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Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is often up-regulated in a variety of malignancies, including gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), and its overexpression seems to be associated with tumor progressiveness and poor prognosis. GIST is well known to have a mutation to c-KIT; thus, a specific c-KIT inhibitor (imatinib) is recognized as the first-line chemotherapy for GIST, although a certain type of c-KIT mutation reveals a resistance to imatinib due to as yet uncertain molecular mechanisms. To assess the c-KIT mutation-related variation of cellular responses to imatinib, murine lymphocyte-derived Ba/F3 cells, which are stably transduced with different types of c-KIT mutation, were treated with either imatinib or a FAK inhibitor (TAE226), and their antitumor effects were determined in vitro and in vivo. A mutation at exon 11 (KITdel559-560) displayed a high sensitivity to imatinib, whereas that at exon 17 (KIT820Tyr) showed a significant resistance to imatinib in vitro and in vivo. KIT820Tyr cells appeared to maintain the activities of FAK and AKT under the imatinib treatment, suggesting that FAK might play a role in cell survival in imatinib-resistant cells. When FAK activity in those cells was inhibited by TAE226, cell growth was equally suppressed and the cells underwent apoptosis regardless of the c-KIT mutation types. Oral administration of TAE226 significantly diminished tumor growth in nude mice bearing KIT820Tyr xenografts. In summary, c-KIT mutation at exon 17 displayed a resistance to imatinib with maintained activations of FAK and subsequent survival signals. Targeting FAK could be a potential therapeutic strategy for imatinib-resistant GISTs. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(1):127–34]

Purpose: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) regulates integrin and growth factor–mediated signaling pathways to enhance cell migration, proliferation, and survival, and its up-regulation correlates malignant grade and poor outcome in several types of cancer. In this study, we aimed to raise a potential therapeutic strategy using a FAK inhibitor for Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma.Experimental Design: The expression status of FAK in clinical Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry. Cultured esophageal adenocarcinoma cells were treated with TAE226, a specific FAK inhibitor with an additional effect of inhibiting insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), to assess its anticancer effect in vitro. Western blot was carried out to explore a participating signaling pathway for TAE226-induced cell death. Furthermore, TAE226 was orally administered to s.c. xenograft animals to investigate its anticancer effect in vivo.Results: Strong expression of FAK was found in 94.0% of Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma compared with 17.9% of Barrett's epithelia, suggesting that FAK might play a critical role in the progression of Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma. When esophageal adenocarcinoma cells were treated with TAE226, cell proliferation and migration were greatly inhibited with an apparent structural change of actin fiber and a loss of cell adhesion. The activities of FAK, IGF-IR, and AKT were suppressed by TAE226 and subsequent dephosphorylation of BAD at Ser136 occurred, resulting in caspase-mediated apoptosis. In vivo tumor volume was significantly reduced by oral administration of TAE226.Conclusions: These results suggest that TAE226, a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor for FAK and IGF-IR, could become a new remedy for Barrett's esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Supplementary Table S1 from Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase as a potential therapeutic strategy for imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Supplementary Table 1 from Dual Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor for Focal Adhesion Kinase and Insulin-like Growth Factor-I Receptor Exhibits Anticancer Effect in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma In vitro and In vivo

Recent advances with deep neural networks have shown the feasibility of acquiring brightfield images with transmitted light and applying in-silico labeling to predict fluorescent images. We have developed a novel in-silico labeling method based on a generative adversarial network and outperforms the state-of-the-art Unet method in generating realistic fluorescent images and quantitatively recapitulating real staining signals, as demonstrated in a complex co-culture myelination assay. Furthermore, we have performed the assay in live mode with multiple kinetic points, applied in-silico labeling to predict fluorescent images from brightfield and quantified the kinetic phenotypic changes. Thus, the proposed approach provides a potential tool to study the kinetics of cellular phenotypic changes with brightfield imaging.

Effects of repeated injection of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), into rat knee joints every two weeks for a maximum of five administrations were investigated. Joint swelling, nociception and hard/soft tissue changes were assessed longitudinally by non-invasive imaging. MSU crystals induced joint swelling, synovial membrane thickening, fibrosis of the infrapatellar fat pad, tidemark breaching, and cartilage invasion by inflammatory cells. Several inflammatory proteins were present in synovial fluid. A higher sensitivity to mechanical stimulus was detected in paws of limbs receiving MSU/LPS compared to saline-injected limbs. In MSU/LPS-challenged joints, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed increased synovial fluid volume in the posterior region of the joint, alterations in the infrapatellar fat pad reflecting a progressive decrease of fat volume and fibrosis formation, and a significant increase in the relaxation time T2 in femoral cartilage, consistent with a reduction of proteoglycan content. MRI also showed cyst formation in the tibia, femur remodeling, and T2 reductions in extensor muscles consistent with fibrosis development. Repeated intra-articular MSU/LPS injections in the rat knee joint induced pathology in multiple tissues and may be a useful means to investigate the relationship between urate crystal deposition and the development of degenerative joint disease.

