Denis Mottet

CoCl2, a Chemical Inducer of Hypoxia‐Inducible Factor‐1, and Hypoxia Reduce Apoptotic Cell Death in Hepatoma Cell Line HepG2

Abstract: HIF‐1 (hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1) is the major transcription factor that is specifically activated during hypoxia. This transcription factor is composed of two subunits: HIF‐1α and ARNT (aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator). ARNT is constitutively expressed, whereas HIF‐1α is targeted to proteasome degradation by ubiquitination during normoxia. In hypoxia, HIF‐1α is stabilized and translocates to the nucleus, where it binds to ARNT. The active HIF‐1 induces expression of various genes whose products play an adaptive role to the new conditions induced by hypoxia. Besides the role played by HIF‐1 in the adaptation to hypoxia, recent data describe a possible role for HIF‐1 in the modulation of apoptosis. According to some authors, hypoxia induces apoptosis. However, it has also been reported that hypoxia could protect cells against apoptotic cell death induced by various agents such as serum deprivation and incubation in the presence of chemotherapy agents. These contradictory data suggest that HIF‐1 could display either a proapoptotic or an antiapoptotic role according to the conditions. In order to study how HIF‐1 can modulate apoptosis, we studied whether hypoxia or cobalt chloride, a chemical inducer of HIF‐1, could influence apoptosis induced by tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (t‐BHP), serum deprivation, or both in hepatoma cell line HepG2. HepG2 cells were incubated 8 hours under normoxia or hypoxia in the presence of t‐BHP with or without CoCl2. CoCl2 reduced the apoptotic death of HepG2 cells induced by t‐BHP and serum deprivation, as measured by DNA fragmentation. This effect was confirmed by measurement of the caspase activity. Moreover, hypoxia also prevented t‐BHP‐ or serum deprivation‐induced DNA fragmentation and caspase activation‐however, to a lower extent than CoCl2. These different data suggest a possible antiapoptotic role of HIF‐1. More experiments are needed to define if HIF‐1 actually plays an active role in cell death protection and to determine the exact mechanism underlying this effect.

Histone Deacetylase 7 Silencing Alters Endothelial Cell Migration, a Key Step in Angiogenesis

Global inhibition of class I and II histone deacetylases (HDACs) impairs angiogenesis. Herein, we have undertaken the identification of the specific HDAC(s) with activity that is necessary for the development of blood vessels. Using small interfering RNAs, we observed that HDAC7 silencing in endothelial cells altered their morphology, their migration, and their capacity to form capillary tube-like structures in vitro but did not affect cell adhesion, proliferation, or apoptosis. Among several factors known to be involved in angiogenesis, platelet-derived growth factor-B (PDGF-B) and its receptor (PDGFR-&bgr;) were the most upregulated genes following HDAC7 silencing. We demonstrated that their increased expression induced by HDAC7 silencing was partially responsible for the inhibition of endothelial cell migration. In addition, we have also shown that treatment of endothelial cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate resulted in the exportation of HDAC7 out of the nucleus through a protein kinase C/protein kinase D activation pathway and induced, similarly to HDAC7 silencing, an increase in PDGF-B expression, as well as a partial inhibition of endothelial cell migration. Collectively, these data identified HDAC7 as a key modulator of endothelial cell migration and hence angiogenesis, at least in part, by regulating PDGF-B/PDGFR-&bgr; gene expression. Because angiogenesis is required for tumor progression, HDAC7 may represent a rational target for therapeutic intervention against cancer.

Histone deacetylases: target enzymes for cancer therapy

Epigenic regulation of gene transcription has recently been the subject of a fast growing interest particularly in the field of cancer. Enzymatic acetylation and deacetylation of the epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues from nucleosomal histones, represents major molecular epigenic mechanisms controlling gene expression. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyl transferases (HAT) represent the two families of enzymes in charge of the control of the level of acetylation of the histone tails. By removing the acetyl groups that abrogate the positive charge of the lysine residues that maintain the histone tails attached to DNA, HDACs repress transcription. In mammals, these latter enzymes form three groups of related enzymes based on their sequence homology and are classified as HDACs I, II and III. Global inhibition of the HDACs I and II groups results in cell growth arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells and alters tumor growth in in vivo experimental models. Their surprisingly low general toxicity and their impressive efficiency in preclinical cancer models has led to consider HDAC inhibitors as very promising new anticancer pharmacological agents. In this review, we attempt to give a comprehensive overview of the role and the involvement of HDAC in carcinogenesis as well as the current progress on the development of HDAC general and specific inhibitors as new cancer therapies.

