Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C1140680 (ovarian cancer)
 28,141 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The ultrastructure of the major histologic types of ovarian carcinoma was investigated as part of a multilateral study of this tumor. The nuclear and nucleolar changes in size, shape, and structure correlated well with the degree of malignancy and tumor grading. Cytoplasmic organelles and intercellular junctions were abundant and fairly well differentiated even in ovarian carcinomas of higher grade and stage. Active processes of synthesis and secretion taking place in most of these tumors were suggested by the presence of a richly granulated endoplasmic reticulum, dilated cisternae, and numerous secretory granules. Seventy-eight different ovarian carcinomas of all histologic types were cultured in vitro for periods of up to 300 days, and their morphology in light and electron microscopy was compared to that of the original tumors. The cultures displayed a consistent pattern of growth which led to the conclusion that ovarian cancer cells in vitro preserve their salient features and are representative of the tumors of origin. Heterologous antisera raised with pooled extracts of various types of ovarian carcinomas reacted specifically in immunodiffusion and immunofluorescence tests only with ovarian carcinomas and not with normal ovaries, benigh ovarian tumors, and nonovarian malignant neoplasms, indicating the presence of a cross-reacting specific antigen for ovarian carcinomas. In other studies, autologous antibodies were isolated from antigen-antibody complexes recovered from peritoneal effusions of patients with ovarian carcinomas. These antibodies displayed a high degree of specificity against ovarian carcinoma cells when tested in immunofluorescence assays.
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PMID:Electron microscopy, tissue culture,and immunology of ovarian carcinoma. 123 35

Among 833 cancer patients whose sera were investigated for Regan isoenzyme and among 1,319 cancer patients from a different population whose sera were assayed for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), those patients with neoplasms of the testis or ovary showed the highest frequency of both placental proteins. Among another 22 patients with ovarian cancer, for whom both placental proteins were measured, 59% showed Regan isoenzyme and 68% showed HCG in ascitic fluids, whereas the figures were 65% and 30%, respectively, for sera. In 55% of both fluids and sera, there was a positive correlation of Regan isoenzyme with HCG (positive or negative). Almost invariably, the ascitic fluid was richer in Regan isoenzyme and HCG than the serum when both were collected on the same day. Progressively increasing levels of each placental protein generally correlated with the spread of the disease, though there were instances when only one was expressed. Evidence indicated the existence of two forms of alkaline phosphatase in ovarian cancer, Regan and non-Regan; the latter was assumed to be of fetal origin. Ultrastructural studies of one ovarian cancer revealed a morphologic entity, i.e., mitochondria enveloped by inverted tubules of endoplasmic reticulum.
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PMID:Regan isoenzyme and human chorionic gonadotropin in ovarian cancer. 123 37

The clinical and pathologic features, including immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, of six cases of poorly differentiated carcinoma of the ovary (small cell carcinoma) are presented. These tumors occurred in six young patients ranging in age from 10 to 24 years. Two patients had hypercalcemia. All tumors were unilateral, and four patients had advanced stage disease at presentation. Histologic features included sheets, nests, and cords of cells in a fibrous stroma, focal microcysts, and a dimorphic population of small and large cells. Eosinophilic, hyaline globules occurred in five cases, intercellular basement membrane-like substance in two cases, and glycogen in all cases. Five of six cases stained strongly for cytokeratin and vimentin; intracytoplasmic laminin was identified in three cases; and three cases were believed to show faint positivity for alpha-1-antitrypsin. Stains for alpha-fetoprotein were negative. Ultrastructural examination of two cases showed granular material in dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, intermediate filaments, intracytoplasmic dense globules, maculae adherens, and extracellular basement membrane-like material. All of the cases proved rapidly fatal despite various therapies, as did a histologically similar testicular tumor that was admixed with seminoma and teratoma. We interpret these findings to indicate that this ovarian cancer is most likely of germ cell origin, and it may be related to yolk sac tumor, although it is clearly distinct from the classical yolk sac tumor.
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PMID:Poorly differentiated (small cell) carcinoma of the ovary in young women: evidence supporting a germ cell origin. 302 45

