Immunobiological Characterization of N-Nitrosomethylurea-Induced Rat Breast Carcinomas: Tumoral IL-10 Expression as a Possible Immune Escape Mechanism

VSIG4 expression on macrophages facilitates lung cancer development

Tumor-associated macrophages are a prominent component of lung cancer stroma and contribute to tumor progression. The protein V-set and Ig domain-containing 4 (VSIG4), a novel B7 family-related macrophage protein that has the capacity to inhibit T-cell activation, has a potential role in the development of lung cancer. In this study, 10 human non-small-cell lung cancer specimens were collected and immunohistochemically analyzed for VSIG4 expression. Results showed massive VSIG4(+) cell infiltration throughout the samples. Immunofluorescent double staining showed that VSIG4 was present on CD68(+) macrophages, but absent from CD3(+) T cells, CD31(+) endothelial cells, and CK-18(+) epithelial cells. Moreover, VSIG4 was coexpressed on B7-H1(+) and B7-H3(+) cells in these tumor specimens. Transfection of the VSIG4 gene into 293FT cells demonstrated that the VSIG4 signal could inhibit cocultured CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell proliferation and cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-γ) production in vitro. Interestingly, in a murine tumor model induced by Lewis lung carcinoma cell line, we found that tumors grown in VSIG4-deficient (VSIG4(-/-)) mice were significantly smaller than those found in wild-type littermates. All of these results demonstrate that macrophage-associated VSIG4 is an activator that facilitates lung carcinoma development. Specific targeting of VSIG4 may prove to be a novel, efficacious strategy for the treatment of this carcinoma.

Refractive index of carcinogen-induced rat mammary tumours

Near-infrared optical techniques for clinical breast cancer screening in humans are rapidly advancing. Based on the computational inversion of the photon diffusion process through the breast, these techniques rely on optical tissue models for accurate image reconstruction. Recent interest has surfaced regarding the effect of refractive index variations on these reconstructions. Although many data exist regarding the scattering and absorption properties of normal and diseased tissue, no measurements of refractive index appear in the literature. In this paper, we present near-infrared refractive index data acquired from N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced rat mammary tumours, which are similar in pathology and disease progression to human ductal carcinoma. Eight animals, including one control, were employed in this study, yielding data from 32 tumours as well as adjacent adipose and connective tissues.

Heme oxygenase-1 inhibits rat and human breast cancer cell proliferation: mutual cross inhibition with indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the rate limiting enzyme of heme catabolism whereas indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) catabolizes tryptophan through the kynurenine pathway. We analyzed the expression and biological effects of these enzymes in rat and human breast cancer cell lines. We show that rat (NMU and 13762) but not human cells (MCF-7 and T47D) express HO-1. When overexpressed, we found this enzyme to have anti-proliferative and proapoptotic effects by antioxidant mechanisms in these four cell lines. We show that IDO is expressed by rat and human breast cancer cells. IDO inhibition with 1-MT and siRNA leads to diminished proliferation in rat cells. In contrast, HO-1 negative human cell lines increase proliferation upon IDO inhibition. Since we also demonstrate that IDO inhibits the anti-proliferative HO-1, we propose that IDO has opposite effects on proliferation depending on the coexpression or not of HO-1. We also describe that HO-1 inhibits IDO at the post-translational level through heme starvation. In vivo, we show that rat normal breast expresses HO-1 and IDO. In contrast, N-nitrosomethylurea-induced breast adenocarcinomas only express IDO. In conclusion, we show that HO-1/IDO cross-regulation modulates apoptosis and proliferation in rat and human breast cancer cells.