Biomedical subjects

S Strömblad

Publications and source records attributed to S Strömblad.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The kinase-inhibitory domain of p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) inhibits cell cycle progression independent of PAK1 kinase activity.

p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) is a mediator of downstream signaling from the small GTPases Rac and Cdc42. In its inactive state, PAK1 forms a homodimer where two kinases inhibit each other in trans. The kinase inhibitory domain (KID) of one molecule of PAK1 binds to the kinase domain of its counterpart and keeps it inactive. Therefore, the isolated KID of PAK1 has been widely used to specifically inhibit and study PAK function. Here, we show that the isolated KID induced a cell cycle arrest with accumulation of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle with an inhibition of cyclin D1 and D2 expression. This cell cycle arrest required the intact KID and was also induced by a mutated KID unable to block PAK1 kinase activity. Furthermore, the KID-induced cell cycle arrest could not be rescued by the expression of a constitutively active PAK1-T423E mutant, concluding that this arrest occurs independently of PAK1 kinase activity. Our results suggest that PAK1 through its KID inhibits cyclin D expression and thereby enforces a cell cycle arrest. Our results also call for serious precaution in the use of KID to study PAK function.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

RANTES promotes growth and survival of human first-trimester forebrain astrocytes.

We have examined the role of alpha and beta chemokines in the promotion of the ontogenetic development of the brain. RANTES was expressed preferentially in human fetal astrocytes in an age-dependent manner. Astrocytes from 5-week-old brains showed high proliferation and reduced survival, whereas 10-week-old astrocytes exhibited opposite effects. These effects were suppressed by anti-RANTES or anti-RANTES receptor antibodies and were enhanced by recombinant RANTES. RANTES induced tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular proteins and nuclear translocation of STAT-1 in astrocytes. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) was required for RANTES effects because RANTES induced IFN-gamma and only 10-week-old astrocytes expressed the IFN-gamma receptor. Blocking of IFN-gamma with antibody reversed the effects of RANTES, indicating that cytokine/chemokine networks are critically involved in brain development.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Integrin alpha(v)beta3 promotes M21 melanoma growth in human skin by regulating tumor cell survival.

Growth and dissemination of malignant melanoma has a profound impact on our population, and little is known concerning the mechanisms controlling this disease in humans. Evidence is provided that integrin alpha(v)beta3 plays a critical role in M21 melanoma tumor survival within human skin by a mechanism independent of its known role in angiogenesis. Antagonists of alpha(v)beta3 blocked melanoma growth by inducing tumor apoptosis. Moreover, M21 melanoma cell interactions with denatured collagen, a known ligand for alpha(v)beta3, caused a 5-fold increase in the relative Bcl-2:Bax ratio, an event thought to promote cell survival. Importantly, denatured collagen colocalized with alpha(v)beta3-expressing melanoma cells in human tumor biopsies, suggesting that alpha(v)beta3 interaction with denatured collagen may play a critical role in melanoma tumor survival in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Integrin alphavbeta3 requirement for sustained mitogen-activated protein kinase activity during angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis depends on growth factors and vascular cell adhesion events. Integrins and growth factors are capable of activating the ras/MAP kinase pathway in vitro, yet how these signals influence endothelial cells during angiogenesis is unknown. Upon initiation of angiogenesis with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM), endothelial cell mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (ERK) activity was detected as early as 5 min yet was sustained for at least 20 h. The initial wave of ERK activity (5-120 min) was refractory to integrin antagonists, whereas the sustained activity (4-20 h) depended on integrin alphavbeta3, but not beta1 integrins. Inhibition of MAP kinase kinase (MEK) during this sustained alphavbeta3-dependent ERK signal blocked the formation of new blood vessels while not influencing preexisting blood vessels on the CAM. Inhibition of MEK also blocked growth factor induced migration but not adhesion of endothelial cells in vitro. Therefore, angiogenesis depends on sustained ERK activity regulated by the ligation state of both a growth factor receptor and integrin alphavbeta3.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Requirement of receptor-bound urokinase-type plasminogen activator for integrin alphavbeta5-directed cell migration.

