Resveratrol Enhances Antitumor Activity of TRAIL in Prostate Cancer Xenografts through Activation of FOXO Transcription Factor

Resveratrol (3, 4', 5 tri-hydroxystilbene), a naturally occurring polyphenol, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective and antitumor activities. We have recently shown that resveratrol can enhance the apoptosis-inducing potential of TRAIL in prostate cancer cells through multiple mechanisms in vitro. Therefore, the present study was designed to validate whether resveratrol can enhance the apoptosis-inducing potential of TRAIL in a xenograft model of prostate cancer.Resveratrol and TRAIL alone inhibited growth of PC-3 xenografts in nude mice by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation (PCNA and Ki67 staining) and inducing apoptosis (TUNEL staining). The combination of resveratrol and TRAIL was more effective in inhibiting tumor growth than single agent alone. In xenografted tumors, resveratrol upregulated the expressions of TRAIL-R1/DR4, TRAIL-R2/DR5, Bax and p27(/KIP1), and inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 and cyclin D1. Treatment of mice with resveratrol and TRAIL alone inhibited angiogenesis (as demonstrated by reduced number of blood vessels, and VEGF and VEGFR2 positive cells) and markers of metastasis (MMP-2 and MMP-9). The combination of resveratrol with TRAIL further inhibited number of blood vessels in tumors, and circulating endothelial growth factor receptor 2-positive endothelial cells than single agent alone. Furthermore, resveratrol inhibited the cytoplasmic phosphorylation of FKHRL1 resulting in its enhanced activation as demonstrated by increased DNA binding activity.These data suggest that resveratrol can enhance the apoptosis-inducing potential of TRAIL by activating FKHRL1 and its target genes. The ability of resveratrol to inhibit tumor growth, metastasis and angiogenesis, and enhance the therapeutic potential of TRAIL suggests that resveratrol alone or in combination with TRAIL can be used for the management of prostate cancer

Regulated expression of an introduced MHC H-2K bm1 gene in murine embryonal carcinoma cells.

The transplantation antigens H-2K, H-2D and H-2L are developmentally regulated, highly polymorphic cell surface proteins encoded by the major histocompatibility gene complex (MHC). First detectable on the early embryo, they are subsequently expressed on most somatic cells of the adult mouse in association with the protein beta2-microglobulin (beta 2 M; ref. 5). Cultured F embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells can be induced to differentiate along alternative pathways to form either parietal or visceral9 extra-embryonic endoderm, each concomitant with a change in morphology and pattern of gene expression. Previous reports have demonstrated an increased level of transplantation antigens in differentiated F9 EC cells, but the cell types expressing them were not defined. Here we show that the level of MHC H-2Kb and beta 2 M transcripts is increased during both pathways of this differentiation. Expression of a foreign MHC H-2Kbm1 gene was found to be regulated in a similar manner when the gene was introduced into EC cells. In contrast, an introduced rabbit beta-globin gene was not regulated but expressed constitutively