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This is the first study to describe the association between expression of MUC1 and MUC2 mucins and prognosis in ovarian cancer. Paraffin sections of epithelial ovarian tumours (n = 182: 29 benign, 21 low malignant potential, and 132 invasive tumours) were analysed immunohistochemically for expression of MUC1 and MUC2 mucin core proteins. Most benign, low malignant potential, and invasive tumours showed high MUC1 expression in the cytoplasm. Low cytoplasmic expression of MUC1 was a predictor for good prognosis, particularly within stage III tumours. A minority of benign epithelial tumours, but most low malignant potential and invasive non-mucinous tumours, showed high MUC1 expression on the cell membrane. High apical MUC1 reactivity was associated with non-mucinous tumours. Low expression of MUC1 in the apical membrane was associated with early stage and good outcome for invasive tumours. Most benign and low malignant potential tumours, but only a minority of invasive tumours, showed MUC2 expression. MUC2 was found in non-mucinous as well as in mucinous tumours. The presence of MUC2 was inversely associated with high tumour grade but was not associated with altered survival. These results support experimental evidence that MUC1 influences the metastatic ability of ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE To review the literature concerning the mechanism of action and pharmacodynamics of mifepristone (RU486), potential new uses of RU486, and its current use not only as an abortifacient but also as therapy for endometriosis, leiomyoma, breast cancer, and meningioma. DATA IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION Studies that relate to RU486 were identified through a MEDLINE search. CONCLUSION(S) RU486 is an 11 beta-dimethyl-amino-phenyl derivative of norethindrone with a high affinity for P and glucocorticoid receptors. The receptor binding is not followed by transcription of P-dependent genes. Mifepristone effectively blocks P receptors in the placenta, resulting in the termination of pregnancy. In addition, it has been used in the treatment of leiomyomata, endometriosis, advanced breast cancer, and meningioma. It is a powerful tool to study the molecular action of P and in the future may be used as an estrogen-free contraceptive. Through an online search of MEDLINE, the authors reviewed the literature on the development of mifepristone (RU-486); RU-486's mechanism of action, pharmacodynamics, and distribution; the physiologic action of RU-486; potential new uses for RU-486; and its current use as both an abortifacient and therapy for endometriosis, leiomyoma, breast cancer, and meningioma. RU-486 is an 11beta-dimethyl-amino-phenyl derivative of norethindrone with a high affinity for P and glucocorticoid receptors. Receptor binding is not followed by the transcription of P-dependent genes. RU-486 effectively blocks P receptors in the placenta, resulting in the termination of pregnancy. It has also been used to treat leiomyomata, endometriosis, advanced breast cancer, and meningioma. The following therapeutic uses of RU-486 are discussed: the termination of early pregnancy, treatment with RU-486 in combination with prostaglandins, the termination of second-trimester pregnancy, cervical ripening, labor induction, postcoital contraception, uterine leiomyomata, endometriosis, breast cancer, and meningioma.

Elucidation of mechanisms that regulate hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation would be facilitated by the identification of defined culture conditions that allow these cells to be amplified. We now demonstrate a significant net increase (3-fold, P textless 0.001) in vitro of cells that are individually able to permanently and competitively reconstitute the lymphoid and myeloid systems of syngeneic recipient mice when Sca-1(+)lin- adult marrow cells are incubated for 10 days in serum-free medium with interleukin 11, flt3-ligand, and Steel factor. Moreover, the culture-derived repopulating cells continued to expand their numbers in the primary hosts at the same rate seen in recipients of noncultured stem cells. In the expansion cultures, long-term culture-initiating cells increased 7- +/- 2-fold, myeloid colony-forming cells increased 140- +/- 36-fold, and total nucleated cells increased 230- +/- 62-fold. Twenty-seven of 100 cultures initiated with 15 Sca-1(+)lin- marrow cells were found to contain transplantable stem cells 10 days later. This frequency of positive cultures is the same as the frequency of transplantable stem cells in the original input suspension, suggesting that most had undergone at least one self-renewal division in vitro. No expansion of stem cells was seen when Sca-1+TER119- CD34+ day 14.5 fetal liver cells were cultured under the same conditions. These findings set the stage for further investigations of the mechanisms by which cytokine stimulation may elicit different outcomes in mitotically activated hematopoietic stem cells during ontogeny and in the adult. View Publication