The anabolic effects of β2-adrenoceptor (β2-AR) agonists on skeletal muscle have been demonstrated in various species. However, the clinical use of β2-AR agonists for skeletal muscle wasting conditions has been limited by their undesired cardiovascular effects. Here, we describe the preclinical pharmacological profile of a novel 5-hydroxybenzothiazolone (5-HOB) derived β2-AR agonist in comparison to formoterol as a representative β2-AR agonist which has been well characterized. In vitro, 5-HOB has nanomolar affinity for the human β2-AR and selectivity over the β1-AR and β3-AR. 5-HOB also shows potent agonistic activity at the β2-AR in primary skeletal muscle myotubes and induces hypertrophy of skeletal muscle myotubes. When compared to formoterol, 5-HOB demonstrates comparable full-agonist activity on cAMP production in skeletal muscle cells and skeletal muscle tissue derived membranes. In contrast, a greatly reduced intrinsic activity was determined in cardiomyocytes and cell membranes prepared from the rat heart. In addition, 5-HOB shows weak effects on chronotropy, inotropy and vascular relaxation when compared to formoterol. In vivo, 5-HOB significantly increases hind limb muscle weight in rats with attenuated effects on heart weight and ejection fraction, unlike formoterol. Furthermore, changes in cardiovascular parameters after bolus subcutaneous treatment in rats and rhesus monkeys are significantly lower with 5-HOB when compared to formoterol. In conclusion, the pharmacological profile of 5-HOB indicates superior tissue selectivity compared to the conventional β2-AR agonist formoterol in preclinical studies, and supports the notion that such tissue-selective agonists should be investigated for the safe treatment of muscle wasting conditions without cardiovascular limiting effects.

The majority of patients with advanced cancer suffer from cachexia, a systemic wasting syndrome, which subsequently impacts the tolerance to anti-cancer treatments, response to therapy, quality of life, and eventually, survival. Despite a high unmet medical need, there is currently no specific remedy available for an effective treatment of cachexia and its sequelae. A key feature of cachexia is the inexorable loss of skeletal muscle mass, which constitutes a main contributor to body weight loss and progressive functional impairments. Therefore, it's crucial to identify early readouts to detect and monitor the loss of muscle mass and function to initiate appropriate treatments timely. Here, we describe experimental cancer models using mouse (syngeneic) or human (xenograft) cancer cell lines with a rapid onset of tumor growth and cachexia. These models are easier to establish, monitor and reproduce compared to the genetically engineered mouse models currently available. Moreover, we establish readouts such as hind limb muscle mass and volume, as well as evoked force and food intake measurements, to allow the evaluation of potential therapeutic agents for the early treatment of cachexia and associated impairments.

Objective To identify an agonist of RXRα and RARα with reduced undesired profiles of all-trans retinoic acid for differentiation-inducing therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), such as its susceptibility to P450 enzyme, induction of P450 enzyme, increased sequestration by cellular retinoic acid binding protein and increased expression of P-glycoprotein, a virtual screening was performed. Results and conclusion In this study, a phenyl-thiazolyl-benzoic acid derivative (PTB) was identified as a potent agonist of RXRα and RARα. PTB was characterized in nuclear receptor binding, reporter gene, cell differentiation and cell growth assays. PTB bound directly to RXRα and RARα, but not to PPARα, δ(β) or γ. PTB fully activated reporter genes with enhancer elements for RXRα/RXRα, and partially activated reporter genes with enhancer elements for RARα/RXRα, PPARδ(β) and PPARγ. Furthermore, PTB induced differentiation and inhibited the growth of human APL cells. Thus, PTB is a novel dual agonist of RXRα and RARα and works as both a differentiation inducer and a proliferation inhibitor to leukemic cells., Biochemistry; Molecular biology; Dose-response relationship; Drug binding; Cancer research; Hematological system; Oncology; Virtual screening; Retinoic acid; Acute promyelocytic leukemia

Objective 5-HOB is a novel tissue selective, 5-hydroxybenzothiazolone-derived β2 adrenoceptor agonist with minimized cardiovascular effects while retaining efficacy on skeletal muscle in preclinical experiments unlike conventional β2 adrenoceptor agonists, however its effect on the nervous system has not been evaluated yet. Therefore, 5-HOB was evaluated in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. Results 5-HOB alleviated neuropathic allodynia in a dose dependent manner and reversed the changes in hind paw withdrawal thresholds to the sham control levels. The dose attenuating neuropathic allodynia was slightly lower than the dose inducing skeletal muscle hypertrophy. In conclusion, as reported with known β2 adrenoceptor agonists, 5-HOB was also effective in attenuating neuropathic pain in mice in addition to its effect on skeletal muscle.

