Biomedical subjects

M C Hung

Publications and source records attributed to M C Hung.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Involvement of cdc2-mediated phosphorylation in the cell cycle-dependent regulation of p185neu.

We previously reported cell cycle-dependent negative regulation of p185neu (decreased tyrosine phosphorylation and kinase activity, with electrophoretic mobility retarded by serine/threonine phosphorylation) in M phase and the escape of mutation-activated p185neu* from this regulation. Our present results showed that retardation of electrophoretic mobility occurs independently of the cells' transformed status. We found that normal p185neu lost its ability to dimerize in the M phase. We demonstrated a physical association between cdc2 (a serine/threonine kinase, active in M phase) and p185neu. We showed that the carboxy terminal portion of p185neu is phosphorylated in vitro by cdc2. Many phosphopeptides (at least three phosphoserine residues) unique to the M phase were identified, and the in vivo and in vitro phosphopeptide patterns were superimposable. In contrast, mutation-activated p185neu* dimerized in the M phase with no changes in electrophoretic mobility, failed to associate with cdc2 and no unique phosphoserine residues could be identified in the M phase (data not shown), consistent with the escape of p185neu* from cell cycle-dependent regulation. Our results suggest that this escape is an intrinsic property of the mutation-activated p185neu* independent of its ability to transform cells. Our results also suggest the involvement of serine/threonine kinases such as cdc2 in the cell cycle-dependent negative regulation of p185neu.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of the transcription factor E2F-1 induces apoptosis in human breast and ovarian carcinoma cell lines and does not require p53.

Apoptosis is a mode of cell death that is carefully regulated based on cellular and environmental signals. The ability to modulate the individual cellular machinery and thereby to promote apoptosis is an important strategy in cancer therapy. It has previously been shown that overexpression of the transcription factor E2F-1 can induce apoptosis in quiescent rat embryo fibroblasts. This effect has been reported to occur in a p53-dependent manner. To investigate whether overexpression of E2F-1 could also induce apoptosis in human cancer cells, a recombinant adenovirus vector containing the transgene E2F-1 under control of the cytomegalovirus promoter (Ad5CMVE2F) was used to induce high levels of the E2F-1 protein in human breast and ovarian carcinoma cell lines. Significant morphological changes occurred in four of the five cell lines within 48 h of transduction with the Ad5CMVE2F. These changes were consistent with apoptosis, which was confirmed further by DNA fragmentation assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. On the basis of these assays, which show that apoptosis occurred in those cell lines with mutations in the p53 gene, we suggest that the induction of E2F-1-mediated apoptosis does not require wild-type p53 when E2F-1 is overexpressed using an adenovirus-based strategy.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed1997

Interaction between the adhesion receptor, CD44, and the oncogene product, p185HER2, promotes human ovarian tumor cell activation.

In this study we have examined the interaction between CD44s (the standard form) and the p185(HER2) proto-oncogene in the ovarian carcinoma cell line. Surface biotinylation followed by wheat germ agglutinin column chromatography and anti-CD44-mediated immunoprecipitation indicate that both CD44s and p185(HER2) are expressed on the cell surface and most importantly, that these two molecules are physically linked to each other via interchain disulfide bonds. We have also determined that hyaluronic acid stimulates CD44s-associated p185(HER2) tyrosine kinase activity, leading to an increase in the ovarian carcinoma cell growth. After transfection of the ovarian carcinoma cell line with the adenovirus 5 E1A gene, which is known to repress p185(HER2) expression, we observed that both surface CD44s expression and CD44s-mediated cell adhesion to hyaluronic acid are significantly reduced in the transfectant cells compared with the control cells. These data suggest that down-regulation of p185(HER2) blocks CD44s expression and subsequent adhesion function. Our findings also indicate that the CD44s-p185(HER2) interaction is both functionally coupled and biosynthetically regulated. We believe that direct "cross-talk" between these two surface molecules (i.e. CD44s and the p185(HER2)) may be one of the most important signaling events in human ovarian carcinoma development.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1997

Cross-reactivity of C219 anti-p170(mdr-1) antibody with p185(c-erbB2) in breast cancer cells: cautions on evaluating p170(mdr-1)