The Rep proteins of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) are known to bind to Rep recognition sequences (RRSs) in the AAV inverted terminal repeats (ITRs), the AAV p5 promoter, and the preferred AAV integration site in human chromosome 19, called AAVS1. Integration of the AAV genome into AAVS1 appears to be mediated by an interaction between the Rep proteins of AAV and Rep binding sites within the viral genome and the integration locus. In an attempt to identify potential alternate integration sites, we looked for recognition sites for AAV Rep proteins in the human genome by performing a BLASTN computerized homology search. We used the 16-mer core sequences of the RRSs in the AAV ITRs and AAVS1 separately as query sequences and identified 18 new RRSs in or flanking the genes coding for the following: tyrosine kinase activator protein 1 (TKA-1); colony stimulating factor-1; insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2); histone H2B.1; basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, also known as perlecan; the AF-9 gene product, which is involved in the chromosomal translocation t (9:11)(p22:q23); the betaB subunit of the hormone known as inhibin; interleukin-2 enhancer binding factor; an endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment resident protein called p63; a global transcription activator (hSNF2L); the beta-actin repair domain; a retinoic acid-inducible factor, also known as midkine; a breast tumor autoantigen; a growth-arrest- and DNA-damage-inducible protein called gadd45; the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor called KIP2, which inhibits several G1 cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase complexes; and the hereditary breast and ovarian cancer gene (BRCA1). RRSs were also identified in a newly discovered open reading frame on chromosome 10 and in the ERCC1 locus on human chromosome 19. The ability of a maltose binding protein-Rep68 fusion protein to bind to these sequences was confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. These sites may serve as alternate integration sites for AAV or play a role in Rep-mediated effects on human cells.
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PMID:Binding sites for adeno-associated virus Rep proteins within the human genome. 903 95

We previously demonstrated that delivery of a gene encoding an anti-erbB-2 intracellular single-chain antibody (sFv) resulted in down-regulation of cell surface erbB-2 levels and induction of apoptosis in erbB-2 overexpressing ovarian cancer cells. Based upon these findings, we hypothesized that human breast carcinomas overexpressing erbB-2 would be similarly affected by this genetic intervention. We evaluated the phenotypic effects resulting from intracellular expression of the anti-erbB-2 sFv on the human breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-361, SK-BR-3, BT-474, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Recombinant adenoviruses encoding either a reporter gene (AdCMVLacZ) or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) directed anti-erbB-2 sFv (Ad21) were delivered to various breast cancer cell lines. Cell viability was determined by a proliferation assay and fluorescent microscopy allowed visualization of apoptotic cells. An erbB-2 ELISA quantified the endogenous erbB-2 levels of each cell line. The anti-erbB-2 sFv-encoding-adenovirus, Ad21, but not the beta-galactosidase encoding adenovirus, AdCMVLacZ, was cytotoxic to > 95% of the tumor cells in the MDA-MB-361 and SK-BR-3 lines, and > 60% of the tumor cells in the BT-474 line. In marked contrast, the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines showed no change in the rate of cell proliferation following this treatment. The cytotoxic effects generated in the first three lines were a consequence of the induction of apoptosis by the anti-erbB-2 sFv. An ELISA specific for erbB-2 showed that the breast cancer cell lines most susceptible to the anti-erbB-2 sFv, MDA-MB-361, SK-BR-3 and BT-474, overexpressed the erbB-2 protein while the cell lines demonstrating no response to the anti-erbB-2 sFv, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, expressed the lowest levels of erbB-2. These results demonstrate that targeted killing of erbB-2 overexpressing cells via intracellular knockout can be accomplished in the context of breast carcinoma. Furthermore, erbB-2 levels in breast tumor cells may be predictive of their sensitivity to sFv-mediated killing. The ability to accomplish selective cytotoxicity of breast cancer cell lines overexpressing the erbB-2 tumor marker should allow for derivation of clinical gene therapy strategies for breast cancer utilizing this approach.
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PMID:An intracellular anti-erbB-2 single-chain antibody is specifically cytotoxic to human breast carcinoma cells overexpressing erbB-2. 917 17

