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Murthy D, Attri KS, Suresh V, Rajacharya GH, Valenzuela CA, Thakur R, Zhao J, Shukla SK, Chaika NV, LaBreck D, Rao CV, Hollingsworth MA, Mehla K, Singh PK. The MUC1-HIF-1α signaling axis regulates pancreatic cancer pathogenesis through polyamine metabolism remodeling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315509121. [PMID: 38547055 PMCID: PMC10998584 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315509121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of polyamine metabolism has been implicated in cancer initiation and progression; however, the mechanism of polyamine dysregulation in cancer is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the role of MUC1, a mucin protein overexpressed in pancreatic cancer, in regulating polyamine metabolism. Utilizing pancreatic cancer patient data, we noted a positive correlation between MUC1 expression and the expression of key polyamine metabolism pathway genes. Functional studies revealed that knockdown of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase 1 (SAT1), a key enzyme involved in polyamine catabolism, attenuated the oncogenic functions of MUC1, including cell survival and proliferation. We further identified a regulatory axis whereby MUC1 stabilized hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), leading to increased SAT1 expression, which in turn induced carbon flux into the tricarboxylic acid cycle. MUC1-mediated stabilization of HIF-1α enhanced the promoter occupancy of the latter on SAT1 promoter and corresponding transcriptional activation of SAT1, which could be abrogated by pharmacological inhibition of HIF-1α or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of HIF1A. MUC1 knockdown caused a significant reduction in the levels of SAT1-generated metabolites, N1-acetylspermidine and N8-acetylspermidine. Given the known role of MUC1 in therapy resistance, we also investigated whether inhibiting SAT1 would enhance the efficacy of FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy. By utilizing organoid and orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse models, we observed that targeting SAT1 with pentamidine improved the efficacy of FOLFIRINOX, suggesting that the combination may represent a promising therapeutic strategy against pancreatic cancer. This study provides insights into the interplay between MUC1 and polyamine metabolism, offering potential avenues for the development of treatments against pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Murthy
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-5950
| | - Kuldeep S. Attri
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-5950
| | - Voddu Suresh
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Girish H. Rajacharya
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Carlos A. Valenzuela
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Ravi Thakur
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Junzhang Zhao
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Surendra K. Shukla
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Nina V. Chaika
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-5950
| | - Drew LaBreck
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Chinthalapally V. Rao
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Michael A. Hollingsworth
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-5950
| | - Kamiya Mehla
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
- Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
- OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
| | - Pankaj K. Singh
- Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198-5950
- Department of Oncology Science, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
- Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
- OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK73104
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Sahu PN, Sen A. Preventing Cancer by Inhibiting Ornithine Decarboxylase: A Comparative Perspective on Synthetic vs. Natural Drugs. Chem Biodivers 2024; 21:e202302067. [PMID: 38404009 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202302067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
This perspective delves into the investigation of synthetic and naturally occurring inhibitors, their patterns of inhibition, and the effectiveness of newly utilized natural compounds as inhibitors targeting the Ornithine decarboxylase enzyme. This enzyme is known to target the MYC oncogene, thereby establishing a connection between polyamine metabolism and oncogenesis in both normal and cancerous cells. ODC activation and heightened polyamine activity are associated with tumor development in numerous cancers and fluctuations in ODC protein levels exert a profound influence on cellular activity for inhibition or suppressing tumor cells. This perspective outlines efforts to develop novel drugs, evaluate natural compounds, and identify promising inhibitors to address gaps in cancer prevention, highlighting the potential of newly designed synthetic moieties and natural flavonoids as alternatives. It also discusses natural compounds with potential as enhanced inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preeti Nanda Sahu
- Department of Chemistry, (CMDD Lab) GITAM (Deemed to be), University, Rushikonda, Visakhapatnam, 530045, India
| | - Anik Sen
- Department of Chemistry, (CMDD Lab) GITAM (Deemed to be), University, Rushikonda, Visakhapatnam, 530045, India
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Chow CL, Havighurst T, Lozar T, Jones TD, Kim K, Bailey HH. Ototoxicity of Long-Term α-Difluoromethylornithine for Skin Cancer Prevention. Laryngoscope 2023; 133:676-682. [PMID: 35620919 PMCID: PMC9701242 DOI: 10.1002/lary.30231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Evaluate the effects of α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on hearing thresholds as part of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS Subjects were randomized and assigned to the control (placebo) or experimental (DFMO) group. DFMO or placebo were administered orally (500 mg/m2 /day) for up to 5 years. RESULTS Subjects taking DFMO had, on average, increased hearing thresholds from baseline across the frequency range compared to subjects in the control group. Statistical analysis revealed this was significant in the lower frequency range. CONCLUSIONS This randomized controlled trial revealed the presence of increased hearing thresholds associated with long-term DFMO use. As a whole, DFMO may help prevent and treat certain types of cancers; however, it can result in some degree of hearing loss even when administered at low doses. This study further highlights the importance of closely monitoring hearing thresholds in subjects taking DFMO. Laryngoscope, 133:676-682, 2023.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia L. Chow
- Consulting Audiology Associates, LLC, Oak Park, Illinois, USA
| | - Thomas Havighurst
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Taja Lozar
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Todd D. Jones
- Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - KyungMann Kim
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Howard H. Bailey
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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4
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Wang H, Qin K, Shi D, Wu P, Hao X, Liu H, Gao J, Li J, Wu Z, Li S. A new 68Ga-labeled ornithine derivative for PET imaging of ornithine metabolism in tumors. Amino Acids 2023:10.1007/s00726-023-03250-z. [PMID: 36809562 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-023-03250-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Ornithine metabolism plays a vital role in tumorigenesis. For cancer cells, ornithine is mainly used as a substrate for ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) for the synthesis of polyamines. The ODC as a key enzyme of polyamine metabolism has become an important target for cancer diagnosis and treatment. To non-invasively detect the levels of ODC expression in malignant tumors, we have synthesized a novel 68Ga-labeled ornithine derivative ([68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn). The synthesis time of [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was about 30 min with a radiochemical yield of 45-50% (uncorrected), and the radiochemical purity was > 98%. [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was stable in saline and rat serum. Cellular uptake and competitive inhibition assays using DU145 and AR42J cells demonstrated that the transport pathway of [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was similar to that of L-ornithine, and it could interact with the ODC after transporting into the cell. Biodistribution and micro-positron emission tomography (Micro-PET) imaging studies showed that [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn exhibited rapid tumor uptake and was rapidly excreted through the urinary system. All above results suggested that [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn is a novel amino acid metabolic imaging agent with great potential of tumor diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongliang Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China. .,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China. .,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.
| | - Kaixin Qin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongmei Shi
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Wu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinzhong Hao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Haiyan Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Gao
- National Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Technology (Nonclinical Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals) Research and Development Center, China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan, 030006, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianguo Li
- National Atomic Energy Agency Nuclear Technology (Nonclinical Evaluation of Radiopharmaceuticals) Research and Development Center, China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan, 030006, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhifang Wu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Sijin Li
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China. .,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China. .,Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging of Precision Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People's Republic of China.
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Islam A, Shaukat Z, Hussain R, Gregory SL. One-Carbon and Polyamine Metabolism as Cancer Therapy Targets. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12121902. [PMID: 36551330 PMCID: PMC9775183 DOI: 10.3390/biom12121902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer metabolic reprogramming is essential for maintaining cancer cell survival and rapid replication. A common target of this metabolic reprogramming is one-carbon metabolism which is notable for its function in DNA synthesis, protein and DNA methylation, and antioxidant production. Polyamines are a key output of one-carbon metabolism with widespread effects on gene expression and signaling. As a result of these functions, one-carbon and polyamine metabolism have recently drawn a lot of interest for their part in cancer malignancy. Therapeutic inhibitors that target one-carbon and polyamine metabolism have thus been trialed as anticancer medications. The significance and future possibilities of one-carbon and polyamine metabolism as a target in cancer therapy are discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anowarul Islam
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia
- Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia
| | - Zeeshan Shaukat
- Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia
| | - Rashid Hussain
- Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, Australia
| | - Stephen L. Gregory
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +61-0466987583
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Gu W, Shen H, Xie L, Zhang X, Yang J. The Role of Feedback Loops in Targeted Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer. Front Oncol 2022; 12:800140. [PMID: 35651786 PMCID: PMC9148955 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.800140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with limited treatment options and low long-term survival rates. The complex and variable signal regulation networks are one of the important reasons why it is difficult for pancreatic cancer to develop precise targeted therapy drugs. Numerous studies have associated feedback loop regulation with the development and therapeutic response of cancers including pancreatic cancer. Therefore, we review researches on the role of feedback loops in the progression of pancreatic cancer, and summarize the connection between feedback loops and several signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer, as well as recent advances in the intervention of feedback loops in pancreatic cancer treatment, highlighting the potential of capitalizing on feedback loops modulation in targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weigang Gu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - HongZhang Shen