CGP 57148 is a compound of the 2-phenylaminopyrimidine class that selectively inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of the ABL and the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) protein tyrosine kinases. We previously showed that CGP 57148 selectively kills p210BCR-ABL-expressing cells. To extend these observations, we evaluated the ability of CGP 57148 to inhibit other activated ABL tyrosine kinases, including p185BCR-ABL and TEL-ABL. In cell-based assays of ABL tyrosine phosphorylation, inhibition of ABL kinase activity was observed at concentrations similar to that reported for p210BCR-ABL. Consistent with the in vitro profile of this compound, the growth of cells expressing activated ABL protein tyrosine kinases was inhibited in the absence of exogenous growth factor. Growth inhibition was also observed with a p185BCR-ABL-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cell line generated from a Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL patient. As CGP 57148 inhibits the PDGFR kinase, we also showed that cells expressing an activated PDGFR tyrosine kinase, TEL-PDGFR, are sensitive to this compound. Thus, this compound may be useful for the treatment of a variety of BCR-ABL-positive leukemias and for treatment of the subset of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia patients with a TEL-PDGFR fusion protein.

Peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) are increasingly used instead of bone marrow for autologous or allogeneic transplantation. In this study PBPCs mobilized in cancer patients by chemotherapy and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor were collected by apheresis and first enriched by immunoaffinity removal of lineage positive cells. When these cells were exposed to both cyclophosphamide and taxol or cultured for 7 days in the presence of 5-fluorouracil, stem cell factor, and interleukin-3, 88% to 93% of the enriched PBPCs were killed and short-term clonogenic capacity in methylcellulose assays was lost, but week-5 cobblestone area-forming cell (CAFC) enrichment was higher than 10-fold in comparison to enriched PBPCs and higher than 700-fold in comparison to unmanipulated apheresis cells. After drug exposure, most of the progenitors displayed a CD34+, CD38-, multidrug-resistance (MDR+), Rhodamine 123 low, Hoechst 33342 low phenotype, and as few as 180 of these drug-resistant cells were able to generate a stable multilineage human hematopoiesis in sublethally irradiated immunodeficient mice. In these animals, the level of human hematopoietic engraftment was significantly increased by cotransplantation of irradiated cells from the human L87/4 stromal cell line. These observations are consistent with the functional isolation of a population of very early hematopoietic progenitors and might help to design new protocols for the removal of neoplastic cells from autografts.

We compared glucocorticoid receptor binding characteristics and glucocorticoid responsiveness of human mononuclear leukocytes (HML) from hypertensive patients and matched normotensive volunteers. We also considered associations of these variables with plasma renin activity, aldosterone, cortisol, corticotropin, and electrolyte concentrations. We calculated binding affinity (Kd; nmol/L) and capacity (Bmax; sites/cell) for dexamethasone and cortisol from homologous and heterologous competition curves for specific [3H]dexamethasone binding sites on HML isolated from the blood of normotensive volunteers and subjects with essential hypertension. Glucocorticoid responsiveness of HML was evaluated as IC50 values (nmol/L) for dexamethasone and cortisol for the inhibition of lysozyme release. We measured plasma hormones by radioimmunoassay. Kd values (mean+/-SE) for cortisol in HML of hypertensive patients were higher than in control subjects (24.6+/-2.4 versus 17.5+/-1.7 nmol/L, Ptextless.04). Binding capacity (4978+/-391 versus 4131+/-321 sites/cell), Kd values for dexamethasone (6.7+/-0.5 versus 5.7+/-0.3 nmol/L), and IC50 values for dexamethasone (3.4+/-0.3 versus 3.1+/-0.2 nmol/L) and cortisol (12.2+/-1.6 versus 9.5+/-0.3 nmol/L) were not significantly different. Patients with renin values less than 0.13 ng angiotensin I/L per second were markedly less sensitive to cortisol than those with higher values. Both Kd (30.3+/-2.5 versus 19.2+/-2.4 nmol/L) and IC50 values (15.5+/-1.8 versus 8.9+/-1.2 nmol/L) for cortisol were significantly higher in patients with lower renin values (Ptextless.03). Other variables, including plasma hormone and electrolyte values and binding characteristics for dexamethasone, were not different. These data suggest that cortisol binding to glucocorticoid receptor is slightly impaired in patients with essential hypertension. In vivo, this could lead to inappropriate binding of cortisol to mineralocorticoid receptors. Hence, decreased sensitivity to cortisol is associated with renin suppression. This hypothesis is supported by evidence of hypertension and low renin activity, which others have described in patients with primary glucocorticoid resistance due to mutations of the glucocorticoid receptor.

