Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P04626 (erbB-2)
 5,251 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death in gynecological cancers. To date, there are no prognostic factors in ovarian cancer that adequately account for tumor biology and the course of the disease. In recent years, some reports have described the prognostic significance of the amplification and overexpression of the oncogene c-erbB-2 (HER2/neu) in various human cancers, including ovarian cancer. The c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene is located on the long arm of chromosome 17. It encodes a 185 kD transmembrane glycoprotein receptor (p185HER2) that has sequence similarities with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R). In ovarian cancer, the percentage of c-erbB-2 positive cases varies from 9 to 32%. Correlation with tumor stage and the degree of histological differentiation was not observed. The overexpression of c-erbB-2 is a new and statistically independent prognostic factor. The overexpression of oncogene c-erbB-2 in ovarian cancer can-be detected by immunohistochemistry staining for the protein p185 and characterizes a group with unfavorable tumor biology and a significantly worse prognosis. Elevated serum levels of the c-erbB-2 oncoprotein have been identified in patients with various cancers known to overexpress the c-erbB-2 oncogene. The detection of a p185 oncoprotein fragment in the sera of ovarian cancer patients was recently published by our group. Antiproliferative effects of monoclonal antibodies directed against p185 have been demonstrated in breast cancer patients. This may lead to a new approach in ovarian carcinoma therapy, too, over and above the diagnostic aspects.
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PMID:Overexpression of the oncogene c-erbB-2 (HER2/neu) in ovarian cancer: a new prognostic factor. 913 62

Overexpression of neu (also known as c-erbB-2 or HER-2) commonly occurs in human cancer and is also known to enchance tumor metastasis and chemoresistance. Our earlier reports showed that the adenovirus 5 E1A can suppresss the neu-mediated transformation by repression of neu. Thus, E1A has the potential to be used as a therapeutic agent against the neu-overexpressing human cancers. However, a serious concern to this approach is that E1A is also capable of immortalizing primary culture cells and can co-operate with ras or E1B oncogenes to transform them. The E1A CR2 domain (amino acid residues 120 to 140) necessary for binding to RB is believed to be required for this oncogenic function. Here, we report that deletion of CR2 region did not affect E1A's capability to repress neu. Interestingly, deletion of the amino acid residues 4 to 25 or 40 to 80 completely disrupted E1A-mediated neu repression. By deleting the amino acid residues from 81 to 185, we have successfully generated a mini-E1A mutant that was sufficient to inhibit neu promoter activity and suppress neu-mediated transformation. The mini-E1A mutant does not contain the CR2 domain that is crucial for RB binding and immortalization, and hence, may serve as a more selective tumor suppressor, and a safer therapeutic agent. It may also be a useful tool to further investigate the molecular mechanism(s) of neu overexpression and E1A-mediated transcriptional repression in cancer cells.
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PMID:Mapping of adenovirus 5 E1A domains responsible for suppression of neu-mediated transformation via transcriptional repression of neu. 915 Mar 63

Overexpression of c-erbB-2/neu/HER-2 oncoprotein, a receptor tyrosine kinase, has been demonstrated in a variety of human cancers. To elucidate the involvement of c-erbB-2 in human skin carcinogenesis, we examined expression of the protein in skin samples from five cases of keratoacanthoma (KA), 10 of actinic keratosis (AK), 24 of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 10 of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and five samples of normal epidermis, using an immunohistochemical method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. Expression of c-erbB-2 was also examined in cultured SCC cell lines, a premalignant cell line and in cultured normal keratinocytes. Normal epidermal cells showed no or very little c-erbB-2 protein, but the covering epidermal layer of some tumours showed a few strongly positive cells. Samples of KA and AK showed barely detectable c-erbB-2 protein in only a few cases. Twenty of the 24 cases of SCC had elevated expression of c-erbB-2 protein, with a tendency to more positive cells in metastatic lesions. Five of the 10 cases of BCC stained for c-erbB-2 but more weakly than those of SCC. Reaction products of the positive cells were seen in the cytoplasm. All three cultured SCC cell lines stained for c-erbB-2 protein more strongly than the premalignant HaCaT or normal keratinocytes. Our results indicate the possible involvement of c-erbB-2 overexpression in the malignant conversion of keratinocytes.
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PMID:Increased level of c-erbB-2/neu/HER-2 protein in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. 921 24

