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

The evolution of a fully malignant tumor is a multistep process resulting from the action of multiple factors, both environmental and endogenous, and involves alterations in the function of multiple cellular genes. Chemical carcinogens that initiate this process appear to do so by damaging cellular DNA. In addition to producing simple point mutations, this damage appears to induce the synthesis of a trans acting factor that can induce asynchronous DNA replication. This response may result in gene amplification and/or gene rearrangement. This phenomenon may also play a role in synergistic interactions between chemicals and viruses in the causation of certain cancers. The primary target of the tumor promoters TPA, teleocidin, and aplysiatoxin appears to be the cell membrane. All three of these agents act, at least in part, by enhancing the activity of the phospholipid-dependent enzyme protein kinase C. We have proposed a stereochemical model to explain the interaction of these amphiphilic compounds with the PKC system. We have found that TPA and teleocidin markedly enhance the transformation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts when these cells are transfected with the cloned H-ras human bladder cancer oncogene. Thus, tumor promoters can act synergistically with an activated oncogene to enhance cell transformation. Furthermore, carcinogen-transformed rodent cells display aberrations in the expression of various endogenous retrovirus-related sequences. Activation of some of these sequences may lead to insertion mutations and further aberrations in gene expression. Thus, multistage carcinogenesis may involve both changes in cellular oncogenes and aberrations in the function of DNA sequences that control gene transcription.
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PMID:Cell culture studies on the mechanism of action of chemical carcinogens and tumor promoters. 406 3

DNAs from rat nasal and mouse skin carcinomas and fibrosarcomas induced by the alkylating agents methylmethane sulfonate (MMS), beta-propiolactone (BPL), and dimethylcarbamyl chloride (DMCC) were tested for their ability to transform NIH3T3 cells by DNA transfection. Each of eight MMS-induced rat nasal carcinomas and two of five BPL-induced mouse skin tumors were positive in the transfection assay while all of four fibrosarcomas and six carcinomas induced by DMCC were negative. Anchorage independent growth, tumorigenicity in nude mice, and secondary transfection confirmed the transformed phenotype of the positive transfectants. The transfectants from MMS-induced tumor DNAs did not contain restriction fragments homologous to rat H-, K- or N-ras oncogenes although exogenous (rat) tumor-derived DNA sequences were detected in transfectant genomes by Southern analysis. In contrast a BPL-induced mouse skin tumor showed evidence of containing activated H-ras. These results suggest specificity among causal chemical carcinogens for activation of transforming genes in experimental tumors.
Carcinogenesis 1985 Dec
PMID:Carcinogen specificity in the activation of transforming genes by direct-acting alkylating agents. 406 47

Specific gene hypermethylation has been shown in DNA from neonatal rats exposed to the phytoestrogens, coumestrol, and equol. The pancreas is an organ in which estrogen receptors have been shown to be present. Studies have correlated the development of acute pancreatitis with rising levels of human estrogen binding proteins. Neonatal rats were dosed with 10 or 100 micrograms of coumestrol or equol on postnatal day (PND) 1-10. The animals were sacrificed at Day 15. The pancreas was excised and pancreatic acinar cells isolated for molecular analysis. DNA was isolated from the cells by lysis in TEN-9 buffer supplemented with proteinase K and 0.1% SDS. High molecular weight (HMW) DNA was digested with the methylated DNA specific restriction enzymes, Hpa II and Msp I, for determination of methylation profiles. Both coumestrol and equol at high doses caused hypermethylation of the c-H-ras proto-oncogene. No hypermethylation or hypomethylation was observed in the proto-oncogenes, c-myc or c-fos. Methylation is thought to be an epigenetic mechanism involved in the activation (hypomethylation) or inactivation (hypermethylation) of cellular genes which are known to play a role in carcinogenesis. Epidemiology studies have shown that equol may have anti-carcinogenic effects on some hormone-dependent cancers. Additional studies are needed to further understand the role of phytoestrogens and methylation in relation to pancreatic disorders.
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PMID:Methylation profile and amplification of proto-oncogenes in rat pancreas induced with phytoestrogens. 753 22