Retroviral vectors constitute the most efficient system to deliver and integrate foreign genes into mammalian cells. We have developed a producer cell line that yields high titers of amphotropic retroviral vectors carrying the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene, a codon humanized, red-shifted variant of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, which can be used as a selectable marker. We have used a hybrid vector that has been shown to efficiently drive gene expression in hematopoietic cells. Virtually all murine and human cell lines and primary human hematopoietic cells tested were transduced with varying efficiency after incubation with vector-containing supernatants. Human CD34(+) cells obtained from cord blood or aphereses products were transduced using a protocol that involves daily addition of vector-containing supernatants for 6 consecutive days. At day 6, up to 16% of the cells expressed EGFP, as assessed by flow cytometry. Sorted EGFP-expressing cells were able to produce fluorescent hematopoietic colonies. EGFP's main advantages are its fast flow cytometry determination and the possibility of cell sorting and simultaneous evaluation of the transduction efficiency along with other phenotypic markers.

The effect of 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA) on the growth of eight gastric cancer cell lines was related to their transcription levels of mRNAs for retinoid receptors. Northern blot analysis showed that seven (TMK-1, MKN-1, -28, -45, -74, HSC-39, KATO-III) out of eight gastric cancer cell lines synthesized mRNAs for retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptor-alpha (RXR-alpha). MKN-7 cells did not transcribe either RARs or RXR-alpha at the mRNA level although they appeared to have no alterations at the gene level. The growth of all of the cell lines except for MKN-7 cells was inhibited by 1 x 10(-6) M 9-cis-RA. Cell cycle distribution analysis revealed that G0-G1 arrest was not induced by exposure to 9-cis-RA in the sensitive TMK-1 and KATO-III cells or the resistant MKN-7 cells. Interestingly, 9-cis-RA temporarily increased the amount of the cyclin dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor, Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1/p21 protein, and also reduced the amount of cdk-7, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cyclin D1 proteins, followed by reduction in phosphorylation of the product of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene (Rb) in the sensitive TMK-1 cells, but not in the resistant MKN-7 cells. These results suggest that 9-cis-RA has a cytostatic effect on gastric cancer cells that synthesize the receptor molecules through cell cycle regulatory machinery.

The entry of a cell into mitosis is regulated by an elaborate network of kinases and phosphatases that control both for the timing of cell division and the complete reorganization of the cellular architecture. The mitotic cyclin/Cdks form part of large multiprotein complexes whose other components are only now beginning to be identified. The continuing identification of proteins that contribute to these complexes and changes in the composition of these complexes are likely to give a more integrated view of how mitotic cyclin/Cdk complexes are regulated and how they function-not only to induce mitosis, but also to aid further mitotic progression. Furthermore, assigning specific G2/M functions to distinct mitotic cyclin/Cdk complexes will require the identification of differences in substrate specificities between the mitotic cyclin/Cdk complexes, perhaps in parallel with specific cyclin knockouts in mice. Such investigations will be complicated by potential functional overlap between mitotic cyclin/Cdk complexes in vitro and in vivo. Although cyclin/Cdk1 is thought to be the major kinase that initiates the onset of mitosis, a more complete understanding of how cells move from G2 to a mitotic state will require further identification of kinases operating upstream, downstream and in parallel with Cdk1, their substrates and their relationship with one another during the G2/M transition.

