Cancer research
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Recent evidence suggests that the quinazoline-based alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists, doxazosin and terazosin, exhibit a potent apoptotic effect against prostate tumor epithelial cells, whereas tamsulosin, a sulfonamide-based alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist, was ineffective in inducing a similar apoptotic effect against prostate cells (Cancer Res., 60: 4550-4555, 2000). In this study, to identify the precise molecular mechanism underlying this apoptosis induction, we examined whether doxazosin and terazosin (both piperazinyl quinazolines) affect prostate growth via an alpha1-adrenoceptor-independent action. Transfection-mediated overexpression of alpha1-adrenoceptor in human prostate cancer cells, DU-145 (that lack alpha1-adrenoceptor), did not alter the ability of prostate cancer cells to undergo apoptosis in response to quinazolines. ⋯ Furthermore, human normal prostate epithelial cells exhibited a very low sensitivity to the apoptotic effects of doxazosin compared with that observed for the malignant prostate cells. These findings provide the first evidence that the apoptotic activity of the quinazoline-based alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists (doxazosin and terazosin) against prostate cancer cells is independent of: (a) their capacity to antagonize alpha1-adrenoceptors; and (b) the hormone sensitivity status of the cells. This may have potential therapeutic significance in the use of quinazoline-based alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists (already in clinical use for the treatment of hypertension and benign prostate hyperplasia) for the treatment of androgen-independent human prostate cancer.
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Membrane-type (MT) 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) is up-regulated in many tumor types and has been implicated in tumor progression and metastasis. MT1-MMP is critical for pericellular degradation of the extracellular matrix, thereby promoting tumor cell invasion and dissemination. To grow efficiently in vivo, tumor cells induce angiogenesis in both primary solid tumors and metastatic foci. ⋯ In addition, U-MT cells in vitro secreted twice as much VEGF as the control cells. GM6001, a hydroxamate inhibitor of MMP activity, down-regulated the production of VEGF in U-MT cells to the levels observed in the U-neo control. Our results demonstrate that the enhanced tumorigenicity of glioma cells overexpressing MT1-MMP involves stimulation of angiogenesis through the up-regulation of VEGF production.
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Interactions between the kinase inhibitor STI571 and pharmacological antagonists of the mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade have been examined in human myeloid leukemia cells (K562 and LAMA 84) that express the Bcr-Abl kinase. Exposure of K562 cells to concentrations of STI571 that minimally induced apoptosis (e.g., approximately 200 nM) resulted in early suppression (i.e., at 6 h) of p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation followed at later intervals (i.e., > or =24 h) by a marked increase in p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation/activation. Coadministration of a nontoxic concentration of the MEK1/2 inhibitor PD184352 (5 microM) prevented STI571-mediated activation of p42/44 MAPK. ⋯ Significantly, coexposure to PD184352 strikingly increased the lethality of a pharmacologically achievable concentration of STI571 (i.e., 1-2 microM) in resistant K562 cells expressing marked increases in Bcr-Abl protein levels. Together, these findings raise the possibility that treatment of Bcr-Abl-expressing cells with STI571 elicits a cytoprotective MAPK activation response and that interruption of the latter pathway (e.g., by pharmacological MEK1/2 inhibitors) is associated with a highly synergistic induction of mitochondrial damage and apoptosis. They also indicate that in the case of Bcr-Abl-positive cells, simultaneous interruption of two signal transduction pathways may represent an effective antileukemic strategy.
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Recent studies in cell culture have shown that isothiocyanates (ITCs) induce apoptosis via activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and p53 pathways, suggesting a potential for ITCs or their conjugates to inhibit tumorigenesis during the postinitiation phase. To evaluate whether ITC compounds administered after carcinogen treatment inhibit lung tumorigenesis, we investigated in A/J mice the effects of the N-acetylcysteine (NAC) conjugates of benzyl (BITC-NAC) and phenethyl ITC (PEITC-NAC) in the diet (15 micromol/g) administered after a single dose of 20 micromol benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]. The formation of lung adenomas was examined 140 days after B(a)P dosing. ⋯ No change in nuclear factor-kappaB binding activity was found, however. Phosphorylation of p53 was also higher than the constitutive levels in both ITC-NAC-treated groups, but no induction of p53 expression was detected. This study demonstrates the chemopreventive efficacy of the NAC conjugates of PEITC and BITC administered in the diet after a single dose of B(a)P for lung tumorigenesis and provides the first in vivo evidence that activation of MAP kinases, AP-1 transcription factors, p53 phosphorylation, and the induction of apoptosis may be involved in the chemopreventive activity of these compounds.
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The NY-ESO-1 gene product is expressed by a range of human tumors and is recognized by antibodies from sera of cancer patients with NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors. The NY-ESO-1 gene also encodes several MHC class I- and MHC class II-restricted tumor epitopes recognized by T lymphocytes. In particular, we previously reported that the NY-ESO-1 119-143 peptide contains at least two HLA-DRB1*0401-presented epitopes that are recognized by melanoma-reactive CD4+ T cells. ⋯ We also demonstrate that the NY-ESO-1 119-143 peptide stimulates in vitro both Th1-type and Th2-type CD4+ T-cell responses from peripheral blood lymphocytes of normal donors and melanoma patients. Taken together, these data suggest a key role of the NY-ESO-1 119-143 peptide sequence in the induction of cellular and humoral responses against NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors. They support the relevance of cancer vaccine trials with the NY-ESO-1 119-143 peptide in the large number of cancer patients with NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors.