Inhibition of anchorage-independent growth and lung metastasis of A549 lung carcinoma cells by IkappaBbeta

To evaluate the role of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway in oncogenic transformation, we expressed IkappaBbeta, a specific inhibitor of NF-kappaB, in two human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, A549 and H441. Expression of IkappaBbeta significantly reduced NF-kappaB activation induced by cotransfection with p65/RelA or TNF-alpha and abrogated the basal NF-kappaB activity in A549 cells. Transfection of IkappaBbeta into A549, H441 and K-ras-transformed NIH3T3 cells suppressed anchorage-independent growth as measured by colony formation in soft agar. Anchorage-independent growth of vector-transfected A549 cells in reduced serum could be enhanced by both EGF and IGF-I. In contrast, only EGF but not IGF-I could induce anchorage-independent growth of IkappaBbeta-expressing A549 cells, suggesting that the IGF-I signaling pathway regulating growth and survival may be blocked by IkappaBbeta. Interestingly, expression of IkappaBbeta suppressed growth of A549 cells in low serum in vitro without affecting in vivo growth subcutaneously in nude mice. However, metastatic growth of IkappaBbeta-expressing A549 cells in the lungs of nude mice was significantly inhibited. These results provide evidence that NFkappaB plays an important role in anchorage-independent growth and metastatic growth of lung carcinoma cells.     

Induction of tumor suppression and glandular differentiation of A549 lung carcinoma cells by dominant-negative IGF-I receptor

Overexpression or activation of insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) has been observed in many human cancers including breast, lung, colon and gastric carcinomas. We demonstrate that inhibition of the endogenous insulin-like growth factor I receptor by stable expression of a dominant-negative IGF-IR represses the transforming activity in vitro and tumorigenicity of human lung carcinoma cells A549 in vivo. The suppression of tumorigenicity in nude mice is correlated with the induction of glandular differentiation. In addition, functional inhibition of the endogenous receptor dramatically increases the sensitivity of A549 cells to a variety of apoptotic signals including UV irradiation and proteasome inhibitors. These effects are due to the formation of a stable heterocomplex of the dominant-negative receptor with the endogenous wild type receptor which reduces the kinase activity of the latter by twofold. Thus, inhibition of the IGF-IR signaling pathway not only suppresses tumorigenicity but also enhances sensitivity to apoptosis-inducing agents. Antagonizing IGF-IR signaling by promoting tumor differentiation and enhancing sensitivity to apoptotic death are potential cancer therapeutic approaches.     

Protective effects of anti-ricin A-chain RNA aptamer against ricin toxicity

AIM： To investigate the therapeutic potential of an RNA ligand （aptamer） specific for the catalytic ricin A-chain （RTA）, the protective effects of a 31-nucleo- tide RNA aptamer （31RA）, which formed a high affinity complex with RTA, against ricin-induced toxicity in cell- based luciferase translation and cell cytotoxicity assays were evaluated. METHODS： To test the therapeutic potential of anti- RTA aptamers in Chinese hamster ovary （CliO） AA8 cells stably transfected with a tetracycline regulatable promoter, ricin ribotoxicity was measured us- ing luciferase and ricin-induced cytotoxicity was ascertained by MTS cell proliferation assay with tet- razolium compound [3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）- 5-（3-carboxymethoxyphenyl）-2-（4-sulfophenyl）-2H- tetrazolium]. RESULTS： Inhibition of protein synthesis by ricin in CliO AA8 cells resulted in diminished luciferase activity and treatment with polyclonal antibody against degly- cosylated RTA （dgA） neutralized the inhibitory effects of ricin on luciferase activity and protected against ricin-induced cytotoxicity as measured by MTS assay. The 31RA anti-RTA aptamer inhibited the translation of luciferase mRNA in cell-free reticulocyte translation assay. 31RA aptamer also partially neutralized the inhibitory effects of ricin on luciferase activity and partially protected against ricin-induced cytotoxicity in CliO AA8 cells. CONCLUSION： We have shown that anti-RTA RNA aptamer can protect against ricin ribotoxicity in cell- based luciferase and cell cytotoxicity assays. Hence, RNA aptamer that inhibits RTA enzymatic activity represents a novel class of nucleic acid inhibitor that has the potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of ricin intoxication.     

