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

Many cancer and immortal cells exhibit telomerase activity that stabilizes telomere lengths, possibly contributing to cell immortality and carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinicopathological relationship between telomerase activity and telomerase reverse transcriptase subunit (hTERT) status in non small cell lung cancer. hTERT status in non small cell lung cancer using telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) and RT-PCR assay, respectively. Telomerase activity and hTERT were detected in 85.7 and 80.3% of cancerous tissues, respectively. Telomerase activity does not correlate with clinicopathological variables. However, there was an association between p53-correlated expression and hTERT negative status. Lung cancer patients without telomerase activity survived for a significantly longer period than those with telomerase activity. In addition, hTERT was not associated with the prognosis. TERT expression did not correlate well with any clinical parameter. Reactivated telomerase activity may be a poor prognostic factor in NSCLCs.
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PMID:Loss of telomerase activity may be a potential favorable prognostic marker in lung carcinomas. 1287 79

The exact role and timing of reactivation of telomerase, a key enzyme implicated in cellular immortalization and transformation in the multistep process of laryngeal carcinogenesis, is still unknown. We attempted to (1) determine that quantitative differences exist in the levels of telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) mRNA expression among different grades of laryngeal epithelial abnormalities classified according to the Ljubljana classification; (2) determine that telomerase reactivation is an important, most probably early event in laryngeal carcinogenesis; and (3) analyze whether the relative quantity of hTERT mRNA can be used as a molecular biomarker in the early detection of precancerous lesions. The relative quantity of hTERT mRNA, expressed as an hTERT index, was analyzed in 140 frozen laryngeal tissue specimens representing different morphological stages of laryngeal carcinogenesis by using a commercially available LightCycler Telo TAGGG hTERT Quantification kit. The presence and relative quantity of hTERT mRNA in laryngeal epithelium increases progressively with the degree of epithelial abnormalities. hTERT mRNA was detectable in 1/15 normal laryngeal epithelia (7%, mean hTERT index 0.02), 3/15 simple hyperplasias (20%, mean hTERT index 0.09), 10/27 abnormal hyperplasias (37%, mean hTERT index 0.18), 9/12 atypical hyperplasias (75%, mean hTERT index 0.74), 8/9 intraepithelial carcinomas (89%, mean hTERT index 1.82), and 53/62 invasive laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (85%, mean hTERT index 2.51). Statistical analysis revealed two groups of laryngeal epithelial changes with significant differences in the levels of hTERT mRNA expression (P <.0033): (1) normal and reactive hyperplastic laryngeal epithelium (simple and abnormal hyperplasia) and (2) atypical hyperplasia (precancerous lesion), intraepithelial and invasive laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The results of the present study suggest that telomerase reactivation is an early event in laryngeal carcinogenesis, detectable already at the stage of precancerous laryngeal epithelial changes. Nevertheless, other genetic abnormalities appear to be necessary for progression of these epithelial abnormalities toward invasive laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
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PMID:Telomerase reactivation is an early event in laryngeal carcinogenesis. 1367 46

To investigate the relationship among 8-OH-dG and the development of human lung cancer and cancer related genes, an 8-OH-dG-specific monoclonal antibody and biotin-streptavidin immuno-staining were used to detect the 8-OH-dG in 150 cases of human lung cancer tissues, 120 adjacent lung tissues without cancer cells, 40 benign lung lesions and 40 normal lung tissues. The expressions of P53, C-MYC, K-RAS, BCL-2 and hTERT(human telomerase reverse transcriptase) were determined by immunohistochemistry and the relationship among the 8-OH-dG and these genes was analyzed. The 8-OH-dG were positive in 139 of 150 (92.7%) lung cancer specimens, and the percentage of adduct labeling cell in lung cancer specimens was (24.00 +/- 25.11)% (mean +/- SE). 21 of 120 (17.5%) adjacent lung tissues were adduct positive, and the percentage of adduct labeling cell was 2.42 +/- 5.98%. 4 of 40 (10.0%) benign lung lesions were adduct positive, and the percentage of adduct labeling cell was 0.80 +/- 1.30%, whereas 2 of 40 (5.0%) normal lung tissues were weak positive with 8-oh-dG, and the percentage of adduct labeling cell in this group was (0.34 +/- 1.01)%. The level of 8-OH-dG in lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than that of adjacent lung tissues, benign lung lesions and normal lungs (P < 0.01). The lung cancer patients were stratified by sex, age, cell types and smoking history, but these characteristics were not correlated with the level of 8-OH-dG. In the investigation of the relationship between the 8-OH-dG and five cancer related genes, higher 8-OH-dG levels were observed in lung cancer patients with over-expression of K-RAS and BCL-2 than those of negative expressed patients (P-value were 0.035 and 0.034 respectively), whereas the expression of P53, C-MYC and hTERT were not correlated with level of 8-OH-dG. 8-OH-dG was an important biomarker that may reflect the oxidative DNA damages of cells, and 8-OH-dG may affect K-RAS and BCL-2 genes in the carcinogenesis of lung cancer.
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PMID:[Study of 8-OH-dG and its correlation with several cancer related gene in lung cancer tissues]. 1453 88

