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Query: UMLS:C0684249 (lung carcinoma)
 23,830 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Oncogenic (activated) Ras is a signal transducer that activates multiple effector-mediated signaling pathways leading to altered cell morphology, growth and differentiation, and neoplastic transformation. Activating mutations of Ras family genes have been detected in many types of human cancers, including lung cancer. However, the signaling mechanisms by which oncogenic Ras controls cancer cell growth is poorly characterized. This study evaluates the role of two specific signaling pathways, the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, in oncogenic Ras-induced morphological transformation of NCI-H82 human small cell lung cancer cells. In the NCI-H82 cell line, oncogenic Ras causes a marked and sustained activation of JNK but only has a modest effect on activation of the ERK pathway. The persistent JNK activation is associated with Ras-induced changes in cell morphology and enhanced transforming activity. Furthermore, JNK activation correlates with the induction of c-Jun expression, c-Jun phosphorylation on serines 63 and 73, and increased AP-1 activity. Deregulation of the JNK pathway using a dominant-negative mutant of JNK1, JNK1(APF), completely reverses the oncogenic Ras-induced transformed phenotype, including morphological reversion and inhibition of anchorage-independent growth and low-serum growth. Moreover, expression of JNK1(APF) leads to a decrease in c-Jun/AP-1 activity. In contrast, inhibition of ERK activation via a pharmacological approach using a mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK kinase-specific inhibitor 2-(2'-amino-3'-methoxyphenyl)-oxanaphthalen-4-one is unable to reverse the Ras-induced transformed morphology and c-Jun/AP-1 induction. These results demonstrate that the JNK/c-Jun/AP-1 pathway plays an essential role in mediating oncogenic Ras function in lung carcinoma cells.
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PMID:A dominant role for the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase in oncogenic ras-induced morphologic transformation of human lung carcinoma cells. 1066 94

Cadmium (Cd), a human carcinogen, can induce apoptosis in various cell types. Three major mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), have been shown to regulate apoptosis. In this study we explore the ability of Cd to activate JNK, p38 and ERK, including their effects on Cd-mediated growth inhibition and apoptosis in a human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line, CL3. The kinase activity of JNK was induced dose-dependently by 30-160 microM CdCl(2). High cytotoxic doses of Cd (130-160 microM) markedly activated p38, but low Cd doses did not. Conversely, the activities of ERK1 and ERK2 were decreased by low cytotoxic doses of Cd (</=80 microM) and moderately activated by high Cd doses. Low cytotoxic doses of Cd transiently activated JNK and simultaneously reduced ERK activity, whereas high cytotoxic doses of Cd persistently activated JNK and p38. PD98059, an inhibitor of ERK upstream activators MAPK kinase (MKK) 1 and MKK2, greatly enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cells treated with low Cd doses. In contrast, SB202190, an inhibitor of p38, decreased the cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by high Cd doses. Transient expression of a dominant negative form of JNK1, but not that of JNK2, significantly increased the viability and prevented apoptosis of Cd-treated cells. However, expression of wild-type JNK1 did not affect viability and apoptosis of Cd-treated cells. Transfection of wild-type JNK2 or p38 enhanced apoptosis of cells exposed to low Cd doses but did not affect those exposed to high Cd doses. The JNK activity stimulated by low Cd doses was partially suppressed by expression of a dominant negative form of MKK7, but not a dominant negative form of MKK4, indicating that MKK7 is involved in JNK activation by Cd. Together, the results of this study suggest that JNK and p38 cooperatively participate in apoptosis induced by Cd and that the decreased ERK signal induced by low Cd doses contributes to growth inhibition or apoptosis.
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PMID:Roles of JNK, p38 and ERK mitogen-activated protein kinases in the growth inhibition and apoptosis induced by cadmium. 1087 22

