Search results for "Digestive System"
showing 10 items of 1747 documents
Homozygous mutations in exon 11 of c-KIT in GIST define a group of high risk patients
2010
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Gain of function mutations of tyrosine kinase receptors, c-KIT, and PDGFRa have been identified in most GIST; c-KIT exon 11 mutations are the most common. The type of c-KIT or PDGFRa mutation indicates tumor responsiveness to imatinib treatment or progression, although GIST with homozygous mutation has been poorly studied. We analyzed 145 GIST at the immunohistopathologic and genetic levels. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were used for our studies. The histological variables included: mitotic count per 50 HPF, necrosis, pleomorphism, and cell type. The immunophenotype was def…
Down-regulation of CYLD as a trigger for NF-κB activation and a mechanism of apoptotic resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
2010
The cylindromatosis gene (CYLD) was identified as a tumor suppressor gene, which is mutated in familial cylindromatosis (Brooke-Spiegler syndrome), an autosomal-dominant predisposition to multiple tumors of the skin appendages. CYLD is a deubiquitinating enzyme acting as a negative regulator of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway by removing lysine-63-linked polyubiquitin chains from NF-κB activating proteins. In order to investigate the role of CYLD in apoptotic signaling in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, we first studied the expression levels of CYLD in HCC tissues. CYLD expression was lower in HCC both at protein and mRNA levels compared to the surrounding non-ma…
Acquired resistance of melanoma cells to the antineoplastic agent fotemustine is caused by reactivation of the DNA repair gene mgmt
2001
Acquired resistance to antineoplastic agents is a frequent obstacle in tumor therapy. Malignant melanoma cells are particularly well known for their unresponsiveness to chemotherapy; only about 30% of tumors exhibit a transient clinical response to treatment. In our study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of acquired resistance of melanoma cells (MeWo) to the chloroethylating drug fotemustine. Determination of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) activity showed that MeWo cells that acquired resistance to fotemustine upon repeated treatment with the drug display high MGMT activity, whereas the parental cell line had no detectable MGMT. The resistant cell lines exhibit cross-…
Efficacy of BET Bromodomain Inhibition in Kras-Mutant Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
2013
Abstract Purpose: Amplification of MYC is one of the most common genetic alterations in lung cancer, contributing to a myriad of phenotypes associated with growth, invasion, and drug resistance. Murine genetics has established both the centrality of somatic alterations of Kras in lung cancer, as well as the dependency of mutant Kras tumors on MYC function. Unfortunately, drug-like small-molecule inhibitors of KRAS and MYC have yet to be realized. The recent discovery, in hematologic malignancies, that bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibition impairs MYC expression and MYC transcriptional function established the rationale of targeting KRAS-driven non–small cell lung cance…
Epidemiological, clinical and molecular characterization of Lynch‐like syndrome: A population‐based study
2019
Colorectal carcinomas that are mismatch repair (MMR)‐deficient in the absence of MLH1 promoter methylation or germline mutations represent Lynch‐like syndrome (LLS). Double somatic events inactivating MMR genes are involved in the etiology of LLS tumors. Our purpose was to define the clinical and broader molecular hallmarks of LLS tumors and the population incidence of LLS, which remain poorly characterized. We investigated 762 consecutive colorectal carcinomas operated in Central Finland in 2000–2010. LLS cases were identified by a stepwise protocol based on MMR protein expression, MLH1 methylation and MMR gene mutation status. LLS tumors were profiled for CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (…
Inactivation of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase by glucose-conjugated inhibitors.
2001
The DNA-repair protein O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a decisive determinant of resistance of tumor cells to methylating and chloroethylating anti-cancer drugs. Therefore, selective inhibition of MGMT in tumors is expected to cause tumor sensitization. Several inhibitors of MGMT have been developed which function in both tumors and normal tissue. To deplete MGMT preferentially in tumors, strategies to target the inhibitor to the tumor tissue need to be developed. Here, we report on the properties of glucose-conjugated MGMT inhibitors that might be useful for tumor targeting since tumor cells frequently over-express glucose transporter. O6-Benzylguanine (O6BG), 8-aza-O6-ben…
The dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PKI-587 enhances sensitivity to cetuximab in EGFR-resistant human head and neck cancer models
2014
Background:Cetuximab is the only targeted agent approved for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), but low response rates and disease progression are frequently reported. As the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways have an important role in the pathogenesis of HNSCC, we investigated their involvement in cetuximab resistance.Methods:Different human squamous cancer cell lines sensitive or resistant to cetuximab were tested for the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PF-05212384 (PKI-587), alone and in combination, both in vitro and in vivo.Results:Treatment with PKI-587 enhances sensitivity to cetuximab in vitro, even in the co…
MGMT in primary and recurrent human glioblastomas after radiation and chemotherapy and comparison with p53 status and clinical outcome
2007
The DNA repair protein O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) plays a pivotal role in alkylating drug resistance. Here, we determined MGMT activity in primary and recurrent glioblastomas (GBM, WHO grade IV) of patients who received radiation therapy (RT) or RT plus chemotherapy with alkylating agents (temozolomide, chloroethylnitrosoureas). The mean MGMT activity of untreated GBM was 37 +/- 45 (range 0-205) fmol/mg proteins. In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd recurrences, MGMT activity increased from 66 +/- 50 (13-194) to 68 +/- 44 (14-143) and 182 +/- 163 (64-423) fmol/mg protein, respectively. Comparing patients who received RT only with RT plus chemotherapy, a significant increase of MGMT …
O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activity and sensitivity to cyclophosphamide and cisplatin in human lung tumor xenografts
1998
The DNA repair protein O6-methylguanine-DNA methyl-transferase (MGMT) is a main determinant of resistance of cells to the cytostatic effects of O6-alkylguanine-generating alkylating agents. The purpose of our study was to assay MGMT activity in cells of lung cancers and to correlate MGMT levels with chemotherapy response to cyclophosphamide (CTX) and cisplatin (DDP). MGMT levels were determined in 14 human lung tumor xenografts. There was a wide variation of MGMT expression in these tumors, ranging from 10 to 984 fmol/mg protein. There was also a wide range in the sensitivity of the xenografts to CTX and DDP, as measured by specific growth delay. When the MGMT levels of the different xenogr…
Cathepsin D expression levels in nongynecological solid tumors: clinical and therapeutic implications.
2004
Cathepsin D is a lysosomal acid proteinase which is involved in the malignant progression of breast cancer and other gynecological tumors. Clinical investigations have shown that in breast cancer patients cathepsin D overexpression was significantly correlated with a shorter free-time disease and overall survival, whereas in patients with ovarian or endometrial cancer this phenomenon was associated with tumor aggressiveness and a degree of chemoresistance to various antitumor drugs such as anthracyclines, cis-platinum and vinca alkaloids. Therefore, a lot of research has been undertaken to evaluate the role and the prognostic value of cathepsin D also in other solid neoplasms. However, conf…