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lu Xie
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaofeng Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Biliary and Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaofeng Zhang, ; Jianfeng Yang,
| | - Jianfeng Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaofeng Zhang, ; Jianfeng Yang,
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7
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Buddham R, Chauhan S, Narad P, Mathur P. Reconstruction and Exploratory Analysis of mTORC1 Signaling Pathway and Its Applications to Various Diseases Using Network-Based Approach. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 32:365-377. [PMID: 35001007 PMCID: PMC9628786 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2108.08007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine-threonine kinase member of the cellular phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, which is involved in multiple biological functions by transcriptional and translational control. mTOR is a downstream mediator in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and plays a critical role in cell survival. In cancer, this pathway can be activated by membrane receptors, including the HER (or ErbB) family of growth factor receptors, the insulin-like growth factor receptor, and the estrogen receptor. In the present work, we congregated an electronic network of mTORC1 built on an assembly of data using natural language processing, consisting of 470 edges (activations/interactions and/or inhibitions) and 206 nodes representing genes/proteins, using the Cytoscape 3.6.0 editor and its plugins for analysis. The experimental design included the extraction of gene expression data related to five distinct types of cancers, namely, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, hepatic cirrhosis, cervical cancer, glioblastoma, and anaplastic thyroid cancer from Gene Expression Omnibus (NCBI GEO) followed by pre-processing and normalization of the data using R & Bioconductor. ExprEssence plugin was used for network condensation to identify differentially expressed genes across the gene expression samples. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis was performed to find out the over-represented GO terms in the network. In addition, pathway enrichment and functional module analysis of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were also conducted. Our results indicated NOTCH1, NOTCH3, FLCN, SOD1, SOD2, NF1, and TLR4 as upregulated proteins in different cancer types highlighting their role in cancer progression. The MCODE analysis identified gene clusters for each cancer type with MYC, PCNA, PARP1, IDH1, FGF10, PTEN, and CCND1 as hub genes with high connectivity. MYC for cervical cancer, IDH1 for hepatic cirrhosis, MGMT for glioblastoma and CCND1 for anaplastic thyroid cancer were identified as genes with prognostic importance using survival analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richa Buddham
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Noida-201313, India
| | - Sweety Chauhan
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Noida-201313, India
| | - Priyanka Narad
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Noida-201313, India
| | - Puniti Mathur
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh Noida-201313, India,Corresponding author Phone: +91-120-4392204 E-mail:
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8
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Differential Expression of Polyamine Pathways in Human Pancreatic Tumor Progression and Effects of Polyamine Blockade on Tumor Microenvironment. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13246391. [PMID: 34945011 PMCID: PMC8699198 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13246391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival rate of less than 8% and is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Existing therapeutics have failed to improve pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patient outcomes. There has been success with other tumor types in targeting aberrant polyamine upregulation as a therapeutic strategy. The present study identified dysregulation of polyamine pathways to be evident in human PDAC progression. Additionally, reduced survival of pancreatic cancer patients was associated with increased expression of specific polyamine-related genes. Polyamine blockade therapy significantly increased overall survival of pancreatic tumor-bearing mice, along with macrophage presence (F4/80) and significantly increased T-cell co-stimulatory marker (CD86) in the tumor microenvironment. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that a polyamine blockade therapy could potentially prime the tumor microenvironment to be more susceptible to existing therapeutics. Future studies which test polyamine blockade therapy with existing therapeutics could increase the molecular tools available to treat PDAC. Abstract Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Existing therapies only moderately improve pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patient prognosis. The present study investigates the importance of the polyamine metabolism in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Relative mRNA expression analysis identified differential expression of polyamine biosynthesis, homeostasis, and transport mediators in both pancreatic epithelial and stromal cells from low-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN-1) or primary PDAC patient samples. We found dysregulated mRNA levels that encode for proteins associated with the polyamine pathway of PDAC tumors compared to early lesions. Next, bioinformatic databases were used to assess expression of select genes involved in polyamine metabolism and their impact on patient survival. Higher expression of pro-polyamine genes was associated with poor patient prognosis, supporting the use of a polyamine blockade therapy (PBT) strategy for inhibiting pancreatic tumor progression. Moreover, PBT treatment of syngeneic mice injected intra-pancreatic with PAN 02 tumor cells resulted in increased survival and decreased tumor weights of PDAC-bearing mice. Histological assessment of PBT-treated tumors revealed macrophage presence and significantly increased expression of CD86, a T cell co-stimulatory marker. Collectively, therapies which target polyamine metabolism can be used to disrupt tumor progression, modulate tumor microenvironment, and extend overall survival.
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DFMO Improves Survival and Increases Immune Cell Infiltration in Association with MYC Downregulation in the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222413175. [PMID: 34947972 PMCID: PMC8706739 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an extremely poor five-year survival rate of less than 10%. Immune suppression along with chemoresistance are obstacles for PDAC therapeutic treatment. Innate immune cells, such as tumor-associated macrophages, are recruited to the inflammatory environment of PDAC and adversely suppress cytotoxic T lymphocytes. KRAS and MYC are important oncogenes associated with immune suppression and pose a challenge to successful therapies. Here, we targeted KRAS, through inhibition of downstream c-RAF with GW5074, and MYC expression via difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). DFMO alone and with GW5074 reduced in vitro PDAC cell viability. Both DFMO and GW5074 showed efficacy in reducing in vivo PDAC growth in an immunocompromised model. Results in immunocompetent syngeneic tumor-bearing mice showed that DFMO and combination treatment markedly decreased tumor size, but only DFMO increased survival in mice. To further investigate, immunohistochemical staining showed DFMO diminished MYC expression and increased tumor infiltration of macrophages, CD86+ cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. GW5074 was not as effective in modulating the tumor infiltration of total CD3+ lymphocytes or tumor progression and maintained MYC expression. Collectively, this study highlights that in contrast to GW5074, the inhibition of MYC through DFMO may be an effective treatment modality to modulate PDAC immunosuppression.
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10
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Li QZ, Zuo ZW, Zhou ZR, Ji Y. Polyamine homeostasis-based strategies for cancer: The role of combination regimens. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 910:174456. [PMID: 34464603 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Spermine, spermidine and putrescine polyamines are naturally occurring ubiquitous positively charged amines and are essential metabolites for biological functions in our life. These compounds play a crucial role in many cell processes, including cellular proliferation, growth, and differentiation. Intracellular levels of polyamines depend on their biosynthesis, transport and degradation. Polyamine levels are high in cancer cells, which leads to the promotion of tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Targeting polyamine metabolism as an anticancer strategy is considerably rational. Due to compensatory mechanisms, a single strategy does not achieve satisfactory clinical effects when using a single agent. Combination regimens are more clinically promising for cancer chemoprevention because they work synergistically with causing little or no adverse effects due to each individual agent being used at lower doses. Moreover, bioactive substances have advantages over single chemical agents because they can affect multiple targets. In this review, we discuss anticancer strategies targeting polyamine metabolism and describe how combination treatments and effective natural active ingredients are promising therapies. The existing research suggests that polyamine metabolic enzymes are important therapeutic targets and that combination therapies can be more effective than monotherapies based on polyamine depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Zhang Li
- National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education), Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR China.
| | - Zan-Wen Zuo
- National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education), Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR China
| | - Ze-Rong Zhou
- National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education), Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR China
| | - Yan Ji
- National "111" Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education), Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, PR China
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11
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Novita Sari I, Setiawan T, Seock Kim K, Toni Wijaya Y, Won Cho K, Young Kwon H. Metabolism and function of polyamines in cancer progression. Cancer Lett 2021; 519:91-104. [PMID: 34186159 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Polyamines are essential for the proliferation, differentiation, and development of eukaryotes. They include spermine, spermidine, and the diamine precursor putrescine, and are low-molecular-weight, organic polycations with more than two amino groups. Their intracellular concentrations are strictly maintained within a specific physiological range through several regulatory mechanisms in normal cells. In contrast, polyamine metabolism is dysregulated in many neoplastic states, including cancer. In various types of cancer, polyamine levels are elevated, and crosstalk occurs between polyamine metabolism and oncogenic pathways, such as mTOR and RAS pathways. Thus, polyamines might have potential as therapeutic targets in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The molecular mechanisms linking polyamine metabolism to carcinogenesis must be unraveled to develop novel inhibitors of polyamine metabolism. This overview describes the nature of polyamines, their association with carcinogenesis, the development of polyamine inhibitors and their potential, and the findings of clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ita Novita Sari
- Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea
| | - Tania Setiawan
- Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwang Seock Kim
- Soonchunhyang Institute of Medi-bio Science (SIMS), Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoseph Toni Wijaya
- Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea
| | - Kae Won Cho
- Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea; Soonchunhyang Institute of Medi-bio Science (SIMS), Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyog Young Kwon
- Department of Integrated Biomedical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea; Soonchunhyang Institute of Medi-bio Science (SIMS), Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan-si, 31151, Republic of Korea.