We demonstrated here that X-ray irradiation at very low doses of between 2 and 5 cGy stimulated proliferation of normal human diploid cells and human tumor cells. Higher doses of irradiation at >1 Gy accumulated p53 protein and induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2. Phosphorylation of ERK1/2 decreased with dose down to 50 cGy, however, doses of between 5 cGy and 2 cGy phosphorylated ERK1/2 as efficiently as higher doses of X-rays, whereas the p53 protein level was not changed by doses <50 cGy. We found that mitogen-activated protein /ERK kinase (MEK) 1 was phosphorylated with both 2 cGy and 6 Gy of X-rays, and that activated ERK1/2 augmented phosphorylation of Elk-1 protein. The specific epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, AG1478, decreased phosphorylation of the ERK1/2 proteins induced by 2 cGy or 6 Gy of X-rays, and similar suppressive effect was observed with MEK inhibitor, PD98059. Suppression of ERK1/2 phosphorylation with these inhibitors alleviated enhanced proliferation of normal human cells by low-dose irradiation. Furthermore, overexpression of ERK2 in NCI-H1299 human lung carcinoma cells potentiated enhanced proliferation, whereas down-regulation of ERK2 using the antisense ERK2 gene abrogated the stimulative effect of low-dose irradiation. These results indicate that a limited range of low-dose ionizing radiation differentially activates ERK1/2 kinases via activation of epidermal growth factor receptor and MEK, which causes enhanced proliferation of cells receiving very low doses of ionizing radiation.
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PMID:Extremely low-dose ionizing radiation causes activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and enhances proliferation of normal human diploid cells. 1145 82

Chromium(VI) [Cr(VI)] and cadmium (Cd) compounds are ubiquitous environmental carcinogens that have been associated with lung tumors and can induce apoptosis in various cell types. Three major mitogen-activation protein kinases (MAPKs), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-JUN N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, have been shown to regulate apoptosis. In this study we explore the abilities of Cr(VI) and Cd to activate JNK, p38 and ERK, including their roles in metal-mediated growth inhibition and apoptosis in a human non-small-cell lung carcinoma cell line, CL3. Exposure to K2Cr2O7 markedly activated JNK and p38 and moderately activated ERK in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The activated p38 decreased markedly and rapidly and the activated JNK decreased gradually when Cr(VI) was removed from media. At low cytotoxic doses, CdCl2 decreased ERK activity with concurrently transient activation of JNK, whereas at high cytotoxic doses it persistently activated all three MAPKs. The strength and duration of JNK and p38 activated by Cd were higher and longer than Cr(VI) did when compared at similar cytotoxic doses. In comparable experiment conditions Cd is a much stronger apoptotic inducer than Cr(VI) in CL3 cells. Cross-talk of MAPKs was observed in cells exposed to Cr(VI) but not Cd. Both metals could increase JNK activity through MKK7 but not MKK4. The Cd-activated JNK is involved in apoptosis, but the Cr-activated JNK is not. PD98059, an inhibitor of the ERK upstream activators MKK1/2, greatly enhanced the cytotoxicity and apoptosis of cells treated with low Cd doses. SB202190, an inhibitor of p38, decreased the cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by high Cd doses. Conversely, neither SB202190 nor PD98059 altered Cr(VI)-induced cytotoxicity. The results suggest that JNK and p38 signals cooperatively participate in apoptosis induced by Cd and that the decreased ERK signal by low Cd doses contributes to growth inhibition or apoptosis. Oppositely, activation of ERK, JNK and p38 by Cr(VI) does not affect cytotoxicity.
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PMID:Comparison of roles of three mitogen-activated protein kinases induced by chromium(VI) and cadmium in non-small-cell lung carcinoma cells. 1167 15

