172 results on '"Firestone GL"'
Search Results
2. Glucocorticoid-regulated glycoprotein maturation in wild-type and mutant rat cell lines.
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Firestone, GL, John, NJ, and Yamamoto, KR
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Biochemistry and Cell Biology ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Biological Sciences ,Cancer ,2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,1.1 Normal biological development and functioning ,Underpinning research ,Aetiology ,Animals ,Cell Division ,Cell Line ,Dexamethasone ,Glycoproteins ,Liver Neoplasms ,Experimental ,Mammary Tumor Virus ,Mouse ,Membrane Proteins ,Mutation ,Protein Biosynthesis ,Protein Processing ,Post-Translational ,RNA ,Messenger ,Rats ,Viral Proteins ,Medical and Health Sciences ,Developmental Biology ,Biological sciences ,Biomedical and clinical sciences - Abstract
Glucocorticoid hormones can regulate the posttranslational maturation of mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV) precursor polyproteins in M1.54, a stably infected rat hepatoma cell line. We have used complement-mediated cytolysis to recover variants of M1.54 that fail to express MTV cell surface glycoproteins in a hormone-regulated manner (Firestone, G.L., and K.R. Yamamoto, 1983, Mol. Cell. Biol., 3:149-160). One such clonal isolate, CR4, is similar to wild-type with respect to synthesis of MTV mRNAs, production of the MTV glycoprotein precursor (gPr74env) and a glycosylated maturation product (gp51), and hormone-induced processing of two MTV phosphoproteins. In contrast, three viral cell surface glycoproteins (gp78, gp70, and gp32) and one extracellular species (gp70s), which derive from gPr74env in glucocorticoid-treated wild-type cells, fail to appear in CR4. CR4 showed no apparent alterations in proliferation rate, cell shape, or expression of total functional mRNA and bulk glycoproteins. We conclude that the genetic lesion in CR4 defines a highly selective hormone-regulated glycoprotein maturation pathway that alters the fate of a restricted subset of precursor species.
- Published
- 1986
3. Glucocorticoid-regulated localization of cell surface glycoproteins in rat hepatoma cells is mediated within the Golgi complex.
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Haffar, OK, Aponte, GW, Bravo, DA, John, NJ, Hess, RT, and Firestone, GL
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Biochemistry and Cell Biology ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Biological Sciences ,Animals ,Biological Transport ,Cell Membrane ,Chromatography ,Affinity ,Dexamethasone ,Fluorescent Antibody Technique ,Golgi Apparatus ,Kinetics ,Liver Neoplasms ,Experimental ,Mammary Tumor Virus ,Mouse ,Membrane Glycoproteins ,Microscopy ,Electron ,Monensin ,Protein Processing ,Post-Translational ,Rats ,Tumor Cells ,Cultured ,Medical and Health Sciences ,Developmental Biology ,Biological sciences ,Biomedical and clinical sciences - Abstract
Glucocorticoid hormones regulate the post-translational maturation and sorting of cell surface and extracellular mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) glycoproteins in M1.54 cells, a stably infected rat hepatoma cell line. Exposure to monensin significantly reduced the proteolytic maturation and externalization of viral glycoproteins resulting in a stable cellular accumulation of a single 70,000-Mr glycosylated polyprotein (designated gp70). Cell surface- and intracellular-specific immunoprecipitations of monensin-treated cells revealed that gp70 can be localized to the cell surface only in the presence of 1 microM dexamethasone, while in uninduced cells gp70 is irreversibly sequestered in an intracellular compartment. Analysis of oligosaccharide processing kinetics demonstrated that gp70 acquired resistance to endoglycosidase H with a half-time of 65 min in the presence or absence of hormone. In contrast, gp70 was inefficiently galactosylated after a 60-min lag in uninduced cells while rapidly acquiring this carbohydrate modification in the presence of dexamethasone. Furthermore, in the absence or presence of monensin, MMTV glycoproteins failed to be galactosylated in hormone-induced CR4 cells, a complement-selected sorting variant defective in the glucocorticoid-regulated compartmentalization of viral glycoproteins to the cell surface. Since dexamethasone had no apparent global effects on organelle morphology or production of total cell surface-galactosylated species, we conclude that glucocorticoids induce the localization of cell surface MMTV glycoproteins by regulating a highly selective step within the Golgi apparatus after the acquisition of endoglycosidase H-resistant oligosaccharide side chains but before or at the site of galactose attachment.
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- 1988
4. Designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for cancer prevention and treatment
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Block, KI, Gyllenhaal, C, Lowe, L, Amedei, A, Ruhul Amin, ARM, Amin, A, Aquilano, K, Arbiser, J, Arreola, A, Arzumanyan, A, Salman Ashraf, S, Azmi, AS, Benencia, F, Bhakta, D, Bilsland, A, Bishayee, A, Blain, SW, Block, PB, Boosani, CS, Carey, TE, Carnero, A, Carotenuto, M, Casey, SC, Chakrabarti, M, Chaturvedi, R, Chen, GZ, Chen, H, Chen, S, Chen, YC, Choi, BK, Ciriolo, MR, Coley, HM, Collins, AR, Connell, M, Crawford, S, Curran, CS, Dabrosin, C, Damia, G, Dasgupta, S, DeBerardinis, RJ, Decker, WK, Dhawan, P, Diehl, AME, Dong, JT, Dou, QP, Drewa, JE, Elkord, E, El-Rayes, B, Feitelson, MA, Felsheru, DW, Ferguson, LR, Fimognari, C, Firestone, GL, Frezza, C, Fujii, H, Fuster, MM, Generali, D, Georgakilas, AG, Gieseler, F, Gilbertson, M, Green, MF, Grue, B, Guhal, G, Halicka, D, Helferich, WG, Heneberg, P, Hentosh, P, Hirschey, MD, Hofseth, LJ, Holcombe, RF, Honoki, K, Hsu, HY, Huang, GS, Jensen, LD, Jiang, WG, Jones, LW, Karpowicz, PA, Keith, WN, Kerkar, SP, Khan, GN, Khatami, M, Ko, YH, Kucuk, O, Kulathinal, RJ, Kumar, NB, Kwon, BS, Leb, A, Leab, MA, Lee, HY, Lichtor, T, Lin, LT, and Locasale, JW
- Abstract
© 2015 The Authors. Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of "personalized" oncology have achieved notablesuccesses in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targetedtherapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a fewdisease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistantimmortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are notreliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, aninternational task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity "broad-spectrum" therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspectsof relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a widerange of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For thesetargets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which werephytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed forknown effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment. Potential contrary or procar-cinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixedevidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of therelationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. Thisnovel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types ofcancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for futureresearch is offered.
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- 2015
5. Therapeutic targeting of replicative immortality
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Yaswen, P, MacKenzie, KL, Keith, WN, Hentosh, P, Rodier, F, Zhu, J, Firestone, GL, Matheu, A, Carnero, A, Bilsland, A, Sundin, T, Honoki, K, Fujii, H, Georgakilas, AG, Amedei, A, Amin, A, Helferich, B, Boosani, CS, Guha, G, Ciriolo, MR, Chen, S, Mohammed, SI, Azmi, AS, Bhakta, D, Halicka, D, Niccolai, E, Aquilano, K, Ashraf, SS, Nowsheen, S, Yang, X, Yaswen, P, MacKenzie, KL, Keith, WN, Hentosh, P, Rodier, F, Zhu, J, Firestone, GL, Matheu, A, Carnero, A, Bilsland, A, Sundin, T, Honoki, K, Fujii, H, Georgakilas, AG, Amedei, A, Amin, A, Helferich, B, Boosani, CS, Guha, G, Ciriolo, MR, Chen, S, Mohammed, SI, Azmi, AS, Bhakta, D, Halicka, D, Niccolai, E, Aquilano, K, Ashraf, SS, Nowsheen, S, and Yang, X
- Abstract
One of the hallmarks of malignant cell populations is the ability to undergo continuous proliferation. This property allows clonal lineages to acquire sequential aberrations that can fuel increasingly autonomous growth, invasiveness, and therapeutic resistance. Innate cellular mechanisms have evolved to regulate replicative potential as a hedge against malignant progression. When activated in the absence of normal terminal differentiation cues, these mechanisms can result in a state of persistent cytostasis. This state, termed "senescence," can be triggered by intrinsic cellular processes such as telomere dysfunction and oncogene expression, and by exogenous factors such as DNA damaging agents or oxidative environments. Despite differences in upstream signaling, senescence often involves convergent interdependent activation of tumor suppressors p53 and p16/pRB, but can be induced, albeit with reduced sensitivity, when these suppressors are compromised. Doses of conventional genotoxic drugs required to achieve cancer cell senescence are often much lower than doses required to achieve outright cell death. Additional therapies, such as those targeting cyclin dependent kinases or components of the PI3K signaling pathway, may induce senescence specifically in cancer cells by circumventing defects in tumor suppressor pathways or exploiting cancer cells' heightened requirements for telomerase. Such treatments sufficient to induce cancer cell senescence could provide increased patient survival with fewer and less severe side effects than conventional cytotoxic regimens. This positive aspect is countered by important caveats regarding senescence reversibility, genomic instability, and paracrine effects that may increase heterogeneity and adaptive resistance of surviving cancer cells. Nevertheless, agents that effectively disrupt replicative immortality will likely be valuable components of new combinatorial approaches to cancer therapy.
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- 2015
6. Evidence for androgen receptors in sexually dimorphic perineal muscles of neonatal male rats. Absence of androgen accumulation by the perineal motoneurons
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Firestone Gl, Chism L, Breedlove Sm, and Fishman Rb
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Male ,Aging ,medicine.medical_specialty ,medicine.drug_class ,Central nervous system ,Biology ,Perineum ,urologic and male genital diseases ,Perineal Muscle ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Bulbocavernosus reflex ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Animals ,Motor Neurons ,Sex Characteristics ,General Neuroscience ,Rats, Inbred Strains ,Motor neuron ,Androgen ,Spinal cord ,Rats ,Androgen receptor ,Endocrinology ,Levator ani ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Animals, Newborn ,Spinal Cord ,Receptors, Androgen ,Autoradiography - Abstract
During development, survival of the sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) and its target perineal muscles, the bulbocavernosus (BC) and the levator ani (LA) is androgen-dependent. To define androgen's site of action in masculinizing SNB system structures, we examined whether or not androgen receptors are present in SNB motoneurons and/or BC/LA muscles of neonatal male rats. Using a receptor binding assay, we have identified androgen-binding factors in the neonatal BC/LA (Bmax = 13.5 fmol/mg protein; Kd = 4.69 nM) for the first time. In contrast, androgen autoradiography provided no evidence that neonatal spinal motoneurons accumulate androgens. These results support the hypothesis that BC/LA muscles are a primary site of androgen action for masculinizing SNB system structures, and that androgen need not interact with SNB motoneurons directly to sexually differentiate them.
- Published
- 1990
7. Indole-3-carbinol and 3-3'-diindolylmethane antiproliferative signaling pathways control cell-cycle gene transcription in human breast cancer cells by regulating promoter-Sp1 transcription factor interactions
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Firestone, GL and Bjeldanes, LF
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Breast cancer -- Physiological aspects ,Health ,Physiological aspects - Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a compound that occurs naturally in Brassica vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, can induce a G1 cell-cycle arrest of human MCF-7 breast cancer cells that is accompanied [...]
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- 2003
8. Hormonal regulation of the polarized function and distribution of Na/H exchange and Na/HCO3 cotransport in cultured mammary epithelial cells
- Author
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Sjaastad, MD, primary, Zettl, KS, additional, Parry, G, additional, Firestone, GL, additional, and Machen, TE, additional
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- 1993
- Full Text
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9. Pilot study: effect of 3,3'-diindolylmethane supplements on urinary hormone metabolites in postmenopausal women with a history of early-stage breast cancer.
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Dalessandri KM, Firestone GL, Fitch MD, Bradlow HL, and Bjeldanes LF
- Abstract
Dietary indoles, present in Brassica plants such as cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, have been shown to provide potential protection against hormone-dependent cancers. 3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is under study as one of the main protective indole metabolites. Postmenopausal women aged 50-70 yr from Marin County, California, with a history of early-stage breast cancer, were screened for interest and eligibility in this pilot study on the effect of absorbable DIM (BioResponse-DIM) supplements on urinary hormone metabolites. The treatment group received daily DIM (108 mg DIM/day) supplements for 30 days, and the control group received a placebo capsule daily for 30 days. Urinary metabolite analysis included 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1), 16-alpha hydroxyestrone (16alpha-OHE1), DIM, estrone (El), estradiol(E2), estriol (E3), 6beta-hydroxycortisol (6beta-OHC), and cortisol in the first morning urine sample before intervention and 31 days after intervention. Nineteen women completed the study,for a total of 10 in the treatment group and 9 in the placebo group. DIM-treated subjects, relative to placebo, showed a significant increase in levels of2-OHE1 (P=0. 020), DIM (P =0. 045), and cortisol (P = 0.039), and a nonsignificant increase of 47% in the 2-OHE1/16alpha-OHE1 ratio from 1.46 to 2.14 (P=0.059). In this pilot study, DIM increased the 2-hydroxylation of estrogen urinary metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2004
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10. 3,3'-Diindolylmethane stimulates murine immune function in vitro and in vivo.