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12
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Bojarska J, New R, Borowiecki P, Remko M, Breza M, Madura ID, Fruziński A, Pietrzak A, Wolf WM. The First Insight Into the Supramolecular System of D,L-α-Difluoromethylornithine: A New Antiviral Perspective. Front Chem 2021; 9:679776. [PMID: 34055746 PMCID: PMC8155678 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.679776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeting the polyamine biosynthetic pathway by inhibiting ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a powerful approach in the fight against diverse viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, eflornithine) is the best-known inhibitor of ODC and a broad-spectrum, unique therapeutical agent. Nevertheless, its pharmacokinetic profile is not perfect, especially when large doses are required in antiviral treatment. This article presents a holistic study focusing on the molecular and supramolecular structure of DFMO and the design of its analogues toward the development of safer and more effective formulations. In this context, we provide the first deep insight into the supramolecular system of DFMO supplemented by a comprehensive, qualitative and quantitative survey of non-covalent interactions via Hirshfeld surface, molecular electrostatic potential, enrichment ratio and energy frameworks analysis visualizing 3-D topology of interactions in order to understand the differences in the cooperativity of interactions involved in the formation of either basic or large synthons (Long-range Synthon Aufbau Modules, LSAM) at the subsequent levels of well-organized supramolecular self-assembly, in comparison with the ornithine structure. In the light of the drug discovery, supramolecular studies of amino acids, essential constituents of proteins, are of prime importance. In brief, the same amino-carboxy synthons are observed in the bio-system containing DFMO. DFT calculations revealed that the biological environment changes the molecular structure of DFMO only slightly. The ADMET profile of structural modifications of DFMO and optimization of its analogue as a new promising drug via molecular docking are discussed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Bojarska
- Chemistry Department, Institute of Ecological and Inorganic Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Roger New
- Faculty of Science & Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paweł Borowiecki
- Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Drugs Technology and Biotechnology, Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Martin Breza
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Slovak Technical University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Izabela D. Madura
- Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Fruziński
- Chemistry Department, Institute of Ecological and Inorganic Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Anna Pietrzak
- Chemistry Department, Institute of Ecological and Inorganic Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Wojciech M. Wolf
- Chemistry Department, Institute of Ecological and Inorganic Chemistry, Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
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13
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Khan A, Gamble LD, Upton DH, Ung C, Yu DMT, Ehteda A, Pandher R, Mayoh C, Hébert S, Jabado N, Kleinman CL, Burns MR, Norris MD, Haber M, Tsoli M, Ziegler DS. Dual targeting of polyamine synthesis and uptake in diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. Nat Commun 2021; 12:971. [PMID: 33579942 PMCID: PMC7881014 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20896-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an incurable malignant childhood brain tumor, with no active systemic therapies and a 5-year survival of less than 1%. Polyamines are small organic polycations that are essential for DNA replication, translation and cell proliferation. Ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1), the rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis, is irreversibly inhibited by difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). Herein we show that polyamine synthesis is upregulated in DIPG, leading to sensitivity to DFMO. DIPG cells compensate for ODC1 inhibition by upregulation of the polyamine transporter SLC3A2. Treatment with the polyamine transporter inhibitor AMXT 1501 reduces uptake of polyamines in DIPG cells, and co-administration of AMXT 1501 and DFMO leads to potent in vitro activity, and significant extension of survival in three aggressive DIPG orthotopic animal models. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential of dual targeting of polyamine synthesis and uptake as a therapeutic strategy for incurable DIPG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaminah Khan
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Laura D. Gamble
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Dannielle H. Upton
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Caitlin Ung
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Denise M. T. Yu
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Anahid Ehteda
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Ruby Pandher
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Chelsea Mayoh
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Steven Hébert
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, 3999 Côte Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1 Canada
| | - Nada Jabado
- grid.63984.300000 0000 9064 4811Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Health Center, 1001 Decarie Boulevard, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1 Canada
| | - Claudia L. Kleinman
- grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, 3999 Côte Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, QC H4A 3J1 Canada
| | - Mark R. Burns
- Aminex Therapeutics Inc., Suite #364, 6947 Coal Creek Parkway SE, Newcastle, WA 98059 USA
| | - Murray D. Norris
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia ,grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Centre for Childhood Cancer Research, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Michelle Haber
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia ,grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Centre for Childhood Cancer Research, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Maria Tsoli
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia
| | - David S. Ziegler
- grid.1005.40000 0004 4902 0432Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2052 Australia ,grid.414009.80000 0001 1282 788XKids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, High St, Randwick, 2031 Australia
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14
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Dong CY, Hong S, Zheng DW, Huang QX, Liu FS, Zhong ZL, Zhang XZ. Multifunctionalized Gold Sub-Nanometer Particles for Sensitizing Radiotherapy against Glioblastoma. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2006582. [PMID: 33382206 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202006582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma is the most common lethal malignant intracranial tumor with a low 5-year survival rate. Currently, the maximal safe surgical resection, followed by high-dose radiotherapy (RT), is a standard treatment for glioblastoma. However, high-dose radiation to the brain is associated with brain injury and results in a high fatality rate. Here, integrated pharmaceutics (named D-iGSNPs) composed of gold sub-nanometer particles (GSNPs), blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration peptide iRGD, and cell cycle regulator α-difluoromethylornithine is designed. In both simulated BBB and orthotopic murine GL261 glioblastoma models, D-iGSNPs are proved to have a beneficial effect on the BBB penetration and tumor targeting. Meanwhile, data from cell and animal experiments reveal that D-iGSNPs are able to sensitize RT. More importantly, the synergy of D-iGSNPs with low-dose RT can exhibit an almost equal therapeutic effect with that of high-dose RT. This study demonstrates the therapeutic advantages of D-iGSNPs in boosting RT, and may provide a facile approach to update the current treatment of glioblastoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Yuan Dong
- Brain Tumor Research Center, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing, 100070, P. R. China
| | - Sheng Hong
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education and Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China
| | - Di-Wei Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education and Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China
| | - Qian-Xiao Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education and Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China
| | - Fu-Sheng Liu
- Brain Tumor Research Center, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Beijing, 100070, P. R. China
| | - Zhen-Lin Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education and Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China
| | - Xian-Zheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Polymers of Ministry of Education and Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, P. R. China
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15
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Yang JS, Wang CC, Qiu JD, Ren B, You L. Arginine metabolism: a potential target in pancreatic cancer therapy. Chin Med J (Engl) 2020; 134:28-37. [PMID: 33395072 PMCID: PMC7862822 DOI: 10.1097/cm9.0000000000001216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely malignant disease, which has an extremely low survival rate of <9% in the United States. As a new hallmark of cancer, metabolism reprogramming exerts crucial impacts on PDAC development and progression. Notably, arginine metabolism is altered in PDAC cells and participates in vital signaling pathways. In addition, arginine and its metabolites including polyamine, creatine, agmatine, and nitric oxide regulate the proliferation, growth, autophagy, apoptosis, and metastasis of cancer cells. Due to the loss of argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) expression, the key enzyme in arginine biosynthesis, arginine deprivation is regarded as a potential strategy for PDAC therapy. However, drug resistance develops during arginine depletion treatment, along with the re-expression of ASS1, metabolic dysfunction, and the appearance of anti-drug antibody. Additionally, arginase 1 exerts crucial roles in myeloid-derived suppressor cells, indicating its potential targeting by cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we introduce arginine metabolism and its impacts on PDAC cells. Also, we discuss the role of arginine metabolism in arginine deprivation therapy and immunotherapy for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Shou Yang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
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16
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Ouyang Y, Wu Q, Li J, Sun S, Sun S. S-adenosylmethionine: A metabolite critical to the regulation of autophagy. Cell Prolif 2020; 53:e12891. [PMID: 33030764 PMCID: PMC7653241 DOI: 10.1111/cpr.12891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is a mechanism that enables cells to maintain cellular homeostasis by removing damaged materials and mobilizing energy reserves in conditions of starvation. Although nutrient availability strongly impacts the process of autophagy, the specific metabolites that regulate autophagic responses have not yet been determined. Recent results indicate that S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) represents a critical inhibitor of methionine starvation-induced autophagy. SAM is primarily involved in four key metabolic pathways: transmethylation, transsulphuration, polyamine synthesis and 5'-deoxyadenosyl 5'-radical-mediated biochemical transformations. SAM is the sole methyl group donor involved in the methylation of DNA, RNA and histones, modulating the autophagic process by mediating epigenetic effects. Moreover, the metabolites of SAM, such as homocysteine, glutathione, decarboxylated SAM and spermidine, also exert important influences on the regulation of autophagy. From our perspective, nuclear-cytosolic SAM is a conserved metabolic inhibitor that connects cellular metabolic status and the regulation of autophagy. In the future, SAM might be a new target of autophagy regulators and be widely used in the treatment of various diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Ouyang
- Department of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryRenmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Qi Wu
- Department of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryRenmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Juanjuan Li
- Department of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryRenmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Si Sun
- Department of Clinical LaboratoryRenmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Shengrong Sun
- Department of Breast and Thyroid SurgeryRenmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
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17
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Alhosin M, Razvi SSI, Sheikh RA, Khan JA, Zamzami MA, Choudhry H. Thymoquinone and Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) Synergistically Induce Apoptosis of Human Acute T Lymphoblastic Leukemia Jurkat Cells Through the Modulation of Epigenetic Pathways. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2020; 19:1533033820947489. [PMID: 32912061 PMCID: PMC7488875 DOI: 10.1177/1533033820947489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Thymoquinone (TQ), a natural anticancer agent exerts cytotoxic effects on several tumors by targeting multiple pathways, including apoptosis. Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) enzyme, has shown promising inhibitory activities in many cancers including leukemia by decreasing the biosynthesis of the intracellular polyamines. The present study aimed to investigate the combinatorial cytotoxic effects of TQ and DFMO on human acute T lymphoblastic leukemia Jurkat cells and to determine the underlying mechanisms. Here, we show that the combination of DFMO and TQ significantly reduced cell viability and resulted in significant synergistic effects on apoptosis when compared to either DFMO or TQ alone. RNA-sequencing showed that many key epigenetic players including Ubiquitin-like containing PHD and Ring finger 1 (UHRF1) and its 2 partners DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) were down-regulated in DFMO-treated Jurkat cells. The combination of DFMO and TQ dramatically decreased the expression of UHRF1, DNMT1 and HDAC1 genes compared to either DFMO or TQ alone. UHRF1 knockdown led to a decrease in Jurkat cell viability. In conclusion, these results suggest that the combination of DFMO and TQ could be a promising new strategy for the treatment of human acute T lymphoblastic leukemia by targeting the epigenetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Alhosin
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Cancer Metabolism and Epigenetic Unit, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Syed Shoeb I Razvi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Math and Science Department, 441417Community College of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ryan A Sheikh
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jalaluddin A Khan
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mazin A Zamzami
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Cancer Metabolism and Epigenetic Unit, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hani Choudhry
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Cancer Metabolism and Epigenetic Unit, Faculty of Science, 37848King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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18
