Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P04637 (p53)
 77,613 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Using four complementary approaches, ie., cell synchronization, bromodeoxyuridine labeling, and DNA and Western blot analyses, we investigated the underlying mechanism of cell cycle perturbation in response to ZD1694, a quinazoline-based antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitor. With a single exposure at a concentration of 1 microM for 2 h, ZD1694 completely inhibits thymidylate synthase over 72 h and causes a sustained growth for at least 120 h, DNA damage, and p53 induction in human carcinoma cells. Although these cells displayed an S-phase block with the precise terminal arrest point depending on the timing of drug treatment in the cell cycle, their DNA-replicating machinery associated with polymerase alpha was preserved intact. When supplemented with exogenous dThd, these cells resumed an apparently normal S-phase progression for at least 4 h. Kinetic analyses based on synchronized cells indicate that S-phase arrest occurs first, preceding the induction of DNA double strand breaks and p53/p21. SW480 cells, in which p53mu failed to transduce p21, also exhibited the mode of S-phase arrest, essentially indistinguishable from that displayed by HCT-8 cells expressing the functional p53 (p53wt). That the DNA replication process is prerequisite for DNA double strand breaks was indicated by the following: (a) DNA damage occurred only when cells treated with ZD1694 progressed through S phase; and (b) the inhibition of DNA polymerase alpha by aphidicolin-blocked DNA damage. Based on the above, we conclude that S-phase arrest by ZD1694, with a subsequent damage of DNA double strands, is caused by the block of DNA synthesis in the middle of replication due to dTTP depletion and not by p53-mediated G1-G2 checkpoint mechanisms or p21-induced inactivation of the DNA-replicating machinery.
 ...
PMID:DNA damage and p53 induction do not cause ZD1694-induced cell cycle arrest in human colon carcinoma cells. 884 Sep 89

The epithelia from the crypts of the intestine are exquisitely sensitive to metabolic perturbation and undergo cell death with the classical morphology of apoptosis. Administration of 40 mg/kg 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to BDF-1 p53+/+ mice resulted in an increase in p53 protein at cell positions in the crypts that were also those subjected to an apoptotic cell death. In p53-/- mice apoptosis was almost completely absent, even after 24 hr. 5-FU is a pyrimidine antimetabolite cytotoxin with multiple mechanisms of action, including inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TS), which gives rise to DNA damage, and incorporation into RNA. The inhibition of TS can be increased by coadministration of folinic acid and can be abrogated by administration of thymidine. The incorporation of 5-FU into RNA is inhibited by administration of uridine. p53-Dependent cell death induced by 5-FU was only inhibited by administration of uridine. Uridine had no effect on the apoptosis initiated by 1 Gy of gamma-radiation. Although thymidine abrogated apoptosis induced by the pure TS inhibitor Tomudex, it had no effect on 5-FU-induced apoptosis, and coadministration of folinic acid did not increase apoptosis. The data show that 5-FU-induced cell death of intestinal epithelial cells is p53-dependent and suggests that changes in RNA metabolism initiate events culminating in the expression of p53.
 ...
PMID:Inhibition by uridine but not thymidine of p53-dependent intestinal apoptosis initiated by 5-fluorouracil: evidence for the involvement of RNA perturbation. 905 Aug 58

In a previous study, we found that treatment of HCT-8 cells with ZD1694, a specific antifolate-based thymidylate synthase inhibitor, resulted in DNA fragmentation. In this study, we have demonstrated the dose- and time-dependent induction of DNA fragmentation accompanied by elevation of p53 and WAF1 protein expression by ZD1694. WAF1 mRNA showed a time-dependent increase, whereas p53 mRNA was not found to be significantly overexpressed. The initial increase in WAF1 mRNA was detected at 4 hr, but increased WAF1 protein expression was detected 8-24 hr after a 2-hr exposure. The amount of total and hypophosphorylated pRb seems to be rising greatly after ZD1694 exposure. The effects of ZD1694 on the expression of E2F1 and formation of the E2F1-Rb complex were investigated after a 2-hr drug exposure (IC90). The results showed a time-dependent decrease in E2F1 mRNA and protein expression; an increase in the abundance of the E2F-Rb complex could be demonstrated beginning 4 hr after drug exposure by a gel shift assay. Kinetic analysis showed increased availability of hypophosphorylated pRb for inhibition of E2F, which could indirectly result from WAF1-induced inhibition cyclin-dependent kinase activity. Whereas thymidylate synthase inhibition by ZD1694 was rapid in onset and maintained for at least 24 hr after drug treatment, drug-induced cellular growth inhibition was significant 24 hr after drug exposure. The increased abundance of hypophosphorylated pRb and binding to transcription factor E2F-1 is consistent with ZD1694-induced cell growth inhibition in HCT-8 cells. Therefore, the observed effect on downstream events after effective inhibition of thymidylate synthase may offer the critical determinants of response to ZD1694.
 ...
PMID:p53 and WAF1 are induced and Rb protein is hypophosphorylated during cell growth inhibition by the thymidylate synthase inhibitor ZD1694 (Tomudex). 910 28

