Shigeki Tsuchida

Glutathione transferases and cancer

The glutathione transferases, a family of multifunctional proteins, catalyze the glutathione conjugation reaction with electrophilic compounds biotransformed from xenobiotics, including carcinogens. In preneoplastic cells as well as neoplastic cells, specific molecular forms of glutathione transferase are known to be expressed and have been known to participate in the mechanisms of their resistance to drugs. In this article, following a brief description of recently identified molecular forms, we review new findings regarding the respective molecular forms involved in carcinogenesis and anticancer drug resistance, with particular emphasis on Pi class forms in preneoplastic tissues. The rat Pi class form, GST-P (GST 7-7), is strongly expressed not only in hepatic foci and hepatomas, but also in initiated cells that occur at the very early stages of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis, and is regarded as one of the most reliable markers for preneoplastic lesions in the rat liver. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-responsive element-like sequences have been identified in upstream regions of the GST-P gene, and oncogene products c-jun and c-fos are suggested to activate the gene. The Pi-class forms possess unique enzymatic properties, including broad substrate specificity, glutathione peroxidase activity toward lipid hydroperoxides, low sensitivity to organic anion inhibitors, and high sensitivity to active oxygen species. The possible functions of Pi class glutathione transferases in neoplastic tissues and drug-resistant cells are discussed.

Biochemical and immunological demonstration of prostaglandin D2, E2, and F2α formation from prostaglandin H2 by various rat glutathione S-transferase isozymes

Glutathione S-transferase isozymes purified from normal rat liver (1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-3, 3-4, and 4-4), liver with hyperplastic nodules (7-7), brain (Yn1Yn1), and testis (Yn1Yn2) all had prostaglandin H2-converting activity. The prostaglandin H2 E-isomerase activity was high in 1-1 (1400 nmol/min/mg protein), 1-2 (1170), and 2-2 (420), moderate in 3-3, 3-4, 4-4, Yn1Yn1, and Yn1Yn2 (52-100), and weak but significant in 7-7 (33). The prostaglandin H2 D-isomerase activity was relatively high in 1-1 (170) and 1-2 (200), moderate in 2-2 (60) and Yn1Yn2 (43), and weak but marked in 3-3 (16), 4-4 (16), and 7-7 (14). The prostaglandin H2 F-reductase activity was remarkable in 1-1 (1250), 1-2 (920), and 2-2 (390), and weakly detected in 3-3 (24), 4-4 (28), and 7-7 (14). Glutathione was absolutely required for these prostaglandin H2-converting reactions, and its stoichiometric consumption was associated with F-reductase activity but not E- and D-isomerase activities. The Km values for glutathione and prostaglandin H2 were about 200 and 10-40 microM, respectively. By immunoabsorption analyses with various antibodies specific for each isozyme, we examined its contribution to the formation of prostaglandins D2, E2, and F2 alpha from prostaglandin H2 in 100,000g supernatants of rat liver, kidney, and testis. In the liver, about 90% of the F-reductase activity (9.8 nmol/min/mg protein) was shown to be catalyzed by the 1-2 group of isozymes. The E-isomerase activity (16.5) was catalyzed about 60 and 40% by the 1-2 and 3-4 groups, respectively; and the D-isomerase activity (3.7) was catalyzed by the 1-2 group (50%) and the 3-4 group and Yn1Yn2 (15-25%). In the kidney, the E-isomerase activity (9.4) was catalyzed by 1-1, 1-2 (40%), 2-2, 3-4 group, and 7-7 (10-20%). The F-reductase activity (3.3) was mostly catalyzed by the 1-2 group (75%). In the testis, the E-isomerase activity (3.9) was catalyzed by the 1-2 group (20-30%), the 3-4 group, and Yn1Yn2 (30-60%).

Activation of mouse Pi-class glutathione S-transferase gene by Nrf2 (NF-E2-related factor 2) and androgen

The Pi-class glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play pivotal roles in the detoxification of xenobiotics, carcinogenesis and drug resistance. The mechanisms of regulation of these genes during drug induction and carcinogenesis are yet to be elucidated. Recently, Nrf2 (NF-E2-related factor 2; a bZip-type transcription factor) knockout mice were shown to display impaired induction of Pi-class GST genes by drugs. It is known that the mouse Pi-class GST gene GST-P1 is expressed predominantly in the male liver, and is regulated by androgen. To determine whether Nrf2 and the androgen receptor regulate GST-P1 directly, we analysed the molecular mechanism of activation of this gene by these factors. The promoter of the GST-P1 gene was activated markedly by Nrf2 in transient transfection analyses. Gel mobility shift assay and footprinting analyses revealed three Nrf2 binding sites: one at the proximal and two at distal elements, located at positions -59, -915 and -937 from the cap site. The fifth intron of the GST-P1 gene contains the androgen-responsive region. Multiple androgen receptor binding sites are clustered within a 500 bp region of this intron. The whole fragment contains a minimum of seven androgen receptor binding sites, which collectively display strong androgen-dependent enhancer activity. However, on division into small fragments containing two or three elements each, individual enhancer activities were dramatically decreased. This suggests that multiple elements work synergistically as a strong androgen-responsive enhancer. Our findings indicate that Nrf2 and the androgen receptor directly bind to and activate the mouse GST-P1 gene.