BACKGROUND: Increased expression of the multidrug resistance gene (MDR-1)-encoded P-glycoprotein (p170[mdr-1]) is a major cause of tumor cell multidrug resistance. p170(mdr-1) functions as a drug-efflux pump to reduce the cellular accumulation of specific drugs. MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cells that have been transfected with oncogene c-erbB2 complementary DNA (435.eb cells) express high levels of the transmembrane glycoprotein p185(c-erbB2) and exhibit increased resistance to the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel via p170(mdr-1)-independent mechanisms. We have recently discovered that the widely used monoclonal antibody C219, which is specific for p170(mdr-1), may cross-react with p185(c-erbB2) in 435.eb cells. In this study, we have investigated the nature of this cross-reactivity. METHODS: Immunoprecipitation experiments involving the use of breast cancer cells that express different levels of p185(c-erbB2) were performed, and C219 was used for western blot analysis of immunoprecipitated proteins. Immunohistochemical analyses were performed on acetone-fixed slides of human breast cancer cells. Peptide sequence comparisons and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to determine the molecular basis of C219 cross-reactivity with p185(c-erbB2). RESULTS: The cross-reactivity of C219 with p185(c-erbB2) was demonstrated by both western blot and immunohistochemical analyses. Peptide sequence comparisons revealed that C219 recognizes an epitope in p170(mdr-1) (C219 epitope) that shares sequence homology with p185(c-erbB2). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays demonstrated that C219 recognizes synthetic peptides derived from both the C219 epitope in p170(mdr-1) and the C219 epitope-homologous region in p185(c-erbB2). CONCLUSIONS: The anti-p170(mdr-1) monoclonal antibody C219 cross-reacts with p185(c-erbB2) through a peptide sequence in p185(c-erbB2) that is homologous to the C219 epitope in p170(mdr-1).

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

PubMed1997

Chemosensitization of HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells to paclitaxel (Taxol) by adenovirus type 5 E1A.

Breast cancer cells that overexpress HER-2/neu are more resistant to chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere) than those that do not overexpress HER-2/neu. In previous work, we showed that the adenovirus type 5 E1A can repress HER-2/neu expression at the transcriptional level. Here we first demonstrated that paclitaxel sensitivity correlates with HER-2/neu expression level in a panel of mouse fibroblasts expressing different levels of HER-2/ neu, and that downregulation of HER-2/neu expression by E1A sensitizes the cells to paclitaxel. To further test whether E1A can sensitize HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells to paclitaxel through E1A-mediated HER-2/neu repression, an adenoviral vector was used to transfer the E1A gene into two human breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-453 and MDA-MB-361, that overexpress HER-2/neu. After E1A delivery, we observed that HER-2/neu expression level was reduced, and cells were treated with paclitaxel. Cell proliferation assays showed a synergistic growth inhibition effect of E1A and paclitaxel. The synergistic effect was also confirmed by soft agar colony-formation assay. Breast cancer cell lines that express low levels of HER-2/neu, MDA-MB-435 and MDA-MB-231 cells showed no synergistic growth inhibition effect when treated on the same protocols. Thus, we concluded that the adenovirus type 5 E1A gene can sensitize paclitaxel-resistant HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells to the drug by repressing HER-2/neu expression. This in turn may have important implications for the development of a novel therapy that combines chemotherapy and gene therapy.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1997

Mitosis-specific negative regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor, triggered by a decrease in ligand binding and dimerization, can be overcome by overexpression of receptor.

The function of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was found to be negatively regulated in M phase in which it showed less phosphotyrosine content and reduced intrinsic kinase activity accompanied by retarded electrophoretic mobility owing to total hyperphosphorylation. Ligand-induced autophosphorylation and downstream signaling of EGFR were tightly suppressed in M phase due to a decrease in ligand binding affinity and the inability of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to induce receptor dimerization. There was no change in the number of surface-exposed EGF receptors between G0/G1 and M phases of the cell cycle. Hyperphosphorylation (due to serine and/or threonine phosphorylation) correlates with the unresponsiveness of cells to EGF-mediated stimulation of tyrosine phosphorylation in cells that express the normal or basal level of EGFR. This M phase-specific negative regulation was overcome by overexpression of EGFR, which was responsive to ligand throughout the cell cycle and revealed ligand-induced signaling in the M phase. These findings indicate that EGFR does not respond to ligand stimulation in M phase and suggest that a negative regulation of ligand-receptor interactions in M phase may control the normal function of receptor tyrosine kinase and that receptor overexpression will disrupt this cell cycle-dependent regulation of receptor tyrosine kinases.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1997

Changes in BRCA2 expression during progression of the cell cycle.

