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Query: UMLS:C0596263 (carcinogenesis)
 64,820 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Retinoic acid is known to inhibit mammary carcinogenesis in rodents and to inhibit proliferation and steroid hormone receptor gene expression in human breast cancer cells. Since these effects are likely to be mediated by nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARs) the present study was initiated to determine the expression and regulation of RARs in human breast cancer cell lines. Differential cellular gene expression of the RARs was determined by Northern blot analysis of total RNA prepared from 5 ER+ and 6 ER- cell lines. RAR alpha was detected as mRNA species of 2.7 and 3.4 kilobases in all cell lines and the level of gene expression was greater in ER+ cell lines (P less than 0.001). RAR beta mRNA (3.7 kilobases) was detected in seven of the eleven lines tested and was expressed most commonly in ER- cell lines. RAR gamma mRNA was expressed in all cell lines as a transcript of 3.4 kilobases at levels that were similar in both ER+ and ER- cell lines. Retinoic acid failed to regulate the expression of the RAR alpha and RAR gamma genes. The effect of steroid hormones on RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNA levels was also examined. In four PR+ cell lines (T-47D, BT 474, MCF-7M, and MDA-MB-361), progestins markedly decreased RAR alpha mRNA levels. The progestin effect on RAR alpha levels in T-47D cells was detectable at concentrations of 0.05 nM and was maximal at 1 nM 16 alpha-ethyl-21-hydroxy-19-nor-4-pregnene-3,20-dione ORG 2058, whereas dihydrotestosterone and dexamethasone were without effect. RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNA levels were rapidly decreased by progestin, and the effect was maximal 3-6 h after ORG 2058 treatment. However, the mRNA loss was transient, and recovery of RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNA levels was noted 12-24 h after retinoic acid treatment. Although RAR gamma mRNA returned to control levels by 24 h, the decrease in RAR alpha mRNA was maintained at around 50% control until at least 48 h. In summary, RAR alpha and RAR gamma were expressed in all human breast cancer cell lines and were regulated by progestins in the PR+ T-47D cell line. The previously reported ability of retinoic acid to down-regulate PR mRNA and the present demonstration that progestins down-regulate RAR alpha and RAR gamma mRNA suggest that mutual regulation may be a mechanism through which PR and the RARs interact in human breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Expression and regulation of retinoic acid receptors in human breast cancer cells. 131 39

Hepatocellular carcinomas in woodchuck were characterized for woodchuck hepatitis virus integration near c-myc oncogene. In one tumor, viral integration resulted in overexpression of a c-myc viral cotranscript. In a second tumor, viral insertion, 600 bp upstream of c-myc exon 1, was associated with increased levels of normal c-myc mRNA. These results demonstrate that integration of woodchuck hepatitis virus near a proto-oncogene can contribute to the genesis of liver tumors. From a comparison of a single hepatitis B virus (HBV) integration site in a human hepatoma with the corresponding unoccupied site have shown HBV DNA insertion in a putative cellular exon. This exon presented striking similarity to the DNA-binding domain of the thyroid/steroid hormones receptors. The corresponding cDNA has been isolated (hap gene) a shown to encode the retinoic acid receptor. It is most probable that consequent to HBV insertion, has became inappropriately expressed as an altered chimaeric gene retinoic acid receptor, thus contributing to the cell transformation. As for woodchuck these results strongly support the possibility that HBV may play a direct role in liver carcinogenesis by insertional mutagenesis.
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PMID:[Hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma]. 165 Jun 25

Retinoic acid (RA) and its synthetic analogues, retinoids, have shown promising results in the prevention of epithelial carcinogenesis and in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia and various proliferative skin disorders. Retinoid action on gene regulation is mediated by three distinct nuclear retinoic acid receptor subtypes, RA receptors alpha, beta, and gamma. The existence of multiple RA receptors has raised the possibility that receptor subtype-specific retinoids with reduced side effects can be developed. To analyze the activity of retinoids at the molecular level, we used a receptor activation assay. RA and 22 retinoids were compared on the three receptor subtypes. We found the alpha receptor to be least sensitive to activation by RA and the gamma receptor to be most sensitive. Compared with RA, one of the retinoids showed increased activity for the alpha and beta receptors. Three retinoids revealed no gene activation activity and showed no antagonistic effects when assayed in the presence of RA. Surprisingly, several of the retinoids were efficient activators of the beta and gamma receptors but poor activators or nonactivators of the alpha receptor. Our data demonstrate that the three RA receptor subtypes have differential ligand activation specificities and that the design of receptor subtype-selective retinoids is possible.
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PMID:Identification of retinoids with nuclear receptor subtype-selective activities. 165 1

