The synthetic triterpenoid CDDO-methyl ester delays estrogen receptor-negative mammary carcinogenesis in polyoma middle T mice

Novel drugs are needed for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Synthetic triterpenoids are a promising new class of compounds with activity in a variety of preclinical cancer models. We tested activity of the methyl ester derivative of the synthetic triterpenoid, 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO-Me), in a relevant model of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the polyoma-middle T (PyMT), in which the oncoprotein drives carcinogenesis. The developing tumors recapitulate key features of the human disease. Mice were fed CDDO-Me (50 mg/kg diet), starting at 4 weeks of age. CDDO-Me significantly increased the age of mice at onset of first tumor (P < 0.001) by an average of 4.3 weeks and overall survival (P < 0.001) by 5.2 weeks. The drug also inhibited the infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages into mammary glands of PyMT mice at 12 weeks of age and reduced levels of the chemokines CXCL12 and CCL2 in primary PyMT mammary tumor cells. Treatment with this multifunctional drug also inhibited secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in primary tumor cells from PyMT mice and decreased proliferation of these cells by inhibiting cyclin D1 and decreasing phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor and STAT3.     

Prevention and treatment of experimental breast cancer with the combination of a new selective estrogen receptor modulator, arzoxifene, and a new rexinoid, LG 100268.

The selective estrogen receptor modulator arzoxifene and the rexinoid LG 100268 were active not only as single agents for prevention and treatment of breast cancer in the rat model that uses nitrosomethylurea as the carcinogen but also showed striking synergy, both preventively and therapeutically, in a series of six experiments with a total of 465 rats. Mechanistic studies in cell culture reported here suggest that enhancement of stromal-epithelial interactions may contribute to this synergy. The possible clinical use of the combination of arzoxifene and LG 100268 for prevention of breast cancer in women at high risk, for treatment of women in the adjuvant setting, or for treatment of end-stage disease should now be considered.     

The combination of the rexinoid, LG100268, and a selective estrogen receptor modulator, either arzoxifene or acolbifene, synergizes in the prevention and treatment of mammary tumors in an estrogen receptor-negative model of breast cancer.

PURPOSE: We tested whether a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and a rexinoid are active for prevention and treatment in the mouse mammary tumor virus-neu mouse model of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: For prevention, mice were fed a powdered control diet, the SERM arzoxifene (Arz, 20 mg/kg diet), the rexinoid LG100268 (268, 30 mg/kg diet), or the combination for 60 weeks. In a second prevention study, mice were fed Arz (6 mg/kg diet), 268 (30 mg/kg diet), the combination of Arz and 268, the SERM acolbifene (Acol, 3 mg/kg diet), or the combination of Acol and 268 for 52 weeks. For the treatment studies, mice with tumors were fed combinations of a SERM and 268 for 4 weeks. RESULTS: The rexinoid 268 and the SERMs Arz and Acol, as individual drugs, delayed the development of estrogen receptor-negative tumors. Moreover, the combination of a SERM and 268 was strikingly synergistic, as no tumors developed in any mouse fed the combination of 268 and a SERM. Moreover, this drug combination also induced significant tumor regression when used therapeutically. These drugs did not inhibit transgene expression in vitro or in vivo, and the combination of Arz and 268 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in the tumors. CONCLUSION: The combination of a rexinoid and SERM should be considered for future clinical trials.     

The selective estrogen receptor modulator arzoxifene and the rexinoid LG100268 cooperate to promote transforming growth factor beta-dependent apoptosis in breast cancer

We show that the selective estrogen receptor modulator arzoxifene (Arz) and the rexinoid LG100268 (268) synergize to promote apoptosis in a rat model of estrogen receptor-positive breast carcinoma and in estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cells in culture. We also show that it is not necessary to administer Arz and 268 continuously during tumor progression to prevent cancer in the rat model because dosing of these drugs in combination for relatively short periods, each followed by drug-free rests, is highly effective. This new approach to chemoprevention uses high doses of drugs that are too toxic for long-term administration. However, when given for short periods, the agents are nontoxic and still induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells. We also show that the ability of the two drugs to induce apoptosis is the combined result of induction of transforming growth factor beta by Arz, together with inhibition of the prosurvival nuclear factor kappaB and phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase signaling pathways by 268. The new protocol we have developed for chemoprevention allows the efficacious and safe administration of 268 and Arz, and these agents now should be considered for clinical use.     

