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

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Epidemiologic studies shows a striking correlation between areas where this tumor is prevalent and where hepatitis virus B and C are endemic, contaminations of food with mycotoxin aflatoxin B1, excessive alcohol intake, prolonged cigarette smoking, sexual hormones. Combination of chemical, physical, and genetic insults to individual hepatocytes involve changes in the genome transformed or neoplastic cell, depending to both the activation of oncogenes (e.g., ras) and the inactivation of tumor supressor genes (e.g., p53). Advances in radiologic techniques such as ultrasonography, computed tomography, angiography and dosages of tumor markers like alpha-fetoprotein offers still the best for diagnosis and screening for hepatocellular carcinoma. Then the diagnosis has become possible during the early stages, characterized to be a very well-differentiated tumour that has returned its preexisting liver structure, with a certain proportion have a multicentric origin. Hepatocellular carcinoma carries an extremely poor prognosis, with a median survival between 2-4 weeks, for those without treatment. Surgical resection are the only curative modality for this disease. In these patients two main patterns of intrahepatic recurrence after hepatectomy are defined, and depends on the growth of residual satellite tumours or synchronous and metachronous multicentric carcinogenesis. This evolution is estimated to be nearly 50%, with 5-year survival rate of nearly 30%. The presence of cirrhosis, satellite nodules, venous invasion, the absence of capsule formation and positive surgical margin (< or = 5 mm) were associated with higher intrahepatic recurrence rates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Small hepatocellular carcinoma. New concepts on intrahepatic recurrence after hepatectomy in orthotopic liver transplantation]. 757 79

Experimental carcinogenicity studies focus on identification of single carcinogens. Humans, however, appear exposed to a variety of low doses of carcinogens. Furthermore, few chemical entities are carcinogenic or toxic per se, but require metabolic activation to form ultimate carcinogens or toxins. In contrast to experimental animals, humans show considerable difference in genetic properties. In that situation it is particularly important to estimate individual capability for metabolic activation. To an increasing extent, activation includes formation of toxic oxygen metabolites. Particular targets for activated species are DNA and lipids; in particular low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Modifications of DNA are important for initiating the multistep process of carcinogenesis, in particular if oncogenes are activated or if tumor supressor genes are inactivated. Such DNA modification can be identical regardless of the reactive specimens being a xenobiotic or an oxygen species. Modification of LDL can start the process of atherosclerosis by transforming macrophages into foam cells, deposited as fatty streaks in the arterial wall. Biomarkers for activation capacity of xenobiotics include the use of prototype substrates and molecular techniques to determine genetic polymorphisms. Oxidative DNA modification can be measured from urinary excretion of oxidatively modified deoxynucleosides, particularly guanosine. Future efforts have to include individual measurements in order to improve the 'resolution' of molecular epidemiological approaches.
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PMID:Early biochemical markers of effects: enzyme induction, oncogene activation and markers of oxidative damage. 763 23

Cyclin-dependent kinase-4 inhibitor genes (INK4) regulate the cell cycle and are candidate tumor-suppressor genes. To determine if alterations in the coding regions of the p18 and p19 genes, which are novel members of the INK4 family and if they correlate with the development of human cancer, 100 human cancer cell lines were analyzed. Two other INK4 gene family members, p15INK4b/MTS2 and p16INK4/MTS1 genes were also analyzed. Homozygous deletions of the p15INK4b/MTS2 gene were detected in 29 cancer cell lines. Thirty-five homozygous deletions and 7 intragenic mutations of the pl6INK4/MTS1 gene were also detected in these cell lines. Neither homozygous deletions nor intragenic mutations of the p18 and p19 genes were found except in an ovarian cancer cell line, SKOV3, harboring a single base pair deletion in exon 1 of p19. In p16INK4/MTS1 expression analysis, 5 cell lines with both authentic and alternative spliced p16INK4/MTS1 mRNA had no detectable p16INK4/MTS1 protein. These results suggest the hypotheses that either post-translational modification or enhanced degradation may be responsible for the lack of detection of the p16INK4/MTS1 protein. Using Western blot analysis, subsets of 26 human cancer cell lines were examined for p18 expression and 39 cell lines for p19 expression. All of these cell lines expressed the p18 or p19 protein, with the exception of SKOV3, which did not express p19. Therefore, the INK4 gene family may be divided into 2 groups. One group includes p15INK4b/MTS2 and p16INK4/MTS1, in which genetic and epigenetic alterations might contribute to the development of human cancers. The other group includes p18 and p19, in which somatic mutations are uncommon in many types of human cancer, and their role in human carcinogenesis and cancer progression is uncertain.
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PMID:Molecular analysis of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor genes p15INK4b/MTS2, p16INK4/MTS1, p18 and p19 in human cancer cell lines. 893 42

