Gene expression studies in gastrointestinal pathophysiology and neoplasia

Paper I and II are reprinted with kind permission from Elsevier, sciencedirect.com Paper IV is not the final published versio

Balancing potency, metabolic stability and permeability in pyrrolopyrimidine-based EGFR inhibitors

The present study describes our continuous effort to develop epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors based on the 6-aryl-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine scaffold. The activity-ADME space has been evaluated by synthesizing 43 new structures, including four variations of the 4-amino group and 34 different substitution patterns in the 6-aryl moiety. Most of the new pyrrolopyrimidines were highly active, with twelve analogues possessing lower IC50 values than the commercial drug Erlotinib in enzymatic assays. Ten EGFR inhibitors were also profiled in cell studies using the Ba/F3-EGFRL858R reporter cells, and all revealed nanomolar activity. However, some of the privileged structures in terms of potency had ADME short-comings: compounds containing amides, sulfonamides, amine and hydroxymethyl substituents in the 6-aryl group had low permeability and high efflux, derivatives having (R)-3-amino-3-phenylpropan-1-ol at C-4 induced hERG inhibition properties, and metabolic lability was seen for compounds having (S)-2-methoxy-1-phenylethan-1-amine at C-4. Based on a trade-off between enzymatic activity, cellular potency and ADME properties, (S)-2-phenyl-2-((6-phenyl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)ethan-1-ol appeared as the most promising drug candidate. Cellular studies indicate this compound to have therapeutic use in EGFR driven diseases

Gastrin activates autophagy and increases migration and survival of gastric adenocarcinoma cells

Background: The peptide hormone gastrin exerts a growth-promoting effect in both normal and malignant gastrointestinal tissue. Gastrin mediates its effect via the cholecystokinin 2 receptor (CCKBR/CCK2R). Although a substantial part of the gastric adenocarcinomas express gastrin and CCKBR, the role of gastrin in tumor development is not completely understood. Autophagy has been implicated in mechanisms governing cytoprotection, tumor growth, and contributes to chemoresistance. This study explores the role of autophagy in response to gastrin in gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines. Methods: Immunoblotting, survival assays and the xCELLigence system were used to study gastrin induced autophagy. Chemical inhibitors of autophagy were utilized to assess the role of this process in the regulation of cellular responses induced by gastrin. Further, knockdown studies using siRNA and immunoblotting were performed to explore the signaling pathways that activate autophagy in response to gastrin treatment. Results: We demonstrate that gastrin increases the expression of the autophagy markers MAP1LC3B-II and SQSTM1 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Gastrin induces autophagy via activation of the STK11-PRKAA2-ULK1 and that this signaling pathway is involved in increased migration and cell survival. Furthermore, gastrin mediated increase in survival of cells treated with cisplatin is partially dependent on induced autophagy. Conclusion: This study reveals a novel role of gastrin in the regulation of autophagy. It also opens up new avenues in the treatment of gastric cancer by targeting CCKBR mediated signaling and/or autophagy in combination with conventional cytostatic drugs

Potent and selective EGFR inhibitors based on 5-aryl-7H-pyrrolopyrimidin-4-amines

The epidermal growth factor receptor represents an important target in cancer therapy, and low molecular weight inhibitors based on quinazolines have reached the marked. Herein we report on a new scaffold, 5-aryl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amines, and show that when employing (S)-phenylglycinol as C-4 substituent, potent inhibitors can be made. The two most active inhibitors have suitable druglike properties, were equipotent with Erlotinib in Ba/F3 cell studies, and showed lower cross reactivity than Erlotinib in a panel of 50 kinases

Additional file 1: Figure S1a. of Gastrin activates autophagy and increases migration and survival of gastric adenocarcinoma cells