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Abstract
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a disease characterized by destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells. Currently, there remains a critical gap in our understanding of how to reverse or prevent beta cell loss in individuals with T1D. Previous studies in mice discovered that pharmacologically inhibiting polyamine biosynthesis using difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) resulted in preserved beta cell function and mass. Similarly, treatment of non-obese diabetic mice with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib mesylate reversed diabetes. The promising findings from these animal studies resulted in the initiation of two separate clinical trials that would repurpose either DFMO (NCT02384889) or Imatinib (NCT01781975) and determine effects on diabetes outcomes; however, whether these drugs directly stimulated beta cell growth remained unknown. To address this, we used the zebrafish model system to determine pharmacological impact on beta cell regeneration. After induction of beta cell death, zebrafish embryos were treated with either DFMO or Imatinib. Neither drug altered whole-body growth or exocrine pancreas length. Embryos treated with Imatinib showed no effect on beta cell regeneration; however, excitingly, DFMO enhanced beta cell regeneration. These data suggest that pharmacological inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis may be a promising therapeutic option to stimulate beta cell regeneration in the setting of diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leah R. Padgett
- Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jonathan A. Fine
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Gaurav Chopra
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Purdue Center for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Integrative Data Science Initiative, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Teresa L. Mastracci
- Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- CONTACT Teresa L. Mastracci Department of Biology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN46202, USA
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19
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Lam SK, Yan S, Xu S, Ho JCM. Targeting polyamine as a novel therapy in xenograft models of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Lung Cancer 2020; 148:138-148. [PMID: 32911426 DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2020.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Inhalation of asbestos fibers is the key culprit in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Although the import and use of asbestos have been restricted, the incidence of MPM continues to increase globally due to the prolonged lag time in malignant transformation. The development of a novel adjuvant therapy for the minority of individuals with resectable early-stage disease and effective treatment for those with unresectable MPM are urgently needed. Our preliminary data revealed that ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is highly expressed in MPM xenografts. This study aimed to determine the treatment effects of α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific ODC inhibitor, in MPM xenografts. RESULTS In an "extended adjuvant DFMO treatment" setting, nude mice were fed with DFMO for 7 days prior to inoculation of 200,000 cells. DFMO suppressed tumor growth and increased median survival in both xenografts. In H226 xenograft, 43 % of treated mice had not reached the humane endpoint by day 132, mimicking long-term survival. DFMO decreased spermidine, increased nitrotyrosine and activated apoptosis in both xenografts. Furthermore, increase in nitrosocysteine, intratumoral IL-6, keratinocyte chemoattractant and TNFα, DNA lesion and inhibition of the Akt/mTOR pathway were induced by DFMO in H226 xenograft. In "DFMO treatment" setting, 107 cells were inoculated into nude mice and DFMO treatment commenced when tumor size reached ∼50-100 mm3. DFMO also suppressed tumor growth by similar mechanisms. Supplementation with spermidine reversed the therapeutic effect of DFMO. DFMO increased actin nitration at tyrosine 53 and inhibited actin polymerization. CONCLUSION DFMO is preclinically effective in treating MPM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sze-Kwan Lam
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Sheng Yan
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Shi Xu
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - James Chung-Man Ho
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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20
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Oncobiosis and Microbial Metabolite Signaling in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12051068. [PMID: 32344895 PMCID: PMC7281526 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12051068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most lethal cancers in both men and women, with a median five-year survival of around 5%. Therefore, pancreatic adenocarcinoma represents an unmet medical need. Neoplastic diseases, such as pancreatic adenocarcinoma, often are associated with microbiome dysbiosis, termed oncobiosis. In pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the oral, duodenal, ductal, and fecal microbiome become dysbiotic. Furthermore, the pancreas frequently becomes colonized (by Helicobacter pylori and Malassezia, among others). The oncobiomes from long- and short-term survivors of pancreatic adenocarcinoma are different and transplantation of the microbiome from long-term survivors into animal models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma prolongs survival. The oncobiome in pancreatic adenocarcinoma modulates the inflammatory processes that drive carcinogenesis. In this review, we point out that bacterial metabolites (short chain fatty acids, secondary bile acids, polyamines, indole-derivatives, etc.) also have a role in the microbiome-driven pathogenesis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Finally, we show that bacterial metabolism and the bacterial metabolome is largely dysregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The pathogenic role of additional metabolites and metabolic pathways will be identified in the near future, widening the scope of this therapeutically and diagnostically exploitable pathogenic pathway in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
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21
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Ram Makena M, Gatla H, Verlekar D, Sukhavasi S, K Pandey M, C Pramanik K. Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling: The Culprit in Pancreatic Carcinogenesis and Therapeutic Resistance. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E4242. [PMID: 31480221 PMCID: PMC6747343 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20174242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is responsible for 7.3% of all cancer deaths. Even though there is a steady increase in patient survival for most cancers over the decades, the patient survival rate for pancreatic cancer remains low with current therapeutic strategies. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway controls the maintenance of somatic stem cells in many tissues and organs and is implicated in pancreatic carcinogenesis by regulating cell cycle progression, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, stemness, tumor immune microenvironment, etc. Further, dysregulated Wnt has been shown to cause drug resistance in pancreatic cancer. Although different Wnt antagonists are effective in pancreatic patients, limitations remain that must be overcome to increase the survival benefits associated with this emerging therapy. In this review, we have summarized the role of Wnt signaling in pancreatic cancer and suggested future directions to enhance the survival of pancreatic cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monish Ram Makena
- Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Himavanth Gatla
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Dattesh Verlekar
- Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA
| | - Sahithi Sukhavasi
- Center for Distance Learning, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam 530045, India
| | - Manoj K Pandey
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ 08103, USA
| | - Kartick C Pramanik
- Department of Basic Sciences, Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Pikeville, Pikeville, KY 41501, USA.
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22
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Mohammed A, Janakiram NB, Suen C, Stratton N, Lightfoot S, Singh A, Pathuri G, Ritchie R, Madka V, Rao CV. Targeting cholecystokinin-2 receptor for pancreatic cancer chemoprevention. Mol Carcinog 2019; 58:1908-1918. [PMID: 31313401 DOI: 10.1002/mc.23084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Gastrin signaling mediated through cholecystokinin-2 receptor (CCK2R) and its downstream molecules is altered in pancreatic cancer. CCK2R antagonists, YF476 (netazepide) and JNJ-26070109, were tested systematically for their effect on pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) progression to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in KrasG12D mice. After dose selection using wild-type mice, six-week-old p48Cre/+ -LSL-KrasG12D (22-24 per group) genetically engineered mice (GEM) were fed AIN-76A diets containing 0, 250, or 500 ppm JNJ-26070109 or YF-476 for 38 weeks. At termination, pancreata were collected, weighed, and evaluated for PanINs and PDAC. Results demonstrated that control-diet-fed mice showed 69% (males) and 33% (females) incidence of PDAC. Administration of low and high dose JNJ-26070109 inhibited the incidence of PDAC by 88% and 71% (P < .004) in male mice and by 100% and 24% (P > .05) in female mice, respectively. Low and high dose YF476 inhibited the incidence of PDAC by 74% (P < .02) and 69% (P < .02) in male mice and by 45% and 33% (P > .05) in female mice, respectively. Further, transcriptome analysis showed downregulation of Cldn1, Sstr1, Apod, Gkn1, Siglech, Cyp2c44, Bnc1, Fmo2, 623169, Kcne4, Slc27a6, Cma1, Rho GTPase activating protein 18, and Gpr85 genes in JNJ-26070109-treated mice compared with untreated mice. YF476-treated mouse pancreas showed downregulation of Riks, Zpbp, Ntf3, Lrrn4, Aass, Skint3, Kcnb1, Dgkb, Ddx60, and Aspn gene expressions compared with untreated mouse pancreas. Overall, JNJ-26070109 showed better chemopreventive efficacy than YF476. However, caution is recommended when selecting doses, as the agents appeared to exhibit gender-specific effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Altaf Mohammed
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Naveena B Janakiram
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Chen Suen
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Nicole Stratton
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Stanley Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Anil Singh
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Gopal Pathuri
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Rebekah Ritchie
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Chinthalapally V Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hem-Onc Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, VA Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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23
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Kaminski L, Torrino S, Dufies M, Djabari Z, Haider R, Roustan FR, Jaune E, Laurent K, Nottet N, Michiels JF, Gesson M, Rocchi S, Mazure NM, Durand M, Tanti JF, Ambrosetti D, Clavel S, Ben-Sahra I, Bost F. PGC1α Inhibits Polyamine Synthesis to Suppress Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness. Cancer Res 2019; 79:3268-3280. [PMID: 31064849 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-18-2043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Although tumorigenesis is dependent on the reprogramming of cellular metabolism, the metabolic pathways engaged in the formation of metastases remain largely unknown. The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) plays a pleiotropic role in the control of cancer cell metabolism and has been associated with a good prognosis in prostate cancer. Here, we show that PGC1α represses the metastatic properties of prostate cancer cells via modulation of the polyamine biosynthesis pathway. Mechanistically, PGC1α inhibits the expression of c-MYC and ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1), the rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine synthesis. Analysis of in vivo metastases and clinical data from patients with prostate cancer support the proposition that the PGC1α/c-MYC/ODC1 axis regulates polyamine biosynthesis and prostate cancer aggressiveness. In conclusion, downregulation of PGC1α renders prostate cancer cells dependent on polyamine to promote metastasis. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings show that a major regulator of mitochondrial metabolism controls polyamine synthesis and prostate cancer aggressiveness, with potential applications in therapy and identification of new biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Maeva Dufies
- Biomedical Department, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Principality of Monaco
| | - Zied Djabari
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Romain Haider
- Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm U1065, C3M, France.,Department of Urology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, France
| | - François-René Roustan
- Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm U1065, C3M, France.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Emilie Jaune
- Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm U1065, C3M, France
| | | | | | | | - Maeva Gesson
- Université Côte d'Azur, Inserm U1065, C3M, France
| | | | | | - Matthieu Durand
- Department of Urology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, France
| | | | - Damien Ambrosetti
- Department of Pathology, Hôpital Pasteur 2, CHU Nice, Université Côte d'Azur, France
| | | | - Issam Ben-Sahra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
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24
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Leifer BS, Doyle SK, Richters A, Evans HL, Koehler AN. An Array-Based Ligand Discovery Platform for Proteins With Short Half-Lives. Methods Enzymol 2018; 610:191-218. [PMID: 30390799 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2018.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Many promising therapeutic protein targets were previously considered "undruggable" due to a deficit in structural information to guide drug design and/or a lack of an obvious binding pocket. Fortunately, array-based methods for evaluating protein binding against large chemical libraries, such as small-molecule microarray screening, have provided one of several emerging inroads to ligand discovery for these elusive targets. Despite the advance in the area of ligand discovery for poorly structured and intrinsically disordered proteins provided by array-based technologies involving cell lysates, the extension of this technology for screening proteins with short half-lives in physiologically relevant conformations has been technically challenging. In this chapter we present a protocol for leveraging in vitro translation strategies to enable array-based screening of short-lived proteins against large small-molecule libraries for ligand discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Becky S Leifer
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Shelby K Doyle
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - André Richters
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Helen L Evans
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Angela N Koehler
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States.
