摘要:
A transgenic animal model for evaluating growth, survival and/or metastasis of xenotransplanted normal or tumor cells or tissue is disclosed, in which a human growth factor, hHGF stimulates growth in vivo of human cells or tissue. A strain of Tg mice on the C3H background that is immunocompromised as a result of a homozygous scid gene has been bred which express a nucleic acid encoding hHGF/SE The ectopically expressed hHGF/SF ligand significantly enhances growth of human tumor cell lines and explanted tumor cells or tissue that express the Met receptor for hHGF. Such animals also have an enlarged normal livers and greater than normal liver regenerative capacity. Any Met-expressing hHGF-dependent human cells, including hepatocytes and various stem cells can survive and grow in such animals.
摘要:
The molecular mechanism underlying degenerative joint disease, also known as osteoarthritis (OA), is not fully understood. Disruption of mitogen inducible gene 6 (Mig-6) in mice by homologous recombination (KO mice) led to early onset OA as revealed by simultaneous enlargement and deformity of multiple joints, degradation of articular cartilage and the development of bony outgrowths or osteophytes within the joint space. The latter appeared to be derived from proliferation of mesenchymal progenitor cells followed by differentiation into chondrocytes. Because of the striking similarity to human OA, Mig-6 KO mice are a useful animal model for studying the mechanism of this disease and for testing new drugs or therapies for treating OA. These KO mice also developed epithelial hyperplasia, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma in organs such as lung, gallbladder, and bile duct. Mig-6 is therefore a tumor suppressor gene and is a candidate gene for the frequent Ip36 genetic alterations found in lung cancer. It can be used as a tumor biomarker as well as a target for cancer therapy. Mig-6 is located in human chromosome Ip36, a locus frequently associated with human lung cancer. Mig-6 is a negative regulator of EGF signaling, and like EGF, was induced by HGF/SF in human lung cancer cell lines. Frequently the receptors EGFR and Met were co-expressed, and Mig-6 was induced by both EGF and HGF/SF in a MAPK-dependent fashion. Not all tumor lines express Mig-6 in response to either EGF or HGF/SF. In these cases, missense and nonsense mutations in the Mig-6 coding region were found, as was evidence for Mig-6 transcriptional silencing.
摘要:
Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), acting through the Met receptor, plays an important role in most human solid tumors and inappropriate expression of this ligand-receptor pair is often associated with poor prognosis. The molecular basis for the malignant activity imparted by signaling of HGF/SF-Met in cancer cells has been attributed to its mitogenic and invasive properties. However, HGF/SF also induces angiogenesis, but the signaling mechanism has not been understood, nor has this activity been directly associated with HGF/SF-Met mediated tumorigenesis. HGF/SF induces expression in vitro of VEGF, a key agonist of tumor angiogenesis. By contrast, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a negative regulator of angiogenesis. This application discloses that, in the very same tumor cells, in addition to inducing VEGF expression, HGF/SF dramatically down regulates TSP-1 expression. TSP shut off plays an important, extrinsic role in HGF/SF-mediated tumor development, as ectopic expression of TSP-1 markedly inhibited tumor formation through the suppression of angiogenesis. While VEGF induced expression is sensitive to inhibitors of several pathways, including MAP kinase, PI3 kinase and Stat3, TSP-1 shut off by HGF/SF is prevented solely by inhibiting MAP kinase activation. Thus HGF/SF is a “switch” for turning on angiogenesis. TSP-1 is a useful antagonist to tumor angiogenesis, and therefore TSP-1 and agonist peptides and mimics, as well as inducers of TSP-1, have therapeutic value when used in conjunction with inhibitors of VEGF.
摘要:
Disruption of mitogen inducible gene 6 (Mig-6) in mice by homologous recombination (KO mice) led to early onset osteoarthritis (OA) as revealed by simultaneous enlargement and deformity of multiple joints, degradation of articular cartilage and the development of bony outgrowths or osteophytes within the joint space. Because of the striking similarity to human OA, Mig-6 KO mice are a useful animal model for studying the mechanism of this disease and for testing new drugs or therapies for treating OA. These KO mice also developed epithelial hyperplasia, adenoma, and adenocarcinoma in organs such as lung, gallbladder, and bile duct. Mig-6 is therefore a tumor suppressor gene and is a candidate gene for the frequent Ip36 genetic alterations found in lung cancer. It can be used as a tumor biomarker as well as a target for cancer therapy.
摘要:
A transgenic animal model for evaluating growth, survival and/or metastasis of xenotransplanted normal or tumor cells or tissue is disclosed, in which a human growth factor, hHGF stimulates growth in vivo of human cells or tissue. A strain of Tg mice on the C3H background that is immunocompromised as a result of a homozygous scid gene has been bred which express a nucleic acid encoding hHGF/SE The ectopically expressed hHGF/SF ligand significantly enhances growth of human tumor cell lines and explanted tumor cells or tissue that express the Met receptor for hHGF. Such animals also have an enlarged normal livers and greater than normal liver regenerative capacity. Any Met-expressing hHGF-dependent human cells, including hepatocytes and various stem cells can survive and grow in such animals.