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Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic dietary compounds that have been proposed to possess chemopreventive properties against lung cancer. In this work we analyzed the effect of a group of 20 structurally related flavonoids, including flavones, flavonols and isoflavones, on the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induced by hypoxia in NCI-H157 cells. VEGF is the main regulator of physiological and pathological angiogenesis and is highly stimulated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1). We found that apigenin, luteolin, fisetin and quercetin inhibited hypoxia-induced VEGF expression in the low micromolar range. Structure-activity relationships demonstrated that flavone derivatives were the most active compounds and that hydroxylation of the A ring at the positions 5 and 7 and of the B ring at the 4' position were important for this activity. Interestingly, only a group of VEGF inhibitors, including apigenin, flavone and 4',7-dihydroxiflavone, reduced the expression of HIF-1alpha under these conditions, whereas others, such as fisetin, luteolin, galangin or quercetin, induced HIF-1alpha expression while reducing those of VEGF. When cells were exposed to hypoxia in the presence of these flavonoids, HIF-1alpha translocated to the nucleus and interacted with p300/CBP, but this complex was transcriptionally inactive. Taken together these findings indicate that flavonoids impair VEGF transcription by an alternative mechanism that did not depend on nuclear HIF levels. We also found that flavonoids suppressed hypoxia-induced STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation and that this activity correlated with their potency as VEGF inhibitors, suggesting that inhibition of STAT3 function may play a role in this process.

Cigarette smoking is the major preventable cause of lung cancer in developed countries. Nicotine (3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)-pyridine) is one of the major alkaloids present in tobacco. Besides its addictive properties, its effects have been described in panoply of cell types. In fact, recent studies have shown that nicotine behaves as a tumor promoter in transformed epithelial cells. This research focuses on the effects of acute repetitive nicotine exposure on normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE cells). Here we show that treatment of NHBE cells with recurrent doses of nicotine up to 500 μM triggered cell differentiation towards a neuronal-like phenotype: cells emitted filopodia and expressed neuronal markers such as neuronal cell adhesion molecule, neurofilament-M and the transcription factors neuronal N and Pax-3. We also demonstrate that nicotine treatment induced NF-kB translocation to the nucleus, phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and accumulation of heparin binding-EGF in the extracellular medium. Moreover, addition of AG1478, an inhibitor of EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation, or cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody that precludes ligand binding to the same receptor, prevented cell differentiation by nicotine. Lastly, we show that differentiated cells increased their adhesion to the extracellular matrix and their protease activity. Given that several lung pathologies are strongly related to tobacco consumption, these results may help to better understand the damaging consequences of nicotine exposure.

Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of lymphatic endothelial cells have revealed that these vessels, besides their known function in tissue homeostasis and immunity, constitute conduits for the tumor cells to metastasize. One of the factors that contribute to tumor spread is the acquisition of an angiogenic phenotype as a response to the onset of tumor hypoxia. To our knowledge, little is known about the effects of low oxygen levels on the lymphatic vasculature. Therefore, we used cDNA microarrays to study the transcriptional changes occurring in hypoxia exposed lymphatic endothelial cells. Our analysis was then complemented by functional assays showing that these cells responded with increased attachment to the extracellular matrix, delayed proliferation and production of reactive oxygen species. Differential expression of genes involved in these processes such as NADPH oxidase 4, the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3, and TGFβ induced protein I, was found. Hypoxia was also found to increase mRNA levels of the cytokine CXCL-12 and its receptor CXCR4. Moreover, adhesion experiments revealed that hypoxia increased the binding of non-small cell lung carcinoma cells to this endothelium in a CXCR4 dependent way. We thus illustrate the response of lymphatic endothelial cells to hypoxia and suggest targets to study tumor metastasis through these vessels.

Propuesta didáctica sobre la dinámica externa del planeta haciendo uso del aprendizaje cooperativo y el bilingüismo.

In the search for molecules with potential antiangiogenic activity we found that several imidoselenocarbamate derivatives, which have pro-apoptotic and antiproliferative activities, under hypoxic conditions release methylselenol, a volatile and highly reactive gas that was considered to be responsible for the observed biological activity. The kinetic for the liberation of methylselenol is highly dependent on the nature of the overall structure and correlate with their proven pro-apoptotic activity in lung cancer cell line H157. The preliminary structure-activity relationships allow us to select as the basic structural element a scaffold constructed with an imidoselenocarbamate fragment decorated with a methyl residue on the Se central atom and two heteroaromatic lateral rings. These imidoselenocarbamate derivatives may be of interest both for their antitumoral activities and because they have a structure that can be considered as a template for the design of new derivatives with apoptotic activity. This activity is related to the controlled delivery of methylselenol and makes this an interesting approach to develop new antitumoral agents.

