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

The bcl-2 family of proteins includes some important regulators of apoptosis. Among these, bcl-2 and bcl-xL prevent cells from entering apoptosis, whereas bax and bcl-xS can induce cell death. Alterations in the control of this process can lead to a decrease in cell death, thus contributing to neoplastic growth. Diminished susceptibility to chemotherapy has also been attributed, in in vitro systems, to alterations in the levels of bcl-2, bax, or bcl-x. We analyzed the expression of bcl-2, bax, bcl-xL, and bcl-xS in normal and neoplastic ovarian tissues by reverse transcriptase-PCR and Western blotting. The RNA and protein levels were significantly correlated for all genes. Interestingly, the levels of these genes in normal and neoplastic tissues were significantly different: bcl-2 was higher in normal tissue (P < 0.002), whereas bax and bcl-xL were higher in carcinoma (P < 0.018 and P < 0.030, respectively). bcl-xS was present at low levels in 83% of neoplastic samples and was undetectable in normal tissue. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis of 74 tumors showed no major correlation with clinicopathological parameters or with response to chemotherapy. Only bax and bcl-xL were correlated with progesterone receptor levels (n = 29, r = +0.44, P < 0.0189, and r = -0.40, P < 0.035, respectively). No correlation was found with estrogen receptor levels or with p53 immunostaining. Our data indicate that the regulation of the bcl-2 family of proteins differs between normal and neoplastic ovarian tissues. Moreover, the modulation of these genes in ovarian carcinoma is different compared to other tissues; therefore, tissue specificity is very important in regulation of the bcl-2 family of proteins.
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PMID:bcl-2, bax, bcl-XL, and bcl-XS expression in normal and neoplastic ovarian tissues. 951 44

The DG75 Burkitt lymphoma-derived human B cell line is heterozygous for p53, carrying wild type (WT) and mutant (Arg283His) alleles. The cells constitutively express high levels of both p53 proteins and also Mdm2. Arg283His transactivates the p21Waf1, Mdm2, bax, cyclin G and IGF-BP3 promoters in transient transfection assays equally as well as, if not better than WT p53. It also suppresses the outgrowth of SAOS-2 cells and specifically binds DNA like wild type protein. However, in primary rodent fibroblasts Arg283His fails to suppress transformation by HPV16-E7 and (Ha-)ras and even has modest transforming activity when transfected alone with (Ha-)ras. When Arg283His is transiently transfected into SAOS-2 cells it efficiently induces apoptosis, so - unlike mutants such as Arg175Pro - its behaviour in transformation assays does not clearly correlate with loss of the apoptosis function. Immunofluorescence staining of both REF transformants and transiently transfected SAOS-2 revealed that this unusual mutant becomes excluded from the nucleus and produces striking cytoplasmic fluorescence. The best correlation with transformation, therefore, appears to be the lack of nuclear retention of Arg283His. Since this mutation does not map to any known nuclear localization signal and its presence seems to result in aberrant exclusion from the nucleus, then it may prove very useful in exploring mechanisms involved in the nuclear:cytoplasmic shuttling of p53.
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PMID:A transforming p53 mutant, which binds DNA, transactivates and induces apoptosis reveals a nuclear:cytoplasmic shuttling defect. 952 42

Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones induce apoptosis in lymphoid and leukemic cells by binding and activating cytosolic GC receptors. Because physiological stress often causes hormone-free GC receptor activation, we have investigated if stress-induced apoptosis of lymphoid cells is also mediated by the activation of the GC receptor pathway. In S49 T lymphoma cells, heat shock and deprivation of growth factors or nutrients caused nuclear translocation and loss of agonist binding capacity of GC receptors, similar to that in cells incubated with the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX). In variant S49 H.2 cells, cross-resistance to DEX, temperature shocks and growth factor deprivation were associated with a higher threshold for hormone-dependent and -independent receptor activation in situ and with impaired in vitro activation of cytosolic receptors. Cross-resistance to DEX, low serum and heat shock was abrogated, however, by pharmacological sensitization of GC receptor activation with the drug meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG). Sensitive S49 cells and resistant variants did not differ in the expression levels of the apoptosis-regulating genes bax, bad, bcl-X and bcl-2, the status of the p53 gene nor in a different requirement for the growth factors II-2, IL-4 or IL-9. The results suggest that ligand-independent activation of the GC receptor is a central signalling and controlling event in some forms of stress-induced apoptosis, assigning a novel function to the GC receptor in the regulation of lymphoid and leukemic cell numbers.
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PMID:Involvement of the glucocorticoid receptor in stress-induced apoptosis of leukemic cells. 952 36