The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) interacts with its cell surface receptor (uPAR), providing an inducible, localized cell surface proteolytic activity, thereby promoting cellular invasion. Evidence is provided for a novel function of cell surface-associated uPA.uPAR. Specifically, induction of cell surface expression of uPA. uPAR by growth factors or phorbol ester was necessary for vitronectin-dependent carcinoma cell migration, an event mediated by integrin alphavbeta5. Cell migration on vitronectin was blocked with either a soluble form of uPAR, an antibody that disrupts uPA binding to uPAR, or a monoclonal antibody to alphavbeta5. Moreover, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 blocked this migration event but did not affect adhesion, suggesting a direct role for uPA enzyme activity in this process and that migration but not adhesion of these cells is regulated by uPA.uPAR. Growth factor-mediated induction of uPA.uPAR on the carcinoma cell surface promotes a specific motility event mediated by integrin alphavbeta5, since cells transfected with the beta3 integrin subunit expressed alphavbeta3 and migrated on vitronectin independently of growth factors or uPA.uPAR expression. This relationship between alphavbeta5 and the uPA.uPAR system has significant implications for regulation of motility events associated with development, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis.

Cell Movement↗

PubMed1996

Suppression of p53 activity and p21WAF1/CIP1 expression by vascular cell integrin alphaVbeta3 during angiogenesis.

Induction of p53 activity in cells undergoing DNA synthesis represents a molecular conflict that can lead to apoptosis. During angiogenesis, proliferative endothelial cells become apoptotic in response to antagonists of integrin alphavbeta3 and this leads to the regression of angiogenic blood vessels, thereby blocking the growth of various human tumors. Evidence is presented that administration of alphavbeta3 antagonists during angiogenesis in vivo selectively caused activation of endothelial cell p53 and increased expression of the p53-inducible cell cycle inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1. In vitro studies revealed that the ligation state of human endothelial cell alphavbeta3 directly influenced p53 activity and the bax cell death pathway. Specifically, agonists of endothelial cell alphavbeta3, but not other integrins, suppressed p53 activity, blocked p21WAF1/CIP1 expression, and increased the bcl-2/bax ratio, thereby promoting cell survival. Thus, ligation of vascular cell integrin alphavbeta3 promotes a critical and specific adhesion-dependent cell survival signal during angiogenesis leading to inhibition of p53 activity, decreased expression of p21WAF1/CIP1, and suppression of the bax cell death pathway.

Allantois↗

PubMed1996

Localization of matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2 to the surface of invasive cells by interaction with integrin alpha v beta 3.

SUMMARY: Cellular invasion depends on cooperation between adhesive and proteolytic mechanisms. Evidence is provided that the matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2 can be localized in a proteolytically active form on the surface of invasive cells, based on its ability to bind directly integrin alpha v beta 3. MMP-2 and alpha v beta 3 were specifically colocalized on angiogenic blood vessels and melanoma cells in vivo. Expression of alpha v beta 3 on cultured melanoma cells enabled their binding to MMP-2 in a proteolytically active form, facilitating cell-mediated collagen degradation. In vitro, these proteins formed an SDS-stable complex that depended on the noncatalytic C-terminus of MMP-2, since a truncation mutant lost the ability to bind alpha v beta 3. These findings define a single cell-surface receptor that regulates both matrix degradation and motility, thereby facilitating directed cellular invasion.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Cell adhesion and angiogenesis.

Cell-adhesion mechanisms play a fundamental role during angiogenesis. This article summarizes the role of various cell-adhesive events in blood vessel formation, including general aspects of cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions. In particular, the authors discuss the role of integrin alphavbeta3 in vascular cell survival, proliferation and invasion during the complex process of angiogenesis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Integrins, angiogenesis and vascular cell survival.