The INK4a locus encodes two different, cell cycle-regulating proteins, p16INK4a and p19ARF. In this study, we screened mutations in all coding regions of the INK4a locus (exons 1 beta, 1 alpha, 2, and 3) in 21 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of human skin by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis. Mutations were detected in 3 SCCs in exon 2, which is common to both p16INK4a and p19ARF. These included an in-frame deletion of 21 base pairs from codon 84 to 90, a frameshift mutation of CCC-->TC at codon 75, and a nonsense mutation of CGA-->TGA at codon 80 of the p16INK4a gene. These results suggest that inactivation of the INK4a locus has some relevance to the carcinogenesis in at least some of SCCs of human skin. This is the first demonstration of aberrations in the INK4a locus in SCCs of human skin.
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PMID:Mutations of the INK4a locus in squamous cell carcinomas of human skin. 912 47

Loss of function of the p53 tumor supressor gene is involved in nearly all human cancer. Recently a cellular oncogene product, mdm2, has been shown to bind to p53 and eliminate its ability to function as a transcription factor. mdm2 and p53 immunohistochemical protein expression was studied in tumor tissues, preneoplastic lesions, and normal bronchial mucosa. The specimens were obtained during diagnostic bronchoscopy from 53 patients with lung cancer. In the tumor specimens, p53 nuclear staining was detected in 26 (49%) cases, mdm2 in 11 (20.7%), and simultaneous expression of both proteins in 6 (11.3%) cases. Thirty-five sections with preneoplastic lesions were found in 21 patients. p53 nuclear staining was found in 11 of 35 and mdm2 in 6 of 35 sections. In normal cells, mdm2 positive staining was found in 18 and p53 in 12 specimens. Simultaneous p53 and mdm2 expression was found in 4 specimens. Our results indicate that p53 expression is more frequent than mdm2 expression in lung cancer tissues. Alterations in these proteins are early events and may represent alternative pathways in carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Expression of mdm-2 protein in neoplastic, preneoplastic, and normal bronchial mucosa specimens: comparative study with p53 expression. 979 68

Calpain, also named CANP (for calcium-activated neutral protease), is an intracellular cytoplasmatic non-lysosomal cysteine endopeptidase that requires calcium ions for activity. Many substrates of the calpain isoenzymes, such as the transcription factors c-Fos and c-Jun, the tumor supressor protein p53, protein kinase C, pp60c-src and the adhesion molecule integrin, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of different human tumors, suggesting an important role of the calpains in malignant diseases. We now report differential expression of the calpain I gene (CL I) in a variety of tumors, extending our study to a larger series of renal cell carcinomas. Using Northern-blot analysis, we studied calpain I expression in 30 renal cell carcinomas as compared with matched healthy tissues. Tumor samples were classified according to their histological type: 21 clear cell carcinomas, 4 chromophobe carcinomas, 3 papillary carcinomas and 2 oncocytomas. In renal tumor samples, calpain I gene mRNA was expressed at highly variable levels, significantly depending on the different histological types. Moreover, there was a correlation of higher calpain I expression with increased malignancy: within the clear cell carcinoma subset, tumor samples with advanced nodal status (N1 and N2) showed a significantly higher calpain I expression than tumors without metastasis to regional lymph nodes. Our data suggest an important role of calpain isoenzymes in carcinogenesis and tumor progression.
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PMID:Expression of calpain I messenger RNA in human renal cell carcinoma: correlation with lymph node metastasis and histological type. 998 24

The two gene products of the CDKN2A gene, p16 and p19ARF, have recently been linked to each of two major tumour suppressor pathways in human carcinogenesis, the RB1 pathway and the p53 pathway. p16 inhibits the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma gene product by cyclin D-dependent kinases, whereas p19ARF targets MDM2, a p53 inhibitory protein, for degradation. A deletion of CDKN2A would therefore disturb both pathways. To explore the p53 pathway genes as a functional unit in diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (DLCL), we wanted to see whether there exists mutually exclusiveness of aberrations of CDKN2A, MDM2 and p53, since this has not been analysed previously. We investigated 37 DLCL for aberrations of p15, p16, p19ARF, MDM2, and p53 at the epigenetic, genetic and/or protein levels. Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A was detected in seven (19%) of 37 tumours, and another three cases were hypermethylated at the 5' CpG island of p16. No point mutations were found in CDKN2B or CDKN2A. Immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue for p16 confirmed these results, as all tumours with alterations of CDKN2A were p16 immunonegative. We found p53 mutations in eight (22%) cases and MDM2 overexpression in 16 (43%) tumours. Twenty-three (62%) tumours had alterations of one or more p53 pathway components (p53, p19ARF and MDM2). Furthermore, 7/9 (78%) p16-immunonegative tumours showed co-aberration of p53 and/or MDM2. The lack of correlation between these aberrations suggests that DLCL acquire additional growth advantage by inactivating both of these critical regulatory pathways.
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PMID:Aberrations of the p53 pathway components p53, MDM2 and CDKN2A appear independent in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. 1008 36