Objective A dual inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), TAE226, was evaluated in a panel of cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic tumor and 4T1 murine breast tumor models. The profiling data were generated during the drug discovery research prior to the first publication of TAE226 appeared in 2007 (Liu et al. in Mol Cancer Ther 6:1357–1367, 2007; Shi et al. in Mol Carcinog 46(6):488–496, 2007; Halder et al. in Cancer Res 67(22):10976–10983, 2007). Results In a panel of 37 cancer cell lines, TAE226 showed a mean GI50 value of 0.76 μmol/L. In the MIA PaCa-2 model, TAE226 inhibited phosphorylation of Y397-FAK and phosphorylation of S473-Akt as IGF-1R signaling in the cell culture in vitro and the tumor in mice. Oral administration of TAE226 induced tumor stasis at 30 mg/kg and tumor regression at 100 mg/kg in the subcutaneous tumor, and inhibited the orthotopic tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly in the 4T1 model, TAE226 inhibited phosphorylation of Y397-FAK and S473-Akt in the cell culture in vitro and the tumor in mice. Oral administration of TAE226 inhibited the orthotopic tumor growth and metastasis to the lung in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, TAE226 represents a novel class of selective and small molecule kinase inhibitor with a potent in vivo activity. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4389-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective Therapeutic effects of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibition using a small molecule inhibitor was evaluated in apolipoprotein E (apoE) knockout (KO) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr) KO mouse atherosclerosis models. Results The prevention trial consisted of an 8-week treatment with an FAK inhibitor concurrent treatment with a high fat (HF)/high cholesterol (HC) diet. The intervention trial consisted of 6- and 8-week treatment after 6- and 8-week pre-loading, respectively, of a HF/HC diet in apoE KO and LDLr KO mice, respectively. The inhibitor was admixed with a HF/HC diet and mice were given free access to the admixture. The FAK inhibitor exhibited marked inhibition against the development of the atherosclerosis in both of prevention and intervention trials at a dose of 0.03% without showing any remarkable toxic properties in biochemical examinations. These results indicated that FAK inhibition might be a possible candidate for novel therapeutic targets against atherosclerosis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4220-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background The majority of patients with advanced cancer develop cachexia, a weight loss syndrome that severely reduces quality of life and limits survival. Our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that cause the condition is limited, and there are currently no treatment options that can completely reverse cachexia. Several tumour‐derived factors and inflammatory mediators have been suggested to contribute to weight loss in cachectic patients. However, inconsistencies between studies are recurrent. Activin A and interleukin 6 (IL‐6) are among the best studied factors that seem to be important, and several studies support their individual role in cachexia development. Methods We investigated the interplay between activin A and IL‐6 in the cachexia‐inducing TOV21G cell line, both in culture and in tumours in mice. We previously found that the human TOV21G cells secrete IL‐6 that induces autophagy in reporter cells and cachexia in mice. Using this established cachexia cell model, we targeted autocrine activin A by genetic, chemical, and biological approaches. The secretion of IL‐6 from the cancer cells was determined in both culture and tumour‐bearing mice by a species‐specific ELISA. Autophagy reporter cells were used to monitor the culture medium for autophagy‐inducing activities, and muscle mass changes were evaluated in tumour‐bearing mice. Results We show that activin A acts in an autocrine manner to promote the synthesis and secretion of IL‐6 from cancer cells. By inhibiting activin A signalling, the production of IL‐6 from the cancer cells is reduced by 40–50% (up to 42% reduction on protein level, P = 0.0048, and 48% reduction on mRNA level, P = 0.0308). Significantly reduced IL‐6 secretion (P < 0.05) from the cancer cells is consistently observed when using biological, chemical, and genetic approaches to interfere with the autocrine activin A loop. Inhibiting activin signalling also reduces the ability of the cancer cells to accelerate autophagy in non‐cancerous cells (up to 43% reduced autophagy flux, P = 0.0006). Coherent to the in vitro data, the use of an anti‐activin receptor 2 antibody in cachectic tumour‐bearing mice reduces serum levels of cancer cell‐derived IL‐6 by 62% (from 417 to 159 pg/mL, P = 0.03), and, importantly, it reverses cachexia and counteracts loss of all measured muscle groups (P < 0.0005). Conclusions Our data support a functional link between activin A and IL‐6 signalling pathways and indicate that interference with activin A‐induced IL‐6 secretion from the tumour has therapeutic potential for cancer‐induced cachexia. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle (2019) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12489 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The anabolic effects of