Prevention of mammary carcinogenesis by short-term estrogen and progestin treatments

Introduction  

Women who have undergone a full-term pregnancy before the age of 20 have one-half the risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who have never gone through a full-term pregnancy. This protective effect is observed universally among women of all ethnic groups. Parity in rats and mice also protects them against chemically induced mammary carcinogenesis.     

Prevention of estrogen carcinogenesis in the hamster kidney by ethinylestradiol: some unique properties of a synthetic estrogen

Ethinylestradiol (EE) has evident paradoxical effects on cancer risk for human breast and hepatic cancer which parallel in some respects its effects on estrogen-induced neoplasms in the hamster kidney and liver. EE has been shown to be only weakly carcinogenic in the hamster kidney, but the most potent carcinogenic estrogen in the hamster liver following prolonged treatment. Unexpectedly, when EE and potent carcinogenic estrogens, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES), 17beta- estradiol (E2) and Moxestrol (MOX), are administered concomitantly, estrogen-induced carcinogenesis in the kidney is completely prevented. In studying this novel finding, we found that, compared with E2 exposure alone, EE at 0.05 and 1.0 nM significantly (P < 0.001) inhibited the rise in proliferation of cultured primary hamster proximal renal tubular (PRT) cells in the presence of E2 (1.0 nM). Consistent with these findings, combined EE + DES treatment for 5.0 months reduced hamster kidney c-myc, c-fos and c-jun RNA expression to 43, 37 and 52%, respectively, compared with levels observed after DES treatment alone. Interestingly, TAM + DES treatment for the same period also resulted in the same low level of RNA expression of these proto- oncogenes. c-MYC, c-FOS and c-JUN protein products were comparably reduced after either EE + DES or TAM + DES treatment. It appears that c- fos expression and c-FOS protein levels in the hamster kidney were more responsive to TAM inhibition. These data demonstrate that EE possesses unique anti-tumorigenic properties in vivo in the hamster kidney. Additionally, the observed anti-estrogen-like effect of EE on cell proliferation of cultured PRT cells suggests that EE may interfere critically with estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated mitogenic pathway(s) affected by potent carcinogenic estrogens, thus preventing subsequent gene dysregulation and, hence, tumor development. Based on competition studies, the differential binding of EE to hamster kidney ER relative to that of the other estrogens (E2, DES, MOX) appears not to contribute to the prevention of estrogen carcinogenesis at this organ site by EE.      

Chemoprevention of experimental mammary carcinogenesis by the synthetic organoselenium compound, benzylselenocyanate, in rats

The effect of the dietary organoselenium compound, benzylselenocyanate (BSC) along with its sulphur analogue, benzylthiocynanate (BTC) and sodium selenite (Na2SeO3), on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinogenesis was examined in female Sprague-Dawley rats during the initiation phase of carcinogenesis. Semipurified diets containing 25 p.p.m. of BSC and 25 p.p.m. BTC, and 4 p.p.m. Selenium as Na2SeO3 in drinking water were given to 5-week-old rats for 3 weeks starting 2 weeks before, during and until 1 week after carcinogen treatment. At 7 weeks of age animals were given a single dose of DMBA (10 mg) in 1 ml olive oil by oral intubation. One week after DMBA treatment, the groups receiving BSC- and BTC-supplemented diets were transferred to the unsupplemented standard diets and the group of rats receiving Na2SeO3 in drinking water was transferred to regular tap water for the duration of the experiment. The results indicate that the rats receiving BSC in their diet showed a highly significant inhibition of tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity as well as a prolonged latency period when compared to the group fed the control diet. Neither BTC nor Na2SeO3 had any effect on the subsequent development of mammary tumors. These results indicate that dietary BSC inhibits mammary tumor incidence during the initiation phase of carcinogenesis and is a considerably more potent inhibitor than its sulphur analogue BTC and inorganic selenium. This is the first report that demonstrates the inhibition of mammary carcinogenesis by a synthetic organoselenium compound.     

The Rexinoid LG100268 prevents the development of preinvasive and invasive estrogen receptor negative tumors in MMTV-erbB2 mice.

