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

Alterations in the energy metabolism of cancer cells have been reported for many years. However, the deleterious mechanisms involved in these deficiencies have not yet been clearly proved. The main goal of this study was to decipher the harmful mechanisms responsible for the respiratory chain deficiencies in the course of diethylnitrosamine (DENA)-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis, where mitochondrial DNA abnormalities had been previously reported. The respiratory activity of freshly isolated hepatoma mitochondria, assessed by oxygen consumption experiments and enzymatic assays, presented a severe complex I deficiency 19 months after DENA treatment, and later on, in addition, a defective complex III activity. Since respiratory complex subunits are encoded by both nuclear and mitochondrial genes, we checked whether the respiratory chain defects were due to impaired synthesis processes. The specific immunodetection of complex I failed to show any alterations in the steady-state levels of both nuclear and mitochondrial encoded subunits in the hepatomas. Moreover, in vitro protein synthesis experiments carried out on freshly isolated hepatoma mitochondria did not bring to light any modifications in the synthesis of the mitochondrial subunits of the respiratory complexes, whatever the degree of tumor progression. Finally, Southern blot analysis of mitochondrial DNA did not show any major mitochondrial DNA rearrangements in DENA-induced hepatomas. Because the synthetic processes of respiratory complexes did not seem to be implicated in the respiratory chain impairment, these deficiencies could be partly ascribed to a direct toxic impact of highly reactive molecules on these complexes, thus impairing their function. The mitochondrial respiratory chain is an important generator of noxious, reactive oxygen free radicals such as superoxide and H2O2, which are normally catabolized by powerful antioxidant scavengers. Nineteen months after DENA treatment, a general collapse of the antioxidant enzymatic system was demonstrated in the hepatomas, as recurrently observed in cancer cells. This oxidant versus antioxidant imbalance was characterized by the establishment of oxidative stress in the course of hepatocarcinogenesis, as partly shown by the important decrease of glutamine synthetase activity, an enzyme whose function is highly sensitive to oxidant reactions. This disequilibrium would result in a net increase of the steady-state concentration of superoxide generated between respiratory complexes I and III in the mitochondria. Once generated, superoxide would likely inactivate complexes I and III via oxidant reactions on their superoxide-sensitive [4Fe, 4S] clusters. The role of mitochondrial respiratory chain impairment in chemical carcinogenesis and/or the persistence of the cancerous state is further discussed.
 ...
PMID:Impairment of the mitochondrial respiratory chain activity in diethylnitrosamine-induced rat hepatomas: possible involvement of oxygen free radicals. 760 23

Melatonin, the chief hormone of the pineal gland in vertebrates, is widely distributed in the animal kingdom. Among many functions, melatonin synchronizes circadian and circannual rhythms, stimulates immune function, may increase life span, inhibits growth of cancer cells in vitro and cancer progression and promotion in vivo, and was recently shown to be a potent hydroxyl radical scavenger and antioxidant. Hydroxyl radicals are highly toxic by-products of oxygen metabolism that damage cellular DNA and other macromolecules. Herein we report that melatonin, in varying concentrations, is also found in a variety of plants. Melatonin concentrations, measured in nine different plants by radioimmunoassay, ranged from 0 to 862 pg melatonin/mg protein. The presence of melatonin was verified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Our findings suggest that the consumption of plant materials that contain high levels of melatonin could alter blood melatonin levels of the indole as well as provide protection of macromolecules against oxidative damage.
 ...
PMID:Melatonin in edible plants identified by radioimmunoassay and by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. 777 76

