It has been proposed that proteases secreted by cancer cells facilitate metastasis by degrading extracellular matrix. Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells secrete a M, 52,000 pro-cath-D under estrogen stimulation, whereas this protease is produced constitutively by estrogen receptor-negative cancer cells. We report on the degradation in vitro of extracellular matrix by purified M, 52,...

Opioid effects on tumor growth have been a controversial topic of discussion. In the present study, morphine inhibited tumor cell proliferation at concentrations of >or=10 micro M. This was primarily caused by inhibition of cell cycle progression from G(1) to S phase. At higher concentrations (>or=500 micro M for 24 h), morphine also caused cell death. In nude mice, morphine significantly reduc...

Human metastatic breast cancer cells in culture contain large acidic vesicles (diameter 5-10 microns) in which endocytosed extracellular matrix can be digested by activated lysosomal proteinases such as cathepsin D (P. Montcourrier et al. (1990). Cancer Res. 50, 6045-6054). We examined these large compartments by transmission electron microscopy, measured their pH by video-enhanced epifluoresce...

The migratory activity of tumor cells and their ability to extravasate from the blood stream through the vascular endothelium are important steps within the metastasis cascade.We have shown previously that norepinephrine is a potent inducer of the migration ofMDA-MB-468 human breast carcinoma cells and therefore investigated herein, whether the interaction of these cells as well as MDA-MB-231 a...

A naturally occurring, cocoa-derived pentameric procyanidin (pentamer) was previously shown to cause G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in human breast cancer cells by an unknown molecular mechanism. Here, we show that pentamer selectively inhibits the proliferation of human breast cancer cells (MDA MB-231, MDA MB-436, MDA MB-468, SKBR-3, and MCF-7) and benzo(a)pyrene-immortalized 184A1N4 and 184B5 cells....

YM155, a small-molecule survivin inhibitor, has been reported for its anti-cancer activity in various cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of YM155 to enhance TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in human renal carcinoma cells. We found that YM155 alone had no effect on apoptosis, however, combined treatment with YM155 and TRAIL markedly induced apoptosis in human renal carcinoma cells (...

Cancer initiating cells (CIC) are stem-like cells. CIC may contribute not only to the initiation of cancer but also to cancer recurrence because of the resistance of CIC both to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. From the MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell lines and primary culture of patient breast cancer cells, we isolated by flow cytometry a CIC subset of cells with the CD44(+)/CD24(-or...

Breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) are highly tumorigenic and possess the capacity to self-renew. Recent studies indicated that pluripotent gene NANOG involves in regulating self-renewal of breast CSCs, and expression of NANOG is correlated with aggressiveness of poorly differentiated breast cancer. We initially confirmed that breast cancer MCF-7 cells expressed NANOG, and overexpression of NANOG ...

Our previous studies revealed an inhibitory effect of ICD-85 (Venom derived peptides) on breast cancer cell line MDA-MB231. ICD-85 was also confirmed by in-vivo studies to suppress the breast tumor in mice. However, the exact mechanism of ICD-85 was unknown. Hence, the present study was undertaken to assess the mechanism of ICD-85 effect as an anti-proliferative agent of cancer cells. The effec...