We examined the occurrence of apoptotic cell death in the autopsied brains of four patients with Werdnig Hoffmann disease (WH), using TdT-mediated DIG-dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry for apoptosis-related proteins. Three of the four patients, aged over 6 months, exhibited TUNEL-positive cells in the lateral nuclei of the thalamus, and one of the three patients also had TUNEL-positive cells in the cerebral cortex. The labeled nuclei did not show characteristic features such as nuclear fragmentation or apoptotic bodies, and synaptophysin-positive granules were observed around some of the TUNEL-positive cells, although none of the antibodies against glial markers could visualize TUNEL-positive cells. TUNEL-positive cells were not observed in other regions examined, including the spinal cord, medulla and cerebellum or in the brains of three age-matched controls. There were neither immunopositive structures for bcl-2 or p53 nor alteration of in situ expression of bcl-xs/l or bax in any subject, and the TUNEL-positive cells lacked immunopositivity against apoptosis-related proteins. The presence of these TUNEL-positive cells might suggest latent neurodegeneration in the thalamus before central chromatolysis of neurons or neuronal loss appears, although it is not clear whether apoptotic cell death is involved in this degenerative process.
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PMID:A study of cell death in Werdnig Hoffmann disease brain. 953 27

Recent findings have focused attention on the role of apoptosis in neurodegenerative diseases, however, the apoptotic process in child-onset brain disorders has been little investigated. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) are hereditary disorders characterized by impaired DNA repair and neurodegeneration. We investigated apoptotic cell death in the cerebellum of five cases of XP group A (XPA), four cases of CS, and twelve controls, using TdT-mediated DIG-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemical staining for bcl-2, bcl-x, p53, bax, BDNF and Trk B. The TUNEL-positive cells were found in the granule cells of the cerebellar cortex of two patients with XPA and two patients with CS, whereas such cells were not detected in the cerebellar cortex in controls. Upregulation of bcl-2 or BDNF was not observed, and bcl-x expression was not altered. Some patients showed nuclear expression of p53 in the granule cells and/or molecular layer, bax-positive glial cells in the cerebellar white matter, and a few Trk B-positive cells in the granular layer. These findings suggest that apoptotic cell death can be involved in the cerebellar degeneration in patients with hereditary defects in DNA repair mechanisms.
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PMID:Cerebellar neurodegeneration in human hereditary DNA repair disorders. 953 31

Recent studies have suggested that a rare class of p53 mutants found in tumours has a subtle transcriptional defect affecting bax induction but not p21 induction. We have therefore developed simple functional assays in yeast which can be used to identify these mutants. Analysis of 51 different mutations observed in human tumours showed that all mutants tested scored as mutant with the bax reporter strain but nine scored as wild-type with the p21 reporter strain. These results, which can be explained by the lower affinity of the p53 protein for the bax site, may suggest that p21 is not the key target of p53 mutations in tumours. Since p21 status has recently been shown to modulate the chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic sensitivities of cancerous cells, the functional assays described here may have important clinical implications.
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PMID:Identification of human p53 mutations with differential effects on the bax and p21 promoters using functional assays in yeast. 954 39

We have previously developed an in vivo model of leukemogenesis utilizing mice reconstituted with genetically modified bone marrow cells. Based on those studies, a new single gene retroviral vector has been engineered which efficiently transfers v-myc into immature murine bone marrow cells. All reconstituted mice developed leukemia with a short latency period (5-11 weeks). In addition to hyperproliferation associated with elevated levels of PCNA, extensive apoptosis was also observed in all leukemic animals with p53 accumulating in the apoptotic cells. Whereas bax encoded protein, an effector of p53 apoptotic activity was detected in apoptotic cells, p21Waf1 protein, a potential mediator of p53 growth suppression was not detected in these cells suggesting that v-myc-induced apoptosis was independent of the ability of p53 to induce p21Waf1. These results indicate that apoptosis, a part of the cellular response to v-myc expression, does not prevent leukemia development and that hyperproliferation rather than abrogation of oncogene-induced apoptosis appears to be a critical event in v-myc-induced leukemia.
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PMID:V-myc in a simple, single gene retroviral vector causes rapid induction of leukemia and concomitant apoptosis following bone marrow transplantation. 955 13