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Xue L, Pestka JJ, Li M, Firestone GL, Bjeldanes LF, Xue, Ling, Pestka, James J, Li, Maoxiang, Firestone, Gary L, and Bjeldanes, Leonard F
- Abstract
3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM), a major condensation product of indole-3-carbinol, exhibits chemopreventive properties in animal models of cancer. Recent studies have shown that DIM stimulates interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production and potentiates the IFN-gamma signaling pathway in human breast cancer cells via a mechanism that includes increased expression of the IFN-gamma receptor. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that DIM modulates the murine immune function. Specifically, the effects of DIM were evaluated in a panel of murine immune function tests that included splenocyte proliferation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cytokine production and resistance to viral infection. DIM was found to induce proliferation of splenocytes as well as augment mitogen- and interleukin (IL)-2-induced splenocyte proliferation. DIM also stimulated the production of ROS by murine peritoneal macrophage cultures. Oral administration of DIM, but not intraperitoneal injection, induced elevation of serum cytokines in mice, including IL-6, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), IL-12 and IFN-gamma. Finally, in a model of enteric virus infection, oral DIM administration to mice enhanced both clearance of reovirus from the GI tract and the subsequent mucosal IgA response. Thus, DIM is a potent stimulator of immune function. This property might contribute to the cancer inhibitory effects of this indole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. Designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for cancer prevention and treatment
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Chandra S. Boosani, William K. Decker, Punita Dhawan, Georgia Zhuo Chen, Mark E. Prince, Balakrishna L. Lokeshwar, Nagi B. Kumar, Michelle F. Green, Alan Bilsland, Michael P. Murphy, Dong M. Shin, H.P. Vasantha Rupasinghe, Paul Yaswen, Anupam Bishayee, Christian Frezza, John Stagg, Mahin Khatami, Lynnette R. Ferguson, R. Brooks Robeydf, Kanya Honoki, Alan K. Meeker, A.R.M. Ruhul Amin, Huanjie Yang, Eoin McDonnell, Virginia R. Parslow, Phuoc T. Tran, Patricia Hentosh, Frank Gieseler, Gloria S. Huang, Sulma I. Mohammed, Ho Young Lee, Giovanna Damia, Alexandra Arreola, Wamidh H. Talib, Mark A. Feitelson, Luigi Ricciardiello, Massimo Zollo, Sarallah Rezazadeh, Diana M. Stafforini, Katia Aquilano, Phillip Karpowicz, Markus D. Siegelin, Neetu Singh, Alexandros G. Georgakilas, Domenico Ribatti, Neeraj K. Saxena, Carl Smythe, Beom K. Choi, Mark M. Fuster, Gian Luigi Russo, Amedeo Amedei, Anna Mae Diehl, Terry Lichtor, D. James Morré, Charlotte Gyllenhaal, Vasundara Venkateswaran, Colleen S. Curran, Ramzi M. Mohammad, Jiyue Zhu, Anne Leb, Lizzia Raffaghello, Fabian Benencia, Sid P. Kerkar, Eddy S. Yang, Wen Guo Jiang, Jason W. Locasale, Alla Arzumanyan, W. Nicol Keith, Dorota Halicka, Gunjan Guhal, Xin Yin, Helen Chen, Irfana Muqbil, Gary L. Firestone, Panagiotis J. Vlachostergios, Maria Marino, Meenakshi Malhotra, Stacy W. Blain, Amancio Carnero, Liang Tzung Lin, Dass S. Vinay, Satya Prakash, Hsue-Yin Hsu, María L. Martínez-Chantar, Daniele Generali, Jeffrey C. Rathmell, Karen L. MacKenzie, Valter D. Longo, Dipita Bhakta, Ralph J. DeBerardinis, S. Salman Ashraf, Elena Niccolai, Hendrik Ungefroren, Carmela Fimognari, Mahya Mehrmohamadi, Zongwei Wang, Clement G. Yedjou, Costas A. Lyssiotis, Lasse Jensen, Jörg Reichrath, Sarah K. Thompson, Rita Nahta, David Sidransky, Q. Ping Dou, Brendan Grue, Isidro Sánchez-García, Brad Poore, Helen M. Coley, Bassel F. El-Rayes, Sophie Chen, Randall F. Holcombe, Dipali Sharma, Mrinmay Chakrabarti, Asfar S. Azmi, William G. Helferich, Gregory A. Michelotti, H. M. C. Shantha Kumara, Petr Heneberg, Rodney E. Shackelford, Andrew James Sanders, Daniel Sliva, Swapan K. Ray, Omer Kucuk, Christopher Maxwellx, Abbas Samadi, Leroy Lowe, Sarah Crawford, Daniele Santini, Andrew Collins, Yi Charlie Chen, Santanu Dasgupta, Kathryn E. Wellen, Richard L. Whelan, Janice E. Drewa, Ander Matheu, Sharanya Sivanand, Tetsuro Sasada, Xujuan Yang, Lee W. Jones, Byoung S. Kwon, Amr Amin, Francis Rodierdh, Ganji Purnachandra Nagaraju, Charlotta Dabrosin, Graham Pawelec, Rob J. Kulathinal, Elizabeth P. Ryan, Hiromasa Fujii, Thomas E. Carey, Somaira Nowsheen, Young Hee Ko, Deepak Poudyal, Eyad Elkord, Emanuela Signori, Rupesh Chaturvedi, Peter L. Pedersen, Carmela Spagnuolo, Keith I. Block, Marianeve Carotenuto, Vinayak Muralidharcq, Stephanie C. Casey, Kapil Mehta, Tabetha Sundin, Dean W. Felsheru, Matthew D. Hirschey, Matthew G. Vander Heiden, Lorne J. Hofseth, Francesco Pantano, Maria Rosa Ciriolo, Michael A. Leab, Carolina Panis, Marisa Connell, Gazala Khan, W. Kimryn Rathmell, Malancha Sarkar, Michael Gilbertson, Jack L. Arbiser, Penny B. Block, Pochi R. Subbarayan, Jin-Tang Dong, Frezza, Christian [0000-0002-3293-7397], Murphy, Mike [0000-0003-1115-9618], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, National Institutes of Health (US), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Junta de Andalucía, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Avon Foundation for Women, Junta de Castilla y León, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ikerbasque Basque Foundation for Science, American Cancer Society, European Commission, Swedish Research Council, University of Glasgow, Block, Keith I, Gyllenhaal, Charlotte, Lowe, Leroy, Amedei, Amedeo, Amin, A. R. M. Ruhul, Amin, Amr, Aquilano, Katia, Arbiser, Jack, Arreola, Alexandra, Arzumanyan, Alla, Ashraf, S. Salman, Azmi, Asfar S, Benencia, Fabian, Bhakta, Dipita, Bilsland, Alan, Bishayee, Anupam, Blain, Stacy W, Block, Penny B, Boosani, Chandra S, Carey, Thomas E, Carnero, Amancio, Carotenuto, Marianeve, Casey, Stephanie C, Chakrabarti, Mrinmay, Chaturvedi, Rupesh, Chen, Georgia Zhuo, Chen, Helen, Chen, Sophie, Chen, Yi Charlie, Choi, Beom K, Ciriolo, Maria Rosa, Coley, Helen M, Collins, Andrew R, Connell, Marisa, Crawford, Sarah, Curran, Colleen S, Dabrosin, Charlotta, Damia, Giovanna, Dasgupta, Santanu, Deberardinis, Ralph J, Decker, William K, Dhawan, Punita, Diehl, Anna Mae E, Dong, Jin Tang, Dou, Q. Ping, Drew, Janice E, Elkord, Eyad, El Rayes, Bassel, Feitelson, Mark A, Felsher, Dean W, Ferguson, Lynnette R, Fimognari, Carmela, Firestone, Gary L, Frezza, Christian, Fujii, Hiromasa, Fuster, Mark M, Generali, Daniele, Georgakilas, Alexandros G, Gieseler, Frank, Gilbertson, Michael, Green, Michelle F, Grue, Brendan, Guha, Gunjan, Halicka, Dorota, Helferich, William G, Heneberg, Petr, Hentosh, Patricia, Hirschey, Matthew D, Hofseth, Lorne J, Holcombe, Randall F, Honoki, Kanya, Hsu, Hsue Yin, Huang, Gloria S, Jensen, Lasse D, Jiang, Wen G, Jones, Lee W, Karpowicz, Phillip A, Keith, W. Nicol, Kerkar, Sid P, Khan, Gazala N, Khatami, Mahin, Ko, Young H, Kucuk, Omer, Kulathinal, Rob J, Kumar, Nagi B, Kwon, Byoung S, Le, Anne, Lea, Michael A, Lee, Ho Young, Lichtor, Terry, Lin, Liang Tzung, Locasale, Jason W, Lokeshwar, Bal L, Longo, Valter D, Lyssiotis, Costas A, Mackenzie, Karen L, Malhotra, Meenakshi, Marino, Maria, Martinez Chantar, Maria L, Matheu, Ander, Maxwell, Christopher, Mcdonnell, Eoin, Meeker, Alan K, Mehrmohamadi, Mahya, Mehta, Kapil, Michelotti, Gregory A, Mohammad, Ramzi M, Mohammed, Sulma I, Morre, D. Jame, Muralidhar, Vinayak, Muqbil, Irfana, Murphy, Michael P, Nagaraju, Ganji Purnachandra, Nahta, Rita, Niccolai, Elena, Nowsheen, Somaira, Panis, Carolina, Pantano, Francesco, Parslow, Virginia R, Pawelec, Graham, Pedersen, Peter L, Poore, Brad, Poudyal, Deepak, Prakash, Satya, Prince, Mark, Raffaghello, Lizzia, Rathmell, Jeffrey C, Rathmell, W. Kimryn, Ray, Swapan K, Reichrath, Jörg, Rezazadeh, Sarallah, Ribatti, Domenico, Ricciardiello, Luigi, Robey, R. Brook, Rodier, Franci, Rupasinghe, H. P. Vasantha, Russo, Gian Luigi, Ryan, Elizabeth P, Samadi, Abbas K, Sanchez Garcia, Isidro, Sanders, Andrew J, Santini, Daniele, Sarkar, Malancha, Sasada, Tetsuro, Saxena, Neeraj K, Shackelford, Rodney E, Shantha Kumara, H. M. C, Sharma, Dipali, Shin, Dong M, Sidransky, David, Siegelin, Markus David, Signori, Emanuela, Singh, Neetu, Sivanand, Sharanya, Sliva, Daniel, Smythe, Carl, Spagnuolo, Carmela, Stafforini, Diana M, Stagg, John, Subbarayan, Pochi R, Sundin, Tabetha, Talib, Wamidh H, Thompson, Sarah K, Tran, Phuoc T, Ungefroren, Hendrik, Vander Heiden, Matthew G, Venkateswaran, Vasundara, Vinay, Dass S, Vlachostergios, Panagiotis J, Wang, Zongwei, Wellen, Kathryn E, Whelan, Richard L, Yang, Eddy S, Yang, Huanjie, Yang, Xujuan, Yaswen, Paul, Yedjou, Clement, Yin, Xin, Zhu, Jiyue, Zollo, Massimo, Amin, A R M Ruhul, Ashraf, S Salman, Dong, Jin-Tang, Dou, Q Ping, El-Rayes, Bassel, Hsu, Hsue-Yin, Keith, W Nicol, Lee, Ho-Young, Lin, Liang-Tzung, Martinez-Chantar, Maria L, Morre, D Jame, Rathmell, W Kimryn, Robey, R Brook, Rupasinghe, H P Vasantha, Sanchez-Garcia, Isidro, Shantha Kumara, H M C, Block, Ki, Gyllenhaal, C, Lowe, L, Amedei, A, Amin, Ar, Amin, A, Aquilano, K, Arbiser, J, Arreola, A, Arzumanyan, A, Ashraf, S, Azmi, A, Benencia, F, Bhakta, D, Bilsland, A, Bishayee, A, Blain, Sw, Block, Pb, Boosani, C, Carey, Te, Carnero, A, Casey, Sc, Chakrabarti, M, Chaturvedi, R, Chen, Gz, Chen, H, Chen, S, Chen, Yc, Choi, Bk, Ciriolo, Mr, Coley, Hm, Collins, Ar, Connell, M, Crawford, S, Curran, C, Dabrosin, C, Damia, G, Dasgupta, S, Deberardinis, Rj, Decker, Wk, Dhawan, P, Diehl, Am, Dong, Jt, Dou, Qp, Drew, Je, Elkord, E, El Rayes, B, Feitelson, Ma, Felsher, Dw, Ferguson, Lr, Fimognari, C, Firestone, Gl, Frezza, C, Fujii, H, Fuster, Mm, Generali, D, Georgakilas, Ag, Gieseler, F, Gilbertson, M, Green, Mf, Grue, B, Guha, G, Halicka, D, Helferich, Wg, Heneberg, P, Hentosh, P, Hirschey, Md, Hofseth, Lj, Holcombe, Rf, Honoki, K, Hsu, Hy, Huang, G, Jensen, Ld, Jiang, Wg, Jones, Lw, Karpowicz, Pa, Keith, Wn, Kerkar, Sp, Khan, Gn, Khatami, M, Ko, Yh, Kucuk, O, Kulathinal, Rj, Kumar, Nb, Kwon, B, Le, A, Lea, Ma, Lee, Hy, Lichtor, T, Lin, Lt, Locasale, Jw, Lokeshwar, Bl, Longo, Vd, Lyssiotis, Ca, Mackenzie, Kl, Malhotra, M, Marino, M, Martinez Chantar, Ml, Matheu, A, Maxwell, C, Mcdonnell, E, Meeker, Ak, Mehrmohamadi, M, Mehta, K, Michelotti, Ga, Mohammad, Rm, Mohammed, Si, Morre, Dj, Muralidhar, V, Muqbil, I, Murphy, Mp, Nagaraju, Gp, Nahta, R, Niccolai, E, Nowsheen, S, Panis, C, Pantano, F, Parslow, Vr, Pawelec, G, Pedersen, Pl, Poore, B, Poudyal, D, Prakash, S, Prince, M, Raffaghello, L, Rathmell, Jc, Rathmell, Wk, Ray, Sk, Reichrath, J, Rezazadeh, S, Ribatti, D, Ricciardiello, L, Robey, Rb, Rodier, F, Rupasinghe, Hp, Russo, Gl, Ryan, Ep, Samadi, Ak, Sanchez Garcia, I, Sanders, Aj, Santini, D, Sarkar, M, Sasada, T, Saxena, Nk, Shackelford, Re, Shantha Kumara, Hm, Sharma, D, Shin, Dm, Sidransky, D, Siegelin, Md, Signori, E, Singh, N, Sivanand, S, Sliva, D, Smythe, C, Spagnuolo, C, Stafforini, Dm, Stagg, J, Subbarayan, Pr, Sundin, T, Talib, Wh, Thompson, Sk, Tran, Pt, Ungefroren, H, Vander Heiden, Mg, Venkateswaran, V, Vinay, D, Vlachostergios, Pj, Wang, Z, Wellen, Ke, Whelan, Rl, Yang, E, Yang, H, Yang, X, Yaswen, P, Yedjou, C, Yin, X, Zhu, J, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, Vander Heiden, Matthew G., Ruhul Amin, A. R. M., Salman Ashraf, S., Azmi, Asfar S., Blain, Stacy W., Block, Penny B., Boosani, Chandra S., Carey, Thomas E., Casey, Stephanie C., Choi, Beom K., Coley, Helen M., Collins, Andrew R., Curran, Colleen S., Deberardinis, Ralph J., Decker, William K., Diehl, Anna Mae E., Drewa, Janice E., Feitelson, Mark A., Felsheru, Dean W., Ferguson, Lynnette R., Firestone, Gary L., Fuster, Mark M., Georgakilas, Alexandros G., Green, Michelle F., Guhal, Gunjan, Helferich, William G., Hirschey, Matthew D., Hofseth, Lorne J., Holcombe, Randall F., Huang, Gloria S., Jensen, Lasse D., Jiang, Wen G., Jones, Lee W., Karpowicz, Phillip A., Kerkar, Sid P., Khan, Gazala N., Ko, Young H., Kulathinal, Rob J., Kumar, Nagi B., Kwon, Byoung S., Leb, Anne, Leab, Michael A., Locasale, Jason W., Lokeshwar, Bal L., Longo, Valter D., Lyssiotis, Costas A., Maxwellx, Christopher, Meeker, Alan K., Michelotti, Gregory A., Mohammad, Ramzi M., Mohammed, Sulma I., Muralidharcq, Vinayak, Murphy, Michael P., Parslow, Virginia R., Pedersen, Peter L., Rathmell, Jeffrey C., Ray, Swapan K., Robeydf, R. Brook, Rodierdh, Franci, Ryan, Elizabeth P., Samadi, Abbas K., Sanders, Andrew J., Saxena, Neeraj K., Shackelford, Rodney E., Shantha Kumara, H. M. C., Shin, Dong M., Stafforini, Diana M., Subbarayan, Pochi R., Talib, Wamidh H., Thompson, Sarah K., Tran, Phuoc T., Vinay, Dass S., Vlachostergios, Panagiotis J., Wellen, Kathryn E., Whelan, Richard L., and Yang, Eddy S.
