Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0699790 (colon cancer)
 28,837 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Parasporin-2 is a newly classified Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin with strong cytocidal activities toward human liver and colon cancer cells. Similar to other insecticidal B. thuringiensis crystal toxins, parasporin-2 shows target specificity and damages the cellular membrane. However, the mode of parasporin-2 actions toward the cell membrane remains unknown. Here, we show that this anti-tumour crystal toxin targets lipid rafts and assembles into oligomeric complexes in the membrane of human hepatocyte cancer (HepG2) cells. Upon incubation with HepG2 cells, peripheral membrane-bound toxins, which were recovered in a low-density detergent-resistant membrane fraction, i.e. with lipid rafts, were transformed into heat-stable SDS-resistant membrane-embedded oligomers (approximately 200 kDa). The toxin oligomerization was dependent on temperature and coupled with cell lysis. The toxin oligomerization also occurred in a cell-free membrane system and was required for binding to membrane proteins, the lipid bilayer and cholesterols. These results indicate that parasporin-2 is an oligomerizing and pore-forming toxin that accumulates in lipid rafts.
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PMID:Raft-targeting and oligomerization of Parasporin-2, a bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein with anti-tumour activity. 1800 15

Matrilysin (matrix metalloproteinase-7) plays important roles in tumor progression. It was previously found that matrilysin binds to the surface of colon cancer cells to promote their metastatic potential. In this study, we identified annexin II as a novel membrane-bound substrate of matrilysin. Treatment of human colon cancer cell lines with active matrilysin released a 35 k Da annexin II form, which lacked its N-terminal region, into the culture supernatant. The release of the 35 k Da annexin II by matrilysin was significantly enhanced in the presence of serotonin or heparin. Matrilysin hydrolyzed annexin II at the Lys9-Leu10 bond, thus dividing the protein into an N-terminal nonapeptide and the C-terminal 35 k Da fragment. Annexin II is known to serve as a cell surface receptor for tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). Although the matrilysin treatment liberated the 35 k Da fragment of annexin II from the cell surface, it significantly increased tPA binding to the cell membrane. A synthetic N-terminal nonapeptide of annexin II bound to tPA more efficiently than intact annexin II. This peptide formed a heterodimer with intact annexin II in test tubes and on cancer cell surfaces. These and other results suggested that the nonapeptide generated by matrilysin treatment might be anchored to the cell membrane, possibly by binding to intact annexin II, and interact with tPA via its C-terminal lysine. It is supposed that the cleavage of cell surface annexin II by matrilysin contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis by enhancing tPA-mediated pericellular proteolysis by cancer cells.
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PMID:Matrilysin (matrix metalloprotease-7) cleaves membrane-bound annexin II and enhances binding of tissue-type plasminogen activator to cancer cell surfaces. 1872 Nov 40

Matrilysin (MMP-7) plays important roles in tumor progression. Previous studies have suggested that MMP-7 binds to tumor cell surface and promotes their metastatic potential. In this study, we identified C-type lectin domain family 3 member A (CLEC3A) as a membrane-bound substrate of MMP-7. Although this protein is known to be expressed specifically in cartilage, its message was found in normal breast and breast cancer tissues as well as breast and colon cancer cell lines. Because few studies have been done on CLEC3A, we overexpressed its recombinant protein in human cancer cells. CLEC3A was found in the cell membrane, extracellular matrix (ECM), and culture medium of the CLEC3A-expressing cells. CLEC3A has a basic sequence in the NH(2)-terminal domain and showed a strong heparin-binding activity. MMP-7 cleaved the 20-kDa CLEC3A protein, dividing it to a 15-kDa COOH-terminal fragment and an NH(2)-terminal fragment with the basic sequence. The 15-kDa fragment no longer had heparin-binding activity. Treatment of the CLEC3A-expressing cells with MMP-7 released the 15-kDa CLEC3A into the culture supernatant. Furthermore, the 20-kDa CLEC3A promoted cell adhesion to laminin-332 and fibronectin substrates, but this activity was abrogated by the cleavage by MMP-7. These results suggest that CLEC3A binds to heparan sulfate proteoglycans on cell surface, leading to the enhancement of cell adhesion to integrin ligands on ECM. It can be speculated that the cleavage of CLEC3A by MMP-7 weakens the stable adhesion of tumor cells to the matrix and promotes their migration in tumor microenvironments.
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PMID:Matrilysin (MMP-7) cleaves C-type lectin domain family 3 member A (CLEC3A) on tumor cell surface and modulates its cell adhesion activity. 1917 4

