Modulation of nitric oxide production by tetracyclines and chemically modified tetracyclines

Doxycycline enhances the Ras-MAPK signaling and proliferation of mouse thymic epithelial cells

Depletion of T-cell-dependent immunity is a major consideration for patients suffering from infections of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), those undergoing organ transplantation, and those receiving anti-cancer chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. In general, T-cell regeneration occurs in the thymus through thymopoiesis. We have found that doxycycline (Dox), a tetracycline derivative, enhances the proliferation of mouse thymic epithelial cells, which are unique in their capacity to support positive selection and are essential throughout the development of thymocytes. Cell cycle analysis indicates that the increased cell proliferation is due to a shortened G(0)/G(1) phase. To reveal the underlying mechanisms, we examined the expression of an array of molecules that regulate the cell cycle. The results show that in mouse thymic medullary-type epithelial cell line 1 (MTEC1) Dox leads to elevated levels of H-Ras, phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2), cyclin E, cyclin dependent kinase 4/2 (CDK4/CDK2), E2F3, and c-myc. These data, and the observation that the proliferation-enhancing effect is largely abolished following treatment with an ERK inhibitor support an active role of the Ras-ERK/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. In conclusion, the present study reveals a new activity of an old family of antibiotics. The in vivo effect of Dox on immune reconstitution warrants further exploration.

Chemically modified tetracyclines as inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases

Matrix metalloproteinases belong to a diverse group of enzymes that are not only involved in restructuring the extracellular matrix, but also play a major role in various pathophysiological conditions by virtue of their complicated expression, activation, and regulation processes. They have been widely implicated to function as major contenders in cancer progression, frequently due to their role in invasion, proliferation and metastasis. MMP inhibitors have been specifically designed to target these altered activities of MMPs, mostly by means of inhibiting their function and by diminishing their increased expression in various disease states, particularly cancer. Tetracyclines and chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) have been rationally designed to inhibit the activity of MMPs and thus decrease the potential risk of spread of tumor cells to distant sites by invasion and metastasis. Pre-clinical and early clinical data for one of these CMTs, COL-3 (formerly CMT-3) indicate considerable potential for this group of anticancer agents. Further testing and rational modifications of these CMT analogues might lead to new anticancer agents.

Depletion of Endogenous Nitric Oxide Enhances Cisplatin-induced Apoptosis in a p53-dependent Manner in Melanoma Cell Lines

The expression of inducible nitric-oxide synthase in melanoma tumor cells was recently shown to correlate strongly with poor patient survival after combination biochemotherapy (p<0.001). Furthermore, evidence suggests that nitric oxide, a reaction product of nitric oxide synthase, exhibits antiapoptotic activity in melanoma cells. We therefore hypothesized that nitric oxide antagonizes chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Whether nitric oxide is capable of regulating cell growth and apoptotic responses to cisplatin treatment in melanoma cell lines was evaluated. We demonstrate herein that depletion of endogenously produced nitric oxide can inhibit melanoma proliferation and promote apoptosis. Moreover, our data indicate that the depletion of nitric oxide leads to changes in cell cycle regulation and enhances cisplatin-induced apoptosis in melanoma cells. Strikingly, we observed that the depletion of nitric oxide inhibits cisplatin-induced wild type p53 accumulation and p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) expression in melanoma cells. When cisplatin-induced p53 binding to the p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) promoter was examined, it was found that nitric oxide depletion significantly reduced the presence of p53-DNA complexes after cisplatin treatment. Furthermore, dominant negative inhibition of p53 activity enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Together, these data strongly suggest that endogenously produced nitric oxide is required for cisplatin-induced p53 activation and p21(Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1) expression, which can regulate melanoma sensitivity to cisplatin.

Matrix metalloproteinases production in malignant pleural effusions after talc pleurodesis

In this study we have evaluated the modifications of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in malignant pleural fluids taken from patients suffering from lung cancer and treated with intrapleural talc instillation to induce pleurodesis. Furthermore, we have analysed the variations of some inflammatory mediators (C-reactive protein, alpha-1 antitrypsin) and of a protein (plasminogen) involved in MMP activation. In all patients the clinical improvement after talc pleurodesis was followed by a reduction in MMP-1, TIMP-1, C-reactive protein, alpha-1 antitrypsin and plasminogen activity. Furthermore, MMP-9 levels were variable; in fact, in some patients they were high at the beginning of treatment, in others they increased a few days after pleurodesis induction. These inhibitory effects of talc on MMP-1 and inflammatory mediators associated with the reduction of pleural effusion could constitute an effective means to evaluate the evolution of the treatment.