Telomeres are the distal ends of human chromosomes composed of tandem repeats of the sequence TTAGGG. In most human somatic cells, telomerase activity is undetectable, and the telomere length is progressively shortened during cell proliferation, leading to cellular senescence. In contrast, telomerase is activated in the vast majority of cancer cells, including colorectal cancer. The human telomerase complex is comprised of multiple components, but telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the most important component for the control of telomerase activity. The p53 protein is a transcription factor with multiple biological activities, including cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis upon DNA damage, hypoxia and oncogene activation; this requires transactivation or repression of specific target genes by wild-type p53. To better understand if a link between hTERT/telomerase regulation and p53 status exists in colorectal carcinogenesis, we analysed 43 cases of colorectal carcinoma for hTERT mRNA expression and telomerase activity. Moreover, a complete analysis of p53 status was performed. Alterations of p53 gene were found in 44.19% of cases and missense point mutations represented a high proportion of p53. Both telomerase activity (p=0.014) and hTERT expression (p=0.03) were significantly associated with p53 mutations, suggesting a role of p53 in the signaling pathway for telomerase control.
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PMID:Regulation of telomerase and its hTERT messenger in colorectal cancer. 1471 74

BACKGROUND: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that synthesises telomeres after cell division and maintains chromosomal stability leading to cellular immortalisation. hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) is the rate-limiting determinant of telomerase reactivation. Telomerase has been associated with negative prognostic indicators in some studies. The present study aims to detect any correlation between hTERT and the negative prognostic indicators VEGF and PCNA by quantitatively measuring the mRNA expression of these genes in human breast cancer and in adjacent non-cancerous tissue (ANCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: RNA was extracted from 38 breast carcinomas and 40 ANCT. hTERT and VEGF165, VEGF189 and PCNA mRNA expressions were estimated by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) and Taqman methodology. RESULTS: The level of expression of VEGF-165 and PCNA was significantly higher in carcinoma tissue than ANCT (p = 0.02). The ratio of VEGF165/189 expression was significantly higher in breast carcinoma than ANCT (p = 0.025). hTERT mRNA expression correlated with VEGF-189 mRNA (p = 0.008) and VEGF165 (p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: hTERT mRNA expression is associated with the expression of the VEGF189 and 165 isoforms. This could explain the poorer prognosis reported in breast tumours expressing high levels of hTERT. The relative expression of the VEGF isoforms is significantly different in breast tumour to ANCT, and this may be important in breast carcinogenesis.
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PMID:The mRNA expression of hTERT in human breast carcinomas correlates with VEGF expression. 1473 67

