Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P39060 (endostatin)
 2,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recent advances in molecular biology have broadened our knowledge of the biological characteristics of cancer. In the present paper, we review and discuss new modalities of therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on biological findings. These modalities include: 1) diagnosis of cancer based on gene abnormalities: 2) decision making on chemo-/radiotherapy based on new biological findings: 3) gene therapy: and 4) new chemotherapeutic agents. Mutation of the p53 gene, which occurs most frequently in NSCLC, is a well-documented molecular target in these modalities. The development of polymerase chain reaction technology has enabled early diagnosis of NSCLC by detection of p53 gene abnormalities in sputum. Transfer of the wild-type p53 gene using a retrovirus vector to cancer tissues with mutant p53 gene has already been tested clinically. Inhibition of tumor neovascularization has been studied extensively in attempts to develop noveal chemotherapeutic agents. Angiostatin or endostatin, an inhibitor of tumor neovascularization is in clinical use. Matrix metalloprotease inhibitions (MMPs) also inhibit neovascularization of tumors. Marimastat, an oral MMP, is expected to prevent cancer metastasis.
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PMID:[Therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: new concepts based on molecular biology]. 965 37

The first time a nation made research a national priority was probably in 15th Century Portugal. While the Spanish built large galleons to ferry gold from the New World to Madrid, the Portuguese built small caravels to return with something more valuable: information. A National Navigational Institute was established in Sagres, where Prince Henry collated the raw data being delivered by the caravels: latitude, longitude, ocean depths, coastal landmarks, and current. Slowly, the caravels moved down the western coast of Africa, overcame the nautical and psychological obstacle of rounding the Horn, and slowly pushed up the Eastern coast. Each new voyage built on the incremental knowledge gleaned from the last and the certain knowledge of the ultimate goal. When Vasco DiGama reached India, the price of pepper in Venice plunged. A new route to the spice trade had been established, a route which did not require the payment of costly tributes at regular intervals along the land route, and a wealthy Empire which would last two centuries was established. The National Institutes of Health represent this nation's commitment to the importance of basic research. In the history of all mankind there has never been a greater, more consistent, and publically funded investment to understand the biology of human disease. Like the caravels, research laboratories and clinical trials have steadily moved forward with incremental progress toward a clearly visualized goal-the prevention and treatment of human disease. In the area of cancer research, we have clearly rounded the horn. The understanding of cancer at a basic level has now brought new targets for cancer treatment into sharper focus. We now understand cancer as a genetic disease. No longer do our therapies target a single cancer feature, uncontrolled growth. Instead, new vaccines like MART-1, gp100, p53 and ras peptides are targeting the cancer cell's ability to evade immune surveillance. Anti-angiogenesis agents like endostatin, Col-3, and angiostatin promise to inhibit the tumor's ability to make new blood vessels and convert cancer to a static, chronic disease. One advantage to these new angiogenesis inhibitors is their action against normal endothelial cells, rather than targeting the cancer itself. For this reason, the genetic plasticity of tumor cells, and their ability to develop drug resistance, is no longer relevant. The Clinton administration has recently announced its intention to add $4.7 billion to cancer research, essentially reaffirming the nation's initial investment of the National Cancer Act. The commitment could not have been better timed. When grants are funded at the 20th percentile, peer review does not work well. And when managed care makes clinical research nearly impossible, we erode the purpose of basic research and undermine the essence of our mission: the prevention and cure of human disease. The Administration's investment will prove to be wise. With the knowledge at hand, and the ability to translate this knowledge into new diagnostic, preventive and treatment approaches, we can begin to realistically vision cancer cures. A new era is at hand.
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PMID:Investment in Research as a National Priority. 1038 87

The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remains dismal, although many advances in its clinical study have been made. It is important for tumor control to identify the factors that predispose patients to death. With new discoveries in cancer biology, the pathological and biological prognostic factors of HCC have been studied quite extensively. Analyzing molecular markers (biomarkers) with prognostic significance is a complementary method. A large number of molecular factors have been shown to associate with the invasiveness of HCC, and have potential prognostic significance. One important aspect is the analysis of molecular markers for the cellular malignancy phenotype. These include alterations in DNA ploidy, cellular proliferation markers (PCNA, Ki-67, Mcm2, MIB1, MIA, and CSE1L/CAS protein), nuclear morphology, the p53 gene and its related molecule MD M2, other cell cycle regulators (cyclin A, cyclin D, cyclin E, cdc2, p27, p73), oncogenes and their receptors (such as ras, c-myc, c-fms, HGF, c-met, and erb-B receptor family members), apoptosis related factors (Fas and FasL), as well as telomerase activity. Another important aspect is the analysis of molecular markers involved in the process of cancer invasion and metastasis. Adhesion molecules (E-cadherin, catenins, serum intercellular adhesion molecule-1, CD44 variants), proteinases involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix (MMP-2, MMP-9, uPA, uPAR, PAI), as well as other molecules have been regarded as biomarkers for the malignant phenotype of HCC, and are related to prognosis and therapeutic outcomes. Tumor angiogenesis is critical to both the growth and metastasis of cancers including HCC, and has drawn much attention in recent years. Many angiogenesis-related markers, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), thrombospondin (TSP), angiogenin, pleiotrophin, and endostatin (ES) levels, as well as intratumor microvessel density (MVD) have been evaluated and found to be of prognostic significance. Body fluid (particularly blood and urinary) testing for biomarkers is easily accessible and useful in clinical patients. The prognostic significance of circulating DNA in plasma or serum, and its genetic alterations in HCC are other important trends. More attention should be paid to these two areas in future. As the progress of the human genome project advances, so does a clearer understanding of tumor biology, and more and more new prognostic markers with high sensitivity and specificity will be found and used in clinical assays. However, the combination of some items, i.e., the pathological features and some biomarkers mentioned above, seems to be more practical for now.
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PMID:The prognostic molecular markers in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1204 56

