Targeting genotoxic and proteotoxic stress-response pathways in human prostate cancer by clinically available PARP inhibitors, vorinostat and disulfiram

BACKGROUND

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa) represents a serious health challenge. Based on mechanistically-supported rationale we explored new therapeutic options based on clinically available drugs with anticancer effects, including inhibitors of PARP1 enzyme (PARPi), and histone deacetylases (vorinostat), respectively, and disulfiram (DSF, known as alcohol-abuse drug Antabuse) and its copper-chelating metabolite CuET that inhibit protein turnover.

METHODS

Drugs and their combination with ionizing radiation (IR) were tested in various cytotoxicity assays in three human PCa cell lines including radio-resistant stem-cell like derived cells. Mechanistically, DNA damage repair, heat shock and unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways were assessed by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting.

RESULTS

We observed enhanced sensitivity to PARPi/IR in PC3 cells consistent with lower homologous recombination (HR) repair. Vorinostat sensitized DU145 cells to PARPi/IR and decreased mutant p53. Vorinostat also impaired HR-mediated DNA repair, as determined by Rad51 foci formation and downregulation of TOPBP1 protein, and overcame radio-resistance of stem-cell like DU145-derived cells. All PCa models responded well to CuET or DSF combined with copper. We demonstrated that DSF interacts with copper in the culture media and forms adequate levels of CuET indicating that DSF/copper and CuET may be considered as comparable treatments. Both DSF/copper and CuET evoked hallmarks of UPR in PCa cells, documented by upregulation of ATF4, CHOP and phospho-eIF2α, with ensuing heat shock response encompassing activation of HSF1 and HSP70. Further enhancing the cytotoxicity of CuET, combination with an inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein survivin (YM155, currently undergoing clinical trials) promoted the UPR-induced toxicity, yielding synergistic effects of CuET and YM155.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose that targeting genotoxic and proteotoxic stress responses by combinations of available drugs could inspire innovative strategies to treat castration-resistant PCa.

The dual role of asporin in breast cancer progression

Asporin has been reported as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer, while asporin-activated invasion has been described in gastric cancer. According to our in silico search, high asporin expresion associates with significantly better relapse free survival (RFS) in patients with low-grade tumors but RFS is significantly worse in patients with grade 3 tumors. In line with other studies, we have confirmed asporin expression by RNA scope in situ hybridization in cancer associated fibroblasts. We have also found asporin expression in the Hs578T breast cancer cell line which we confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting. From multiple testing, we found that asporin can be downregulated by bone morphogenetic protein 4 while upregulation may be facilited by serum-free cultivation or by three dimensional growth in stiff Alvetex scaffold. Downregulation by shRNA inhibited invasion of Hs578T as well as of CAFs and T47D cells. Invasion of asporin-negative MDA-MB-231 and BT549 breast cancer cells through collagen type I was enhanced by recombinant asporin. Besides other investigations, large scale analysis of aspartic acid repeat polymorphism will be needed for clarification of the asporin dual role in progression of breast cancer.

Evaluation of candidate biomarkers to predict cancer cell sensitivity or resistance to PARP-1 inhibitor treatment