To form small and dense Ge dots, an availability of simple bottom-up method by using reaction of Ge and carbon (C) formed on Si(100) at low temperature through post-annealing has been investigated. Ge dots were formed at annealing temperature ( T A ) above 450 °C. Small, dense and relatively uniform dots were formed for Ge=7.5 MLs and C=0.05–0.1 ML at T A =650 °C. From the dependence of dot size and density on Ge thickness and C coverage, the effect of C is considered to decrease in bulk free energy of Ge in nucleation process, that is, C led to reduce nucleation barrier height and to decrease critical radius.

Cancer cachexia is a devastating metabolic syndrome characterized by systemic inflammation and massive muscle and adipose tissue wasting. Although it is responsible for approximately one-third of cancer deaths, no effective therapies are available and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. We previously identified the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) protein BRD4 as an epigenetic regulator of muscle mass. Here we show that the pan-BET inhibitor (+)-JQ1 protects tumor-bearing mice from body weight loss and muscle and adipose tissue wasting. Remarkably, in C26-tumor-bearing mice (+)-JQ1 administration dramatically prolongs survival, without directly affecting tumor growth. By ChIP-seq and ChIP analyses, we unveil that BET proteins directly promote the muscle atrophy program during cachexia. In addition, BET proteins are required to coordinate an IL6-dependent AMPK nuclear signaling pathway converging on FoxO3 transcription factor. Overall, these findings indicate that BET proteins may represent a promising therapeutic target in the management of cancer cachexia., Cachexia is a metabolic syndrome leading to muscle and adipose tissue loss in majority of cancer patients. Here the authors show that, in a mouse model, BET inhibitor JQ1 counteracts muscle and adipose tissue wasting tempering cachexia and prolonging survival through a mechanism unrelated to tumour growth.

The majority of cancer patients with advanced disease experience weight loss, including loss of lean body mass. Severe weight loss is characteristic for cancer cachexia, a condition that significantly impairs functional status and survival. The underlying causes of cachexia are incompletely understood, and currently no therapeutic approach can completely reverse the condition. Autophagy coordinates lysosomal destruction of cytosolic constituents and is systemically induced by starvation. We hypothesized that starvation-mimicking signaling compounds secreted from tumor cells may cause a systemic acceleration of autophagy during cachexia. We found that IL-6 secreted by tumor cells accelerates autophagy in myotubes when complexed with soluble IL-6 receptor (trans-signaling). In lung cancer patients, were cachexia is prevalent, there was a significant correlation between elevated IL-6 expression in the tumor and poor prognosis of the patients. We found evidence for an autophagyinducing bioactivity in serum from cancer patients and that this is clearly associated with weight loss. Importantly, the autophagy-inducing bioactivity was reduced by interference with IL-6 trans-signaling. Together, our findings suggest that IL-6 trans-signaling may be targeted in cancer cachexia. © The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Effects of intermediate carbon between amorphous Ge and Si surface on formation of Ge dots recrystallized through post-annealing were studied. The samples were prepared by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy system with electron beam gun for C sublimation and K-cell for Ge evaporation. C and Ge were deposited sequentially at 200 °C and Ge/C/Si was subsequently annealed in MBE chamber. Ge dots were formed at annealing temperature ( T A ) of 400 °C for Ge(1 nm)/C(0.25 ML)/Si. The dot size increased with T A , and both Ge(2 2 0) peak intensity measured by in-plane XRD and dot density were the highest at T A of 700 °C. A strong correlation between dot density and surface roughness indicated recrystallization of Ge occurred during the dot formation promoted by Si–C bonds. Concerning the effect of C coverage, there was an optimum at 0.25 ML which gave good crystallinity of Ge dots. Coalesced dots with bad crystallinity were observed for less or more C coverage. This was considered that dot formation combined with S–K growth mode due to large bare Si surface occurred at small C coverage and excess C incorporated into Ge dots at large C coverage. In terms of Ge thickness, there was also an optimum at 1 nm to provide sufficient Ge atoms without excess.

