Analysis of thymidylate synthase gene amplification and of mRNA levels in the cell cycle

MiR-548c-3p through suppressing Tyms and Abcg2 increases the sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil

Background

Colorectal cancer, is one of most prevalent the cancer in the world. 5-Fluorouracil is a standard chemotherapeutic drug while the acquisition of resistance to 5-Fluorouracil is one of the problems during treatment. In this study, we aimed to find the miRNAs that modulate the expression of Tyms and Abcg2 as resistance-inducing genes in the resistant cell lines to 5-Fluorouracil.

Methods

5-Fluorouracil-resistant HCT116 and SW480 cell lines were generated by consecutive treatment of cells with 5-Fluorouracil. This resistance induction was validated by MTT assays. The expression of the Tyms and Abcg2 gene and miR-548c-3p were studied by quantitative real-time PCR in the cell lines.

Results

We hypothesized that miR-548c-3p is targeting Tyms and Abcg2 simultaneously. Increased expression Tyms gene in the two most resistant cell lines derived from HCT116 and all resistant cell lines derived from SW480 except one were seen. Increased expression of Abcg2 was observed in the most resistant HCT116-derived cell line and all resistant cell lines, derived from SW480. In all resistant cell lines, the expression of miR-548c-3p was decreased.

Conclusion

It can be concluded downregulation of miR548c-3p is in line with Tyms and Abcg2 overexpression in resistant cell lines to 5-Fluorouracil.

Natural antisense (rTSalpha) RNA induces site-specific cleavage of thymidylate synthase mRNA

The 3' untranslated region (UTR) of rTSalpha RNA is complementary (i.e., antisense) to human thymidylate synthase (TS) RNA. When HEp2 cells (human epidermoid carcinoma) progressed from late-log to plateau phase growth, ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) revealed an inverse correlation between the levels of rTSalpha RNA and TS mRNA, suggesting a possible effect of rTSalpha RNA on TS mRNA levels. HEp2 cells expressing a Tet-On transactivator were transiently co-transfected with pHook-1 and a construct containing rTSalpha (protein and antisense RNA), rTSalphaDelta3' (rTSalpha protein only), rTSalpha-3' (antisense RNA-luciferase) or luciferase. Transfected cells were selected and evaluated for the effects of induced transgene expression on TS mRNA. Induced expression of transfected rTSalpha or rTSalpha-3', but not rTSalphaDelta3' or luciferase, resulted in decreased TS mRNA levels as measured by RPA. These results demonstrated that the antisense region of rTSalpha RNA is necessary and sufficient for this down-regulation of TS mRNA. RPA for TS mRNA also showed the enhanced appearance of two partial-length protected fragments in rTSalpha or rTSalpha-3' transfected cells. RPA stringency evaluations and primer extension assays indicated that TS mRNA is cleaved in vivo in a site-specific manner. These data demonstrate that rTS gene expression likely plays a role in down-regulating TS through a natural RNA-based antisense mechanism.

Antifolates: current developments

In summary, the problem of MTX resistance has been approached in a mechanistic fashion, based on the wealth of information generated over the years. To date, these strategies have produced several new classes of anticancer drugs, with a variety of anticipated and unanticipated mechanisms of action. Several of these have shown promising preclinical activity, and these are moving into more stringent testing in the clinic.

rTS gene expression is associated with altered cell sensitivity to thymidylate synthase inhibitors

rTS is a recently discovered gene, phylogenetically conserved and found to be expressed in a wide variety of cell lines. rTS has also been found to be overexpressed in two cell lines resistant to FU and to MTX. The MTX-resistant cell line was found to have a high degree of cross resistance to several TS inhibitors. An apparent paradox to this correlation of rTS overexpression and resistance to TS inhibitors is the observation that expression of transfected rTS alpha results in enhanced sensitivity of cells to the TS inhibitor prodrug TFT and a modest increase in resistance to FUdR. Since immunoprecipitation of TS leads to the co-immunoprecipitation of two proteins within the expected molecular weight range of the two rTS proteins, it may be that both proteins bind to TS in vivo and modify its activity. Preliminary data substantiate this conclusion. It is conceivable that the ratio of the two rTS proteins associated with TS in vivo may differentially alter TS activity depending upon their stoichiometry or possibly posttranslational modification. Thus it may be possible for rTS to confer greater sensitivity to one pyrimidine analog (e.g., TFT) which is a product analog but to increase resistance or have a minor effect on a substrate analog (e.g., FdUMP) by stabilizing different conformations of TS. The structure of the rTS proteins suggests they are expected to have catalytic activity which involves proton abstraction from an alpha-carbon of a carboxyl group. Whether this enzyme activity is functional and related to pyrimidine metabolism awaits further study.

