Mansouramycins E–G, Cytotoxic Isoquinolinequinones from Marine Streptomycetes

Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract from the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. isolate B1848 resulted in three new isoquinolinequinone derivatives, the mansouramycins E–G (1a–3a), in addition to the previously reported mansouramycins A (5) and D (6). Their structures were elucidated by computer-assisted interpretation of 1D and 2D NMR spectra, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and by comparison with related compounds. Cytotoxicity profiling of the mansouramycins in a panel of up to 36 tumor cell lines indicated a significant cytotoxicity and good tumor selectivity for mansouramycin F (2a), while the activity profile of E (1a) was less attractive

Chromosomal Localization of the Carcinoembryonic Antigen Gene Family and Differential Expression in Various Tumors

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein which is important as a tumor marker for a number of human cancers. It is a member of a gene family comprising about 10 closely related genes. In order to characterize mUNAs transcribed from individual genes we have identified by DNA and RNA hybridization experiments, gene-specific sequences from the 3 ' noncoding regions of CEA, and of nonspecific cross-reacting antigen (NCA) mRNAs, which have been recently cloned. With these probes, CEA mRNAs with lengths of 3.5 and 3.0 kilobases and an NCA mRNA species of 2.5 kilobases were identified in various human tumors. A 2.2-kilobase mRNA species, however, could only be detected in leu kocytes of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia by hybridization with a probe from the immunoglobulin-like repeat domain of CEA. This region is known to be very similar among the various members of the CEA gene family, and indeed the probe hybridizes with all four mRNA species. In situ hybridization with a cross-hybridizing probe from the NCA gene localized the members of the CEA gene family to the short and to the long arm of chromosome 19. In addition, a CEA cDNA probe was found to hybridize to the long arm of chromosome 19 only

Chemistry, antiproliferative properties, tumor selectivity, and molecular mechanisms of novel gold(III) compounds for cancer treatment: a systematic study

The antiproliferative properties of a group of 13 structurally diverse gold(III) compounds, including six mononuclear gold(III) complexes, five dinuclear oxo-bridged gold(III) complexes, and two organogold(III) compounds, toward several human tumor cell lines were evaluated in vitro using a systematic screening strategy. Initially all compounds were tested against a panel of 12 human tumor cell lines, and the best performers were tested against a larger 36-cell-line panel. Very pronounced antiproliferative properties were highlighted in most cases, with cytotoxic potencies commonly falling in the low micromolar—and even nanomolar—range. Overall, good-to-excellent tumor selectivity was established for at least seven compounds, making them particularly attractive for further pharmacological evaluation. Compare analysis suggested that the observed antiproliferative effects are caused by a variety of molecular mechanisms, in most cases "DNA-independent,” and completely different from those of platinum drugs. Remarkably, some new biomolecular systems such as histone deacetylase, protein kinase C/staurosporine, mammalian target of rapamycin/rapamycin, and cyclin-dependent kinases were proposed for the first time as likely biochemical targets for the gold(III) species investigated. The results conclusively qualify gold(III) compounds as a promising class of cytotoxic agents, of outstanding interest for cancer treatment, while providing initial insight into their modes of action. Graphical Abstract: A series of gold(III) compounds showed cytotoxic properties and tumor selectivity toward a panel of cancer cell lines. Compare analysis provided insight into their possible mechanisms of actio

Up-regulation of anti-apoptotic genes confers resistance to the novel anti-leukaemic compound PEP005 in primary AML cells

We showed previously that PEP005 induced apoptosis in leukaemic cell lines and blasts from patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Here we assess the anti-leukeamic effects of PEP005 in vivo and determine the mechanism of resistance of PEP005 non-responsive cells. We used 2 human xenograft mouse models of AML to assess the anti-leukaemic effects of PEP005 in vivo. Expression microarray analysis of primary AML blasts following treatment with PEP005 was used to determine patterns of gene expression that conferred resistance. PEP005 significantly reduced tumour burden in two human leukaemia mouse xenograft models. We also assessed responsiveness of 33 AML samples to PEP005, with 78% of the samples entering apoptosis at 100nM. Resistance to PEP005 was not restricted to a particular AML subtype. Expression microarray analysis of resistant samples following treatment with PEP005 revealed a significant up regulation of the anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-2A1, Mcl-1, and PHLDA1 which was verified using RT-PCR. We conclude that PEP005 shows broad efficacy against AML subtypes and that up regulation of anti-apoptotic genes underlies resistance to this agent and could be used to screen for patients unlikely to benefit from a therapeutic regime involving PEP005

Chemistry, antiproliferative properties, tumor selectivity, and molecular mechanisms of novel gold(III) compounds for cancer treatment: a systematic study