Effect of binding states of carbon(C) with Si substrate on Ge growth was studied. The samples were prepared by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy system with electron beam gun for C sublimation and K-cell for Ge evaporation. The C binding states to Si(1 0 0) surface evaluated by XPS measurement revealed a transition of the fraction of C–C and Si–C bonds depending on carbon deposition temperature ( T C ). The fraction of C–C bonds was major below T C = 600 °C and was almost equal to that of Si–C bonds at T C = 800–1000 °C. Surface roughening by the c(4 × 4) reconstruction induced by a large amount of Si–C bonds was observed at T C = 1000 °C. Ge equivalent to 10-nm thick was deposited on C/Si substrate at 550 °C. Amorphous Ge layers were grown for T C = 200–800 °C because Ge adatoms nucleated on the C–C structure dominantly. Structural transition from 2-D films to dome-shaped 3-D dots occurred for T C = 1000 °C due to the increase of Ge diffusion length by the Si–C structure. Concerning the dependence of C coverage, the crystallinity of Ge film deteriorated with increasing C coverage for T C = 200 °C due to the increase of C–C structure which enhances the formation of amorphous Ge. On the other hand, crystallinity of Ge dots were improved with C coverage and were saturated over 0.2 ML for T C = 1000 °C. This reflects the enlargement of dots due to C-suppressed Ge growth induced by Si–C bonds at the surface.

The mediation effect of carbon (C) on interfacial mixing in Ge growth was studied using C-covered Si surface (Ge/C/Si) and C over thin Ge buffer layer (Ge/C/Ge/Si) systems. The samples were prepared by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy system with electron beam gun for C sublimation and K-cell for Ge evaporation. The interdiffusion at the interface and deterioration in crystallinity of Ge layer was evaluated by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. In the case of Ge/C/Si system, the interdiffusion of Si and Ge atoms was suppressed by more than 0.3 monolayer (ML)-C depositions while crystallinity of Ge layer was deteriorates by the formation of Si-C at the Si surface and the incorporation of C atoms in Ge layer. In the case of Ge/C/Ge/Si system, the crystallinity of Ge layer was maintained even at C coverage of a few MLs, however, the amount of C to suppress the Ge/Si interdiffusion was more than 3 ML. From the correlation between Ge crystallinity and surface roughness, Ge/C/Ge/Si structure is considered to be more effective to take advantage of C mediation. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Ge growth on Si mediated by sub-monolayer (ML) carbon (C) covered directly on Si surface was studied. C and Ge layers were grown on Si(100) substrates by using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy system. After Si surface cleaning by heating up to 900 °C, C up to 0.45 ML was deposited and then 10 to 15-nm-thick Ge were deposited. Reflection high energy electron diffraction patterns after sub-ML C deposition changed from streaks to halo depending on C coverage. The Ge dots were formed at low C coverage of 0.08–0.16 ML. Octagonal dots had three same facet planes of (001), (111), and (113) and consisted of the mixture of single crystals with dislocations along [111]. This is due to the event that the incorporation of small amount of C into Si surface gave rise to a strain. As a result, Si surface weaved Si(100) 2 × 1 with Si C c(4 × 4) and Ge atoms adsorbed selectively on Si(100) 2 × 1 forming dome-shaped dots. A drastic structural transition from dots to films occurred at C coverage of 0.20 ML. The Ge films, consisting of relaxed poly- and amorphous-Ge, formed at C coverage of 0.20–0.45 ML. This is because a large amount of Si C bonds induced strong compressive strain and surface roughening. In consequence, the growth mode changed from three-dimensional (3D) to 2D due to the reduction of Ge diffusion length.