Effect of hammerhead ribozyme against human thymidylate synthase on the cytotoxicity of thymidylate synthase inhibitors

One of the resistance mechanisms to folate-based thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors is the increase in TS activity in tumor cells. Human B lymphoblastoid cell line (W1L2) was made resistant to a lipophilic non-polyglutamatable TS inhibitor (ZM249148), and the subline (W1L2:R179) showed a 20-fold increase in TS enzyme activity with concomitant overexpression of TS mRNA. To overcome the resistance, we designed a ribozyme that can cleave the CUC sequences in a triple tandemly repeated sequence of TS mRNA. Expression of this ribozyme in W1L2:R179 cells transfected with Epstein Barr virus-based expression vector resulted in sensitization to TS inhibitors concomitantly with a decrease of TS expression. The ribozyme expressed in transfectants was shown to be functional in cleaving artificial TS RNA in vitro.

Thymidylate synthase gene amplification in human colon cancer cell lines resistant to 5-fluorouracil

A series of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-resistant human colon H630 cancer cell lines were established by continuous exposure of cells to 5-FU. The concentration of 5-FU required to inhibit cell proliferation by 50% (IC50) in the parent colon line (H630) was 5.5 microM. The 5-FU IC50 values for the resistant H630-R1, H630-R10, and H630-R cell lines were 11-, 29-, and 27-fold higher than that for the parent H630 cell line. Using both the radioenzymatic 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine-5'-monophosphate (FdUMP) binding and catalytic assays for measurement of thymidylate synthase (TS) enzyme activity, there was significantly increased TS activity in resistant H630-R1 (13- and 23-fold), H630-R10 (37- and 40-fold), and H630-R (24- and 34-fold) lines, for binding and catalytic assays, respectively, compared with the parent H630 line. The level of TS protein, as determined by western immunoblot analysis, was increased markedly in resistant H630-R1 (23-fold), H630-R10 (33-fold), and H630-R (26-fold) cells. Northern analysis revealed elevations in TS mRNA levels in H630-R1 (18-fold), H630-R10 (39-fold), and H630-R (36-fold) cells relative to parent H630 cells. Although no major rearrangements of the TS gene were noted by Southern analysis, there was significant amplification of the TS gene in 5-FU-resistant cells, which was confirmed by DNA slot blot analysis. These studies demonstrate that continuous exposure of human colon cancer cells to 5-FU leads to TS gene amplification and overexpression of TS protein with resultant development of fluoropyrimidine resistance.

Interaction of pyridoxal phosphate with thymidylate synthase: spectral and equilibrium dialysis studies

1. Changes in the spectrum of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) were produced by adding an equimolar amount of native thymidylate synthase, but not by adding denatured enzyme or enzyme modified by sulfhydryl-blocking reagents. 2. The dissociation constant of the thymidylate synthase-PLP complex determined by equilibrium dialysis was 9 +/- 1.6 microM, the maximum number of PLP molecules bound per molecule of native thymidylate synthase was 2.5 +/- 0.4, and the Hill coefficient was 0.97. 3. No evidence of PLP binding was found with denatured thymidylate synthase, and only slight binding was observed when enzyme SH groups were blocked or when the active site was blocked with 5-fluorodeoxyuridylate (FdUMP) and methylene tetrahydrofolate. 4. The presence of dUMP, dTMP, or FdUMP interfered with the binding of PLP to thymidylate synthase, and the presence of equimolar amounts of PLP interfered with the binding of dUMP.