The DNA repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine DNA-alkyltransferase (OGAT) and a deficient mismatch repair system play a critical role in the resistance to chemotherapeutic agents that generate adducts at the O6-position of guanine. However, DNA adducts different from O6-methylguanine might be also involved in cytotoxicity induced by methylating agents. Because the loss of p53 function is generally associated with tumor cell resistance to anticancer chemotherapy, we have investigated whether wild-type p53 might affect chemosensitivity of leukemia cells endowed with high OGAT levels to the methylating agent temozolomide (TZM). The effect of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PADPRP) inhibition, which potentiates the cytotoxic effects of N7-methylguanine and N3-methylguanine, was also assessed in OGAT-proficient cells, either susceptible or tolerant to O6-methylguanine. OGAT-proficient and p53 null HL60 cells were transfected with the human p53 cDNA (p53+ cells). Treatment with TZM concentrations not toxic for the cells transduced with the control vector (p53-cells), induced apoptosis in p53+ cells. These cells were characterized by a lower level of bcl-2 protein than p53- cells, whereas bax and OGAT expression was comparable in both lines. Inhibition of PADPRP potentiated the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of TZM in either p53- or p53+ HL60 cells. Furthermore, PADPRP inhibitors potentiated apoptosis induced by TZM in Jurkat cells, which possess a mutated p53 gene and are tolerant to O6-methylguanine adducts. The analysis of cell cycle indicated that the drug combination of TZM and PADPRP inhibitors provoked G1 arrest only in p53+ cells. Conversely, G1 arrest was not observed in p53+ cells exposed to TZM alone. It is possible to speculate that PADPRP inhibitors might affect the repair of DNA adducts that are processed differently from O6 methylguanine and induce a different pattern of cell cycle distribution. In conclusion, the results show that p53 increases apoptosis by TZM in OGAT-proficient cells and suggest the potential role of PADPRP inhibitors in enhancing TZM activity against leukemias independently of DNA repair systems.
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PMID:Role of wild-type p53 on the antineoplastic activity of temozolomide alone or combined with inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. 958 Jun 40

Mutations of the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene are the most commonly detected alterations in familial breast and ovarian cancer. Although BRCA1 is required for normal mouse development, the molecular basis for its tumor suppressive function remains poorly understood. We show here that BRCA1 increases p53-dependent transcription from the p21WAF1/CIP1 and bax promoters. We also show that BRCA1 and p53 proteins interact both in vitro and in vivo. The interacting regions map, in vitro, to aa 224-500 of BRCA1 and the C-terminal domain of p53. Tumor-derived transactivation-deficient BRCA1 mutants are defective in co-activation of p53-dependent transcription and a truncation mutant of BRCA1 that retains the p53-interacting region acts as a dominant inhibitor of p53-dependent transcription. BRCA1 and p53 cooperatively induce apoptosis of cancer cells. The results indicate that BRCA1 and p53 may coordinately regulate gene expression in their role as tumor suppressors.
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PMID:BRCA1 physically associates with p53 and stimulates its transcriptional activity. 958 19

Loss of wild-type p53 activity is thought to be a major predictor of failure to respond to radiotherapy and chemotherapy in various human cancers. This assumption is largely based on some cell-death studies in p53-knockout mice and on correlations of p53 status assessed by immunochemistry or single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, and responses to therapy in human cancers in vivo. In principle, p53 may enhance chemosensitivity by promoting apoptosis via transcription-independent mechanisms as well as transcriptional activation of proapoptotic genes such as bax and transcriptional repression of antiapoptotic genes such as bcl-2. Drug-induced suicide mediated by the CD95/CD95 ligand system may also involve a p53-controlled pathway. Yet, p53 may decrease chemosensitivity by promoting p21-mediated and p21-independent growth arrest, DNA repair, and differentiation, and by enhancing the transcription of antiapoptotic genes such as bcl-x. Cell-culture work indicates that the effects of altering the p53 status on chemosensitivity depend very much on the cellular context. Disruption of p53 function in otherwise normal, nonneoplastic cells may enhance rather than decrease chemosensitivity. However, targeted p53 gene disruption in some cell types obtained from p53-knockout mice results in enhanced rather than decreased sensitivity, e.g., to irradiation. Transformed cells that have retained wild-type p53 function tend to acquire chemoresistance when p53 function is disabled, with few exceptions. Thus, preexisting molecular alterations or consecutive accumulation of molecular alterations after loss of p53 rather than the loss of wild-type p53 activity per se may confer chemoresistence to tumor cells. Moreover, p53 accumulation resulting from the increased half-life of mutant p53 proteins can act as a gain-of-function mutation, presumably as a consequence of multiple protein-protein interactions. Finally, significant tumor cell-type- and drug-specific patterns of modulation of chemosensitivity by p53 are beginning to emerge. Transfer of wild-type p53 genes into tumor cells commonly induces growth arrest but may render these cells relatively more resistant to most chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, careful experimental in vitro and in vivo studies are required before chemotherapy-supported p53 gene therapy for human cancer is introduced into clinical practice.
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PMID:Predicting response to cancer chemotherapy: the role of p53. 958


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