C6-ceramide synergistically potentiates the anti-tumor effects of histone deacetylase inhibitors via AKT dephosphorylation and α-tubulin hyperacetylation both in vitro and in vivo

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) have shown promising anti-tumor effects for a variety of malignancies, however, many tumors are reportedly resistant to them. In this study, we made a novel discovery that co-administration of HDACIs (Trichostatin A (TSA) and others) and exogenous cell-permeable short-chain ceramide (C6) results in striking increase in cancer cell death and apoptosis in multiple cancer cells. These events are associated with perturbations in diverse cell signaling pathways, including inactivation of Akt/mTOR and increase in α-tubulin acetylation (both in vivo and in vitro). TSA interacts in a highly synergistic manner with C6-ceramide to disrupt HDAC6/protein phosphatase 1 (PP1)/tubulin complex, to induce α-tubulin hyperacetylation, and to release and activate PP1, which then leads to AKT dephosphorylation and eventually causes cancer cell death. Interestingly, TSA itself results in short-term ceramide accumulation, which as a result of metabolic (glycosylation) removal, does not result in evident increase of cancer cell death. However, adding C6-ceramide led to a very pronounced increase in ceramide level and marked increase in cell death. Importantly, the effective synergistic anti-tumor activity of TSA plus C6-ceramide is also seen in in vivo mice xenograft pancreatic and ovarian cancer models, indicating that this regimen (HDACI plus C6-ceramide) may represent a more effective form of therapy against pancreatic and ovarian carcinoma

The use of fluorescent lipid analogs to study endocyto¬sis of glycosphingolipids

Babia T, Kok JW and Hoekstra D

Modulation of carcinoembryonic antigen release by glucosylceramide: Implications for HT29 cell differentiation

Previous work suggested that glucosylceramide (GlcCer) plays a role in the regulation of cell differentiation of HT29 human colon tumor cells [I]. In the present study, we investigated the role of GlcCer in the cellular release of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a marker for cell differentiation. This was done by modulating the intracellular level of the glycolipid, according to two different approaches. The cells were treated with D,L-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP), which resulted in a specific lowering of the cellular GlcCer pool. Alternatively, by exogenous addition of a short-chain analog of the lipid, hexanoyl(C-6)-GlcCer, the cellular pool was enhanced. The results demonstrate that PDMP causes an increase in the release of CEA, while exogenous C-6-GlcCer suppresses its release. Furthermore, the enhanced release of CEA in the presence of PDMP, could be completely reversed upon exogenous addition of C-6-GlcCer. Control experiments reveal that a potential interference of the well-known modulator of cell physiology, ceramide (Cer), can be excluded. Long-term depletion of GlcCer resulted in a change in a morphological feature of differentiation of the cells, i.e. an increase in apical membrane surface with microvilli brush borders, accompanied by an enhanced expression of the cytoskeletal protein villin. These results, together with the observations on modulation of the differentiation marker CEA by GlcCer, provide support for the conclusion that GlcCer interferes with the differentiation of HT29 cells

FLUORESCENT, SHORT-CHAIN C-6-NBD-SPHINGOMYELIN, BUT NOT C-6-NBD-GLUCOSYLCERAMIDE, IS SUBJECT TO EXTENSIVE DEGRADATION IN THE PLASMA-MEMBRANE - IMPLICATIONS FOR SIGNAL-TRANSDUCTION RELATED TO CELL-DIFFERENTIATION

The involvement of the plasma membrane in the metabolism of the sphingolipids sphingomyelin (SM) and glucosylceramide (GlcCer) was studied, employing fluorescent short-chain analogues of these lipids, 6-[N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]hexanoylsphingosylphosphorylcholine (C-6-NBD-SM), C-6-NBD-GlcCer and their common biosynthetic precursor C-6-NBD-ceramide (C-6-NBD-Cer). Although these fluorescent short-chain analogues are metabolically active, some caution is to be taken in view of potential changes in biophysical/biochemical properties of the lipid compared with its natural counterpart. However, these short-chain analogues offer the advantage of studying the lipid metabolic enzymes in their natural environment, since detergent solubilization is not necessary for measuring their activity. These studies were carried out with several cell types, including two phenotypes (differing in state of differentiation) of HT29 cells. Degradation and biosynthesis of C-6-NBD-SM and C-6-NBD-GlcCer were determined in intact cells, in their isolated plasma membranes, and in plasma membranes isolated from rat liver tissue. C-6-NBD-SM was found to be subject to extensive degradation in the plasma membrane, due to neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) activity. The extent of C-6-NBD-SM hydrolysis showed a general cell-type dependence and turned out to be dependent on the state of cell differentiation, as revealed for HT29 cells. In undifferentiated HT29 cells N-SMase activity was at least threefold higher than in its differentiated counterpart. In contrast, in all cell types studied, very little if any biosynthesis of C-6-NBD-SM from the precursor C-6-NBD-Cer occurred. Moreover, in the case of C-6-NBD-GlcCer, neither hydrolytic nor synthetic activity was found to be associated with the plasma membrane. These results are discussed in the context of the involvement of the sphingolipids SM and GlcCer in signal transduction pathways in the plasma membrane

TRANSPORT OF BIOSYNTHETIC SPHINGOLIPIDS FROM GOLGI TO PLASMA-MEMBRANE IN HT29 CELLS - INVOLVEMENT OF DIFFERENT CARRIER VESICLE POPULATIONS

Intracellular transport of the sphingolipids glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and sphingomyelin (SM), was examined in HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells. After synthesis from a fluorescent precursor, 6-[N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]hexanoylceramide (C-6-NBD-Cer), transfer of SM from the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane can occur independently of that of GlcCer, as revealed by temperature-dependent experiments. Thus, at 20 degrees C, SM trafficking to the cell surface is essentially unaffected, whereas GlcCer transport to the plasma membrane is ininhibited by approximately 75 %, when compared to the transfer of both lipids at 37 degrees C. The mechanism by which SM and GlcCer are transported to the cell surface involves at least in part a vesicular mechanism. Transport vesicles, containing both lipids at their luminal surface, as revealed by the inaccessibility of the NBD fluorescence to the quencher sodium dithionite, have been isolated from cells, permeabilized by filter stripping. As evidenced by electron microscopic and biochemical criteria, no vesicles or lipids were released when cell permeabilization had been carried out with streptolysin. Density gradient analysis indicates the potential existence of several vesicle populations, distinctly enriched in either lipid, involved in transport of sphingolipids to the plasma membrane in HT29 cells