Initiation of cell growth and neoplastic transformation frequently involves activation of growth factor receptor-coupled tyrosine kinases and stimulation of the phosphoinositide second messenger system. Altered expression of CD44 variants was reported in several malignant tumor types with possible implications for tumor progression and prognosis. CD44 variant expression was reported to be associated with second messenger activation and differentiation. We therefore investigated the effects of butyrate-induced short-term differentiation on phosphoinositide signaling, phospholipase C and protein kinase C activity and alteration of CD44 variant expression in human HT-29 colon carcinoma cells. HT-29 cells were cultured with sodium butyrate for 6 days. Phosphoinositide turnover was measured by [32P]orthophosphate incorporation and phospholipase C activity by determination of the release of [3H]inositolphosphates from [3H]myoinositol prelabeled cells. Protein kinase C activity was determined by histone III-S phosphorylation, PKC subtype expression by RNase protection analysis, and CD44 variant expression was determined by RT-PCR using variant-specific primers. Treatment of HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells with sodium butyrate caused a dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation (IC50, 2.5 mM) with morphologic signs of an enterocytic differentiation following 6 days of treatment. The phosphoinositide turnover as determined by 32P-incorporation under non-equilibrium conditions showed a 30-40% inhibition of labeled phosphoinositides and phosphatidic acid and a dose-dependent inhibition of cholinergically stimulated phospholipase C activity as a secondary event following butyrate-induced enterocytic differentiation. However, long-term incubation of HT-29 cells with phorbol ester or an inhibitor of classical and novel PKC subtypes did not affect cell proliferation. In butyrate-treated HT-29 cells activation of calcium-dependent protein kinase C by cholinergic stimulation or phorbolester treatment induced an increase in membrane-bound cPKC activity, while expression of distinct high- molecular CD44 variant transcripts v3 (670 bp), v5 (940 bp) and v8 (535 bp) were drastically reduced after butyrate pretreatment. Enterocytic differentiation of HT-29 colon carcinoma cells seems to be associated with alterations in phosphoinositide resynthesis, phospholipase C activity and ligand/receptor-induced PKC translocation. The observed reduction of distinct high-molecular CD44v3, v5 and v8 variants following butyrate-induced differentiation indicates an association of specific CD44 variant expression with the malignant phenotype of HT-29 colon cancer cells, thus being possible targets for new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
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PMID:Butyrate-induced alterations of phosphoinositide metabolism, protein kinase C activity and reduced CD44 variant expression in HT-29 colon cancer cells. 1936 Mar 23

The complex pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and inflammation induced colon cancer involves a wide range of mediators including cytokines. Recent investigations underline the fundamental role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling in the development and maintenance of IBD and for the progression of this inflammation to colon cancer. The molecular mechanisms of this pathway, the source of the cytokine and the identity of target cells in the intestine are incompletely understood. It is known that the circulating and intestinal levels of IL-6 as well as the soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) are increased in patients with IBD. Remarkably, mucosal T cells of IBD patients are extremely resistant to apoptosis and a large fraction of these cells express membrane-bound gp130 but not the IL-6R. Increasing evidence suggests that the development and perpetuation of IBD relies on IL-6 synthesized by T-cells and myeloid cells and on increased formation of IL-6/sIL-6R complexes interacting with membrane-bound gp130 on T-cells, a process called IL-6 trans-signaling. Recent investigations suggested a protective role of IL-6 mediated STAT3 signaling in intestinal epithelial cells. Here we review these pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of IL-6 in IBD and inflammation induced colon cancer and we will summarize the consequences of these new results for the prospects of IL-6 targeted therapeutic strategies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as IBD.
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PMID:Interleukin-6 trans-signaling and colonic cancer associated with inflammatory bowel disease. 1951 47