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Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Phytochemicals ,ComputingMilieux_LEGALASPECTSOFCOMPUTING ,Pharmacology ,Bioinformatics ,Targeted therapy ,Broad spectrum ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cancer hallmark ,Neoplasms ,Tumor Microenvironment ,Molecular Targeted Therapy ,Precision Medicine ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0303 health sciences ,Cancer hallmarks ,Integrative medicine ,Multi-targeted ,1. No poverty ,Life Sciences ,3. Good health ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Signal Transduction ,Phytochemical ,Article ,RC0254 ,03 medical and health sciences ,Therapeutic approach ,Genetic Heterogeneity ,medicine ,Humans ,Settore BIO/10 ,Biology ,030304 developmental biology ,Tumor microenvironment ,Cancer och onkologi ,Cancer prevention ,business.industry ,Cancer ,Precision medicine ,medicine.disease ,Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ,Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ,Data_GENERAL ,Cancer and Oncology ,business - Abstract
Under a Creative Commons license.-- Review.-- et al., Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of >personalized> oncology have achieved notablesuccesses in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targetedtherapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a fewdisease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistantimmortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are notreliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, aninternational task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity >broad-spectrum> therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspectsof relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a widerange of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For thesetargets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which werephytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed forknown effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment. Potential contrary or procar-cinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixedevidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of therelationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. Thisnovel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types ofcancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for futureresearch is offered., Amr Amin was funded by Terry Fox Foundation Grant # TF-13-20 and UAEU Program for Advanced Research (UPAR) #31S118; Jack Arbiser was funded by NIHAR47901; Alexandra Arreola was funded by NIH NRSA Grant F31CA154080; Alla Arzumanyan was funded by NIH (NIAID) R01: Combination therapies for chronic HBV, liver disease, and cancer (AI076535); Work in the lab of Asfar S. Azmi is supported by NIH R21CA188818 as well as from Sky Foundation Inc. Michigan; Fabian Benencia was supported by NIH Grant R15 CA137499-01; Alan Bilsland was supported by the University of Glasgow, Beatson Oncology Centre Fund, CRUK (www.cancerresearchuk.org) Grant C301/A14762; Amancio Carnero was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, ISCIII (Fis: PI12/00137, RTICC: RD12/0036/0028) co-funded by FEDER from Regional Development European Funds (European Union), Consejeria de Ciencia e Innovacion (CTS-6844 and CTS-1848) and Consejeria de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia (PI-0135-2010 and PI-0306-2012). His work on this project has also been made possible thanks to the Grant PIE13/0004 co-funded by the ISCIII and FEDER funds; Stephanie C. Casey was supported by NIH Grant F32CA177139; Mrinmay Chakrabarti was supported by the United Soybean Board; Rupesh Chaturvedi was supported by an NIH NCCAM Grant (K01AT007324); Georgia Zhuo Chen was supported by an NIH NCI Grant (R33 CA161873-02); Helen Chen acknowledges financial support from the Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Foundation Graduate Studentship; Sophie Chen acknowledges financial support from the Ovarian and Prostate Cancer Research Trust, UK; Yi Charlie Chen acknowledges financial support from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission/Division of Science Research, his research was also supported by NIH grants (P20RR016477 and P20GM103434) from the National Institutes of Health awarded to the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence; Maria Rosa Ciriolo was partially supported by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) Grants #IG10636 and #15403; Helen M. Coley acknowledges financial support from the GRACE Charity, UK and the Breast Cancer Campaign, UK; Marisa Connell was supported by a Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship; Sarah Crawford was supported by a research grant from Connecticut State University; Charlotta Dabrosin acknowledges financial support from the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Research Society; Giovanna Damia gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of The Italian Association for Cancer Research (IG14536 to G.D.), Santanu Dasgupta gratefully acknowledges the support of the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Tyler, Elsa U. Pardee Foundation; William K. Decker was supported in part by CPRIT, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas; Anna Mae E. Diehl was supported by NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the NIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Gilead and Shire Pharmaceuticals; Q. Ping Dou was partially supported by NIH/NCI (1R01CA20009, 5R01CA127258-05 and R21CA184788), and NIH P30 CA22453 (to Karmanos Cancer Institute); Janice E. Drew was supported by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division; Eyad Elkord thanks the National Research Foundation, United Arab Emirates University and the Terry Fox Foundation for supporting research projects in his lab; Bassel El-Rayes was supported by Novartis Pharmaceutical, Aveo Pharmaceutical, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, and Kyowa Kirin; Mark A. Feitelson was supported by NIH/NIAID Grant AI076535, Dean W. Felsher was supported by NIH grants (R01CA170378, U54CA149145, and U54CA143907); Lynnette R Ferguson was financially supported by the Auckland Cancer Society and the Cancer Society of New Zealand; Gary L. Firestone was supported by NIH Public Service Grant CA164095 awarded from the National Cancer Institute; Christian Frezza “would like to acknowledge funding from a Medical Research Council CCU-Program Grant on cancer metabolism, and a unique applicant AICR project grant”; Mark M. Fuster was supported by NIH Grant R01-HL107652; Alexandros G. Georgakilas was supported by an EU Marie Curie Reintegration Grant MC-CIG-303514, Greek National funds through the Operational Program ‘Educational and Lifelong Learning of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)-Research Funding Program THALES (Grant number MIS 379346) and COST Action CM1201 ‘Biomimetic Radical Chemistry’; Michelle F. Green was supported by a Duke University Molecular Cancer Biology T32 Training Grant; Brendan Grue was supported by a National Sciences Engineering and Research Council Undergraduate Student Research Award in Canada; Dorota Halicka was supported by by NIH NCI grant NCI RO1 28704; Petr Heneberg was supported by the Charles University in Prague projects UNCE 204015 and PRVOUK P31/2012, by the Czech Science Foundation projects 15-03834Y and P301/12/1686, by the Czech Health Research Council AZV project 15-32432A, and by the Internal Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic project NT13663-3/2012; Matthew D. Hirschey wishes to acknowledge Duke University Institutional Support, the Duke Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) Program in Aging Research supported by the National Institute of Aging (P30AG028716-01) and NIH/NCI training grants to Duke University (T32-CA059365-19 and 5T32-CA059365), Lorne J. Hofseth was supported by NIH grants (1R01CA151304, 1R03CA1711326, and 1P01AT003961); Kanya Honoki was supported in part by the grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (No. 24590493); Hsue-Yin Hsu was supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (CCMP101-RD-031 and CCMP102-RD-112) and Tzu-Chi University (61040055-10) of Taiwan; Lasse D. Jensen was supported by Svenska Sallskapet for Medicinsk Forskning, Gosta Fraenkels Stiftelse, Ak.e Wibergs Stiftelse, Ollie och Elof Ericssons Stiftelse, Linkopings Universitet and the Karolinska Institute, Sweden; Wen G. Jiang wishes to acknowledge the support by Cancer Research Wales, the Albert Hung Foundation, the Fong Family Foundation, and Welsh Government A4B scheme; Lee W. Jones was supported in part by grants from the NIH NCI; W Nicol Keith was supported by the University of Glasgow, Beatson Oncology Centre Fund, CRUK (www.cancerresearchuk.org) Grant C301/A14762; Sid P. Kerkar was supported by the NIH Intramural Research Program; Rob J. Kulathinal was supported by the National Science Foundation, and the American Cancer Society; Byoung S. Kwon was supported in part by National Cancer Center (NCC-1310430-2) and National Research Foundation (NRF-2005-0093837); Anne Le was supported by Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Grant 80028595, a Lustgarten Fund Grant 90049125 and Grant NIHR21CA169757 (to Anne Le); Michael A. Lea was funded by the The Alma Toorock Memorial for Cancer Research; Ho-Young Lee., This work was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP), Republic of Korea (Nos. 2011-0017639 and 2011-0030001) and by a NIH Grant R01 CA100816; Liang-Tzung Lin was supported in part by a grant from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan (TMUTOP103005-4); Jason W. Locasale acknowledges support from NIH awards (CA168997 and AI110613) and the International Life Sciences Institute; Bal L. Lokeshwar was supported in part by United States’ Public Health Services Grants: NIH R01CA156776 and VA-BLR&D Merit Review Grant No. 5I01-BX001517-02; Valter D. Longo acknowledges support from NIH awards (P01AG034906 and R01AG020642) and from the V Foundation; Costas A. Lyssiotis was funded in part by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network as a Pathway to Leadership Fellow and through a Dale F. Frey Breakthrough award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; Karen L. MacKenzie wishes to acknowledge the support from the Children's Cancer Institute Australia (affiliated with the University of New South Wales, Australia and the Sydney Children's Hospital Network); Maria Marino was supported by grant from University Roma Tre to M.M. (CLA 2013) and by the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC-Grant #IG15221), Ander Matheu is funded by Carlos III Health Institute (AM: CP10/00539), Basque Foundation for Science (IKERBASQUE) and Marie Curie CIG Grant (AM: 2012/712404); Christopher Maxwell was supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, in partnership with the Avon Foundation for Women (OBC-134038) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Salary Award (MSH-136647); Eoin McDonnell received Duke University Institutional Support; Kapil Mehta was supported by Bayer Healthcare System G4T (Grants4Targets); Gregory A. Michelotti received support from NIH NIDDK, NIH NIAAA, and Shire Pharmaceuticals; Vinayak Muralidhar was supported by the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Research Assistantship Award; Elena Niccolai was supported by the Italian Ministry of University and the University of Italy; Virginia R. Parslow gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC); Graham Pawelec was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) Grant number 16SV5536K, and by the European Commission (FP7 259679 “IDEAL”); Peter L. Pedersen was supported by NIH Grant CA-10951; Brad Poore was supported by Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Grant 80028595, the Lustgarten Fund Grant 90049125, and Grant NIHR21CA169757 (to Anne Le); Satya Prakash was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grant (MOP 64308); Lizzia Raffaghello was supported by an NIH Grant (P01AG034906-01A1) and Cinque per Mille dell’IRPEF–Finanziamento della Ricerca Sanitaria; Jeffrey C. Rathmell was supported by an NIH Grant (R01HL108006); Swapan K. Ray was supported by the United Soybean Board; Domenico Ribatti received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant agreement n°278570; Luigi Ricciardiello was supported by the AIRC Investigator Grants 10216 and 13837, and the European Community's Seventh Framework Program FP7/2007–2013 under Grant agreement 311876; Francis Rodier acknowledges the support of the Canadian Institute for Health Research (FR: MOP114962, MOP125857), Fonds de Recherche Québec Santé (FR: 22624), and the Terry Fox Research Institute (FR: 1030), Gian Luigi Russo contributed to this effort while participating in the Fulbright Research Scholar Program 2013–14; Isidro Sanchez-Garcia is partially supported by FEDER and by MICINN (SAF2012-32810), by NIH Grant (R01 CA109335-04A1), by Junta de Castilla y León (BIO/SA06/13) and by the ARIMMORA project (FP7-ENV-2011, European Union Seventh Framework Program). Isidro Sanchez-Garcia's lab is also a member of the EuroSyStem and the DECIDE Network funded by the European Union under the FP7 program; Andrew J. Sanders wishes to acknowledge the support by Cancer Research Wales, the Albert Hung Foundation, the Fong Family Foundation, and Welsh Government A4B scheme; Neeraj K. Saxena was supported by grant funding from NIH NIDDK (K01DK077137, R03DK089130); Dipali Sharma was partially funded by NIH NCI grants (R01CA131294, R21 CA155686), the Avon Foundation and a Breast Cancer Research Foundation Grant (90047965); Markus David Siegelin received funding from National Institute of Health, NINDS Grant K08NS083732, and the 2013 AACR-National Brain Tumor Society Career Development Award for Translational Brain Tumor Research, Grant Number 13-20-23-SIEG; Neetu Singh was supported by funds from the Department of Science and Technology (SR/FT/LS-063/2008), New Delhi, India; Carl Smythe was supported by Yorkshire Cancer Research and The Wellcome Trust, UK; Carmela Spagnuolo was supported by funding from Project C.I.S.I.A., act n. 191/2009 from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance Project CAMPUS-QUARC, within program FESR Campania Region 2007/2013, objectives 2.1, 2.2; Diana M. Stafforini was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (5P01CA073992), IDEA Award W81XWH-12-1-0515 from the Department of Defense, and by the Huntsman Cancer Foundation; John Stagg was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Pochi R. Subbarayan was supported by the University of Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Pilot Research Grant (CTSI-2013-P03) and SEEDS You Choose Awards; Phuoc T. Tran was funded by the DoD (W81XWH-11-1-0272 and W81XWH-13-1-0182), a Kimmel Translational Science Award (SKF-13-021), an ACS Scholar award (122688-RSG-12-196-01-TBG) and the NIH (R01CA166348); Kathryn E. Wellen receives funding from the National Cancer Institute, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Pew Charitable Trusts, American Diabetes Association, and Elsa U. Pardee Foundation; Huanjie Yang was partially supported by the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Oversea Scholars, State Education Ministry and Scientific and Technological Innovation Project, Harbin (2012RFLXS011), Paul Yaswen was supported by funding from the United States National Institutes of Health (ES019458) and the California Breast Cancer Research Program (17UB-8708); Clement Yedjou was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant # G1200MD007581), through the RCMI-Center for Environmental Health; Xin Yin was supported by NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Training Grant T32HL098062.; Jiyue Zhu was supported by NIH Grant R01GM071725; Massimo Zollo was supported by the European FP7-TuMIC HEALTH-F2-2008-201662, the Italian Association for Cancer research (AIRC) Grant IG # 11963 and the Regione Campania L.R:N.5, the European National Funds PON01-02388/1 2007-2013.
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- 2015
12. 1-Benzyl-indole-3-carbinol is a highly potent new small molecule inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in melanoma cells that coordinately inhibits cell proliferation and disrupts expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform-M.
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Kundu A, Khouri MG, Aryana S, and Firestone GL
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- Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Humans, Mice, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Indoles pharmacology, Melanoma pathology, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor biosynthesis, Skin Neoplasms pathology, Wnt Signaling Pathway drug effects
- Abstract
1-Benzyl-indole-3-carbinol (1-benzyl-I3C), a synthetic analogue of the crucifer-derived natural phytochemical I3C, displayed significantly wider sensitivity and anti-proliferative potency in melanoma cells than the natural compound. Unlike I3C, which targets mainly oncogenic BRAF-expressing cells, 1-benzyl-I3C effectively inhibited proliferation of melanoma cells with a more extensive range of mutational profiles, including those expressing wild-type BRAF. In both cultured melanoma cell lines and in vivo in melanoma cell-derived tumor xenografts, 1-benzyl-I3C disrupted canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling that resulted in the downregulation of β-catenin protein levels with a concomitant increase in levels of the β-catenin destruction complex components such as glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) and Axin. Concurrent with the inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, 1-benzyl-I3C strongly downregulated expression of the melanoma master regulator, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform-M (MITF-M) by inhibiting promoter activity through the consensus lymphoid enhancer factor-1 (LEF-1)/T-cell transcription factor (TCF) DNA-binding site. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that 1-benzyl-I3C downregulated interactions of endogenous LEF-1 with the MITF-M promoter. 1-Benzyl-I3C ablated Wnt-activated LEF-1-dependent reporter gene activity in a TOP FLASH assay that was rescued by expression of a constitutively active form of the Wnt co-receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP6), indicating that 1-benzyl-I3C disrupts Wnt/β-catenin signaling at or upstream of LRP6. In oncogenic BRAF-expressing melanoma cells, combinations of 1-benzyl-I3C and Vemurafenib, a clinically employed BRAF inhibitor, showed strong anti-proliferative effects. Taken together, our observations demonstrate that 1-benzyl-I3C represents a new and highly potent indolecarbinol-based small molecule inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling that has intriguing translational potential, alone or in combination with other anti-cancer agents, to treat human melanoma., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
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- 2017
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13. Artemisinin disrupts androgen responsiveness of human prostate cancer cells by stimulating the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of the androgen receptor protein.
