Moriaki Hayashi

Mechanisms of Growth Inhibition of Human Lung Cancer Cell Line, PC-9, by Tea Polyphenols

(–)‐Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the main constituent of green tea, and green tea extract show growth inhibition of various cancer cell lines, such as lung, mammary, and stomach. We studied how tea polyphenols induce growth inhibition of cancer cells. Since green tea extract contains various tea polyphenols, such as EGCG, (–)‐epigallocatechin (EGC), (–)‐epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (–)‐epicatechin (EC), the inhibitory potential of each tea polyphenol on the growth of a human lung cancer cell line, PC‐9 cells, was first examined. EGC and ECG inhibited the growth of PC‐9 cells as potently as did EGCG, but EC did not show significant growth inhibition. The mechanism of growth inhibition by EGCG was studied in relation to cell cycle regulation. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that treatment with 50 μM and 100 μM EGCG increased the percentages of cells in the G2‐M phase from 13.8% to 15.6% and 24.1%, respectively. The DNA histogram after treatment with 100 μM EGCG was similar to that after treatment with genistein, suggesting that EGCG induces G2‐M arrest in PC‐9 cells. Moreover, we found by microautoradiography that [3H]EGCG was incorporated into the cytosol, as well as the nuclei. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of action of EGCG and green tea extract as cancer‐preventive agents in humans.

Identity of a differentiation inhibiting factor for mouse myeloid leukemia cells with NM23/nucleoside diphosphate kinase.

Mouse myeloid leukemic line M1 cells can be induced to differentiate into the monocyte/macrophage pathway by various inducers. The induction of differentiation of M1 cells can be inhibited by protein inhibitors termed differentiation inhibiting factors (I-factors) in a cell lysate and conditioned medium of differentiation resistant M1 cells. Production of the I-factor activity in resistant M1 cells is well associated with development of resistance of M1 cells to differentiation inducers. We have now purified one of the I-factors from conditioned medium of differentiation resistant M1 cells. The purified I-factor has a relative molecular mass of approximately 16000-17000 Da (16K I-factor). The amino acid sequence of all fragments of the 16K I-factor we have found are identical with Nm23/nucleoside diphosphate kinase (EC2.7.4.6) protein involved in tumor metastasis. The findings indicate that the I-factor, a candidate suppressor protein for differentiation of leukemic cells, is Nm23/nucleoside diphosphate kinase protein.

Molecular markers for reinforcement of histological subclassification of neuroendocrine lung tumors

The degree of malignancy of neuroendocrine lung tumors (NEs) increases in this order: from typical carcinoids (TCs) through atypical carcinoids (ACs) to large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNECs) and small cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs). However, histological classification has sometimes proved difficult. We here investigated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) using eight microsatellite markers and expression of p53, Bcl‐2 and Bax proteins using immunohistochemical methods in 57 NEs (19 TCs, 5 ACs, 14 LCNECs and 19 SCLCs), looking for objective genetic markers to distinguish between subtypes. The frequencies of LOHs on D3S1300, RBi2 and TP53, the combinations of LOH status for RBi2 and TP53, and the immunohistochemically demonstrated Bcl‐2/Bax ratios and p53‐positive rates significantly differed among histopathologically diagnosed NEs. Differentiation between TC and AC was possible with reference to LOH on D3S1300, RBi2 and TP53, and the combined LOH status on RBi2 and TP53 (i.e., both LOH(‐) versus one LOH(+)). For comparison between AC and LCNEC+SCLC, LOH on TP53 or the combination of two markers—one LOH(+) versus both LOH(+)—was applied. Furthermore, in three discordant cases of diagnoses based on histology and LOH markers, diagnoses using the latter were considered to be more probable by survival analysis. The present study indicated that assessment of LOHs using microsatellite markers could provide objective markers that can distinguish subtypes of NEs, for which histological assessment may commonly result in disagreement.

Different Subtypes of Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Caused by Different Etiological Factors : Evidence from p53 Mutational Spectra

Human lung adenocarcinomas are only relatively weakly associated with tobacco smoke, and other etiological factors need to be clarified. These may also vary with the histopathology. Because the p53 mutation status (frequency and spectrum) of a carcinoma can provide clues to causative agents, we subclassified 113 adenocarcinomas into five cell types: hobnail, columnar/cuboidal, mixed, polygonal, and goblet (54, 23, 18, 13, and 5, respectively) and investigated relationships with p53 mutations and smoking history. In the hobnail cell type, a low mutational frequency (37%) and a high proportion of transitions (65%), especially G:C to A:T transitions at CpG dinucleotides (45%) associated with spontaneous mutations, were found with a weak relation to tobacco smoke. In contrast, a high mutation frequency (70%) with a higher proportion of transversions (50%), especially G:C to T:A (44%) on the nontranscribed DNA strand, caused by exogenous carcinogenic agents like tobacco smoke, were observed for the columnar cell type, as with squamous cell carcinomas. These results indicate that two major subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma exist, one probably caused by tobacco smoke, and the other possibly due to spontaneous mutations. For the prevention of lung adenocarcinomas, in addition to stopping tobacco smoking, the elucidation of endogenous mechanisms is important.

Abnormal FHIT transcripts found in both lung cancer and normal lung tissue.