We have previously reported that combretastatin-A4 prodrug (CA4P), anantitubulin/antiangiogenic agent isolated from the South African willow tree Combretum caffrum, induced cell death primarily through mitotic catastrophe in a panel of human B-lymphoid tumors. In this study, we investigated the molecular aspects of the mitotic catastrophe and whether or not it shares the same pathways of apoptosis. For this we studied the effect of CA4P on selected markers of apoptosis [caspases 9 and 3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), bcl-2, and bax] and G2-M protein regulators (p53, MDM2, 14-3-3sigma, GADD45, cdc2, cdc25, chk1, wee1, p21, and cyclin B1). The chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell line WSU-CLL was used for this purpose. Western blot analysis showed that 24 h of CA4P (5 nM) exposure induces caspase 9 activation and PARP cleavage. However, the addition of Z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (a general caspase inhibitor) or Z-Leu-Glu(OMe)-His-Asp(OMe)-CH2F (a caspase 9 inhibitor) before CA4P treatment did not block cell death. No change in bcl-2 or bax protein expression was observed. Exposure of WSU-CLL cells to 4 and 5 nM CA4P was associated with overproduction of total p53 and no dramatic change in MDM2, 14-3-3sigma, GADD45, the cyclin-dependent kinase cdc2, its inhibitory phosphorylation, the cdc2-inhibitory kinase (wee1), chk1, or cdc25 hyperphosphorylation. The overaccumulation of p21 and cyclin B1 protein was obvious at 24 h. Furthermore, CA4P treatment showed an increase in the expression of a marker of mitosis (mitotic protein monoclonal-2 antibody) and an overaccumulation of the cyclin B in the nucleus. Our findings suggest that CA4P induces mitotic catastrophe and arrest of WSU-CLL cells mostly in the M phase independent of p53 and independent of chk1 and cdc2 phosphorylation pathways. Apoptosis is a secondary mechanism of death in a small proportion of cells through activation of caspase 9 and PARP cleavage. The two mechanisms of cell death, i.e., mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis, are independent of each other in our model.
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PMID:Combretastatin-A4 prodrug induces mitotic catastrophe in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell line independent of caspase activation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. 1217 7

Despite multimodality treatment for thyroid cancer, including surgical resection, radioiodine therapy, thyrotropin (TSH)-suppressive thyroxine treatment, and chemotherapy/radiotherapy, survival rates have not improved over the last decades. Therefore, development and evaluation of novel treatment strategies, including gene therapy, are urgently needed. A variety of gene therapy approaches have been evaluated for the treatment of follicular cell-derived and medullary thyroid cancer, including corrective gene therapy (p53 restoration, expression of a dominant negative RET mutant), cytoreductive gene therapy (suicide gene/prodrug strategy herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase [HSV-tk]/ganciclovir, antiangiogenic therapy with endostatin) and immunomodulatory gene therapy (expression of interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-12). Furthermore, cloning of the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) gene has paved the way for the development of a novel cytoreductive gene therapy strategy based on NIS gene transfer followed by the application of radioiodine therapy ((131)I). NIS gene delivery into medullary and follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer cells has been shown to be capable of establishing or restoring radioiodine accumulation and might therefore represent an effective therapy for medullary and dedifferentiated thyroid tumors that lack iodide accumulating activity. The data summarized in this review article clearly demonstrate that the currently available strategies represent potentially curative novel therapeutic approaches for future gene therapy of thyroid cancer. The combination of different therapeutic genes has been demonstrated to be very useful to enhance therapeutic efficacy and seems to have a promising role at least as part of a multimodality approach for advanced thyroid cancer.
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PMID:Gene therapy for thyroid cancer: current status and future prospects. 1524 69