Induction of differentiation and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ expression in colon cancer cell lines by troglitazone

Purpose We investigated the relationship between the effects of troglitazone (TGZ) on cellular growth, differentiation and apoptosis induction, and the induction of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ in three human colon cancer cell lines, HCT-15, DLD-1and LoVo.Methods Viable cell number was evaluated by the Alamar blue assay and apoptotic cell death by TUNEL methods. Expression of PPARγ mRNA and protein was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. The differentiation markers of colonic mucosa, villin and MUC2 mRNAs, were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR.Results HCT-15 and DLD-1 cells proliferated rapidly while LoVo cells grew slowly. TGZ dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of all the cell lines, and also induced apoptotic cell death. High expression of PPARγ mRNA and protein was demonstrated in DLD-1 and LoVo cells before TGZ treatment. After the treatment, PPARγ mRNA and protein levels were increased in HCT-15 and LoVo cells. Villin and MUC2 mRNAs were increased by TGZ treatment in HCT-15 cells while villin mRNA was repressed in LoVo cells. Changes in expression of PPARγ, villin or MUC2 mRNAs were not observed in DLD-1 cells.Conclusions These results suggest that PPARγ levels are not correlated with the rates of cell proliferation. Differentiation induction by TGZ was only observed in the cell lines with enhanced PPARγ expression.

Clofibric acid, a peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor α ligand, inhibits growth of human ovarian cancer

Recent reports have shown that peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR)α ligands reduce growth of some types of malignant tumors and prevent carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of clofibric acid (CA), a ligand for PPARα on growth of ovarian malignancy, in in vivo and in vitro experiments using OVCAR-3 and DISS cells derived from human ovarian cancer and aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of its antitumor effect. CA treatment significantly suppressed the growth of OVCAR-3 tumors xenotransplanted s.c. and significantly prolonged the survival of mice with malignant ascites derived from DISS cells as compared with control. CA also dose-dependently inhibited cell proliferation of cultured cell lines. CA treatment increased the expression of carbonyl reductase (CR), which promotes the conversion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to PGF2α, in implanted OVCAR-3 tumors as well as cultured cells. CA treatment decreased PGE2 level as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) amount in both of OVCAR-3–tumor and DISS-derived ascites. Reduced microvessel density and induced apoptosis were found in solid OVCAR-3 tumors treated by CA. Transfection of CR expression vector into mouse ovarian cancer cells showed significant reduction of PGE2 level as well as VEGF expression. These results indicate that CA produces potent antitumor effects against ovarian cancer in conjunction with a reduction of angiogenesis and induction of apoptosis. We conclude that CA could be an effective agent in ovarian cancer and should be tested alone and in combination with other anticancer drugs. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(4):1379–86]

Modulation of Class Pi glutathione transferase activity by sulfhydryl group modification

Glutathione transferases (GSTs) in Class Pi (rat GST-P (7-7) and human GST-pi) were inactivated by treatment with 0.05-1 mM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), while GSTs in Class Alpha (1-2) and Class Mu (3-3, 3-4) were not, even with 5 mM H2O2. In the presence of 1 mM reduced glutathione (GSH), the inactivated GST-P (-pi) was effectively reactivated by the action of thioltransferase, which had been partially purified from rat liver by GSH-Sepharose affinity chromatography and gel filtration using Sephadex G-75. Thus, inactivation of GST-P by H2O2 was indicated to involve concomitant formation of disulfide bonds between cysteinyl residues. Single GST-P or GST-pi subunits are known to have four cysteinyl residues at the same positions, which can react with sulfhydryl group modifiers. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, GST-P treated with 1 mM H2O2 showed several extra bands, at least three, with apparent molecular weights of 21.5, 18, 37 kDa in addition to the native GST-P subunit band with a molecular weight of 23.5 kDa. These extra bands were identified as inactive forms since they returned to the native band with accompanying restoration of the activity when treated with dithiothreitol, mercaptoethanol, or thioltransferase. Disulfide bonds were formed mainly within subunits, causing an apparent reduction in molecular weight, only small amounts of binding between subunits being observed.

