Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0178874 (tumor progression)
 40,807 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We examined the pattern of expression of several proto-oncogenes during nonneoplastic growth and in acinar cell neoplasms in the rat pancreas. The levels of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras mRNAs were increased in regenerating pancreata following surgical partial pancreatectomy and following administration of camostat. We also investigated proto-oncogene expression associated with the progression of pancreatic cancers in azaserine-treated rats. Injection of a single dose (30 mg/kg) of azaserine (O-diazoacetyl-L-serine) to 14-d-old rats leads to a variety of neoplastic lesions in the rat pancreas. Total RNA was isolated from lesions in various stages of tumor progression, including adenomas, carcinomas in situ, and invasive carcinomas. We observed increased expression of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras in azaserine-induced adenomas and carcinomas. Actin expression was also increased in these tissues, whereas amylase expression was variable. However, when compared to the normal growing pancreas, the level of proto-oncogene expression in the adenomas and carcinomas was disproportionate to the degree of cellular division in those tissues. Thus, the alterations induced by azaserine apparently caused a deregulated increase in expression of cellular oncogenes associated with growth regulation.
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PMID:Expression of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras in azaserine-induced pancreatic carcinomas and growing pancreas in rats. 227 33

In our previous report, monoclonal antibody PR92 has defined prostate- and breast tumor-associated PR92 antigen. The molecular nature of PR92 antigen, especially the epitope involved in specific interaction with PR92 monoclonal antibody, is described. PR92 antigen was purified from the cell extract or tissue culture medium of prostate cancer cell line DU145 by means of monoclonal antibody-coupled Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography, followed by a Sephacryl S-500 chromatography. Physical and chemical characterization, coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography, determined that PR92 antigen is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of about 470,000, comprising repeating subunits of about 44,000. Sialic acid was found to form a critical part, while D-galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine were also involved, in the epitope structure. PR92 antigen is rich in serine, threonine, proline, glycine, and alanine and poor in aromatic amino acid residues. The carbohydrate moieties may be predominantly O-linked to polypeptide chains which contribute directly or indirectly to maintain the integrity of the epitope. Elucidation of the molecular nature of PR92 antigen may help understand the mechanism of shedding into the body fluids during tumor progression.
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PMID:Molecular characterization of the epitope in prostate and breast tumor-associated PR92 antigen. 246 8

Ascites sublines of the highly metastatic 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma contain abundant amounts of a heterodimeric cell surface glycoprotein complex composed of a mucin subunit ASGP-1 (ascites sialoglycoprotein-1) and a transmembrane subunit (ASGP-2). Previous studies showed that the complex is synthesized from a single polypeptide encoded by a 9 kb transcript. The sequence of the transmembrane subunit was obtained from a 5-kilobase (kb) cDNA isolated from a plasmid library (Sheng, Z., Wu, K., Carraway, K. L., and Fregien, N. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 16341-16346). Completion of the sequence of this cDNA revealed the C-terminal domain of ASGP-1, which is rich in serine and threonine but contains no typical mucin-type repeats. The remainder of the sequence of ASGP-1 and the 9-kb transcript was obtained by two 5'-RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) steps and primer extension analysis. These results revealed that the 5' half of the 9-kb transcript contains a short 5'-noncoding region and encodes a signal sequence, a short nonrepeat region, and a repeat domain containing 11 repeats. Nine of these repeats are found in tandem, but the two end repeats are separated from the others by short unique sequences. The repeats vary from 117-124 amino acids and are 70-90% identical to a consensus sequence. Overall, the sequence predicts that ASGP-1 contains 2172 amino acids (M(r) 224,190), 43% of which are serine and threonine. We propose that the complex of this mucin and its transmembrane subunit, which contains growth factor-modulating activity, may play an important role in tumor progression.
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PMID:Molecular cloning and sequencing of the mucin subunit of a heterodimeric, bifunctional cell surface glycoprotein complex of ascites rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells. 816 96