PURPOSE: To test whether a novel rexinoid, LG100268, prevents the development of preinvasive and invasive estrogen receptor-negative mammary tumorigenesis in MMTV-erbB2 mice. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: For invasive breast cancer prevention, MMTV-erbB2 mice were treated with daily gastric gavage of vehicle, LG100268 (10 mg/kg), or LG100268 (100 mg/kg) for long term starting at 3 months of age. For preinvasive lesion study, mice were treated with daily gastric gavage of vehicle or LG100268 (100 mg/kg) for 4 months. RESULTS: Long-term treatment with LG100268 significantly prevented invasive mammary tumor development. Median time (age) to tumor development was delayed from 217 days in vehicle group to 357 days in low-dose group. In high-dose group, only 2 of 20 mice developed tumors after 430 days of treatment. Short-term treatment of LG100268 significantly prevented the development of preinvasive mammary lesions including hyperplasia and ductal carcinoma in situ. The cancer prevention effect was associated with reduced expression of Ki67 and cyclin D1 in mammary glands by >80%. CONCLUSION: Rexinoid LG100268 is an effective chemopreventive agent in preventing the development of both malignant and premalignant mammary lesions in MMTV-erbB2 mice.     

A new rexinoid, NRX194204, prevents carcinogenesis in both the lung and mammary gland.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the anti-inflammatory and growth-inhibitory properties of the novel rexinoid NRX194204 (4204) in vitro and then tested its ability to prevent and/or treat experimental lung and estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer in vivo. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In cell culture studies, we measured the ability of 4204 to block the effects of lipopolysaccharide and induce apoptosis. For the lung cancer prevention studies, A/J mice were injected with the carcinogen vinyl carbamate and then fed 4204 (30-60 mg/kg diet) for 15 weeks, beginning 1 week after the administration of the carcinogen. For breast cancer prevention studies, mouse mammary tumor virus-neu mice were fed control diet or 4204 (20 mg/kg diet) for 50 weeks; for treatment, tumors at least 32 mm3 in size were allowed to form, and then mice were fed control diet or 4204 (60 mg/kg diet) for 4 weeks. RESULTS: Low nanomolar concentrations of 4204 blocked the ability of lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha to induce the release of nitric oxide and interleukin 6 and the degradation of IKBalpha in RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells. In the A/J mouse model of lung cancer, 4204 significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the number and size of tumors on the surface of the lungs and reduced the total tumor volume per slide by 64% to 81% compared with the control group. In mouse mammary tumor virus-neu mice, 4204 not only delayed the development of ER-negative mammary tumors in the prevention studies but also caused marked tumor regression (92%) or growth arrest (8%) in all of the mammary tumors when used therapeutically. CONCLUSIONS: The combined anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic actions of 4204 suggest that it is a promising new rexinoid that should be considered for future clinical trials.     

Prevention by vitamin E of experimental oral carcinogenesis

In the standard model for hamster buccal pouch, using a 0.5% solution of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene [(DMBA) CAS: 57-97-6], it was shown that vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) inhibited carcinogenesis. With a less potent carcinogen (0.1% DMBA), vitamin E was shown to prevent tumor development. Eighty (total) male and female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were divided into 4 equal groups. After 28 weeks, animals in group 2 that had left buccal pouches painted with 0.1% DMBA (in heavy mineral oil) three times/week and that had been given 10 mg DL-alpha-tocopherol on alternate days (i.e., two times/wk) showed no tumors there. However, the pouches of group 1 animals that had been similarly painted with DMBA but that had received no vitamin E demonstrated grossly and microscopically the presence of epidermoid carcinomas.     

Synergistic effect of malathion and estrogen on mammary gland carcinogenesis

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy diagnosed in women and is a classical model of hormone-dependent malignancy. Over the past 15-20 years, epidemiological studies have pointed to an increased breast cancer risk associated with prolonged exposure to female hormones. On the other hand, environmental chemicals such as malathion, an organophosphorous pesticide used to control a wide range of sucking and chewing pests of field crops, may be involved in the etiology of breast cancers. Results indicated that estrogen alone increased average number of lobules per mm2 of rat mammary glands in comparison to control and malathion alone at 30, 124, 240 and 400 days after 5-day treatments. On the other hand, malathion alone significantly increased the number of ducts in stage of proliferation at 10-240 days after 5-day treatments. Furthermore, markers for cancer detection such as mutant p53, c-myc, c-fos and CYPs proteins were overexpressed after treatments. Atropine, an anticholinergic drug, counteracted these effects when it was combined with malathion under similar conditions. The combination of malathion and estrogen synergistically increased number of lobules and ducts per mm2 of rat mammary glands after treatments and inducing mammary cancer. It can be concluded that combination of an environmental substance such as the pesticide malathion and an endogenous substance such as estrogen can enhance the deleterious effects in human mammary glands inducing cancer and atropine is able to diminish these effects.     

