Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P43146 (tumour suppressor)
 5,935 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) gene, ATM, predisposes affected homozygotes to a wide range of malignancies. It has been suggested that this is a consequence of the genomic instability associated with the syndrome. The elevated risk of malignancy is not, however, observed among A-T heterozygotes (except, apparently, regarding breast cancer). In this report we describe results from the study of the rare sporadic disease, T cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL). In all individuals tested, we observed that at least one ATM allele was disrupted by rearrangement, that in many cases both alleles were disrupted and that there were additional mutations, predominantly missense, that clustered toward the 3' end of the gene corresponding to the protein's phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK)-related domain. We conclude that the ATM gene can act as a tumour suppressor in the development of sporadic T-PLL. Our finding of a surfeit of mutations within ATM may reflect the involvement of the gene at more than one step in tumorigenesis. In particular, we suggest that the clustering of missense mutations may pertain to the late-onset character of both sporadic and A-T-related T-PLL, since the closest homologue of Atm protein is the yeast TEL1 protein that maintains telomere length. ATM inactivation may not be the initiating event in T-PLL tumorigenesis: prior mutation of another gene--perhaps TCL1 activation--may be obligate. This would explain the recessive character of T-PLL risk in A-T.
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PMID:The ataxia telangiectasia gene in familial and sporadic cancer. 1002 98

The two gene products of the CDKN2A gene, p16 and p19ARF, have recently been linked to each of two major tumour suppressor pathways in human carcinogenesis, the RB1 pathway and the p53 pathway. p16 inhibits the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma gene product by cyclin D-dependent kinases, whereas p19ARF targets MDM2, a p53 inhibitory protein, for degradation. A deletion of CDKN2A would therefore disturb both pathways. To explore the p53 pathway genes as a functional unit in diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (DLCL), we wanted to see whether there exists mutually exclusiveness of aberrations of CDKN2A, MDM2 and p53, since this has not been analysed previously. We investigated 37 DLCL for aberrations of p15, p16, p19ARF, MDM2, and p53 at the epigenetic, genetic and/or protein levels. Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A was detected in seven (19%) of 37 tumours, and another three cases were hypermethylated at the 5' CpG island of p16. No point mutations were found in CDKN2B or CDKN2A. Immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue for p16 confirmed these results, as all tumours with alterations of CDKN2A were p16 immunonegative. We found p53 mutations in eight (22%) cases and MDM2 overexpression in 16 (43%) tumours. Twenty-three (62%) tumours had alterations of one or more p53 pathway components (p53, p19ARF and MDM2). Furthermore, 7/9 (78%) p16-immunonegative tumours showed co-aberration of p53 and/or MDM2. The lack of correlation between these aberrations suggests that DLCL acquire additional growth advantage by inactivating both of these critical regulatory pathways.
Leukemia 1999 Mar
PMID:Aberrations of the p53 pathway components p53, MDM2 and CDKN2A appear independent in diffuse large B cell lymphoma. 1008 36

Mutations of the p53 tumour suppressor gene are infrequent at presentation of both acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), being found in between 5-10% of AML and 2-3% of ALL. Here we have studied the frequency of detection of p53 mutations at relapse of both AML and B-precursor ALL. In those patients with detectable mutations at relapse we investigated whether the mutation was detectable at presentation and was thus an early initiating event or whether it had arisen as a late event associated with relapse. Bone marrow samples from 55 adults and children with relapsed AML (n = 41) or ALL (n = 14) were analysed for p53 gene alterations by direct sequencing of exons 5-9. For samples where a p53 mutation was found at relapse, analysis of presentation samples was carried out by direct sequencing of the exon involved, or by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) if the mutation could not be detected using direct sequencing. A p53 mutated gene was found at relapse in seven out of 55 cases. The frequency was higher in relapsed ALL (four out of 14 cases; 28.6%) compared to AML (three out of 41 cases; 7.3%). In five out of the seven cases presentation samples were available to study for the presence of the mutation. In two out of two AML patients the p53 mutation was detectable in the presentation sample by direct sequencing. In three ALL patients analysis of presentation material by direct sequencing showed a small mutant peak in one case, the other two being negative despite the sample analysed containing > 90% blast cells. However in both of these patients, the presence of p53 mutation was confirmed in the presentation sample using allele-specific PCR. In one of these patients the emergence of a subclone at relapse was confirmed by clonality analysis using IgH fingerprinting. Our results confirm that in ALL p53 mutations are present in a proportion of patients at relapse. Furthermore cells carrying the mutation are detectable at presentation in a minor clone suggesting that p53 mutations in ALL may be a mechanism contributing to disease relapse.
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PMID:Mechanisms of relapse in acute leukaemia: involvement of p53 mutated subclones in disease progression in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. 1009 50