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Steely AM, Willoughby JA Sr, Sundar SN, Aivaliotis VI, and Firestone GL
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- Cell Line, Tumor, Chromones pharmacology, Down-Regulation drug effects, Enzyme Inhibitors pharmacology, Humans, Kallikreins genetics, Kallikreins metabolism, Male, Morpholines pharmacology, Mutation, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases genetics, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases metabolism, Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors, Phosphorylation drug effects, Prostate-Specific Antigen genetics, Prostate-Specific Antigen metabolism, Prostatic Neoplasms genetics, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt genetics, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt metabolism, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 metabolism, Receptors, Androgen genetics, Transcription, Genetic, Ubiquitination drug effects, Artemisinins pharmacology, Prostatic Neoplasms drug therapy, Prostatic Neoplasms metabolism, Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex metabolism, Receptors, Androgen metabolism
- Abstract
Androgen receptor (AR) expression and activity is highly linked to the development and progression of prostate cancer and is a target of therapeutic strategies for this disease. We investigated whether the antimalarial drug artemisinin, which is a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the sweet wormwood plant Artemisia annua, could alter AR expression and responsiveness in cultured human prostate cancer cell lines. Artemisinin treatment induced the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of the receptor protein, without altering AR transcript levels, in androgen-responsive LNCaP prostate cancer cells or PC-3 prostate cancer cells expressing exogenous wild-type AR. Furthermore, artemisinin stimulated AR ubiquitination and AR receptor interactions with the E3 ubiquitin ligase MDM2 in LNCaP cells. The artemisinin-induced loss of AR protein prevented androgen-responsive cell proliferation and ablated total AR transcriptional activity. The serine/threonine protein kinase AKT-1 was shown to be highly associated with artemisinin-induced proteasome-mediated degradation of AR protein. Artemisinin treatment activated AKT-1 enzymatic activity, enhanced receptor association with AKT-1, and induced AR serine phosphorylation. Treatment of LNCaP cells with the PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, which inhibits the PI3-kinase-dependent activation of AKT-1, prevented the artemisinin-induced AR degradation. Furthermore, in transfected receptor-negative PC-3 cells, artemisinin failed to stimulate the degradation of an altered receptor protein (S215A/S792A) with mutations in its two consensus AKT-1 serine phosphorylation sites. Taken together, our results indicate that artemisinin induces the degradation of AR protein and disrupts androgen responsiveness of human prostate cancer cells, suggesting that this natural compound represents a new potential therapeutic molecule that selectively targets AR levels.
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- 2017
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14. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) analogues are potent small molecule inhibitors of NEDD4-1 ubiquitin ligase activity that disrupt proliferation of human melanoma cells.
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Quirit JG, Lavrenov SN, Poindexter K, Xu J, Kyauk C, Durkin KA, Aronchik I, Tomasiak T, Solomatin YA, Preobrazhenskaya MN, and Firestone GL
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- Antineoplastic Agents chemical synthesis, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Computer Simulation, Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor, Female, Humans, Indoles chemical synthesis, Indoles pharmacology, Melanoma, Molecular Docking Simulation, Nedd4 Ubiquitin Protein Ligases, Structure-Activity Relationship, Antineoplastic Agents chemistry, Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport antagonists & inhibitors, Indoles chemistry, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases antagonists & inhibitors
- Abstract
The HECT domain-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase NEDD4-1 (Neural precursor cell Expressed Developmentally Down regulated gene 4-1) is frequently overexpressed in human cancers and displays oncogenic-like properties through the ubiquitin-dependent regulation of multiple protein substrates. However, little is known about small molecule enzymatic inhibitors of HECT domain-containing ubiquitin ligases. We now demonstrate that indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural anti-cancer phytochemical derived from cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, represents a new chemical scaffold of small molecule enzymatic inhibitors of NEDD4-1. Using in vitro ubiquitination assays, I3C, its stable synthetic derivative 1-benzyl-I3C and five novel synthetic analogues were shown to directly inhibit NEDD4-1 ubiquitination activity. Compared to I3C, which has an IC50 of 284μM, 1-benzyl-I3C was a significantly more potent NEDD4-1 enzymatic inhibitor with an IC50 of 12.3μM. Compounds 2242 and 2243, the two indolecarbinol analogues with added methyl groups that results in a more nucleophilic benzene ring π system, further enhanced potency with IC50s of 2.71μM and 7.59μM, respectively. Protein thermal shift assays that assess small ligand binding, in combination with in silico binding simulations with the crystallographic structure of NEDD4-1, showed that each of the indolecarbinol compounds bind to the purified catalytic HECT domain of NEDD4-1. The indolecarbinol compounds inhibited human melanoma cell proliferation in a manner that generally correlated with their effectiveness as NEDD4-1 enzymatic inhibitors. Taken together, we propose that I3C analogues represent a novel set of anti-cancer compounds for treatment of human melanomas and other cancers that express indolecarbinol-sensitive target enzymes., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
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- 2017
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15. Inhibition of oncogenic BRAF activity by indole-3-carbinol disrupts microphthalmia-associated transcription factor expression and arrests melanoma cell proliferation.
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Kundu A, Quirit JG, Khouri MG, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic pharmacology, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 genetics, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 genetics, Indoles pharmacology, Melanoma genetics, Melanoma pathology, Mice, Nude, Point Mutation, Skin drug effects, Skin metabolism, Skin pathology, Skin Neoplasms genetics, Skin Neoplasms pathology, Sulfonamides pharmacology, Sulfonamides therapeutic use, Vemurafenib, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic therapeutic use, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects, Indoles therapeutic use, Melanoma drug therapy, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor genetics, Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf genetics, Skin Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), an anti-cancer phytochemical derived from cruciferous vegetables, strongly inhibited proliferation and down-regulated protein levels of the melanocyte master regulator micropthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF-M) in oncogenic BRAF-V600E expressing melanoma cells in culture as well as in vivo in tumor xenografted athymic nude mice. In contrast, wild type BRAF-expressing melanoma cells remained relatively insensitive to I3C anti-proliferative signaling. In BRAF-V600E-expressing melanoma cells, I3C treatment inhibited phosphorylation of MEK and ERK/MAPK, the down stream effectors of BRAF. The I3C anti-proliferative arrest was concomitant with the down-regulation of MITF-M transcripts and promoter activity, loss of endogenous BRN-2 binding to the MITF-M promoter, and was strongly attenuated by expression of exogenous MITF-M. Importantly, in vitro kinase assays using immunoprecipitated BRAF-V600E and wild type BRAF demonstrated that I3C selectively inhibited the enzymatic activity of the oncogenic BRAF-V600E but not of the wild type protein. In silico modeling predicted an I3C interaction site in the BRAF-V600E protomer distinct from where the clinically used BRAF-V600E inhibitor Vemurafenib binds to BRAF-V600E. Consistent with this prediction, combinations of I3C and Vemurafenib more potently inhibited melanoma cell proliferation and reduced MITF-M levels in BRAF-V600E expressing melanoma cells compared to the effects of each compound alone. Thus, our results demonstrate that oncogenic BRAF-V600E is a new cellular target of I3C that implicate this indolecarbinol compound as a potential candidate for novel single or combination therapies for melanoma. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
- Published
- 2017
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16. Phytochemical regulation of the tumor suppressive microRNA, miR-34a, by p53-dependent and independent responses in human breast cancer cells.
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Hargraves KG, He L, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Artemisinins pharmacology, Artesunate, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 genetics, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 metabolism, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Humans, Indoles pharmacology, MCF-7 Cells, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms genetics, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects, MicroRNAs genetics, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 genetics
- Abstract
The tumor suppressive microRNA miR-34a is transcriptionally regulated by p53 and shown to inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation as well as being a marker of increased disease free survival. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) derived from cruciferous vegetables, artemisinin, extracted from the sweet wormwood plant, and artesunate, a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, are phytochemicals with anti-tumorigenic properties however, little is known about the role of microRNAs in their mechanism of action. Human breast cancer cells expressing wild-type (MCF-7) or mutant p53 (T47D) were treated with a concentration range and time course of each phytochemical under conditions of cell cycle arrest as detected by flow cytometry to examine the potential connection between miR-34a expression and their anti-proliferative responses. Real-time PCR and western blot analysis of extracted RNA and total protein revealed artemsinin and artesunate increased miR-34a expression in a dose-dependent manner correlating with down-regulation of the miR-34a target gene, CDK4. I3C stimulation of miR-34a expression required functional p53, whereas, both artemisinin and artesunate up-regulated miR-34a expression regardless of p53 mutational status or in the presence of dominant negative p53. Phytochemical treatments inhibited the luciferase activity of a construct containing the wild-type 3'UTR of CDK4, but not those with a mutated miR-34a binding site, whereas, transfection of miR-34a inhibitors ablated the phytochemical mediated down-regulation of CDK4 and induction of cell cycle arrest. Our results suggest that miR-34a is an essential component of the anti-proliferative activities of I3C, artemisinin, and artesunate and demonstrate that both wild-type p53 dependent and independent pathways are responsible for miR-34a induction., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
- Published
- 2016
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17. Cooperative antiproliferative signaling by aspirin and indole-3-carbinol targets microphthalmia-associated transcription factor gene expression and promoter activity in human melanoma cells.
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Poindexter KM, Matthew S, Aronchik I, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Cell Cycle drug effects, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Down-Regulation drug effects, Drug Synergism, Gene Expression drug effects, Humans, Melanoma genetics, Melanoma metabolism, Melanoma pathology, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor biosynthesis, Promoter Regions, Genetic drug effects, Signal Transduction drug effects, Wnt Signaling Pathway drug effects, Aspirin pharmacology, Indoles pharmacology, Melanoma drug therapy, Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor genetics
- Abstract
Antiproliferative signaling of combinations of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural indolecarbinol compound derived from cruciferous vegetables, was investigated in human melanoma cells. Melanoma cell lines with distinct mutational profiles were sensitive to different extents to the antiproliferative response of aspirin, with oncogenic BRAF-expressing G361 cells and wild-type BRAF-expressing SK-MEL-30 cells being the most responsive. I3C triggered a strong proliferative arrest of G361 melanoma cells and caused only a modest decrease in the proliferation of SK-MEL-30 cells. In both cell lines, combinations of aspirin and I3C cooperatively arrested cell proliferation and induced a G1 cell cycle arrest, and nearly ablated protein and transcript levels of the melanocyte master regulator microphthalmia-associated transcription factor isoform M (MITF-M). In melanoma cells transfected with a -333/+120-bp MITF-M promoter-luciferase reporter plasmid, treatment with aspirin and I3C cooperatively disrupted MITF-M promoter activity, which accounted for the loss of MITF-M gene products. Mutational analysis revealed that the aspirin required the LEF1 binding site, whereas I3C required the BRN2 binding site to mediate their combined and individual effects on MITF-M promoter activity. Consistent with LEF1 being a downstream effector of Wnt signaling, aspirin, but not I3C, downregulated protein levels of the Wnt co-receptor LDL receptor-related protein-6 and β-catenin and upregulated the β-catenin destruction complex component Axin. Taken together, our results demonstrate that aspirin-regulated Wnt signaling and I3C-targeted signaling pathways converge at distinct DNA elements in the MITF-M promoter to cooperatively disrupt MITF-M expression and melanoma cell proliferation.
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- 2016
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18. Designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for cancer prevention and treatment.
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Block KI, Gyllenhaal C, Lowe L, Amedei A, Amin ARMR, Amin A, Aquilano K, Arbiser J, Arreola A, Arzumanyan A, Ashraf SS, Azmi AS, Benencia F, Bhakta D, Bilsland A, Bishayee A, Blain SW, Block PB, Boosani CS, Carey TE, Carnero A, Carotenuto M, Casey SC, Chakrabarti M, Chaturvedi R, Chen GZ, Chen H, Chen S, Chen YC, Choi BK, Ciriolo MR, Coley HM, Collins AR, Connell M, Crawford S, Curran CS, Dabrosin C, Damia G, Dasgupta S, DeBerardinis RJ, Decker WK, Dhawan P, Diehl AME, Dong JT, Dou QP, Drew JE, Elkord E, El-Rayes B, Feitelson MA, Felsher DW, Ferguson LR, Fimognari C, Firestone GL, Frezza C, Fujii H, Fuster MM, Generali D, Georgakilas AG, Gieseler F, Gilbertson M, Green MF, Grue B, Guha G, Halicka D, Helferich WG, Heneberg P, Hentosh P, Hirschey MD, Hofseth LJ, Holcombe RF, Honoki K, Hsu HY, Huang GS, Jensen LD, Jiang WG, Jones LW, Karpowicz PA, Keith WN, Kerkar SP, Khan GN, Khatami M, Ko YH, Kucuk O, Kulathinal RJ, Kumar NB, Kwon BS, Le A, Lea MA, Lee HY, Lichtor T, Lin LT, Locasale JW, Lokeshwar BL, Longo VD, Lyssiotis CA, MacKenzie KL, Malhotra M, Marino M, Martinez-Chantar ML, Matheu A, Maxwell C, McDonnell E, Meeker AK, Mehrmohamadi M, Mehta K, Michelotti GA, Mohammad RM, Mohammed SI, Morre DJ, Muralidhar V, Muqbil I, Murphy MP, Nagaraju GP, Nahta R, Niccolai E, Nowsheen S, Panis C, Pantano F, Parslow VR, Pawelec G, Pedersen PL, Poore B, Poudyal D, Prakash S, Prince M, Raffaghello L, Rathmell JC, Rathmell WK, Ray SK, Reichrath J, Rezazadeh S, Ribatti D, Ricciardiello L, Robey RB, Rodier F, Rupasinghe HPV, Russo GL, Ryan EP, Samadi AK, Sanchez-Garcia I, Sanders AJ, Santini D, Sarkar M, Sasada T, Saxena NK, Shackelford RE, Shantha Kumara HMC, Sharma D, Shin DM, Sidransky D, Siegelin MD, Signori E, Singh N, Sivanand S, Sliva D, Smythe C, Spagnuolo C, Stafforini DM, Stagg J, Subbarayan PR, Sundin T, Talib WH, Thompson SK, Tran PT, Ungefroren H, Vander Heiden MG, Venkateswaran V, Vinay DS, Vlachostergios PJ, Wang Z, Wellen KE, Whelan RL, Yang ES, Yang H, Yang X, Yaswen P, Yedjou C, Yin X, Zhu J, and Zollo M
- Subjects
- Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic therapeutic use, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm genetics, Humans, Neoplasms genetics, Neoplasms pathology, Neoplasms prevention & control, Signal Transduction, Tumor Microenvironment genetics, Genetic Heterogeneity, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Neoplasms therapy, Precision Medicine
- Abstract
Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of "personalized" oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistant immortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are not reliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, an international task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity "broad-spectrum" therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspects of relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a wide range of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For these targets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which were phytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed for known effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment. Potential contrary or procarcinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixed evidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of the relationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. This novel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types of cancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for future research is offered., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2015
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19. Therapeutic targeting of replicative immortality.