Tomudex (ZD1694) is a specific antifolate-based thymidylate synthase inhibitor active in a variety of solid tumor malignancies. Studies were carried out in vitro to evaluate downstream molecular alterations induced as a consequence of the potent and sustained inhibition of thymidylate synthase by Tomudex. Twenty-four hours following the initial 2-h treatment with Tomudex, human A253 head and neck squamous carcinoma cells, not expressing p53 and p21(WAF1), were accumulated with DNA content characteristic of early S phase of the cell cycle with a concomitant reduction of cells in G1 and G2/M phases. The changes in cyclin and cdk protein expression and their kinase activities were examined in control and drug-treated A253 cells. Tomudex treatment resulted in the decrease in p27(kip1) expression, with an increase in cyclin E and cdk2 protein expression and kinase activities 24 h after a 2-h exposure. Although cyclin A protein expression was markedly increased, cyclin A kinase activity was only slightly increased. Cyclin D1, cyclin B, cdk4, and cdc2 protein expression and kinase activities remain constant. Lack of activation of cyclin A- and B-cdc2 was associated with a reduced proportion of cells in G2/M phases. Increased cyclin E-cdk2 protein expression was accompanied by the inhibition of DNA synthesis, with a decrease in E2F-1 expression. These results propose that cyclin E-cdk2 kinase can negatively regulate DNA replication. The studies with dThyd rescue from cyclin E-cdk2 protein overexpression and growth inhibition by Tomudex indicate that increased cyclin E-cdk2 protein expression is associated with effective inhibition of thymidylate synthase and resultant dNTP pool imbalance. Provision of dThyd more than 24 h after exposure to Tomudex allowed cells to replicate DNA for a single cycle back to G1, but did not prevent the profound growth-inhibitory effect manifested in the following 5 days. Tomudex treatment resulted in a time-dependent induction of the megabase DNA fragments, followed by secondary 50- to 300-kb DNA fragmentation. The 50- to 300-kb DNA fragmentation may be derived from the inhibition of DNA synthesis associated with cyclin E-cdk2 activation. These results suggest that the megabase DNA fragmentation is induced as a consequence of inhibition of thymidylate synthase by Tomudex and kilobase DNA fragmentation may correlate with the reduction of p27(kip1) expression and the increase in cyclin E and cdk2 kinase activities. Activation of cyclin E and cdk2 kinases allows cells to transit from G1 to S phase accompanied by the inhibition of DNA synthesis. The changes in cell cycle regulatory proteins associated with growth inhibition and DNA damage by Tomudex are not p53 dependent.
 ...
PMID:Cyclin E-cdk2 activation is associated with cell cycle arrest and inhibition of DNA replication induced by the thymidylate synthase inhibitor Tomudex. 1004 61

Mechanisms of resistance to Tomudex include increased thymidylate synthase activity, as well as reduced intracellular drug uptake and polyglutamation. However, little is known about other mechanisms of resistance, such as a possible protection against Tomudex-induced apoptosis mediated by bcl-2. We transfected the MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cell line, which is characterized by a mutated p53 gene, with cDNA of the bcl-2 gene and generated two clones (MDA-bcl4 and MDA-bcl7) characterized by bcl-2 expression twofold and fourfold that observed in the control cell clone (MDAneo). A concomitant overexpression of p21wafl was also detected in the MDA-bcl7 clone. The MDA-bcl4 clone was three times more resistant to a 24-h Tomudex exposure than the MDAneo clone, whereas the MDA-bcl7 clone was as sensitive to Tomudex as the control cell clone. A lower sensitivity of the MDA-bcl4 clone than MDAneo and MDA-bcl7 clones to 5-fluorouracil and gemcitabine was also observed. No significant difference was noted in the susceptibility of clones to fludarabine and methothrexate. Basal levels of thymidylate synthase activity were superimposable in the three clones. Tomudex induced a marked accumulation of cells in the S phase in all the clones. However, an apoptotic hypodiploid DNA peak and the characteristic nuclear morphology of apoptosis were observed only in the MDA-bcl7 clone after exposure to Tomudex. No difference in the treatment-induced modulation of proteins involved in cell cycle progression (cyclin A, cdk2, pRB, E2F-1) and apoptosis (bcl-2, bax) was observed in the three clones. The only exception was that the expression of p21wafl in the MDA-bcl4 clone was inducible at a Tomudex concentration much higher than that required to induce the protein in the other clones. Overall, the results indicate that bcl-2 and p21wafl proteins concur in determining the cellular profile of sensitivity/resistance to Tomudex.
 ...
PMID:Involvement of bcl-2 and p21waf1 proteins in response of human breast cancer cell clones to Tomudex. 1049 50

