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)

The expression and activity of Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN; the sole enzyme capable of the reductive de novo synthesis of long-chain fatty acids from acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate -NADPH-) is extremely low in nearly all nonmalignant adult tissues, whereas it is significantly up-regulated or activated in many cancer types, thus creating the potential for a large therapeutic index. Since the pioneering observation that inhibition of FASN activity by the mycotoxin cerulenin preferentially kills cancer cells and retards the growth of tumors in xenografts models, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed the potential of FASN as a target for antineoplastic intervention. Other FASN inhibitors such as the cerulenin derivative C75, the beta-lactone orlistat, the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and other naturally occurring flavonoids (i.e., luteolin, quercetin, and kaempferol), as well as the antibiotic triclosan, have been identified and have been shown to limit cancer cell growth by inducing apoptotic cell death. Though the exact mode of action of these FASN inhibitors is under discussion, it has been revealed that depletion of end-product fatty acids, toxic intracellular accumulation of supra-physiological concentrations of the FASN substrate malonyl-CoA and/or limited membrane synthesis and/or functioning by altered production of phospholipids partitioning into detergent-resistant membrane microdomains (lipid raft-aggregates), can explain, at least in part, the cytostatic, cytotoxic as well as the apoptotic effects occurring upon pharmacological inhibition of FASN activity in cancer cells. Moreover, several cancer-associated molecular features including nonfunctioning p53, overexpression of the Her-2/neu (erbB-2) oncogene, and hyperactivation of the PI-3'K down-stream effector protein kinase B (AKT), appear to determine an exacerbated sensitivity to FASN inhibition-induced cancer cell death. Although few of these inhibitors are expected to be "exclusively" selective for FASN, the potential of FASN as a target for antineoplastic intervention has eventually been confirmed by RNA interference (RNAi)-knockdown of FASN. Certainly, future studies should definitely elucidate the ultimate biochemical link between FASN inhibition and cancer cell death. Although the combination of FASN structural complexity and until recently the lack of X-ray crystallography data of mammalian FASN created a significant challenge in the exploitation of FASN as a valuable target for drug development, it is hoped that the improvement in the selectivity and potency of forthcoming novel FASN-targeted small molecule inhibitors by taking advantage, for instance, of the recent 4.5 A resolution X-ray crystallographic map of mammalian FASN, will direct the foundation of a new family of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer history.
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PMID:Pharmacological inhibitors of Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN)--catalyzed endogenous fatty acid biogenesis: a new family of anti-cancer agents? 1716 65

The final proof about the specific mechanisms by which the different components of olive oil, the principal source of fat in a typical "Mediterranean diet", exert their potential protective effects on the promotion and progression of several human cancers requires further investigations. A recent discovery that dietary fatty acids can interact with the human genome by regulating the amount and/or activity of transcription factors has opened a whole new line of research aimed to molecularly corroborate the ant-cancer benefits of the olive oil-based Mediterranean diet and the underlying mechanisms. Our most recent findings reveal that oleic acid (OA; 18:1n-9), the main olive oil's monounsaturated fatty acid, can suppress the overexpression of HER2 (erbB-2), a well-characterized oncogene playing a key role in the etiology, invasive progression and metastasis in several human cancers. First, exogenous supplementation with physiological concentrations of OA significantly down-regulates HER2-coded p185(Her-2/neu) oncoprotein in human cancer cells naturally harboring amplification of the HER gene. Second, OA exposure specifically represses the transcriptional activity of the human HER2 gene promoter in tumor-derived cell lines naturally exhibiting HER2 gene amplification and p185(Her-2/neu) protein overexpression but not in cancer cells expressing physiological levels of HER2. Third, OA treatment induces the up-regulation of the Ets protein PEA3 (a transcriptional repressor of the HER2 gene promoter) solely in cancer cells naturally displaying HER2 gene amplification. Fourth, HER2 gene promoter bearing a PEA3 site-mutated sequence cannot be negatively regulated by OA, while treatment with OA fails to repress the expression of a human full-length HER2 cDNA controlled by a SV40 viral promoter. Fifth, OA-induced inhibition of HER2 promoter activity does not occur if HER2 gene-amplified cancer cells do no concomitantly exhibit high levels of Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN; Oncogenic antigen-519) as specific depletion of FASN, which itself similarly suppresses HER2 overexpression by inducing PEA3-dependent repression of HER2 gene promoter, strongly antagonizes the inhibitory effects of OA on HER2 gene promoter activity. Considering that OA treatment efficiently blocks FASN activity and down-regulates FASN protein expression, it is reasonable to suggest that an accumulation of supra-physiological concentrations of the FASN substrate malonyl-CoA, due to its reduced utilization by FASN in the presence of exogenous OA, appears to act as an indicator of "cell fuel" availability capable to suppress HER2 expression via formation of inhibitory "PEA3 protein-PEA3 DNA binding site" complexes on the endogenous HER2 promoter. Indeed, malonyl-CoA on its own dramatically decreases HER2 promoter activity, while OA or malonyl-CoA similarly up-regulates PEA3 gene promoter activity. This previously unrecognized ability of OA to directly affect the expression of a cluster of interrelated human cancer genes (i.e., HER2, FASN and PEA3) should open a new line of research aimed to explore the anti-cancer effects of OA. Certainly, an appropriate dietary intervention reproducing this prominent anti-oncogenic feature of the "Mediterranean diet" must be carried out in animal models and human pilot studies in the future. Only then we will know whether the old "Mediterranean dietary traditions" will become a new molecular approach in the management of cancer disease.
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PMID:Mediterranean dietary traditions for the molecular treatment of human cancer: anti-oncogenic actions of the main olive oil's monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (18:1n-9). 1716 66