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the mouse skin, as well as several types of preinvasive carcinoma precursor lesions, were produced by complete carcinogenesis protocols with benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Groups of mice were studied histologically at several time points. Tumors and precursor lesions were systematically counted on microscope slides. The main feature of tumor development using this ubiquitous human carcinogen was the sequential appearance of in situ flat lesions with progressive degrees of dysplasia. These changes, preceding the development of SCCs, were observed 20 weeks after beginning the carcinogen treatments. At this time point, in situ lesions outnumbered SCC approximately 10:1 at the higher total carcinogen dose examined. Ten weeks later, this ratio was approximately 1:1. With the lower total carcinogen dose protocol, progression was delayed since at 27 weeks preinvasive lesions outnumbered SCCs approximately 8:1. In addition to the in situ lesions, papillomas and keratoacanthomas were noted with the high B[a]P dose protocol, but tended to disappear at the end of the experiment, also indicating their probable role as SCC precursors. A study of histochemical markers showed that gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) and keratin 13, although good markers of malignant changes in early papillomas produced by two-stage carcinogenesis protocols, were mainly negative in dysplastic lesions produced by complete carcinogenesis with B[a]P. Immunohistochemical detection of p53 showed that 50% of SCCs were positively stained, whereas only 3% of in situ lesions were p53 immunoreactive. Similarly, 62% of SCCs were immunohistochemically positive for cyclin D, but no precursor lesions were positive. Molecular analysis of the tumors showed the absence of H-ras mutations. No amplification of the cyclin-D-1 gene was detected in eight SCCs examined. Collectively, these findings indicate that preinvasive in situ lesions are frequent during early stages of carcinogenesis when B[a]P is used in a complete carcinogenesis protocol. Although the absence of p53 immunoreactivity in this mouse model differs from the observed changes in human premalignant squamous lesions, the sequence of morphological changes and the final incidence of p53 and cyclin D staining abnormalities are very similar to the well-known alterations that take place during human squamous carcinogenesis.
Carcinogenesis 1995 Jul
PMID:Positive immunohistochemical staining of p53 and cyclin D in advanced mouse skin tumors, but not in precancerous lesions produced by benzo[a]pyrene. 754 77

The proto-oncogene c-fos is a major nuclear target for signal transduction pathways involved in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and transformation. Using the multistep skin carcinogenesis model, we have directly tested the ability of c-fos-deficient mice to develop cancer. Upon treatment with a tumor promoter, c-fos knockout mice carrying a v-H-ras transgene were able to develop benign tumors with similar kinetics and relative incidence as wild-type animals. However, c-fos-deficient papillomas quickly became very dry and hyperkeratinized, taking on an elongated, horny appearance. While wild-type papillomas eventually progressed into malignant tumors, c-fos-deficient tumors failed to undergo malignant conversion. Experiments in which v-H-ras-expressing keratinocytes were grafted onto nude mice suggest that c-fos-deficient cells have an intrinsic defect that hinders tumorigenesis. These results demonstrate that a member of the AP-1 family of transcription factors is required for the development of a malignant tumor.
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PMID:c-fos is required for malignant progression of skin tumors. 754 43