The haematological diversity of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) mandates that therapeutic strategies for this disease be guided by an understanding of the disease biology. Insights into the pathobiology of this disease have given rise to novel treatment strategies which exploit basic biological disturbances. Myelodysplastic bone marrow progenitors from patients with low leukaemia burden display an accelerated senescence phenotype which is characterised by impaired response to trophic signals and premature apoptotic death of primitive haematopoietic progenitors. Elaboration of aptogenic cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-1beta may reinforce this sequence by up-regulating cellular expression of fas ligand and its cognate receptor, suppressing responsiveness to growth factor stimulation, and accelerating apoptotic cell death. Inactivation of p15 or other tumour suppressor genes antedate disease progression and the emergence of blast populations with reduced capacity for fas mediated cell death. Herein we review the current understanding of the pathobiology of MDS and promising strategies for therapeutic intervention.
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PMID:Pharmacological differentiation and anti-apoptotic therapy in myelodysplastic syndromes. 1010 Dec 9

Abnormal DNA methylation has been found to be a common feature in cancer cells, although the mechanism of this alteration remains poorly understood. HIC1 is a putative tumour suppressor gene on chromosome 17p13.3 and is hypermethylated in a number of cancers including leukaemia. In this study, using bisulphite genomic sequencing, we have identified a 'boundary' sequence within the HIC1 CpG island that shows a marked junction between methylated and unmethylated DNA in normal haematopoietic cells. Surprisingly, this boundary of differential methylation lies exactly between the intron 2 and exon 3 junction. In contrast to normal haematopoietic cells, hypermethylation extends past this boundary at a high frequency (83%) in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemias (AML). Identification of the hypermethylated boundary sequence not only provides the first step in understanding the mechanisms that normally protect CpG islands from de novo methylation but also may prove to be a useful cancer-specific marker.
Leukemia 1999 Jun
PMID:Cancer-specific region of hypermethylation identified within the HIC1 putative tumour suppressor gene in acute myeloid leukaemia. 1036 Mar 76

Chromosomal aberrations and inactivation of tumour suppressor genes are frequent in acute leukaemia. To determine whether the FHIT gene is involved in the development of leukaemia, we examined the FHIT transcript in 65 leukaemia cell lines, 5 fresh acute leukaemia patients at diagnosis and in complete remission, normal peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from 14 healthy volunteers and Epstein-Barr (EB) virus transformed 5 B-cell lines (EB-lines), using nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. The transcripts were classified into 4 patterns: pattern I revealed the normal transcripts only, pattern II the altered transcripts in addition to the normal transcripts, pattern III the altered transcripts without the normal transcripts and pattern IV an absence of normal and altered FHIT transcripts. Nineteen cell lines were classified as pattern I, 32 as pattern II, 2 as pattern III and 12 as pattern IV. The frequency of loss of FHIT expression (pattern III or IV) varied in each type of leukaemia cell line; the order ranked from the highest incidence was acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), B-precursor ALL, B-ALL, and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). No genomic rearrangement was found in any samples examined. All of 5 patients showed same pattern II FHIT transcripts at 2 different stages of the disease. All normal peripheral blood lymphocytes and EB-lines were classified as pattern I or II. Our results suggested that patterns III and IV of FHIT transcripts might be associated with the development of a subset of leukaemia, while pattern II which has so far been reported as an aberrant transcript in varieties of malignant tumours might not be associated with leukaemogenesis.
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PMID:Pattern of FHIT gene expression in normal and leukaemic cells. 1036 36