It has been shown that genetic alterations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can predispose an individual to develop breast cancer. We investigated the expression of both BRCA2 and BRCA1 during the progression of the cell cycle by northern blot analysis. In MCF-10F (normal breast epithelial cell line) and MCF-7 (breast cancer cell line) cells the expression of BRCA2 RNA was low in G0 and early G1 phases then up-regulated at the G1/S phase junction. Expression of BRCA2 was maintained at relatively high levels when cells progressed through S and G2/M phases. For MCF-7 cells, the level of BRCA2 transcript decreased as cells were released from nocodazole-mediated metaphase arrest. This is consistent with the observation of low but detectable BRCA2 RNA level in G1 phase of the cell cycle. For both cell lines, the patterns of RNA expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2 were similar during the proliferation phase of cell cycle. However, the transcripts from both genes were undetectable in quiescent cells. These results suggest important functions for both BRCA2 and BRCA1 in regulation of cell growth.

BRCA2 Protein↗

PubMed1997

Mapping of adenovirus 5 E1A domains responsible for suppression of neu-mediated transformation via transcriptional repression of neu.

Overexpression of neu (also known as c-erbB-2 or HER-2) commonly occurs in human cancer and is also known to enchance tumor metastasis and chemoresistance. Our earlier reports showed that the adenovirus 5 E1A can suppresss the neu-mediated transformation by repression of neu. Thus, E1A has the potential to be used as a therapeutic agent against the neu-overexpressing human cancers. However, a serious concern to this approach is that E1A is also capable of immortalizing primary culture cells and can co-operate with ras or E1B oncogenes to transform them. The E1A CR2 domain (amino acid residues 120 to 140) necessary for binding to RB is believed to be required for this oncogenic function. Here, we report that deletion of CR2 region did not affect E1A's capability to repress neu. Interestingly, deletion of the amino acid residues 4 to 25 or 40 to 80 completely disrupted E1A-mediated neu repression. By deleting the amino acid residues from 81 to 185, we have successfully generated a mini-E1A mutant that was sufficient to inhibit neu promoter activity and suppress neu-mediated transformation. The mini-E1A mutant does not contain the CR2 domain that is crucial for RB binding and immortalization, and hence, may serve as a more selective tumor suppressor, and a safer therapeutic agent. It may also be a useful tool to further investigate the molecular mechanism(s) of neu overexpression and E1A-mediated transcriptional repression in cancer cells.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1997

Suppression of tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells by an epithelial cell adhesion molecule (C-CAM1): the adhesion and growth suppression are mediated by different domains.

C-CAM1 is an epithelial adhesion molecule of immunoglobulin supergene family and has been implicated in the growth suppression of prostate cancer cells. Here we show that C-CAM1 can also suppress the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells. These observations suggest that C-CAM1 may be a general growth suppressor in epithelial cells. In addition, we have identified the cytoplasmic domain, but not the extracellular adhesion domain, of C-CAM1 as critical for the growth suppression. Thus, the adhesion and the growth suppression functions of C-CAMI are independent of each other. Furthermore, mutation at the tyrosine phosphorylation site in the cytoplasmic domain of C-CAM1 did not obliterate C-CAM1's growth suppression function, suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation is not involved in the signal transduction pathway leading to cell growth suppression. These studies provide the structural basis for future development of therapeutics that may selectively activate C-CAM1's growth suppression function.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1997

Involvement of co-activator p300 in the transcriptional regulation of the HER-2/neu gene.

Overexpression of HER-2/neu is frequently found in human cancer and has been shown to enhance the metastatic potential of tumors and to induce the chemoresistance of cancer cells. The molecular mechanism(s) by which HER-2/neu expression is deregulated in cancer is not clear. We reported previously that adenovirus 5 E1A is capable of transcriptionally repressing the HER-2/neu promoter. We report here that the E1A-associated p300 protein can derepress the E1A-mediated repression of HER-2/neu in a dose-dependent manner. A p300 mutant, which lost its ability to bind to E1A, also effectively rescued the repressed HER-2/neu promoter in the presence of excess E1A inside the cells. A protein complex can bind to the p300 consensus sequences in HER-2/neu promoter. The intensity of the retarded band of the protein complex decreased significantly after preincubation of the nuclear extracts with beads that has been conjugated with anti-p300 antibody. The binding of E1A to p300 and the p300 consensus sequence in HER-2/neu promoter were crucial for the ability of E1A to repress HER-2/neu promoter, demonstrating that p300 is involved in the transcriptional regulation of HER-2/neu and serves as a target for E1A repression.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1997

The tumor suppression activity of E1A in HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer.