The interactions between integrins and the extracellular matrix have been identified as important regulators of vascular cell survival, proliferation and invasion during the complex process of blood vessel formation by angiogenesis.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1995

The RG2 rat glioma model.

The ethylnitrosourea-induced cell line RG2 grows very well in infinite cell culture in vitro, and provides a simple, reproducible glioma model when inoculated into the brains of syngeneic Fischer 344 rats. We have used this tumor model in a series of therapy studies. We here report our experiences of the untreated (= tumor bearing control) animals, e.g. in terms of the techniques employed and also the growth, histology and effects upon the blood-brain barrier of the tumors. Weight loss as a measure of systemic effects during tumor development is also described. The RG2 model has considerable potential as a suitable tool for experimental neuro-oncology.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Antiintegrin alpha v beta 3 blocks human breast cancer growth and angiogenesis in human skin.

Angiogenesis plays a fundamental role in human breast tumor progression. In fact, recent findings indicate that vascular density is a prognostic indicator of breast cancer disease status. Evidence is presented that the integrin alpha v beta 3 is not only a marker of human breast tumor-associated blood vessels, but that it plays a significant role in human angiogenesis and breast tumor growth. To assess the role of alpha v beta 3-dependent angiogenesis in the progression of human breast cancer, we examined a SCID mouse/human chimeric model with transplanted full thickness human skin containing alpha v beta 3-negative human breast tumor cells. This tumor induced a human angiogenic response as measured by vascular cell immunoreactivity with monoclonal antibodies LM609 and P2B1 directed to human alpha v beta 3 and CD31, respectively. Intravenous administration of LM609 either prevented tumor growth or markedly reduced tumor cell proliferation within the microenvironment of the human skin. These LM609-treated tumors not only contained significantly fewer human blood vessels but also appeared considerably less invasive than tumors in control animals. These findings demonstrate that alpha v beta 3 antagonists may provide an effective antiangiogenic approach for the treatment of human breast cancer.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Increased expression of and sensitivity to transforming growth factor-alpha: a promotive role during rat liver carcinogenesis.

The influence of the tumor promoter 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) on cell proliferation and on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) system was assessed in normal and nodular rat livers. DNA replication in vivo was inhibited below the detection level after 8d of dietary 2-AAF treatment of previously unexposed rats. The 2-AAF-induced growth inhibition was accompanied by downregulation of the number of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-binding sites and decreased levels of EGFR transcripts, whereas no changes in the transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) mRNA levels were observed. The persistent liver nodules generated by intermittent 2-AAF-feeding had a 30- to 35-fold higher replicating cell fraction than normal liver. Treatment with 2-AAF in vivo reduced the replicating cell fraction to one third in nodules after 14 d of 2-AAF treatment. The initial EGFR mRNA levels and number of EGF binding sites in nodules before 2-AAF administration was about 605 that of control livers and was slightly reduced by 2-AAF feeding. The levels of EGFR mRNA after 14 d of 2-AAF feeding were thus similar in the nodules and in the 2-AAF-treated control livers, whereas the fraction of proliferating cells in nodules after the 2-AAF treatment was much larger than in normal liver. The TGF-alpha mRNA level in the nodules was found to be 1.4-fold and in malignant hepatomas 1.7-fold the level in normal liver. Primary hepatocytes isolated from control livers were four to five times more sensitive to replicative stimulation with EGF than with TGF-alpha, whereas nodular cells responded at lower concentrations than control cells and equally well to both EGF and TGF-alpha. We conclude that the decreased amounts of EGFR in the nodular cells with respect to proliferative stimulation could be more than compensated for by elevated synthesis of TGF-alpha combined with an increased TGF-alpha sensitivity. Collectively, these changes implicate TGF-alpha in sustaining cell proliferation during chemically induced rat liver carcinogenesis.

