sirolimus and afimoxifene

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of cellular self-digestion in which proteins and organelles are degraded through delivery to lysosomes. Defects in this process are implicated in numerous human diseases including cancer. To further elucidate regulatory mechanisms of autophagy, we performed a functional screen in search of microRNAs (miRNAs), which regulate the autophagic flux in breast cancer cells. In this study, we identified the tumour suppressive miRNA, miR-101, as a potent inhibitor of basal, etoposide- and rapamycin-induced autophagy. Through transcriptome profiling, we identified three novel miR-101 targets, STMN1, RAB5A and ATG4D. siRNA-mediated depletion of these genes phenocopied the effect of miR-101 overexpression, demonstrating their importance in autophagy regulation. Importantly, overexpression of STMN1 could partially rescue cells from miR-101-mediated inhibition of autophagy, indicating a functional importance for this target. Finally, we show that miR-101-mediated inhibition of autophagy can sensitize breast cancer cells to 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT)-mediated cell death. Collectively, these data establish a novel link between two highly important and rapidly growing research fields and present a new role for miR-101 as a key regulator of autophagy.

Topics: Autophagy; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Cysteine Endopeptidases; Etoposide; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; MicroRNAs; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; rab5 GTP-Binding Proteins; RNA Interference; RNA, Small Interfering; Sirolimus; Stathmin; Tamoxifen

Interactions between estrogen receptor signaling and the PI3K/Akt pathway are present in estrogen-dependent cancer cells. Therapeutical inhibition of each of these pathways has been proven to exert antitumoral effects. Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a downstream target of Akt, is able to restore tamoxifen response in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. Given that Akt and mTOR phosphorylation also is frequently detected in ovarian and endometrial cancer, we intended to find out to what extent mTOR inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) and tamoxifen add to each other's effects on growth and apoptosis of cancer cell lines derived from these tissues when given concomitantly.. OVCAR-3 and SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells, HEC-1A endometrial adenocarcinoma cells and MCF-7 breast cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of mTOR inhibitor RAD001 alone or in combination with 4-OH tamoxifen. Relative numbers of viable cells were assessed by means of the resazurin-based Cell Titer Blue assay, cellular apoptosis was examined by measurement of activated caspases 3 and 7 by means of the luminometric Caspase-Glo assay.. Treatment with RAD001 resulted in growth inhibition of all employed cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, and SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells proved to be most sensitive to this drug. Moreover, we report the observation of additive, but not synergistical growth inhibitory effects of a combination treatment with RAD001 and 4-OH TAM on SK-OV-3 and OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells and MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro, whereas no such effect was observed in HEC-1A endometrial adenocarcinoma cells. Combination treatment with both drugs was demonstrated to be superior to single treatment with lower concentrations (0.1 and 1 nM) of RAD001 or standard concentrations of 4-OH TAM. Furthermore, RAD001 increased the apoptotic effect triggered by high 4-OH TAM concentrations in SK-OV-3 ovarian cancer cells.. Combination treatment with RAD001 and 4-OH TAM in vitro exerts an additive antitumoral effect on ovarian cancer cells and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The significance of these data in the clinical situation has to be evaluated in further studies.

Topics: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Apoptosis; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Growth Processes; Cell Line, Tumor; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Drug Synergism; Endometrial Neoplasms; Everolimus; Female; Humans; Ovarian Neoplasms; Protein Kinases; RNA, Messenger; Sirolimus; Tamoxifen; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases

Amplified in breast cancer 1 (AIB1), an estrogen receptor (ER) coactivator, is frequently amplified or overexpressed in human breast cancer. We previously developed a transgenic mouse model in which AIB1 can act as an oncogene, giving rise to a premalignant hyperplastic mammary phenotype as well as to a high incidence of mammary tumors that are primarily ER(+). In this model, the AIB1 transgene is responsible for continued activation of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor, suggesting a role for the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in the premalignant phenotype and tumor development. Here we show that treatment of AIB1 transgenic mice with the mTOR inhibitor RAD001 reverts the premalignant phenotype. Furthermore, treatment of cell lines derived from AIB1-dependent mammary tumors with RAD001 in culture leads to a G(1) cell cycle arrest. Lastly, tumor growth after injection of ER(+) AIB1 tumor cell lines into wild-type animals is inhibited by RAD001 treatment. In this ER(+) model, inhibition of tumor growth by RAD001 was significantly better than inhibition by the antiestrogen 4-hydroxytamoxifen alone, whereas a combination of both RAD001 and 4-hydroxytamoxifen was most effective. Based on these results, we propose that the combination of mTOR inhibition and ER-targeted endocrine therapy may improve the outcome of the subset of ER(+) breast cancers overexpressing AIB1. These studies provide preclinical support for the clinical development of RAD001 and suggest that AIB1 may be a predictive factor of RAD001 response.

