Akira Kurose

Neoplastic cells and proliferating endothelial cells express connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in glioblastoma

Abstract Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was recently described as a cysteine-rich mitogenic peptide that is the prototypic member of the CCN family of protein including CTGF/fisp12, cef/10/cyr61 and nov. Recently CTGF was reported to have a function of mediating endothelial cell adhesion and migration through integrin αvβ3, promoting endothelial cell survival, and inducing angiogenesis in vivo. To clarify involvement of CTGF in tumor angiogenesis, using brain tissues with glioblastoma, we examined CTGF expression and localization by immunohistochemical staining and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The result showed that both glioblastoma tumor cells and proliferating endothelial cells are positive for CTGF by immunohistochemical staining, and CTGF mRNA expression was evaluated by RT-PCR in the brain tissues of glioblastoma. These findings suggest that CTGF may have the potential to stimulate angiogenesis in glioblastoma and function as an angiogenic factor in the process of tumor growth.

Activation of ATM and histone H2AX phosphorylation induced by mitoxantrone but not by topotecan is prevented by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-Cysteine

The DNA topoisomerase II (topo2) inhibitor mitoxantrone (MXT) and topo1 inhibitor topotecan (TP) are antitumor drugs widely used to treat different types of cancer. Their mechanism of action is thought to stabilize otherwise transient (“cleavable”) complexes between topo2 or topo1 and DNA; the collisions of the DNA replication fork during replication, or RNA polymerase during transcription, with these complexes convert them into double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs), potentially lethal lesions that may trigger apoptosis. In the present study we observed that treatment of human lung carcinoma A549 or promyelocytic leukemic HL-60 cells with MXT led to ATM activation and phosphorylation of histone H2AX on Ser-139, the reporters of induction of DSBs, in all phases of the cell-cycle. Only S-phase cells, however, underwent apoptosis after treatment with MXT, which implied that DSBs in the cells replicating DNA were more effective in triggering apoptosis than DSBs in G1 or G2M phase cells. Unlike MXT, the treatment with TP induced ATM activation and H2AX phosphorylation almost exclusively in S-phase cells and only S phase cells underwent apoptosis. The induction of both ATM activation and H2AX phosphorylation by MXT was prevented to a large extent by N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The protective effect of NAC was observed for cells in all phases of the cell cycle. NAC offered no protection at all against TP. The induction of DSBs by MXT, thus, appears to be predominantly mediated through ROS, while DSBs generated during treatment with TP most likely are a consequence of collisions of replication forks with the “cleavable” complexes.

A case of lung adenocarcinoma harboring EGFR mutation and EML4-ALK fusion gene

BackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) - tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is used for the patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer. Recently, phase III studies in the patients with EGFR-mutant demonstrated that EGFR-TKI monotherapy improved progression-free survival compared with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. The echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) - anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion oncogene represents one of the newest molecular targets in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients who harbor EML4-ALK fusions have been associated with a lack of EGFR or KRAS mutations.Case presentationWe report a 39-year-old patient diagnosed as adenocarcinoma harboring EGFR mutation and EML4-ALK fusion gene. We treated this patient with erlotinib as the third line therapy, but no clinical benefit was obtained.ConclusionWe experienced a rare case with EGFR mutation and EML4-ALK. Any clinical benefit using EGFR-TKI was not obtained in our case. The therapeutic choice for the patients with more than one driver mutations is unclear. We needs further understanding of the lung cancer molecular biology and the biomarker infomation.

Remarkable enhancement of cytotoxicity of onconase and cepharanthine when used in combination on various tumor cell lines

Onconase (Onc), a ribonuclease from oocytes or early embryos of Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens), is cytostatic and cytotoxic to a variety of tumor lines in vitro, inhibits growth of tumors in animal in vivo models and is currently in Phase IIIb clinical trials for malignant mesothelioma where it displays antitumor activity with minor overall toxicity to the patient. One of the characteristic features of Onc is a synergism with a variety of other antitumor modalities. Cepharanthine (Cep), a biscoclaurine alkaloid from Stephania cepharantha Hayata, is widely used in Japan to treat variety of ailments. It also shows low toxicity to patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the interaction of these two drugs on different tumor cell lines. When human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60, histiomonocytic lymphoma U937, multiple myeloma RPMI-8228, prostate carcinoma DU 145 and prostate adenocarcinoma LNCaP cells were exposed to relatively low concentrations of Onc or Cep their growth rates were somewhat suppressed but the cells were still able to proliferate. Cell growth, however, was totally abolished in each of these cell lines when treated with Onc and Cep combined. The frequency of apoptosis was also many-fold higher in cultures treated with a combination of Onc and Cep than in respective cultures treated with Onc or Cep alone. The mechanism of the observed synergism is unclear but it may be associated with the Onc activity in targeting microRNAs and/or NFkappaB and Cep activity also targeting NFkappaB. The data suggest that the combination of these two drugs, that individually express a low toxic profile, may have strong antitumor potential.