HER-2/neu and c-myc amplification or overexpression have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in breast carcinoma. The prognostic significance, however, remains somewhat controversial, partly because of discrepancies among different methodologies used for detection of the oncogene amplification or overexpression. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has recently been shown to be a useful technique for analyzing genetic alterations in interphase nuclei in various tumors. In this study, FISH was used to quantitate HER-2/ neu and c-myc gene amplification in touch preparations of frozen tissue from 100 node-negative breast carcinomas. HER-2/neu amplification was found to be associated with an abnormal DNA index (P < .001) and tumor size (P < .04). Amplification of c-myc was associated with S phase (P < .0003), abnormal DNA index (P < .003), and a negative estrogen receptor status (P < .01). The coamplification of both oncogenes was strongly associated with an abnormal DNA index (P < .0001) and with tumor size (P < .009). The use of FISH for detection of HER-2/neu gene amplification was 92% concordant with immunocytochemistry (ICC) used for detection of overexpression of HER-2/neu protein. Fifteen of the 100 cases were both amplified for HER-2/neu by FISH and positive by ICC analysis. Seven cases without HER-2/neu gene amplification demonstrated HER-2/neu protein overexpression by ICC. One HER-2/neu-amplified case was negative by ICC. Repeat analysis of a subset of cases showed FISH to be a more reproducible method than ICC in the analysis of HER-2/neu in touch preparations of breast carcinoma. FISH is a rapid and reproducible method that allows the accurate measurement of the level of oncogene amplification within interphase nuclei. The use of FISH should provide a more accurate assessment of the prognostic significance of oncogene amplification in breast carcinoma.
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PMID:Quantitation of HER-2/neu and c-myc gene amplification in breast carcinoma using fluorescence in situ hybridization. 923 84

Recent studies indicate that oncogenes may be involved in determining the sensitivity of human cancers to chemotherapeutic agents. To define the effect of HER-2/neu oncogene overexpression on sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, a full-length, human HER-2/neu cDNA was introduced into human breast and ovarian cancer cells. In vitro dose-response curves following exposure to 7 different classes of chemotherapeutic agents were compared for HER-2- and control-transfected cells. Chemosensitivity was also tested in vivo for HER-2- and control-transfected human breast and ovarian cancer xenografts in athymic mice. These studies indicate that HER-2/neu overexpression was not sufficient to induce intrinsic, pleomorphic drug resistance. Furthermore, changes in chemosensitivity profiles resulting from HER-2/neu transfection observed in vitro were cell line specific. In vivo, HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast and ovarian cancer xenografts were responsive to different classes of chemotherapeutic drugs compared to control-treated xenografts with no statistically significant differences between HER-2/neu-overexpressing and nonoverexpressing xenografts. We found no instance in which HER-2/neu-overexpressing xenografts were rendered more sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs in vivo. HER-2/neu-overexpressing xenografts consistently exhibited more rapid regrowth than control xenografts following initial response to chemotherapy suggesting that a high rate of tumor cell proliferation rather than intrinsic drug resistance may be responsible for the adverse prognosis associated with HER-2/neu overexpression in human cancers.
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PMID:The effect of HER-2/neu overexpression on chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. 924 7

Prognostic factors capable of detecting potential for aggressive disease in early stage endometrial cancer might be useful in selecting patients for early adjuvant therapy. Sixty-three patients with surgical Stage I endometrial carcinoma treated by hysterectomy with a mean follow-up of 55 months were evaluated for tumor type, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, presence of vascular invasion, DNA ploidy, and HER-2/neu overexpression by immunohistochemical techniques. These results were compared with HER-2/neu gene amplifications evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and their ability to predict disease survival. For FISH, sections 5 microns thick of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were processed using the Oncor Chromosome In Situ Hybridization System. Automated hybridization using the Ventana Gen was performed with the Oncor unique sequence digoxigenin-labeled HER-2/neu DNA probe. Gene copy numbers were evaluated using the Zeiss Axioskop50 fluorescence microscope. HER-2/neu amplification was noted in 24 (38%) of 63 cases. By multivariate analysis, only aneuploidy (P = .04) and HER-2/neu amplification by FISH (P = .04) independently correlated with survival. Although we saw a relationship between HER-2/neu protein expression and gene amplification, this trend did not achieve statistical significance. HER-2/neu oncogene amplification can be assessed using automated FISH on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. HER-2/ neu amplification predicts poor outcome in Stage I endometrial cancer. HER-2/neu amplification status has potential use in the identification of patients with high risk of disease recurrence who might benefit from intensified therapy.
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PMID:Identification of HER-2/neu oncogene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization in stage I endometrial carcinoma. 926 26

