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Biomedical subjects

C Kao

Publications and source records attributed to C Kao.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Molecular therapy with recombinant p53 adenovirus in an androgen-independent, metastatic human prostate cancer model.

The lethal phenotypes of advanced prostate cancer are androgen independent (AI) and metastatic to the axial skeleton. Our laboratory has developed an AI mouse model of metastatic human prostate cancer. In this communication, we report the development of tumor suppressor gene therapy in this AI and metastatic (C4-2) cancer model. By using recombinant adenovirus as a delivery vehicle, we introduced a wild-type p53 tumor suppressor gene into prostate cancer cell lines. Despite a silent mutation at codon 152 of the p53 gene, C4-2 cells express functional, but low, levels of p53 protein. However, the other prostatic cell lines, PC-3 and DU145, have a deletion mutation and two point mutations of the p53 gene, respectively. In vitro studies showed that cell growth, as measured by the thymidine incorporation assay, was inhibited in the C4-2, PC-3, and DU145 cells infected with wild-type p53 adenovirus in comparison to control viruses. Recombinant wild-type p53 adenovirus inhibited prostate tumor growth and its production of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) when injected into C4-2 tumors in nude mice. All p53-treated mice were tumor free as long as 12 weeks after cessation of the 8-week treatment regimen. Two of 8 p53-treated mice developed small tumors growing at distant sites after a prolonged period of follow-up observation. Moreover, other AI prostate cancer cells, PC-3 and DU145, treated with Ad5-CMV-p53 failed to develop into tumors in vivo. This gene therapy strategy may be used against AI prostatic cancer regardless of p53 gene mutation status.

Adenoviruses, Human↗
PubMed1996

The positive predictive value of isolating coagulase-negative staphylococci from blood cultures.

We used four criteria to define true bloodstream infections after isolation of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) from Isolator (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, NJ) blood cultures: (1) the patient's temperature was > or = 38 degrees C, (2) appropriate treatment was administered, (3) the physician diagnosed bloodstream infection or criteria for nosocomial bloodstream infection were met, and (4) at least one clinical sign or laboratory value was consistent with infection. Sixty (26.4%) of 227 episodes met these four criteria. By logistic regression, variables associated with meeting the definition of infection were admission to a service other than the surgical intensive care unit, the biotype of the Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates, the log of the weighted average of the total number of bacteria per milliliter of blood in all positive cultures, resistance to at least six antimicrobial agents, and the positivity of a BACTEC blood culture specimen that was drawn with the first positive Isolator culture specimen. In a high-risk population, 26% of Isolator blood cultures positive for CNS represented infections, a rate two to four times greater than that reported in the literature. Information regarding the species, biotype, antibiogram, and number of organisms per milliliter of blood might help physicians distinguish between CNS bloodstream infections and contamination.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

In vitro radiation-induced neoplastic progression of low-grade uroepithelial tumors.

Recent interest has focused on the identification of molecular genetic mechanisms in multistep neoplastic transformation. In vitro exposure of simian virus 40 (SV40)-immortalized human uroepithelial cells (SV-HUC) that are environmentally relevant to bladder carcinogens has been shown to produce tumorigenic transformation, as assessed by the ability of cells exposed to a carcinogen to form xenograph tumors with heterogeneous cancer phenotypes ranging from very aggressive, invasive high-grade carcinomas to superficial low-grade indolent tumors. In addition, exposure of a low-grade indolent tumor generated in the SV-HUC system, MC-T11, to the same carcinogens results in neoplastic progression as assessed by the production of high-grade aggressive cancers. In the present study, we show neoplastic progression of MC-T11 after in vitro exposure to a single dose of 6 Gy X rays. In addition, we show that the chromosome deletions, including losses of 4q, 11p, 13q and 18, observed in these radiation-induced tumors are similar to those observed in carcinogen-induced tumors, thus supporting the hypothesis that the experimental cell system, not the transforming agent, dictates the genetic losses required for tumorigenic transformation and progression.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Carcinogen-induced amplification of SV40 DNA inserted at 9q12-21.1 associated with chromosome breakage, deletions, and translocations in human uroepithelial cell transformation in vitro.