The purpose of this study was to determine if proton irradiation can increase the localization of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (MAb) in subcutaneous (s.c.) or intracranial (i.c.) human lung tumors xenotransplanted in athymic rats. Rats with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-expressing (NCI-H441) tumors were irradiated using 3 different proton time-dose regimens, followed by 111In-ZCE025, an anti-CEA MAb, which was injected 2 hr after the last dose of irradiation, and the animals were euthanized 3 days later for biodistribution and other assays. Proton irradiation at 10 gray (Gy) as a single dose or in 2 Gy fractions given on 5 consecutive days increased the uptake of 111In-ZCE025 into s.c. tumors by 292% and 182%, respectively, compared to nonirradiated controls. No enhancement in radiolabeled MAb delivery was seen after hemibrain irradiation in animals with i.c. tumors. Histopathological examination of both implantation sites showed a viable poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with a decrease in blood vessel density, a decrease in mitotic activity, and an increase in areas of necrosis following irradiation as compared with adjacent nonirradiated tissue. CEA expression was generally maintained in vivo in that the marker was detectable in the tumor, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid. Oxygen radical production by peripheral blood cells from s.c. and i.c. tumor-bearing rats exhibited strikingly different patterns of responsiveness. I.c. injected animals were 24% lighter than their s.c. injected counterparts, but no neurological signs of tumor progression were noted. The results indicate that proton irradiation can be used effectively to increase the delivery of radiolabeled MAb to s.c. implanted human lung tumor xenografts. However, in order to accomplish this in the brain, other radiation time-dose schedules and treatments may be needed.
 ...
PMID:Pilot study of monoclonal antibody localization in subcutaneous and intracranial lung tumor xenografts after proton irradiation. 787 72

The progression of intraepithelial and postinvasive neoplasia depends on the occurrence of clonal evolution, defined as the continuous development of mutations and selective clonal expansions in the neoplastic cell population. The two continuously repeating events of clonal evolution, mutation and clonal expansion, occur at unpredictable times and locations. Therefore the neoplastic process is best characterized as a stochastic, i.e., probabilistic, continuum. The rate of intraepithelial neoplastic progression is continuously driven by the dosage level of exposure to mutagens and mitogens. For example, in chronic smokers the length of time before development of lung cancer depends on the number of cigarettes smoked per day. A commonly held misconception is that human carcinogenesis develops after an initial short period of mutation followed by a long period of stimulated proliferation (the multistage model). This incorrect idea derives from the sequential nature of the consecutive two- or three-step operational protocols imposed on experimental animal models by the experimenter. In reality, human carcinogenesis develops as the result of simultaneous and continuous exposure to mutagens and mitogens over the entire period of tumor development. A recent example is the finding that the intraepithelial neoplasia of colorectal adenomas continuously progresses through serial waves of mutation and clonal expansion. The rational design of chemopreventive agents should be based on blocking the two parameters which continuously drive neoplasia: mutagenesis and mitogenesis. In addition to blocking exposure, chemopreventive agents may act at many points during activation and DNA adduction of mutagens, or during stimulation of the proliferation signal pathway by mitogens. Based on the chemopreventive strategy of blocking mutagenesis and mitogenesis, chemopreventive agents are classed as either antimutagenic or antimitogenic. A third class, the antioxidants, are both antimutagenic and antimitogenic, and operate by the common mechanism of breaking free radical chain reactions initiated by reactive oxygen species. In the program of the Chemoprevention Investigational Studies Branch, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, preclinical development of antimutagens, antimitogens, and antioxidants is well under way, and some of these agents are highlighted here.
 ...
PMID:Intraepithelial and postinvasive neoplasia as a stochastic continuum of clonal evolution, and its relationship to mechanisms of chemopreventive drug action. 800 92