The HER-2/neu proto-oncogene is frequently amplified or overexpressed in human breast and ovarian cancers, and is significantly correlated with shorter survival. We have previously reported that the adenovirus type 5 early region 1A (E1A) gene product can repress HER-2/neu overexpression by repressing HER-2/neu promoter activity, and suppress the tumorigenic potential of HER-2/neu-overexpressing ovarian cancer cells. To examine E1A tumor suppressor function in breast cancer, we transduced E1A in vitro by adenovirus into both HER-2/neu-overexpressing and low expressing human breast cancer cell lines. In HER-2/neu-overexpressing cells, E1A greatly inhibited tumor cell growth in vitro. However, in HER-2/neu low expressing cancer cell lines, E1A had no significant effect on cell growth in culture medium. To test the therapeutic efficacy of E1A, we used both adenovirus-mediated and cationic liposome-mediated E1A gene delivery systems in an orthotopic breast cancer animal model. An advanced breast cancer model was established by inoculation of HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells in mammary fat pad and treated by local injections of either replication-deficient adenovirus expressing E1A, Ad.E1A(+) or a liposome-E1A DNA complex. As controls, mice bearing tumors were also treated with Ad.E1A(-) which is virtually the same adenovirus as Ad.E1A(+) except that E1A is deleted, a liposome-E1A frame-shift mutant DNA complex, or just PBS. In mice bearing a HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cell line, E1A delivered either by adenovirus or liposome significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged mouse survival compared with the controls. In fact, 60-80% of E1A-treated mice lived longer than 2 years versus only 0-20% of control mice (P<0.05). Western blot analysis showed that E1A protein was expressed in tumor tissue and immunohistochemical analysis showed that HER-2/neu p185 protein expression was suppressed. Taken together, our results indicated that both adenovirus and cationic liposome delivery systems were effective in transfering E1A gene for tumor suppression in a HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer model.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1997

Molecular profile of advanced-stage transitional cell carcinoma of the ovary.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to determine the molecular profile of advanced-stage transitional cell carcinoma in terms of immunostaining for p53, epidermal growth factor receptor and HER-2/neu, deoxyribonucleic acid index, and S-phase fraction and to analyze the prognostic significance of these markers. STUDY DESIGN: Archival paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 29 advanced stage transitional cell carcinomas were obtained. Selected sections of the primary tumors were immunostained for p53, epidermal growth factor receptor, and HER-2/neu; deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy and S-phase fraction were determined with use of flow cytometry. Clinical information was abstracted from the medical records. Survival times were analyzed according to the life-table methods of Kaplan and Meier, and the statistical significance of the various factors was tested with the log-rank test. The proportional hazards model of Cox was used to identify prognostic factors. RESULTS: Positive immunostaining was observed for p53 in 13 cases (45%), for epidermal growth factor receptor in 14 cases (50%), and for HER-2/neu in 19 cases (65%). Tumors were diploid in 16 cases (55%) and aneuploid in 13 (45%). The S-phase fraction was < or = 15% (mean) in 13 cases (45%) and > 15% in 16 cases (55%). The median survival for the entire group was 52 months. None of the above variables had a significant effect on survival time. CONCLUSION: Neither immunostaining for p53, epidermal growth factor receptor, and HER-2/neu nor deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy nor S-phase fraction allowed us to distinguish transitional cell carcinoma from other more common epithelial ovarian cancers. In addition, no prognostic significance was associated with these biomarkers. A study of larger numbers of cases may be more elucidative.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Safety studies of the intraperitoneal injection of E1A--liposome complex in mice.