Elucidating the mechanisms underlying resistance to the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted antibody trastuzumab (Tzb; Herceptin) is a major challenge that is beginning to be addressed. This dilemma is becoming increasingly important as recent studies strongly support a role for Tzb in the adjuvant setting for HER2-overexpressing early-stage breast cancers. We previously reported that pharmacological and RNA interference-induced inhibition of tumor-associated fatty acid synthase (FASN; Oncogenic antigen-519), a key metabolic enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of long-chain saturated fatty acids, drastically down-regulates HER2 expression in human breast cancer cells bearing HER2 gene amplification. Given that FASN blockade was found to suppress HER2 overexpression by attenuating the promoter activity of the HER2 gene, we here envisioned that this mechanism of action may represent a valuable strategy in breast cancers that have progressed while under Tzb. We created a preclinical model of Tzb resistance by continuously growing HER2-overexpressing SKBR3 breast cancer cells in the presence of clinically relevant concentrations of Tzb (20-185 microg/ml Tzb). This pool of Tzb-conditioned SKBR3 cells, which optimally grows now in the presence of 100 microg/ml trastuzumab (SKBR3/Tzb100 cells), exhibited HER2 levels notably higher (approximately 2-fold) than those found in SKBR3 parental cells. Real-time polymerase chain reaction studies showed that up-regulation of HER2 mRNA levels closely correlated with HER2 protein up-regulation in SKBR3/Tzb100 cells, thus suggesting that 'HER2 super-expression' upon acquisition of autoresistance to Tzb resulted, at least in part, from up-regulatory effects in the transcriptional rate of the HER2 gene. SKBR3/Tzb100 cells did not exhibit cross-resistance to C75, a small-compound specifically inhibiting FASN activity. On the contrary, SKBR3/Tzb100 cells showed a remarkably increased sensitivity (approximately 3-fold) to the cytotoxic effects occurring upon C75-induced inhibition of FASN enzymatic activity. Both HER2 mRNA and HER2 protein 'super-expression', which have not been reported in earlier Tzb-resistant breast cancer models, were entirely suppressed following pharmacological blockade of FASN activity. Moreover, while Tzb was still able to reduce HER2 protein expression by approximately 20% in SKBR/Tzb100 cells, C75 and Tzb co-exposure synergistically down-regulated HER2 protein levels by >85%. The nature of the interaction between Tzb and C75 in Tzb-resistant SKBR3/Tzb100 cells was also found to be strongly synergistic when analyzing the extent of apoptotic cell death using ELISA-based detection of histone-associated DNA fragments. In summary, a) the molecular mechanism(s) contributing to Tzb resistance in our SKBR3/Tzb100 model appear to be clearly different to those previously reported as we found important transcriptional up-regulatory transcriptional changes in HER2 gene expression levels relative to parental cells; b) since FASN inhibition acts on HER2 gene expression via reduction of its transcription rate, Tzb-conditioned HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells not only retain but further gain sensitivity to FASN inhibition; and c) transcriptional suppression of HER2 expression using FASN blockers may represent a new molecular strategy in the management of Tzb-resistant breast cancer disease.
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PMID:Pharmacological blockade of fatty acid synthase (FASN) reverses acquired autoresistance to trastuzumab (Herceptin by transcriptionally inhibiting 'HER2 super-expression' occurring in high-dose trastuzumab-conditioned SKBR3/Tzb100 breast cancer cells. 1778 7