cell cycle after serum starvation, the MCF-7/PKC-alpha-REG cell line exhibited enhanced cell-cycle progression in comparison to the control cell line. These cells also showed increased sensitivity to growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in response to various cytotoxic stimuli, including serum starvation, tamoxifen, and gamma-radiation. Western blot analysis indicated that the MCF-7/PKC-alpha-REG cell line displayed marked decreases in the levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21CIP1 and the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2. Similar, but less striking, effects were seen in the MCF-7/PKC-epsilon-REG cell line, and the MCF-7/PKC-zeta-REG cell line showed minimal changes, when compared to the control cells. Taken together, these results suggest that the endogenous PKC-alpha in MCF-7 cells plays a critical role in regulating cell-cycle control and apoptosis, in part through upregulating the expression of p21CIP1 and bcl-2. Therefore, inhibitors of PKC-alpha may potentiate the activity of cytotoxic agents in the therapy of breast cancer.
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PMID:Effects of regulatory domains of specific isoforms of protein kinase C on growth control and apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. 1464 18

Evidence has been accumulating that some estrogen-dependent human breast cancers require estrogen for not only proliferation but also survival. To obtain insights into the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis of breast cancer cells subjected to estrogen starvation or exposed to antiestrogens, we characterized changes in the gene expression profile of MCF-7/BUS human breast cancer cells and revealed a strong induction of Bik, a member of the BH3-only proapoptotic proteins. The Bik mRNA transcript and protein were strongly induced by estrogen starvation or exposure to fulvestrant, a pure antiestrogen that competes with the natural estrogens for binding to the estrogen receptors. This Bik induction preceded apoptotic cell death, which was blocked by zVAD-fmk, a pancaspase inhibitor. Amounts of the Bcl-2-related proteins, such as Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, or Bax, showed only marginal changes in the presence or absence of estrogens or antiestrogens. Suppression of Bik expression by using the small interfering RNA effectively blocked the fulvestrant-induced breast cancer cell apoptosis. These results indicate that Bik is induced in MCF-7/BUS cells in the absence of estrogen signaling and plays a critical role in the antiestrogen-provoked breast cancer cell apoptosis.
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PMID:The Bik BH3-only protein is induced in estrogen-starved and antiestrogen-exposed breast cancer cells and provokes apoptosis. 1498 13

The acquisition of a metastatic phenotype in breast epithelial cells is a progressive process, influenced by a large variety of cellular and soluble factors. Of these, members of the chemokine superfamily, such as CCL2, CCL5, CXCL8 and CXCL12 have been recently suggested to promote breast cancer progression. A pre-requisite for elucidation of the role of other chemokines in breast cancer progression is the characterization of chemokine and chemokine receptor expression by breast tumor cells. The present study focuses on CXCL10, a CXC chemokine that was recently suggested to have anti-malignant properties, and its corresponding receptor CXCR3. CXCR3 expression was detected in three human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and T47D. CXCR3 expression was potently up-regulated by growing the cells under stress conditions, imposed by serum starvation. Unlike many other chemokine receptors, CXCR3 expression was not down-regulated by exposure to high concentrations (500ng/ml) of its ligand, CXCL10, but rather was promoted. CXCL10-induced up-regulation of CXCR3 expression in the three cell lines was inhibited by cycloheximide, indicating that de novo protein synthesis is required for this process. In addition to CXCR3, the secretion of CXCL10 was noted in the MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and T47D cells. CXCL10 secretion was found to be down-regulated by IL-6, a potentially pro-malignant cytokine in breast cancer. The concomitant expression of CXCR3 and CXCL10 in breast tumor cells suggests that a CXCR3-CXCL10 axis may function in these cells, and paves the way for an in depth analysis of CXCL10-CXCR3 interactions in breast tumor cells.
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PMID:The expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR3 and its ligand, CXCL10, in human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines. 1508 42

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the rate limiting enzyme of heme catabolism whereas indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) catabolizes tryptophan through the kynurenine pathway. We analyzed the expression and biological effects of these enzymes in rat and human breast cancer cell lines. We show that rat (NMU and 13762) but not human cells (MCF-7 and T47D) express HO-1. When overexpressed, we found this enzyme to have anti-proliferative and proapoptotic effects by antioxidant mechanisms in these four cell lines. We show that IDO is expressed by rat and human breast cancer cells. IDO inhibition with 1-MT and siRNA leads to diminished proliferation in rat cells. In contrast, HO-1 negative human cell lines increase proliferation upon IDO inhibition. Since we also demonstrate that IDO inhibits the anti-proliferative HO-1, we propose that IDO has opposite effects on proliferation depending on the coexpression or not of HO-1. We also describe that HO-1 inhibits IDO at the post-translational level through heme starvation. In vivo, we show that rat normal breast expresses HO-1 and IDO. In contrast, N-nitrosomethylurea-induced breast adenocarcinomas only express IDO. In conclusion, we show that HO-1/IDO cross-regulation modulates apoptosis and proliferation in rat and human breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Heme oxygenase-1 inhibits rat and human breast cancer cell proliferation: mutual cross inhibition with indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase. 1631 39

The sphingolipid ceramide induces macroautophagy (here called autophagy) and cell death with autophagic features in cancer cells. Here we show that overexpression of sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1), an enzyme responsible for the production of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), in MCF-7 cells stimulates autophagy by increasing the formation of LC3-positive autophagosomes and the rate of proteolysis sensitive to the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine. Autophagy was blocked in the presence of dimethylsphingosine, an inhibitor of SK activity, and in cells expressing a catalytically inactive form of SK1. In SK1(wt)-overexpressing cells, however, autophagy was not sensitive to fumonisin B1, an inhibitor of ceramide synthase. In contrast to ceramide-induced autophagy, SK1(S1P)-induced autophagy is characterized by (i) the inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin signaling independently of the Akt/protein kinase B signaling arm and (ii) the lack of robust accumulation of the autophagy protein Beclin 1. In addition, nutrient starvation induced both the stimulation of autophagy and SK activity. Knocking down the expression of the autophagy protein Atg7 or that of SK1 by siRNA abolished starvation-induced autophagy and increased cell death with apoptotic hallmarks. In conclusion, these results show that SK1(S1P)-induced autophagy protects cells from death with apoptotic features during nutrient starvation.
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PMID:Regulation of autophagy by sphingosine kinase 1 and its role in cell survival during nutrient starvation. 1703 32


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