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Yaswen P, MacKenzie KL, Keith WN, Hentosh P, Rodier F, Zhu J, Firestone GL, Matheu A, Carnero A, Bilsland A, Sundin T, Honoki K, Fujii H, Georgakilas AG, Amedei A, Amin A, Helferich B, Boosani CS, Guha G, Ciriolo MR, Chen S, Mohammed SI, Azmi AS, Bhakta D, Halicka D, Niccolai E, Aquilano K, Ashraf SS, Nowsheen S, and Yang X
- Subjects
- Antineoplastic Agents therapeutic use, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cell Transformation, Neoplastic genetics, Genomic Instability drug effects, Humans, Neoplasms pathology, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases genetics, Signal Transduction genetics, Telomerase drug effects, Telomerase genetics, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 genetics, Cell Proliferation genetics, Cellular Senescence genetics, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Neoplasms drug therapy, Neoplasms genetics
- Abstract
One of the hallmarks of malignant cell populations is the ability to undergo continuous proliferation. This property allows clonal lineages to acquire sequential aberrations that can fuel increasingly autonomous growth, invasiveness, and therapeutic resistance. Innate cellular mechanisms have evolved to regulate replicative potential as a hedge against malignant progression. When activated in the absence of normal terminal differentiation cues, these mechanisms can result in a state of persistent cytostasis. This state, termed "senescence," can be triggered by intrinsic cellular processes such as telomere dysfunction and oncogene expression, and by exogenous factors such as DNA damaging agents or oxidative environments. Despite differences in upstream signaling, senescence often involves convergent interdependent activation of tumor suppressors p53 and p16/pRB, but can be induced, albeit with reduced sensitivity, when these suppressors are compromised. Doses of conventional genotoxic drugs required to achieve cancer cell senescence are often much lower than doses required to achieve outright cell death. Additional therapies, such as those targeting cyclin dependent kinases or components of the PI3K signaling pathway, may induce senescence specifically in cancer cells by circumventing defects in tumor suppressor pathways or exploiting cancer cells' heightened requirements for telomerase. Such treatments sufficient to induce cancer cell senescence could provide increased patient survival with fewer and less severe side effects than conventional cytotoxic regimens. This positive aspect is countered by important caveats regarding senescence reversibility, genomic instability, and paracrine effects that may increase heterogeneity and adaptive resistance of surviving cancer cells. Nevertheless, agents that effectively disrupt replicative immortality will likely be valuable components of new combinatorial approaches to cancer therapy., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2015
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20. Minireview: Steroid/nuclear receptor-regulated dynamics of occluding and anchoring junctions.
- Author
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Firestone GL and Kapadia BJ
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Membrane metabolism, Humans, Ligands, Signal Transduction physiology, Adherens Junctions metabolism, Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear metabolism, Receptors, Steroid metabolism, Tight Junctions metabolism
- Abstract
A diverse set of physiological signals control intercellular interactions by regulating the structure and function of occluding junctions (tight junctions) and anchoring junctions (adherens junctions and desmosomes). These plasma membrane junctions are comprised of multiprotein complexes of transmembrane and cytoplasmic peripheral plasma membrane proteins. Evidence from many hormone-responsive tissues has shown that expression, modification, molecular interactions, stability, and localization of junctional complex-associated proteins can be targeted by nuclear hormone receptors and their ligands through transcriptional and nontranscriptional mechanisms. The focus of this minireview is to discuss molecular, cellular, and physiological studies that directly link nuclear receptor- and ligand-triggered signaling pathways to the regulation of occluding and anchoring junction dynamics.
- Published
- 2014
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21. The antiproliferative response of indole-3-carbinol in human melanoma cells is triggered by an interaction with NEDD4-1 and disruption of wild-type PTEN degradation.
- Author
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Aronchik I, Kundu A, Quirit JG, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Apoptosis drug effects, Calorimetry, Cell Cycle drug effects, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Computer Simulation, Down-Regulation drug effects, Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport chemistry, Humans, Melanoma enzymology, Mice, Nude, Models, Molecular, Nedd4 Ubiquitin Protein Ligases, Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex metabolism, Protein Binding drug effects, Protein Stability drug effects, Protein Structure, Secondary, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases chemistry, Ubiquitination drug effects, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport metabolism, Indoles pharmacology, Melanoma metabolism, Melanoma pathology, PTEN Phosphohydrolase metabolism, Proteolysis drug effects, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases metabolism
- Abstract
Unlabelled: Human melanoma cells displaying distinct PTEN genotypes were used to assess the cellular role of this important tumor-suppressor protein in the antiproliferative response induced by the chemopreventative agent indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural indolecarbinol compound derived from the breakdown of glucobrassicin produced in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I3C induced a G1-phase cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis by stabilization of PTEN in human melanoma cells that express wild-type PTEN, but not in cells with mutant or null PTEN genotypes. Importantly, normal human epidermal melanocytes were unaffected by I3C treatment. In wild-type PTEN-expressing melanoma xenografts, formed in athymic mice, I3C inhibited the in vivo tumor growth rate and increased PTEN protein levels in the residual tumors. Mechanistically, I3C disrupted the ubiquitination of PTEN by NEDD4-1 (NEDD4), which prevented the proteasome-mediated degradation of PTEN without altering its transcript levels. RNAi-mediated knockdown of PTEN prevented the I3C-induced apoptotic response, whereas knockdown of NEDD4-1 mimicked the I3C apoptotic response, stabilized PTEN protein levels, and downregulated phosphorylated AKT-1 levels. Co-knockdown of PTEN and NEDD4-1 revealed that I3C-regulated apoptotic signaling through NEDD4-1 requires the presence of the wild-type PTEN protein. Finally, in silico structural modeling, in combination with isothermal titration calorimetry analysis, demonstrated that I3C directly interacts with purified NEDD4-1 protein., Implications: This study identifies NEDD4-1 as a new I3C target protein, and that the I3C disruption of NEDD4-1 ubiquitination activity triggers the stabilization of the wild-type PTEN tumor suppressor to induce an antiproliferative response in melanoma. Mol Cancer Res; 12(11); 1621-34. ©2014 AACR., (©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.)
- Published
- 2014
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22. Essential role of the cancer stem/progenitor cell marker nucleostemin for indole-3-carbinol anti-proliferative responsiveness in human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Tin AS, Park AH, Sundar SN, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Anticarcinogenic Agents therapeutic use, Apoptosis drug effects, Breast Neoplasms diagnosis, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Female, GTP-Binding Proteins metabolism, Humans, Mice, Neoplastic Stem Cells cytology, Neoplastic Stem Cells enzymology, Nuclear Proteins metabolism, Receptor, ErbB-2 genetics, Receptor, ErbB-2 metabolism, Anticarcinogenic Agents pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms genetics, GTP-Binding Proteins genetics, Indoles pharmacology, Neoplastic Stem Cells drug effects, Nuclear Proteins genetics
- Abstract
Background: Nucleostemin is a nucleolus residing GTPase that is considered to be an important cancer stem/progenitor cell marker protein due to its high expression levels in breast cancer stem cells and its role in tumor-initiation of human mammary tumor cells. It has been proposed that nucleostemin may represent a valuable therapeutic target for breast cancer; however, to date evidence supporting the cellular mechanism has not been elucidated., Results: Expression of exogenous HER2, a member of the EGF receptor gene family, in the human MCF-10AT preneoplastic mammary epithelial cell line formed a new breast cancer cell line, 10AT-Her2, which is highly enriched in cells with stem/progenitor cell-like character. 10AT-Her2 cells display a CD44+/CD24-/low phenotype with high levels of the cancer stem/progenitor cell marker proteins nucleostemin, and active aldehyde dehydrogenase-1. The overall expression pattern of HER2 protein and the stem/progenitor cell marker proteins in the 10AT-Her2 cell population is similar to that of the luminal HER2+ SKBR3 human breast cancer cell line, whereas, both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells display reduced levels of nucleostemin and no detectable expression of ALDH-1. Importantly, in contrast to the other well-established human breast cancer cell lines, 10AT-Her2 cells efficiently form tumorspheres in suspension cultures and initiate tumor xenograft formation in athymic mice at low cell numbers. Furthermore, 10AT-Her2 cells are highly sensitive to the anti-proliferative apoptotic effects of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural anti-cancer indolecarbinol from cruciferous vegetables of the Brassica genus such as broccoli and cabbage. I3C promotes the interaction of nucleostemin with MDM2 (Murine Double Mutant 2), an inhibitor of the p53 tumor suppressor, and disrupts the MDM2 interaction with p53. I3C also induced nucleostemin to sequester MDM2 in a nucleolus compartment, thereby freeing p53 to mediate its apoptotic activity. siRNA knockdown of nucleostemin functionally documented that nucleostemin is required for I3C to trigger its cellular anti-proliferative responses, inhibit tumorsphere formation, and disrupt MDM2-p53 protein-protein interactions. Furthermore, expression of an I3C-resistant form of elastase, the only known target protein for I3C, prevented I3C anti-proliferative responses in cells and in tumor xenografts in vivo, as well as disrupt the I3C stimulated nucleostemin-MDM2 interactions., Conclusions: Our results provide the first evidence that a natural anti-cancer compound mediates its cellular and in vivo tumor anti-proliferative responses by selectively stimulating cellular interactions of the stem/progenitor cell marker nucleostemin with MDM2, which frees p53 to trigger its apoptotic response. Furthermore, our study provides a new mechanistic template that can be potentially exploited for the development of cancer stem/progenitor cell targeted therapeutic strategies.
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- 2014
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23. Artemisinin triggers a G1 cell cycle arrest of human Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells and inhibits cyclin-dependent kinase-4 promoter activity and expression by disrupting nuclear factor-κB transcriptional signaling.
- Author
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Tran KQ, Tin AS, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Artemisia annua, Base Sequence, Endometrial Neoplasms, Female, Humans, Molecular Sequence Data, Signal Transduction, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic pharmacology, Artemisinins pharmacology, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 genetics, G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints drug effects, NF-kappa B metabolism, Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Abstract
Relatively little is known about the antiproliferative effects of artemisinin, a naturally occurring antimalarial compound from Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood, in human endometrial cancer cells. Artemisinin induced a G1 cell cycle arrest in cultured human Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells and downregulated cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2) and CDK4 transcript and protein levels. Analysis of CDK4 promoter-luciferase reporter constructs showed that the artemisinin ablation of CDK4 gene expression was accounted for by the loss of CDK4 promoter activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that artemisinin inhibited nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) subunit p65 and p50 interactions with the endogenous Ishikawa cell CDK4 promoter. Coimmunoprecipitation revealed that artemisinin disrupts endogenous p65 and p50 nuclear translocation through increased protein-protein interactions with IκB-α, an NF-κB inhibitor, and disrupts its interaction with the CDK4 promoter, leading to a loss of CDK4 gene expression. Artemisinin treatment stimulated the cellular levels of IκB-α protein without altering the level of IκB-α transcripts. Finally, expression of exogenous p65 resulted in the accumulation of this NF-κB subunit in the nucleus of artemisinin-treated and artemisinin-untreated cells, reversed the artemisinin downregulation of CDK4 protein expression and promoter activity, and prevented the artemisinin-induced G1 cell cycle arrest. Taken together, our results demonstrate that a key event in the artemisinin antiproliferative effects in endometrial cancer cells is the transcriptional downregulation of CDK4 expression by disruption of NF-κB interactions with the CDK4 promoter.
- Published
- 2014
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24. 3,3'-diindolylmethane rapidly and selectively inhibits hepatocyte growth factor/c-Met signaling in breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Nicastro HL, Firestone GL, and Bjeldanes LF
- Subjects
- Cell Movement drug effects, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Female, Hepatocyte Growth Factor pharmacology, Hepatocyte Growth Factor physiology, Humans, Signal Transduction drug effects, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Indoles pharmacology, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt antagonists & inhibitors, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met antagonists & inhibitors
- Abstract
3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM), an indole derivative from vegetables of the Brassica genus, has antiproliferative activity in breast cancer cells. Part of this activity is thought to be due to DIM inhibition of Akt signaling, but an upstream mechanism of DIM-induced Akt inhibition has not been described. The goals of this study were to investigate the kinetics of inhibition of Akt by physiologically relevant concentrations of DIM and to identify an upstream factor that mediates this effect. Here we report that DIM (5-25 μM) inhibited Akt activation from 30 min to 24h in tumorigenic MDA-MB-231 cells but did not inhibit Akt activation in non-tumorigenic preneoplastic MCF10AT cells. DIM inhibited hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced Akt activation by up to 46%, cell migration by 66% and cell proliferation by up to 54%, but did not inhibit induction of Akt by epidermal growth factor or insulin-like growth factor-1. DIM decreased phosphorylation of the HGF receptor, c-Met, at tyrosines 1234 and 1235, indicating decreased activation of the receptor. This decrease was reversed by pretreatment with inhibitors of p38 or calcineurin. Our results demonstrate the important role of HGF and c-Met in DIM's anti-proliferative effect on breast cancer cells and suggest that DIM could have preventive or clinical value as an inhibitor of c-Met signaling., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2013
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25. The serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase-1 (Sgk-1) mitochondria connection: identification of the IF-1 inhibitor of the F(1)F(0)-ATPase as a mitochondria-specific binding target and the stress-induced mitochondrial localization of endogenous Sgk-1.
- Author
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O'Keeffe BA, Cilia S, Maiyar AC, Vaysberg M, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Blotting, Western, Cell Line, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Mice, Proton-Translocating ATPases metabolism, Signal Transduction physiology, Transfection, ATPase Inhibitory Protein, Immediate-Early Proteins metabolism, Mitochondria metabolism, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases metabolism, Proteins metabolism, Stress, Physiological physiology
- Abstract
The expression, localization and activity of the serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase, Sgk-1, are regulated by multiple hormonal and environmental cues including cellular stress. Biochemical fractionation and indirect immunofluorescence demonstrated that sorbitol induced hyperosmotic stress stimulated expression and triggered the localization of endogenous Sgk-1 into the mitochondria of NMuMG mammary epithelial cells. The immunofluorescence pattern of endogenous Sgk-1 was similar to that of a green fluorescent linked fusion protein linked to the N-terminal Sgk-1 fragment that encodes the mitochondrial targeting signal. In the presence or absence of cellular stress, exogenously expressed wild type Sgk-1 efficiently compartmentalized into the mitochondria demonstrating the mitochondrial import machinery per se is not stressed regulated. Co-immunoprecipitation and GST-pull down assays identified the IF-1 mitochondrial matrix inhibitor of the F1F0-ATPase as a new Sgk-1 binding partner, which represents the first observed mitochondrial target of Sgk-1. The Sgk-1/IF-1 interaction requires the 122-176 amino acid region within the catalytic domain of Sgk-1 and is pH dependent, occurring at neutral pH but not at slightly acidic pH, which suggests that this interaction is dependent on mitochondrial integrity. An in vitro protein kinase assay showed that the F1F0-ATPase can be directly phosphorylated by Sgk-1. Taken together, our results suggest that stress-induced Sgk-1 localizes to the mitochondria, which permits access to physiologically appropriate mitochondrial interacting proteins and substrates, such as IF-1 and the F1F0-ATPase, as part of the cellular stressed induced program., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2013
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26. Indole-3-carbinol disrupts estrogen receptor-alpha dependent expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 and proliferation of human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Marconett CN, Singhal AK, Sundar SN, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Base Sequence, Breast Neoplasms, Conserved Sequence, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Estradiol pharmacology, Estradiol physiology, Estrogen Receptor alpha antagonists & inhibitors, Estrogens pharmacology, Estrogens physiology, Female, G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints drug effects, Gene Expression drug effects, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Humans, Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins genetics, MCF-7 Cells, Molecular Sequence Data, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Protein Binding, Receptor, IGF Type 1 genetics, Signal Transduction, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic pharmacology, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Estrogen Receptor alpha physiology, Indoles pharmacology, Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins metabolism, Receptor, IGF Type 1 metabolism
- Abstract
We previously established that Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C), a natural hydrolysis product of glucobrassicin in cruciferous vegetables, arrests the proliferation of estrogen-dependent human breast cancer cells and induces protein degradation of Estrogen Receptor-alpha (ERα). We demonstrate in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells that I3C ablates expression of Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor-1 (IGF1R) and Insulin Receptor Substrate-1 (IRS1), downstream effectors of the IGF1 signaling pathway. Exogenous ERα reversed the I3C mediated loss of IGF1R and IRS1 gene expression demonstrating that down-regulation of ERα is functionally linked to I3C control of IGF1R and IRS1 expression. I3C disrupted binding of endogenous ERα, but not Sp1, to ERE-Sp1 composite elements within the IGF1R/IRS1 promoters. Exogenous ERα abrogated, and combined expression of IGF1R and IRS1 attenuated, the I3C mediated cell cycle arrest. Therefore, I3C inhibits proliferation of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells through disruption of ERα-mediated transcription of cell signaling components within the IGF1 cascade., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2012
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27. Target protein interactions of indole-3-carbinol and the highly potent derivative 1-benzyl-I3C with the C-terminal domain of human elastase uncouples cell cycle arrest from apoptotic signaling.