The HER-2/neu (also called c-erbB-2) proto-oncogene is overexpressed in many human cancer cells, including those of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. We have previously shown that adenovirus 5 E1A inhibits HER-2/neu transcription and functions as a tumor suppressor gene in HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancer cells. Liposome-mediated E1A gene transfer suppresses tumor development and prolongs survival of tumor-bearing mice. In support of a phase I clinical trial of an E1A-liposome complex administered to patients with HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast of ovarian cancer, we conducted a series of studies to evaluate the safety of intraperitoneal injection of E1A in normal mice. The cumulative doses used were from five to 40 times the DNA-lipid starting dose proposed for the phase I clinical trial. In this dosing range, the administration of the E1A-liposome complex had no adverse effects on renal, hepatic and hematological parameters studied. No major organ pathologic changes were observed. We concluded that intraperitoneal administration of E1A-liposome complex at the proposed dose would not be expected to produce significant toxicity. The E1A-liposome clinical trial was recently approved by the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and Food and Drug Administration for a phase I trial in patients with HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast and ovarian cancer.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed1997

Neutralizing antibodies against epidermal growth factor and ErbB-2/neu receptor tyrosine kinases down-regulate vascular endothelial growth factor production by tumor cells in vitro and in vivo: angiogenic implications for signal transduction therapy of solid tumors.

The overexpression in tumor cells of (proto)-oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or ErbB2/neu (also known as HER-2) is generally thought to contribute to the development of solid tumors primarily through their effects on promoting uncontrolled cell proliferation. However, agents that antagonize the function of the protein products encoded by these (proto)-oncogenes are known to behave in vivo in a cytotoxic-like manner. This implies that such oncogenes may regulate critical cell survival functions, including angiogenesis. The latter could occur as a consequence of regulation of relevant growth factors by such oncogenes. We therefore sought to determine whether EGFR or ErbB2/neu may contribute to tumor angiogenesis by examining their effects on the expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF)/vascular permeability factor (VPF), one of the most important of all known inducers of tumor angiogenesis. We found that in vitro treatment of EGFR-positive A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells, which are known to be heavily dependent on VEGF/VPF in vivo as an angiogenesis growth factor, with the C225 anti-EGFR neutralizing antibody caused a dose-dependent inhibition of VEGF protein expression. Prominent suppression of VEGF/VPF expression in vivo, as well as a significant reduction in tumor blood vessel counts, were also observed in established A431 tumors shortly after injection of the antibody as few as four times into nude mice. Transformation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts with mutant ErbB2/neu, another EGFR-like oncogenic tyrosine kinase, resulted in a significant induction of VEGF/VPF, and the magnitude of this effect was further elevated by hypoxia. Moreover, treatment of ErbB2/neu-positive SKBR-3 human breast cancer cells in vitro with a specific neutralizing anti-ErbB2/neu monoclonal antibody (4D5) resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of VEGF/VPF protein expression. Taken together, the results suggest that oncogenic properties of EGFR and ErbB2/neu may, at least in part, be mediated by stimulation of tumor angiogenesis by up-regulating potent angiogenesis growth factors such as VEGF/VPF. These genetic changes may cooperate with epigenetic/environmental effects such as hypoxia to maximally stimulate VEGF/VPF expression. Therapeutic disruption of EGFR or ErbB2/neu protein function in vivo may therefore result in partial suppression of angiogenesis, a feature that could enhance the therapeutic index of such agents in vivo and endow them with anti-tumor effects, the magnitude of which may be out of proportion with their observed cytostatic effects in monolayer tissue culture.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1997

Strong correlation between c-erbB-2 overexpression and overall survival of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Overexpression of c-erbB-2 (also known as HER-2/neu) has been found in many human cancers, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We therefore examined expression of the oncoprotein in oral SCC primary tumor samples and compared its relationship with clinical stages and survival rate. Out of 80 cases of oral SCC, high expression level (++ or +++) of c-erbB-2 was found in 41 cases. Of the 80 cases with follow-up information, 39 were further investigated for the correlation of expression level of c-erbB-2 and survival rate. Overexpression of the oncoprotein was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival, and the patients with low and no expression of c-erbB-2 had much higher survival rates. Overexpression of c-erbB-2 was also significantly correlated with nodal stage and metastasis. We found that high expression level of c-erbB-2 was frequently detected in oral cancer cell lines but not in the other head and neck SCC cell lines. Thus, we conclude that overexpression of c-erbB-2 is a frequent event in oral SCC and is correlated with poor survival and may be used as a poor prognostic factor.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Adenovirus E1A expression enhances the sensitivity of an ovarian cancer cell line to multiple cytotoxic agents through an apoptotic mechanism.