Hepatocellular carcinoma in woodchuck were characterized for woodchuck hepatitis virus integration nea c-myc oncogene. In one tumor, viral integration resulted in overexpression of a c-myc viral cotranscript. In a second tumor, viral insertion, 600 bp upstream of c-myc exon 1, was associated with increased levels of normal c-myc mRNA. These results demonstrate that integration of woodchuck hepatitis virus near a proto-oncogene can contribute to the genesis of liver tumors. From a comparison of a single hepatitis B virus (HBV) integration site in a human hepatoma with the corresponding unoccupied site have shown HBV DNA insertion in a putative cellular exon. This exon presented striking similarity to the DNA-binding domain of the thyroid/steriod hormones receptors. The corresponding cDNA has been isolated (hap gene) as shown to encode the retinoic acid receptor. It is most probable that consequent to HBV insertion, hap gene became inappropriately expressed as an altered chimaeric gene retinoic acid receptor, thus contributing to the cell transformation. As for woodchuck these results strongly support the possibility that HBV, may play a direct role in liver carcinogenesis by insertional mutagenesis.
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PMID:[Hepatitis B virus and hepatocellular carcinoma]. 177 42

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is etiologically related to human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Most HCCs contain integrated HBV DNA in the liver cellular DNA, suggesting that the integration may be involved in carcinogenesis. From a comparison of a single HBV integration site present in a hepatoma with the corresponding unoccupied site in the non-tumourous tissue of the same liver, we have shown that HBV DNA inserted in a putative cellular exon with striking similarity to the DNA-binding domain of the thyroid/steroid hormone receptors. The corresponding cDNA has been isolated (hap gene) and shown to encode the retinoic acid receptor. In the original patient, integration took place so that the first codons of the viral surface protein gene became fused in frame with most of the hap gene. Because retinoic acid is known to regulate the transcription of target genes crucial for cellular growth and differentiation, it is most probable that consequent to the HBV insertion, hap, usually transcribed at a very low level in normal hepatocytes, became inappropriately expressed as an altered chimaeric retinoic acid receptor, thus contributing to the cell transformation. These results strongly support the possibility that HBV may play a direct role in liver carcinogenesis by insertional mutagenesis.
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PMID:Hepatitis B virus as an insertional mutagene in a human hepatocellular carcinoma. 217 Aug 9

Retinoid response pathways involve retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors. N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR), a derivative of all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) is currently in clinical trials as a chemopreventive agent for breast cancer. The issue whether 4-HPR mediates its biological actions via classical retinoid receptor pathways remains to be investigated. In this study, we provide several lines of evidence that 4-HPR mediates its biological actions via a novel pathway(s) that does not involve the classical retinoid receptor pathways. For example, 4-HPR was more potent than RA as an antiproliferative agent and inhibited growth of otherwise RA-resistant human breast carcinoma cells. Exposure to 4-HPR resulted in the generation of DNA fragmentation with subsequent cell death in both RA-positive estrogen receptor (ER)-positive as well as RA-refractory ER-negative breast carcinoma cell lines. N-(4-Methoxyphenyl)retinamide (4-MPR), which is the major 4-HPR metabolite in circulation, was biologically inert in this system. 4-HPR and 4-MPR bound poorly to the RAR alpha, beta and gamma in vitro and only minimally activated the retinoic acid receptor element (RARE) and retinoid X receptor response elements (RXREs) in human breast carcinoma cells. Neither 4-HPR nor 4-MPR are metabolized to any of the known conventional retinoids. In addition, 4-HPR or 4-MPR transactivation of RAREs or RXREs transfected into MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells was not noted at 48 h. Nevertheless 4-HPR-mediated cell death was observed at 48 h, further suggesting that neither 4-HPR nor 4-MPR are metabolized to retinoids which activate the RAREs or RXREs in breast carcinoma cells. Furthermore, unlike RA, which exhibited anti-AP1 activity, 4-HPR inhibition of growth did not involve anti-AP1 activity. These results suggest that 4-HPR acts by a unique pathway that is not mediated by retinoid receptors.
Carcinogenesis 1995 Oct
PMID:N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR)-mediated biological actions involve retinoid receptor-independent pathways in human breast carcinoma. 758 55

The epithelium of the oral cavity is mostly nonkeratinizing. However, it undergoes an abnormal squamous differentiation with keratinization during vitamin A deficiency or oral carcinogenesis. Vitamin A analogues (retinoids) were found to be effective in preventing oral premalignant lesions and second primary cancers in the upper aerodigestive tract. Further development of retinoids for prevention and therapy of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) requires a better understanding of their mechanism action on the growth and differentiation of SCC cells. We used cultured head and neck SCC (HNSCC) cell lines as a model system. Treatment of HNSCC cells with beta-all-trans-retinoic acid resulted in inhibition of growth (proliferation and colony formation) and suppression of squamous differentiation to varying degrees in the different cell lines. Because some of the malignant HNSCC cells recapitulate the main characteristics of keratinocyte squamous differentiation and responsiveness to retinoids, they can serve as a model for investigating the mechanism underlying the effects of retinoids on cell growth and differentiation. It is thought that nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs) mediate the above effects of retinoids by acting as DNA-binding transcription-modulating factors. We found that HNSCC cell lines express several nuclear RAR and that their level could be modulated by retinoids in some cell lines. An inverse relationship was found between RAR-beta expression and squamous differentiation. An analysis of RAR mRNA expression in head and neck cancer specimens revealed a decrease in RAR-beta in premalignant and malignant tissues relative to normal mucosa. The expression of this receptor increased in vivo after treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid. These results implicate the loss of RAR-beta expression in the development of head and neck cancer and suggest that RAR-beta could serve as an intermediate marker in prevention trials.
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PMID:Suppression of squamous cell carcinoma growth and differentiation by retinoids. 813 25