Inhibition of the key enzyme in DNA synthesis, thymidylate synthase (TS), by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and the novel antifolate raltitrexed (Tomudex; ZD1694), induces dTTP depletion, resulting in DNA strand breaks, which can initiate pathways leading to an apoptotic mode of cell death. We studied 5-FU- and ZD1694-induced TS inhibition in relation to the expression of p53, p21, Bcl-2 and Bax in six colon carcinoma cell lines, two with a wild-type (wt) p53 (Lovo, LS174T) and four with a mutant (mt) p53 (WiDr, WiDr/F, HT29 and SW948) phenotype. In untreated cells, a reciprocal correlation between p53 and Bcl-2 was found: in cells with a low wt p53, Bcl-2 expression was present; whilst in cells with mt p53, Bcl-2 expression was not detectable. Exposure to 5-FU (50 and 100 microM) and ZD1694 (50 and 100 nM) for 24 and 48 h induced p53 and p21 expression in wt p53 cells, but not in mt p53 cells. TS was induced approximately 2-10-fold in all cell lines. TS induction was highest after ZD1694 exposure in the mt p53 cells HT29 and WiDr/F (6-10-fold). After 5-FU treatment, TS was present both as the free enzyme and in the ternary complex; however, predominantly as the ternary complex between TS, FdUMP and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate. In wt p53 cells, both drugs increased Bax expression up to 5-fold, whereas in mt p53 cells, only a very slight induction was found. In wt p53 cells, Bcl-2 expression hardly changed after drug treatment. These results indicate a p53-independent induction of TS but a regulatory role of wt p53 in the synthesis of Bax in the colon carcinoma cell lines after TS inhibition.
 ...
PMID:Molecular downstream events and induction of thymidylate synthase in mutant and wild-type p53 colon cancer cell lines after treatment with 5-fluorouracil and the thymidylate synthase inhibitor raltitrexed. 1078 98

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an essential enzyme for the de novo synthesis of thymidylate and subsequently DNA synthesis. TS has been used as a target for cancer chemotherapy in the development of fluoropyrimidines such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and 5-fluorodeoxyuridine and of novel folate-based TS inhibitors such as ZD1694 (Tomudex, Raltitrexed), ZD9331, LY231514 (ALIMTA, Pemetrexed), AG337 (Thymitaq, Nolatrexed) and AG331. Although TS has been considered as a target for chemotherapy, the precise mechanism by which TS inhibition leads to cell death is still not completely resolved. TS inhibition results in depletion of dTTP, an essential precursor for DNA, and an increase in dUTP. This results in the so-called thymine-less death due to misincorporation of dUTP into DNA; its excision, catalysed by uracil-DNA glycosylase, results in DNA damage. Both this imbalance in dTTP/dUTP and DNA damage can result in induction of downstream events, leading to apoptosis. On the other hand a specific interaction exists between oncogenes and TS, by binding of TS protein to the p53 and c-myc RNA, while wt p53 can also inhibit TS promotor activity. TS inhibition by either 5-FU or antifolates can also result in a depression of TS protein mediated inhibition of TS mRNA translation leading to induction of more TS protein synthesis, and p53 protein may further deregulate this process. These complex indirect and direct interactions between oncogenes and TS may have as yet unclear clinical implications, since most data are based on in vitro or in vivo studies and some results are contradictive. In some preliminary clinical studies evidence was postulated for a combined prognostic role for TS and p53. This knowledge should be used to design clinical studies with the aim to deliver effective treatment to potentially sensitive patients both in the adjuvant setting and in advanced stage disease.
 ...
PMID:Downstream molecular determinants of response to 5-fluorouracil and antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitors. 1084 55

