Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0596263 (carcinogenesis)
 64,820 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

N-Methyl N-formlhydrazine (1), a component of the mushroom Gyromitra esculenta, is a carcinogen. Its mode of action, however, is poorly understood. To determine the intermediates that may form during the metabolism of 1, we examined its oxidative chemistry, identified the products and inferred the intermediates on the basis of these products. The incubation of 1 with rat liver microsomes was also studied and the metabolites determined and quantified. Both the chemical and the microsome-mediated oxidation of 1 yielded formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The formation of acetaldehyde requires (i) the oxidation of 1 to a diazenium ion (I) or diazene (II) and (ii) fragmentation of I/II to formyl and methyl radicals. It is suggested that these radical intermediates may be important in understanding and elucidating carcinogenesis by 1.
 ...
PMID:Chemical oxidation and metabolism of N-methyl-N-formylhydrazine. Evidence for diazenium and radical intermediates. 199 5

Aldehydes constitute a group of relatively reactive organic compounds. They occur as natural (flavoring) constituents in a wide variety of foods and food components, often in relatively small, but occasionally in very large concentrations, and are also widely used as food additives. Evidence of carcinogenic potential in experimental animals is convincing for formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, limited for crotonaldehyde, furfural and glycidaldehyde, doubtful for malondialdehyde, very weak for acrolein and absent for vanillin. Formaldehyde carcinogenesis is a high-dose phenomenon in which the cytotoxicity plays a crucial role. Cytotoxicity may also be of major importance in acetaldehyde carcinogenesis but further studies are needed to prove or disprove this assumption. For a large number of aldehydes (relevant) data on neither carcinogenicity nor genotoxicity are available. From epidemiological studies there is no convincing evidence of aldehyde exposure being related to cancer in humans. Overall assessment of the cancer risk of aldehydes in the diet leads to the conclusion that formaldehyde, acrolein, citral and vanillin are no dietary risk factors, and that the opposite may be true for acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde and furfural. Malondialdehyde, glycidaldehyde, benzaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde and anisaldehyde cannot be evaluated on the basis of the available data. A series of aldehydes should be subjected to at least mutagenicity, cytogenicity and cytotoxicity tests. Priority setting for testing should be based on expected mechanism of action and degree of human exposure.
 ...
PMID:Aldehydes: occurrence, carcinogenic potential, mechanism of action and risk assessment. 201 17

Neither experimental animal exposures nor real-life human exposures are delivered at a constant level over a full lifetime. Although there are strong theoretical reasons why all pharmacokinetic processes must "go linear" at the limit of low dose rates, fluctuations in dose rate may produce nonlinearities that either increase or decrease actual risks relative to what would be expected for constant lifetime exposure. This paper discusses quantitative theory and specific examples for a number of processes that can be expected to give rise to pharmacokinetic nonlinearities at high dose rates--including transport processes (e.g., renal tubular secretion), activating and detoxifying metabolism, DNA repair, and enhancement of cell replication following gross toxicity in target tissues. At the extreme, full saturation of a detoxification or DNA repair process has the potential to create as much as a dose dependence of risk on dose delivered in a single burst, and if more than one detoxification step becomes fully saturated, this can be compounded. Effects via changes in cell replication rates, which appear likely to be largely responsible for the steep upward turning curve of formaldehyde carcinogenesis in rats, can be even more profound over a relatively narrow range of dosage. General suggestions are made for experimental methods to detect nonlinearities arising from the various sources in premarket screening programs.
 ...
PMID:Pharmacokinetic principles for dose-rate extrapolation of carcinogenic risk from genetically active agents. 219 3

A challenging aspect of lung carcinogenesis is the elucidation of the mechanisms which permit initiated bronchial epithelial cells to attain a growth advantage over normal bronchial epithelial cells, and subsequently evolve into a malignant phenotype. In this review, the effects of interactions between normal and transformed cells, and the potential role of representative extrinsic factors on cell-cell communication are discussed. Evidence is presented to show how cell injury and the effects of serum and calcium may affect morphology and communication, and tumor development. A large number of autocrine-paracrine factors (e.g., TGF beta, TGF alpha) are released by bronchial epithelial cells. These factors may inhibit or promote the proliferation of normal and transformed bronchial epithelial cells, respectively. The ability of certain injurious and tumor promoting agents (e.g., formaldehyde, TPA) to select for the transformed phenotype may involve selective cell injury, the induction of terminal differentiation and an inhibition of gap junction communication among normal BE cells.
 ...
PMID:Intercellular communication in bronchial epithelial cells: review of evidence for a possible role in lung carcinogenesis. 220 92

