Search

Treatment failure in most neuroblastoma (NB) patients is related to primary and/or acquired resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Aphidicolin (APH), a tetracyclic diterpene, exhibits specific cytotoxic action against NB cells. The purpose of this study was to compare antitumoral efficacy of APH in parental NB cell lines and cell subclones that exhibit drug resistance to vincristine (VCR), doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin. Due to poor solubility of APH in water, gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD) inclusion complexes of APH were used for systemic treatment of xenotransplanted parental and VCR-resistant UKF-NB-3 tumours. APH and its gamma-CD inclusion complexes inhibited growth of parental and drug-resistant NB cells at equimolar doses in vitro. Growth of VCR-sensitive and -resistant NB tumors was inhibited at equal doses in a dose-dependent fashion in vivo. These results indicate that the specific cytotoxic activity of APH against NB cells in vitro and in vivo is independent of cellular mechanisms facilitating drug resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. Hence, taking into account our previous findings that APH acts synergistically with VCR and DOX, APH might be an additive tool for the therapy of NB and is suitable for evaluation in clinical studies of NB treatment protocols.

Disseminated neuroblastoma diseases are still indicated by a poor outcome despite treatment regimens including radiation therapy and high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue. Therefore, new substances and treatment regimens are of interest. Aphidicolin (APH), a tetracyclic diterpene antibiotic produced by Cephalosporium aphidicola, has a specific toxicity for neuroblastoma cells. Furthermore, it was shown to enhance the effects of X-ray radiation and chemotherapy on malignant cells. To find new substances, 20 APH derivatives were tested for their anti-neuroblastoma efficacy in vitro in UKF-NB-2 cells. Five derivatives had antitumoral activity in neuroblastoma cells. A relationship between the structure and the antitumoral efficacy showed that the hydroxyl groups at C-3 and C-18 are essential for the antitumoral effects. Furthermore, antitumoral effects of APH in combination with doxorubicin and vincristine, both part of commonly used treatment regimens for disseminated neuroblastoma diseases, were tested in the neuroblastoma cell line UKF-NB-2. APH was found to act synergistically with vincristine and synergistically to additive with doxorubicin depending on the molecular ratio of the substances in combination. This may offer the chance to use APH and its derivatives as additional tools in the treatment of neuroblastomas.

Sodium valproate (VPA) belongs to the group of simple branched-chain fatty acids and due its anticonvulsive activity is broadly applied in the treatment of epilepsy. We previously showed that VPA is able to induce cellular differentiation, to enhance immunogenicity and to inhibit proliferation of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrated that VPA inhibits proliferation, enhances neural cell adhesion molecule expression and decreases CD44 expression of human and rat glioma cells in vitro. In the present study we investigated the antitumoral effects of VPA on established human NB xenografts from UKF-NB-3 human NB cells in athymic (nude) mice. When the animals developed s.c. tumors of about 100 mm3 volume they were treated with 400 or 200 mg/kg/day VPA i.p. At the end of the treatment period (40 days) tumor volumes in animals treated with 400 and 200 mg/kg VPA were about 4- (p < 0.0001) and 2-fold (p < 0.0005) smaller than in the saline-treated control group, respectively. Histological examination of the remnant tumors of treated animals revealed induction of differentiation by induction of stroma-rich tumors and nodules that contained elongated NB cells. Pyknotic nuclei and apoptotic bodies indicated induction of apoptosis. We conclude that VPA is able to abrogate NB growth in vivo and may therefore be useful in the treatment of NB patients.

Valproic acid (VPA) is a simple branched-chain fatty acid that has anticonvulsant activity and is widely used in the treatment of epilepsy. VPA was found to effect growth and differentiation of human neuroblastoma (NB) cells in vitro at concentrations that have been achieved in humans with no significant adverse effects. Treatment of UKF-NB-2 and UKF-NB-3 NB cell lines with VPA at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2 mM resulted in neuronal morphological differentiation characterized by extension of cellular processes without significant effects on cell viability. Ultrastructural features of VPA-treated cells were consistent with the neuronal type of differentiation. VPA treatment of NB cells was associated with decreased expression of N-myc oncoprotein and increased expression of neural cell adhesion molecule in their membrane. Treatment of NB cells with 0.5 mM VPA increased their sensitivity to lymphokine-activated killer lysis. The results indicate that VPA, at non-toxic pharmacological concentrations, arrests the growth, induces differentiation and increases immunogenicity of NB cells through non-toxic mechanisms.