Background Cachexia affects the majority of patients with advanced cancer and is associated with reduced treatment tolerance, response to therapy, quality of life, and life expectancy. Cachectic patients with advanced cancer often receive anti-cancer therapies against their specific cancer type as a standard of care, and whether specific ActRII inhibition is efficacious when combined with anti-cancer agents has not been elucidated yet. Methods In this study, we evaluated interactions between ActRII blockade and anti-cancer agents in CT-26 mouse colon cancer-induced cachexia model. CDD866 (murinized version of bimagrumab) is a neutralizing antibody against the activin receptor type II (ActRII) preventing binding of ligands such as myostatin and activin A, which are involved in cancer cachexia. CDD866 was evaluated in association with cisplatin as a standard cytotoxic agent or with everolimus, a molecular-targeted agent against mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In the early studies, the treatment effect on cachexia was investigated, and in the additional studies, the treatment effect on progression of cancer and the associated cachexia was evaluated using body weight loss or tumor volume as interruption criteria. Results Cisplatin accelerated body weight loss and tended to exacerbate skeletal muscle loss in cachectic animals, likely due to some toxicity of this anti-cancer agent. Administration of CDD866 alone or in combination with cisplatin protected from skeletal muscle weight loss compared to animals receiving only cisplatin, corroborating that ActRII inhibition remains fully efficacious under cisplatin treatment. In contrast, everolimus treatment alone significantly protected the tumor-bearing mice against skeletal muscle weight loss caused by CT-26 tumor. CDD866 not only remains efficacious in the presence of everolimus but also showed a non-significant trend for an additive effect on reversing skeletal muscle weight loss. Importantly, both combination therapies slowed down time-to-progression. Conclusions Anti-ActRII blockade is an effective intervention against cancer cachexia providing benefit even in the presence of anti-cancer therapies. Co-treatment comprising chemotherapies and ActRII inhibitors might constitute a promising new approach to alleviate chemotherapy- and cancer-related wasting conditions and extend survival rates in cachectic cancer patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13395-016-0098-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key tissue for energy expenditure via fat and glucose oxidation for thermogenesis. In this study, we demonstrate that the myostatin/activin receptor IIB (ActRIIB) pathway, which serves as an important negative regulator of muscle growth, is also a negative regulator of brown adipocyte differentiation. In parallel to the anticipated hypertrophy of skeletal muscle, the pharmacological inhibition of ActRIIB in mice, using a neutralizing antibody, increases the amount of BAT without directly affecting white adipose tissue. Mechanistically, inhibition of ActRIIB inhibits Smad3 signaling and activates the expression of myoglobin and PGC-1 coregulators in brown adipocytes. Consequently, ActRIIB blockade in brown adipose tissue enhances mitochondrial function and uncoupled respiration, translating into beneficial functional consequences, including enhanced cold tolerance and increased energy expenditure. Importantly, ActRIIB inhibition enhanced energy expenditure only at ambient temperature or in the cold and not at thermoneutrality, where nonshivering thermogenesis is minimal, strongly suggesting that brown fat activation plays a prominent role in the metabolic actions of ActRIIB inhibition.

Survivin, an apoptotic inhibitor, is overexpressed in the majority of human tumor types and represents a novel target for anticancer therapy. Taxanes induce a mitotic cell-cycle block through the inhibition of microtubule depolymerization, with subsequent elevated expression/stabilization of survivin. We investigated the administration of survivin suppressant YM155 monobromide (YM155), in combination with docetaxel, in a human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) xenograft model. Animals received a 7-day continuous infusion of YM155, 2 mg/kg, and/or three bolus doses of docetaxel, 20 mg/kg, according to three dosing schedules: YM155 administered concomitantly with docetaxel, before docetaxel, and after docetaxel. YM155 administered either concomitantly with or before docetaxel showed significant antitumor activity (tumor regression ≥ 99%), with complete regression of the established human NSCLC-derived tumors in mice (eight of eight and seven of eight animals, respectively). Significantly fewer complete responses (three of eight animals) were achieved when YM155 was administered after docetaxel. No statistically significant decreases in body weight were observed in the combination versus docetaxel groups. YM155 administered concomitantly with docetaxel resulted in significant decreases in mitotic and proliferative indices, and in a significant increase in the apoptosis index. Elevated survivin expression was seen in tumors from mice treated with docetaxel alone; a significant reduction in survivin expression was seen in tumors from mice treated with YM155 alone or in combination with docetaxel, but not in the control group. These results indicate that in a human NSCLC xenograft model YM155 in combination with docetaxel diminished the accumulation of survivin by docetaxel and induced more intense apoptosis and enhanced antitumor activity, compared with single-agent YM155 or docetaxel.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a 125-kDa non-receptor type tyrosine kinase that localizes to focal adhesions. FAK overexpression is frequently found in invasive and metastatic cancers of the breast, colon, thyroid, and prostate, but its role in osteolytic metastasis is not well understood. In this study, we have analyzed anti-tumor effects of the novel FAK Tyr(397) inhibitor TAE226 against bone metastasis in breast cancer by using TAE226. Oral administration of TAE226 in mice significantly decreased bone metastasis and osteoclasts involved which were induced by MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and increased the survival rate of the mouse models of bone metastasis. TAE226 also suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumors in vivo and the proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. Significantly, TAE226 inhibited the osteoclast formation in murine pre-osteoclastic RAW264.7 cells, and actin ring and pit formation in mature osteoclasts. Moreover, TAE226 inhibited the receptor activator for nuclear factor κ B Ligand (RANKL) gene expression induced by parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) in bone stromal ST2 cells and blood free calcium concentration induced by PTHrP administration in vivo. These findings suggest that FAK was critically involved in osteolytic metastasis and activated in tumors, pre-osteoclasts, mature osteoclasts, and bone stromal cells and TAE226 can be effectively used for the treatment of cancer induced bone metastasis and other bone diseases.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that plays a critical role in cell motility. Movement and retraction of podocyte foot processes, which accompany podocyte injury, suggest focal adhesion disassembly. To understand better the mechanisms by which podocyte foot process effacement leads to proteinuria and kidney failure, we studied the function of FAK in podocytes. In murine models, glomerular injury led to activation of podocyte FAK, followed by proteinuria and foot process effacement. Both podocyte-specific deletion of FAK and pharmacologic inactivation of FAK abrogated the proteinuria and foot process effacement induced by glomerular injury. In vitro, podocytes isolated from conditional FAK knockout mice demonstrated reduced spreading and migration; pharmacologic inactivation of FAK had similar effects on wild-type podocytes. In conclusion, FAK activation regulates podocyte foot process effacement, suggesting that pharmacologic inhibition of this signaling cascade may have therapeutic potential in the setting of glomerular injury.

Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle size, previously shown to inhibit muscle cell differentiation. Myostatin requires both Smad2 and Smad3 downstream of the activin receptor II (ActRII)/activin receptor-like kinase (ALK) receptor complex. Other transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-like molecules can also block differentiation, including TGF-β1, growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF-11), activins, bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and BMP-7. Myostatin inhibits activation of the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70S6 protein synthesis pathway, which mediates both differentiation in myoblasts and hypertrophy in myotubes. Blockade of the Akt/mTOR pathway, using small interfering RNA to regulatory-associated protein of mTOR (RAPTOR), a component of TOR signaling complex 1 (TORC1), increases myostatin-induced phosphorylation of Smad2, establishing a myostatin signaling-amplification role for blockade of Akt. Blockade of RAPTOR also facilitates myostatin's inhibition of muscle differentiation. Inhibition of TORC2, via rapamycin-insensitive companion of mTOR (RICTOR), is sufficient to inhibit differentiation on its own. Furthermore, myostatin decreases the diameter of postdifferentiated myotubes. However, rather than causing upregulation of the E3 ubiquitin ligases muscle RING-finger 1 ( MuRF1) and muscle atrophy F-box ( MAFbx), previously shown to mediate skeletal muscle atrophy, myostatin decreases expression of these atrophy markers in differentiated myotubes, as well as other genes normally upregulated during differentiation. These findings demonstrate that myostatin signaling acts by blocking genes induced during differentiation, even in a myotube, as opposed to activating the distinct “atrophy program.” In vivo, inhibition of myostatin increases muscle creatine kinase activity, coincident with an increase in muscle size, demonstrating that this in vitro differentiation measure is also upregulated in vivo.

Among the many mammalian secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) enzymes, PLA2G3 (group III secreted phospholipase A2) is unique in that it possesses unusual N- and C-terminal domains and in that its central sPLA2 domain is homologous to bee venom PLA2 rather than to other mammalian sPLA2s. To elucidate the in vivo actions of this atypical sPLA2, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice overexpressing human PLA2G3. Despite marked increases in PLA2 activity and mature 18-kDa PLA2G3 protein in the circulation and tissues, PLA2G3 Tg mice displayed no apparent abnormality up to 9 months of age. However, alterations in plasma lipoproteins were observed in PLA2G3 Tg mice compared with control mice. In vitro incubation of low density (LDL) and high density (HDL) lipoproteins with several sPLA2s showed that phosphatidylcholine was efficiently converted to lysophosphatidylcholine by PLA2G3 as well as by PLA2G5 and PLA2G10, to a lesser extent by PLA2G2F, and only minimally by PLA2G2A and PLA2G2E. PLA2G3-modified LDL, like PLA2G5- or PLA2G10-treated LDL, facilitated the formation of foam cells from macrophages ex vivo. Accumulation of PLA2G3 was detected in the atherosclerotic lesions of humans and apoE-deficient mice. Furthermore, following an atherogenic diet, aortic atherosclerotic lesions were more severe in PLA2G3 Tg mice than in control mice on the apoE-null background, in combination with elevated plasma lysophosphatidylcholine and thromboxane A2 levels. These results collectively suggest a potential functional link between PLA2G3 and atherosclerosis, as has recently been proposed for PLA2G5 and PLA2G10.

Prostaglandin (PG) E(2) is considered to participate in the storage of fat in adipocytes and hepatocytes, but roles of group IVA phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), a key PLA(2) isozyme in the arachidonic acid cascade, remain unclear. The present study examined the possible involvement of the enzyme using group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice (C57BL/6 background, 22 weeks of age) fed a normal diet (5.3% fat). The ratio of epididymal fat pad weight to body weight was significantly reduced in group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice compared to wild-type mice. Histological analysis revealed that in group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice, the adipocytes were smaller, and hepatocytes bearing cytoplasmic vacuolation were scarce. Hepatic triglyceride content and the serum levels of PGE(2) in the deficient mice were also lower. However, there was no difference in the serum levels of insulin, glucose, non-esterified free fatty acid, or total cholesterol between the deficient and wild-type mice. Our findings suggest that group IVA PLA(2) is involved in the storage of lipids in the adipose tissue and liver and in determining circulating PGE(2) levels.