The tobacco-specific carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) induces lung tumors in rats, mice, and hamsters, and metabolic activation is required for the carcinogenicity. 2-Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), whose precursor gluconasturtiin (a glucosinolate) occurs in cruciferous vegetables, has been found to inhibit carcinogenesis by NNK. The purpose of the study was to investigate the enzymes involved in the metabolism of NNK in lung microsomes and to elucidate the mechanisms of inhibition of NNK metabolism by isothiocyanates. NNK metabolism in lung microsomes (isolated from female A/J mice) resulted in the formation of formaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (keto alcohol), 4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)butyric acid (keto acid), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl-N-oxide)-1-butanone, and 4-(methyl-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol, displaying apparent Km values of 5.6, 5.6, 9.2, 4.7, and 2540 microM, respectively. Higher Km values in the formation of formaldehyde and keto alcohol were also observed. When cytochrome P-450 inhibitors [2-(diethylamino)ethyl 2,2-diphenylpentenoate] hydrochloride (100 microM), carbon monoxide (90%), and 9-hydroxyellipticine (10 microM) were used, NNK metabolism was inhibited by each 70, 100, and 30%, respectively. Methimazole (1 mM), an inhibitor of the flavin-dependent monooxygenase, inhibited the formation of 4-(methyl-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl-N-oxide)-1-butanone and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol by 20%, but had no effect on the formation of keto alcohol. Inhibitory antibodies against cytochromes P-450IIB1 and -2, P-450IA1, and P-450IA2 inhibited the formation of keto alcohol by 25, 15, and 0%, respectively. Administration of PEITC at doses of 5 and 25 mumol/mouse 2 h before sacrifice produced a 40 and 70% decrease in microsomal NNK metabolism, respectively. PEITC and 3-phenylpropyl isothiocyanate exhibited a mixed type of inhibition, and the competitive component of inhibition had apparent Ki values of 90 and 30 nM, respectively. Preincubation of PEITC in the presence of a NADPH-generating system did not result in a further decrease in the formation of NNK metabolites, indicating that the metabolism of PEITC was not required for the inhibition. When a series of isothiocyanates with varying alkyl chain length (phenyl isothiocyanate, benzyl isothiocyanate, PEITC, 3-phenylpropyl isothiocyanate, and 4-phenylbutyl isothiocyanate) were used, the potency of the inhibition increased with the increase in chain length.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Metabolism of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone in mouse lung microsomes and its inhibition by isothiocyanates. 220 46

Aldehydes are ubiquitous compounds which are generated from many both endogenous and exogenous sources. Primarily because certain aldehydes are respiratory toxicants and carcinogens in laboratory animals, and also because they are present in both tobacco smoke and automotive emissions, cultured human bronchial cells have been used to study the ability of aldehydes, i.e., acrolein and formaldehyde, to cause pathobiological effects associated with carcinogenesis. Comparative studies indicate that each aldehyde distinctly affects several molecular and cellular variables including colony-forming efficiency, clonal growth rate, membrane integrity, formation of cross-linked envelopes, levels of cytosolic free calcium, low-molecular-weight thiol status, DNA structure, i.e., formation of DNA single-strand breaks and DNA-protein cross-links, and various DNA repair mechanisms. In relation to the toxicity exerted by these agents, acrolein induces differentiation more readily than formaldehyde whereas formaldehyde causes much higher levels of genetic damage than acrolein. However, for all biological endpoints measured, acrolein on a molar basis is always more potent than formaldehyde. Taken together, a variety of effects that relate to cell death, accelerated epithelial terminal differentiation and genotoxicity are associated with aldehyde exposure, which in human airways may have a role in the pathogenesis of various diseases. In the development of cancer, the possible contribution of aldehydes from both intra- and extra-cellular sources may partly depend on the ability of target cells to detoxify and counteract those aldehyde-related effects believed to critically relate to multi-stage carcinogenesis.
 ...
PMID:In vitro studies of aldehyde effects related to human respiratory carcinogenesis. 234 11