The thymidylate synthase inhibitor raltitrexed (ZD1694, Tomudex) induces greater intestinal toxicity, manifested as diarrhea and weight loss, in BALB/c than in DBA/2 mice. No convincing pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic reason for this strain difference has been established. We have investigated whether this strain difference in response to raltitrexed is related to differential susceptibilities of intestinal mucosae to undergo apoptosis and also whether p53 expression, a critical factor in 5-fluorouracil-induced intestinal apoptosis and toxicity, modulates this response. Ten mg/kg or 100 mg/kg raltitrexed were administered as single or double i.p. injections 24 h apart to BALB/c, DBA/2, and p53-/- mice. Apoptosis, mitosis, and tissue damage were assessed in intestinal epithelium, and animal weight was recorded. BALB/c mice developed diarrhea and weight loss following 100 mg/kg x2 raltitrexed, whereas DBA/2 mice did not. BALB/c mice were more sensitive than DBA/2 to induction of small-intestinal and colonic apoptosis 24 h following 100 mg/kg raltitrexed. Inhibition of mitosis was equivalent in both strains. Both strains showed histopathological damage to the small intestine after 100 mg/kg x2 raltitrexed, but only BALB/c mice demonstrated colonic damage. p53-null mice showed the same level of small intestinal apoptosis as their wild-type counterparts 24 h after 100 mg/kg x1 raltitrexed and also the same levels of intestinal toxicity 3, 5, and 7 days after 100 mg/kg x2 raltitrexed. Thus, BALB/c mice were more susceptible to induction of intestinal apoptosis by raltitrexed than DBA/2 mice and also demonstrated more histopathological damage in the colon correlating with the induction of diarrhea and weight loss. In contrast to 5-fluorouracil, the intestinal apoptosis and toxicity induced by raltitrexed were p53-independent.
 ...
PMID:The importance of p53-independent apoptosis in the intestinal toxicity induced by raltitrexed (ZD1694, Tomudex): genetic differences between BALB/c and DBA/2 mice. 1110 58

NB1011, a phosphoramidate derivative of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine, is a novel small molecule anticancer agent. NB1011 is selectively active against tumor cells expressing high levels of thymidylate synthase (TS), a critical enzyme in DNA biosynthesis. NB1011 is different from the current TS-targeted drugs, which require inhibition of TS to be effective, because NB1011 cytotoxicity depends upon activation by TS. Here we report a dose-dependent, antitumor activity of NB1011 against established Tomudex-resistant breast cancer (MCF7TDX) xenografts in athymic mice. Against 5-fluorouracil-resistant colon carcinoma (H630R10) xenografts, NB1011 was as efficacious as irinotecan, a drug recently approved for the treatment of 5-fluorouracil-resistant colon cancer. To gain insight into the mechanisms NB1011 uses to suppress cellular growth, we analyzed the downstream molecular events in the high TS-expressing MCF7TDX and RKOTDX cell lines upon NB1011 treatment. NB1011 treatment increased the mRNA levels of p21, Bax, and GADD45. Furthermore, NB1011 induced p53, p21, and Bax proteins specifically in high TS-expressing tumor cells, whereas no induction was observed in low TS-expressing tumor cells (MCF7) or normal cells (WI38). Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that NB1011 treatment of MCF7TDX and RKOTDX cells resulted in an accumulation of cells in the G2-M phase of the cell cycle. Altogether, our data indicate that the induction of the p53 target genes p21, bax, and GADD45, with a concomitant deregulation of the cell cycle, may represent one of the mechanisms by which NB1011 exerts its growth-suppressive effects.
 ...
PMID:Inhibition of cell growth by NB1011 requires high thymidylate synthase levels and correlates with p53, p21, bax, and GADD45 induction. 1247 50

Despite the introduction of several novel anticancer agents almost 50% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients die for cancer suggesting the necessity of new therapeutical approaches. In this study we demonstrated that the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat exerted potent antiproliferative effect in a panel of mut- and wt-p53 human CRC cell lines. Moreover, in combination with 5-fluorouracil modulated by folinic acid (5FU-FA) or with Raltitrexed (RTX), both commonly used in the treatment of this disease, it showed a clear schedule-dependent synergistic antiproliferative interaction as demonstrated by calculating combination indexes. Only simultaneous, or 24 h pretreatment with vorinostat followed by either agent, produced synergistic effect paralleled by evident cell cycle perturbations with major S-phase arrest. Moreover, we provided for the first time evidences that vorinostat can overcome resistance to both 5FU and RTX. Downmodulation of Thymidilate synthase (TS) protein induced by vorinostat within 24 h, represented a key factor in enhancing the effects of both drugs in sensitive as well as resistant tumor cells. Furthermore, p53, whose wild-type expression is critical for sensitivity to 5FU and RTX, was upregulated by vorinostat in wt- and downregulated in mut-p53 cells, suggesting an additional mechanism of the antiproliferative synergistic interactions observed. Overall these data add new insights in the mechanism of vorinostat antitumor effect and suggested that the association of vorinostat plus 5FU-FA and/or RTX should be clinically explored.
 ...
PMID:Modulation of thymidilate synthase and p53 expression by HDAC inhibitor vorinostat resulted in synergistic antitumor effect in combination with 5FU or raltitrexed. 1927 May 8


1 2 Next >>