Understanding anticancer drug resistance: opportunities for modulation and impact on new drug design

As our understanding of the mechanisms of cytotoxic drug resistance improves, it becomes feasible to circumvent this resistance through the rational design of non cross-resistant analogues or modulation of existing agents. Although this knowledge has yet to make a major impact on the success of cancer therapy, there are good reasons to be optimistic that this increased knowledge will be translated into more effective therapy in the future.

Deoxycytidine kinase, thymidine kinase and cytidine deaminase and the formation of Ara-CTP in leukemic cells in different phases of the cell cycle

In this study we investigated the Ara-CTP-forming capacity of leukemic cells in different phases of the cell cycle. Cells from two leukemic cell lines and leukemic bone marrow cells from patients and rats (BNML model) with acute myelocytic leukemia were separated according to cell cycle phase by means of an albumin density gradient in a specially designed sedimentation chamber. We found that the activity of CdR kinase and Cyt deaminase is much less influenced by cell-cycle phase progression than TdR kinase activity. For the leukemic cell lines HL-60 and BNML-CL/O CdR kinase activity is even independent of cell-cycle phase. In addition, Ara-CTP formation is not restricted to cells in S-phase. Cell cycle phase-independent Ara-CTP formation creates a situation in which cells which are not in S-phase during exposure to Ara-C might undergo the cytotoxic effects of Ara-C as soon as they enter S-phase.

A method for the synchronization of cultured cells with aphidicolin: application to the large-scale synchronization of L1210 cells and the study of the cell cycle regulation of thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase

The DNA polymerase alpha inhibitor, aphidicolin, was employed to synchronize large-scale suspension cultures (10(9) cells) of murine L1210 leukemia cells. On the basis of the doubling time and cell cycle distribution for logarithmically growing L1210 cells, a synchronization protocol was devised involving a temporal sequence of two 12-h exposures to aphidicolin, separated by an 6-h interval in drug-free medium. After the second aphidicolin treatment, resuspension of cells into drug-free medium resulted in the rapid onset of DNA synthesis as assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation and DNA fluorescence with flow cytometry. By 6 h after aphidicolin removal, the cells progressed into the G2-M phase and cell division was initiated. DNA synthesis was minimal during this time and remained low through 9 h when the majority of the cells were in G1 phase. Only low levels of cytotoxicity were observed when L1210 cells were treated with aphidicolin in this fashion. The levels of both thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase were relatively constant during cell cycle transit, following release from the aphidicolin blockade. Similarly, the levels of the corresponding mRNA transcripts for these enzymes, measured by Northern blot hybridizations, remained essentially unchanged through most of the cell cycle, increasing approximately twofold only as the cells entered G1 phase. Whereas intracellular dihydrofolate reductase catalytic activity was relatively unchanged throughout the cell cycle, as reflected in the metabolism of [3H]folic acid to reduced folate forms, a marked increase in in situ thymidylate synthase activity occurred during S phase that was tightly linked to the rate of DNA synthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulation of thymidylate synthase gene expression in mouse fibroblasts synchronized by mitotic selection

Previous studies have shown that thymidylate synthase gene expression is regulated over a wide range in response to growth stimulation in cultured mouse fibroblasts. In the present study we show that the gene is also regulated during the cell cycle in continuously growing cells. Our analyses were conducted with a fluorodeoxyuridine-resistant mouse 3T6 cell line that overproduces thymidylate synthase and its mRNA by a factor of 50 due to gene amplification. Cells were synchronized by mitotic selection. RNA blot analyses showed that the amount of thymidylate synthase mRNA increased 5- to 10-fold as cells progressed from G1 through the middle of S phase. S1 nuclease protection assays showed that the pattern of 5' termini of thymidylate synthase mRNA was the same in G1 and S phase. Despite the large increase in thymidylate synthase mRNA content, the level of the enzyme increased only by a factor of 2 as cells progressed from G1 to mid S phase. This apparent discrepancy can be explained by the fact that the enzyme is highly stable.