Occurrence of abnormal transcripts of the FHIT (fragile histidine triad) gene has been reported in various types of cancer. On the other hand, aberrant transcripts are sometimes found in non‐neoplastic tissues, so the relationship between the presence of abnormal transcripts of the FHIT gene and cancer pathogenesis is controversial. We investigated alterations in the FHIT locus, detected by nested reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and/or allelic status, in 88 primary lung cancers and normal lung tissues, and 22 normal lung tissues with metastasitic lung cancer as a control. The frequencies of abnormal transcripts were 59% in lung cancer, 35% in paired normal lung, and 64% in normal control lung; the difference in frequencies between lung cancer and paired normal lung was significant, while that between lung cancer and normal control lung was not. Sequence analysis revealed that there were no cancer‐specific abnormal transcripts entirely missing two or more exons, nor were the abnormal transcripts of lung cancer identical with those of paired normal lung in the same individual. Furthermore, we found no correlation between loss of heterozygosity in the FHIT locus and occurrence of abnormal FHIT transcripts. These results suggest that the presence of abnormal FHIT transcripts, in terms of their frequency and variety, is not cancer‐specific in lung carcinogenesis, and the abnormality may be mainly due to abnormal splicing and processing of the transcripts. To estimate the precise function of the FHIT gene, further study of the FHIT protein in lung carcinogenesis is needed. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 24:105–111, 1999.

Three New Regions on Chromosome 17p13.3 Distal to p53 with Possible Tumor Suppressor Gene Involvement in Lung Cancer

We investigated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the distal portion of the p53 gene on the short arm of chromosome 17 in lung cancers in order to search for new tumor suppressor genes. The roles of the putative genes were also studied in terms of pathological features. One hundred and forty‐five resected non‐small cell lung cancers were examined for LOH using 11 markers mapped on, and distal to the p53 locus, and deletion maps were constructed. Four commonly deleted regions were found: one from TP53 to ENO3, where the p53 gene resides, and three others from ENO3 to D17S1566, D17S379 to D17S1574 and distal to ABR, with LOH frequencies almost the same as, or higher than, at the TP53 locus. Examination of the relationship between LOH of the latter three regions and histopathological parameters of adenocarcinomas (genetically negative for p53 mutation) revealed allelic losses on D17S379 to be associated with advanced lesions, while D17S513 was more frequently deleted in poorly differentiated tumors. These results indicate that new tumor suppressor gene(s) may reside on these three distinctly deleted regions on chromosome 17p13.3 distal to the p53 gene in lung cancer, with possible roles in progression and differentiation of adenocarcinomas.

Inhibitory action of transforming growth factor-β on induction of differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells

The effect of transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) on induction of differentiation of mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells was investigated. TGF‐β1 induced adherence of M1 cells to plastic dishes and inhibited their proliferation. However, it did not induce differentiation‐associated properties, such as phagocytic activity, lysozyme activity or morphological maturation. TGF‐β1 also caused dosedependent inhibition of dexamethasone‐induced differentiation of M1 cells. The inhibitory activity of TGF‐β1 was 20 times that of TGF‐β2 on M1 cells. These results suggest that TGF‐β1 inhibits proliferation and dexamethasone‐induced differentiation of M1 cells by interacting with receptors that can distinguish between TGF‐β1 and TGF‐β2. TGF‐β1 had a much lower inhibitory effect on the growth of a variant M1 cell clone, which was resistant to differentiation inducers, and it did not induce adherence of the resistant M1 cells.

Effects of inducers of erythroid differentiation of human leukemia K562 cells on vincristine-resistant K562/VCR cells

K562/VCR cells, which are resistant to the cytotoxicity of vincristine, were isolated from human erythroleukemia K562 cells. Various compounds that induce erythroid differentiation of K562 cells were tested on K562/VCR cells. Differentiation of K562/VCR cells was not induced by actinomycin D or adriamycin alone, but the resistance of these cells to the inducers was overcome by verapamil. In contrast, mitomycin C, butyric acid and hemin induced differentiation of K562/VCR cells as effectively as that of K562 cells. These results suggest that therapy by induction of differentiation of leukemic cells is effective for leukemic cells that have acquired resistance to therapeutic drugs.

Differentiation of isotope-labeled myeloid leukemia cells free in the peritoneal cavity of syngeneic mice

Ml cells were labeled in vitro with [3H]thymidine and injected into the peritoneal cavity of syngeneic mice. After several days the peritoneal cells were harvested and [3H]labeled cells were determined by autoradiography. The inoculated isotope-labeled Ml cells differentiated in the peritoneal cavity and lipopolysaccharide, an inducer of cell differentiation, significantly stimulated differentiation. These results provide direct evidence that Ml cells can be induced to differentiate in vivo under conditions in which leukemia can develop.

Inducibility of terminal differentiation in daunomycin- and cytosine arabinoside-resistant mouse myeloid leukemia M1 cells☆

Studies were made on whether differentiation and proliferation of antitumor drug-resistant leukemia cells could be controlled by specific inducers of terminal differentiation. Leukemia subclones resistant to daunomycin and/or cytosine arabinoside were isolated from differentiation-inducible mouse myeloid leukemia M1-B24 cells by selection with these antitumor drugs. The drug-resistant cells were found to retain their potential for terminal differentiation induced by various inducers, such as a protein inducer in the conditioned medium of mouse L929 cells, dexamethasone, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, 2-[2-(dodecyloxy)ethoxy]ethyl 2-pyridinioethyl phosphate, and poly I. Differentiated cells showed morphological changes to mature macrophage-like cells, increase in phagocytic activity, and decrease in proliferative activity. Clonal analysis of M1-B24 cells showed that the cellular responses to the protein inducer of differentiation were not significantly different between drug-resistant clones selected with anti-tumor drugs and control (drug-sensitive) clones randomly isolated without selection. These results suggest that induction of differentiation of leukemic cells with the specific inducers is another approach to control the drug-resistant leukemia.