MRI to assess chemoprevention in transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current method to determine the efficacy of chemoprevention in TRAMP mouse model of carcinoma of prostate (CaP) is by extracting and weighing the prostate at different time points or by immunohistochemistry analysis. Non-invasive determination of volumes of prostate glands and seminal vesicles before, during and after treatment would be valuable in investigating the efficacy of newer chemopreventive agents in CaP. The purpose of this study was to determine whether <it>in vivo </it>magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a 3 tesla clinical MRI system can be used to follow the effect of chemoprevention in TRAMP model of mouse CaP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were randomized into control and treated groups. The animals in treated group received 10 µmol/kg of CDDO, 5 days a week for 20 weeks. Animals underwent <it>in vivo </it>MRI of prostate gland and seminal vesicles by a clinical 3 Tesla MRI system just before (at 5 weeks), during and at the end of treatment, at 25 weeks. T1-weighted and fat saturation (FATSAT) multiecho fast spin echo T2- weighted images (T2WI) were acquired. Volume of the prostate glands and seminal vesicles was determined from MR images. T2 signal intensity changes in the seminal vesicles were determined by subtracting higher echo time (TE) from lower TE T2WI. Following treatments all animals were sacrificed, prostate and seminal vesicles collected, and the tissues prepared for histological staining. All data were expressed as mean ± 1 standard deviation. Two-way or multivariate analysis of variance followed by post-hoc test was applied to determine the significant differences. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Histological analysis indicated tumor in 100% of control mice, whereas 10% of the treated mice showed tumor in prostate gland. Both MRI and measured prostate weights showed higher volume/weight in control mouse group. MRI showed significantly higher volume of seminal vesicles in control animals and T2 signal intensity changes in seminal vesicles of control mice indicating higher number of tumor foci, which was also proven by histology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>In vivo </it>MRI is helpful in determining the efficacy of chemoprevention of prostate cancer in TRAMP mice.</p

Role of telomerase in anticancer activity of pristimerin in prostate cancer cells

Pristimerin (PM) is a quinonemethide triterpenoid present in various plant species with strong antiprolifertive and proapoptotic activities in cancer cells. The effect of PM on telomerase which is reactivated in most cancers including carcinoma of the prostate (CaP) has not been studied. We investigated the effect of PM on the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene that codes for the catalytic subunit of the telomerase holoenzyme complex in prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 cells. The inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis by PM in both cell lines was associated with the inhibition of hTERT mRNA expression, suppression of native and phosphorylated hTERT protein and hTERT telomerase activity. The ablation of hTERT expression increased the sensitivity of cancer cells to PM. In addition, results also revealed that the inhibition of hTERT expression is attributed to the inhibition of transcription factors SP1, c-Myc and STAT3 and protein kinase B/Akt which regulate hTERT transcriptionally and post-translationally, respectively. These data provide evidence that telomerase is a potential target of PM in prostate cancer

Article Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) is a Therapeutic Target of Oleanane Triterpenoid CDDO-Me in Prostate Cancer

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CDDO-Me inhibits tumor growth and prevents recurrence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Methyl-2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oate (CDDO-Me) has shown potent antitumorigenic activity against a wide range of cancer cell lines in vitro and inhibited the growth of liver, lung and prostate cancer in vivo. In the present study, we examined the antitumor activity of CDDO-Me for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells with and without activating K-ras mutations. Treatment of K-ras mutant MiaPaCa-2 and K-ras normal BxPC-3 cells with CDDO-Me elicited strong antiproliferative and proapoptopic responses in both cell lines in culture. The inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis was accompanied by the inhibition of antiapoptotic/prosurvival p-Akt, NF-кB and p-mTOR signaling proteins. For testing efficacy of CDDO-Me in vivo heterotopic and orthotopic xenografts were generated by implanting BxPC-3 and MiaPaCa-2 cells subcutaneously and in the pancreatic tail, respectively. Treatment with CDDO-Me significantly inhibited the growth of BxPC-3 xenografts and reduced the levels of p-Akt and p-mTOR in tumor tissue. In mice with orthotopic MiaPaCa-2 xenografts, treatment with CDDO-Me prolonged the survival of mice when administered following the surgical resection of tumors. The latter was attributed to the eradication of residual PDAC remaining after resection of tumors. These preclinical data demonstrate the potential of CDDO-Me for treating primary PDAC tumors and for preventing relapse/recurrence through the destruction of residual disease

The inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells by verrucarin A, a macrocyclic trichothecene, is associated with the inhibition of Akt/NF-кB/mTOR prosurvival signaling

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) remains one of the most difficult to treat of all malignancies. Multimodality regimens provide only short-term symptomatic improvement with minor impact on survival, underscoring the urgent need for novel therapeutics and treatment strategies for PDA. Trichothecenes are powerful mycotoxins that inhibit protein synthesis and induce ribotoxic stress response in mammalian cells. Verrucarin A (VC-A) is a Type D macrocyclic mycotoxin which inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells. However, the antitumor activity of VC-A for PDA cells has not been investigated. Here we show potent antitumor activity and the mechanism of action of VC-A in PDA cell lines. VC-A strongly inhibited the proliferation and arrested cells in the S phase of the cell cycle. The blocking of cell cycle progression by VC-A was associated with the inhibition of cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin D1, cyclin E, cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) cdk2, cdk4 and cdk inhibitor WAF1/21. VC-A induced apoptosis in PDA cells as indicated by the increased Annexin V FITC-binding, cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase‑1 (PARP-1) and procaspases-3, -8 and -9. VC-A also induced mitochondrial depolarization and release of cytochrome c and it inhibited Bcl-2 family proteins that regulate apoptosis (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bax and Bad). In addition, VC-A reduced the levels of inhibitors of apoptosis survivin and c-IAP-2. Finally, VC-A downregulated the expression of prosurvival phospho-Akt (p-Akt), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) (p65) and mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) signaling proteins and their downstream mediators. Together, these results demonstrated strong antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activity of verrucarin A for PDA cells through cell cycle arrest and inhibition of the prosurvival (antiapoptotic) AKT/NF-κB/mTOR signaling

Inhibition of Telomerase Activity by Oleanane Triterpenoid CDDO-Me in Pancreatic Cancer Cells is ROS-Dependent

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Mycotoxin verrucarin A inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells by inhibiting prosurvival Akt/NF-kB/mTOR signaling

Trichothecenes are powerful mycotoxins that inhibit protein synthesis and induce ribotoxic stress response in mammalian cells. Verrucarin A (VC-A) is a Type D macrocyclic mycotoxin which inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the antitumor activity of VC-A for prostate cancer cells has not been investigated. The objective of the present study was to determine the anticancer activity and its mechanism of action in hormone-responsive (LNCaP) and hormone-refractory (PC-3) carcinoma of the prostate (CaP) cell lines. VC-A strongly inhibited the proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase associated with the inhibition of cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin D, cyclin E, cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) cdk2, cdk4, cdk6 and cdk inhibitors WAF1/21 and KIP1/27. VC-A also induced apoptosis in CaP cells as characterized by the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), procaspases-3, -8 and -9 and the inhibition of Bcl-2 family proteins that regulate apoptosis (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bax, Bak and Bad). In addition, VC-A also down-regulated the expression of prosurvival phospho-AKT (p-AKT), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) (p65) and phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) signaling proteins. Taken together, these results demonstrated strong antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing activity of verrucarin A against CaP cells through cell cycle arrest and inhibition of the prosurvival (antiapoptotic) AKT/NF-kB/mTOR signaling pathway

Inhibition of hTERT in pancreatic cancer cells by pristimerin involves suppression of epigenetic regulators of gene transcription

Previously we have shown that the inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells by pristimerin (PM), a quinonemethide triterpenoid, was associated with the inhibition of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA and hTERT protein. Herein we show that PM inhibits transcription factors and epigenetic processes that regulate hTERT expression. Treatment with PM inhibited transcription factors c-Myc, Sp1, NF-κB and kinases p-Akt and p-mTOR that regulate hTERT post-translationally. PM also downregulated DNA methyl transferases DNMT1 and DNMT3a and transcriptionally active chromatin markers, such as acetylated histone H3 (Lys9), acetylated histone H4, di-methyl H3 (Lys4) and tri-methyl H3 (Lys9). In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis showed decrease in c-Myc and Sp1 transcription factors, but not repressive factors CTCF, E2F or Mad1 in the regulatory region of the hTERT promoter after treatment with PM. PM also reduced acetylated histone 3 and 4 and methylated H3 at hTERT promoter. Collectively, these results indicated that PM downregulates hTERT/telomerase through the inhibition of the genetic and epigenetic regulators of hTERT gene expression