Oxygen radicals have been widely implicated in neoplastic transformation; however, little is known regarding their mode of action. In an attempt to delineate potential mechanisms of action, an analysis of superoxide effects on cell growth was studied in normal and two nontumorigenic, immortal cell lines derived from normal Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) fibroblasts. The two immortal cell lines differed in their ability to suppress tumorigenicity of tumor cells in cell hybrids. One cell line suppressed tumorigenicity (sup+), while a second clone was unable to suppress tumorigenicity (sup-). Paraquat was used to generate superoxide through its capacity to be reduced by NAD(P)H and to generate superoxide radicals. The growth response of the various cell types was measured by colony-forming ability as well as by tritiated thymidine incorporation using autoradiography. At low paraquat concentrations (25 microM), primary SHE cells and two sup+ clones showed up to a 40% enhancement in colony formation, while two sup- clones showed no increase. Toxicity was observed at high doses, starting at approximately 100 microM paraquat. Since oxygen radicals are also mutagenic, primary SHE cells were examined for chromosomal aberrations. Chromatid gaps and breaks were induced at all concentrations of paraquat used. Thus, superoxide not only causes cellular toxicity at high doses but at low doses enhances cell growth of certain cells (primary SHE cells and sup+ cells) but not others (sup- cells). Therefore, differing responses of cells at different stages of neoplastic progression must be considered in understanding oxygen radical effects in growth control and carcinogenesis.
 ...
PMID:Differential proliferative responses of Syrian hamster embryo fibroblasts to paraquat-generated superoxide radicals depending on tumor suppressor gene function. 803 11

IL-2 therapy can induce marked oxidative stress via reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates. Glutathione, the major intracellular reductant, may become rate limiting to cytotoxic lymphocyte activation and proliferation under these circumstances. N-Acetyl cysteine (NAc-cys) was used to increase intracellular glutathione levels during lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activation by IL-2. Incubation of splenocytes with NAc-cys (0.6 to 1.0 mM) resulted in significant changes in intracellular reduced and total glutathione (92% and 58% increase, respectively) at 96 h. These levels correlated with markedly enhanced cell proliferation (threefold) and cytolytic effector cell generation (> fivefold increase in LU/10(6) cells) induced by the combination of NAc-cys with IL-2. IL-2 exposure by itself unexpectedly increased intracellular reduced glutathione by 43%. IL-2 and NAc-cys were synergistic in increasing glutathione levels (reduced glutathione: 292% increase; total: 251% increase). Inhibition of glutathione synthesis, using L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine reversed the effects of NAc-cys on intracellular glutathione, as well as cellular proliferation and cytotoxicity. This experiment established that the effects of NAc-cys required de novo glutathione synthesis. In conjunction with IL-2/LAK treatment, oral NAc-cys administration (260 to 900 mg/kg/day for 7 days) significantly decreased tumor progression in a refractory s.c. tumor model. A small fraction of mice (11 to 17%) had complete tumor regressions. NAc-cys may be useful as an adjunct to increase the antitumor activity of IL-2/LAK therapy.
 ...
PMID:Use of N-acetyl cysteine to increase intracellular glutathione during the induction of antitumor responses by IL-2. 820 9

Oxidative damage to DNA is mutagenic and thus may play a role in carcinogenesis. Because of the large number of different DNA lesions formed by oxidative species, no genetic alteration so far identified is exclusively associated with oxygen damage. Tandem double CC-->TT mutations are known to occur via UV damage to DNA and are thought to be a specific indicator of UV exposure. Using a sensitive reversion assay that can detect both single and double mutations within the same codon of the M13-encoded lacZ alpha gene, we show that treatments that produce reactive oxygen species can also produce tandem double CC-->TT mutations. The frequency at which these mutations occur is less than that for single base mutations by a factor of approximately 30. The induction of these mutations is inhibited by treatment that scavenges hydroxyl radicals. This unique mutation provides a marker of oxygen free radical-induced mutagenesis in cells that are not exposed to UV-irradiation and an indicator for assessing the involvement of oxidative damage to DNA in aging and tumor progression.
 ...
PMID:Tandem double CC-->TT mutations are produced by reactive oxygen species. 848 9

Control of transformed cells by neighbouring normal cells is known since the beginning of transformation studies in vitro. The classical explanation for this phenomenon is based on proliferation inhibition of transformed cells by normal cells. We extend this model by presenting data that show that TGF-beta-treated normal cells can eliminate transformed cells by induction of apoptosis. Both the TGF-beta-induced signal pathway in normal cells, leading to the production of a short-lived apoptosis-inducing factor, as well as the specific interaction of this factor with transformed cells depend on the action of reactive oxygen species. Sensitivity to induction of apoptosis seems to be a common feature associated with the transformed state, independent of the originally transforming principle. Therefore, tumor development should require either interference with the process of elimination or acquisition of resistance against it. We discuss experimental evidence for interfering substances, such as antioxidants, as well as for genetic systems that protect transformed cells from the negative effects of their cellular environment, such as Bcl-2 or papilloma viruses. These findings, as well as the general resistance of exvivo tumor cells against induction of apoptosis are in line with the novel model of control of tumor progression presented by us in this review.
 ...
PMID:Elimination of transformed cells by normal cells: a novel concept for the control of carcinogenesis. 872 Apr 67