CA125 is an ovarian cancer antigen whose recently elucidated primary structure suggests that CA125 is a giant mucin-like glycoprotein present on the cell surface of tumor cells. Here, we establish a functional link between CA125 and beta-galactoside-binding, cell-surface lectins, which are components of the extracellular matrix implicated in the regulation of cell adhesion, apoptosis, cell proliferation and tumor progression. On the basis of mass spectrometry and immunological analyses, we find that CA125 is a counter receptor for galectin-1, as both soluble and membrane-associated fragments of CA125 derived from HeLa cell lysates are shown to bind specifically to human galectin-1 with high efficiency. This interaction is demonstrated (1) to depend on beta-galactose-terminated, O-linked oligosaccharide chains of CA125, (2) to be preferential for galectin-1 versus galectin-3 and (3) to be regulated by the cellular background in which CA125 is expressed. Despite lacking a conventional signal peptide, a CA125 C-terminal fragment of 1148 amino acids, representing less than 10% of the full-length protein, retains the ability to integrate into secretory membranes such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi, and is targeted to the plasma membrane by conventional secretory transport. As demonstrated by a novel assay that reconstitutes non-conventional secretion of galectin-1 based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), we find that tumor-derived HeLa cells expressing endogenous CA125 present more than ten times as much galectin-1 on their surface compared with non-tumor-derived, CA125-deficient CHO cells. Intriguingly, both the galectin-1 expression level and the cell-surface binding capacity for galectin-1 are shown to be similar in CHO and HeLa cells, suggesting that CA125 might be a factor involved in the regulation of galectin-1 export to the cell surface.
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PMID:The cancer antigen CA125 represents a novel counter receptor for galectin-1. 1261 72

Reversible serine/threonine protein phosphorylation catalyzed by kinases and phosphatases 2A (PP2A) plays a crucial role in cellular growth and differentiation. We attempted to determine the subcellular location of PP2A in ovarian cancer cells and its regulation by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which is known to have anti-proliferative actions on ovarian cancers. Surgically removed ovarian cancers were screened for GnRH receptor expression prior to subcellular fractionations. PP2A activity was assessed by measuring the dephosphorylation of phosphopeptide highly selective for the PP2A in cytosol and membranes fractionated on a continuous sucrose density gradient. To assess GnRH effects, cloned cell lines were pretreated with or without a GnRH agonist. There were three peaks of PP2A activity, corresponding by marker enzyme analysis to the cytoplasm, plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum fractions. The kinetic analysis showed a different activity in cytosol and membrane; Km values for substrate of 185 microM and Vmax of 555 pmol/mg protein/30 min for cytosol, and 28 microM and 83 pmol/mg protein/30 min for plasma membrane, respectively. PP2A-specific inhibitor okadaic acid inhibited the cytosolic and membrane-associated activity by 50% when added at 2 nM and 50 nM (p<0.001). A 50% inhibitory effect of NaF was obtained at 0.5-1 mM for cytosol and 5 mM for membranes (p<0.001). In Caov-3 cells exposed GnRH, PP2A activity of plasma membrane increased by 1.3-fold (p<0.001) but that of cytosol was not affected. PP2A activity in the plasma membrane of ovarian cancer cells might be distinct from that present in the cytosol. The plasma membrane PP2A may be responsible for a portion of an increased ser/thr protein phosphorylation-dephosphorylation turnover that occurs during cell exposure to GnRH.
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PMID:Independent action of serine/threonine protein phosphatase in ovarian cancer plasma membrane and cytosol during gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation. 1453 13

