Differential responses of normal, premalignant, and malignant human bronchial epithelial cells to receptor-selective retinoids.
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Using an in vitro lung carcinogenesis model consisting of normal, premalignant, and malignant human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, we analyzed the growth inhibitory effects of 26 novel synthetic retinoic acid receptor (RAR)- and retinoid X receptor (RXR)-selective retinoids. RAR-selective retinoids such as CD271, CD437, CD2325, and SR11364 showed potent activity in inhibiting the growth of either normal or premalignant and malignant HBE cells (IC50s mostly <1 microM) and were much more potent than RXR-selective retinoids. Nonetheless, the combination of RAR- and RXR-selective retinoids exhibited additive effects in HBE cells. As the HBE cells became progressively more malignant, they exhibited decreased or lost sensitivity to many retinoids. The activity of the RAR-selective retinoids, with the exception of the most potent retinoid, CD437, could be suppressed by an RAR panantagonist. These results suggest that: (a) RAR/RXR heterodimers play an important role in mediating the growth inhibitory effects of most retinoids in HBE cells; (b) CD437 may act through an RAR-independent pathway; (c) some of the RAR-selective retinoids may have the potential to be used in the clinic as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents for lung cancer; and (d) early stages of lung carcinogenesis may be responsive targets for chemoprevention by retinoids, as opposed to later stages. (+info)
KRAS mutations predict progression of preneoplastic gastric lesions.
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Eight hundred sixty-three subjects with atrophic gastritis were recruited to participate in an ongoing chemoprevention trial in Narino, Colombia. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention therapies, which included treatment to eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection followed by daily dietary supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design. A series of biopsies of gastric mucosa were obtained according to a specified protocol from designated locations in the stomach for each participant at baseline (before intervention therapy) and at year three. A systematic sample of 160 participants was selected from each of the eight treatment combinations. DNA was isolated from each of these biopsies (n = 320), and the first exon of KRAS was amplified using PCR. Mutations in the KRAS gene were detected using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and confirmed by sequence analysis. Of all baseline biopsies, 14.4% (23 of 160) contained KRAS mutations. Among those participants with atrophic gastritis without metaplasia, 19.4% (6 of 25) contained KRAS mutations, indicating that mutation of this important gene is likely an early event in the etiology of gastric carcinoma. An important association was found between the presence of KRAS mutations in baseline biopsies and the progression of preneoplastic lesions. Only 14.6% (20 of 137) of participants without baseline KRAS mutations progressed from atrophic gastritis to intestinal metaplasia or from small intestinal metaplasia to colonic metaplasia; however, 39.1% (9 of 23) with baseline KRAS mutations progressed to a more advanced lesion after 3 years [univariate odds ratio (OR), 3.76 (P = 0.05); multivariate OR adjusted for treatment, 3.74 (P = 0.04)]. In addition, the specificity of the KRAS mutation predicted progression. For those participants with G-->T transversions at position 1 of codon 12 (GGT-->TGT), 19.4% (5 of 17) progressed (univariate OR, 2.4); however, 60.0% (3 of 5) of participants with G-->A transitions at position 1 of codon 12 (GGT-->AGT) progressed (univariate OR, 8.7; P = 0.004 using chi2 test). (+info)
Disorders in cell circuitry associated with multistage carcinogenesis: exploitable targets for cancer prevention and therapy.
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The development of a malignant tumor involves the progressive acquisition of mutations and epigenetic abnormalities in multiple genes that have highly diverse functions. Some of these genes code for pathways of signal transduction that mediate the action of growth factors. The enzyme protein kinase C plays an important role in these events and in the process of tumor promotion. Therefore, we examined the effects of three inhibitors of protein kinase C, CGP 41251, RO 31-8220, and calphostin C, on human glioblastoma cells. These compounds inhibited growth and induced apoptosis; these activities were associated with a decrease in the level of CDC2 and cyclin B1/CDC2-associated kinase activity. This may explain why the treated cells accumulated in G2-M. In a separate series of studies, we examined abnormalities in cell cycle control genes in human cancer. We have found that cyclin D1 is frequently overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. Mechanistic studies indicate that cyclin D1 can play a critical role in carcinogenesis because: overexpression enhances cell transformation and tumorigenesis; introduction of an antisense cyclin D1 cDNA into either human esophageal or colon cancer cells reverts their malignant phenotype; and overexpression of cyclin D1 can enhance the amplification of other genes. The latter finding suggests that cyclin D1 can enhance genomic instability and, thereby, the process of tumor progression. Therefore, inhibitors of the function of cyclin D1 may be useful in both cancer chemoprevention and therapy. We obtained evidence for the existence of homeostatic feedback loops between cyclins D1 or E and the cell cycle inhibitory protein p27Kip1. On the basis of these and other findings, we hypothesize that, because of their disordered circuitry, cancer cells suffer from "gene addiction" and "gene hypersensitivity," disorders that might be exploited in both cancer prevention and therapy. (+info)
Determination of an optimal dosing regimen for aspirin chemoprevention of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumours in rats.