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent environmental toxin which has been found to be non-genotoxic in short term in vitro tests but strongly carcinogenic in two stage models of hepatocellular carcinogenesis in female rats. Many recent studies have shown that after treatment of mice with various genotoxic or non-genotoxic compounds, the H-ras oncogene mutational patterns exhibited by hepatocellular tumors appear to vary specifically with the chemical. To gain insight into the mechanism of TCDD-associated carcinogenesis, susceptible B6C3F1 mice and resistant C57BL/6 mice were treated with a single dose of vinyl carbamate (VC) or vehicle, and TCDD was administered once every 2 weeks for 1 year to half of the animals in each group. Liver tumor prevalence was assessed and found to be highest in the VC + TCDD treatment groups, reaching nearly 100% at 600 days in both sexes and both strains of mice. DNA was isolated from 20 or more frozen liver tumors (if available) from each exposure group and analyzed for H-ras mutations in codon 61 by sequencing after PCR amplification of exon 2. Fifty-one percent of tumors analyzed from B6C3F1 mice treated with TCDD alone had H-ras codon 61 mutations with a pattern similar to that detected in spontaneous tumors. Seventy-eight percent of tumors from B6C3F1 mice treated with both VC and TCDD had codon 61 mutations, and most mutations were A-->T transversions in the second base as observed similarly with VC alone. In the C57BL/6 strain comparable results were found in the respective exposure groups. These data suggest that TCDD is acting as a promoter of lesions previously initiated either spontaneously or by VC. Moreover, the intrinsic resistance of both male and female C57BL/6 mice to liver tumor formation seemed to disappear after treatment with TCDD.
Carcinogenesis 1995 Aug
PMID:H-ras oncogene mutation spectra in B6C3F1 and C57BL/6 mouse liver tumors provide evidence for TCDD promotion of spontaneous and vinyl carbamate-initiated liver cells. 763 93

The ultimate stage of carcinogenesis in both human and mouse epithelial cells is the ability to invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to distant sites. In mouse skin tumours, the development of the invasive, spindle cell phenotype is associated with an imbalance of alleles on mouse chromosome 7, including the H-ras gene. In previous work, we have described clonally related squamous and spindle cell lines from the same primary tumour which differed substantially in morphology and behaviour, but showed the same series of mutations in H-ras and p53 genes. One of the events which takes place during this transition is disruption of cell-cell contacts, possibly due to the induced expression of metalloproteinases such as stromelysin-1 and disappearance of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. Parallel studies using somatic cell hybrids have shown that the spindle cell phenotype is recessive in hybrids between squamous and spindle cells. We propose that an important epidermal differentiation-controlling gene is lost during the spindle cell transition.
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PMID:Molecular mechanisms of invasion and metastasis during mouse skin tumour progression. 765 34

The mouse liver is a frequent target organ for chemical carcinogenesis (Huff et al., 1988, 1991; Gold et al., 1989) and tumor development exhibits preferential strain sensitivity (Dragani et al., 1992; Drinkwater and Bennett, 1991). In some reports a positive correlation has been observed between the degree of spontaneous liver tumor incidence and the propensity to develop liver tumors after treatment with chemical carcinogens (Della Porta et al., 1967; Flaks, 1968; Dragani et al., 1984, 1987; Diwan et al., 1986; Drinkwater and Ginsler, 1986), but this is not always the case (Grasso and Hardy, 1975; Hanigan et al., 1988; Dragani et al., 1992). Thus, the interpretation of this endpoint in assessing potential health hazards to humans continues to be the subject of active debate. Studies of molecular and genetic factors that modulate the genesis of mouse liver tumors should enhance our understanding of the relevance of this response following exposure to genotoxic as well as nongenotoxic chemicals. To utilize intelligently animal models as surrogates for human carcinogenesis, the validity of rodent tumor endpoints in assessing potential human health hazards from chemical exposure remains an important issue. One approach has been to understand the animal system itself and the mechanisms by which chemicals induce tumors in the animal model. Information regarding the molecular events associated with tumor induction should make the relevance of results from rodent carcinogenicity studies to human risk easier to assess. Results to date have identified activation of ras proto-oncogenes as one early event and an important factor associated with chemical induction of mouse liver neoplasia (Reynolds et al., 1986, 1987; Wiseman et al., 1986), although ras-independent pathways appear to account for an appreciable proportion of some chemically induced mouse liver tumors (Fox et al., 1990; Buchmann et al., 1991). Available data emphasize the complexity of H-ras activation in murine hepatocarcinogenesis. Not only the genetic background of the mouse but also the dose of the carcinogen may influence significantly the number of tumors containing activated H-ras. Both high sensitivity and low sensitivity strains of mice can develop liver tumors which contain activated H-ras oncogenes, showing that the ability to activate this gene does not in itself determine susceptibility to hepatocarcinogenesis. Ras gene mutational profiles in chemically induced liver tumors may be different and distinguishable from those in spontaneous tumors. Since multiple genetic as well as nongenetic events are associated with tumor development, defining a precise role for ras gene mutations when they occur in mouse liver tumors is often difficult.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Mutations in the ras proto-oncogene: clues to etiology and molecular pathogenesis of mouse liver tumors. 767 62