Thymidylate synthase: a target for anticancer drug design

N10-Propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (CB3717) has proved to be an interesting recent addition to the spectrum of antifolate drugs. Its sole biochemical locus of action appears to be thymidylate synthase, an inhibitory effect which is potentiated by intracellular polyglutamation. The drug has shown a spectrum of clinical activity and toxicity which is unusual for an antimetabolite. It seems likely that the former is attributable to its inhibition of TS, whilst the latter relates to the drug's poor aqueous solubility at physiological pH. Seminal to the discovery of a new generation of more selective thymidylate synthase inhibitors has been the observation that the C2 desamino derivative (CB3804) retains the useful TS-inhibitory and cytotoxic properties of CB3717. It is some two orders of magnitude more water soluble than CB3717 at physiological pH and appears not to produce, in the mouse, the liver and kidney toxicities which have restricted the wider use of CB3717. Thus, in desamino CB3717, it has proved possible to separate the structural features determining antitumor activity from those which are responsible for its systemic toxicities. These encouraging results prompted systematic structure-activity studies of other C2-modified quinazolines, which revealed that the desirable properties of the desamino compound are not unique. Results with two other CB3717 analogues, the C2-methyl (CB3819) and C2-methoxy (CB3828), have been discussed in the present paper. All three CB3717 analogues exhibit TS-inhibitory activities which are broadly comparable to those of the parent drug. In continuous culture CB3828 is as cytotoxic as CB3717, while CB3804 and CB3819 are at least an order of magnitude more potent. As with the desamino derivative (CB3804), so CB3819 is substantially more water soluble than CB3717 and is apparently devoid of its major toxicities. However, the effects of CB3828 on whole cell TS inhibition, both in vitro and in vivo, are rapidly reversible upon removal of exogenous compound, while the inhibition is sustained in similar experiments with the other three compounds. It is likely that these effects relate to the extent to which the various derivatives are converted to polyglutamate species and retained intracellularly. With the exception of CB3828, all are good substrates for FPGS, and the polyglutamate derivatives of CB3717, CB3804 and CB3819 are better TS inhibitors than the corresponding monoglutamates. CB3804 and CB3819 are less toxic and are cleared from the plasma much more rapidly than CB3717, so that the rate and extent of their polyglutamation may be an essential prerequisite of pharmacological activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Formation and retention and biological activity of N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (CB3717) polyglutamates in L1210 cells in vitro

The formation, retention and biological activity of the polyglutamate metabolites of the thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor N10-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (CB3717) has been investigated in L1210 murine leukaemia cells grown in vitro. CB3717 polyglutamates were measured by HPLC using high specific activity 3H-CB3717. Following the exposure of cells to 50 microM CB3717 for 6, 12 and 24 hr total cellular radioactivity corresponded to 4.5 +/- 1.5, 6.8 +/- 3.6 and 5.9 +/- 3.4 microM drug derived material, respectively. Of this material, greater than 70%, 57 +/- 3% and 51 +/- 5% was in the form of unchanged CB3717 at 6, 12 and 24 hr respectively. The remaining radioactivity was associated with polyglutamate metabolites of CB3717, predominantly the tetra and pentaglutamate forms. Following the removal of extracellular drug after incubation for 24 hr and resuspension in drug free medium, unchanged CB3717 was lost rapidly from the cells such that after 6 hr it accounted for only 5% of total cellular radioactivity. In contrast, levels of CB3717 tetra and pentaglutamates declined solely due to dilution during cell division. Measurement of the whole cell TS activity by 3H-deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA indicated that, despite the loss of unchanged CB3717 from the cell, enzyme activity remained suppressed (less than 10% of control) for at least 24 hr after resuspension in drug free medium. The TS inhibitory activity of the polyglutamated metabolites of CB3717 was investigated using enzyme purified from L1210 cells. As inhibitors, the metabolites were 26-, 87-, 119- and 114-fold more potent than CB3717 as the di-, tri-, tetra- and pentaglutamate forms, respectively. However, as inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase prepared from rat liver, CB3717 polyglutamates were no more than 5-fold More potent than the parent compound. This study has shown that CB3717 can undergo polyglutamation in tumour cells and that the metabolites are preferentially retained giving rise to prolonged TS inhibition. By virtue of their potent TS inhibitory activity these metabolites are, therefore, most probably the intracellular effectors of CB3717 cytotoxicity.