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In order to establish an optimal timing and duration of aspirin treatment in the chemoprevention of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer in rats, colon tumours were induced using an established protocol and aspirin was given in the diet at 500 p.p.m. during various stages of colon carcinogenesis. Results indicate that only aspirin treatment throughout the entire carcinogenic period significantly reduced tumour incidence and volume whereas intermittent aspirin dosing increased tumour number and/or volume, suggesting that aspirin must be used for an extended period in order to gain any chemopreventive benefit. (+info)
Evaluation of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) for cancer chemoprevention: lack of efficacy against nascent adenomatous polyps in the Apc(Min) mouse.
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Recent experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in the prevention of colorectal cancer. However, the toxicity associated with the long-term use of most classical NSAIDs has limited their usefulness for the purpose of cancer chemoprevention. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, in particular, are sensitive to the adverse side effects of NSAIDs, and these patients also have an increased risk for the development of intestinal cancer. 5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used in the treatment of IBD and may provide protection against the development of colorectal cancer in these patients. To directly evaluate the ability of 5-ASA to suppress intestinal tumors, we studied several formulations of 5-ASA (free acid, sulfasalazine, and Pentasa) at multiple oral dosage levels [500, 2400, 4800, and 9600 parts/million (ppm)] in the adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) mouse model of multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min). Although the ApcMin mouse is not a model of colitis-associated neoplasia, it is, nonetheless, a useful model for assessing the ability of anti-inflammatory agents to prevent tumor formation in a genetically preinitiated population of cells. We used a study design in which drug was provided ad libitum through the diet beginning at the time of weaning (28 days of age) until 100 days of age. We included 200 ppm of piroxicam and 160 ppm of sulindac as positive controls, and the negative control was AIN-93G diet alone. Treatment with either piroxicam or sulindac produced statistically significant reductions in intestinal tumor multiplicity (95% and 83% reductions in tumor number, respectively; P < 0.001 versus controls). By contrast, none of the 5-ASA drug formulations or dosage levels produced consistent dose-progressive changes in polyp number, distribution, or size, despite high luminal and serum concentrations of 5-ASA and its primary metabolite N-acetyl-5-ASA. Thus, 5-ASA does not seem to possess direct chemosuppressive activity against the development of nascent intestinal adenomas in the ApcMin mouse. However, because intestinal tumor development in the ApcMin mouse is driven by a germline mutation in the Apc gene rather than by chronic inflammation, we caution that these findings do not definitively exclude the possibility that 5-ASA may exert a chemopreventive effect in human IBD patients. (+info)
Should we be doing more to prevent Group C meningococcal infection in school age children? How can we decide?
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Meningococcal Group C infections are potentially preventable by vaccination in most cases. Population immunization has not been adopted because the disease is rare and the vaccine effective for only about three years. However, the recent rise in cases in school age children has prompted an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies for management of a case of Group C infection. Chemoprophylaxis and vaccination of close contacts is the most cost-effective strategy but will prevent relatively few cases. Population vaccination prevents considerably more cases, but at a much higher total and marginal cost. An intermediate strategy of giving antibiotics to and vaccinating the school population following a single case, in addition to contact tracing, has intermediate cost-effectiveness. Policy decisions will take into account other important factors but the approach we have taken makes explicit key assumptions so that wider debate including profession and public can be developed. (+info)
Chemoprevention of tobacco smoke-induced lung tumors in A/J strain mice with dietary myo-inositol and dexamethasone.
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Male A/J strain mice were fed AIN-76A diet supplemented with myo-inositol/dexamethasone (10 g and 0.5 mg/kg diet) or acetylsalicylic acid (300 mg/kg) and exposed for 5 months to a mixture of sidestream and mainstream cigarette smoke at a concentration of 132 mg total suspended particulates/m3. After tobacco smoke exposure, they were allowed to recover for another 4 months in filtered air. In the animals fed AIN-75A diet alone or acetylsalicylic acid, the average number of tumors/lung was 2.1, whereas in the animals given the myo-inositol/dexamethasone diet, the average lung tumor multiplicity was 1.0 (P < 0.05). In animals exposed to filtered air, lung tumor multiplicities were 0.6 for animals fed AIN-76A or myo-inositol/dexamethasone and 1.2 for animals fed acetylsalicylic acid. It was concluded that the combination of myo-inositol and dexamethasone constitutes an effective chemopreventive regimen against tobacco smoke-induced lung tumorigenesis. (+info)
Retinoids: present role and future potential.
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Vitamin A and its biologically active derivatives, retinal and retinoic acid (RA), together with a large repertoire of synthetic analogues are collectively referred to as retinoids. Naturally occurring retinoids regulate the growth and differentiation of a wide variety of cell types and play a crucial role in the physiology of vision and as morphogenic agents during embryonic development. Retinoids and their analogues have been evaluated as chemoprevention agents, and also in the management of acute promyelocytic leukaemia. Retinoids exert most of their effects by binding to specific receptors and modulating gene expression. The development of new active retinoids and the identification of two distinct families of retinoid receptors has led to an increased understanding of the cellular effects of activation of these receptors. In this article we review the use of retinoids in chemoprevention strategies, discuss the cellular consequences of activated retinoid receptors, and speculate on how our increasing understanding of retinoid-induced signalling pathways may contribute to future therapeutic strategies in the management of malignant disease. (+info)