A Task Group of the ICRP Committee 1 (Radiation Effects) has reviewed relevant data with the objective of advising the Main Commission of the ICRP on the possible implications for radiological protection of emerging views on genetic susceptibility to cancer (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 considers DNA damage and its processing/repair after ionising radiation and serves principally to demonstrate that a few rare cancer-prone, human recessive genetic disorders show DNA repair deficiency and profound increases in radiosensitivity. Less dramatic changes in radiosensitivity are also apparent in a wider range of such disorders. The cellular mechanisms that underly the association between DNA damage processing and tumorigenesis are discussed. Chapter 3 reviews the mechanisms and genetics of solid tumours illustrating the ways in which mutations in proto-oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes together with those in DNA repair and cell cycle control genes can contribute to tumour development. Specific examples are given of how germ line mutation of such genes can predispose to familial cancer. It is judged that up to 5% of all solid tumours have a recognisable genetic component. Heritable organ-specific effects are most usual and cancers of the breast and colon tend to show the most obvious genetic components. Clearly discernible genetic effects are seen when rare dominant germ line mutations express strongly as familial cancer (high penetrance mutations), but the existence of perhaps less rare low penetrance mutations and gene-gene interactions are recognised but not well understood. Chapter 4 considers the mechanisms and genetics of lympho-haemopoietic tumours. Specific chromosomal translocations and proto-oncogene activation events are much more frequent in human leukaemia/lymphoma than in solid tumours. Genetic predisposition to leukaemia/lymphoma is found in a number of non-familial recessive genetic disorders of DNA processing and/or chromosomal instability. Familial manifestation of susceptibility to these tumours is, however, extremely rare. The genetic component, although poorly defined, is judged to be less than that of solid tumours and expressed largely in childhood. Chapter 5 reviews and discusses limited data that comment upon tumorigenic radiosensitivity in cancer-prone genetic conditions. From knowledge of the fundamental processes involved it is judged that in most, but not all, cases genetic susceptibility to spontaneous tumours will be accompanied by a greater-than-normal risk after radiation. A review of epidemiological, clinical and experimental data relevant to this issue suggests that although a wide range of different sensitivities may be involved, a factor of 10 increase in sensitivity broadly accords with the limited human data available. This interim judgement of a factor of 10 increase in radiation risk in such human genetic disorders is made for the purposes of illustrative modelling and calculation. In addition, specific attention is given to breast cancer risk in heterozygotes for the radiosensitive human disorder, ataxia-telangiectasia; this association, while in no way discounted, is judged to be less strong than that claimed by some. Chapter 6 discusses and develops computational modelling procedures that aim to describe the impact of genetic factors on radiation-tumorigenesis in human populations. Estimates of the prevalence of known cancer-prone genetic disorders are made but breast cancer susceptibility is used to illustrate the application of the model developed. The most important message to emerge from this work is that, even at an assumed high level of radiation sensitivity, the prevalence of familial (high penetrance) genetic disorders in the population is too low (<1%) for there to be a significant impact on risk in typical human populations. In principle, however, there is the potential for such impact in atypical inbred sub-populations where these mutations can be more common. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
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PMID:Genetic susceptibility to cancer. ICRP publication 79. Approved by the Commission in May 1997. International Commission on Radiological Protection. 1040 27

Small amounts of free DNA circulate in both healthy and diseased human plasma/serum, and increased concentrations of DNA are present in the plasma of cancer patients. Characteristics of tumour DNA have been found in genetic material extracted from the plasma of cancer patients. These features include decreased strand stability and the presence of specific oncogene, tumour suppressor gene and microsatellite alterations. Point mutations of the ras genes have been detected in the plasma DNA of patients suffering from haematopoetic malignancies, colorectal and pancreatic cancer, sometimes prior to clinical diagnosis. Rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain DNA has been found in the plasma of patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and acute B cell leukaemia. Microsatellite instability, expressed either as a new allele or a loss of one allele (LOH) occurs in the plasma and serum DNA of patients suffering from head and neck, lung and renal cell cancer. The results obtained in many different cancers have opened a new research area indicating that plasma DNA might eventually be a suitable target for the development of non-invasive diagnostic, prognostic and follow-up tests for cancer.
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PMID:Detection of circulating tumour DNA in the blood (plasma/serum) of cancer patients. 1050 46