Expression of CCKBR in gastric adenocarcinoma cells. AGS cells have low abundance of the CCKBR, MKN45 express the CCKBR endogenously and AGS-Gr cells are stably transfected with the CCKBR. S1b. Negative control images of the MKN45 cells stained for the CCKBR (phase contrast, Alexa 488, Draq5). Figure S2: Gastrin induces autophagy. AGS-Gr (a & b) cells treated with gastrin (10 nM), BafA1 (100 nM) and gastrin + BafA1 for 2 and 4 h. Protein expression of MAP1LC3B-II and SQSTM1 was analyzed by immunoblotting. The images shown represent one of three independent experiments. Graphs show mean +/- SEM (P- values: *** ≤ 0.01 **≤ 0.02, and * ≤ 0.05). Figure S3: Negative controls (primary antibodies omitted) for MAP1LC3B (Alexa 488) and SQSTM1 (Alexa 647). Figure S4: Gastrin mediated survival is dependent on autophagy. (a): A representative cytometric plots showing AGS-Gr cells treated with BafA1 and gastrin for 18 h. Cell viability was assessed using annexin V-PI staining and flow cytometric analyses. Blocking autophagy reduces gastrin mediated survival in AGS-Gr cells. (b): Cell viability assessed in AGS-Gr cells treated with gastrin (10 nM) for 6- 72 h. (c & d): Cells treated with gastrin (2 h) and subsequently treated with increasing concentrations of cisplatin. Viability was assessed at 24 and 72 h. Results show mean +/-SD (n=3, P-values: * ≤ 0.05 ** ≤ 0.01 *** ≤ 0.001). (e): AGS-Gr cells treated with HCQ for 8 h. Protein expression of MAP1LC3B-II and SQSTM1 was detected by immunoblotting. (f) Gastrin induced autophagy is dependent on ULK1: AGS-Gr cells treated with gastrin, BafA1 and ULK1 inhibitor SBI-0206965 (10 μM) for 4 h. Protein expression of MAP1LC3B-II and SQSTM1 was detected by immunoblotting. The immunoblots represent one of three independent experiments. Figure S5: Inhibition of gastrin induced autophagy by Comp C. AGS-Gr cells pretreated with Compound C (10 μM) for 12 h before adding BafA1 and gastrin (4 h). Protein expression of SQSTM1 is shown by immunoblotting. The blot represents one of two independent experiments. (DOCX 2504 kb

NR4A2 is regulated by Gastrin and involved in gastrin-induced migration and invasion of gastric adenocarcinoma cells

The peptide hormone gastrin is known to play a role in differentiation, growth and apoptosis of cells in the gastric mucosa. In this study we demonstrate that gastrin induces Nuclear Receptor 4A2 (NR4A2) expression in the adenocarcinoma cell lines AR42J and AGS-GR, which both possess the gastrin/CCK2 receptor. In vivo, NR4A2 is strongly expressed in the gastrin responsive neuroendocrine ECL cells in normal mucosa, whereas gastric adenocarcinoma tissue reveals a more diffuse and variable expression in tumor cells. We show that NR4A2 is a primary early transient gastrin induced gene in adenocarcinoma cell lines, and that NR4A2 expression is negatively regulated by inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) and zinc finger protein 36, C3H1 type-like 1 (Zfp36l1), suggesting that these gastrin regulated proteins exert a negative feedback control of NR4A2 activated responses. FRAP analyses indicate that gastrin also modifies the nucleus-cytosol shuttling of NR4A2, with more NR4A2 localized to cytoplasm upon gastrin treatment. Knock-down experiments with siRNA targeting NR4A2 increase migration of gastrin treated adenocarcinoma AGS-GR cells, while ectopically expressed NR4A2 increases apoptosis and hampers gastrin induced invasion, indicating a tumor suppressor function of NR4A2. Collectively, our results uncover a role of NR4A2 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells, and suggest that both the level and the localization of NR4A2 protein are of importance regarding the cellular responses of these cells

NR4A2 is regulated by Gastrin and involved in gastrin-induced migration and invasion of gastric adenocarcinoma cells