Impaired DNA damage response pathways may create vulnerabilities of cancer cells that can be exploited therapeutically. One such selective vulnerability is the sensitivity of BRCA1- or BRCA2-defective tumors (hence defective in DNA repair by homologous recombination, HR) to inhibitors of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), an enzyme critical for repair pathways alternative to HR. While promising, treatment with PARP-1 inhibitors (PARP-1i) faces some hurdles, including (1) acquired resistance, (2) search for other sensitizing, non-BRCA1/2 cancer defects and (3) lack of biomarkers to predict response to PARP-1i. Here we addressed these issues using PARP-1i on 20 human cell lines from carcinomas of the breast, prostate, colon, pancreas and ovary. Aberrations of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex sensitized cancer cells to PARP-1i, while p53 status was less predictive, even in response to PARP-1i combinations with camptothecin or ionizing radiation. Furthermore, monitoring PARsylation and Rad51 foci formation as surrogate markers for PARP activity and HR, respectively, supported their candidacy for biomarkers of PARP-1i responses. As to resistance mechanisms, we confirmed the role of the multidrug resistance efflux transporters and its reversibility. More importantly, we demonstrated that shRNA lentivirus-mediated depletion of 53BP1 in human BRCA1-mutant breast cancer cells increased their resistance to PARP-1i. Given the preferential loss of 53BP1 in BRCA-defective and triple-negative breast carcinomas, our findings warrant assessment of 53BP1 among candidate predictive biomarkers of response to PARPi. Overall, this study helps characterize genetic and functional determinants of cellular responses to PARP-1i and contributes to the search for biomarkers to exploit PARP inhibitors in cancer therapy.

The radiosensitising effect of olomoucine derived synthetic cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors

Bohemine and roscovitine are the most important representatives of the group of compounds structurally derived from olomoucine. Biologically they function as inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), the key regulators of cell cycle, which is often disrupted in cancer cells resulting in uncontrollable proliferation. Bohemine and roscovitine have demonstrated their cytostatic and cytotoxic in vitro and also in vivo effects. Currently the phase II clinical trials for roscovitine are underway. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential in vitro radiosensitising effect of bohemine (BOH) and roscovitine (ROS). Clonogenic survival assay and human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 were used. Tested schedules were: A-pretreatment, B-concomitant application and C-posttreatment. Concentrations corresponded to IC10, IC25 and IC50 for BOH/ROS (0.1-30 microM). The radiation doses were 1, 2 and 3 Gy. Flow cytometry and western blot analysis were used to characterize cell cycle distribution, BrdU incorporation and DNA repair processes. The highest in vitro radiosensitising effect of BOH/ROS was observed for Schedule A in all tested concentrations (SER(37%) 1.46-3.20). Cell cycle analysis showed an inclination towards G0/G1 delay 48 hours posttreatment and unaltered level of apoptosis. Changes in the DNA repair processes were observed - inhibition of DNA-PK kinase, inhibition of BrdU incorporation, strong and enduring induction of p21 protein and long-lasting phosphorylation of gammaH2AX(Ser139). Certain low concentration activities of BOH/ROS in monotherapy were detected, mainly the activation of DNA-PK kinase. The results demonstrated strong in vitro radiosensitising effect of BOH/ROS that is concentration and especially schedule dependent. The strong cytostatic effect of the pretreatment schedule is mediated through the inhibition/rearrangements of DNA repair processes.

Molecular detection of disseminated breast cancer cells in the bone marrow of early breast cancer patients using quantitative RT PCR for CEA

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is widely used as a serum tumor marker in various types of cancer. Several systems for the CEA-RT-PCR approach have been reported to date. In this study, we have evaluated the quantitative CEA-RT-PCR as a diagnostic tool for detection of isolated tumor cells in bone marrow of early breast cancer patients prior to the administration of any adjuvant systemic therapy. We obtained bone marrow aspirates of 70 patients with stage I (37%), II (60%), and III (3%) breast cancer who underwent either immediate complete resection of the tumor or neoadjuvant therapy with subsequent curative surgery. mRNA was isolated using QIAamp RNA blood mini kit (Qiagen). Subsequently quantitative RT-PCR for the expression of CEA has been performed. CEA transcripts were detected in samples from 29 (41%) out of 70 patients. With a median follow-up of 22 months we observed 8 disease free survival (DFS) events including 4 systemic recurrences, 1 ductal in-situ carcinoma (DCIS), 1 local recurrence, and 2 deaths without tumour. Four DFS events (2 systemic recurrences, 2 deaths without tumor) occurred in patients with CEA transcripts in the bone marrow and 4 (2 systemic recurrences, 1 DCIS, 1 locoregional recurrence) in patients without CEA in the bone marrow. There was a trend to shorter DFS in the group with CEA in the bone marrow (p=0.05548). Overall survival was not assessed because only 2 deaths (both in patients without tumor) have been reported to date. Quantitative RT-PCR assay for CEA may be a useful tool for detection of occult breast cancer cells in the bone marrow. Clinical and prognostic relevance of minimal residual disease using this technique remains unproven. Our results should be interpreted with caution with regard to 2 deaths in CEA positive group with no relationship to disease recurrence.

