Hepatocarcinogenic susceptibility of rasH2 mice to troglitazone in a two-stage hepatocarcinogenesis model

Six-week-old rasH2 mice were injected intraperitoneally with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) after partial hepatectomy and administrated 0 or 6,000 ppm troglitazone (TRG) for 10 weeks. Relative liver weight of females increased significantly in the DEN + TRG group compared to the DEN-alone group. The numbers of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase- and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells tended to increase in both the sexes in the DEN + TRG group; however, these changes were not significantly different from those in the DEN-alone group. Levels of gene expressions for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGFB (related to angiogenesis), tropomyosin 1 (Tpm1) and transforming growth factor-β (related to ras/MAPK cascade activation), and PCNA (related to cell proliferation) in females were significantly higher in the DEN + TRG than in the untreated control group but not in the DEN-alone group. Only Tpm1 gene had significantly higher expression in the DEN + TRG group than in the DEN-alone group. These results suggest that rasH2 mice are not susceptible to TRG in a two-stage hepatocarcinogenesis model.     

Evaluation of in vivo liver genotoxic potential of Wy-14,643 and piperonyl butoxide in rats subjected to two-week repeated oral administration

Wy-14,643 (WY), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist, and piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a pesticide synergist, induce oxidative stress and promote hepatocarcinogenesis in the liver of rodents. These chemicals belong to a class of non-genotoxic carcinogens, but DNA damage secondary to the oxidative stress resulting from reactive oxygen species generation is suspected in rodents given these chemicals. To examine whether WY or PBO have DNA-damaging potential in livers of rats subjected to repeated oral administration for 14 days, the in vivo liver comet assay was performed in partially hepatectomized rats, and the expression of some DNA-repair genes was examined. Then, to examine whether they have genotoxic potential, the in vivo liver initiation assay was performed in rats. In the comet assay, positive results were obtained at 3 h after the last treatment of WY, and some DNA-repair genes such as Apex1, Mlh1, Xrcc5, and Gadd45 were up-regulated in the liver. In the liver initiation assay, negative results were obtained for both WY and PBO. The results of the present study suggest that WY, but not PBO, causes some DNA damage in livers of rats, but such DNA damage was repaired by the increased activity of some DNA repair genes and may not lead to a DNA mutation.     

A case of myxofibrosarcoma of the maxilla with difficulty in preoperative diagnosis

Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a very rare fibroblast-derived sarcoma that occurs in the head and neck region. Here, we report the case of a 52-year-old man in whom MFS generated from the maxilla and whose beginning of treatment was considerably delayed because he was initially diagnosed as having a benign inflammatory lesion. Because a definite diagnosis was not obtained via 2 independent biopsies, total maxillectomy was used for both diagnosis and treatment. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses suggested that the tumor was a low-grade MFS. Because soft tissue tumors in the head and neck region are rare and a definite diagnosis is relatively difficult, surgical excision is indispensable if malignancy of the tumor is suspected.     

No effect of sustained systemic growth retardation on the distribution of Reelin-expressing interneurons in the neuron-producing hippocampal dentate gyrus in rats

Reelin signaling plays a role in neuronal migration and positioning during brain development. To clarify the effect of systemic growth retardation on the distribution of Reelin-expressing interneurons in the hilus of the hippocampal dentate gyrus, pregnant rats were fed a synthetic diet with either a normal (20% casein) or low (10% casein) protein concentration from gestational day 10 to postnatal day (PND) 21 at weaning. Male offspring were immunohistochemically examined at PND 21 and on PND 77. Protein-restricted offspring displayed systemic growth retardation through PND 77 and had decreased absolute brain weights and an increased number of external granular cells in the cerebellar cortex, suggestive of retarded brain growth at weaning. However, maternal protein restriction did not change the cellular distribution of immunoreactivity for Reelin, Calbindin-D-28K, or glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 or of NeuN-positive postmitotic neurons in the dentate hilus either at PND 21 or PND 77, which suggests that the population of γ-aminobutyric acid-ergic interneurons involving synthesis of Reelin was not affected. Furthermore, as well as the distribution of hilar neurons expressing neurogenesis-related FoxG1, cell proliferation and apoptosis in the subgranular zone were unaffected through PND 77. These results suggest that systemic growth retardation caused by maternal protein restriction does not affect neuronal migration and postnatal neurogenesis of the dentate gyrus resulting in unaltered distribution of Reelin-synthesizing interneurons.     