Data supporting various dose-response relationships in chemical carcinogenesis are summarized. General principles are derived to explain the relationships between exposure dose, DNA adduct level, induction of genetic changes, and tumor incidence. Some mechanistic aspects of epigenetic carcinogens (stimulation of cell division and maldifferentiation) are analyzed in a similar way. In a homogeneous population, non-linearities are frequent. They are due to phenomena of induction or saturation of enzymatic activities and to the multi-step nature of carcinogenesis: if a carcinogen accelerates more than one step, the superposition of the dose-response curves for the individual steps can result in an exponential relationship. A fourth power of the dose was the maximum seen in animals (formaldehyde). At the lowest dose levels, a proportionality between dose and tumor induction is postulated independent of the mechanism of action if the carcinogen accelerates the endogenous process responsible for spontaneous tumor formation. Low-dose thresholds are expected only for situations where the carcinogen acts in a way that has no endogenous counterpart. Epidemiological studies in humans show linear dose-response curves in all but two investigations. The difference from the strongly nonlinear slopes seen in animal studies could be due to the heterogeneity of the human population: if the individual sensitivity to a carcinogen is governed by a large number of genetic and life-style factors, the non-linearities will tend to cancel each other out and the dose-response curve becomes 'quasi-linear'.
Carcinogenesis 1990 Aug
PMID:Dose-response relationship and low dose extrapolation in chemical carcinogenesis. 238 9

To evaluate a short-term epithelial cell assay system to detect respiratory carcinogens, primary cultures of rat tracheal epithelial cells were exposed to a series of 17 compounds and scored for morphologically transformed cell colonies 28 days later. The test compounds included known carcinogens and noncarcinogens in volatile or liquids form. Tracheal epithelial cells were isolated from F344 rats, plated onto collagen-coated dishes, and exposed to the test compounds on day 1 for 24 hours. At day 30 the cultures were fixed, stained, and scored for colonies having a density greater than 1,300 cells/min2. With standardized protocols, such colonies are very infrequent in media and solvent control cultures. Concentration levels for each chemical were chosen over a range from nontoxic to toxic levels. Highly positive compounds in this assay included benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(l)acean-thyrlene, 3-methylcholanthrene, and formaldehyde. Compounds which were negative in this assay included pyrene, benzo(e)pyrene, and 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide. Examining the concordance of in vitro results with whole animal carcinogenesis studies revealed an accuracy of 88% with one false-positive and one false-negative compound. The results of these studies indicate that the rat tracheal epithelial cell assay may be useful in identifying potential respiratory carcinogens in our environment.
 ...
PMID:Evaluation of a rat tracheal epithelial cell culture assay system to identify respiratory carcinogens. 275 28

In previous studies, carcinoma of the uterine cervix of the mouse was induced by repeated vaginal exposure to inactivated herpes simplex viruses, type 1 or 2. To determine if the mouse nasopharynx is also susceptible to the carcinogenic effects of these viruses, animals were inoculated intranasally with suspensions of formaldehyde-inactivated herpes simplex viruses, type 1 or 2, or control material, four to five times a week. After exposure periods of 12, 20, and 32 weeks, groups of animals were killed randomly and the nasopharynx, along with the larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs, were examined histologically. No preinvasive or invasive lesions were detected. These data suggest that the nasopharynx and cervix of the mouse differ in susceptibility to induction of carcinogenesis by inactivated herpes simplex viruses.
 ...
PMID:Resistance of mouse nasopharynx to induction of neoplasia by herpes simplex virus. 283 52

Epidermal "dark cells" (DC) are believed to play a specific role in the so-called promotion phase of experimental skin carcinogenesis. They are recognized by their morphological features both at the light and the electron microscopical level. The possible effects of fixation on the morphology of epidermal cells and hence on the number of DC have not yet been thoroughly studied. In the present light microscopical study we used a semiquantitative method together with simple cell counting to evaluate the influence of fixation on the specific cellular morphology which is traditionally used to determine the number of DC. The use of cacodylate vehicled prefixatives, either formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde, led to a higher incidence of DC, and furthermore both to an increased width of the intercellular spaces (ICS) and a more heavy staining of the keratinocytes than when s-collidine vehicled glutaraldehyde was used. Differences in yield of DC solely due to the prefixative itself (formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde) were not detected. Exposure to TPA or the use of a hyperosmolal prefixative vehicle both yielded higher DC numbers than did controls or conventional prefixative vehicles, respectively. After prefixation with hyperosmolal vehicles, however, TPA treatment did not induce higher DC yield than in a control series. Phenomena usually accompanying exposure to TPA, such as intercellular oedema (widening of the ICS) and cytoplasmic vacuolization, varied in parallel to the number of DC. Hence, there is reason to believe that the induction of epidermal DC is mainly associated with volume reduction of keratinocytes. Such shrinkage may be due to the cytotoxic properties of TPA and degenerative phenomena appearing during tissue processing.
 ...
PMID:The influence of different fixatives and a tumor promoter, 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), on the induction of so-called dark cells in mouse epidermis. A light microscopical study. 287 May 86


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