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25
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Tripathi SC, Fahrmann JF, Vykoukal JV, Dennison JB, Hanash SM. Targeting metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer: Small molecule inhibitors in clinic. Cancer Rep (Hoboken) 2018; 2:e1131. [PMID: 32721114 DOI: 10.1002/cnr2.1131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Altered cell metabolism is an established hallmark of cancer. Advancement in our understanding of dysregulated cellular metabolism has aided drastically in identifying metabolic vulnerabilities that can be exploited therapeutically. Indeed, this knowledge has led to the development of a multitude of agents targeting various aspects of tumor metabolism. RECENT FINDINGS The intent of this review is to provide insight into small molecule inhibitors that target tumor metabolism and that are currently being explored in active clinical trials as either preventive, stand-alone, or adjuvant therapies for various malignancies. For each inhibitor, we outline the mechanism (s) of action, preclinical/clinical findings, and limitations. Sections are divided into three aspects based on the primary target of the small molecule inhibitor (s): those that impact (1) cancer cells directly, (2) immune cells present in the tumor microenvironment, or (3) both cancer cells and immune cells. We highlight small molecule targeting of metabolic pathways including de novo fatty acid synthesis, NAD+ biosynthesis, 2-hydroxyglutarate biosynthesis, polyamine metabolism, the kynurenine pathway, as well as glutamine and arginine metabolism. CONCLUSIONS Use of small molecule inhibitors aimed at exploiting tumor metabolic vulnerabilities continues to be an active area of research. Identifying metabolic dependencies specific to cancer cells and/or constituents of the tumor microenvironment is a viable area of therapeutic intervention that holds considerable clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satyendra C Tripathi
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Johannes F Fahrmann
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Jody V Vykoukal
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Jennifer B Dennison
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Samir M Hanash
- Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA
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26
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Caldwell RW, Rodriguez PC, Toque HA, Narayanan SP, Caldwell RB. Arginase: A Multifaceted Enzyme Important in Health and Disease. Physiol Rev 2018; 98:641-665. [PMID: 29412048 PMCID: PMC5966718 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00037.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 257] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The arginase enzyme developed in early life forms and was maintained during evolution. As the last step in the urea cycle, arginase cleaves l-arginine to form urea and l-ornithine. The urea cycle provides protection against excess ammonia, while l-ornithine is needed for cell proliferation, collagen formation, and other physiological functions. In mammals, increases in arginase activity have been linked to dysfunction and pathologies of the cardiovascular system, kidney, and central nervous system and also to dysfunction of the immune system and cancer. Two important aspects of the excessive activity of arginase may be involved in diseases. First, overly active arginase can reduce the supply of l-arginine needed for the production of nitric oxide (NO) by NO synthase. Second, too much l-ornithine can lead to structural problems in the vasculature, neuronal toxicity, and abnormal growth of tumor cells. Seminal studies have demonstrated that increased formation of reactive oxygen species and key inflammatory mediators promote this pathological elevation of arginase activity. Here, we review the involvement of arginase in diseases affecting the cardiovascular, renal, and central nervous system and cancer and discuss the value of therapies targeting the elevated activity of arginase.
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Affiliation(s)
- R William Caldwell
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vision Discovery Institute, Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University , Augusta, Georgia ; and VA Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Paulo C Rodriguez
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vision Discovery Institute, Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University , Augusta, Georgia ; and VA Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Haroldo A Toque
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vision Discovery Institute, Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University , Augusta, Georgia ; and VA Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | - S Priya Narayanan
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vision Discovery Institute, Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University , Augusta, Georgia ; and VA Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Ruth B Caldwell
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Vision Discovery Institute, Department of Medicine-Hematology and Oncology, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University , Augusta, Georgia ; and VA Medical Center, Augusta, Georgia
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27
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Fujimura K, Wang H, Watson F, Klemke RL. KRAS Oncoprotein Expression Is Regulated by a Self-Governing eIF5A-PEAK1 Feed-Forward Regulatory Loop. Cancer Res 2018; 78:1444-1456. [PMID: 29321164 PMCID: PMC5856625 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-17-2873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
There remains intense interest in tractable approaches to target or silence the KRAS oncoprotein as a rational therapeutic strategy to attack pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and other cancers that overexpress it. Here we provide evidence that accumulation of the KRAS oncoprotein is controlled by a self-regulating feed-forward regulatory loop that utilizes a unique hypusinated isoform of the translation elongation factor eIF5A and the tyrosine kinase PEAK1. Oncogenic activation of KRAS increased eIF5A-PEAK1 translational signaling, which in turn facilitated increased KRAS protein synthesis. Mechanistic investigations show that this feed-forward positive regulatory pathway was controlled by oncogenic KRAS-driven metabolic demands, operated independently of canonical mTOR signaling, and did not involve new KRAS gene transcription. Perturbing eIF5A-PEAK1 signaling, by genetic or pharmacologic strategies or by blocking glutamine synthesis, was sufficient to inhibit expression of KRAS, eIF5A, and PEAK1, to attenuate cancer cell growth and migration, and to block tumor formation in established preclinical mouse models of PDAC. Levels of KRAS, eIF5A, and PEAK1 protein increased during cancer progression with the highest levels of expression observed in metastatic cell populations. Combinatorial targeting of eIF5A hypusination and the RAS-ERK signaling pathway cooperated to attenuate KRAS expression and its downstream signaling along with cell growth in vitro and tumor formation in vivo Collectively, our findings highlight a new mechanistic strategy to attenuate KRAS expression as a therapeutic strategy to target PDAC and other human cancers driven by KRAS activation.Significance: These findings highlight a new mechanistic strategy to attenuate KRAS expression as a therapeutic strategy to target human cancers driven by KRAS activation. Cancer Res; 78(6); 1444-56. ©2018 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken Fujimura
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Huawei Wang
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Felicia Watson
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Richard L Klemke
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
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28
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Alpha-Difluoromethylornithine, an Irreversible Inhibitor of Polyamine Biosynthesis, as a Therapeutic Strategy against Hyperproliferative and Infectious Diseases. Med Sci (Basel) 2018; 6:medsci6010012. [PMID: 29419804 PMCID: PMC5872169 DOI: 10.3390/medsci6010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The fluorinated ornithine analog α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, eflornithine, ornidyl) is an irreversible suicide inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis. The ubiquitous and essential polyamines have many functions, but are primarily important for rapidly proliferating cells. Thus, ODC is potentially a drug target for any disease state where rapid growth is a key process leading to pathology. The compound was originally discovered as an anticancer drug, but its effectiveness was disappointing. However, DFMO was successfully developed to treat African sleeping sickness and is currently one of few clinically used drugs to combat this neglected tropical disease. The other Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved application for DFMO is as an active ingredient in the hair removal cream Vaniqa. In recent years, renewed interest in DFMO for hyperproliferative diseases has led to increased research and promising preclinical and clinical trials. This review explores the use of DFMO for the treatment of African sleeping sickness and hirsutism, as well as its potential as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent against colorectal cancer and neuroblastoma.
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29
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Gitto SB, Pandey V, Oyer JL, Copik AJ, Hogan FC, Phanstiel O, Altomare DA. Difluoromethylornithine Combined with a Polyamine Transport Inhibitor Is Effective against Gemcitabine Resistant Pancreatic Cancer. Mol Pharm 2018; 15:369-376. [PMID: 29299930 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly chemo-resistant and has an extremely poor patient prognosis, with a survival rate at five years of <8%. There remains an urgent need for innovative treatments. Targeting polyamine biosynthesis through inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) has had mixed clinical success due to tumor escape via an undefined transport system, which imports exogenous polyamines and sustains intracellular polyamine pools. Here, we tested DFMO in combination with a polyamine transport inhibitor (PTI), Trimer44NMe, against Gemcitabine-resistant PDAC cells. DFMO alone and with Trimer44NMe significantly reduced PDAC cell viability by inducing apoptosis or diminishing proliferation. DFMO alone and with Trimer44NMe also inhibited in vivo orthotopic PDAC growth and resulted in decreased c-Myc expression, a readout of polyamine pathway dysfunction. Moreover, dual inhibition significantly prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that targeting polyamine biosynthesis and import pathways in PDAC can lead to increased survival in pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah B Gitto
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
| | - Veethika Pandey
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
| | - Jeremiah L Oyer
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
| | - Alicja J Copik
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
| | - Frederick C Hogan
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
| | - Otto Phanstiel
- Department of Medical Education, University of Central Florida , 12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
| | - Deborah A Altomare
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida , 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32827, United States
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30
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Phanstiel O. An overview of polyamine metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Int J Cancer 2017; 142:1968-1976. [PMID: 29134652 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.31155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Revised: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest major cancers, with a five year survival rate of less than 8%. With current therapies only giving rise to modest life extension, new approaches are desperately needed. Even though targeting polyamine metabolism is a proven anticancer strategy, there are no reports, which thoroughly survey the literature describing the role of polyamine biosynthesis and transport in PDAC. This review seeks to fill this void by describing what is currently known about polyamine metabolism in PDAC and identifies new targets and opportunities to treat this disease. Due to the pleiotropic effects that polyamines play in cells, this review covers diverse areas ranging from polyamine metabolism (biosynthesis, catabolism and transport), as well as the potential role of polyamines in desmoplasia, autophagy and immune privilege. Understanding these diverse roles provides the opportunity to design new therapies to treat this deadly cancer via polyamine depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Otto Phanstiel
- Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
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31
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Investigation of Polyamine Metabolism and Homeostasis in Pancreatic Cancers. Med Sci (Basel) 2017; 5:medsci5040032. [PMID: 29215586 PMCID: PMC5753661 DOI: 10.3390/medsci5040032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancers are currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death and new therapies are desperately needed. The most common pancreatic cancer is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This report describes the development of therapies, which effectively deplete PDAC cells of their required polyamine growth factors. Of all human tissues, the pancreas has the highest level of the native polyamine spermidine. To sustain their high growth rates, PDACs have altered polyamine metabolism, which is reflected in their high intracellular polyamine levels and their upregulated import of exogenous polyamines. To understand how these cancers respond to interventions that target their specific polyamine pools, L3.6pl human pancreatic cancer cells were challenged with specific inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis. We found that pancreatic cell lines have excess polyamine pools, which they rebalance to address deficiencies induced by inhibitors of specific steps in polyamine biosynthesis (e.g., ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), spermidine synthase (SRM), and spermine synthase (SMS)). We also discovered that combination therapies targeting ODC, SMS, and polyamine import were the most effective in reducing intracellular polyamine pools and reducing PDAC cell growth. A combination therapy containing difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, an ODC inhibitor) and a polyamine transport inhibitor (PTI) were shown to significantly deplete intracellular polyamine pools. The additional presence of an SMS inhibitor as low as 100 nM was sufficient to further potentiate the DFMO + PTI treatment.