Data from clinical trails have shown that the antitumoral effect of ONYX-015, an E1B 55kDa-deficient adenovirus, as monotherapy is insufficient. To enhance its efficiency, CNHK200-mE, another E1B 55kDa-deficient adenovirus armed with a mouse endostatin gene was constructed and its antitumoral activities against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vitro and in vivo were investigated. The selective replication and cytotoxicity of CNHK200-mE in Hep3B and HepGII cells independent of p53 status were confirmed via TCID50 and 3-(4,5dimetylthiazol)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Potent tumor growth suppression on SMMC-7721 xenografts in nude mice was observed and a synergistic effect of the carrier virus and the therapeutic gene was suggested. Moreover, in comparison with the nonreplicative adenovirus carrying the same therapeutic gene, amplified transgene expression of mouse endostatin in vitro and in vivo were confirmed by Western blotting and ELISA assay. The effective angiogenesis inhibition and replication of CNHK200-mE in nude mice xenografts were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, the recombinant adenovirus CNHK200-mE is a replication-competent oncolytic virus mediating high expression of therapeutic gene. Because CNHK200-mE is capable of replicating in and lysing HCC cells selectively with effective tumor growth suppression and antiangiogenic activity on HCC xenografts in nude mice, it holds good potential for the treatment of HCC.
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PMID:Potent antitumor efficacy of an E1B 55kDa-deficient adenovirus carrying murine endostatin in hepatocellular carcinoma. 1538 17

Apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells is associated with the regression of angiogenesis. Endostatin is a potential anti-angiogenic drug, but the effects of endostatin on apoptotic machinery in endothelial cells largely remain unclear. In the present study, human endostatin was expressed in E. Coli to induce apoptosis in endothelial cells. It was found that the expressed human endostatin specifically affected the viability of the ECV 304 in a dose-dependent manner. Endostatin induced apoptosis in these cells in a caspase-dependent manner, and endostatin-mediated apoptosis is associated with several apoptotic signaling pathways including overloading of intracellular magnesium and calcium, as well as regulation of p53 and Bcl 2 expression.
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PMID:Multiple signaling is involved in endostatin-mediated apoptosis in ECV 304 endothelial cells. 1576 8

The transcriptional activity of the p53 protein is central to its role in tumor suppression. Identification of the complete repertoire of p53-regulated genes is critical for dissecting the complexity of the p53 network. Although several different approaches have been used to characterize the p53 genetic program, we still lack a comprehensive molecular understanding of how p53 prevents cancer. Using a computational approach, we generated a genome-wide map of p53 binding sites (p53BS) to identify novel p53 target genes. We show that the presence of nearby p53BS can identify new proapoptotic members of the Bcl2 family. We show that p53 binds to p53BS identified in the BCL-G/BCL2L14 gene and that induction of this gene contributes to p53-mediated apoptosis. We found that p53 activates the COL18A1 gene encoding the precursor for the antiangiogenic factor endostatin. We also show that p53 up-regulates the MAP4K4 gene and activates the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway to drive apoptosis. Thus, unbiased mapping of the genomic landscape of p53BS provides a systematic and complementary approach to identify novel factors and connections in the p53 genetic network. Our study illustrates how systematic genomic approaches can identify binding sites that are functionally relevant for a p53 transcriptional program. The genetic link among p53, antiangiogenic factors, and the JNK signaling pathway adds new dimensions to understanding p53 function in highly connected genetic networks.
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PMID:A genomic map of p53 binding sites identifies novel p53 targets involved in an apoptotic network. 1595 53

This study has investigated the impact of three specific dominant-negative p53 mutants (F134L, M237L, and R273H) on tumorigenesis by LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Mutant p53 proteins were associated with an increased subcutaneous "take rate" in NOD-SCID mice, and increased production of PSA. Tumors expressing F134L and R273H grew slower than controls, and were associated with decreased necrosis and apoptosis, but not hypoxia. Interestingly, hypoxia levels were increased in tumors expressing M237L. There was less proliferation in F134L-bearing tumors compared to control, but this was not statistically significant. Angiogenesis was decreased in tumors expressing F134L and R273H compared with M237L, or controls. Conditioned medium from F134L tumors inhibited growth of normal human umbilical-vein endothelial cells but not telomerase-immortalized bone marrow endothelial cells. F134L tumor supernatants showed lower levels of VEGF and endostatin compared with supernatants from tumors expressing other mutants. Our results support the possibility that decreased angiogenesis might account for reduced growth rate of tumor cells expressing the F134L p53 mutation.
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PMID:Over-expression of p53 mutants in LNCaP cells alters tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo. 1672 21

The antiangiogenic agent fumagillin (Fg) and its analog TNP-470 bind to intracellular metalloprotease methionine aminopeptidase-2 (MetAP-2) and inhibit endothelial cell growth in a p53-dependent manner. To confirm the role of MetAP-2 in endothelial cell proliferation and to validate it as a physiological target for the Fg class of antiangiogenic agents, we have generated a conditional MetAP-2 knockout mouse. Ubiquitous deletion of the MetAP-2 gene (MAP2) resulted in an early gastrulation defect, which is bypassed in double MetAP-2/p53 knockout embryos. Targeted deletion of MAP2 specifically in the hemangioblast lineage resulted in abnormal vascular development, and these embryos die at the midsomite stage. In addition, knockdown of MetAP-2 using small interfering RNA or homologous recombination specifically suppresses the proliferation of cultured endothelial cells. Together, these results demonstrate an essential role for MetAP-2 in angiogenesis and indicate that MetAP-2 is responsible for the endothelial cell growth arrest induced by Fg and its derivatives.
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PMID:Targeted gene disruption of methionine aminopeptidase 2 results in an embryonic gastrulation defect and endothelial cell growth arrest. 1679 May 50


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