- Author
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Aronchik I, Chen T, Durkin KA, Horwitz MS, Preobrazhenskaya MN, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Breast Neoplasms genetics, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Cell Line, Tumor, Enzyme Inhibitors chemistry, Female, Humans, Indoles chemistry, Leukocyte Elastase antagonists & inhibitors, Leukocyte Elastase chemistry, Leukocyte Elastase genetics, Models, Molecular, Mutation, NF-kappa B analysis, NF-kappa B metabolism, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Signal Transduction drug effects, Vegetables chemistry, Apoptosis drug effects, Breast Neoplasms enzymology, Cell Cycle drug effects, Enzyme Inhibitors pharmacology, Indoles pharmacology, Leukocyte Elastase metabolism
- Abstract
Elastase is the only currently identified target protein for indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring hydrolysis product of glucobrassicin in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts that induces a cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of human breast cancer cells. In vitro elastase enzymatic assays demonstrated that I3C and at lower concentrations its more potent derivative 1-benzyl-indole-3-carbinol (1-benzyl-I3C) act as non-competitive allosteric inhibitors of elastase activity. Consistent with these results, in silico computational simulations have revealed the first predicted interactions of I3C and 1-benzyl-I3C with the crystal structure of human neutrophil elastase, and identified a potential binding cluster on an external surface of the protease outside of the catalytic site that implicates elastase as a target protein for both indolecarbinol compounds. The Δ205 carboxyterminal truncation of elastase, which disrupts the predicted indolecarbinol binding site, is enzymatically active and generates a novel I3C resistant enzyme. Expression of the wild type and Δ205 elastase in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells demonstrated that the carboxyterminal domain of elastase is required for the I3C and 1-benzyl-I3C inhibition of enzymatic activity, accumulation of the unprocessed form of the CD40 elastase substrate (a tumor necrosis factor receptor family member), disruption of NFκB nuclear localization and transcriptional activity, and induction of a G1 cell cycle arrest. Surprisingly, expression of the Δ205 elastase molecule failed to reverse indolecarbinol stimulated apoptosis, establishing an elastase-dependent bifurcation point in anti-proliferative signaling that uncouples the cell cycle and apoptotic responses in human breast cancer cells., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
- Published
- 2012
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28. Minireview: regulation of gap junction dynamics by nuclear hormone receptors and their ligands.
- Author
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Firestone GL and Kapadia BJ
- Subjects
- Cell Communication, Extracellular Space metabolism, Hormones metabolism, Humans, Ligands, Gap Junctions metabolism, Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear metabolism
- Abstract
Gap junctions are plasma membrane channels comprising connexin proteins that mediate intercellular permeability and communication. The presence, composition, and function of gap junctions can be regulated by diverse sets of physiological signals. Evidence from many hormone-responsive tissues has shown that connexin expression, modification, stability, and localization can be targeted by nuclear hormone receptors and their ligands through both transcriptional and nontranscriptional mechanisms. The focus of this review is to discuss molecular, cellular, and physiological studies that directly link receptor- and ligand-triggered signaling pathways to the regulation of gap junction dynamics.
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- 2012
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29. Antiproliferative effects of artemisinin on human breast cancer cells requires the downregulated expression of the E2F1 transcription factor and loss of E2F1-target cell cycle genes.
- Author
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Tin AS, Sundar SN, Tran KQ, Park AH, Poindexter KM, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Cell Line, Tumor, Cyclin D1 drug effects, Cyclin D1 metabolism, Cyclin E drug effects, Cyclin E metabolism, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 metabolism, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 metabolism, E2F1 Transcription Factor metabolism, Female, Humans, Mice, Mice, Nude, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Artemisinins pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, E2F1 Transcription Factor drug effects, G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints drug effects, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects
- Abstract
Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene phytolactone derived from Artemisia annua, is a potent antimalarial compound with promising anticancer properties, although the mechanism of its anticancer signaling is not well understood. Artemisinin inhibited proliferation and induced a strong G1 cell cycle arrest of cultured MCF7 cells, an estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cell line that represents an early-stage cancer phenotype, and effectively inhibited the in-vivo growth of MCF7 cell-derived tumors from xenografts in athymic nude mice. Artemisinin also induced a growth arrest of tumorigenic human breast cancer cell lines with preneoplastic and late stage cancer phenotypes, but failed to arrest the growth of a nontumorigenic human mammary cell line. Concurrent with the cell cycle arrest of MCF7 cells, artemisinin selectively downregulated the transcript and protein levels of the CDK2 and CDK4 cyclin-dependent kinases, cyclin E, cyclin D1, and the E2F1 transcription factor. Analysis of CDK2 promoter-luciferase reporter constructs showed that the artemisinin ablation of CDK2 gene expression was accounted for by the loss of CDK2 promoter activity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that artemisinin inhibited E2F1 interactions with the endogenous MCF7 cell CDK2 and cyclin E promoters. Moreover, constitutive expression of exogenous E2F1 prevented the artemisinin-induced cell cycle arrest and downregulation of CDK2 and cyclin E gene expression. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the artemisinin disruption of E2F1 transcription factor expression mediates the cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells and represents a critical transcriptional pathway by which artemisinin controls human reproductive cancer cell growth.
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- 2012
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30. Indole-3-carbinol downregulation of telomerase gene expression requires the inhibition of estrogen receptor-alpha and Sp1 transcription factor interactions within the hTERT promoter and mediates the G1 cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Marconett CN, Sundar SN, Tseng M, Tin AS, Tran KQ, Mahuron KM, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Cell Line, Tumor, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 genetics, Down-Regulation, Estrogen Receptor alpha antagonists & inhibitors, Estrogen Receptor alpha genetics, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Phosphorylation, Sp1 Transcription Factor antagonists & inhibitors, Anticarcinogenic Agents pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms pathology, Estrogen Receptor alpha physiology, G1 Phase drug effects, Indoles pharmacology, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Sp1 Transcription Factor physiology, Telomerase genetics
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring hydrolysis product of glucobrassicin from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, is an anticancer phytochemical that triggers complementary sets of antiproliferative pathways to induce a cell cycle arrest of estrogen-responsive MCF7 breast cancer cells. I3C strongly downregulated transcript expression of the catalytic subunit of the human telomerase (hTERT) gene, which correlated with the dose-dependent indole-mediated G(1) cell cycle arrest without altering the transcript levels of the RNA template (hTR) for telomerase elongation. Exogenous expression of hTERT driven by a constitutive promoter prevented the I3C-induced cell cycle arrest and rescued the I3C inhibition of telomerase enzymatic activity and activation of cellular senescence. Time course studies showed that I3C downregulated expression of estrogen receptor-alpha (ERα) and cyclin-dependent kinase-6 transcripts levels (which is regulated through the Sp1 transcription factor) prior to the downregulation of hTERT suggesting a mechanistic link. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that I3C disrupted endogenous interactions of both ERα and Sp1 with an estrogen response element-Sp1 composite element within the hTERT promoter. I3C inhibited 17β-estradiol stimulated hTERT expression and stimulated the production of threonine-phosphorylated Sp1, which inhibits Sp1-DNA interactions. Exogenous expression of both ERα and Sp1, but not either alone, in MCF7 cells blocked the I3C-mediated downregulation of hTERT expression. These results demonstrate that I3C disrupts the combined ERα- and Sp1-driven transcription of hTERT gene expression, which plays a significant role in the I3C-induced cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells.
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- 2011
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31. Unraveling the intricacies of receptor activated cell signaling and transcriptional cascades enhance opportunities to develop new therapeutic targets for endocrine and metabolic diseases.
- Author
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Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Drug Design, Humans, Endocrine System Diseases drug therapy, Metabolic Diseases drug therapy, Molecular Targeted Therapy adverse effects, Signal Transduction, Transcriptional Activation drug effects
- Published
- 2010
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32. BZL101, a phytochemical extract from the Scutellaria barbata plant, disrupts proliferation of human breast and prostate cancer cells through distinct mechanisms dependent on the cancer cell phenotype.
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Marconett CN, Morgenstern TJ, San Roman AK, Sundar SN, Singhal AK, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic therapeutic use, Breast Neoplasms genetics, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Breast Neoplasms pathology, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cyclin A2 genetics, Cyclin B1 genetics, Cyclin D1 genetics, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 genetics, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 genetics, Female, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression, Humans, Male, Plant Extracts therapeutic use, Prostatic Neoplasms genetics, Prostatic Neoplasms metabolism, Prostatic Neoplasms pathology, Receptors, Androgen genetics, Receptors, Estrogen genetics, Receptors, Growth Factor genetics, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Scutellaria, Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, G1 Phase drug effects, Phytotherapy, Plant Extracts pharmacology, Prostatic Neoplasms drug therapy
- Abstract
BZL101 is an aqueous extract from the Scutellaria barbata plant shown to have anticancer properties in a variety of human cancers. In order to determine its efficacy on human reproductive cancers, we assessed the responses of two human breast cancer cell lines, estrogen sensitive MCF7 and estrogen insensitive MDA-MB-231, and of two human prostate cancer cell lines, androgen sensitive LNCaP and androgen insensitive PC3 which are human cell lines that represent early and late stage reproductive cancers. BZL101 inhibited reproductive cancer growth in all cell lines by regulating expression levels of key cell cycle components that differ with respect to the cancer cell phenotypes. In early stage estrogen sensitive MCF7 cells, BZL101 induced a G₁ cell cycle arrest and ablated expression of key G₁ cell cycle regulators Cyclin D1, CDK2 and CDK4, as well as growth factor stimulatory pathways and estrogen receptor-α expression. Transfection of luciferase reporter plasmids revealed that the loss of CDK2, CDK4 and estrogen receptor-α transcript expression resulted from the BZL-dependent ablation of promoter activities. BZL101 growth arrests early stage androgen sensitive LNCaP cells in the G₂/M phase with corresponding decreases in Cyclin B1, CDK1 and androgen receptor expression. In late stage hormone insensitive breast (MDA-MB-231) and prostate (PC3) cancer cells, BZL101 induced an S phase arrest with corresponding ablations in Cyclin A2 and CDK2 expression. Our results demonstrate that BZL101 exerts phenotype specific anti-proliferative gene expression responses in human breast and prostate cancer cells, which will be valuable in the potential development of BZL-based therapeutic strategies for human reproductive cancers.
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- 2010
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33. 1-Benzyl-indole-3-carbinol is a novel indole-3-carbinol derivative with significantly enhanced potency of anti-proliferative and anti-estrogenic properties in human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Nguyen HH, Lavrenov SN, Sundar SN, Nguyen DH, Tseng M, Marconett CN, Kung J, Staub RE, Preobrazhenskaya MN, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Anticarcinogenic Agents chemical synthesis, Anticarcinogenic Agents pharmacology, Benzyl Compounds chemical synthesis, Benzyl Compounds chemistry, Benzyl Compounds pharmacology, Benzyl Compounds therapeutic use, Brassica chemistry, Cell Cycle drug effects, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 genetics, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 metabolism, DNA metabolism, Estrogen Antagonists chemical synthesis, Estrogen Antagonists pharmacology, Estrogen Receptor alpha genetics, Estrogen Receptor alpha metabolism, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects, Humans, Indoles chemical synthesis, Indoles pharmacology, Mice, Mice, Nude, Sp1 Transcription Factor metabolism, Anticarcinogenic Agents chemistry, Anticarcinogenic Agents therapeutic use, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Estrogen Antagonists chemistry, Estrogen Antagonists therapeutic use, Indoles chemistry, Indoles therapeutic use
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural autolysis product of a gluccosinolate present in Brassica vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage, has anti-proliferative and anti-estrogenic activities in human breast cancer cells. A new and significantly more potent I3C analogue, 1-benzyl-I3C was synthesized, and in comparison to I3C, this novel derivative displayed an approximate 1000-fold enhanced potency in suppressing the growth of both estrogen responsive (MCF-7) and estrogen-independent (MDA-MB-231) human breast cancer cells (I3C IC(50) of 52 microM, and 1-benzyl-I3C IC(50) of 0.05 microM). At significantly lower concentrations, 1-benzyl-I3C induced a robust G1 cell cycle arrest and elicited the key I3C-specific effects on expression and activity of G1-acting cell cycle genes including the disruption of endogenous interactions of the Sp1 transcription factor with the CDK6 promoter. Furthermore, in estrogen responsive MCF-7 cells, with enhanced potency 1-benzyl-I3C down-regulated production of estrogen receptor-alpha protein, acts with tamoxifen to arrest breast cancer cell growth more effectively than either compound alone, and inhibited the in vivo growth of human breast cancer cell-derived tumor xenografts in athymic mice. Our results implicate 1-benzyl-I3C as a novel, potent inhibitor of human breast cancer proliferation and estrogen responsiveness that could potentially be developed into a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of indole-sensitive cancers., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2010
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34. Arecoline induced disruption of expression and localization of the tight junctional protein ZO-1 is dependent on the HER 2 expression in human endometrial Ishikawa cells.
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Giri S, Poindexter KM, Sundar SN, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Adenocarcinoma genetics, Adenocarcinoma pathology, Cell Line, Tumor, Dexamethasone pharmacology, Endometrial Neoplasms genetics, Endometrial Neoplasms pathology, Female, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Humans, Membrane Proteins genetics, Phosphoproteins genetics, Protein Transport, Receptor, ErbB-2 genetics, Signal Transduction, Tight Junctions, Transgenes genetics, Zonula Occludens-1 Protein, Adenocarcinoma metabolism, Arecoline pharmacology, Endometrial Neoplasms metabolism, Membrane Proteins biosynthesis, Phosphoproteins biosynthesis, Receptor, ErbB-2 biosynthesis
- Abstract
Background: Approximately 600 million people chew Betel nut, making this practice the fourth most popular oral habit in the world. Arecoline, the major alkaloid present in betel nut is one of the causative agents for precancerous lesions and several cancers of mouth among those who chew betel nut. Arecoline can be detected in the human embryonic tissue and is correlated to low birth weight of newborns whose mothers chew betel nut during pregnancy, suggesting that arecoline can induce many systemic effects. However, few reports exist as to the effects of arecoline in human tissues other than oral cancer cell lines. Furthermore, in any system, virtually nothing is known about the cellular effects of arecoline treatment on membrane associated signaling components of human cancer cells., Results: Using the human Ishikawa endometrial cancer cell line, we investigated the effects of arecoline on expression, localization and functional connections between the ZO-1 tight junction protein and the HER2 EGF receptor family member. Treatment of Ishikawa cells with arecoline coordinately down-regulated expression of both ZO-1 and HER2 protein and transcripts in a dose dependent manner. Biochemical fractionation of cells as well as indirect immunofluorescence revealed that arecoline disrupted the localization of ZO-1 to the junctional complex at the cell periphery. Compared to control transfected cells, ectopic expression of exogenous HER2 prevented the arecoline mediated down-regulation of ZO-1 expression and restored the localization of ZO-1 to the cell periphery. Furthermore, treatment with dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid reported to up-regulate expression of HER2 in Ishikawa cells, precluded arecoline from down-regulating ZO-1 expression and disrupting ZO-1 localization., Conclusion: Arecoline is known to induce precancerous lesions and cancer in the oral cavity of betel nut users. The arecoline down-regulation of ZO-1 expression and subcellular distribution suggests that arecoline potentially disrupts cell-cell interactions mediated by ZO-1, which may play a role in arecoline-mediated carcinogenesis. Furthermore, our study has uncovered the dependency of ZO-1 localization and expression on HER2 expression, which has therefore established a new cellular link between HER2 mediated signaling and apical junction formation involving ZO-1.
