Laboratory of Molecular Biology

About: Laboratory of Molecular Biology is a facility organization based out in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Gene & RNA. The organization has 19395 authors who have published 24236 publications receiving 2101480 citations.

ATP-dependent transport of vinblastine in vesicles from human multidrug-resistant cells.

Abstract: Resistance of human cancer cells to multiple cytotoxic hydrophobic agents (multidrug resistance) is due to overexpression of the "MDR1" gene, whose product is the plasma membrane P-glycoprotein. Plasma membrane vesicles partially purified from multidrug-resistant human KB carcinoma cells, but not from drug-sensitive cells, accumulate [3H]vinblastine in an ATP-dependent manner. This transport is osmotically sensitive, with an apparent Km of 38 microM for ATP and of approximately equal to 2 microM for vinblastine. The nonhydrolyzable analog adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate does not substitute for ATP but is a competitive inhibitor of ATP for the transport process. Vanadate, an ATPase inhibitor, is a potent noncompetitive inhibitor of transport. These results indicate that hydrolysis of ATP is probably required for active transport of vinblastine. Several other drugs to which multidrug-resistant cell lines are resistant inhibit transport, with relative potencies as follows: vincristine greater than actinomycin D greater than daunomycin greater than colchicine = puromycin. Verapamil and quinidine, which reverse the multidrug-resistance phenotype, are good inhibitors of the transport process. These results confirm that multidrug-resistant cells express an energy-dependent plasma membrane transporter for hydrophobic drugs, and establish a system for the detailed biochemical analysis of this transport process.

Mesothelin: A new target for immunotherapy

Abstract: Mesothelin is a differentiation antigen present on normal mesothelial cells and overexpressed in several human tumors, including mesothelioma and ovarian and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The mesothelin gene encodes a precursor protein that is processed to yield the 40-kDa protein, mesothelin, attached to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol linkage and a 31-kDa shed fragment named megakaryocyte-potentiating factor. The biological function of mesothelin is not known. Mesothelin is a promising candidate for tumor-specific therapy, given its limited expression in normal tissues and high expression in several cancers. SS1(dsFv)PE38 is a recombinant anti-mesothelin immunotoxin that is undergoing clinical evaluation in patients with mesothelin-expressing tumors. There is evidence that mesothelin is an immunogenic protein and could be exploited as a therapeutic cancer vaccine. A soluble mesothelin variant has been identified and could be a useful tumor marker for malignant mesotheliomas.