The fate of integrated SV40 viral genome in SV40-immortalized human uroepithelial cells (SV-HUC) during multistep chemical transformation in vitro was studied. We previously reported that exposure of SV-HUC at passage (P) 15 to the chemical carcinogens 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA), 4-aminobiphenyl (ABP), or the N-hydroxy metabolites of ABP causes tumorigenic transformation and/or neoplastic progression. We report now that these same chemical carcinogens induce amplification of SV40 DNA in SV-HUC. We used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to show that this amplification occurs at the SV40 integration site, which was mapped near a common fragile site at 9q12-21.1 on the der(9)t(8;9) chromosome that is present in all SV-HUC at the earliest passage studied. Karyotypic analysis, along with FISH, also revealed that all carcinogen-induced tumors (T-SV-HUCs) had breaks at 9q12-21.1, deletions of 9q12-21.1-->pter, and new derivative chromosomes containing SV40 in the segment 9q12-21.1-->9q34::8q22-->8qter. Southern blot analysis, along with FISH, confirmed SV40 genome rearrangements in T-SV-HUCs. In contrast, no 9q12-21.1 breaks were observed in control SV-HUC. Thus, these results associate 9q12-21.1-->pter alterations with HUC tumorigenic transformation. In addition, these results indicate for the first time that (carcinogen-induced) amplification of chromosome-integrated viral genes may create sites that are prone to breakage, deletions, and translocations. These results suggest a new mechanism by which chemical carcinogens in synergy with a DNA tumor virus could initiate a cascade of events that contribute to the genomic instability associated with tumorigenesis.

Carcinogens↗
PubMed1993

Role of SV40 T antigen binding to pRB and p53 in multistep transformation in vitro of human uroepithelial cells.

In the present study, we examined the sufficiency of SV40 T antigen (Tag) binding to pRB and p53 to substitute for alterations in RB and TP53 at all stages of human uroepithelial cell (HUC) transformation in vitro. Two independent SV40 immortalized HUCs (SV-HUC and SV-HUC/CK2) and 17 independent derivative carcinogen-induced or spontaneous tumors (T-SV-HUCs and T-SV-HUC/CK2) representing different stages of urothelial tumorigenesis were examined. Although five of 17 T-SV-HUCs and SV-HUC/CK2 and its derivative tumor showed 13q chromosome deletion and loss of heterozygosity (LOH), this did not reflect functional loss of pRB because Tag/pRB binding was unaltered and sequencing showed a normal RB gene in all these tumors. No genetic alterations involving 17p or TP53 were detected in any tumors in this study using the same techniques. These results indicate that Tag/pRB and Tag/p53 binding apparently abrogate requirements for/or a selective advantage of RB and TP53 mutations in HUC tumorigenic transformation and progression, as well as in HUC immortalization. These data also provide new evidence that more than one suppressor gene may be located on chromosome 13q.

Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming↗
PubMed1993

Simian virus 40 (SV40) T-antigen mutations in tumorigenic transformation of SV40-immortalized human uroepithelial cells.

pSV2Neo, a plasmid that contains the wild-type simian virus 40 (SV40) origin of replication (ori), is widely used in mammalian cell transfection experiments. We observed that pSV2Neo transforms two nontumorigenic SV40-immortalized human uroepithelial cell lines (SV-HUC and CK/SV-HUC2) to G418 resistance (G418r) at a frequency lower than that at which it transforms SV-HUC tumorigenic derivatives (T-SV-HUC). Transient expression studies with the chloramphenicol transferase assay showed that these differences could not be explained by differences in Neo gene expression. However, when we replaced the SV40 ori in pSV2Neo with a replication-defective ori to generate G13.1Neo and G13.1'Neo, the G418r transformation frequency of the SV40-immortalized cell lines was elevated. Because SV40 T antigen stimulates replication at its ori, we tested plasmid replication in these transfected cell lines. The immortalized cell lines that showed low G418r transformation frequencies after transfection with pSV2Neo showed high levels of plasmid replication, while the T-SV-HUC that showed high G418r transformation frequencies failed to replicate pSV2Neo. To determine whether differences in the status of the T-antigen gene contributed to the phenomenon, we characterized the T-antigen gene in these cell lines. The results showed that the T-SV-HUC had sustained mutations in the T-antigen gene that would interfere with the ability of the T antigen to stimulate replication at its ori. Most T-SV-HUC contained a super-T-antigen replication-defective ori that apparently resulted from the partial duplication of SV40 early genes, but one T-SV-HUC had a point mutation in the ori DNA-binding domain of the T-antigen gene. These results correlate with the high G418r transformation frequencies with pSV2Neo in T-SV-HUC compared with SV-HUC and CK/SV-HUC2. Furthermore, these results suggest that alterations in SV40 T antigen may be important in stabilizing human cells immortalized by SV40 genes that contain the wild-type SV40 ori, thus contributing to tumorigenic transformation. This is the first report of a super T antigen occurring in human SV40-transformed cells.

Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming↗