Drug resistance to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) in Chinese hamster ovary cell lines transfected with glutathione S-transferase pi gene

Establishment of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines expressing human glutathione S-transferase-pi (GST-pi) was performed after cotransfection of pSV2-neo and human GST-pi cDNA-carrying plasmid p beta actGPi-2. About 30 G418-resistant clones were tested for their expression of GST-pi by Northern blot analysis. Two clones, beta 2-3 and beta 2-5, expressed a significant amount of GST-pi mRNA; and one clone, beta 1-1, that did not was also used for further study. Western blot analysis with anti-GST-pi antibody showed significant increases of GST-pi in beta 2-3 and beta 2-5, but not in beta 1-1. Northern blot analysis with the human GST-pi cDNA probe showed that the increase in the expression of GST-pi-mRNA in beta 2-3 and beta 2-5 was respectively 2- and 4-fold higher than that in beta 1-1. Southern blotting analysis showed that beta 1-1, beta 2-3 and beta 2-5 contained about one copy of the human GST-pi cDNA sequence. beta 2-3 and beta 2-5 were resistant to 1.4- and 3.0-fold higher doses of CDDP than CHO, respectively, but beta 1-1 was not. Increased expression of GST-pi might be associated with CDDP-resistance in CHO cells.

Carbonyl reductase as a significant predictor of survival and lymph node metastasis in epithelial ovarian cancer.

We have recently reported a novel function for carbonyl reductase (CR), namely, its ability to modulate the metastatic potential of malignant mouse cells. Because there are currently no data addressing a similar function for CR in human cancers, the aim of this study was to assess a correlation between survival and metastasis, and CR level in epithelial ovarian cancer. Using anti-CR antibody, immunohistochemical staining was performed on 73 epithelial ovarian cancers, 13 borderline malignant tumours, and 25 benign ovarian tumours for a total of 111 specimens. The combined rate for strongly and weakly positive reactions for CR was 32.0% for benign tumours, 38.5% for borderline malignant tumours, and 61.6% for ovarian cancers. The CR-positive rate was 35.7% (weakly positive alone) for ovarian cancers with retroperitoneal lymph node (RLN) metastasis and 67.8% for those without RLN metastasis (P< 0.05). The 5-year survival rate was 62.7% for the patients with CR-negative cancer and 86.1% for those with CR-positive cancer (P< 0.05). The present results indicate that decreased CR expression in epithelial ovarian cancer is associated with RLN metastasis and poor survival.

Role of cysteine residues in the activity of rat glutathione transferase P (7-7): Elucidation by oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis☆

To clarify the role(s) of thiol (sulfhydryl) groups of cysteine (Cys) residues in the activity of the rat glutathione transferase P (7-7) form (GST-P), a cDNA clone, pGP5, containing the entire coding sequence of GST-P (Y. Sugioka et al., (1985) Nucleic Acids Res. 13, 6044-6057) was inserted into the expression vector pKK233-2 and the recombinant GST-P (rGST-P) expressed in E. coli JM109. All four Cys residues in rGST-P were independently substituted with alanine (Ala) by site-directed mutagenesis, the resultant mutants as well as the rGST-P being identical to GST-P purified from liver preneoplastic nodules with regard to molecular weight and immunochemical staining. Since all mutants proved as enzymatically active towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as liver GST-P, it was indicated that none of the four Cys residues is essential for GST-P activity. However, the mutant with Ala at the 47th position from the N-terminus (Ala47) became resistant to irreversible inactivation by 0.1 mM N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), whereas the other three mutants remained as sensitive as the nonmutant type (rGST-P). Ala47 was also resistant to inactivation by the physiological disulfides, cystamine or cystine, which cause mixed disulfide and/or intra- or inter-subunit disulfide bond formation. These results suggest that the 47-Cys residue of GST-P may be located near the glutathione binding site, and modulation of this residue by thiol/disulfide exchange may play an important role in regulation of activity.

Characterization of cell death induced by ethacrynic acid in a human colon cancer cell line DLD-1 and suppression by N-acetyl-L-cysteine.

Since ethacrynic acid (EA), an SH modifier as well as glutathione S‐transferase (GST) inhibitor, has been suggested to induce apoptosis in some cell lines, its effects on a human colon cancer cell line DLD‐1 were examined. EA enhanced cell proliferation at 20–40 μM, while it caused cell death at 60–100 μM. Caspase inhibitors did not block cell death and DNA ladder formation was not detected. Poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase, however, was cleaved into an 82‐kDa fragment, different from an 85‐kDa fragment that is specific for apoptosisis. The 82‐kDa fragment was not recognized by antibody against PARP fragment cleaved by caspase 3. N‐Acetyl‐l‐cysteine (NAC) completely inhibited EA‐induced cell death, but 3(2)‐t‐butyl‐4‐hydroxyanisole or pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate ammonium salt did not. Glutathione (GSH) levels were dose‐dependently increased in cells treated with EA and this increase was hardly affected by NAC addition. Mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) 1, extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) 1 and GST P1‐1 were increased in cells treated with 25–75 μM EA, while c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) 1 and p38 MAPK were markedly decreased by 100 μM EA. NAC repressed EA‐induced alterations in these MAPKs and GST P1‐1. p38 MAPK inhibitors, SB203580 and FR167653, dose‐dependently enhanced EA‐induced cell death. An MEK inhibitor, U0126, did not affect EA‐induced cell death. These studies revealed that EA induced cell death concomitantly with a novel PARP fragmentation, but without DNA fragmentation. p38 MAPK was suggested to play an inhibitory role in EA‐induced cell death.