Apart from the neoplastic cells, malignant tumours consist of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and normal cells, in particular tumour-associated macrophages (TAM). To understand the mechanisms by which TAM can influence tumour cell invasion we co-cultured the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, SK-BR-3 and the benign mammary epithelial cell line hTERT-HME1 with macrophages. Co-incubation enhanced invasiveness of the tumour cells, while hTERT-HME1 remained non-invasive. Addition of the broad-spectrum matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-inhibitor FN 439, neutralizing MMP-9 or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antibodies reduced invasiveness to basal levels. As shown by zymography, all cell lines produced low amounts of MMP-2, -3, -7 and -9 under control conditions. Basal MMP production by macrophages was significantly higher. Upon co-incubation, supernatant levels of MMPs -2, -3, -7 and -9 increased significantly, paralleled by an increase of MMP-2 activation. MMP-2 and -9 induction could be blocked by TNF-alpha antibodies. Co-culture of macrophages and hTERT-HME1 did not lead to MMP induction. In the co-cultures, mRNAs for MMPs and TNF-alpha were significantly up-regulated in macrophages, while the mRNA concentrations in the tumour cells remained unchanged. In summary, we have found that co-cultivation of tumour cells with macrophages leads to enhanced invasiveness of the malignant cells due to TNF-alpha dependent MMP induction in the macrophages.
Carcinogenesis 2004 Aug
PMID:Enhanced invasiveness of breast cancer cell lines upon co-cultivation with macrophages is due to TNF-alpha dependent up-regulation of matrix metalloproteases. 1504 27

Research on tumor suppressors has for a long time run on two tracks: analysis of the mutations found in human tumor material, and active genetic manipulation in mice. As primary human cells were not easily amenable to genetic alterations, the proof to designate a suspected gene as a tumor suppressor was often by generation of knockout mice and analysis of their phenotypes. In this way, a vast amount of information has been gathered on the actions of major players in carcinogenesis. However, it has recently become apparent that there are major differences in the requirements for oncogenic transformation between human and mouse cells. Among these are the expression of hTERT, SV40 small t, and the response to Ras induced growth arrest by the tumor suppressor pathways involving p53, pRb and the INK4A locus. The potential contribution of these tumor suppressors to the prevention of transformation of human cells can now begin to be unraveled by the recent emergence of novel RNA interference genetic tools.
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PMID:Unraveling human tumor suppressor pathways: a tale of the INK4A locus. 1504 59

Multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations in oncogenes, tumour-suppressor genes, cell-cycle regulators, cell adhesion molecules, DNA repair genes and genetic instability as well as telomerase activation are implicated in the multistep process of human stomach carcinogenesis. However, particular combinations of these alterations differ in the two histological types of gastric cancer, indicating that well-differentiated or intestinal-type and poorly differentiated or diffuse-type carcinomas have distinct carcinogenetic pathways. In the multistep process of well-differentiated-type carcinogenesis, the genetic pathway can be divided into three subpathways: an intestinal metaplasia-->adenoma-->carcinoma sequence, an intestinal metaplasia-->carcinoma sequence and de novo. In the multistep process of well-differentiated-type or intestinal-type gastric carcinogenesis, infection with Helicobacter pylori may be a strong trigger for hyperplasia of hTERT-positive 'stem cells' in intestinal metaplasia. Genetic instability and hyperplasia of hTERT-positive stem cells precede replication error at the D1S191 locus, DNA hypermethylation at the D17S5 locus, pS2 loss, RARbeta loss, CD44 abnormal transcripts and p53 mutation, all of which accumulate in at least 30% of incomplete intestinal metaplasias. All of these epigenetic and genetic alterations are common events in intestinal-type gastric cancer. An adenoma-->carcinoma sequence is found in about 20% of gastric adenomas with APC mutations. In addition to these events, p53 mutation and loss of heterozygosity (LOH), reduced p27 expression, cyclin E expression and the presence of c-met 6.0-kb transcripts allow malignant transformation from the above precancerous lesions to intestinal-type gastric cancer. DCC loss, APC mutations, 1q LOH, p27 loss, reduced tumour growth factor (TGF)-beta type I receptor expression, reduced nm23 expression and c-erbB gene amplification are frequently associated with an advanced stage of intestinal-type gastric cancer. The de-novo pathway for carcinogenesis of well-differentiated gastric cancer involves LOH and abnormal expression of the p73 gene that is responsible for the development of foveolar-type gastric cancers with pS2 expression. On the other hand, LOH at chromosome 17p, mutation or LOH of p53 and mutation or loss of E-cadherin are preferentially involved in the development of poorly differentiated gastric cancers. In addition to these changes, gene amplification of K-sam, and c-met and p27 loss as well as reduced nm23 obviously confer progression, metastasis and diffusely productive fibrosis. Mixed gastric carcinomas composed of well-differentiated and poorly differentiated components exhibit some but not all of the molecular events described so far for each of the two types of gastric cancer. Besides these genetic and epigenetic events, well-differentiated and poorly differentiated gastric cancers also organize different patterns of interplay between cancer cells and stromal cells through the growth factor/cytokine receptor system, which plays an important role in cell growth, apoptosis, morphogenesis, angiogenesis, progression and metastasis. Meta-analysis of epidemiological studies and animal models show that both intestinal and diffuse types of gastric cancer are equally associated with H. pylori infection. However, H. pylori infection may play a role only in the initial steps of gastric carcinogenesis. Differences in H. pylori strain, patient age, exogenous or endogenous carcinogens and genetic factors such as DNA polymorphism and genetic instability may be implicated in two distinct major genetic pathways for gastric carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Genetic pathways of two types of gastric cancer. 1505 5