The c-erbB-2-encoded oncoprotein p185 (HER2) is overexpressed in the fetal epithelium, the placenta and several carcinomas. Elevated serum levels of the released ectodomain (p105) were found in cancer patients and pregnant women at term. In cultured breast cancer cells estradiol inhibited p185 expression and induced growth arrest. These results prompted us to investigate the in vivo influence of serum estradiol and estriol on c-erbB-2 protein levels in pregnancy. We examined chorionic villous tissue extracts and maternal sera obtained from six legal abortions in the first trimester and 20 vaginal deliveries at term. For quantification of c-erbB-2 protein we employed an ELISA. In the first trimester maternal p105 serum levels were significantly (p < 0.0001) lower and p185 tissue levels significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in the third trimester. The highest p105 values were found in additionally examined cord blood. Interindividual regression analyses yielded inverse correlation between estradiol concentrations and placental p185 expression in the first (r = -0.58) and third trimester (r = -0.38) as well as p105 serum levels in the first trimester (r = -0.83). Estriol was correlated positively with p105 values in maternal and umbilical serum but not with placental p185 expression. We conclude that estradiol down-regulates p185 expression in pregnancy whereas the level of maternal p105 depends on the total amount of fetoplacental p185.
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PMID:In vivo effects of estrogens on c-erbB-2 oncoprotein levels in chorionic villous tissue and maternal serum. 927 19

Breast cancer cells that overexpress HER-2/neu are more resistant to chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere) than those that do not overexpress HER-2/neu. In previous work, we showed that the adenovirus type 5 E1A can repress HER-2/neu expression at the transcriptional level. Here we first demonstrated that paclitaxel sensitivity correlates with HER-2/neu expression level in a panel of mouse fibroblasts expressing different levels of HER-2/ neu, and that downregulation of HER-2/neu expression by E1A sensitizes the cells to paclitaxel. To further test whether E1A can sensitize HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells to paclitaxel through E1A-mediated HER-2/neu repression, an adenoviral vector was used to transfer the E1A gene into two human breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-453 and MDA-MB-361, that overexpress HER-2/neu. After E1A delivery, we observed that HER-2/neu expression level was reduced, and cells were treated with paclitaxel. Cell proliferation assays showed a synergistic growth inhibition effect of E1A and paclitaxel. The synergistic effect was also confirmed by soft agar colony-formation assay. Breast cancer cell lines that express low levels of HER-2/neu, MDA-MB-435 and MDA-MB-231 cells showed no synergistic growth inhibition effect when treated on the same protocols. Thus, we concluded that the adenovirus type 5 E1A gene can sensitize paclitaxel-resistant HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells to the drug by repressing HER-2/neu expression. This in turn may have important implications for the development of a novel therapy that combines chemotherapy and gene therapy.
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PMID:Chemosensitization of HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells to paclitaxel (Taxol) by adenovirus type 5 E1A. 928 90

Signaling by epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like ligands is mediated by an interactive network of four ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases, whose mechanism of ligand-induced dimerization is unknown. We contrasted two existing models: a conformation-driven activation of a receptor-intrinsic dimerization site and a ligand bivalence model. Analysis of a Neu differentiation factor (NDF)-induced heterodimer between ErbB-3 and ErbB-2 favors a bivalence model; the ligand simultaneously binds both ErbB-3 and ErbB-2, but, due to low-affinity of the second binding event, ligand bivalence drives dimerization only when the receptors are membrane anchored. Results obtained with a chimera and isoforms of NDF/neuregulin predict that each terminus of the ligand molecule contains a distinct binding site. The C-terminal low-affinity site has broad specificity, but it prefers interaction with ErbB-2, an oncogenic protein acting as a promiscuous low-affinity subunit of the three primary receptors. Thus, ligand bivalence enables signal diversification through selective recruitment of homo- and heterodimers of ErbB receptors, and it may explain oncogenicity of erbB-2/HER2.
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PMID:Bivalence of EGF-like ligands drives the ErbB signaling network. 930 36

To determine whether p185HER2 overexpression per se triggers p185HER2 cellular signaling or whether an extracellular signal is required, we transfected PC12 cells with the human erbB-2 proto-oncogene, and established a cell line that overexpresses p185HER2. PC12-HER2 cells, maintained in suspension culture or plated on a collagen layer, showed the same morphology and growth rate as PC12 and PC12 mock-transfected control cells. When treated with monoclonal antibody (MAb) MGr6 or other anti-p185HER2 MAbs, PC12-HER2 cells specifically underwent neuronal differentiation comparable to that induced by nerve growth factor (NGF), and the differentiation-inducing effect of the MAb was dramatically enhanced by the addition of a second anti-mouse IgG. MAb-induced cell differentiation correlated with p185HER2 phosphorylation, recruitment of Shc and Grb-2 transducer molecules into complexes, and MAPK phosphorylation. These data indicate the requirement for a specific binding-induced activation of the overexpressed p185HER2 receptor in inducing PC12 cell differentiation. PC12-HER2 cells represent a suitable system for selection of p185HER2-activating ligands (peptides, phage-displayed peptides or proteins) or specific inhibitors of its tyrosine kinase activity.
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PMID:Binding-induced activation of overexpressed p185HER2 is essential in triggering neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells. 936 Nov 87


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