The introduction of adenovirus 5 E1A into the SKOV3ip1 ovarian cancer cell line was shown previously to suppress HER2/neu expression and reduce the malignant potential of these cells (Yu et al., Cancer Res., 53: 891-898, 1993). In this report, we show that reduction of p185 in cells stably expressing E1A protein was coincident with increased sensitivity to cytotoxic agents. The LD50 of cisplatin was reduced 6-fold, and the LD50 of paclitaxel and doxorubicin was reduced 10-fold in E1A-expressing cells compared with control cells. The growth of SKOV3ip1 and control cells was unchanged in the presence of 150 ng/ml of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, whereas the growth of E1A-expressing cells was reduced by 30 to 40%. When we used a physiologically obtainable concentration of paclitaxel (0.5 microM), DNA laddering consistent with apoptotic cell death was seen after a 24-h exposure in the E1A-expressing cells, whereas laddering and DNA fragmentation were only detected in DNA from control cells after longer exposure (48 h) at a 20-fold higher concentration of paclitaxel. The SKOV3ip1 cells do not express p53 protein; hence, the induction of apoptosis by paclitaxel is through a p53-independent pathway. Despite their diverse mechanisms of action, the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin, doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were enhanced by the expression of E1A proteins in the SKOV3ip1 ovarian cancer cells. This suggests that these agents share a common final pathway of cell killing, which may represent a potential therapeutic target in resistant ovarian cancers.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1996

Inhibition of intratracheal lung cancer development by systemic delivery of E1A.

Amplification or overexpression of HER-2/neu in human lung cancer has been correlated with poor prognosis and chemoresistance. We have previously reported that the adenovirus type 5 early region 1A (E1A) gene product can suppress HER-2/neu-mediated transformation phenotypes through inhibition of HER-2/neu expression. To find an efficient way to treat HER-2/neu-overexpressing lung cancer with E1A, a replication-deficient adenovirus containing the E1A gene, Ad.E1A(+), was used to transduce E1A into HER-2/neu-overexpressing and low expressing human lung cancer cell lines. Tumour cell growth in vitro and colony formation in soft agarose were greatly inhibited by Ad.E1A(+) transduction in HER-2/neu-overexpressing lung cancer cell lines. In HER-2/neu low expressing cell lines, E1A could not inhibit cell growth in vitro but could reduce the colony formation ability in soft agarose, indicating different effects of E1A in these two types of cancer cells. To test the therapeutic efficacy of E1A to lung cancer by systemic delivery in vivo, tumor-bearing mice were established by intratracheal injection of lung cancer cells and treated by i.v. tail injections of Ad.E1A(+). As a result, Ad.E1A(+) suppressed HER-2/neu overexpression and inhibited intratracheal lung cancer growth. However, no significant tumor suppression effect of Ad.E1A(+) was observed in mice bearing HER-2/neu low expressing cell line when the same therapeutic procedure was followed. Thus, we conclude that systemic delivery of Ad.E1A(+) can efficiently achieve therapeutic effect in HER-2/neu-overexpressing lung cancer in vivo.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

PubMed1996

Overexpression of c-erbB-2/neu in breast cancer cells confers increased resistance to Taxol via mdr-1-independent mechanisms.

It has been reported that breast tumors that overexpress c-erbB-2/neu are less responsive to certain adjuvant chemotherapy regimens than those that express a normal amount of the gene product. To investigate whether overexpression of the c-erbB-2/neu-encoded p185 can indeed lead to increased chemoresistance in breast cancers, we introduced the human c-erbB-2/neu gene into the very low p185-expressing MDA-MB435 human breast cancer cells and examined Taxol sensitivities among the parental MDA-MB-435 cells and stable transfectants which express increased levels of p185. The p185-overexpressing MDA-MB-435 transfectants were more resistant to Taxol than the parental cells. The increased Taxol resistance was not accompanied by changes in doubling time and S-phase fraction. The increased Taxol resistance was independent from oncogenic transformation since it was observed only in c-erbB-2/neu-transformed cells and not ras-transformed cells when oncogene-transformed NIH3T3 cells were examined. To study whether p185 induced Taxol resistance through the mdr-1 pathway, we examined the mdr-l-encoded p170 levels in these transfectants. The MDA-MB-435 cells expressed very low levels of p170 and there was no increase of p170 expression in the p185-overexpressing MDA-MB-435 transfectants. Furthermore, these transfectants were not sensitized to Taxol treatment by mdr-1 blocker thioradazine. These data demonstrated that overexpression of c-erbB-2/neu can lead to intrinsic Taxol resistance independent from mdr-1 mechanisms.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