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32
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Tang J, Li J, Li G, Zhang H, Wang L, Li D, Ding J. Spermidine-mediated poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles containing fluorofenidone for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Int J Nanomedicine 2017; 12:6687-6704. [PMID: 28932114 PMCID: PMC5598552 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s140569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive, fatal lung disease with poor survival. The advances made in deciphering this disease have led to the approval of different antifibrotic molecules, such as pirfenidone and nintedanib. An increasing number of studies with particles (liposomes, nanoparticles [NPs], microspheres, nanopolymersomes, and nanoliposomes) modified with different functional groups have demonstrated improvement in lung-targeted drug delivery. In the present study, we prepared, characterized, and evaluated spermidine (Spd)-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs as carriers for fluorofenidone (AKF) to improve the antifibrotic efficacy of this drug in the lung. Spd-AKF-PLGA NPs were prepared and functionalized by modified solvent evaporation with Spd and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-PLGA groups. The size of Spd-AKF-PLGA NPs was 172.5±4.3 nm. AKF release from NPs was shown to fit the Higuchi model. A549 cellular uptake of an Spd-coumarin (Cou)-6-PLGA NP group was found to be almost twice as high as that of the Cou-6-PLGA NP group. Free Spd and difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) were preincubated in A549 cells to prove uptake of Spd-Cou-6-PLGA NPs via a polyamine-transport system. As a result, the uptake of Spd-Cou-6-PLGA NPs significantly decreased with increased Spd concentrations in incubation. At higher Spd concentrations of 50 and 500 µM, uptake of Spd-Cou-6-PLGA NPs reduced 0.34- and 0.49-fold from that without Spd pretreatment. After pretreatment with DFMO for 36 hours, cellular uptake of Spd-Cou-6-PLGA NPs reached 1.26-fold compared to the untreated DFMO group. In a biodistribution study, the drug-targeting index of Spd-AKF-PLGA NPs in the lung was 3.62- and 4.66-fold that of AKF-PLGA NPs and AKF solution, respectively. This suggested that Spd-AKF-PLGA NPs accumulated effectively in the lung. Lung-histopathology changes and collagen deposition were observed by H&E staining and Masson staining in an efficacy study. In the Spd-AKF-PLGA NP group, damage was further improved compared to the AKF-PLGA NP group and AKF-solution group. The results indicated that Spd-AKF-PLGA NPs are able to be effective nanocarriers for anti-pulmonary fibrosis therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Changsha Medical University
| | - Jianming Li
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha
| | - Guo Li
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha
| | - Haitao Zhang
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha
| | - Ling Wang
- Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu
| | - Dai Li
- Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jinsong Ding
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha
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Apigenin Inhibits Human SW620 Cell Growth by Targeting Polyamine Catabolism. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2017; 2017:3684581. [PMID: 28572828 PMCID: PMC5442336 DOI: 10.1155/2017/3684581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Apigenin is a nonmutagenic flavonoid that has antitumor properties. Polyamines are ubiquitous cellular polycations, which play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of cancer cells. Highly regulated pathways control the biosynthesis and degradation of polyamines. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the metabolism, and spermidine/spermine-N1-Acetyl transferase (SSAT) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of polyamines. In the current study, the effect of increasing concentrations of apigenin on polyamine levels, ODC and SSAT protein expression, mRNA expression, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated in SW620 colon cancer cells. The results showed that apigenin significantly reduced cell proliferation, decreased the levels of spermidine and spermine, and increased previously downregulated putrescine contents. Apigenin also enhanced SSAT protein and mRNA levels and the production of reactive oxygen species in SW620 cells, though it had no significant effect on the levels of ODC protein or mRNA. Apigenin appears to decrease the proliferation rate of human SW620 cells by facilitating SSAT expression to induce polyamine catabolism and increasing ROS levels to induce cell apoptosis.
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He W, Roh E, Yao K, Liu K, Meng X, Liu F, Wang P, Bode AM, Dong Z. Targeting ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) inhibits esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression. NPJ Precis Oncol 2017; 1:13. [PMID: 29872701 PMCID: PMC5859467 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-017-0014-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Revised: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
To explore the function of ornithine decarboxylase in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression and test the effectiveness of anti-ornithine decarboxylase therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we examined the expression pattern of ornithine decarboxylase in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines and tissues using immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Then we investigated the function of ornithine decarboxylase in ESCC cells by using shRNA and an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, difluoromethylornithine. To gather more supporting pre-clinical data, a human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patient-derived xenograft mouse model (C.B-17 severe combined immunodeficient mice) was used to determine the antitumor effects of difluoromethylornithine in vivo. Our data showed that the expression of the ornithine decarboxylase protein is increased in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared with esophagitis or normal adjacent tissues. Polyamine depletion by ODC shRNA not only arrests esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells in the G2/M phase, but also induces apoptosis, which further suppresses esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell tumorigenesis. Difluoromethylornithine treatment decreases proliferation and also induces apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells and implanted tumors, resulting in significant reduction in the size and weight of tumors. The results of this study indicate that ornithine decarboxylase is a promising target for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma therapy and difluoromethylornithine warrants further study in clinical trials to test its effectiveness against esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Blocking an enzyme involved in the cellular synthesis of essential compounds called polyamines could help treat esophageal cancer. Zigang Dong from the University of Minnesota’s Hormel Institute, USA, and colleagues showed that this enzyme, called ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), is expressed at elevated levels in tumor tissues taken from patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The researchers blocked ODC activity in esophageal cancer cells using either RNA interference techniques or a drug called difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). In both cases, the treatment suppressed further growth and induced cell death. DFMO treatment also reduced the size and weight of tumors in mice implanted with human patient-derived esophageal cancer tissue. The findings point DFMO, which is already used as a medication to treat African sleeping sickness and excessive hair growth, as a potential therapy for cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei He
- 1The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912 USA.,2The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052 China.,3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
| | - Eunmiri Roh
- 1The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912 USA
| | - Ke Yao
- 1The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912 USA
| | - Kangdong Liu
- 3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
| | - Xing Meng
- 3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
| | - Fangfang Liu
- 3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
| | - Penglei Wang
- 3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
| | - Ann M Bode
- 1The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912 USA
| | - Zigang Dong
- 1The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912 USA.,3Basic Medical College, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 China.,The China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008 China
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Strnadel J, Choi S, Fujimura K, Wang H, Zhang W, Wyse M, Wright T, Gross E, Peinado C, Park HW, Bui J, Kelber J, Bouvet M, Guan KL, Klemke RL. eIF5A-PEAK1 Signaling Regulates YAP1/TAZ Protein Expression and Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth. Cancer Res 2017; 77:1997-2007. [PMID: 28381547 PMCID: PMC5392372 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), mutant KRAS stimulates the translation initiation factor eIF5A and upregulates the focal adhesion kinase PEAK1, which transmits integrin and growth factor signals mediated by the tumor microenvironment. Although eIF5A-PEAK1 signaling contributes to multiple aggressive cancer cell phenotypes, the downstream signaling processes that mediate these responses are uncharacterized. Through proteomics and informatic analyses of PEAK1-depleted PDAC cells, we defined protein translation, cytoskeleton organization, and cell-cycle regulatory pathways as major pathways controlled by PEAK1. Biochemical and functional studies revealed that the transcription factors YAP1 and TAZ are key targets of eIF5A-PEAK1 signaling. YAP1/TAZ coimmunoprecipitated with PEAK1. Interfering with eIF5A-PEAK1 signaling in PDAC cells inhibited YAP/TAZ protein expression, decreasing expression of stem cell-associated transcription factors (STF) including Oct4, Nanog, c-Myc, and TEAD, thereby decreasing three-dimensional (3D) tumor sphere growth. Conversely, amplified eIF5A-PEAK1 signaling increased YAP1/TAZ expression, increasing expression of STF and enhancing 3D tumor sphere growth. Informatic interrogation of mRNA sequence databases revealed upregulation of the eIF5A-PEAK1-YAP1-TEAD signaling module in PDAC patients. Taken together, our findings indicate that eIF5A-PEAK1-YAP signaling contributes to PDAC development by regulating an STF program associated with increased tumorigenicity. Cancer Res; 77(8); 1997-2007. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Strnadel
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Sunkyu Choi
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Ken Fujimura
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Huawei Wang
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Meghan Wyse
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Tracy Wright
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Emilie Gross
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Carlos Peinado
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Hyun Woo Park
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Jack Bui
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Jonathan Kelber
- Department of Biology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, California
| | - Michael Bouvet
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Kun-Liang Guan
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Richard L Klemke
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
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Surjan RC, Dos Santos ES, Basseres T, Makdissi FF, Machado MA. A Proposed Physiopathological Pathway to Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy in a Non-Cirrhotic Patient with Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma without Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Mutation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CASE REPORTS 2017; 18:234-241. [PMID: 28270654 PMCID: PMC5358858 DOI: 10.12659/ajcr.901682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Patient: Male, 31 Final Diagnosis: Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma Symptoms: Encephalopathy Medication:— Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Gastroenterology and Hepatology
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo C Surjan
- Department of Surgery, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Tiago Basseres
- Department of Surgery, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Fabio F Makdissi
- Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Marcel A Machado