HDAC4 represses p21 WAF1/Cip1 expression in human cancer cells through a Sp1-dependent, p53-independent mechanism

Cancer cells have complex, unique characteristics that distinguish them from normal cells, such as increased growth rates and evasion of anti-proliferative signals. Global inhibition of class I and II histone deacetylases (HDACs) stops cancer cell proliferation in vitro and has proven effective against cancer in clinical trials, at least in part, through transcriptional reactivation of the p21WAF1/Cip1gene. The HDACs that regulate p21WAF1/Cip1 are not fully identified. Using small interfering RNAs, we found that HDAC4 participates in the repression of p21WAF1/Cip1 through Sp1/Sp3-, but not p53-binding sites. HDAC4 interacts with Sp1, binds and reduces histone H3 acetylation at the Sp1/Sp3 binding site-rich p21WAF1/Cip1 proximal promoter, suggesting a key role for Sp1 in HDAC4-mediated repression of p21WAF1/Cip1. Induction of p21WAF1/Cip1 mediated by silencing of HDAC4 arrested cancer cell growth in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in an in vivo human glioblastoma model. Thus, HDAC4 could be a useful target for new anti-cancer therapies based on selective inhibition of specific HDACs.

HIF-1 and AP-1 Cooperate to Increase Gene Expression in Hypoxia: Role of MAP Kinases

HIF‐1 is the main transcription factor responsible for increased gene expression in hypoxia: VEGF, erythropoietin, GLUT‐1, and glycolytic enzymes are such target genes and all participate in the adaptative response of cells to hypoxia. AP‐1 activation by hypoxia has also been demonstrated in several cell lines and it cooperates with HIF‐1 for increasing VEGF gene transcription in hypoxia. Both HIF‐1 and AP‐1 activation by hypoxia seems to involve members of the MAP kinase family. Here, we summarize the data indicating that ERK and JNK are needed for activation of HIF‐1 and AP‐1, respectively.

HDAC5 is required for maintenance of pericentric heterochromatin, and controls cell-cycle progression and survival of human cancer cells

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) form a family of enzymes, which have fundamental roles in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression and contribute to the growth, differentiation, and apoptosis of cancer cells. In this study, we further investigated the biological function of HDAC5 in cancer cells. We found HDAC5 is associated with actively replicating pericentric heterochromatin during late S phase. We demonstrated that specific depletion of HDAC5 by RNA interference resulted in profound changes in the heterochromatin structure and slowed down ongoing replication forks. This defect in heterochromatin maintenance and assembly are sensed by DNA damage checkpoint pathways, which triggered cancer cells to autophagy and apoptosis, and arrested their growth both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we also demonstrated that HDAC5 depletion led to enhanced sensitivity of DNA to DNA-damaging agents, suggesting that heterochromatin de-condensation induced by histone HDAC5 silencing may enhance the efficacy of cytotoxic agents that act by targeting DNA in vitro. Together, these results highlighted for the first time an unrecognized link between HDAC5 and the maintenance/assembly of heterochromatin structure, and demonstrated that its specific inhibition might contribute to increase the efficacy of DNA alteration-based cancer therapies in clinic.

Histone deacetylases: anti-angiogenic targets in cancer therapy.

Judah Folkman was the first in 1971 to observe and report that cancer growth and dissemination were dependent on angiogenesis - the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature. For almost 40 years, this concept has inspired generations of researchers to identify anti-angiogenic molecules that could be used therapeutically to stop blood vessels formation and starve tumors of nutrients and oxygen. Tumor angiogenesis requires complex cellular and molecular interactions between endothelial and cancer cells. In response to external stimuli such as hypoxia, cancer cells secrete pro-angiogenic factors into the extracellular matrix that activate the surrounding endothelial cells to proliferate, migrate and form new blood vessels. So, vascularization of malignant lesions depends on the expression of specific genes in both endothelial and tumor cells and accumulating evidences shows that several members of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) family play key roles in the regulation of these genes. Indeed, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that inhibitors of HDAC modulate angiogenic gene expression in both endothelial and cancer cells and disturb the delicate and complex balance between the collective action of pro-angiogenic factors and angiogenesis inhibitors. Thus, HDAC are currently recognized as promising targets for the development of anti-cancer drugs. This review is an effort to present and discuss the role, functions and mechanisms of action of HDAC during tumor-driven angiogenesis as well as a brief summary of the clinical status of the main HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) currently under development in cancer therapy.