The peptide hormone gastrin is known to play a role in differentiation, growth and apoptosis of cells in the gastric mucosa. In this study we demonstrate that gastrin induces Nuclear Receptor 4A2 (NR4A2) expression in the adenocarcinoma cell lines AR42J and AGS-GR, which both possess the gastrin/CCK2 receptor. In vivo, NR4A2 is strongly expressed in the gastrin responsive neuroendocrine ECL cells in normal mucosa, whereas gastric adenocarcinoma tissue reveals a more diffuse and variable expression in tumor cells. We show that NR4A2 is a primary early transient gastrin induced gene in adenocarcinoma cell lines, and that NR4A2 expression is negatively regulated by inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) and zinc finger protein 36, C3H1 type-like 1 (Zfp36l1), suggesting that these gastrin regulated proteins exert a negative feedback control of NR4A2 activated responses. FRAP analyses indicate that gastrin also modifies the nucleus-cytosol shuttling of NR4A2, with more NR4A2 localized to cytoplasm upon gastrin treatment. Knock-down experiments with siRNA targeting NR4A2 increase migration of gastrin treated adenocarcinoma AGS-GR cells, while ectopically expressed NR4A2 increases apoptosis and hampers gastrin induced invasion, indicating a tumor suppressor function of NR4A2. Collectively, our results uncover a role of NR4A2 in gastric adenocarcinoma cells, and suggest that both the level and the localization of NR4A2 protein are of importance regarding the cellular responses of these cells

Joint changes in RNA, RNA polymerase II, and promoter activity through the cell cycle identify non-coding RNAs involved in proliferation

Proper regulation of the cell cycle is necessary for normal growth and development of all organisms. Conversely, altered cell cycle regulation often underlies proliferative diseases such as cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recognized as important regulators of gene expression and are often found dysregulated in diseases, including cancers. However, identifying lncRNAs with cell cycle functions is challenging due to their often low and cell-type specific expression. We present a highly effective method that analyses changes in promoter activity, transcription, and RNA levels for identifying genes enriched for cell cycle functions. Specifically, by combining RNA sequencing with ChIP sequencing through the cell cycle of synchronized human keratinocytes, we identified 1009 genes with cell cycle-dependent expression and correlated changes in RNA polymerase II occupancy or promoter activity as measured by histone 3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3). These genes were highly enriched for genes with known cell cycle functions and included 57 lncRNAs. We selected four of these lncRNAs—SNHG26, EMSLR, ZFAS1, and EPB41L4A-AS1—for further experimental validation and found that knockdown of each of the four lncRNAs affected cell cycle phase distributions and reduced proliferation in multiple cell lines. These results show that many genes with cell cycle functions have concomitant cell-cycle dependent changes in promoter activity, transcription, and RNA levels and support that our multi-omics method is well suited for identifying lncRNAs involved in the cell cycle

Gastrin stimulates expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in gastric epithelial cells.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is associated with cancer progression, fibrosis and thrombosis. It is expressed in the stomach but the mechanisms controlling its expression there, and its biological role, are uncertain. We sought to define the role of gastrin in regulating PAI-1 expression and to determine the relevance for gastrin-stimulated cell migration and invasion. In gastric biopsies from subjects with elevated plasma gastrin, the abundances of PAI-1, urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), and uPA receptor (uPAR) mRNAs measured by quantitative PCR were increased compared with subjects with plasma concentrations in the reference range. In patients with hypergastrinemia due to autoimmune chronic atrophic gastritis, there was increased abundance of PAI-1, uPA, and uPAR mRNAs that was reduced by octreotide or antrectomy. Immunohistochemistry revealed localization of PAI-1 to parietal cells and enterochromaffin-like cells in micronodular neuroendocrine tumors in hypergastrinemic subjects. Transcriptional mechanisms were studied by using a PAI-1-luciferase promoter-reporter construct transfected into AGS-G(R) cells. There was time- and concentration-dependent increase of PAI-1-luciferase expression in response to gastrin that was reversed by inhibitors of the PKC and MAPK pathways. In Boyden chamber assays, recombinant PAI-1 inhibited gastrin-stimulated AGS-G(R) cell migration and invasion, and small interfering RNA treatment increased responses to gastrin. We conclude that elevated plasma gastrin concentrations are associated with increased expression of gastric PAI-1, which may act to restrain gastrin-stimulated cell migration and invasion