Retinoids are known to prevent mammary carcinogenesis in rodents and inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells in vitro. Previously we demonstrated that retinoid inhibition of proliferation of human breast cancer cell lines is largely mediated by retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-alpha. In this study we describe for the first time the histological distribution of RAR-alpha in 33 breast lesion specimens as determined by immunostaining with RAR-alpha antibody. Nuclear staining was observed in tumor tissue and normal portions of the breast samples. Connective tissue exhibited relative uniform staining, whereas a wide range of RAR-alpha expression was found in the epithelial tumor cells. RAR-alpha protein was expressed at significantly higher levels in tumors with greater proliferative activity as determined by immunostaining with Ki-67 antibody. This suggests that RAR-alpha expression may be altered with tumor progression. Although a positive correlation between RAR-alpha mRNA levels and estrogen receptor status of breast tumors has previously been documented, we did not find such a relationship at the protein level. As RAR-alpha plays a major role in retinoid-mediated growth inhibition of human breast cancer cell in vitro, our findings suggest that patients with highly proliferating tumors could be responsive to retinoid independently of their responsiveness to (anti)-estrogens.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical analysis of retinoic acid receptor-alpha in human breast tumors: retinoic acid receptor-alpha expression correlates with proliferative activity. 866 76

Retinoic acid (RA) is known to have potent effects on development and differentiation. RA exerts its effects on transcription through two distinct classes of nuclear receptors, the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and the retinoid X receptor (RXR), that bind to specific RA-responsive elements (RARE) in target genes. alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP), a hepatocyte differentiation, maturation, and carcinogenesis marker, is transcriptionally upregulated by RA in McA-RH8994 hepatoma cells. Using deletion mapping analysis, we have identified a RARE-like sequence that is located between -2406 and -2378 of the transcription initiation site of the rat AFP gene. Sequence analysis demonstrated that this cis-acting element consists of three direct repeats and one inverted repeat of a GGGTCA-like half-site. The putative RARE can specifically bind to both RXR homodimers and RAR/RXR heterodimers as determined by gel mobility shift assays. A DR1 direct repeat was more efficient than a DR5 direct repeat oligonucleotide in competition for binding of the putative RARE to RXR and RAR/RXR. A mutagenesis study indicated that to have a full-strength induction, all the repeats were required. To further analyze the function of this element in vivo, a reporter gene construct of the putative RARE combined with the thymidine kinase promoter was cotransfected with RAR and RXR expression plasmids in CV1 cells. CAT assays demonstrated that overexpression of RXRalpha conferred the best RA response, consistent with our previous observation that 9-cis-RA is more potent than all-trans-RA for inducing the expression of the AFP gene. In addition, the RXR selective ligand LG100153 alone can stimulate the expression of the AFP gene. Our data suggest that an RXR-mediated pathway exists for modulation of AFP gene expression through a specific element.
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PMID:RXR-mediated regulation of the alpha-fetoprotein gene through an upstream element. 894 36

The expression of retinoic acid receptor-beta (RAR beta) mRNA is absent or down-regulated in a majority of breast cancers, suggesting that loss of retinoic acid receptor function may be a critical event in breast cancer carcinogenesis. We developed an in vitro system to investigate whether the loss of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) function might affect the proliferation and structural differentiation of normal cultured human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). Utilizing a truncated retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-alpha construct exhibiting dominant-negative activity against retinoic acid receptor isoforms alpha, beta, and gamma (DNRAR), we inhibited normal retinoic acid receptor function in HMECs. Suppression of RAR function in HMECs resulted in reduced growth inhibition mediated by all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA). Moreover, the doubling time of HMECs expressing the DNRAR was significantly shortened, associated with a decrease in the percentage of cells in G1 and an increase in the percentage of cells in S-phase relative to controls. In addition, HMECs expressing the DNRAR cultured in prepared extracellular matrix exhibited a loss of extracellular matrix-induced growth arrest and formation of a polarized ductal epthelium. Our results suggest that ATRA and RARs may play an important role in regulating the proliferation of HMECs and in promoting differentiation.
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PMID:Inhibition of retinoic acid receptor function in normal human mammary epithelial cells results in increased cellular proliferation and inhibits the formation of a polarized epithelium in vitro. 934 81


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