TGFbeta-induced protein (TGFBI) is an extracellular protein that mediates cell adhesion to collagen, laminin and fibronectin through its interaction with different beta integrins. We had previously reported that hypoxia-induced TGFBI mRNA expression in lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC). Here, we demonstrate that TGFBI can contribute to hypoxia-induced increases in LEC adhesion to the ECM. We show that while there are no changes in alpha1, alpha4, alphav, beta1, beta2, beta3, alpha5beta1, alphavbeta3, alphavbeta5 integrin expression on the LEC surface after hypoxia exposure, there exists an accumulation of TGFBI adaptor protein in LEC supernatants. We also demonstrate that hypoxia driven TGBFI expression is dependent on TGFbeta production by LEC. Furthermore, we show that TGFBI mediated LEC adhesion and migration through the ECM by its binding to the beta3 integrin. The identification of the specific mechanisms regulating LEC-ECM interactions may help us design new therapeutic applications for diseases in which lymphatic vessel function is compromised.

Inhibitors of the excision reaction catalysed by HIV-1 RT (reverse transcriptase) represent a promising approach in the fight against HIV, because these molecules would interfere with the main mechanism of resistance of this enzyme towards chain-terminating nucleotides. Only a limited number of compounds have been demonstrated to inhibit this reaction to date, including NNRTIs (non-nucleoside RT inhibitors) and certain pyrophosphate analogues. We have found previously that 2GP (2-O-galloylpunicalin), an antiviral compound extracted from the leaves of Terminalia triflora, was able to inhibit both the RT and the RNase H activities of HIV-1 RT without affecting cell proliferation or viability. In the present study, we show that 2GP also inhibited the ATP- and PPi-dependent phosphorolysis catalysed by wild-type and AZT (3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine)-resistant enzymes at sub-micromolar concentrations. Kinetic and direct-binding analysis showed that 2GP was a non-competitive inhibitor against the nucleotide substrate, whereas it competed with the binding of RT to the template–primer (Kd=85 nM). As expected from its mechanism of action, 2GP was active against mutations conferring resistance to NNRTIs and AZT. The combination of AZT with 2GP was highly synergistic when tested in the presence of pyrophosphate, indicating that the inhibition of RT-catalysed phosphorolysis was responsible for the synergy found. Although other RT inhibitors that compete with the template–primer have been described, this is the first demonstration that these compounds can be used to block the excision of chain terminating nucleotides, providing a rationale for their combination with nucleoside analogues.

A major mechanism for human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) resistance to nucleoside analogs involves the phosphorolytical removal of the chain-terminating nucleotide from the 3'-end of the primer. In this work, we analyzed the effect of phosphonoformate (PFA) and other pyrophosphate (PP(i)) analogs on PP(i)- and ATP-dependent phosphorolysis catalyzed by HIV-1 RT. Our experimental data demonstrated that PFA did not behave as a linear inhibitor but as an alternative substrate, allowing RT to remove AZT from a terminated primer through a PFA-dependent mechanism. Interestingly, in non-terminated primers, PFA was not a substrate for this reaction and competitively inhibited PP(i)- and ATP-dependent phosphorolysis. In fact, binding of PFA to the RT.template/primer complex was hindered by the presence of a chain terminator at the 3'-end of the primer. Other pyrophosphate analogs, such as phosphonoacetate, were substrates for the excision reaction with both terminated and nonterminated primers, whereas pamidronate, a bisphosphonate that prevents bone resorption, was not a substrate for these reactions and competitively inhibited the phosphorolytic activity of RT. As expected from their mechanisms of action, pamidronate (but not PFA) synergistically inhibits HIV-1 RT in combination with AZT-triphosphate in the presence of PP(i) or ATP. These results provide new clues about the mechanism of action of PFA and demonstrate that only certain pyrophosphate analogs can enhance the effect of nucleosidic inhibitors by blocking the excision of chain-terminating nucleotides catalyzed by HIV-1 RT. The relevance of these findings in combined chemotherapy is discussed.