Author
Ling Chang
Bio: Ling Chang is an academic researcher from Genentech. The author has contributed to research in topics: Apoptosis & Cytotoxic T cell. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 4 publications receiving 2587 citations.
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TL;DR: Apo2L may have potent anticancer activity without significant toxicity toward normal tissues, and cooperated synergistically with the chemotherapeutic drugs 5-fluorouracil or CPT-11, causing substantial tumor regression or complete tumor ablation.
Abstract: TNF and Fas ligand induce apoptosis in tumor cells; however, their severe toxicity toward normal tissues hampers their application to cancer therapy. Apo2 ligand (Apo2L, or TRAIL) is a related molecule that triggers tumor cell apoptosis. Apo2L mRNA is expressed in many tissues, suggesting that the ligand may be nontoxic to normal cells. To investigate Apo2L’s therapeutic potential, we generated in bacteria a potently active soluble version of the native human protein. Several normal cell types were resistant in vitro to apoptosis induction by Apo2L. Repeated intravenous injections of Apo2L in nonhuman primates did not cause detectable toxicity to tissues and organs examined. Apo2L exerted cytostatic or cytotoxic effects in vitro on 32 of 39 cell lines from colon, lung, breast, kidney, brain, and skin cancer. Treatment of athymic mice with Apo2L shortly after tumor xenograft injection markedly reduced tumor incidence. Apo2L treatment of mice bearing solid tumors induced tumor cell apoptosis, suppressed tumor progression, and improved survival. Apo2L cooperated synergistically with the chemotherapeutic drugs 5-fluorouracil or CPT-11, causing substantial tumor regression or complete tumor ablation. Thus, Apo2L may have potent anticancer activity without significant toxicity toward normal tissues.
2,160 citations
TL;DR: A novel effect of activin on cell death in hepatocytes in vivo and in vitro is shown, suggesting that activin may have a previously unrecognized role in regulating hepatic function.
203 citations
TL;DR: Findings indicate that heparin-like molecules can stabilize HGF oligomers, which may facilitate c-Met receptor dimerization and activation in vitro, as measured by gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation.
175 citations
TL;DR: Recombinant human activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor‐β superfamily, induced significant cell loss in rodent livers and in primary hepatocyte cultures, leading to the conclusion that cell loss occurs mainly through apoptosis.
123 citations
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TL;DR: Current analyses of genetic defects in Drosophila melanogaster, mice, and humans confirm most of these activities in vivo and identify additional processes that involve cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans.
Abstract: The heparan sulfate on the surface of all adherent cells modulates the actions of a large number of extracellular ligands. Members of both cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan families, the transmembrane syndecans and the glycosylphosphoinositide-linked glypicans, bind these ligands and enhance formation of their receptor-signaling complexes. These heparan sulfate proteoglycans also immobilize and regulate the turnover of ligands that act at the cell surface. The extracellular domains of these proteoglycans can be shed from the cell surface, generating soluble heparan sulfate proteoglycans that can inhibit interactions at the cell surface. Recent analyses of genetic defects in Drosophila melanogaster, mice, and humans confirm most of these activities in vivo and identify additional processes that involve cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms underlying these activities and on the cellular functions that they regulate.
2,680 citations
TL;DR: Understanding the molecular events that contribute to drug-induced apoptosis, and how tumors evade apoptotic death, provides a paradigm to explain the relationship between cancer genetics and treatment sensitivity and should enable a more rational approach to anticancer drug design and therapy.
2,281 citations
TL;DR: Understanding the molecular events that regulate apoptosis in response to anticancer chemotherapy, and how cancer cells evade apoptotic death, provides novel opportunities for a more rational approach to develop molecular-targeted therapies for combating cancer.
Abstract: Apoptosis or programmed cell death is a key regulator of physiological growth control and regulation of tissue homeostasis. One of the most important advances in cancer research in recent years is the recognition that cell death mostly by apoptosis is crucially involved in the regulation of tumor formation and also critically determines treatment response. Killing of tumor cells by most anticancer strategies currently used in clinical oncology, for example, chemotherapy, γ-irradiation, suicide gene therapy or immunotherapy, has been linked to activation of apoptosis signal transduction pathways in cancer cells such as the intrinsic and/or extrinsic pathway. Thus, failure to undergo apoptosis may result in treatment resistance. Understanding the molecular events that regulate apoptosis in response to anticancer chemotherapy, and how cancer cells evade apoptotic death, provides novel opportunities for a more rational approach to develop molecular-targeted therapies for combating cancer.
2,125 citations
TL;DR: Interconnecting signaling pathways controlled by RB and p53 are discussed, attempting to explain their potentially universal involvement in the etiology of cancer.
1,653 citations
TL;DR: Cancer cells often develop resistance to chemotherapy or irradiation through mutations in the p53 tumour-suppressor gene, which prevent apoptosis induction in response to cellular damage, so agents that are designed to activate death receptors or block decoy receptors might be used to kill tumour cells that are resistant to conventional cancer therapies.
Abstract: Cancer cells often develop resistance to chemotherapy or irradiation through mutations in the p53 tumour-suppressor gene, which prevent apoptosis induction in response to cellular damage. Death receptors — members of the tumour-necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily — signal apoptosis independently of p53. Decoy receptors, by contrast, are a non-signalling subset of the TNFR superfamily that attenuate death-receptor function. Agents that are designed to activate death receptors (or block decoy receptors) might therefore be used to kill tumour cells that are resistant to conventional cancer therapies.
1,375 citations