Dentin matrix protein 1 induces membrane expression of VE-cadherin on endothelial cells and inhibits VEGF-induced angiogenesis by blocking VEGFR-2 phosphorylation

Dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) is a member of the small integrin-binding ligand N-linked glycoprotein (SIBLING) family, a group of proteins initially described as mineralized extracellular matrices components. More recently, SIBLINGs have been implicated in several key steps of cancer progression, including angiogenesis. Although proangiogenic activities have been demonstrated for 2 SIBLINGs, the role of DMP1 in angiogenesis has not yet been addressed. We demonstrate that this extracellular matrix protein induced the expression of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin), a key regulator of intercellular junctions and contact inhibition of growth of endothelial cells that is also known to modulate vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) activity, the major high-affinity receptor for VEGF. DMP1 induced VE-cadherin and p27(Kip1) expression followed by cell-cycle arrest in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a CD44-dependent manner. VEGF-induced proliferation, migration, and tubulogenesis responses were specifically blocked on DMP1 pretreatment of HUVECs. Indeed, after VE-cadherin induction, DMP1 inhibited VEGFR-2 phosphorylation and Src-mediated signaling. However, DMP1 did not interfere with basic fibroblast growth factor-induced angiogenesis. In vivo, DMP1 significantly reduced laser-induced choroidal neovascularization lesions and tumor-associated angiogenesis. These data enable us to put DMP1 on the angiogenic chessboard for the first time and to identify this protein as a new specific inhibitor of VEGF-induced angiogenesis.

The Anti-Tumor Effect of HDAC Inhibition in a Human Pancreas Cancer Model Is Significantly Improved by the Simultaneous Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase 2

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with no satisfactory treatment to date. In this study, we tested whether the combined inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and class I histone deacetylase (HDAC) may results in a better control of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The impact of the concomitant HDAC and COX-2 inhibition on cell growth, apoptosis and cell cycle was assessed first in vitro on human pancreas BxPC-3, PANC-1 or CFPAC-1 cells treated with chemical inhibitors (SAHA, MS-275 and celecoxib) or HDAC1/2/3/7 siRNA. To test the potential antitumoral activity of this combination in vivo, we have developed and characterized, a refined chick chorioallantoic membrane tumor model that histologically and proteomically mimics human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The combination of HDAC1/3 and COX-2 inhibition significantly impaired proliferation of BxPC-3 cells in vitro and stalled entirely the BxPC-3 cells tumor growth onto the chorioallantoic membrane in vivo. The combination was more effective than either drug used alone. Consistently, we showed that both HDAC1 and HDAC3 inhibition induced the expression of COX-2 via the NF-kB pathway. Our data demonstrate, for the first time in a Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) model, a significant action of HDAC and COX-2 inhibitors on cancer cell growth, which sets the basis for the development of potentially effective new combinatory therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients.

An Easy, Convenient Cell and Tissue Extraction Protocol for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomics

INTRODUCTION As a complement to the classic metabolomics biofluid studies, the visualisation of the metabolites contained in cells or tissues could be a very powerful tool to understand how the local metabolism and biochemical pathways could be affected by external or internal stimuli or pathologies. Therefore, extraction and/or lysis is necessary to obtain samples adapted for use with the current analytical tools (liquid NMR and MS). These extraction or lysis work-ups are often the most labour-intensive and rate-limiting steps in metabolomics, as they require accuracy and repeatability as well as robustness. Many of the procedures described in the literature appear to be very time-consuming and not easily amenable to automation. OBJECTIVE To find a fast, simplified procedure that allows release of the metabolites from cells and tissues in a way that is compatible with NMR analysis. METHODS We assessed the use of sonication to disrupt cell membranes or tissue structures. Both a vibrating probe and an automated bath sonicator were explored. RESULTS The application of sonication as the disruption procedure led to reproducible NMR spectral data compatible with metabolomics studies. This method requires only a small biological tissue or cell sample, and a rapid, reduced work-up was applied before analysis. The spectral patterns obtained are comparable with previous, well-described extraction protocols. CONCLUSION The rapidity and the simplicity of this approach could represent a suitable alternative to the other protocols. Additionally, this approach could be favourable for high- throughput applications in intracellular and intratissular metabolite measurements.