- Department of Surgery, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Alexiou GA, Lianos GD, Ragos V, Galani V, Kyritsis AP. Difluoromethylornithine in cancer: new advances. Future Oncol 2017; 13:809-819. [PMID: 28125906 DOI: 10.2217/fon-2016-0266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO; eflornithine) is an irreversible suicide inhibitor of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase which is involved in polyamine synthesis. Polyamines are important for cell survival, thus DFMO was studied as an anticancer agent and as a chemoprevention agent. DFMO exhibited mainly cytostatic activity and had single agent efficacy as well as activity in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs for some cancers and leukemias. Herewith, we summarize the current knowledge of the anticancer and chemopreventive properties of DFMO and assess the status of clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Alexiou
- Neurosurgical Institute, Ioannina University School of Medicine, Ioannina, GR 451 10, Greece
| | - Georgios D Lianos
- Neurosurgical Institute, Ioannina University School of Medicine, Ioannina, GR 451 10, Greece
| | - Vassileios Ragos
- Neurosurgical Institute, Ioannina University School of Medicine, Ioannina, GR 451 10, Greece
| | - Vasiliki Galani
- Department of Anatomy-Histology-Embryology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Athanassios P Kyritsis
- Neurosurgical Institute, Ioannina University School of Medicine, Ioannina, GR 451 10, Greece
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Li J, Mao J, Tang J, Li G, Fang F, Tang Y, Ding J. Surface spermidine functionalized PEGylated poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for tumor-targeted drug delivery. RSC Adv 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7ra02447a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
SPD functionalized nanoparticles could target the delivery of a drug into tumor cells by binding specifically with PTS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianming Li
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
| | - Juan Mao
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
| | - Jing Tang
- Department of Pharmaceutics
- Changsha Medical University
- Changsha 410219
- China
| | - Guo Li
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
| | - Fengling Fang
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
| | - Yana Tang
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
| | - Jinsong Ding
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Central South University
- Changsha 410013
- China
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Srivastava S, Ghosh SK. Modulation of L-Arginine-Arginase Metabolic Pathway Enzymes: Immunocytochemistry and mRNA Expression in Peripheral Blood and Tissue Levels in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas in North East India. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2016; 16:7031-8. [PMID: 26514486 DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.16.7031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arginine may play important roles in tumor progression by providing ornithine for polyamine biosynthesis, required for cell growth. The aim of this work was to determine the expression of arginine metabolic pathway enzymes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in northeast India. MATERIALS AND METHODS The expressions of arginase isoforms (ARG1 and ARG2), ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) were examined in fifty paired HNSCC and adjacent non-tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry. Immunocytochemistry, semiquantitative reverse transcription sq-PCR and quantitative real-time qPCR were used to assess protein and mRNA expressions in peripheral blood of fifty HNSCC patients and hundred controls. RESULTS ARG1 and ODC protein and mRNA were strongly expressed in peripheral blood from HNSCC patients. No ARG2 expression was observed. In vivo, expression of ARG1, ARG2 and ODC was significantly higher in tumor than in non-tumor tissues. Most tumors expressed low levels of OAT, with no difference in tissues or blood, compared to controls. The absolute extent of maximal ARG1 upregulation with qPCR showed 6.23 fold increase in HNSCC. CONCLUSIONS These findings strongly suggest that in HNSCCs, the ARG1 pathway is stimulated leading to the formation of polyamines as indicated by higher ODC expression, which promote tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilpee Srivastava
- Molecular Medicine Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India E-mail :
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Zhou X, Mou Y, Shen X, Yang T, Liu J, Liu F, Dong J, Liao L. The role of atorvastatin on the restenosis process post-PTA in a diabetic rabbit model. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2016; 16:153. [PMID: 27422557 PMCID: PMC4947282 DOI: 10.1186/s12872-016-0324-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Restenosis remains to be a major limitation of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for diabetic patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Despite of stations routine implements to prevent such progress, its exact effect is unclear. Methods and results In our study, balloon was successfully implanted in the iliac artery of atherosclerotic rabbit. Patency of the narrowed artery was interrogated using ultrasound. Atorvastatin or vehicle was administered orally to rabbits from day 0 to day 28 after double-injury surgery. On day 7, day 14, and day 28, restenotic arteries were harvested and processed for histopathlogical analysis. Our data show that, after double-injury surgery, the intima was composed mostly by SMCs at all time course in rabbits undergoing surgery process. Significant increases in stenosis rates were noted from day 7 to day 14 (from 21 ± 5.85 % to 60.93 ± 12.46 %). On day 28 after double-injury surgery, severe restenosis was observed and daily administration of atorvastatin cannot prevent restenosis’ formation (88.69 ± 3.71 % vs. 90.02 ± 3.11 %, P > 0.05). The PCNA index and SMCs proliferation were correlated with the scores of the vascular pathology. Conclusions Our results indicate that double-injury model can mimic clinical restenosis, based on this model, atorvastatin showed no therapeutic effect on restenosis process in diabetic rabbits after PTA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojun Zhou
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, No.16766, Jingshi Road, Lixia District, Jinan, 250000, Shandong Province, China
| | - Yaru Mou
- Department of Cardiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Xue Shen
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
| | - Tianshu Yang
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
| | - Ju Liu
- Laboratory of Microvascular Medicine, Medical Research Center, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Fupeng Liu
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, No.16766, Jingshi Road, Lixia District, Jinan, 250000, Shandong Province, China
| | - Jianjun Dong
- Department of Endocrinology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No.44, wenhuan Road, Lixia District, Jinan, 250000, Shandong Province, China.
| | - Lin Liao
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, No.16766, Jingshi Road, Lixia District, Jinan, 250000, Shandong Province, China.
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Madan M, Patel A, Skruber K, Geerts D, Altomare DA, IV OP. ATP13A3 and caveolin-1 as potential biomarkers for difluoromethylornithine-based therapies in pancreatic cancers. Am J Cancer Res 2016; 6:1231-1252. [PMID: 27429841 PMCID: PMC4937730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 04/15/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to better understand the role of polyamine transport in pancreatic cancers.This paper identifies potential biomarkers for assessing the relative tumor commitment to polyamine biosynthesis or transport. Cell lines with low polyamine import activity and low ATP13A3 protein levels appear committed to polyamine biosynthesis and required high concentrations of the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor, difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) to inhibit their growth (e.g., AsPC-1 and Capan 1). In contrast, cell lines with high polyamine import activity and high ATP13A3 protein expression (e.g., L3.6pl) demonstrated a commitment to polyamine transport and required lower DFMO concentrations to inhibit their growth. Pancreatic cancer cell lines which were most sensitive to DFMO also gave the highest EC50 values for the polyamine transport inhibitors (PTIs) tested indicating that more PTI was needed to inhibit the active polyamine transport systems of these cell lines. Most significant is that the combination therapy of DFMO+PTI was efficacious against both cell types with the PTI showing low efficacy in cell lines with low polyamine transport activity and high efficacy in cell lines with high polyamine transport activity. High ATP13A3 protein expression and moderate to low Cav-1 protein expression was shown to be predictive of tumors which effectively escape DFMO via polyamine import. In summary, this report demonstrates for the first time the role of ATP13A3 in polyamine transport and its use as a potential biomarker along with Cav-1 to select tumors most susceptible to DFMO. These findings may help stratify patients in the ongoing clinical trials with DFMO-based therapies and help predict tumor response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenu Madan
- Department of Medical Education, University of Central Florida College of Medicine12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA
| | - Arjun Patel
- Department of Medical Education, University of Central Florida College of Medicine12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA
| | - Kristen Skruber
- Department of Medical Education, University of Central Florida College of Medicine12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA
| | - Dirk Geerts
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 503015 GE Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Deborah A Altomare
- Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, FL 32827, USA
| | - Otto Phanstiel IV
- Department of Medical Education, University of Central Florida College of Medicine12722 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA
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Kumar G, Patlolla JMR, Madka V, Mohammed A, Li Q, Zhang Y, Biddick L, Singh A, Gillaspy A, Lightfoot S, Steele VE, Kopelovich L, Rao CV. Simultaneous targeting of 5-LOX-COX and ODC block NNK-induced lung adenoma progression to adenocarcinoma in A/J mice. Am J Cancer Res 2016; 6:894-909. [PMID: 27293987 PMCID: PMC4889708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Targeting complementary pathways will achieve better treatment efficacy than a single agent high-dose strategy that could increase risk of side effects and tumor resistance. To target COX-2, 5-LOX, and ODC simultaneously, we tested the effects of a dual 5-LOX-COX inhibitor, licofelone, and an ODC inhibitor, DFMO, alone and in combination, on NNK-induced lung tumors in female A/J mice. Seven-week-old mice were treated with NNK (10 μmol/mouse, single dose, i.p.) and randomized to different treatment groups. Three weeks after injection, mice were fed control or experimental diets (DFMO 1500/3000 ppm, licofelone 200/400 ppm, or a low-dose combination of 1500 ppm DFMO and 200 ppm licofelone) for 17 or 34 weeks. Both agents significantly inhibited tumor formation in a dose-dependent manner. As anticipated more adenomas and adenocarcinomas were observed at 17 and 34 weeks, respectively. Importantly, low dose combination of DFMO and licofelone showed more pronounced effects at 17 or 34 weeks in inhibiting the total tumor formation (~60%, p < 0.0001) and adenocarcinoma (~65%, p < 0.0001) compared to individual high dose of DFMO (~44% and 46%, p < 0.0001) and licofelone (~48% and 55%, p < 0.0001). DFMO and combination-treated mice lung tumors exhibited modulated ODC pathway components (Oat, Oaz, SRM, SMS, and SAT, p < 0.05) along with decreased proliferation (PCNA, Cyclin D1 and Cyclin A) and increased expression of p53, p21 and p27 compared to mice fed control diet. Both DFMO and licofelone significantly inhibited tumor inflammatory markers. Our findings suggest that a low-dose combined treatment targeting inflammation and polyamine synthesis may provide effective chemoprevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Kumar
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Jagan Mohan R Patlolla
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Qian Li
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Yuting Zhang
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Laura Biddick
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Anil Singh
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Allison Gillaspy
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer InstituteBethesda, MD, USA
| | - Stanley Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
| | - Vernon E Steele
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer InstituteBethesda, MD, USA
| | - Levy Kopelovich
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer InstituteBethesda, MD, USA
| | - Chinthalapally V Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Hematology-Oncology Section, Department of Medicine, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
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Tymoshenko M, Kravchenko O, Sokur O, Gaida L, Liudmila Ostapchenko YO. The ornithine decarboxylase, NO-synthase activitiesand phospho-c-Jun content under experimental gastric mucosa malignancy. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND THERAPY 2016. [DOI: 10.7603/s40730-016-0017-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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44