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- 2010
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35. Direct inhibition of elastase activity by indole-3-carbinol triggers a CD40-TRAF regulatory cascade that disrupts NF-kappaB transcriptional activity in human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Aronchik I, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Blotting, Western, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Breast Neoplasms genetics, CD40 Antigens genetics, Female, Flow Cytometry, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Green Fluorescent Proteins genetics, Green Fluorescent Proteins metabolism, Humans, Luciferases metabolism, NF-kappa B genetics, Pancreatic Elastase metabolism, RNA, Messenger genetics, RNA, Messenger metabolism, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Signal Transduction, TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 1 genetics, TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3 genetics, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, CD40 Antigens metabolism, Indoles pharmacology, NF-kappa B metabolism, Pancreatic Elastase antagonists & inhibitors, TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 1 metabolism, TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3 metabolism, Transcription, Genetic drug effects
- Abstract
Treatment of highly tumorigenic MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells with indole-3-carbinol (I3C) directly inhibited the extracellular elastase-dependent cleavage of membrane-associated CD40, a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily. CD40 signaling has been implicated in regulating cell survival, apoptosis, and proliferation, as well as in sensitizing breast cancer cells to chemotherapy, and is therefore an important potential target of novel breast cancer treatments. The I3C-dependent accumulation of full-length unprocessed CD40 protein caused a shift in CD40 signaling through TNF receptor-associated factors (TRAF), including the TRAF1/TRAF2 positive regulators and TRAF3 negative regulator of NF-kappaB transcription factor activity. Because TRAF1 is a transcriptional target gene of NF-kappaB, I3C disrupted a positive feedback loop involving these critical cell survival components. siRNA ablation of elastase expression mimicked the I3C inhibition of CD40 protein processing and G(1) cell cycle arrest, whereas siRNA knockdown of TRAF3 and the NF-kappaB inhibitor IkappaB prevented the I3C-induced cell cycle arrest. In contrast, siRNA knockdown of PTEN had no effect on the I3C control of NF-kappaB activity, showing the importance of CD40 signaling in regulating this transcription factor. Our study provides the first direct in vitro evidence that I3C directly inhibits the elastase-mediated proteolytic processing of CD40, which alters downstream signaling to disrupt NF-kappaB-induced cell survival and proliferative responses. Furthermore, we have established a new I3C-mediated antiproliferative cascade that has significant therapeutic potential for treatment of human cancers associated with high levels of elastase and its CD40 membrane substrate.
- Published
- 2010
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36. Selective activation of estrogen receptor-beta target genes by 3,3'-diindolylmethane.
- Author
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Vivar OI, Saunier EF, Leitman DC, Firestone GL, and Bjeldanes LF
- Subjects
- Cell Line, Cells, Cultured, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation, Estrogen Receptor alpha genetics, Estrogen Receptor alpha metabolism, Estrogen Receptor beta genetics, Gene Silencing, Genes, Reporter drug effects, Humans, Indoles pharmacology, Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 2 genetics, Radioligand Assay, Response Elements drug effects, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Time Factors, Transfection, Estrogen Receptor beta metabolism, Indoles metabolism, Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 2 metabolism
- Abstract
3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a natural compound found in cruciferous vegetables that has antiproliferative and estrogenic activity. However, it is not clear whether the estrogenic effects are mediated through estrogen receptor (ER)alpha, ERbeta, or both ER subtypes. We investigated whether DIM has ER subtype selectivity on gene transcription. DIM stimulated ERbeta but not ERalpha activation of an estrogen response element upstream of the luciferase reporter gene. DIM also selectively activated multiple endogenous genes through ERbeta. DIM did not bind to ERbeta, indicating that it activates genes by a ligand-independent mechanism. DIM causes ERbeta to bind regulatory elements and recruit the steroid receptor coactivator (SRC)-2 coactivator, which leads to the activation of ER target genes. Silencing of SRC-2 inhibited the activation of ER target genes, demonstrating that SRC-2 is required for transcriptional activation by DIM. Our results demonstrate that DIM is a new class of ERbeta-selective compounds, because it does not bind to ERbeta, but instead it selectively recruits ERbeta and coactivators to target genes.
- Published
- 2010
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37. Indole-3-carbinol triggers aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent estrogen receptor (ER)alpha protein degradation in breast cancer cells disrupting an ERalpha-GATA3 transcriptional cross-regulatory loop.
- Author
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Marconett CN, Sundar SN, Poindexter KM, Stueve TR, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Blotting, Western, Brassica, Cell Line, Tumor, Humans, Immunoprecipitation, Models, Biological, Promoter Regions, Genetic, RNA, Small Interfering metabolism, Ubiquitin chemistry, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Estrogen Receptor alpha metabolism, GATA3 Transcription Factor metabolism, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Indoles chemistry, Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon metabolism
- Abstract
Estrogen receptor (ER)alpha is a critical target of therapeutic strategies to control the proliferation of hormone-dependent breast cancers. Preferred clinical options have significant adverse side effects that can lead to treatment resistance due to the persistence of active estrogen receptors. We have established the cellular mechanism by which indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a promising anticancer phytochemical from Brassica vegetables, ablates ERalpha expression, and we have uncovered a critical role for the GATA3 transcription factor in this indole-regulated cascade. I3C-dependent activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) initiates Rbx-1 E3 ligase-mediated ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of ERalpha protein. I3C inhibits endogenous binding of ERalpha with the 3'-enhancer region of GATA3 and disrupts endogenous GATA3 interactions with the ERalpha promoter, leading to a loss of GATA3 and ERalpha expression. Ectopic expression of GATA3 has no effect on I3C-induced ERalpha protein degradation but does prevent I3C inhibition of ERalpha promoter activity, demonstrating the importance of GATA3 in this I3C-triggered cascade. Our preclinical results implicate I3C as a novel anticancer agent in human cancers that coexpress ERalpha, GATA3, and AhR, a combination found in a large percentage of breast cancers but not in other critical ERalpha target tissues essential to patient health.
- Published
- 2010
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38. Minireview: modulation of hormone receptor signaling by dietary anticancer indoles.
- Author
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Firestone GL and Sundar SN
- Subjects
- Animals, Humans, Models, Biological, Anticarcinogenic Agents pharmacology, Indoles pharmacology, Receptors, Growth Factor metabolism, Receptors, Steroid metabolism, Signal Transduction drug effects
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol and its diindole condensation product 3-3'-diindolylmethane are dietary phytochemicals that have striking anticarcinogenic properties in human cancer cells. Molecular, cellular, physiological, and clinical studies have documented that both indole-3-carbinol and 3-3'-diindolylmethane have potent endocrine modulating activities through a myriad of mechanisms. The focus of this review is to discuss the evidence that directly links the anticancer actions of these two indole compounds to the control of steroid receptor and growth factor receptor signaling.
- Published
- 2009
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39. Anticancer activities of artemisinin and its bioactive derivatives.
- Author
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Firestone GL and Sundar SN
- Subjects
- Anti-Infective Agents chemistry, Anti-Infective Agents therapeutic use, Apoptosis drug effects, Apoptosis physiology, Artemisia annua chemistry, Artemisinins chemistry, Artemisinins therapeutic use, Cell Cycle physiology, Cell Movement drug effects, Cell Movement physiology, Humans, Neoplasms drug therapy, Neovascularization, Pathologic metabolism, Signal Transduction drug effects, Transferrin metabolism, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 metabolism, p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases metabolism, Anti-Infective Agents pharmacology, Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins metabolism, Artemisinins pharmacology, Cell Cycle drug effects, Neoplasms metabolism
- Abstract
Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone derived from the sweet wormwood plant Artemisia annua, and its bioactive derivatives exhibit potent anticancer effects in a variety of human cancer cell model systems. The pleiotropic response in cancer cells includes growth inhibition by cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. These effects of artemisinin and its derivatives result from perturbations of many cellular signalling pathways. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of these cellular responses, and considers the ramifications for the potential development of artemisinin-based compounds in anticancer therapeutic and preventative strategies.
- Published
- 2009
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40. 3,3'-Diindolylmethane induces a G(1) arrest in human prostate cancer cells irrespective of androgen receptor and p53 status.
- Author
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Vivar OI, Lin CL, Firestone GL, and Bjeldanes LF
- Subjects
- Base Sequence, Blotting, Western, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 biosynthesis, Cyclin-Dependent Kinases antagonists & inhibitors, DNA Primers, Flow Cytometry, Humans, Male, Prostatic Neoplasms genetics, Prostatic Neoplasms metabolism, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases antagonists & inhibitors, p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases metabolism, G1 Phase drug effects, Indoles pharmacology, Prostatic Neoplasms pathology, Receptors, Androgen metabolism, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 metabolism
- Abstract
3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a potential chemopreventive phytochemical derived from Brassica vegetables. In this study we characterized the effect of DIM on cell cycle regulation in both androgen-dependent LNCaP and androgen receptor negative p53 mutant DU145 human prostate cancer cells. DIM had an anti-proliferative effect on both LNCaP and DU145 cells, as it significantly inhibited [3H]-thymidine incorporation. FACS analysis revealed a DIM-mediated G(1) cell cycle arrest. DIM strongly inhibited the expression of cdk2 and cdk4 protein and increased the expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p27(Kip1) protein in LNCaP and DU145 cells. Promoter deletion studies with p27(Kip1) reporter gene constructs showed that this DIM-mediated increase in p27(Kip1) was dependent on the Sp1 transcription factor. Moreover, using a dominant negative inhibitor of p38 MAPK, we showed that the induction of p27(Kip1) and subsequent G(1) arrest by DIM involve activation of the p38 MAPK pathway in the DU145 cells. Taken together, our results indicate that DIM is able to stop the cell cycle progression of human prostate cancer cells regardless of their androgen-dependence and p53 status, by differentially modulating cell cycle regulatory pathways. The Sp1 and p38 MAPK pathways mediate the DIM cell cycle regulatory effect in DU145 cells.
- Published
- 2009
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41. Indole-3-carbinol inhibits MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell motility and induces stress fibers and focal adhesion formation by activation of Rho kinase activity.
- Author
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Brew CT, Aronchik I, Kosco K, McCammon J, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Cell Line, Tumor, Enzyme Activation, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Humans, Cell Adhesion drug effects, Cell Movement drug effects, Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases metabolism, Indoles pharmacology, rhoA GTP-Binding Protein metabolism
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a phytochemical derived from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, has potent antiproliferative effects in human breast cancer cells and has been shown to decrease metastatic spread of tumors in experimental animals. Using chemotaxis and fluorescent-bead cell motility assays, we demonstrated that I3C significantly decreased the in vitro migration of MDA-MB-231 cells, a highly invasive breast cancer cell line. Immunofluorescence staining of the actin cytoskeleton revealed that concurrent with the loss of cell motility, I3C treatment significantly increased stress fiber formation. Furthermore, I3C induced the localization of the focal adhesion component vinculin and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins to the cell periphery, which implicates an indole-dependent enhancement of focal adhesions within the outer boundary of the cells. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis of focal adhesion kinase demonstrated that I3C stimulated the dynamic formation of the focal adhesion protein complex without altering the total level of individual focal adhesion proteins. The RhoA-Rho kinase pathway is involved in stress fiber and focal adhesion formation, and I3C treatment stimulated Rho kinase enzymatic activity and cofilin phosphorylation, which is a downstream target of Rho kinase signaling, but did not increase the level of active GTP-bound RhoA. Exposure of MDA-MB-231 cells to the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632, or expression of dominant negative RhoA ablated the I3C induced formation of stress fibers and of peripheral focal adhesions. Expression of constitutively active RhoA mimicked the I3C effects on both processes. Taken together, our data demonstrate that I3C induces stress fibers and peripheral focal adhesions in a Rho kinase-dependent manner that leads to an inhibition of motility in human breast cancer cells., ((c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)
- Published
- 2009
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42. Cell type- and estrogen receptor-subtype specific regulation of selective estrogen receptor modulator regulatory elements.
- Author
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Ball LJ, Levy N, Zhao X, Griffin C, Tagliaferri M, Cohen I, Ricke WA, Speed TP, Firestone GL, and Leitman DC
- Subjects
- Cell Line, Tumor, Estradiol pharmacology, Estrogen Receptor alpha metabolism, Humans, Raloxifene Hydrochloride pharmacology, Tamoxifen pharmacology, Gene Expression Regulation drug effects, Organ Specificity drug effects, Receptors, Estrogen metabolism, Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid genetics, Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators pharmacology
- Abstract
Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen and raloxifene can act as estrogen receptor (ER) antagonists or agonists depending on the cell type. The antagonistic action of tamoxifen has been invaluable for treating breast cancer, whereas the agonist activity of SERMs also has important clinical applications as demonstrated by the use of raloxifene for osteoporosis. Whereas the mechanism whereby SERMs function as antagonists has been studied extensively very little is known about how SERMs produce agonist effects in different tissues with the two ER types; ERalpha and ERbeta. We examined the regulation of 32 SERM-responsive regions with ERalpha and ERbeta in transiently transfected MCF-7 breast, Ishikawa endometrial, HeLa cervical and WAR-5 prostate cancer cells. The regions were regulated by tamoxifen and raloxifene in some cell types, but not in all cell lines. Tamoxifen activated similar number of regions with ERalpha and ERbeta in the cell lines, whereas raloxifene activated over twice as many regions with ERbeta compared to ERalpha. In Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells, tamoxifen activated 17 regions with ERalpha, whereas raloxifene activated only 2 regions, which might explain their different effects on the endometrium. Microarray studies also found that raloxifene regulated fewer genes than tamoxifen in U2OS bone cancer cells expressing ERalpha, whereas tamoxifen was equally effective at regulating genes with ERalpha and ERbeta. Our studies indicate that tamoxifen is a non-selective agonist, whereas raloxifene is a relative ERbeta-selective agonist, and suggest that ERbeta-selective SERMs might be safer for treating clinical conditions that are dependent on the agonist property of SERMs.
- Published
- 2009
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43. Artemisinin blocks prostate cancer growth and cell cycle progression by disrupting Sp1 interactions with the cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK4) promoter and inhibiting CDK4 gene expression.