Gallbladder cancer has a dismal prognosis. Understanding the disease at the biological, genetic, molecular, cellular, and clinical level is essential for effective diagnostics and therapeutics. However, the currently established gallbladder cell lines are insufficient for better understanding and further research. The aim of our present study was to establish and characterize human gallbladder cancer cell lines. We established 5 cell lines from resected specimens of gallbladder cancers. These cell lines revealed typical tumor histopathological characteristics. We examined growth characteristics and the colony-forming ability of established cell lines in terms of their cell cycle parameters, expression of tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen; CEA, carbohydrated antigen 19-9; CA19-9, MUC-1 and c-kit) and the oncogene c-erbB2 by flow cytometer. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis with specific gene probes was performed to detect changes in the gene copy numbers. Human origin of cell lines was confirmed by chromosomal analysis. Cells maintained differentiation characteristics of the original tumors. The doubling time of different cell lines varied from 30 to 96 h. All 5 cell lines formed colonies in the colony forming assays and expressed CEA, CA19-9, MUC-1 and the oncogene c-erbB2 and showed chromosomal aneuploidy. CGH analysis demonstrated gain of chromosomal region bearing SRC, RAB1, and PAP in all cell lines and hTERT in 4 cell lines. These newly established cell lines might serve as a useful model for studying the molecular pathogenesis of gallbladder cancer. Furthermore, they may serve as a model for testing new therapeutics against gallbladder cancer. These chromosomal aberrations and imbalances provide a starting point for molecular analyses of genomic regions and genes in gallbladder carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Establishment and characterization of unique human gallbladder cancer cell lines. 1506 41

Telomerase activation is prevalent in most epithelial tumors, and may be a critical step in cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis. However, telomerase activity in tumors of mesenchymal origin is not well understood. In the present study, we examined telomerase activity in clinical samples from osteosarcoma and soft tissue sarcoma and representative sarcoma cell lines (HOS, OST and Saos2), using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. The cell lines HOS and OST were telomerase-positive, but Saos2 cells lacked telomerase activity and hTERT mRNA expression. Treatment of Saos2 cells with the demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxy-cytidine, alone or together with the histone deacetylase inhibitor tricostatin A, did not induce hTERT mRNA expression. Twenty-six of the 83 sarcoma samples (31.3%) were telomerase-positive [bone sarcoma, 15 of 42 samples (35.7%); soft tissue sarcoma, 11 of 41 samples (26.8%)], whereas neither benign tumors nor normal bone tissue expressed telomerase activity. There was no significant correlation between histological type, tumor staging and telomerase activity. However, patients with telomerase-positive tumors had significantly shorter survival than those with telomerase-negative tumors. There was heterogeneity in telomere length (range, 6-18 kb) among the tumors examined, but there was no significant difference in length between telomerase-positive and -negative tumors. Thus, these mesenchymal tumors comprise heterologous groups, some positive and some negative for telomerase, with long and short telomeres, suggesting multiple carcinogenesis pathways. The present results indicate that telomerase activation is not prevalent in mesenchymal tumors and is not a critical determinant of telomere length, but it may be a prognostic indicator of mesenchymal tumors.
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PMID:Analysis of telomerase activity and telomere length in bone and soft tissue tumors. 1513 70


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