Analysis of the mitogenic activity of interleukin-3 (IL-3), Steel factor (SF), and flt-3 ligand (FL) on acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) blasts using the short-term endpoints of proliferation in 3H-thymidine (3H-Tdr) incorporation assays or methylcellulose cultures (colony assays) showed that greater than 90% of samples contained cells that were responsive to one or more of these cytokines. With this information, culture conditions that were known to support normal long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) were tested, with or without supplements of one or more of these three growth factors, for their ability to support primitive progenitors from 10 cell samples from patients with AML. In all cases cytogenetically abnormal colony forming cells (CFC) were detected after 5 weeks when AML peripheral blood or marrow cells were cocultured on preestablished, normal human marrow feeders (HMF) and/or SI/SI mouse fibroblast feeders and the number of CFC detected in these 5-week-old LTC maintained a linear relationship to the number of input AML cells. Limiting dilution analysis, performed on 6 of the 10 samples, showed the frequency of AML cells initiating LTC (AML LTC-IC) to be 5- to 300-fold lower than the frequency of AML-CFC in the same cell sample, whereas the average number of CFC produced per LTC-IC varied from 1 to 13. Surprisingly, in each case the concentration of cytogenetically normal LTC-IC detected in AML patient blood was at least 10-fold higher than that previously observed in the blood of normal individuals. Mixed" mouse fibroblast feeders engineered to produce human G-CSF�

Ligand-dependent chimeric Cre recombinases are powerful tools to induce specific DNA rearrangements in cultured cells and in mice. We report here the construction and characterization of a series of chimeric recombinases, each consisting of Cre fused to a mutated human oestrogen receptor (ER) ligand-binding domain (LBD). Two new ligand-dependent recombinases which contain either the G400V/M543A/L544A or the G400V/L539A/L540A triple mutation of the human ER LBD are efficiently induced by the synthetic ER antagonists 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) and ICI 182,780 (ICI), respectively, but are insensitive to 17 beta-oestradiol (E2). Both chimeric recombinases should be useful for efficient spatio-temporally controlled site-directed somatic mutagenesis.

Human hematopoiesis originates in a population of stem cells with transplantable lympho-myeloid reconstituting potential, but a method for quantitating such cells has not been available. We now describe a simple assay that meets this need. It is based on the ability of sublethally irradiated immunodeficient nonobese diabetic-scid/scid (NOD/SCID) mice to be engrafted by intravenously injected human hematopoietic cells and uses limiting dilution analysis to measure the frequency of human cells that produce both CD34(-)CD19(+) (B-lymphoid) and CD34(+) (myeloid) colony-forming cell progeny in the marrow of such recipients 6 to 8 weeks post-transplant. Human cord blood (CB) contains approximately 5 of these competitive repopulating units (CRU) per ml that have a similar distribution between the CD38(-) and CD38(+) subsets of CD34(+) CB cells as long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC) (4:1 vs. 2:1). Incubation of purified CD34(+)CD38(-) human CB cells in serum-free medium containing flt-3 ligand, Steel factor, interleukin 3, interleukin 6, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for 5-8 days resulted in a 100-fold expansion of colony-forming cells, a 4-fold expansion of LTC-IC, and a 2-fold (but significant, P textless 0.02) increase in CRU. The culture-derived CRU, like the original CB CRU, generated pluripotent, erythroid, granulopoietic, megakaryopoietic, and pre-B cell progeny upon transplantation into NOD/SCID mice. These findings demonstrate an equivalent phenotypic heterogeneity amongst human CB cells detectable as CRU and LTC-IC. In addition, their similarly modest response to stimulation by a combination of cytokines that extensively amplify LTC-IC from normal adult marrow underscores the importance of ontogeny-dependent changes in human hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and self-renewal.