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Rao CV, Janakiram NB, Madka V, Kumar G, Scott EJ, Pathuri G, Bryant T, Kutche H, Zhang Y, Biddick L, Gali H, Zhao YD, Lightfoot S, Mohammed A. Small-Molecule Inhibition of GCNT3 Disrupts Mucin Biosynthesis and Malignant Cellular Behaviors in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Res 2016; 76:1965-74. [PMID: 26880801 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-15-2820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive neoplasm with almost uniform lethality and a 5-year survival rate of 7%. Several overexpressed mucins that impede drug delivery to pancreatic tumors have been therapeutically targeted, but enzymes involved in mucin biosynthesis have yet to be preclinically evaluated as potential targets. We used survival data from human patients with pancreatic cancer, next-generation sequencing of genetically engineered Kras-driven mouse pancreatic tumors and human pancreatic cancer cells to identify the novel core mucin-synthesizing enzyme GCNT3 (core 2 β-1,6 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase). In mouse pancreatic cancer tumors, GCNT3 upregulation (103-fold; P < 0.0001) was correlated with increased expression of mucins (5 to 87-fold; P < 0.04-0.0003). Aberrant GCNT3 expression was also associated with increased mucin production, aggressive tumorigenesis, and reduced patient survival, and CRISPR-mediated knockout of GCNT3 in pancreatic cancer cells reduced proliferation and spheroid formation. Using in silico small molecular docking simulation approaches, we identified talniflumate as a novel inhibitor that selectively binds to GCNT3. In particular, docking predictions suggested that three notable hydrogen bonds between talniflumate and GCNT3 contribute to a docking affinity of -8.3 kcal/mol. Furthermore, talniflumate alone and in combination with low-dose gefitinib reduced GCNT3 expression, leading to the disrupted production of mucins in vivo and in vitro Collectively, our findings suggest that targeting mucin biosynthesis through GCNT3 may improve drug responsiveness, warranting further development and investigation in preclinical models of pancreatic tumorigenesis. Cancer Res; 76(7); 1965-74. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinthalapally V Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
| | - Naveena B Janakiram
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Edgar J Scott
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Gopal Pathuri
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Taylor Bryant
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Hannah Kutche
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Yuting Zhang
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Laura Biddick
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Hariprasad Gali
- College of Pharmacy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Yan D Zhao
- Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Stan Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
| | - Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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Rao CV, Janakiram NB, Madka V, Devarkonda V, Brewer M, Biddick L, Lightfoot S, Steele VE, Mohammed A. Simultaneous targeting of 5-LOX-COX and EGFR blocks progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Oncotarget 2015; 6:33290-305. [PMID: 26429877 PMCID: PMC4741766 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.5396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 09/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) are over-expressed in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis, we show significant increase in COX-2, 5-LOX, and EGFR expression during PDAC progression. Targeting complementary pathways will achieve better treatment efficacy than a single agent high-dose strategy that could increase risk of side effects and tumor resistance. To target COX-2, 5-LOX, and EGFR simultaneously, we tested effects of licofelone (dual 5-LOX-COX inhibitor), and gefitinib (EGFR inhibitor), individually and in combination, on pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasms (PanINs) and their progression to PDAC using genetically engineered mice. Individually, licofelone (L) and gefitinib (G) significantly inhibited incidence of PDAC in male (72% L, 90% G, p < 0.0001) and female (90% L, 85% G, p < 0.0001) mice. The combination drug treatment produced complete inhibition of PDAC in both genders. Pancreata of mice receiving combination treatment showed significantly fewer Dclk1-positive cancer stem-like cells, inhibition of COX-2, 5-LOX, PCNA, EGFR and β-catenin expression (p < 0.05-0.0002), increased p21 expression. Significant changes in tumor immune responses and desmoplastic reaction was observed by NGS analysis in combination treatment (p < 0.05). In summary, early simultaneous targeting of 5-LOX-COX- and EGFR pathways may provide additive inhibitory effects leading to complete suppression of PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinthalapally V. Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Naveena B. Janakiram
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Vishal Devarkonda
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Misty Brewer
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Laura Biddick
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Stan Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Vernon E. Steele
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
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Madka V, Mohammed A, Li Q, Zhang Y, Kumar G, Lightfoot S, Wu X, Steele V, Kopelovich L, Rao CV. TP53 modulating agent, CP-31398 enhances antitumor effects of ODC inhibitor in mouse model of urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma. Am J Cancer Res 2015; 5:3030-41. [PMID: 26693057 PMCID: PMC4656728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations of the tumor suppressor p53 and elevated levels of polyamines are known to play key roles in urothelial tumorigenesis. We investigated the inhibition of polyamines biosynthesis and the restoration of p53 signaling as a possible means of preventing muscle invasive urothelial tumors using DFMO, an ODC-inhibiting agent, and CP-31398 (CP), a p53 stabilizing agent. Transgenic UPII-SV40T male mice at 6weeks age (n=15/group) were fed control diet (AIN-76A) or experimental diets containing DFMO (1000 and 2000 ppm) or 150 ppm CP or both. At 40 weeks of age, all mice were euthanized and urinary bladders were evaluated to determine tumor weight and histopathology. Low-dose DFMO had a moderate significant inhibitory effect on tumor growth (38%, P<0.02) and tumor invasion (23%). High-dose DFMO had a 47% tumor inhibition (P<0.0001) and 40% inhibition tumor invasion. There was no significant difference between 1000 and 2000 ppm doses of DFMO (P>0.05). CP at 150 ppm alone had a strong inhibitory effect on tumor growth by 80% (P<0.0001); however, no effect on tumor invasion was observed. Interestingly, the combination of DFMO (1000 ppm) and CP (150 ppm) led to significant decrease in tumor weight (70%, P<0.0001) and tumor invasion (62.5%; P<0.005). Molecular analysis of the urothelial tumors suggested a modulation of polyamine biosynthesis, proliferation, cell cycle regulators resulting from the use of these agents. These results suggest that targeting two or more pathways could be an effective approach for chemoprevention. A combination of CP and DFMO appears to be a promising strategy for urothelial TCC prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Qian Li
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Yuting Zhang
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Stan Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Xueru Wu
- Department of Urology, NYU Medical CenterNY, USA
| | - Vernon Steele
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer InstituteBethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Chinthalapally V Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Stephenson Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, Hematology-Oncology Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK, USA
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Mohammed A, Janakiram NB, Pant S, Rao CV. Molecular Targeted Intervention for Pancreatic Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2015; 7:1499-542. [PMID: 26266422 PMCID: PMC4586783 DOI: 10.3390/cancers7030850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2015] [Revised: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the worst cancers, with almost uniform lethality. PC risk is associated with westernized diet, tobacco, alcohol, obesity, chronic pancreatitis, and family history of pancreatic cancer. New targeted agents and the use of various therapeutic combinations have yet to provide adequate treatments for patients with advanced cancer. To design better preventive and/or treatment strategies against PC, knowledge of PC pathogenesis at the molecular level is vital. With the advent of genetically modified animals, significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular biology and pathogenesis of PC. Currently, several clinical trials and preclinical evaluations are underway to investigate novel agents that target signaling defects in PC. An important consideration in evaluating novel drugs is determining whether an agent can reach the target in concentrations effective to treat the disease. Recently, we have reported evidence for chemoprevention of PC. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of current updates on molecularly targeted interventions, as well as dietary, phytochemical, immunoregulatory, and microenvironment-based approaches for the development of novel therapeutic and preventive regimens. Special attention is given to prevention and treatment in preclinical genetically engineered mouse studies and human clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
| | - Naveena B Janakiram
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
| | - Shubham Pant
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
| | - Chinthalapally V Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
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Mohammed A, Janakiram NB, Madka V, Brewer M, Ritchie RL, Lightfoot S, Kumar G, Sadeghi M, Patlolla JMR, Yamada HY, Cruz-Monserrate Z, May R, Houchen CW, Steele VE, Rao CV. Targeting pancreatitis blocks tumor-initiating stem cells and pancreatic cancer progression. Oncotarget 2015; 6:15524-39. [PMID: 25906749 PMCID: PMC4558168 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.3499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent development of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMs) for pancreatic cancer (PC) that recapitulates human disease progression has helped to identify new strategies to delay/inhibit PC development. We first found that expression of the pancreatic tumor-initiating/cancer stem cells (CSC) marker DclK1 occurs in early stage PC and in both early and late pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and that it increases as disease progresses in GEM and also in human PC. Genome-wide next generation sequencing of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from GEM mice revealed significantly increased DclK1 along with inflammatory genes. Genetic ablation of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) decreased DclK1 in GEM. Induction of inflammation/pancreatitis with cerulein in GEM mice increased DclK1, and the novel dual COX/5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibitor licofelone reduced it. Dietary licofelone significantly inhibited the incidence of PDAC and carcinoma in situ with significant inhibition of pancreatic CSCs. Licofelone suppressed pancreatic tumor COX-2 and 5-LOX activities and modulated miRNAs characteristic of CSC and inflammation in correlation with PDAC inhibition. These results offer a preclinical proof of concept to target the inflammation initiation to inhibit cancer stem cells early for improving the treatment of pancreatic cancers, with immediate clinical implications for repositioning dual COX/5-LOX inhibitors in human trials for high risk patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Altaf Mohammed
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Naveena B. Janakiram
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Venkateshwar Madka
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Misty Brewer
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Rebekah L. Ritchie
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Stan Lightfoot
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Michael Sadeghi
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Jagan Mohan R. Patlolla
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Hiroshi Y. Yamada
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Randal May
- Digestive Diseases Section, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Courtney W. Houchen
- Digestive Diseases Section, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
| | - Vernon E. Steele
- Division of Cancer Prevention, Chemoprevention Agent Development Research Group, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Chinthalapally V. Rao
- Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development, Department of Medicine, Hem-Onc Section, PC Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
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