Apoptosis: an introduction for the endodontist

Apoptosis plays an important role in many aspects of endodontics, yet there is a paucity of information in this regard in the endodontic literature. Apoptosis is a single deletion of scattered cells by fragmentation into membrane-bound particles that are phagocytosed by other cells. It is a key process in the embryological development of the tooth, periodontal ligament and supporting oral tissue in the progression of oral disease, bone resorption, immunological response and inflammation, and in wound healing and certain pharmacological effects. The understanding of the ability of clinical materials to induce or inhibit apoptosis and the investigation of apoptosis as it relates to the pathogenesis of pulpal and periradicular pathology may eventually lead to new treatment approaches for the endodontist. The purpose of this review is to familiarize the clinical endodontist with current knowledge on apoptosis as it relates to the pulp and periradicular tissues.

Chemically modified tetracyclines induce cytotoxic effects against J774 tumour cell line by activating the apoptotic pathway

Here, we have studied the effects of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) on apoptosis both at the level of the cytoplasmic proteolytic caspase cascade, and on Bcl-2 and c-myc mRNA expression in the J774 macrophage cell line. The results indicate that CMTs induce morphological changes consistent with apoptotic events, as clearly demonstrated both by the acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining, and by TUNEL and fragmentation ELISA assays. Furthermore, the analysis of the cell cycle by flow cytometry shows an evident apoptotic sub-G0G1 peak, without important modifications in the cell cycle distribution. CMTs induce programmed cell death (PCD) in a dose-dependent manner and CMT-8 is the strongest among them. CMT-1 and CMT-8 activate mainly caspase-8 as attested by the inhibitory effects of Z-VAD-fmk and Z-IEDT-fmk on CMT-induced apoptosis. Part of CMT-induced PCD is due to the activation of caspase-9, since it is reduced by the specific caspase-9 inhibitor, Z-LEHD-fmk. Besides, CMTs increase Bcl-2 and c-myc mRNA expression. Collectively, these data indicate that CMTs are potentially anti-tumour agents, since they strongly trigger apoptosis both activating the proteolytic system of the caspase family and modulating genes involved in PCD regulation.

Compensatory role of NO in cerebral circulation of piglets chronically treated with indomethacin

We hypothesize that inhibitory effects exist between prostanoids and nitric oxide (NO) in their contributions to cerebral circulation. Piglets (1-4 days old) were divided into three chronically treated (6-8 days) groups: control piglets, piglets treated with indomethacin (75 mg/day), and piglets treated with N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)). Pial arterioles dilated in response to hypercapnia similarly among the three groups (41 +/- 4, 40 +/- 6, and 45 +/- 11%). Cerebrospinal fluid cAMP increased in control piglets, while cGMP increased in indomethacin-treated piglets. L-NAME, but not 7-nitroindazole, inhibited the response to hypercapnia only in indomethacin-treated piglets (40 +/- 6 vs. 17 +/- 5%). Topical sodium nitroprusside or iloprost restored dilation in response to hypercapnia. Similar results were obtained when the dilator was bradykinin. Pial arterioles of control and L-NAME-treated piglets constricted in response to ACh (-24 +/- 3%). However, those of indomethacin-treated piglets dilated in response to ACh (15 +/- 2%). This dilation was inhibited by L-NAME. NO synthase activity, but not endothelial NO synthase expression, increased after chronic indomethacin treatment. These data suggest that chronic inhibition of cyclooxygenase can increase the contribution of NO to cerebrovascular circulatory control in piglets.

Anti-inflammatory effects of chemically modified tetracyclines by the inhibition of nitric oxide and interleukin-12 synthesis in J774 cell line

We investigated the effects of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) on the production of nitric oxide (NO) and on the synthesis of some cytokines: tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin(IL)-10 and IL-12 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated J774 cell line. Furthermore, we studied the ability of these drugs to modify the viability in LPS-stimulated J774 macrophages. CMTs decreased, in a dose-dependent manner, inducible NO synthase (iNOS) activity and, consequently, nitrite formation in J774 cultures. The CMT-induced decrease in NO production is due to the inhibition of enzyme activity rather than to a direct effect on enzyme expression. The absence of the inhibition in mRNA accumulation indicates that the inhibiting activity is mainly post-transcriptional. CMTs were unable to modulate TNF-alpha and IL-10 synthesis and they were not effective in modifying the transcription of relative mRNA in J774 macrophages. On the contrary, IL-12 mRNA expression was significantly increased by CMT-1 and CMT-8 with LPS activation. Since IL-12 protein secretion was inhibited by CMTs, these compounds interfere in the blocking of post-transcriptional events. The studies on cell viability showed that various CMTs induced a dose-dependent decrease in J774 macrophage viability. The cytotoxic activity was present even though NO production was inhibited by CMTs. These compounds appear to be able to activate apoptosis in aNO-independent way. Altogether, these results indicate that CMTs can exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting NO synthesis, and they are able to modify cell viability by exerting a strong apoptotic activity.