2-Deoxy-D-glucose Reduces the Level of Constitutive Activation of ATM and Phosphorylation of Histone H2AX

Histone H2AX phosphorylated on Ser-139, defined as γH2AX, is a reporter of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). While H2AX undergoes phosphorylation after induction of DNA damage by genotoxic agents or during physiological events that involve DNA recombination, it also is phosphorylated in untreated normal and tumor cells. We recently reported that this constitutive H2AX phosphorylation (CHP) is markedly reduced by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), and postulated that it reflects the oxidative DNA damage (“endogenous DSBs”) induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by metabolic activity during progression through the cell cycle. In the present study, we provide evidence that growth of cells from three human lymphoblastoid cell lines TK6, NH32 and WTK1 in the presence of the glucose antimetabolite 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) led to a distinct reduction in the level of CHP. The reduction of CHP was more pronounced in S and G2M than in G1 phase cells. Constitutive activation of ATM was also reduced. The data suggest that a decrease in a cell’s metabolic activity as a result of inhibition of glycolysis by 2-DG reduces generation of ROS which leads to the reduction of oxidative DNA damage. The data also point out that ATM may play a role in CHP induced by oxidative DNA damage. Therefore, the assay of CHP by multiparameter cytometry provides the means to measure effects of antioxidants and metabolic inhibitors on endogenous oxidative DNA damage in relation to cell cycle phase.

Nitrogen oxide-releasing aspirin induces histone H2AX phosphorylation, ATM activation and apoptosis preferentially in S-phase cells: involvement of reactive oxygen species.

Nitric oxide-releasing acetylsalicylic acid (NO-ASA; NO-aspirin) developed as an anti-inflammatory agent that was expected to avoid some of the adverse effects of aspirin (ASA), was recently shown to be cytotoxic to cells of different tumor lines. The cytotoxic properties and potency of NO-ASA are different than those of ASA which implies that the intracellular targets for NO-ASA and ASA, and their mechanism of action, are different. The aim of the present study was to reveal whether the cytotoxicity induced by NO-ASA is mediated by damage to DNA. We observed that even brief (1 h) treatment of human B-lymphoblastoid TK6 cells with ? 5 μM NO-ASA led to DNA damage revealed by the alkaline and neutral comet assays, histone H2AX phosphorylation on Ser 139, and ATM phosphorylation on Ser 1981, a marker of activation of this kinase. The induction of H2AX phosphorylation was preferential to S-phase cells. Exposure to ? 5 μM NO-ASA for over 3 h led to apoptosis, also preferentially of S-phase cells. Apoptosis was atypical; while chromatin was highly condensed there was no evidence of nuclear fragmentation nor were the cells positive in the TUNEL assay though they did express activated caspase-3. The induction of phosphorylation of H2AX on Ser 139 by NO-ASA was markedly attenuated in the presence of N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The data imply that the NO-ASA induces DNA damage through oxidative stress; the oxidation-generated lesions provide a signal for induction of H2AX phosphorylation during DNA replication, perhaps when the progressing replication forks collide with the primary lesions converting them to DNA double-strand breaks. Because neither induction of H2AX phosphorylation nor apoptosis were observed at equimolar concentrations of ASA, the NO moiety attached to ASA appeared to mediate these effects.

Diversity of DNA damage response of astrocytes and glioblastoma cell lines with various p53 status to treatment with etoposide and temozolomide.