Correlation of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 expression with clinical outcomes of colorectal cancer patients of different race/ethnicity

AIM: To evaluate the role of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) expression in prognosis and survival of colorectal cancer patients with different ethnic backgrounds. METHODS: Because NDRG1 is a downstream target of p53 and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α),we examined NDRG1 expression together with p53 and HIF-1α by immunohistochemistry. A total of 157 colorectal cancer specimens including 80 from Japanese patients and 77 from US patients were examined. The correlation between protein expression with clinicopathological features and survival after surgery was analyzed.in colorectal tumor compared with normal epithelium in both Japanese and US patient groups. Expression of NDRG1 protein was significantly correlated with lymphatic invasion,venous invasion,depth of invasion,histopathological type,and Dukes' stage in Japanese colorectal cancer patients. NDRG1 expression was correlated to histopathological type,Dukes' stage and HIF-1α expression in US-Caucasian patients but not in US-African American patients. Interestingly,Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that NDRG1 expression correlated significantly with poorer survival in US-African American patients but not in other patient groups. However,in p53-positive US cases,NDRG1 positivity correlated significantly with better survival. In addition,NDRG1 expression also correlated significantly with improved survival in US patients with stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ tumors without chemotherapy. In Japanese patients with stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ tumors,strong NDRG1 staining in p53-positive tumors correlated significantly with improved survival but negatively in patients without chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: NDRG1 expression was correlated with various clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer depending on the race/ethnicity of the patients. NDRG1 may serve as a biological basis for the disparity of clinical outcomes of colorectal cancer patients with different ethnic backgrounds.     

Oropharyngeal aspiration of ricin as a lung challenge model for evaluation of the therapeutic index of antibodies against ricin A-chain for post-exposure treatment

To investigate the effectiveness of passive antibody treatment as post-exposure therapy for ricin, we had developed an oropharyngeal aspiration model for ricin lethal challenge and antibody administration. When polyclonal anti-deglycosylated ricin A-chain antibody (dgA Ab) was administered between 1-18 hr after ricin challenge, all animals survived while delayed treatment to 24 hr resulted in 30% survival. The protective effects of dgA Ab correlated with inhibition of apoptosis in the lungs in vivo and in RAW264.7 macrophage and Jurkat T cells in vitro. In addition, ricin-induced cell cytotoxicity was inhibited by both dgA Ab and RAC18 monoclonal antibody against ricin A-chain. Administration of RAC18 monoclonal antibody at 4, 18, and 24 hr after ricin exposure resulted in 100%, 60% and 50% protection, respectively, suggesting that the therapeutic window for passive vaccination extended to at least 24 hr post-ricin lung challenge.     

Role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) in cell cycle checkpoint activated by the protease inhibitor N-acetyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-norleucinal

The cysteine protease inhibitor N-acetyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-norleucinal (LLnL) inhibited the growth of the Calu-1 lung carcinoma cells and induced a prolonged cell cycle arrest in the S phase. c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) participate in cellular responses to mitogenic stimuli, environmental stresses, and apoptotic signals but its role in cell cycle checkpoint control has not been elucidated. In this report, we examined the role of JNK in LLnL-induced S phase checkpoint by overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of JNK1 (JNK1-APF) in Calu-1 cells. Expression of high levels of JNK1-APF blocked the growth-inhibitory effects of LLnL and abrogated S phase arrest induced by LLnL. These results support the role of JNK in the activation of cell cycle checkpoint induced by LLnL.     

Lung-specific expression of dominant-negative mutant p53 in transgenic mice increases spontaneous and benzo(a)pyrene-induced lung cancer

Mutations in the p53 gene have been implicated to play an important role in the development of various human cancers. To evaluate the importance of p53 in lung cancer, a transgenic mouse model was established by utilizing the Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) promoter to target the expression of a dominant-negative mutant form of p53 (dnp53) in the lung. In two transgenic CCSP-dnp53 founder lines, the dnp53 protein was expressed exclusively in the lungs. The incidence of spontaneous lung cancer in 18-month-old transgenic mice was 45%, whereas that in age-matched control mice was 20%. The relative risk of lung tumors in CCSP-dnp53 mice was 2.3 times that of wild-type mice (exact confidence limits of 0.69, 17.5). In addition to the increased incidence of spontaneous lung tumor, these mice were more susceptible to the development of lung adenocarcinoma after exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Six months after intratracheal instillation of benzo(a)pyrene, the tumor incidence in wild-type and CCSP-dnp53 mice was 39% and 73%, respectively. The risk of lung tumors was 25.3 times greater in BaP-treated mice adjusted for transgene expression (95% confidence limits of 3.29, 678, mid-p corrected). These results suggest that p53 function is important for protecting mice from both spontaneous and BaP-induced lung cancers.     

