Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0376358 (prostate cancer)
 59,338 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Even though a contraceptive vaccine for men or women seems to be technically feasible, contraception researchers are finding that they must overcome several obstacles before a vaccine can hit the market. The considerable variation in human immune response raises doubt about a vaccine's ability to effectively protect against pregnancy in everyone. Research shows that, so far, vaccines elicit an immune response that lasts for only a limited time. A test indicating when a vaccine is losing its ability to protect against pregnancy is not on the horizon. The World Health Organization [WHO] has chosen the human chorionic gonadotropin (the female pregnancy hormone) as a target contraceptive vaccine. US researchers are concentrating on a vaccine for men based on luteinizing hormone releasing factor (LH-RF). The US-based Population Council has conducted a safety test of the LH-RF contraceptive vaccine in 4 men whose testicles were removed to control prostate cancer. The researchers chose these men because the contraceptive vaccine suppresses testosterone levels, indicating that it may treat prostate cancer. Like animals used for 7 years of testing, the men did not experience any side effects of the vaccine. Yet, multiple injections of the vaccine induced sperm antibodies only in 3 of the men. The Council's Director of Contraceptive Development asks whether to reject a vaccine that has limited effectiveness or combine it with something else. A shortage of funds earmarked for contraceptive vaccine research is another obstacle. A contraceptive vaccine will not be on the market before the year 2000.
Indian Med Trib 1994 Aug 15
PMID:Obstacles impede development of contraceptive vaccine. 1217 85

Endocrine therapy is the standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer; however, relapse occurs in most patients with few treatment options available after recurrence. To overcome this therapeutic hurdle, the identification of new molecular targets is a critical issue. The capability to proliferate in three-dimensional (3D) conditions is a characteristic property of cancer cells. Therefore, factors that regulate 3D growth are considered rational targets for cancer therapy. Here, we applied a functional genomic approach to the 3D spheroid cell culture model and identified TRIB1, a member of the Trib family of serine/threonine kinase-like proteins, as an essential factor for prostate cancer cell growth and survival. RNAi-mediated silencing of TRIB1 suppressed prostate cancer cell growth selectively under the 3D conditions. This effect was rescued by ectopic expression of an RNAi-resistant TRIB1 exogene. Gene signature-based analysis revealed that TRIB1 was related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) pathways in prostate cancer and was required for expression of the ER chaperone GRP78, which is critical for prostate tumorigenesis. Of note, GRP78 was expressed preferentially in a subpopulation of prostate cancer cells that possess tumor-propagating potential, and these tumor-propagating cells were highly sensitive to TRIB1 and GRP78 depletion. In a xenograft model of human prostate cancer, TRIB1 depletion strongly inhibited tumor formation. Supporting these observations, we documented frequent overexpression of TRIB1 in clinical specimens of prostate cancer. Overall, our results indicated that the TRIB1-ER chaperone axis drives prostate tumorigenesis and the survival of the tumor-propagating cells.
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PMID:TRIB1 supports prostate tumorigenesis and tumor-propagating cell survival by regulation of endoplasmic reticulum chaperone expression. 2496 28