N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis is promoted by short-term treatment with estrogen and progesterone mimicking pregnancy in aged female Lewis rats

We examined the effects of short-term estrogen and progesterone treatment mimicking pregnancy in aged female Lewis rats on the development of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced mammary carcinoma. Rats were administered a single intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg MNU at 7 weeks of age and half of those rats were administered a subcutaneously implanted 21-day release pellet containing 0.5 mg 17beta-estradiol and 32.5 mg progesterone (E/P) at 24 weeks of age. The rats were then monitored for the occurrence of mammary tumors. Rats were sacrificed when the largest mammary tumor became > or = 1 cm in diameter, or when the rat reached 48 weeks of age. Development of MNU-induced mammary carcinomas was accelerated after short-term E/P treatment, compared with E/P-untreated rats: the incidence of > or = 1-cm mammary carcinomas tended to increase (60 vs. 44%); the latency tended to shorten (28.7 vs. 34.6 weeks); and cancer multiplicity (number of all-sized carcinomas per rat) significantly increased (1.8 vs. 0.8). In E/P-treated rats, comedo necrosis was frequently seen and the incidence of estrogen receptor and/or progesterone receptor-negative mammary carcinomas was significantly increased. Early age at full-term pregnancy or short-term hormone treatment mimicking pregnancy may suppress the risk of breast cancer, but the age of hormone exposure is a crucial factor, because hormone exposure mimicking pregnancy in aged individuals may exert effects opposite of those exerted in younger individuals.     

Effect of alcohol ingestion on carcinogenesis by synthetic estrogen and progestin in the rat liver.

We examined the effect of alcohol ingestion on hepatocarcinogenesis induced by oral administration of synthetic female hormones, 0.075 mg of ethynylestradiol (EE) and 6.0 mg of norethindrone acetate (NA), every day for 12 months in female Wistar rats. Administration of 10% ethanol in drinking water for 5 days a week every week resulted in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 38.4% of the hormone-treated rats at 12 months, which is approximately 5 times the incidence of HCC observed following EE and NA treatment alone. The number of hyperplastic nodules was significantly higher than the number observed in the case of EE and NA treatment alone after 4 months of the experimental period. The additional alcohol treatment also increased the value of unoccupied nuclear estrogen receptors (ERn) at months 6 and 8 of the experimental period, and increased the value of total ERn in the rat liver after 6 months of the experimental period. This indicates that additional alcohol treatment may increase occupied ERn (estrogen-ER complex) in the rat liver. A 32P-postlabeling analysis of liver DNA revealed that the maximum number of extra spots consisting of modified nucleotides induced by EE and NA appeared earlier when the additional alcohol treatment was imposed. Consequently, alcohol affects the hepatocarcinogenesis by EE and NA, promoting not only the change in kinetics of ER, but also DNA adduct formation induced by EE and NA in the rat liver.     

Prevention of mammary carcinogenesis in rats by pregnancy: effect of full-term and interrupted pregnancy

In this study, the role of parity in conferring protection of the mammary gland against chemical carcinogenesis induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) was investigated. Experiments were also carried out to determine if an 'interrupted' pregnancy was capable of reducing the incidence of mammary tumour induction. Since it has been suggested that morphological development or the proliferative pattern of the mammary gland at the time of carcinogen administration may be involved in reducing the susceptibility of the mammary gland to chemical carcinogenesis, experiments were designed to elucidate the possible influence of these two factors. Sprague-Dawley female rats were mated and were either allowed to complete pregnancy and parturition or were subjected to Caesarian section on day 5, 10 or 15 of the pregnancy. When DMBA was administered i.v. to animals which had been allowed to complete a full-term pregnancy, only 14% developed tumours, compared to 70% in age-matched nulliparous controls. Termination of the pregnancy on days 5, 10 or 15 was as effective in reducing tumour incidence as full-term gestation and parturition, but still resulted in partial and statistically significant inhibition, compared to age-matched nulliparous controls. There was no significant difference in 3H-thymidine labelling index (LI) at the time of DMBA treatment in the parous rats compared to age-matched nulliparous controls. We also observed no significant differences in the morphological development of the mammary gland in parous and nulliparous rats of the same age. These results indicate that the protective mechanism may not lie in the mammary gland per se, but may indeed be a host factor, such as hormonal or immunological changes occurring in the host as a result of the pregnancy.     