Nanomolar concentrations of Taxol, and other antimitotic agents that interact with microtubules, mediate serine phosphorylation of the 66-kDa Shc isoform (p66shc) in A549 human lung carcinoma cells, 9-18 h after drug treatment. This event coincides with the release of PARP cleavage fragments that are early indicators of apoptosis. Taxol-induced serine phosphorylation of p66shc results from a MEK-independent signaling pathway that is activated in A549 cells that have a prolonged or abnormal mitotic phase of the cell cycle [Cancer Res. 60 (2000) 5171]. In contrast, in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells, micromolar concentrations of Taxol but not other microtubule-interacting agents induced serine phosphorylation of p66shc that correlated with the phosphorylation of Raf-1 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), within 15-30 min after Taxol treatment. This event also was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The MEK-inhibitor, U0126, that specifically inhibits the activation of ERK also blocked the phosphorylation of p66shc and Raf-1, suggesting that these processes were MEK-dependent, quite different from that which was observed in A549 cells. Taxol also induced phosphorylation of p38 and JNK MAP kinases within 8-15 min after drug treatment. It is known that Taxol, but not other microtubule-interacting agents, induces the production of cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in mouse macrophages. The time course of Taxol-induced TNF-alpha expression coincides with that of Taxol-induced p66shc phosphorylation, and U0126 inhibits significantly Taxol-induced TNF-alpha expression in RAW 264.7 cells. Our data indicate that the Taxol-induced serine phosphorylation of p66shc in RAW 264.7 cells is microtubule-independent and may be related to increased TNF-alpha expression after Taxol and LPS treatment. It is concluded that the mechanisms involved in Taxol-induced p66shc phosphorylation are distinct in A549 and RAW 264.7 cells.
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PMID:Distinct mechanisms of taxol-induced serine phosphorylation of the 66-kDa Shc isoform in A549 and RAW 264.7 cells. 1206 70

Eight human isoforms of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) exist, but their individual functions remain poorly understood. Here, we show that different human small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cell lines overexpress distinct subsets of class I(A) and II PI3Ks, which results in striking differences in the signalling cascades activated by stem cell factor (SCF). Over expression of class I(A) p85/p110alpha in SCLC cells increased SCF-stimulated protein kinase B (PKB) activation and cell growth, but did not affect extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) or glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). This effect was selective, since it was not observed in SCLC cell lines overexpressing p85/p110beta or p85/p110delta. The SCF receptor associated with both class I(A) p85 and class II PI3KC2beta, and both enzymes contributed to SCF-stimulated PKB activity. A dominant-negative PI3KC2beta blocked both PKB activation and SCLC cell growth in response to SCF. Together our data provide novel insights into the specificity and functional significance of PI3K signalling in human cancer.
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PMID:Two distinct phosphoinositide 3-kinases mediate polypeptide growth factor-stimulated PKB activation. 1235 26

Sustained activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway can lead to cell cycle arrest in many cell types. We have found, with human medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) cells, that activated Ras or c-Raf-1 can induce growth arrest by producing and secreting an autocrine-paracrine factor. This protein was purified from cell culture medium conditioned by Raf-activated MTC cells and was identified by mass spectrometry as leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). LIF expression upon Raf activation and subsequent activation of JAK-STAT3 was also observed in small cell lung carcinoma cells, suggesting that this autocrine-paracrine signaling may be a common response to Ras/Raf activation. LIF was sufficient to induce growth arrest and differentiation of MTC cells. This effect was mediated through the gp130/JAK/STAT3 pathway, since anti-gp130 blocking antibody or dominant-negative STAT3 blocked the effects of LIF. Thus, LIF expression provides a novel mechanism allowing Ras/Raf signaling to activate the JAK-STAT3 pathway. In addition to this cell-extrinsic growth inhibitory pathway, we find that the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway induces an intracellular growth inhibitory signal, independent of the LIF/JAK/STAT3 pathway. Therefore, activation of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathway can lead to growth arrest and differentiation via at least two different signaling pathways. This use of multiple pathways may be important for "fail-safe" induction and maintenance of cell cycle arrest.
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PMID:The Ras/Raf/MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway induces autocrine-paracrine growth inhibition via the leukemia inhibitory factor/JAK/STAT pathway. 1250 53