Multiple genetic aberrations in human gliomas contribute to their highly infiltrative and rapid growth characteristics. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) regulates tumor migration and invasion. Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR), whose expression correlates with tumor grade, is involved in proliferation and survival. We hypothesized that inhibiting the phosphorylation of FAK and IGF-IR by NVP-TAE226 (hereafter called TAE226), a novel dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of FAK and IGF-IR, would suppress the growth and invasion of glioma cells. In culture, TAE226 inhibited extracellular matrix–induced autophosphorylation of FAK (Tyr397). TAE226 also inhibited IGF-I–induced phosphorylation of IGF-IR and activity of its downstream target genes such as MAPK and Akt. TAE226 retarded tumor cell growth as assessed by a cell viability assay and attenuated G2-M cell cycle progression associated with a decrease in cyclin B1 and phosphorylated cdc2 (Tyr15) protein expression. TAE226 treatment inhibited tumor cell invasion by at least 50% compared with the control in an in vitro Matrigel invasion assay. Interestingly, TAE226 treatment of tumor cells containing wild-type p53 mainly exhibited G2-M arrest, whereas tumor cells bearing mutant p53 underwent apoptosis. Induction of apoptosis by TAE226 was substantiated by detection of caspase-3/7 activation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and by an Annexin V apoptosis assay. More importantly, TAE226 treatment significantly increased the survival rate of animals in an intracranial glioma xenograft model. Collectively, these data show that blocking the signaling pathways of FAK and IGF-IR with TAE226 has the potential to be an efficacious treatment for human gliomas. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(4):1357–67]

BACKGROUND: Cachexia affects the majority of patients with advanced cancer and is associated with a reduction in treatment tolerance, response to therapy, and duration of survival. One impediment towards the effective treatment of cachexia is a validated classification system. METHODS: 41 patients with resectable upper gastrointestinal (GI) or pancreatic cancer underwent characterisation for cachexia based on weight-loss (WL) and/or low muscularity (LM). Four diagnostic criteria were used >5%WL, >10%WL, LM, and LM+>2%WL. All patients underwent biopsy of the rectus muscle. Analysis included immunohistochemistry for fibre size and type, protein and nucleic acid concentration, Western blots for markers of autophagy, SMAD signalling, and inflammation.FINDINGS: Compared with non-cachectic cancer patients, patients with LM or LM+>2%WL, mean muscle fibre diameter was reduced by about 25% (p = 0.02 and p = 0.001 respectively). No significant difference in fibre diameter was observed if patients had WL alone. Regardless of classification, there was no difference in fibre number or proportion of fibre type across all myosin heavy chain isoforms. Mean muscle protein content was reduced and the ratio of RNA/DNA decreased in patients with either >5%WL or LM+>2%WL. Compared with non-cachectic patients, SMAD3 protein levels were increased in patients with >5%WL (p = 0.022) and with >10%WL, beclin (p = 0.05) and ATG5 (p = 0.01) protein levels were increased. There were no differences in phospho-NFkB or phospho-STAT3 levels across any of the groups.CONCLUSION: Muscle fibre size, biochemical composition and pathway phenotype can vary according to whether the diagnostic criteria for cachexia are based on weight loss alone, a measure of low muscularity alone or a combination of the two. For intervention trials where the primary end-point is a change in muscle mass or function, use of combined diagnostic criteria may allow identification of a more homogeneous patient cohort, reduce the sample size required and enhance the time scale within which trials can be conducted.

The role of N-type Ca(2+) channels in nociceptive transmission was examined in genetically engineered mice lacking the alpha(1B) subunit of N-type channels and in their heterozygote and wild-type littermates. In alpha(1B)-deficient mice, N-type channel activities in dorsal root ganglion neurons and spinal synaptoneurosomes were eliminated without compensation by other types of voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels. The alpha(1B)-deficient mice showed a diminution in the phase 2 nociceptive responses more extensively than in the phase 1 nociceptive responses of the formalin test. The alpha(1B)-deficient mice exhibited significantly increased thermal nociceptive thresholds in the hot plate test, but failed to increase mechanical nociceptive thresholds in the tail pinch test. These results suggest a crucial role of N-type channels in nociceptive transmission, especially for persistent pain like phase 2 of the formalin test and for nociception induced by thermal stimuli.