Mucins play a key role in tumorigenesis. MUC15 is a membrane-bound mucin and the MUC15 messenger RNA (mRNA) has been detected in various organs. However, its role in tumor malignancy is still unclear. This study was to investigate the MUC15 expression in colorectal tumors and the role of MUC15 in colon cancer cells. We found that the mRNA expression of MUC15 was significantly higher in 70.8% (51/72) of colorectal tumors compared with their normal counterparts by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry showed that MUC15 expression was increased in 82.6% (43/52) of colorectal tumors. MUC15 overexpression in HCT116 cells enhanced cell proliferation, cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, colony-forming ability and invasion. Furthermore, these effects were significantly reversed by knockdown of MUC15 with short-hairpin RNA. In nude mice models, MUC15 overexpression significantly (P < 0.01) enhanced tumor growth. In addition, treatment of PD98059 significantly (P < 0.01) inhibited MUC15-enhanced invasion, suggesting that the invasion induced by MUC15 in HCT116 cells was primarily mediated through activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. In conclusion, these results suggest that MUC15 is upregulated in colorectal tumors and its expression enhances the oncogenic potential of colon cancer cells.
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PMID:Overexpression of MUC15 activates extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and promotes the oncogenic potential of human colon cancer cells. 1952 Jul 92

The synergistic actions of atorvastatin (ATST) with gamma-tocotrienol (gamma-TT) and celecoxib (CXIB) were studied in human colon cancer cell lines HT29 and HCT116. The synergistic inhibition of cell growth by ATST and gamma-TT was demonstrated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and isobologram analysis. delta-TT exhibited a similar inhibitory action when combined with ATST. Mevalonate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate eliminated most of the growth inhibitory effect of ATST, but only marginally decreased that of gamma-TT; whereas farnesyl pyrophosphate and squalene exhibited little effect on the inhibitory action of ATST and gamma-TT, indicating protein geranylgeranylation, but not farnesylation are involved in the inhibition of colon cancer cell growth. Both mevalonate and squalene restored the cellular cholesterol level that was reduced by ATST treatment, but only mevalonate eliminated the cell growth inhibitory effect, suggesting that the cholesterol level in cells does not play an essential role in inhibiting cancer cell growth. Protein level of HMG-CoA reductase increased after ATST treatment, and the presence of gamma-TT attenuated the elevated level of HMG-CoA reductase. ATST also decreased membrane-bound RhoA, possibly due to a reduced level of protein geranylgeranylation; addition of gamma-TT enhanced this effect. The mediation of HMG-CoA reductase and RhoA provides a possible mechanism for the synergistic action of ATST and gamma-TT. The triple combination of ATST, gamma-TT and CXIB showed a synergistic inhibition of cancer cell growth in MTT assays. The synergistic action of these three compounds was also illustrated by their induction of G(0)/G(1) phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
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PMID:Synergistic actions of atorvastatin with gamma-tocotrienol and celecoxib against human colon cancer HT29 and HCT116 cells. 1962 88

Tumor angiogenesis is of paramount importance in solid tumor development. Elevated serum levels of YKL-40, which is a secreted heparin-binding glycoprotein, have been associated with a worse prognosis from various advanced human cancers. Yet the role of YKL-40 activity in these cancers is still missing. In this study, we showed that ectopic expression of YKL-40 in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and in HCT-116 colon cancer cells led to larger tumor formation with an extensive angiogenic phenotype than did control cancer cells in mice. Affinity-purified recombinant YKL-40 protein promoted vascular endothelial cell angiogenesis in vitro, the effects of which are similar to the activities observed using MDA-MB-231 and HCT-116 cell-conditioned medium after transfection with YKL-40. Furthermore, YKL-40 was found to induce coordination of membrane-bound receptor syndecan-1 and integrin alpha(v)beta(3) and to activate an intracellular signaling cascade, including focal adhesion kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-related kinase1/2 in endothelial cells. Moreover, blockade of YKL-40 using small-interfering RNA gene knockdown suppressed tumor angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Immunohistochemical analysis of human breast cancer showed a correlation between YKL-40 expression and blood vessel density. These findings provide novel insights into angiogenic activities and molecular mechanisms of YKL-40 in cancer development.
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PMID:YKL-40, a secreted glycoprotein, promotes tumor angiogenesis. 1976 68