Glucocorticoids inhibit lung cancer cell growth through both the extracellular signal-related kinase pathway and cell cycle regulators

Glucocorticoids inhibit the proliferation of various cell types, but the mechanism of this inhibition remains unclear. We investigated the effect of dexamethasone on non-small cell lung cancer cell growth and cell cycle progression. We showed that dexamethasone suppresses the proliferation of A549 and Calu-1 cells, with accumulation of cells in G1/G0 stage of the cell cycle, as determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Western blot analysis confirmed that this is associated with hypophosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. Using Western blot analysis and in vitro kinase assays, we found that dexamethasone results in decreased activity of CDK2 and 4, decreased levels of cyclin D, E2F, and Myc, and increased levels of the CDK inhibitor p21(Cip1). In addition, we found that dexamethasone decreases activity of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). The kinetics of all these changes indicate that inhibition of the ERK/MAPK pathway precedes the cell cycle effects, suggesting that regulation of this MAPK-signaling pathway may be an alternative mechanism for glucocorticoid-induced cell cycle arrest and growth inhibition.     

Erratum to: Rapid chemokinetic movement and the invasive potential of lung cancer cells; a functional molecular study

This is a correction of an earlier published article.     

d-limonene prevents ultraviolet irradiation:Induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in Skh1 mouse skin

AIM: To establish whether d-limonene can protect against induction of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers(CPDs) and sunburn in ultraviolet irradiation(UVR) irradiated mouse skin. METHODS: The d-limonene was given in 4 daily oral 20 μL aliquots at different concentrations as follows: 100%, 10% or 1% in liponate and 100% liponate as control. One day after the final d-limonene treatment, the mice were anesthetized with i.p. sodium pentobarbital and placed in boxes to allow a rectangular(2 cm × 4 cm) region of dorsal skin to be irradiated with a single, ultraviolet radiation dose of 1.5 kJ /m2. Skin samples from UVR irradiated area were obtained at 5 min after UVR exposure for CPD detection, at 6 d after UVR exposure, skin samples were obtained for in situ analysis for N-myc downstream regulating gene 1(NDRG1)(a stress response gene), proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA)(an S-phase marker) and filaggrin(a barrier integrity gene). Based on immunohistochemistry staining, the number of CPD, NDRG1 and PCNA positive cells, as well as unstained cells was counted in 3 different individually selected areas and percentage of positive cells was established. RESULTS: CPD reduction occurred as follows: liponate only-none; 1% d-limonene-54.3% reduction of CPDs; 10% d-limonene-73.4% reduction of CPDs; 100% d-limonene-86.1% reduction of CPDs, the latter equivalent to a UV dose of only 0.21 k J/m2. Sunburn was also dose-dependently reduced by d-limonene. The NDRG1 protein was strongly induced by UVR(70.0% ± 10.4% positive cells), but 1% d-limonene reduced the response to 64.6% ± 9.2%, 10% d-limonene reduced the response to 16.2% ± 3.4% and 100% d-limonene reduced the response to 6.3% ± 1.7%. Similarly, PCNA was 52.4% ± 9.9% positive in UVR exposed skin, and 1% d-limonene reduced it to 42.9% ± 8.1%, 10% d-limonene reduced it to 36.2% ± 6.7% and 100% d-limonene reduce it to 13.8% ± 3.4%. NDRG1 and PCNA were increased by d-limonene or UVR separately, but combined they produced less than either agent separately owing to the protective effect of pre-exposure to d-limonene. CONCLUSION: Overall d-limonene acted to protect against ultraviolet B-induced DNA photodamage and sunburn in UVR exposed skin.