The protein phosphatase inhibitor and tumor promoting agent okadaic acid (OA), has been shown previously to induce hyperphosphorylation of p53 protein, which in turn correlated with increased transactivation or apoptotic function. However, how the tumor promotion effects of OA relate to p53 tumor supressor function (or dysfunction) remain unclear. Rat embryonic fibroblasts harboring a temperature-sensitive mouse p53 transgene were treated with 50 nM doses of OA. At the wild-type permissive temperature this treatment resulted in: (i) the hyperphosphorylation of sites within tryptic peptides of the transactivation domain of p53; (ii) an increase in p53 affinity for a p21(waf1) promotor oligonucleotide; (iii) an increase in cellular steady state levels of p21(waf1) message; (iv) a G2/M cell cycle blockage in addition to the G1/S arrest previously associated with p53; and (v) no increased incidence of apoptosis. On the other hand, OA treatment at the mutated p53 permissive temperature resulted in a relatively high incidence of aberrant mitosis with no upregulation of p21(waf1) message. These results suggest that while wild-type p53 blocks the proliferative effects of OA through p21(waf1)-mediated growth arrest, cells with non-functional p53 cannot arrest and suffer relatively high levels of OA-mediated aberrant mitoses.
Carcinogenesis 1999 Jun
PMID:Okadaic acid mediates p53 hyperphosphorylation and growth arrest in cells with wild-type p53 but increases aberrant mitoses in cells with non-functional p53. 1035 86

The carcinogenic effects of in utero exposure to 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) have been demonstrated in the tumor-resistant C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA (D2) strains of mice. In this study, we determined the effects of in utero exposure to MC in BALB/c mice, a strain which demonstrates greater susceptibility to lung tumor induction, and compared our findings with those previously found in [D2xB6D2F(1)]F(2) mice. In addition, we assessed the molecular pathogenesis of the chemically induced tumors and examined the effects of the putative lung tumor promoter butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in BALB/c mice. BALB/c mice were treated on day 17 of gestation with 5, 15 or 45 mg/kg MC and 6 weeks after birth with BHT for 6 consecutive weeks. Mice were killed at 6 months of age. Ki-ras, p16Ink4a and p19ARF gene loci were amplified from paraffin-embedded lung tumor tissue and screened for the presence of point mutations via allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses. Ki-ras point mutations were found in 56% (20/36) of BALB/c lung tumors, with 33% (2/6) of the hyperplasias, 58% (10/19) of the adenomas and 73% (8/11) of the carcinomas exhibiting point mutations at this gene locus. Similar incidences of Ki-ras mutations were previously found following transplacental exposure of [D2xB6D2F(1)]F(2) mice to MC and treatment of adult A/J mice with urethane. Interestingly, a strain-dependent difference was observed in the mutational spectrum. Sixty-two and 38% of the lung lesions in BALB/c mice exhibited G-->C and G-->T transversions, respectively, in contrast to the 13 and 84% incidences previously observed in [D2xB6D2F(1)]F(2) mice. SSCP analysis of the tumor suppressor gene p16Ink4a showed a 6% incidence of point mutations, consistent with that found in [D2xB6D2F(1)]F(2) mice. No mutations were found in exon 1beta of the p19ARF gene of either strain. BHT, a lung tumor promoter in adult mice, had no statistically significant effects on either tumor incidence, tumor multiplicity or the mutational spectrum produced in the Ki-ras gene by in utero MC treatment. However, though not significant, there was an observable trend in increased tumor multiplicity in mice co-treated with BHT. These data demonstrate the transplacental carcinogenic effect of MC in BALB/c mice and show that mutagenic damage to Ki-ras is a critical early event mediating murine lung tumorigenesis in both the tumor-sensitive and tumor-resistant strains. Unlike what occurs when adult BALB/c mice are treated with MC, BHT does not appear to significantly promote the formation of lung tumors following transplacental exposure to MC, possibly due to the rapid growth and cell proliferation in the developing organism. Strain-dependent differences in the Ki-ras mutational spectrum may be associated with their differential susceptibility to lung tumor initiation.
Carcinogenesis 1999 Nov
PMID:Strain-dependent lung tumor formation in mice transplacentally exposed to 3-methylcholanthrene and post-natally exposed to butylated hydroxytoluene. 1054 20

The status of CDKN2a gene, coding for p16 and p19ARF proteins, was examined in 55 colorectal cancers. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single stranded conformational polymorphism and sequencing revealed 1 case of CDKN2a mutation. Methylation-specific PCR detected p16 locus methylation in 37 (73%) of 51 normal samples and 29 (53%) of 55 cancers (P=0.035). p16 transcript absence (assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) was noted in 10 (45%) of 22 normal samples and four (14%) of 29 cancers (P=0.012) and correlated with gene methylation (P=0.036). The decreasing frequency of p16 silencing in cancer comparing to normal mucosa does not support the postulated role of p16 in colorectal carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Mutations, methylation and expression of CDKN2a/p16 gene in colorectal cancer and normal colonic mucosa. 1116 4


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