Apoptosis and autophagy have been shown to be negatively regulated by prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins. We determined whether the anticancer agent celecoxib, alone or combined with a small molecule Bcl-2/Bcl-x(L) antagonist (ABT-737), can induce autophagy in colon cancer cells. Furthermore, we determined whether inhibition of autophagy can drive colon cancer cells into apoptosis. Celecoxib was shown to induce apoptosis that was attenuated by ectopic Bcl-2 or Bax knockout. ABT-737 synergistically enhanced celecoxib-induced cytotoxicity that was primarily due to apoptosis as shown by caspase cleavage and Annexin V labeling that was attenuated by a pan caspase inhibitor (z-VAD-fmk). Celecoxib triggered conversion of the autophagosome-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) from a cytosolic (LC3I) to a membrane-bound (LC3II) form, as shown by immunoblotting and a punctate fluorescence pattern of an ectopic GFP-LC3 protein. Celecoxib-induced conversion of LC3 was due to autophagy induction, as supported using the lysosome inhibitor, bafilomycin A1, which produced an accumulation of LC3II. ABT-737 enhanced celecoxib-induced LC3 conversion and p62/SQSTM1 degradation. Inhibition of autophagy was then studied in an effort to drive cells into apoptosis. 3-methyladenine (3-MA) blocked LC3 conversion, and 3-MA and wortmannin significantly enhanced apoptotic signaling in cells treated with celecoxib plus ABT-737. Furthermore, knockdown of Atg8/LC3B or Vps34 using siRNA attenuated p62 degradation and enhanced apoptotic signaling; Vps34 siRNA potentiated annexin V(+), PI(-) labeled cells induced by celecoxib + ABT-737. In conclusion, celecoxib induces apoptosis and autophagy that can both be potentiated by ABT-737. Inhibition of autophagy was shown to enhance apoptosis, suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy against colon cancer.
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PMID:Celecoxib-induced apoptosis is enhanced by ABT-737 and by inhibition of autophagy in human colorectal cancer cells. 2010 24

MUC3A is a membrane-bound glycoprotein that is aberrantly expressed in carcinomas and is a risk factor for a poor prognosis. However, the exact mechanism of MUC3A expression has yet to be clarified. Here, we provide the first evidence that MUC3A gene expression is controlled by the CpG methylation status of the proximal promoter region. We show that the DNA methylation pattern is intimately correlated with MUC3A expression in breast, lung, pancreas and colon cancer cell lines. The DNA methylation status of 30CpG sites from -660 to +273 was mapped using MassARRAY analysis. MUC3A-negative cancer cell lines and those with low MUC3A expression (e.g., MCF-7) were highly methylated in the proximal promoter region, corresponding to 9CpG sites (-345 to -75bp), whereas MUC3A-positive cell lines (e.g., LS174T) had low methylation levels. Moreover, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A treatment of MUC3A-negative cells or those with low MUC3A expression caused elevation of MUC3A mRNA. Our results suggest that DNA hypomethylation in the 5'-flanking region of the MUC3A gene plays an important role in MUC3A expression in carcinomas of various organs. An understanding of epigenetic changes in MUC3A may contribute to the diagnosis of carcinogenic risk and to prediction of outcome in patients with cancer.
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PMID:Promoter hypomethylation contributes to the expression of MUC3A in cancer cells. 2051 Aug 74


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