Synthesis of A-seco derivatives of betulinic acid with cytotoxic activity

In this study, the relationships between the chemical structure and cytotoxic activity of betulinic acid (1) derivatives were investigated. Eight lupane derivatives (1-8), one of them new (6), five diosphenols (9-13), four of them new (10-13), two new norderivatives (14 and 15), five seco derivatives (16-20), four of them new (16, 17, 19, and 20), and three new seco-anhydrides (21-23) were synthesized from 1, and their activities were compared with the activities of known compounds. The effects of substitution on the A-ring and esterification of the carboxyl group in position 28 on cytotoxicity were of special interest. Significant cytotoxic activity against the T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell line CEM was found in diosphenols 9 and 13 (TCS(50) 4 and 5 micromol/L) and seco-anhydrides 22 and 23 (TCS(50) 7 and 6 micromol/L). All compounds were also tested on cancer cell lines HT 29, K562, K562 Tax, and PC-3, and these confirmed activity of diosphenols 9, 10, and 11 and anhydride 22. Diosphenols, as the most promising group of derivatives, were further tested on four more lines (A 549, DU 145, MCF 7, SK-Mel2).

In vitro chemoresistance profile and expression/function of MDR associated proteins in resistant cell lines derived from CCRF-CEM, K562, A549 and MDA MB 231 parental cells

Although cellular experiments have elucidated a number of active principles in the study of the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenomena, most of the drug resistant tumor cells were derived from different parental cell lines. This fact limits generalization of some experimental data and conclusions, and therefore we selected and characterized cell lines resistant to various anti-cancer agents derived from four parental cell lines: CEM (human T-lymphoblastic leukemia), K562 (human myeloid leukemia), A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and MDAMB 231 (human breast adenocarcinoma). In total we obtained a set of 42 resistant sublines, which is an excellent tool for the future studies of different aspects of MDR. In this study we report on some basic characteristics of these sublines, namely, cross-resistance to other anti-cancer drugs investigated by in vitro MTT assay, expression of MDR associated proteins (Pgp, MRP1, LRP, GST-pi and Topo IIalpha) as well as the functional activity of Pgp and MRP.

TIS7 interacts with the mammalian SIN3 histone deacetylase complex in epithelial cells

The mammalian SIN3 complex consists of histone deacetylases (HDAC1, HDAC2), several known proteins (SAP30, N-CoR) and as yet unidentified proteins. Here we show that the mouse tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate induced sequence 7 (TIS7) protein is a novel transcriptional co-repressor that can associate with the SIN3 complex. We have identified tis7 as a gene that is up-regulated upon loss of polarity in a mouse mammary gland epithelial cell line expressing an estrogen-inducible c-JunER fusion protein. In unpolarized cells, TIS7 protein levels increase and TIS7 translocates into the nucleus. Overexpression of tis7 causes loss of polarity and represses a set of genes, as revealed by cDNA microarray analysis. We have shown that TIS7 protein interacts with several proteins of the SIN3 complex (mSin3B, HDAC1, N-CoR and SAP30) by yeast two-hybrid screening and co-immunoprecipitations. TIS7 co-immunoprecipitated HDAC complex is enzymatically active and represses a GAL4-dependent reporter transcription. The transcriptional repression of endogenous genes by tis7 overexpression is HDAC dependent. Thus, we propose TIS7 as a transcriptional co-repressor affecting the expression of specific genes in a HDAC activity-dependent manner during cell fate decisions, e.g. scattering.