A combination of paclitaxel (Taxol) and mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK/Erk) inhibitor represents a rational new approach to chemotherapy. We performed Affymetrix microarray analysis to understand the global effects of this combination in lung carcinoma. Genes involved in cell cycle control, apoptosis, adhesion, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis were modulated. We observed similar patterns of gene modulation in ovarian and melanoma cell lines, indicating the general applicability of these findings. Functional genomic analysis identified two genes as new targets of drug-induced tumor apoptosis. The MGSA/Gro1 gene, important in melanoma growth, was induced by paclitaxel and reduced by MEK inhibition. Blockage of paclitaxel-induced melanoma growth stimulatory activity significantly reduced melanoma growth. Additionally, the expression of topoisomerase III beta, which exhibited a clear pattern of gene reduction by a combination of the two drugs, was significantly increased (5.7-fold) in primary lung cancers but not adjacent tissues. These findings provide potential new biomarkers and gene targets for the development of improved cancer treatment.
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PMID:Transcriptional profiling of targets for combination therapy of lung carcinoma with paclitaxel and mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase inhibitor. 1294 40

The growing knowledge of the tight connection between apoptosis and cancer has lead to an explosion of research revolving around apoptotic induction with chemotherapeutic agents and small molecule inhibitors. The chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel (Taxol) activates mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase and, combined with MEK inhibition, synergistically enhances apoptosis. Here we implement a proteomic approach using two-dimensional gels coupled with mass spectrometry to identify proteins altered with this coordinated combination treatment. We found that the combined treatment of paclitaxel and MEK inhibitor uniquely altered the proteins RS/DJ-1 (RNA-binding regulatory subunit/DJ-1 PARK7) and RhoGDIalpha (Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor alpha). Functional proteomic analysis by exogenous expression or short interfering RNA targeting confirmed a role in survival and apoptosis for these proteins. Analysis of primary lung tumors with matched adjacent normal tissue confirmed RS/DJ-1 overexpression in non-small cell lung carcinoma. This study shows the power of proteomic profiling coupled with functional analysis for the discovery of novel molecular targets and potential cancer cell-specific biomarkers.
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PMID:Proteomic profiling drug-induced apoptosis in non-small cell lung carcinoma: identification of RS/DJ-1 and RhoGDIalpha. 1458 93

Dietary phytochemicals have been shown to be protective against various types of cancers. However, the precise underlying protective mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we report that treatment of A549 cells with quercetin resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in cell viability and DNA synthesis with the rate of apoptosis equivalent to 1.2 +/- 0.8, 6.3 +/- 0.9, 16.5 +/- 1.5, 36.4 +/- 2.6 and 42.5 +/- 5.8% on treatment with 0.1% dimethylsulfoxide, 14.5, 29.0, 43.5 and 58.0 micro M quercetin, respectively. Concomitantly, quercetin treatments led to a 1.1-, 1.1-, 2.5- and 3.5-fold increase in Bax. Similar elevations were also observed in Bad, which increased 1.1-, 2.1-, 2.2- and 2.3-fold, respectively, as compared with control. While Bcl-2 was decreased by 30%, Bcl-x(L) was elevated in a dose-dependent fashion. Quercetin also induced the cleavage of caspase-3, caspase-7 and PARP (poly ADP-ribose polymerase). While Akt-1 and phosphorylated Akt-1 were inhibited, the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was phosphorylated following quercetin treatment in a dose-dependent fashion. Phosphorylation of ERK and c-Jun occurred at 3 h and was sustained over 14 h. Phosphorylation of MEK1/2 was increased in concordance with ERK activation. Quercetin-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and cleavage of caspase-3 occurred 6 h after quercetin exposure and before cleavage of caspase-7 and PARP was detected. Inhibition of MEK1/2 but not PI-3 kinase, p38 kinase or JNK abolished quercetin-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun, cleavage of caspase-3 and -7, cleavage of PARP and apoptosis. Inhibition of caspase activation completely blocked quercetin-induced apoptosis. Expression of constitutively activated MEK1 in A549 cells led to activation of caspase-3 and apoptosis. The results suggest that in addition to inactivation of Akt-1 and alteration in the expression of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, activation of MEK-ERK is required for quercetin-induced apoptosis in A549 lung carcinoma cells.
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PMID:The role of activated MEK-ERK pathway in quercetin-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in A549 lung cancer cells. 1468 22


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