Hypoxia occurs in two forms in tumors. Chronic or diffusion-limited hypoxia is relatively well characterized. In contrast, intermittent or perfusion-limited hypoxia is not well characterized, and it is not known how common it is in tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether spontaneous fluctuations in tumor microvessel flow rate can modify vessel oxygen tension (pO2) sufficiently to cause intermittent hypoxia (IH; tissue pO2 < 3 mmHg) in the tumor parenchyma supplied by such vessels. Microvessel red cell flux (RCF) and perivascular pO2 were measured simultaneously and continuously in dorsal flap window chambers of Fischer-344 rats with implanted R3230Ac tumors. In all vessels, RCF was unstable, with apex/nadir ratios ranging from 1.5 to 10. RCF and pO2 were temporally coordinated, and there were linear relationships between the two parameters. Vascular pO2 was less sensitive to changes in RCF in well-vascularized tumor regions compared with poorly vascularized regions. Simulations of oxygen transport in a well-vascularized region of a tumor demonstrated that two-fold variations in RCF can produce IH in 30% of the tissue in that region. In poorly vascularized regions, such fluctuations would lead to an even greater percentage of tissue involved in transient hypoxia. These results suggest that IH is a relatively common phenomenon. It could affect binding of hypoxic cytotoxins to tumor cells, in addition to being an important source of treatment resistance. Intermittent hypoxia also could contribute to tumor progression by providing repeated exposure of tumor cells to hypoxia-reoxygenation injury.
 ...
PMID:Fluctuations in red cell flux in tumor microvessels can lead to transient hypoxia and reoxygenation in tumor parenchyma. 896 10

In order to study the role of DNA damage processing in the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), we assessed the ability of six keratinocyte cell lines from a multistage-tumor progression model to repair three types of DNA damage: pyrimidine dimers, oxidative DNA lesions and DNA double strand breaks (DSB). The model comprised the spontaneously immortalized, non-tumorigenic human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT, four different c-Ha-ras transfectants of HaCaT (non-, benign- and two malignant-tumorigenic) and a SCC-derived cell line. Host cell reactivation assays with UVB-treated plasmid vectors pRSVcat showed no significantly altered repair of UVB-induced pyrimidine dimers in the tumorigenic cell lines, compared with the non-tumorigenic lines. Using the singlet oxygen-treated plasmids pRSVcat the Ha-ras-HaCaT-clones and the SCC-cells, exerted a DNA repair efficiency that was not significantly different from HaCaT cells. In order to assess the ability of the cells to ligate free DNA ends (repair of DSB), we used a plasmid shuttle vector assay with linearized plasmid pZ189. We found a significant increase of DNA end joining ability in the non-tumorigenic, the benign and in one of the malignant HaCaT-clones II-4. The malignant HaCaT-clone II-3, however, exerted a significantly lower rate of rejoining the linearized plasmid. This cell line also showed a highly and significantly elevated rate of micronuclei, which reflects a pronounced chromosomal instability. The SCC-cells exhibited a more efficient repair of DNA DSB than the HaCaT cells. We conclude that in the examined model, progression of human keratinocytes from the non-tumorigenic to the highly tumorigenic phenotype, is not accompanied by a decrease in the cell's capacity to repair UVB- and singlet oxygen-induced DNA lesions. However, an acquired deficiency in repairing DNA double strand breaks can be one mechanism promoting progression towards malignancy, possibly through impairing chromosomal stability.
 ...
PMID:Processing of three different types of DNA damage in cell lines of a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression model. 911 Nov 96


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>