Effects of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) in sensitive, multidrug resistant and apoptosis resistant leukaemia cell lines

Recently discovered chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) have shown in vitro and in vivo anti-proliferative and anti-tumour activities. Here, we evaluated in vitro the anti-proliferative and apoptotic activity of six different dedimethylamino chemically modified tetracyclines (CMT-1, CMT-3, CMT-5, CMT-6, CMT-7 and CMT-8) in sensitive and multidrug resistant myeloid leukaemia cells (HL60 and HL60R) in vitro. Three of these compounds (CMT-5, CMT-6, CMT-7) showed low cytotoxic activity both in sensitive and in resistant cells, CMT-3 was endowed with a high anti-proliferative activity only in sensitive cells and was moderately effective as apoptosis inducing agent, with an activity similar to that shown by doxycycline. On the contrary, CMT-1 and CMT-8 were very effective as programmed cell death inducing agents. The apoptotic pathway activated by these compounds involved the activation of caspases, especially caspase-9 and, for CMT-1, also the activation of FAS: Interestingly CMT-8, but not CMT-1, was able to induce apoptosis in multidrug resistant HL60R and in Fas-ligand resistant HUT78B1 cell lines. These properties, together with others previously described (e.g. anti-metastatic and anti-osteolytic activities), suggest that CMT-8 may have important applications in the clinical management of cancer. The comparative analysis of structure-activity relationship of CMT-8 and doxycycline suggests that the C-5 hydroxy moiety may play an important role in conferring activity in multidrug resistant cells. These findings appear to support the hypothesis that CMT-8 may represent an interesting lead for the development of a new class of potent apoptosis inducer agents active in multidrug resistant and Fas-ligand resistant malignancies.

Tetracycline-based MMP inhibitors can prevent fibroblast-mediated collagen gel contraction in vitro

Collagen gels in vitro can be contracted by fibroblasts. The role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the contraction of collagen lattices by human neonatal foreskin fibroblasts (HuFFs) was investigated in tissue culture media supplemented by various doses of known gelatinase inhibitors. Fluorescent assays with model gelatinase substrates and media conditioned by fibroblasts apparently confirmed the ability of chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) to act as inhibitors of MMP2, and zymography demonstrated that this was the major cell-derived MMP activity. There were no observable effects on the rate of contraction of attached FPCLs containing 6 x 10(4) HuFFs (passages 18-25) with either CMT-5 or CMT-2 at all concentrations tested (0-100 micrograms/mL). However, at greater than 20 micrograms/mL doxycycline and greater than 5 micrograms/mL CMT-3, FPCL contraction was completely abolished. Quantitative assessment of cell viability by means of the MTT assay in monolayer and qualitatively within the FPCLs with CalceinAM suggested that differences were not due to cytotoxic effects. Seeding FPCLs with lower-passage fibroblasts produced identical trends. These results may implicate the involvement of MMPs in the process of gel contraction, although tetracyclines have effects additional to their ability to inhibit MMPs directly.

Tetracycline derivatives induce apoptosis selectively in cultured monocytes and macrophages but not in mesenchymal cells

Evidence for a non-antibiotic activity displayed by certain tetracycline derivatives is presented. This activity is a selective cytotoxicity toward cells of the monocytic lineage (the human histiocytic lymphoma U937 cell line and the mouse macrophage line RAW264) but not toward various cells of a mesenchymal lineage (including primary ovine articular chondrocytes and meniscal cells, murine calvarial osteoblasts and MG-63 osteosarcoma cells, and primary human neonatal foreskin fibroblasts). Cells were incubated with various chemically modified tetracycline derivatives (CMTs) or doxycycline for 24 hrs at a range of concentrations between zero and 50 micrograms/mL in both serum-containing and serum-free culture conditions. Assessment of cell viability by means of the MTT assay demonstrated a potent dose-dependent cytotoxic effect induced by compound CMT-3 and a less potent effect induced by doxycycline, but no apparent cytotoxic effect in the presence of either CMT-2 or CMT-5. Cytospin preparations analyzed by the labeling of DNA fragments indicated the same trends and suggested that cell death was via an apoptotic mechanism. The cytotoxic potency of these tetracyclines toward cells of the monocytic lineage could be diminished but not abolished by either the presence of 10% fetal calf serum within the culture medium, or pre-treatment with phorbol esters to promote a more macrophage-like phenotype. These data provide evidence that, in addition to well-characterized antibiotic and MMP-inhibitory characteristics, tetracyclines may function by a novel mechanism to induce selective apoptosis.