Aberrant promoter methylation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 gene in human cancers

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is postulated to be a mediator of growth suppression signals. Here, we examined the methylation status of IGFBP-3 to correlate to clinicopathological factors in human cancers. The methylation status of IGFBP-3 was determined by bisulfite DNA sequencing and was correlated with expression semi-quantified by real-time RT-PCR to develop a methylation-specific PCR (MSP) assay for IGFBP-3. Using the MSP assay, we examined the methylation status of IGFBP-3 in gastric cancer (GC), colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer (BC) and malignant mesothelioma (MM). IGFBP-3 methylation was detected in 6 of 13 (46%) and 16 of 24 (67%) GC cell lines and tumors, respectively; 4 of 8 (50%) and 15 of 26 (58%) CRC cell lines and tumors, respectively; 3 of 11 (27%) and 7 of 39 (18%) BC cell lines and tumors, respectively and 1 of 5 (20%) and 18 of 56 (32%) MM cell lines and tumors, respectively. Interestingly, the methylation status of MM specimens from Japanese patients (75%, 12 out of 16 patients) was significantly higher than those from the USA (15%, 6 out of 40 patients) (p < 0.0001), suggesting the presence of ethnic differences in the IGFBP-3 methylation status. We also found that IGFBP-3 methylation was preferentially present in GCs arising in the lower-third of the stomach (p = 0.079). In summary, our results showed that IGFBP-3 methylation played an important role in the silencing of its expression, suggesting that IGFBP-3 may act as a tumor suppressor gene in several human cancers examined.     

Combined treatment with green tea catechins and sodium nitrite selectively promotes rat forestomach carcinogenesis after initiation with N-methyl-N'- nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine

Combined treatment with several phenolic antioxidants and sodium nitrite (NaNO(2)) has already shown to enhance rat forestomach carcinogenesis. In the present experiment, effects of green tea catechins (GTC) alone or in combination with NaNO(2) on gastric carcinogenesis were investigated in a rat two-stage carcinogenesis model. Groups of eight, 6-week-old F344 male rats were given 0.01%N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in their drinking water and 5% NaCl in the diet for 10 weeks for glandular stomach initiation and a single intragastric administration of 100 mg/kg/bodyweight of MNNG at week 9 for forestomach initiation. From week 11, they received either drinking water containing 0.2% NaNO(2) and a diet supplemented with 1% GTC in combination, each individual chemical alone or a basal diet until the end of week 42. In the forestomach, incidences and multiplicities of neoplastic lesions were clearly increased by the combined treatment, in spite of GTC alone suppressing the occurrence of papillomas. In a short-term experiment with similar protocol without MNNG pretreatment, a significant increase of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in forestomach DNA occurred 24 h after the combined treatment, concomitant with erosion and inflammatory cell infiltration. In an in vitro study, electron spin resonance demonstrated hydroxyl radical formation after incubation of epigallocatechin gallate or epicatechin gallate with the NO generator, NOC-7. Thus, GTC alone showed a weak chemopreventive effect on forestomach carcinogenesis, but in the presence of NaNO(2) it exerted a promotive effect which might involve hydroxyl-radical-associated oxidative DNA damage. However, no influence was exerted in the glandular stomach.     

The possible mechanism of enhanced carcinogenesis induced by genotoxic carcinogens in rasH2 mice

Microarray and RT-PCR analyses were performed for the transgene and Ras-related genes in forestomach squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in rasH2 mice; these results were compared with our previous molecular data of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced forestomach SCCs and urethane-induced lung adenomas in rasH2 mice. Overexpression of the transgene was detected in the DMBA-induced SCCs, suggesting that the transgene plays an important role in enhanced carcinogenesis in rasH2 mice. In addition, the mouse endogenous ras genes were up-regulated in the DMBA-induced SCCs, and are probably involved in the tumorigenesis of forestomach SCCs. Genes such as osteopontin, Cks1b, Tpm1, Reck, gelsolin, and amphiregulin that were commonly altered in these three different carcinogen-induced tumors may contribute to the development of tumors in rasH2 mice.     

Caenorhabditis elegans UBX cofactors for CDC-48/p97 control spermatogenesis

UBX (ubiquitin regulatory X) domain-containing proteins act as cofactors for CDC-48/p97. CDC-48/p97 is essential for various cellular processes including retro-translocation in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation, homotypic membrane fusion, nuclear envelope assembly, degradation of ubiquitylated proteins, and cell cycle progression. CDC-48/p97-dependent processes are determined by differential binding of cofactors including UBX proteins, but the cellular functions of UBX proteins have not yet been elucidated, especially in multicellular organisms. Therefore, we investigated the functions of UBX family members using Caenorhabditis elegans, which expresses six UBX proteins, UBXN-1 to UBXN-6. All six UBXN proteins directly interacted with CDC-48.1 and CDC-48.2, and simultaneous knockdown of the expression of three genes, ubxn-1, ubxn-2 and ubxn-3, induced embryonic lethal and sterile phenotypes, but knockdown of either one or two did not. The sterile worms had a feminized germ-line phenotype, producing oocytes but no sperm. UBXN-1, UBXN-2 and UBXN-3 colocalized with CDC-48 in spermatocytes but not mature sperm. TRA-1A, which is a key factor in the sex determination pathway and inhibits spermatogenesis, accumulated in worms in which UBXN-1, UBXN-2 and UBXN-3 had been simultaneously knocked down. Taken together, these results suggest that UBXN-1, UBXN-2 and UBXN-3 are redundant cofactors for CDC-48/p97 and control spermatogenesis via the degradation of TRA-1A.