Phosphorylation of histone H2AX is a sensitive marker of DNA damage, particularly of DNA double strand breaks. Using multiparameter cytometry we explored effects of etoposide and temozolomide (TMZ) on three glioblastoma cell lines with different p53 status (A172, T98G, YKG-1) and on normal human astrocytes (NHA) correlating the drug-induced phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX) with cell cycle phase and induction of apoptosis. Etoposide induced γH2AX in all phases of the cell cycle in all three glioblastoma lines and led to an arrest of T98G and YKG-1 cells in S and G2/M. NHA cells were arrested in G1 with no evidence of γH2AX induction. A172 responded by rise in γH2AX throughout all phases of the cycle, arrest at the late S- to G2/M- phase, and appearance of senescence features: induction of p53, p21WAF1/CIP1, p16INK4A, and β-galactosidase, accompanied by morphological changes typical of senescence. T98G cells showed the presence of γH2AX in S phase with no evidence of cell cycle arrest. A modest degree of arrest in G1 was seen in YKG-1 cells with no rise in γH2AX. While frequency of apoptotic cells in all four TMZ-treated cell cultures was relatively low it is conceivable that the cells with extensive DNA damage were reproductively dead. The data show that neither the status of p53 (wild-type vs mutated, or inhibited by pifithrin-α) nor the expression of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase significantly affected the cell response to TMZ. Because of diversity in response to TMZ between individual glioblastoma lines our data suggest that with better understanding of the mechanisms, the treatment may have to be customized to individual patients.

An experimental study of inner ear injury in an animal model of eosinophilic otitis media

Abstract Conclusion: As the periods of intratympanic injection of ovalbumin (OVA) to the middle ear became longer, marked eosinophil infiltration in the perilymphatic space was observed. Moreover severe morphological damage of the organ of Corti was observed in the 28-day antigen-stimulation side. These results indicate that eosinophilic inflammation occurred in the inner ear and caused profound hearing loss. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the inner ear damage in a new animal model of eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) which we recently constructed. Methods: We constructed the animal model of EOM by intraperitoneal and intratympanic injection of OVA. Infiltrating cells and the inner ear damage were examined by histological study. Results: In the inner ear, a few eosinophils were seen in the scala tympani of the organ of Corti and the dilation of capillaries of the stria vascularis was observed in the 7-day stimulation side. In the 14-day antigen stimulation side, some eosinophils and macrophages were seen in not only the scala tympani but also the scala vestibule. In the 28-day antigen-stimulation side, severe morphological damage of the organ of Corti and many eosinophils, red blood cells, and plasma cells infiltrating the perilymph were observed.

Involvement of the orexin system in sympathetic nerve regulation

Orexin, also known as hypocretin, is a secreted neuropeptide implicated in the regulation of sleep and food intake. In the present study, we examined the importance of orexin in regulation of the sympathetic nervous system using an orexin/ataxin-3 transgenic (OXTg) rat, which has a minimal number of orexin neurons. RT-PCR analysis identified expression of prepro-orexin and orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG), and expression of another receptor (OX2R) was marginal in the wild-type rat. The orexin/ataxin-3 transgenic rat showed increased expression of OX1R and OX2R, whereas expression of prepro-orexin was undetectable, suggesting a compensatory increase in both receptors. In the ECG recording (R-R interval), orexin/ataxin-3 transgenic rats showed decreased responsiveness to the β-adrenergic blocker propranolol. Furthermore, OXTg rats had deteriorated R-R interval regulation, indicating involvement of the orexin system in sympathetic nerve regulation. This was accompanied by decreased baroreflex and responsiveness to β-adrenergic blocker in blood pressure recording, also suggesting involvement of the orexin system in sympathetic nerve regulation. Histological examination revealed hypotrophic changes in the transgenic heart, suggesting involvement of the orexin system in cardiac development. Taken together, our present results indicate involvement of the orexin system in sympathetic nerve control.

Clinical application of immunocytochemical detection of ALK rearrangement on cytology slides for detection or screening of lung adenocarcinoma.

UNLABELLED Immunohistochemical screening of Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement has been regarded essential and routinely carried out to select treatment for lung adenocarcinoma. However, difficulty to approach a tumor by transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB), it often fails to obtain tumor tissues whereas tumor cells are contained in cytology specimens simultaneously obtained when the bronchoscopy is done. Therefore we evaluated the expression of ALK protein by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on TBLB specimens and immunocytochemistry (ICC) on brushing smear cytology slides in the same cases, and compared the concordance rate of IHC and ICC results. ICC was carried out on routine Papanicolau-stained slides after cytology diagnosis and decolorization. RESULTS Eighteen patients with adenocarcinoma were extracted in the Hirosaki University Hospital and the Hirosaki National Hospital. IHC and ICC results showed a very high concordance rate: sensitivity of ICC in comparison with IHC was 85.7% (6/7), specificity was 100% (11/11), positive predictive value was 100% (6/6), and negative predictive value was 91.6% (11/12). Detection of ALK rearrangement using ICC on routine Papanicolau cytology slides is considered to be advantageous for lung cancer treatments.