- Author
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Willoughby JA Sr, Sundar SN, Cheung M, Tin AS, Modiano J, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Artemisinins chemistry, Binding Sites, Cell Line, Tumor, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 metabolism, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 genetics, Humans, Male, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Phosphorylation drug effects, Promoter Regions, Genetic genetics, Prostatic Neoplasms genetics, Protein Binding, Retinoblastoma Protein metabolism, Sp1 Transcription Factor genetics, Transcription, Genetic genetics, Artemisinins pharmacology, Cell Cycle drug effects, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 metabolism, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects, Prostatic Neoplasms metabolism, Prostatic Neoplasms pathology, Sp1 Transcription Factor metabolism
- Abstract
Artemisinin, a naturally occurring component of Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood, is a potent anti-malaria compound that has recently been shown to have anti-proliferative effects on a number of human cancer cell types, although little is know about the molecular mechanisms of this response. We have observed that artemisinin treatment triggers a stringent G1 cell cycle arrest of LNCaP (lymph node carcinoma of the prostate) human prostate cancer cells that is accompanied by a rapid down-regulation of CDK2 and CDK4 protein and transcript levels. Transient transfection with promoter-linked luciferase reporter plasmids revealed that artemisinin strongly inhibits CDK2 and CDK4 promoter activity. Deletion analysis of the CDK4 promoter revealed a 231-bp artemisinin-responsive region between -1737 and -1506. Site-specific mutations revealed that the Sp1 site at -1531 was necessary for artemisinin responsiveness in the context of the CDK4 promoter. DNA binding assays as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that this Sp1-binding site in the CDK4 promoter forms a specific artemisinin-responsive DNA-protein complex that contains the Sp1 transcription factor. Artemisinin reduced phosphorylation of Sp1, and when dephosphorylation of Sp1 was inhibited by treatment of cells with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, the ability of artemisinin to down-regulate Sp1 interactions with the CDK4 promoter was ablated, rendering the CDK4 promoter unresponsive to artemisinin. Finally, overexpression of Sp1 mostly reversed the artemisinin down-regulation of CDK4 promoter activity and partially reversed the cell cycle arrest. Taken together, our results demonstrate that a key event in the artemisinin anti-proliferative effects in prostate cancer cells is the transcriptional down-regulation of CDK4 expression by disruption of Sp1 interactions with the CDK4 promoter.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. The dietary phytochemical indole-3-carbinol is a natural elastase enzymatic inhibitor that disrupts cyclin E protein processing.
- Author
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Nguyen HH, Aronchik I, Brar GA, Nguyen DH, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Brassica chemistry, Cell Cycle drug effects, Cells, Cultured, Diet, Humans, Oligopeptides pharmacology, Pancreatic Elastase genetics, RNA, Small Interfering genetics, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms enzymology, Cyclin E metabolism, Enzyme Inhibitors pharmacology, Indoles pharmacology, Pancreatic Elastase antagonists & inhibitors
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring component of Brassica vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, induces a G(1) cell-cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells, although the direct cellular targets that mediate this process are unknown. Treatment of highly invasive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells with I3C shifted the stable accumulation of cyclin E protein from the hyperactive lower-molecular-mass 35-kDa form that is associated with cancer cell proliferation and poor clinical outcomes to the 50-kDa cyclin E form that typically is expressed in normal mammary tissue. An in vitro cyclin E processing assay, in combination with zymography, demonstrated that I3C, but not its natural dimer, 3,3'-diindolylmethane, disrupts proteolytic processing of the 50-kDa cyclin E into the lower-molecular-mass forms by direct inhibition of human neutrophil elastase enzymatic activity. Analysis of elastase enzyme kinetics using either cyclin E or N-methoxysuccinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Val-p-nitroanalide as substrates demonstrated that I3C acts as a noncompetitive inhibitor of elastase activity with an inhibitory constant of approximately 12 microM. Finally, siRNA ablation of neutrophil elastase protein production in MDA-MB-231 cells mimicked the I3C-disrupted processing of the 50-kDa cyclin E protein and the indole-induced cell-cycle arrest. Taken together, our results demonstrate that elastase is the first identified specific target protein for I3C and that the direct I3C inhibition of elastase enzymatic activity implicates the potential use of this indole, or related compounds, in targeted therapies of human breast cancers where high elastase levels are correlated with poor prognosis.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Artemisinin selectively decreases functional levels of estrogen receptor-alpha and ablates estrogen-induced proliferation in human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Sundar SN, Marconett CN, Doan VB, Willoughby JA Sr, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Blotting, Western, Cell Line, Tumor, Estrogen Receptor Modulators pharmacology, Estrogen Receptor alpha biosynthesis, Estrogen Receptor alpha genetics, Estrogen Receptor beta biosynthesis, Estrogen Receptor beta drug effects, Female, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression drug effects, Humans, Immunoprecipitation, Promoter Regions, Genetic, RNA, Messenger analysis, RNA, Messenger drug effects, Receptors, Progesterone drug effects, Receptors, Progesterone metabolism, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Transcription, Genetic drug effects, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Artemisinins pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Cell Proliferation drug effects, Estrogen Receptor alpha drug effects, Estrogens metabolism
- Abstract
MCF7 cells are an estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cell line that expresses both estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and ERbeta. Treatment of MCF7 cells with artemisinin, an antimalarial phytochemical from the sweet wormwood plant, effectively blocked estrogen-stimulated cell cycle progression induced by either 17beta-estradiol (E(2)), an agonist for both ERs, or by propyl pyrazole triol (PPT), a selective ERalpha agonist. Artemisinin strongly downregulated ERalpha protein and transcripts without altering expression or activity of ERbeta. Transfection of MCF7 cells with ERalpha promoter-linked luciferase reporter plasmids revealed that the artemisinin downregulation of ERalpha promoter activity accounted for the loss of ERalpha expression. Artemisinin treatment ablated the estrogenic induction of endogenous progesterone receptor (PR) transcripts by either E(2) or PPT and inhibited the estrogenic stimulation of a luciferase reporter plasmid driven by consensus estrogen response elements (EREs). Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that artemisinin significantly downregulated the level of endogeneous ERalpha bound to the PR promoter, whereas the level of bound endogeneous ERbeta was not altered. Treatment of MCF7 cells with artemisinin and the pure antiestrogen fulvestrant resulted in a cooperative reduction of ERalpha protein levels and enhanced G(1) cell cycle arrest compared with the effects of either compound alone. Our results show that artemisinin switches proliferative human breast cancer cells from expressing a high ERalpha:ERbeta ratio to a condition in which ERbeta predominates, which parallels the physiological state linked to antiproliferative events in normal mammary epithelium.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. DEVD-NucView488: a novel class of enzyme substrates for real-time detection of caspase-3 activity in live cells.
- Author
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Cen H, Mao F, Aronchik I, Fuentes RJ, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Binding Sites, DNA metabolism, Enzyme Activation, HeLa Cells enzymology, Humans, Jurkat Cells enzymology, Kinetics, Substrate Specificity, Caspase 3 metabolism, Peptide Fragments metabolism
- Abstract
Live-cell detection of intracellular enzyme activity requires that substrates are cell-permeable and that the generated products are easily detected and retained in cells. Our objective was to create a novel fluorogenic substrate that could be used for real-time detection of apoptosis in living cells. We have synthesized a highly cell-permeable caspase-3 substrate, DEVD-NucView488, by linking a fluorogenic DNA-binding dye to the caspase-3 recognition sequence that renders the dye nonfunctional. On substrate cleavage, the dye is released and becomes highly fluorescent on binding to DNA. DEVD-NucView488 detected caspase-3 activation within a live-cell population much earlier and with higher sensitivity compared with other apoptosis reagents that are currently available. Furthermore, cells incubated with DEVD-NucView488 exhibited no toxicity and normal apoptotic progression. DEVD-NucView488 is an ideal substrate for kinetic studies of caspase-3 activation because it detects caspase-3 activity in real-time and also efficiently labels DNA in nuclei of caspase-3-activated cells for real-time fluorescent visualization of apoptotic morphology. The strategy utilized in the design of this fluorogenic substrate can be applied in future endeavors to develop substrates for detecting real-time intracellular enzyme activity.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
47. 3,3'-diindolylmethane reduces levels of HIF-1alpha and HIF-1 activity in hypoxic cultured human cancer cells.
- Author
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Riby JE, Firestone GL, and Bjeldanes LF
- Subjects
- Blotting, Western, Cell Hypoxia, Cell Line, Tumor, Humans, Luciferases genetics, Proton-Translocating ATPases antagonists & inhibitors, Proton-Translocating ATPases metabolism, Reactive Oxygen Species metabolism, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Transcription, Genetic drug effects, Transfection, Anticarcinogenic Agents pharmacology, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit genetics, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit metabolism, Indoles pharmacology
- Abstract
3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) is a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic phytochemical derived from the metabolism of indoles found at high concentrations in cruciferous vegetables. We have previously shown that DIM exhibits anti-angiogenic properties in cultured vascular endothelial cells and in Matrigel plug assays in rodents. In the present study, we demonstrate that DIM reduces the level of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha in hypoxic tumor cell lines, as well as HIF-1 transcriptional activity as measured by a reporter assay. Moreover, DIM inhibited the expression of HIF-1-responsive endogenous genes, resulting in the reduced expression of key hypoxia responsive factors, VEGF, furin, enolase-1, glucose transporter-1 and phosphofructokinase. DIM reduced the level of HIF-1alpha in hypoxic cells by increasing the rate of the prolylhydroxylase- and proteasome-mediated degradation of HIF-1alpha, and by decreasing the rate of HIF-1alpha transcription. Using enzyme kinetics studies, we established that DIM interacts with the oligomycin-binding site on the F0 transmembrane component of mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase. The contributions of the resulting increases in levels of ROS and O2 in hypoxic cells to the inhibitory effects of DIM on HIF-1alpha expression are discussed. These studies are the first to show that DIM can decrease the accumulation and activity of the key angiogenesis regulatory factor, HIF-1alpha, in hypoxic tumor cells.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. N-Alkoxy derivatization of indole-3-carbinol increases the efficacy of the G1 cell cycle arrest and of I3C-specific regulation of cell cycle gene transcription and activity in human breast cancer cells.
- Author
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Jump SM, Kung J, Staub R, Kinseth MA, Cram EJ, Yudina LN, Preobrazhenskaya MN, Bjeldanes LF, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Breast Neoplasms metabolism, Breast Neoplasms pathology, Cell Line, Tumor, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 antagonists & inhibitors, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 antagonists & inhibitors, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6 genetics, Female, Humans, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Structure-Activity Relationship, Antineoplastic Agents pharmacology, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, G1 Phase drug effects, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic drug effects, Indoles pharmacology
- Abstract
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring component of Brassica vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, induces a G1 cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells. Structure-activity relationships of I3C that mediate this anti-proliferative response were investigated using synthetic and natural I3C derivatives that contain substitutions at the indole nitrogen. Nitrogen substitutions included N-alkoxy substituents of one to four carbons in length, which inhibit dehydration and the formation of the reactive indolenine. Analysis of growth and cell cycle arrest of indole-treated human breast cancer cells revealed a striking increase in efficacy of the N-alkoxy I3C derivatives that is significantly enhanced by the presence of increasing carbon lengths of the N-alkoxy substituents. Compared to I3C, the half maximal growth arrest responses occurred at 23-fold lower indole concentration for N-methoxy I3C, 50-fold lower concentration for N-ethoxy I3C, 217-fold lower concentration for N-propoxy I3C, and 470-fold lower concentration for N-butoxy I3C. At these lower concentrations, each of the N-alkoxy substituted compounds induced the characteristic I3C response in that CDK6 gene expression, CDK6 promoter activity, and CDK2 specific enzymatic activity for its retinoblastoma protein substrate were strongly down-regulated. 3-Methoxymethylindole and 3-ethoxymethylindole were approximately as bioactive as I3C, whereas both tryptophol and melatonin failed to induce the cell cycle arrest, showing the importance of the C-3 hydroxy methyl substituent on the indole ring. Taken together, our study establishes the first I3C structure-activity relationship for cytostatic activities, and implicates I3C-based N-alkoxy derivatives as a novel class of potentially more potent experimental therapeutics for breast cancer.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. Glucocorticoid-induced degradation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 protein is triggered by serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase and Akt signaling and controls beta-catenin dynamics and tight junction formation in mammary epithelial tumor cells.
- Author
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Failor KL, Desyatnikov Y, Finger LA, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Epithelial Cells drug effects, Epithelial Cells enzymology, Epithelial Cells ultrastructure, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 genetics, Immediate-Early Proteins metabolism, Mammary Glands, Animal enzymology, Mammary Glands, Animal ultrastructure, Phosphorylation, Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex metabolism, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases metabolism, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt metabolism, Rats, Serine genetics, Serine metabolism, Tight Junctions metabolism, Ubiquitin metabolism, Dexamethasone pharmacology, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 metabolism, Mammary Glands, Animal drug effects, Tight Junctions drug effects, beta Catenin metabolism
- Abstract
Glucocorticoid hormones stimulate adherens junction and tight junction formation in Con8 mammary epithelial tumor cells and induce the production of a stable nonphosphorylated beta-catenin protein localized exclusively to the cell periphery. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) phosphorylation of beta-catenin is known to trigger the degradation of this adherens junction protein, suggesting that steroid-activated cascades may be targeting this protein kinase. We now demonstrate that treatment with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone induces the ubiquitin-26S proteasome-mediated degradation of GSK3 protein with no change in GSK3 transcript levels. In transfected cells, deletion of the N-terminal nine amino acids or mutation of the serine-9 phosphorylation site on GSK3-beta prevented its glucocorticoid-induced degradation. Expression of stabilized GSK3 mutant proteins ablated the glucocorticoid-induced tight junction sealing and resulted in production of a nonphosphorylated beta-catenin that localizes to both the nucleus and the cell periphery in steroid-treated cells. Serine-9 on GSK3 can be phosphorylated by Sgk (serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase) and by Akt. Expression of dominant-negative forms of either Sgk- or Akt-inhibited glucocorticoid induced GSK3 ubiquitination and degradation and disrupted the dexamethasone-induced effects on beta-catenin dynamics. Furthermore, the steroid-induced tight junction sealing is attenuated in cells expressing dominant-negative forms of either Sgk or Akt, although the effect of blunting Sgk signaling was significantly greater. Taken together, we have uncovered a new cellular cascade in which Sgk and Akt trigger the glucocorticoid-regulated phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and degradation of GSK3, which alters beta-catenin dynamics, leading to the formation of adherens junctions and tight junction sealing.
- Published
- 2007
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. The stimulus-dependent co-localization of serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated protein kinase (Sgk) and Erk/MAPK in mammary tumor cells involves the mutual interaction with the importin-alpha nuclear import protein.
- Author
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Buse P, Maiyar AC, Failor KL, Tran S, Leong ML, and Firestone GL
- Subjects
- Active Transport, Cell Nucleus, Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Nucleus metabolism, Dexamethasone pharmacology, Glucocorticoids pharmacology, Mammary Neoplasms, Animal, Nuclear Localization Signals metabolism, Phosphorylation, Protein Binding, Rats, Cytoplasm metabolism, Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases metabolism, Immediate-Early Proteins metabolism, Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases metabolism, alpha Karyopherins metabolism
- Abstract
In Con8 rat mammary epithelial tumor cells, indirect immunofluorescence revealed that Sgk (serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase) and Erk/MAPK (extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase) co-localized to the nucleus in serum-treated cells and to the cytoplasmic compartment in cells treated with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Moreover, the subcellular distribution of the importin-alpha nuclear transport protein was similarly regulated in a signal-dependent manner. In vitro GST-pull down assays revealed the direct interaction of importin-alpha with either Sgk or Erk/MAPK, while RNA interference knockdown of importin-alpha expression disrupted the localization of both Sgk and Erk into the nucleus of serum-treated cells. Wild type or kinase dead forms of Sgk co-immunoprecipitated with Erk/MAPK from either serum- or dexamethasone-treated mammary tumor cells, suggesting the existence of a protein complex containing both kinases. In serum-treated cells, nucleus residing Sgk and Erk/MAPK were both hyperphosphorylated, indicative of their active states, whereas, in dexamethasone-treated cells Erk/MAPK, but not Sgk, was in its inactive hypophosphorylated state. Treatment with a MEK inhibitor, which inactivates Erk/MAPK, caused the relocalization of both Sgk and ERK to the cytoplasm. We therefore propose that the signal-dependent co-localization of Sgk and Erk/MAPK mediated by importin-alpha represents a new pathway of signal integration between steroid and serum/growth factor-regulated pathways.
- Published
- 2007
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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