Dichloroacetic (DCA) and trichloroacetic (TCA) acids, two major by-products formed during chlorine disinfection of drinking water, increase the incidence of tumors in B6C3F1 mice by 6- and 3-fold respectively. In order to understand better the mechanism by which these two compounds induce liver tumors, the incidence and spectrum of mutations in the K- and H-ras proto-oncogenes in these tumors were analyzed. DNA from spontaneous, DCA- and TCA-induced liver tumor from B6C3F1 male mice was evaluated for point mutations in exons 1, 2 and 3 of the two genes by single-stranded conformation polymorphism. Results demonstrated a similar incidence of mutations for exon 2 of H-ras in spontaneous carcinomas (58%), and in carcinomas induced by DCA 3.5 g/l (50%), 1.0 g/l (48%) and TCA 4.5 g/l (45%). Only four showed mutations in the other exons of Hras or in K-ras. Sequence analysis of spontaneous tumor samples with second exon H-ras mutations revealed a change in codon 61 from CAA to AAA in 80% and CAA to CGA in 20% of tumors. In contrast, tumors with H-ras mutations from DCA-treated mice revealed a H-61 change from CAA to AAA in 21% at 3.5 g/l and 16% at 1.0 g/l. CAA to CGA was observed in 50% of tumors from mice given DCA 3.5 or 1.0 g/l, and CAA to CTA was present in 29% and 34% of the two dosage groups respectively. Interestingly, TCA showed the same mutational spectrum as the spontaneous liver tumors. The data indicates that induction of liver carcinoma by DCA and TCA involves activation of the H-ras proto-oncogene at a frequency similar to that observed in spontaneous tumors. However, the mechanism(s) for including hepatocellular carcinoma does not appear to be identical for DCA and TCA.
Carcinogenesis 1995 Mar
PMID:Ras oncogene activation during hepatocarcinogenesis in B6C3F1 male mice by dichloroacetic and trichloroacetic acids. 769 4

Human papillomavirus (HPV) 5 and HPV8 are often detected in skin cancers developed in patients suffering from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, as well as in skin cancers developed in immunosuppressed patients. In the present study, in order to examine the transforming activity of the HPV8E7 gene, the HPV8E7 and HPV8E6/E7 genes were cloned into the expression vector (pcD2-Y), under the SV40 enhancer/promoter to construct pcD2-8E7 and pcD2-8E6/E7, respectively. The E7 and E6/E7 genes of genital high-risk HPV16 were also cloned into pcD2-Y to construct pcD2-16E7 and pcD2-16E6/E7, respectively. They were tested for their ability to collaboratively transform primary rat embryo fibroblasts (REFs) with activated H-ras gene. Transfection experiments of REFs having an activated H-ras gene revealed that pcD2-8E7, as well as pcD2-16E7 and pcD2-16E6/E7, induced transformation of cells in G418-resistant colonies at efficiencies of 11.9%, 43.0% and 53.0%, respectively. Transformed cell lines induced by activated H-ras gene and pcD2-8E7 or pcD2-16E7 were named 8RE and 16RE cell lines, respectively. Tumor induction in syngeneic newborn rats by injected the 8RE cells was higher than that of the 16RE cells. In cytological and histological examination, the 8RE cell lines and their induced tumors were different from the 16RE cell lines and their induced tumors. The 8RE cell lines showed the characteristic transformation with efficient growth ability on plastic and colony formation in 0.3% soft agar. These results support the hypothesis that the HPV8E7 gene plays an important role in the carcinogenesis of skin cancers.
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PMID:[Experimental study on carcinogenesis by human papillomavirus type 8 E7 gene]. 792 81


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