Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P10415 (Bcl-2)
 33,771 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Endocrine treatments for human breast cancer have been based largely upon the removal of estrogenic stimuli. The regression of tumors after estrogen deprivation has generally been characterized as being due to reduced proliferation but more recently has been recognized to also involve increased apoptosis. The aim of our experiments was to define the associated changes in certain proliferation- and cell death-related biological parameters after hormone withdrawal from estrogen-dependent MCF-7 xenografts in athymic nude mice using immunohistochemical techniques. The baseline estrogen receptor (ER) level of this MCF-7 xenograft was relatively low (average H score 23) but it was strongly Bcl-2-, PgR- and pS2-positive, indicating the functional integrity of estrogen signaling. Changes in proliferation (Ki-67), apoptosis, ER, progesterone receptor (PgR), cyclin D1, p27kip1, Bcl-2 and Bax expression were assessed during the 2 weeks after estrogen deprivation. ER levels rose markedly after estrogen ablation, whereas PgR levels fell to about 10% of baseline and pS2 levels halved. The proportion of Ki-67-positive cells was unchanged after 24 hr but by day 14 had reduced by about 80%. The normal levels of cyclin D1 also reduced after estrogen withdrawal in contrast to the rapid increase in levels of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1. This latter increase appeared to occur in advance of the changes in Ki-67. The proportion of apoptotic cells increased from a mean 1.5% at baseline to 2.9% after 3 days and 4.7% after 14 days. There were reductions in both Bcl-2 and Bax staining but these appeared to be greater for Bcl-2, effectively decreasing the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Our results provide a framework for the use of these parameters as intermediate markers in comparisons of hormonal agents for human breast cancer treatment.
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PMID:Time-related effects of estrogen withdrawal on proliferation- and cell death-related events in MCF-7 xenografts. 1018 36

Interleukin (IL)-7 is essential for normal T cell development. Previously, we have shown that IL-7 increases viability and proliferation of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells by up-regulating Bcl-2 and down-regulating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1. Here, we examined the signaling pathways via which IL-7 mediates these effects. We investigated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt (protein kinase B) pathways, which have active roles in T cell expansion and have been implicated in tumorigenesis. IL-7 induced activation of the MEK-Erk pathway in T-ALL cells; however, inhibition of the MEK-Erk pathway by the use of the cell-permeable inhibitor PD98059, did not affect IL-7-mediated viability or cell cycle progression of leukemic cells. IL-7 induced PI3K-dependent phosphorylation of Akt and its downstream targets GSK-3, FOXO1, and FOXO3a. PI3K activation was mandatory for IL-7-mediated Bcl-2 up-regulation, p27kip1 down-regulation, Rb hyperphosphorylation, and consequent viability and cell cycle progression of T-ALL cells. PI3K signaling was also required for cell size increase, up-regulation of CD71, expression of the glucose transporter Glut1, uptake of glucose, and maintenance of mitochondrial integrity. Our results implicate PI3K as a major effector of IL-7-induced viability, metabolic activation, growth and proliferation of T-ALL cells, and suggest that PI3K and its downstream effectors may represent molecular targets for therapeutic intervention in T-ALL.
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PMID:Activation of PI3K is indispensable for interleukin 7-mediated viability, proliferation, glucose use, and growth of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. 1535 58