2-Acetylaminofluorene↗

PubMed1993

The coupling between transforming growth factor-alpha and the epidermal growth factor receptor during rat liver regeneration.

Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of hepatic expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) and its autocrine ligand, transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), were analyzed during liver regeneration. The EGF-R mRNA levels were about twofold induced at 3 h after hepatectomy, caused by transcriptional activation. This was immediately followed by a decrease, reaching a low at half the initial level after 18 h, due to a decreased transcriptional rate. TGF-alpha mRNA expression was detected in normal liver using solution hybridization analysis. Concurrent with the decrease in EGF receptors, an increase of the TGF-alpha mRNA level occurred, starting at 6 h after hepatectomy and peaking at twice the initial TGF-alpha mRNA level after 12-24 h. For TGF-alpha, however, no increase in the rate of gene transcription could be detected. TGF-alpha and EGF competed for binding to the same hepatic receptor in normal as well as in regenerating liver. TGF-alpha bound to a similar number of binding sites as EGF in both control and 18-h posthepatectomy livers, but with 4-5 times lower affinity than EGF. At 18 h posthepatectomy, the number of binding sites was reduced to about 55% for both ligands. When the subcellular distribution of endocytosed 125I-labeled TGF-alpha was compared with that of 125I-labeled EGF, no differences were observed, and furthermore, no changes were observed in the subcellular distribution of 125I-labeled TGF-alpha during liver regeneration. The distinct and coordinate regulation of the two interactors, EGF-R and TGF-alpha, suggests that the EGF-receptor system may be functionally involved in the different phases of the prereplicative growth stimulatory process during liver regeneration.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Trisomy 7 and sex chromosome loss need not be representative of tumor parenchyma cells in malignant glioma.

We describe the cytogenetic findings in short-term cultures from 40 malignant gliomas, all of which had at least one clone with a simple numerical chromosome aberration. More than one aberrant clone was found in 17 tumors. The most frequent changes were loss of a gonosome (sole aberration in 38 clones), trisomy 7 (sole aberration in four clones), and combinations thereof (the aberrations +7 and -X or -Y were found together as the only changes in four clones). Clones with solitary trisomies for other autosomes--3, 5, 6, and 18--were seen in five tumors. Clones with structural rearrangements were found in nine tumors. The bands most commonly involved were lp36, 7p22, 9p22, 17p13, and 19q13. An extra copy of chromosome 7 was seen as part of a structurally abnormal clone in five tumors. In one case, trisomy 7 and even tetrasomy 7 were found in clones with simple numerical changes, but not in the clone with structural rearrangements. Likewise, the clonal loss of a gonosome was in six tumors, with structural abnormalities not present in the structurally aberrant clones; on the other hand, in two clones with structural aberrations a sex chromosome had been lost. The combined findings indicate that loss of a sex chromosome and trisomy 7 should not be seen as tumor-specific aberrations in gliomas. Instead, both glioma parenchyma cells and nonneoplastic cells in brain tumors may have a propensity to acquire extra copies of chromosome 7 and to lose gonosomes.

Aneuploidy↗

PubMed1989

Trisomy 7 and sex chromosome loss in human brain tissue.

Short-term cultures of nonneoplastic brain tissue from 11 patients, seven of whom had a malignant brain tumor, were cytogenetically examined. In only a single case was a wholly normal chromosome complement detected; the remaining ten cases exhibited mosaicism with clonal numerical aberrations found alongside cells carrying a normal karyotype. The abnormal clones were characterized by trisomy 7, the loss of the Y chromosome in men and an X chromosome in women, or by combinations thereof. No structural aberrations were present. Our findings demonstrate that although -Y, -X, and +7 have in the past repeatedly been associated with brain tumors, these changes presumably reflect normal in vivo organ mosaicism and, thus, should not be accepted as neoplasia-specific in this context.

Adult↗