Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis: Radiological Findings from Dual Energy CT and PET/CT
10:28

Gene Regulation and Targeted Therapy in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis: Radiological Findings from Dual Energy CT and PET/CT

Published on: January 22, 2018

Suppression of gastric cancer cell growth by targeting the beta-catenin/T-cell factor pathway

Hadas Dvory-Sobol1, Eyal Sagiv, Eliezer Liberman

  • 1Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Cancer
|December 7, 2006
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

This study developed a gene-targeting therapy using AdTOP-PUMA to selectively kill gastric cancer cells with activated beta-catenin/Tcf signaling. Combining this with chemotherapy enhanced cancer cell killing, offering a novel therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Gene Therapy

Background:

  • Beta-catenin/T-cell factor (Tcf) signaling is crucial in early carcinogenesis.
  • Mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli or beta-catenin genes are common in gastric cancer.
  • Targeting activated beta-catenin/Tcf signaling offers a potential therapeutic avenue for gastric cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To selectively eliminate human gastric cancer cells exhibiting activated beta-catenin/Tcf signaling.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of a gene-targeting approach using a recombinant adenovirus carrying a lethal gene (PUMA).
  • To assess the synergistic effects of this gene therapy combined with standard chemotherapeutic agents.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a recombinant adenovirus (AdTOP-PUMA) with a PUMA gene under a beta-catenin/Tcf-responsive promoter.
  • Targeted gastric cancer cells (AGS) with active beta-catenin/Tcf pathway.
  • Assessed cell viability, protein expression, cell cycle, and apoptosis.
  • Evaluated the combined effects of AdTOP-PUMA and chemotherapeutic agents (5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, paclitaxel).

Main Results:

  • AdTOP-PUMA demonstrated dose- and time-dependent inhibition of AGS cell growth.
  • Inhibited growth correlated with increased PUMA expression and apoptosis.
  • Chemotherapy synergistically augmented the cell-killing effect of AdTOP-PUMA.

Conclusions:

  • Selective targeting of gastric cancer cells with activated beta-catenin pathways represents a novel and effective therapeutic strategy.
  • Combining gene therapy with standard chemotherapy may enhance treatment efficacy and reduce toxicity.
  • This approach holds promise for improving outcomes in gastric cancer treatment.

More Related Videos

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay08:01

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay

Published on: October 27, 2014

Related Concept Videos

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle02:38

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle

Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Catenins01:23

Catenins

Catenins are characterized by multiple binding domains and dynamic structures that allow them to function as linker proteins in cell junction complexes. All catenins, except α-catenin, contain a characteristic protein sequence called the armadillo repeat and are therefore also called armadillo proteins.
Catenins in Cell Junctions
Catenins bind to cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins and link them to different cytoskeletal proteins depending on the type of cell junction. At the adherens...