Search results for "Tumor Suppressor Proteins"
showing 10 items of 123 documents
Why do results conflict regarding the prognostic value of the methylation status in colon cancers? The role of the preservation method.
2012
Abstract Background In colorectal carcinoma, extensive gene promoter hypermethylation is called the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP). Explaining why studies on CIMP and survival yield conflicting results is essential. Most experiments to measure DNA methylation rely on the sodium bisulfite conversion of unmethylated cytosines into uracils. No study has evaluated the performance of bisulfite conversion and methylation levels from matched cryo-preserved and Formalin-Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) samples using pyrosequencing. Methods Couples of matched cryo-preserved and FFPE samples from 40 colon adenocarcinomas were analyzed. Rates of bisulfite conversion and levels of methylation of …
Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein Inhibits Tumor Suppressor Protein Promyelocytic Leukemia Function in Human Hepatoma Cells
2005
Abstract Tumor suppressor protein promyelocytic leukemia (PML) is implicated in apoptosis regulation and antiviral response. PML localizes predominantly to PML-nuclear bodies (PML-NB), nuclear macromolecular complexes regulating tumor suppressor protein p53 activity. Consistent with the function of PML in the cellular antiviral response, PML-NBs represent preferential targets in viral infections. In the case of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, important characteristics are nonresponsiveness to IFN therapy and development of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanisms which lead to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma are largely unknown. Here, we show that HCV core protein lo…
Differences in the mechanisms of growth control in contact-inhibited and serum-deprived human fibroblasts
1997
In the present work we studied mechanisms of growth control in contact-inhibited and serum-deprived human diploid fibroblasts. The observation that the effects on [3H]thymidine incorporation and reduction of retinoblastoma gene product-phosphorylation were additive when contact-inhibition and serum-deprivation were combined led us to the conclusion that the underlying mechanisms might be different. Both contact-inhibition and serum-deprivation led to a strong decrease of cdk4-kinase-activity and cdk2-phosphorylation at Thr 160, while the total amounts of cdk4 and cdk2 remained constant. In contact-inhibited cells, we revealed a strong protein accumulation of the cdk2-inhibitor p27 and a sli…
Detection of the DCC gene product in normal and malignant colorectal tissues and its relation to a codon 201 mutation.
1998
Protein expression of the putative tumour-suppressor gene DCC on chromosome 18q was evaluated in a panel of 16 matched colorectal cancer and normal colonic tissue samples together with DCC mRNA expression and allelic deletions (loss of heterozygosity, LOH). Determined by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-LOH assay, 12 of the 16 (75%) cases were informative with LOH occurring in 2 of the 12 cases. For DCC mRNA, transcripts could be detected in all analysed normal tissues (eight out of eight) by RT-PCR, whereas 6 of the 15 tumours were negative. DCC protein expression, investigated by immunohistochemistry using the monoclonal antibody 15041 A directed against the intracellular domain, was hom…
IFN-alpha-induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma involves promyelocytic leukemia protein and TRAIL independently of p53.
2009
Abstract IFNs are pleiotropic cytokines that have been shown to be important regulators of cell growth. IFN-α has recently been recognized to harbor therapeutic potential in prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, HCC cells respond differentially to IFN treatment, the mechanism of which is largely unknown. To address this issue, we analyzed the effect of IFN-α on different liver tumor cell lines. We found that growth inhibiting effects of IFN-α in hepatoma cells require PML-NB induction and, moreover, tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) expression on the mRNA and protein level. RNAi silencing of PML down-regulates TRAIL expression in …
Artesunate induces oxidative DNA damage, sustained DNA double-strand breaks, and the ATM/ATR damage response in cancer cells.
2011
Abstract Artesunate, the active agent from Artemisia annua L. used in the traditional Chinese medicine, is being applied as a first-line drug for malaria treatment, and trials are ongoing that include this drug in cancer therapy. Despite increasing interest in its therapeutic application, the mode of cell killing provoked by artesunate in human cells is unknown. Here, we show that artesunate is a powerful inducer of oxidative DNA damage, giving rise to formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase–sensitive sites and the formation of 8-oxoguanine and 1,N6-ethenoadenine. Oxidative DNA damage was induced in LN-229 human glioblastoma cells dose dependently and was paralleled by cell death executed by ap…
Temozolomide- and fotemustine-induced apoptosis in human malignant melanoma cells: response related to MGMT, MMR, DSBs, and p53
2009
Malignant melanomas are highly resistant to chemotherapy. First-line chemotherapeutics used in melanoma therapy are the methylating agents dacarbazine (DTIC) and temozolomide (TMZ) and the chloroethylating agents BCNU and fotemustine. Here, we determined the mode of cell death in 11 melanoma cell lines upon exposure to TMZ and fotemustine. We show for the first time that TMZ induces apoptosis in melanoma cells, using therapeutic doses. For both TMZ and fotemustine apoptosis is the dominant mode of cell death. The contribution of necrosis to total cell death varied between 10 and 40%. The O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) activity in the cell lines was between 0 and 1100 fmol m…
Heterogeneous lack of expression of the tumour suppressor PTEN protein in human neoplastic tissues.
2001
PTEN, a tumour suppressor gene located at chromosome 10q23 and commonly mutated or deleted in a variety of tumours, encodes a dual-specific/phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) phosphatase. We report the generation of an anti-PTEN monoclonal antibody (MAb) that recognises an epitope at the C-terminus of PTEN, and describe the heterogeneous lack of expression of the PTEN protein in human tumour tissues, as demonstrated by immunohistochemical methods. Our anti-PTEN MAb provides a useful tool for the study of PTEN protein expression in tumour samples, in the search for tumour prognostic molecular markers.
Tracheal development and the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor homolog in Drosophila.
2000
von Hippel-Lindau disease is a hereditary cancer syndrome. Mutations in the VHL tumor suppressor gene predispose individuals to highly vascularized tumors. However, VHL-deficient mice die in utero due to a lack of vascularization in the placenta. To resolve the contradiction, we cloned the Drosophila VHL homologue (d-VHL) and studied its function. It showed an overall 50% similarity to the human counterpart and 76% similarity in the crucial functional domain: the elongin C binding site. The putative d-VHL protein can bind Drosophila elongin C in vitro. During embryogenesis, d-VHL is expressed in the developing tracheal regions where tube outgrowth no longer occurs. Reduced d-VHL activity (u…
aPKCζ cortical loading is associated with Lgl cytoplasmic release and tumor growth in Drosophila and human epithelia
2007
Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) regulate apical-basal polarity in Drosophila and mammalian epithelia. At the apical domain, aPKC phosphorylates and displaces Lgl that, in turn, maintains aPKC inactive at the basolateral region. The mutual exclusion of these two proteins seems to be crucial for the correct epithelial structure and function. Here we show that a cortical aPKC loading induces Lgl cytoplasmic release and massive overgrowth in Drosophila imaginal epithelia, whereas a cytoplasmic expression does not alter proliferation and epithelial overall structure. As two aPKC isoforms (iota and zeta) exist in humans and we previously showed that Drosophila Lgl i…