Specific defects in DNA repair pathways are reflected by DNA microsatellite instability (MSI) and play an important role in carcinogenesis. Reported frequencies in gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) vary from 14% to as high as 90%. Another form of genetic instability in tumours is allelic imbalance (AI) due to loss or gain of genetic material at a specific chromosomal region. This might point to the presence of a tumour suppressor gene or oncogene. We examined both MSI and AI in 26 gastric lymphomas (10 low-grade and 13 high-grade MALT lymphomas and three cases lacking MALT features and categorised as diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLCL)). Tumour components and normal cells (epithelium, muscle) were microdissected from paraffin-embedded resection samples. Contrary to other studies we did not observe frequent MSI when investigating 18 different loci distributed over 12 chromosomes. Microsatellite instability of a single locus was found in 1/10 (10%) low-grade MALT lymphomas and 2/13 (15%) high-grade MALT lymphomas. These data indicate that DNA mismatch repair genes do not play a role in the pathogenesis of these lymphomas. Allelic imbalance was detected in 60% (6/10) of low-grade MALT lymphomas, in 62% (8/13) of high-grade MALT lymphoma and in 67% (2/3) of DLCL. In high-grade lymphomas more loci showed AI (one to seven loci, with a mean of 2.5 loci per case) than in the low-grade lymphomas (one to two loci, with a mean of 1.3 loci per case), possibly reflecting an increased genomic instability.
Leukemia 1999 Nov
PMID:Frequent allelic imbalance but infrequent microsatellite instability in gastric lymphoma. 1055 55

Gene therapy encompasses deliberate alteration of the genetic material of cancer cells. Somatic-cell therapy involves the administration to cancer patients of living cells that have been genetically manipulated or processed to change their biological characteristics. Gene therapy of cancer, although much hyped, is still in its very early infancy. Current approaches to delivering genes into cells include physico-chemical methods, viral vectors and direct DNA injection. None of these strategies is in any way perfect and their efficacy leaves much to be desired. Based on the somatic mutation theory of carcinogenesis, it would be attractive to repair genetic alterations responsible for neoplastic transformation and clonal evolution of cancer cells. Attempts have been made to replace inactivated tumour suppressor genes in cancer cells through intact wild type gene copies, or to suppress the leukaemogenic effects of chromosomal fusion genes in leukaemia through antisense oligonucleotides. One of the snags of these concepts is that cancer cells harbour several if not myriads of mutated genes, and clonal tumour heterogeneity seems to be the rule rather than the exception. It is at present impossible to repair all gene mutations in cancer lesions of a given patient if such were to be the aim of therapy. Nevertheless, some interesting clinical data have been reported. These include the local injection via bronchoscopy of p53 wild type gene copies into p53-deficient lung cancer lesions and other tumours. Somatic-cell therapy includes a considerable spectrum of interventions. Tumour cells may be transduced with genes which upon their expression will render the tumour cells more immunogenic. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes may be harvested, transduced with a gene of interest and re-injected. Since they recognise tumours specifically, they will serve as vehicles to carry therapeutic genes into cancer lesions where the gene product can exert an anti-cancer effect. Such attempts might increase the immunogenicity of tumours considerably. Examples are the transduction of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes with a gene for tumour necrosis factor alpha or the transduction of tumour cells with the gene for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Protocols on gene therapy and somatic-cell therapy seem to be a worthy goal of cancer research. However, it seems unlikely that gene therapy will provide magic anti-cancer bullets in the near future or the definitive cancer cure, although this is often promised in the media. Careful clinical and laboratory research will pave the way towards stepwise improvement of cancer patient care.
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PMID:[Molecular therapy in malignant tumors]. 1060 49


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