Epithelial ovarian cancer derived from the human ovarian surface epithelium (HOSE) is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies among American women. Metabolic activation of endogenous and exogenous chemicals by cytochrome P450 (CYP) class I enzymes has been implicated in its etiology. In this study, we showed overexpression of CYP1A1 mRNA, but not CYP1B1 transcripts, in ovarian cancer cell lines when compared with primary cultures or immortalized HOSE cell lines. Importantly, we identified a novel, enzymatically active, spliced variant of CYP1A1 (CYP1A1v) formed by excision of an 84-bp cryptic intron in exon 2. CYP1A1v is overexpressed in ovarian cancer cell lines and exhibits a unique subcellular distribution restricted to the nucleus and mitochondria, contrary to the endoplasmic reticulum localization of the wild-type enzyme. In concordance, total CYP1A1 activity, as measured by the ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase assay, was detected in mitochondrial, nuclear, and microsomal fractions of ovarian cancer cells but was notably absent in all subcellular fractions of HOSE cells. Immunocytochemistry studies in 30 clinical specimens revealed overexpression of CYP1A1 in various types of ovarian cancers compared with benign epithelia and frequent localization of the enzyme to cancer cell nuclei. Forced expression of CYP1A1wt or CYP1A1v in HOSE cells resulted in nuclear localization of the enzyme and acquisition of anchorage-independent growth, which was further exacerbated following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene or 17beta-estradiol. Collectively, these data provided the first evidence that CYP1A1 overexpression and alternative splicing could contribute to ovarian cancer initiation and progression.
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PMID:Overexpression of cytochrome P450 1A1 and its novel spliced variant in ovarian cancer cells: alternative subcellular enzyme compartmentation may contribute to carcinogenesis. 1586 68

Lysophosphatidic acid, the substrate for lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase beta (LPAAT-beta), is a well-studied autocrine/paracrine signaling molecule that is secreted by ovarian cancer cells and is found at elevated levels in the blood and ascites fluid of women with ovarian cancer. LPAAT-beta converts lysophosphatidic acid to phosphatidic acid, which functions as a cofactor in Akt/mTOR and Ras/Raf/Erk pathways. We report that elevated expression of LPAAT-beta was associated with reduced survival in ovarian cancer and earlier progression of disease in ovarian and endometrial cancer. Inhibition of LPAAT-beta using small interfering RNA or selective inhibitors, CT32521 and CT32228, two small-molecule noncompetitive antagonists representing two different classes of chemical structures, induces apoptosis in human ovarian and endometrial cancer cell lines in vitro at pharmacologically tenable nanomolar concentrations. Inhibition of LPAAT-beta also enhanced the survival of mice bearing ovarian tumor xenografts. Cytotoxicity was modulated by diacylglycerol effectors including protein kinase C and CalDAG-GEF1. LPAAT-beta was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and overexpression was associated with redistribution of protein kinase C-alpha. These findings identify LPAAT-beta as a potential prognostic and therapeutic target in ovarian and endometrial cancer.
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PMID:Lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase-beta is a prognostic marker and therapeutic target in gynecologic malignancies. 1623 Apr 5

1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-t-butylphenyl)methane (DIM-C-pPhtBu) is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) agonist, and treatment of SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells with this compound (5 micromol/L) inhibits cell proliferation, whereas up to 15 micromol/L rosiglitazone had no effect on cell growth. DIM-C-pPhtBu also inhibits G0-G1 to S phase cell cycle progression and this is linked, in part, to PPARgamma-dependent induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. DIM-C-pPhtBu induces PPARgamma-independent down-regulation of cyclin D1 and we therefore further investigated activation of receptor-independent pathways. DIM-C-pPhtBu also induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells and this was related to induction of glucose-related protein 78, which is typically up-regulated as part of the unfolded protein response during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Activation of ER stress was also observed in other ovarian cancer cell lines treated with DIM-C-pPhtBu. In addition, DIM-C-pPhtBu induced CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein through both ER stress and c-jun NH2-terminal kinase-dependent pathways, and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein activated death receptor 5 and the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. These results show that DIM-C-pPhtBu inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells through both PPARgamma-dependent and PPARgamma-independent pathways, and this complex mechanism of action will be advantageous for future clinical development of these compounds for treatment of ovarian cancer.
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PMID:1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-substituted phenyl)methanes inhibit ovarian cancer cell growth through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-dependent and independent pathways. 1698 67


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