p21/WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 is an important cell-cycle mediator with tumor suppressor gene capabilities, and its inactivation could potentially lead to tumor progression. Because tumor suppressor genes are commonly inactivated by somatic and germline mutations, we analyzed a variety of human tumor cell lines for p21 mutations. We used single-strand conformational analysis and direct sequencing to identify possible mutations in the p21 coding region. Two base-alterations were observed in 41 immortalized human tumor cell lines. A previously reported polymorphism that results in a serine-to-arginine amino-acid substitution at codon 31 was found in 24% (10 of 41) of the tumor cell lines but was also found in 10% (six of 62) of normal parental DNAs tested and 7% (three of 43) of normal DNAs from patients with primary endometrial tumors. Another nucleotide substitution found at codon 80 resulted in the replacement of threonine with methionine. Codon 80 changes were found in 7% (three of 41) of the tumor cell lines (all endometrial) and in 2% (one of 62) of the normal parental DNAs. This change was not found in any of the primary endometrial tumors examined. The biological activity of these base changes was analyzed by using in vitro cyclin-dependent kinase 2-cyclin A kinase assays and calcium phosphate transfections. We observed that wild-type p21 and the p21 variants had similar growth-inhibitory abilities. Thus, our results suggest that mutation of the p21 gene is not prevalent in human tumor cell lines and is not a probable mechanism of inactivation of this gene.
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PMID:Mutational analysis of the p21/WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 coding region in human tumor cell lines. 878 65

Hydrolysis of extracellular matrix is a necessary step for malignant cells to invade, and metastasize. Three groups of proteinases, mainly serine, thiol and metalloproteinases, have been found to be secreted by cancer cells and responsible for the proteolytic cascade triggered during invasion. Previous studies from our group and others have shown that the thiol proteinase cathepsin B1 is a constant indicator of tumor invasion in carcinoma of the cervix, although others point to plasminogen activators and collagenases. So far, there are no systematic studies to correlate cathepsin B and plasminogen activator activity with advancing malignant disease and thus estimate its capability as a marker of progression. The purpose of this study was to determine the activity of cathepsin B like proteinase and plasminogen activators in invasive carcinoma of the breast at various clinical stages and with different estrogen receptor status. One hundred patients with carcinoma of the breast at different clinical stages were studied. Cathepsin B and plasminogen activators activity was assessed in tumor cytosols using different synthetic oligopeptides as substrates following the method of Smith. Estrogen receptor concentration was determined with monoclonal antibodies. A statistical analysis and correlation with different clinical stages was performed. Cathepsin B-like activity had a consistent and progressive elevation in direct correlation with clinical stage (stage I, 1.97 SE +/- 0.46; stage II, 6.67 SE +/- 1.12; stage III, 28.19 SE +/- 3.48; nmol/mg/30 min), while plasminogen activators, although constantly elevated, had no correlation with tumor progression. No relation could be found with estrogen receptor status. It is concluded that cathepsin B, but not plasminogen activator, is a good indicator of tumor progression in invasive carcinoma of the breast.
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PMID:Proteinase activity in invasive cancer of the breast. Correlation with tumor progression. 884 43

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily members are multifunctional cytokines that exert their effects via heteromeric complexes of two distinct serine and threonine kinase receptors. Drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic and related genes in Caenorhabditis elegans, Xenopus, and mammals were shown to function downstream in the intracellular signaling pathways of TGF-beta superfamily members. Here we report the cloning of a Mad-related protein, termed Sma- and Mad-related protein 2 (Smad2). TGF-beta stimulated the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of Smad2 in nontransfected Mv1Lu cells. In addition, we demonstrated that TGF-beta and activin mediated phosphorylation of Smad2 after its overexpression with appropriate type I and II receptors in COS cells. Smad2 and Smad1 were found to be broadly expressed in human tissues. Smad2 is closely linked to DPC4 on chromosome 18q21.1, a region often deleted in human cancers. Cells that lack Smad2 may escape from TGF-beta-mediated growth inhibition and promote cancer progression.
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PMID:Identification of Smad2, a human Mad-related protein in the transforming growth factor beta signaling pathway. 900 34

Upon stimulation with LPS, peritoneal-elicited macrophages (PEM) from mammary tumor-bearing mice display a diminished ability to produce nitric oxide (NO) and lyse tumor targets. In contrast, when these cells are stimulated with LPS in combination with IFN-gamma, they perform these functions at normal levels. Kinetic studies revealed that these defects became more pronounced with tumor progression and were accompanied by similar changes in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA levels. Since this tumor is known to produce PGE2, granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), and phosphatidyl serine, we evaluated the effects of these products on NO production and cytolytic activity. Pretreatment of normal PEM with PGE2 or recombinant GM-CSF had negligible effects on NO production and cytolytic capacity. In contrast, phosphatidyl serine caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of these functions in response to LPS, which could be partially overcome by the addition of IFN-gamma. Moreover, iNOS mRNA levels paralleled these changes and were analogous to the alterations observed in the tumor-bearers' PEM. iNOS mRNA stability was not reduced in these cells; however, the rate of transcription was diminished relative to normal levels, suggesting that the defects causing these alterations are occurring at or before the level of iNOS transcription. These data implicate tumor-derived phosphatidyl serine in the alterations observed in tumor-bearers' macrophages and suggest that reduced iNOS transcription is responsible for the diminished capacity of these macrophages to produce NO and lyse tumor targets.
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PMID:Phosphatidyl serine is involved in the reduced rate of transcription of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene in macrophages from tumor-bearing mice. 902 20

Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), a plasma membrane-bound enzyme, provides the only activity capable to effect the hydrolysis of extracellular glutathione (GSH), thus favoring the cellular utilization of its constituent amino acids. Recent studies have shown however that in the presence of chelated iron prooxidant species can be originated during GGT-mediated metabolism of GSH, and that a process of lipid peroxidation can be started eventually in suitable lipid substrates. The present study was undertaken to verify if a GGT-dependent lipid peroxidation process can be induced in the lipids of biological membranes, including living cells, and if this effect can be sustained by the GGT highly expressed at the surface of HepG2 human hepatoma cells. In rat liver microsomes (chosen as model membrane lipid substrate) exposed to GSH and ADP-chelated iron, the addition of GGT caused a marked stimulation of lipid peroxidation, which was further enhanced by the addition of the GGT co-substrate glycyl-glycine. The same was observed in primary cultures of isolated rat hepatocytes, where the lipid peroxidation process did not induce acute toxic effects. GGT-stimulation of lipid peroxidation was dependent both on the concentration of GSH and of ADP-chelated iron. In GGT-rich HepG2 human hepatoma cells, the exposure to GSH, glycyl-glycine, and ADP-chelated iron resulted in a nontoxic lipid peroxidation process, which could be prevented by means of GGT inhibitors such as acivicin and the serine-boric acid complex. In addition, by co-incubation of HepG2 cells with rat liver microsomes, it was observed that the GGT owned by HepG2 cells can act extracellularly, as a stimulant on the GSH- and iron-dependent lipid peroxidation of microsomes. The data reported indicate that the lipid peroxidation of liver microsomes and of living cells can be stimulated by the GGT-mediated metabolism of GSH. Due to the well established interactions of lipid peroxidation products with cell proliferation, the phenomenon may bear particular significance in the carcinogenic process, where a relationship between the expression of GGT and tumor progression has been envisaged.
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PMID:gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase-dependent lipid peroxidation in isolated hepatocytes and HepG2 hepatoma cells. 911 54

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a matrix protein implicated in mechanisms of tumor metastasis. TSP-1 has a characteristic Cysteine-Serine-Valine-Threonine-Cysteine-Glycine (CSVTCG) sequence that functions as a tumor cell adhesion domain. Our laboratory has isolated a novel CSVTCG specific tumor cell receptor. Immunohistochemical staining techniques and computerized image analysis were used to identify and quantitate the CSVTCG receptor of TSP-1 in a wide spectrum of human archival breast tumors. Histopathologic and quantitative examination was correlated with clinical findings two years post operation. Increasing amounts of CSVTCG receptor correlated positively with worsening histopathologic and clinical findings. These findings suggest a role for the TSP-1 CSVTCG receptor in breast tumor progression. This receptor may have utility for the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of this common and deadly disease.
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PMID:Histopathology and clinical assessment correlate with the cysteine-serine-valine-threonine-cysteine-glycine (CSVTCG) receptor of thrombospondin-1 in breast tumors. 930 63

The mutation cluster region in the APC gene defines a region of approximately 660 bp, in which the vast majority of its somatic mutations are found. These mutations disrupt the polypeptide chain, typically eliminating five of the seven repeated sequences of 20 amino acids (aa) each in the central region of the APC protein. To examine the relationship between loss of this structure and loss of function, we constructed APC deletion mutants that progressively truncated the protein across the mutation cluster region. The mutants were tested for their association with beta-catenin and their ability to down-regulate it in SW480 cells. The binding of beta-catenin to APC fragments required the inclusion of only a single 20-aa repeat sequence, whereas down-regulation required the presence of at least three of these repeat sequences, and those including the second repeat exhibited the highest activity. The mutation of three conserved serine residues in the second repeat greatly reduced the activity of an otherwise highly active APC fragment. Thus, the repeated 20-aa sequence is directly implicated in beta-catenin turnover. The elimination of at least five of these seven repeats due to somatic mutations suggests that loss of beta-catenin regulation by APC is selected for during tumor progression.
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PMID:Loss of beta-catenin regulation by the APC tumor suppressor protein correlates with loss of structure due to common somatic mutations of the gene. 937 78


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