Prevention of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats by 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5)

BACKGROUND: Although the active form of vitamin D, i.e., 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), is a potent cell-differentiating agent, its use in cancer prevention or therapy is precluded because it induces excessive blood calcium levels (hypercalcemia). However, less calcemic or noncalcemic synthetic analogues of vitamin D(3) are poorly effective against mammary carcinogenesis. We synthesized an analogue of vitamin D(5), 1alpha-hydroxy-24-ethylcholecalciferol (1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5)), which was less calcemic than 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and prevented the development of precancerous lesions in mammary glands. Here, we evaluate its efficacy in an experimental rat mammary carcinogenesis model. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5) beginning 2 weeks before carcinogen treatment. Animals received an intravenous injection of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea at 80 days of age and continued to receive dietary 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5) for an additional 105 days. Tumor incidence and multiplicity were determined, and plasma concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were measured. The efficacy of 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5) at different stages of carcinogenesis was determined in mouse mammary gland organ culture. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The tumor incidence was reduced from 80% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 51.9%-95.7%) in control rats to 53.3% (95% CI = 26.6%-78.8%) and 46.6% (95% CI = 21.3%-73.4%) in rats treated with 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5) at 25 microg/kg diet and 50 microg/kg diet, respectively. The tumor multiplicity was reduced from 1.6 tumors per rat to 1.2 (95% CI for the difference = -0.45 to 1.25; P=.34) and 0.8 (95% CI for the difference = 0.14-1.46; P =.02), respectively. There was no statistically significant increase in the plasma calcium or phosphorus concentration at either dose level. The vitamin D(5) analogue was effective during both the initiation and the promotion stages of mammary lesion formation in organ culture. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D(5) reduces the incidence of mammary carcinogenesis in vivo. This analogue appears to be a good candidate for further development as a chemopreventive agent.     

The retinoid X receptor-selective retinoid,LGD1069, prevents the development of estrogen receptor-negative mammary tumors in transgenic mice

Despite the effectiveness of the selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators in preventing ER-positive breast cancer, chemopreventive agents still need to be developed for the prevention of ER-negative breast cancers. The naturally occurring retinoids are promising agents for the prevention of human cancers but are too toxic for long-term chronic use. We previously demonstrated that the chemopreventive effects of the retinoids could be separated from the toxicity by using an RXR-selective retinoid, LGD1069. The studies described here demonstrate that LGD1069 effectively suppresses ER-negative tumor development in mouse mammary tumor virus-erbB2 transgenic mice with minimal toxicity. These studies suggest that receptor-selective retinoids are promising agents for the prevention of breast cancer and that they may be particularly useful in preventing ER-negative breast cancer.     

Tip30 deletion in MMTV-Neu mice leads to enhanced EGFR signaling and development of estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-negative mammary tumors

Estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-negative (ER+/PR-) breast cancers account for 15% to 25% of all human breast cancers and display more aggressive malignant characteristics than ER+/PR+ cancers. However, the molecular mechanism underlying development of ER+/PR- breast cancers still remains elusive. We show here that Tip30 deletion dramatically accelerated the onset of mammary tumors in the MMTV-Neu mouse model of breast cancer. The mammary tumors arising in Tip30(-/-)/MMTV-Neu mice were exclusively ER+/PR-. The growth of these ER+/PR- tumors depends not only on estrogen but also on progesterone despite the absence of detectable PR. Tip30 is predominantly expressed in ER+ mammary epithelial cells, and its deletion leads to an increase in the number of phospho-ERα-positive cells in mammary glands and accelerated activation of Akt in MMTV-Neu mice. Moreover, we found that Tip30 regulates the EGFR pathway through controlling endocytic downregulation of EGFR protein level and signaling. Together, these findings suggest a novel mechanism in which loss of Tip30 cooperates with Neu activation to enhance the activation of Akt signaling, leading to the development of ER+/PR- mammary tumors.