The antiproliferative properties of a group of 13 structurally diverse gold(III) compounds, including six mononuclear gold(III) complexes, five dinuclear oxo-bridged gold(III) complexes, and two organogold(III) compounds, toward several human tumor cell lines were evaluated in vitro using a systematic screening strategy. Initially all compounds were tested against a panel of 12 human tumor cell lines, and the best performers were tested against a larger 36-cell-line panel. Very pronounced antiproliferative properties were highlighted in most cases, with cytotoxic potencies commonly falling in the low micromolar-and even nanomolar-range. Overall, good-to-excellent tumor selectivity was established for at least seven compounds, making them particularly attractive for further pharmacological evaluation. Compare analysis suggested that the observed antiproliferative effects are caused by a variety of molecular mechanisms, in most cases "DNA-independent,'' and completely different from those of platinum drugs. Remarkably, some new biomolecular systems such as histone deacetylase, protein kinase C/staurosporine, mammalian target of rapamycin/rapamycin, and cyclin-dependent kinases were proposed for the first time as likely biochemical targets for the gold(III) species investigated. The results conclusively qualify gold(III) compounds as a promising class of cytotoxic agents, of outstanding interest for cancer treatment, while providing initial insight into their modes of action

Characterization of colon cancer cells: a functional approach characterizing CD133 as a potential stem cell marker

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Isolation and characterization of tumourigenic colon cancer initiating cells may help to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We characterized a panel of fourteen human colon carcinoma cell lines and their corresponding xenografts for the surface expression of potential stem cell markers CD133, CD24, CD44, CDCP1 and CXCR4. In five cell lines and nine xenografts, mRNA expression of these markers was determined. Tumour growth behaviour of CD133+, CD133- and unsorted SW620 cells was evaluated <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All five putative stem cell markers showed distinct expression patterns in the tumours examined. Two patient-derived cell lines highly expressed CD133 (> 85% of positive cells) and three other cell lines had an expression level of about 50% whereas in long-term culture based models CD133 expression ranged only from 0 to 20%. In 8/14 cell lines, more than 80% of the cells were positive for CD24 and 11/14 were over 70% positive for CD44. 10/14 cell lines expressed CDCP1 on ≥ 83% of cells. CXCR4 expression was determined solely on 94 L and SW480.</p> <p>Analyses of the corresponding xenografts revealed a significant reduction of cell numbers expressing the investigated surface markers and showed single cell fractions expressing up to three markers simultaneously.</p> <p>Statistical analysis revealed that the CXCR4 mRNA level correlates negatively with the protein expression of CD133, CD44, CD24 and CDCP1 in cell lines and xenografts.</p> <p>A lower differentiation grade of donor material correlated with a higher CDCP1 mRNA expression level in the respective tumour model.</p> <p><it>In vivo </it>growth behaviour studies of SW620 revealed significantly higher take rates and shorter doubling times in the tumour growth of CD133 positive subclones in comparison to the unsorted cell line or CD133 negative subclones.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data revealed correlations in the expression of surface markers CD44 and CD24 as well as CD44 and CDCP1 and strongly suggest that CD133 is a stem cell marker within our colon carcinoma panel. Further studies will elucidate its role as a potential therapeutic target.</p

Role of Transferrin Receptor and the ABC Transporters ABCB6 and ABCB7 for Resistance and Differentiation of Tumor Cells towards Artesunate

The anti-malarial artesunate also exerts profound anti-cancer activity. The susceptibility of tumor cells to artesunate can be enhanced by ferrous iron. The transferrin receptor (TfR) is involved in iron uptake by internalization of transferrin and is over-expressed in rapidly growing tumors. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters ABCB6 and ABCB7 are also involved in iron homeostasis. To investigate whether these proteins play a role for sensitivity towards artesunate, Oncotest's 36 cell line panel was treated with artesunate or artesunate plus iron(II) glycine sulfate (Ferrosanol®). The majority of cell lines showed increased inhibition rates, for the combination of artesunate plus iron(II) glycine sulfate compared to artesunate alone. However, in 11 out of the 36 cell lines the combination treatment was not superior. Cell lines with high TfR expression significantly correlated with high degrees of modulation indicating that high TfR expressing tumor cells would be more efficiently inhibited by this combination treatment than low TfR expressing ones. Furthermore, we found a significant relationship between cellular response to artesunate and TfR expression in 55 cell lines of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA. A significant correlation was also found for ABCB6, but not for ABCB7 in the NCI panel. Artesunate treatment of human CCRF-CEM leukemia and MCF7 breast cancer cells induced ABCB6 expression but repressed ABCB7 expression. Finally, artesunate inhibited proliferation and differentiation of mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Down-regulation of ABCB6 by antisense oligonucleotides inhibited differentiation of MEL cells indicating that artesunate and ABCB6 may cooperate. In conclusion, our results indicate that ferrous iron improves the activity of artesunate in some but not all tumor cell lines. Several factors involved in iron homeostasis such as TfR and ABCB6 may contribute to this effect

Mansouramycins E&ndash;G, Cytotoxic Isoquinolinequinones from Marine Streptomycetes

Chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract from the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. isolate B1848 resulted in three new isoquinolinequinone derivatives, the mansouramycins E&ndash;G (1a&ndash;3a), in addition to the previously reported mansouramycins A (5) and D (6). Their structures were elucidated by computer-assisted interpretation of 1D and 2D NMR spectra, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and by comparison with related compounds. Cytotoxicity profiling of the mansouramycins in a panel of up to 36 tumor cell lines indicated a significant cytotoxicity and good tumor selectivity for mansouramycin F (2a), while the activity profile of E (1a) was less attractive