ABCB5

About: ABCB5 is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 167 publications have been published within this topic receiving 14530 citations. The topic is also known as: ABCB5alpha & ABCB5beta.

The Human ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter Superfamily

Abstract: The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily contains membrane proteins that translocate a variety of substrates across extra- and intra-cellular membranes. Genetic variation in these genes is the cause of or contributor to a wide variety of human disorders with Mendelian and complex inheritance, including cystic fibrosis, neurological disease, retinal degeneration, cholesterol and bile transport defects, anemia, and drug response. Conservation of the ATP-binding domains of these genes has allowed the identification of new members of the superfamily based on nucleotide and protein sequence homology. Phylogenetic analysis is used to divide all 48 known ABC transporters into seven distinct subfamilies of proteins. For each gene, the precise map location on human chromosomes, expression data, and localization within the superfamily has been determined. These data allow predictions to be made as to potential functions or disease phenotypes associated with each protein. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge on all human ABC genes in inherited disease and drug resistance. In addition, the availability of the complete Drosophila genome sequence allows the comparison of the known human ABC genes with those in the fly genome. The combined data enable an evolutionary analysis of the superfamily. Complete characterization of all ABC from the human genome and from model organisms will lead to important insights into the physiology and the molecular basis of many human disorders.

Efficient tumour formation by single human melanoma cells

Abstract: NOD/SCID interleukin-2 receptor gamma chain null (Il2rg 2/2 ) mice, can increase the detection of tumorigenic melanoma cells by several orders of magnitude. In limiting dilution assays, approximately 25% of unselected melanoma cells from 12 different patients, including cells from primary and metastatic melanomas obtained directly from patients, formed tumours under these more permissive conditions. In single-cell transplants, an average of 27% of unselected melanoma cells from fourdifferentpatientsformedtumours.Modificationstoxenotransplantationassayscanthereforedramaticallyincreasethe detectable frequency of tumorigenic cells, demonstrating that they are common in some human cancers.

Identification of cells initiating human melanomas

Abstract: Tumour-initiating cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation, which are responsible for tumour growth, have been identified in human haematological malignancies and solid cancers. If such minority populations are associated with tumour progression in human patients, specific targeting of tumour-initiating cells could be a strategy to eradicate cancers currently resistant to systemic therapy. Here we identify a subpopulation enriched for human malignant-melanoma-initiating cells (MMIC) defined by expression of the chemoresistance mediator ABCB5 (refs 7, 8) and show that specific targeting of this tumorigenic minority population inhibits tumour growth. ABCB5+ tumour cells detected in human melanoma patients show a primitive molecular phenotype and correlate with clinical melanoma progression. In serial human-to-mouse xenotransplantation experiments, ABCB5+ melanoma cells possess greater tumorigenic capacity than ABCB5- bulk populations and re-establish clinical tumour heterogeneity. In vivo genetic lineage tracking demonstrates a specific capacity of ABCB5+ subpopulations for self-renewal and differentiation, because ABCB5+ cancer cells generate both ABCB5+ and ABCB5- progeny, whereas ABCB5- tumour populations give rise, at lower rates, exclusively to ABCB5- cells. In an initial proof-of-principle analysis, designed to test the hypothesis that MMIC are also required for growth of established tumours, systemic administration of a monoclonal antibody directed at ABCB5, shown to be capable of inducing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in ABCB5+ MMIC, exerted tumour-inhibitory effects. Identification of tumour-initiating cells with enhanced abundance in more advanced disease but susceptibility to specific targeting through a defining chemoresistance determinant has important implications for cancer therapy.

Human melanoma-initiating cells express neural crest nerve growth factor receptor CD271

Abstract: The question of whether tumorigenic cancer stem cells exist in human melanomas has arisen in the last few years. Here we show that in melanomas, tumour stem cells (MTSCs, for melanoma tumour stem cells) can be isolated prospectively as a highly enriched CD271(+) MTSC population using a process that maximizes viable cell transplantation. The tumours sampled in this study were taken from a broad spectrum of sites and stages. High-viability cells isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and re-suspended in a matrigel vehicle were implanted into T-, B- and natural-killer-deficient Rag2(-/-)gammac(-/-) mice. The CD271(+) subset of cells was the tumour-initiating population in 90% (nine out of ten) of melanomas tested. Transplantation of isolated CD271(+) melanoma cells into engrafted human skin or bone in Rag2(-/-)gammac(-/-) mice resulted in melanoma; however, melanoma did not develop after transplantation of isolated CD271(-) cells. We also show that in mice, tumours derived from transplanted human CD271(+) melanoma cells were capable of metastatsis in vivo. CD271(+) melanoma cells lacked expression of TYR, MART1 and MAGE in 86%, 69% and 68% of melanoma patients, respectively, which helps to explain why T-cell therapies directed at these antigens usually result in only temporary tumour shrinkage.