Topics: Animals; Blotting, Western; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endometrial Hyperplasia; Estrogen Receptor alpha; Everolimus; Female; G1 Phase; Histone Acetyltransferases; Immunohistochemistry; Immunosuppressive Agents; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 3; Oncogenes; Precancerous Conditions; Protein Kinases; Receptors, Estrogen; Sirolimus; Tamoxifen; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; Trans-Activators; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt family of serine kinases is rapidly activated following agonist-induced stimulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). To probe the molecular events important for the activation process, we employed two distinct models of posttranslational inducible activation and membrane recruitment. PKB induction requires phosphorylation of two critical residues, threonine 308 in the activation loop and serine 473 near the carboxyl terminus. Membrane localization of PKB was found to be a primary determinant of serine 473 phosphorylation. PI3K activity was equally important for promoting phosphorylation of serine 473, but this was separable from membrane localization. PDK1 phosphorylation of threonine 308 was primarily dependent upon prior serine 473 phosphorylation and, to a lesser extent, localization to the plasma membrane. Mutation of serine 473 to alanine or aspartic acid modulated the degree of threonine 308 phosphorylation in both models, while a point mutation in the substrate-binding region of PDK1 (L155E) rendered PDK1 incapable of phosphorylating PKB. Together, these results suggest a mechanism in which 3' phosphoinositide lipid-dependent translocation of PKB to the plasma membrane promotes serine 473 phosphorylation, which is, in turn, necessary for PDK1-mediated phosphorylation of threonine 308 and, consequentially, full PKB activation.

Topics: 3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases; Animals; Binding Sites; Cattle; Cell Line; Cell Membrane; Dimerization; Enzyme Activation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Humans; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Kidney; Membrane Proteins; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Protein Interaction Mapping; Protein Kinases; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Protein Transport; Proto-Oncogene Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Receptors, Estrogen; Recombinant Fusion Proteins; Sirolimus; Tacrolimus Binding Protein 1A; Tamoxifen; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; Transfection

Expression of the proto-oncogene c-myc stimulates cell proliferation in the presence of the appropriate survival factors and triggers apoptosis in their absence; this dual capacity ensures that cell growth is restricted to the correct paracrine environment and is thereby strictly controlled. Recently our laboratory demonstrated that c-Myc-induced apoptosis requires the CD95 death receptor pathway and that insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) signalling suppresses this killing. To investigate further the links between c-Myc and IGF-1 pathways in CD95-induced apoptosis, we examined the effects of c-Myc and a downstream IGF-1 survival kinase, Akt, on killing mediated by CD95 and its recruited effector proteins (FADD and caspase-8). Here, we show that c-Myc activation does not exacerbate killing induced by FADD or pro-caspase-8, which narrows the point at which c-Myc exerts its action downstream of the interaction of CD95 with its ligand and upstream of FADD. We show further that activated Akt suppresses CD95-induced apoptosis and that Akt exerts its activity at a point downstream of FADD but upstream of caspase-8. These results restrict the possible mechanisms by which CD95-induced apoptosis is modulated by death signals and survival factors.

Topics: 3T3 Cells; Animals; Antibodies; Apoptosis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Blotting, Western; Caspase 8; Caspase 9; Caspases; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Culture Media, Serum-Free; fas Receptor; Fatty Acid Desaturases; Mice; Plant Proteins; Protein Precursors; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; Rats; Signal Transduction; Sirolimus; Tamoxifen; Transfection

The viability of vertebrate cells depends on survival factors which activate signal transduction pathways that suppress apoptosis. Defects in anti-apoptotic signalling pathways are implicated in many pathologies including cancer, in which apoptosis induced by deregulated oncogenes must be forestalled for a tumour to become established. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI(3)K) is involved in the intracellular signal transduction of many receptors and has been implicated in the transduction of survival signals in neuronal cells. We therefore examined the role of PI(3)K, its upstream effector Ras, and its putative downstream protein kinase effectors PKB/Akt and p70S6K (ref. 5) in the modulation of apoptosis induced in fibroblasts by the oncoprotein c-Myc. Here we show that Ras activation of PI(3)K suppresses c-Myc-induced apoptosis through the activation of PKB/Akt but not p70S6K. However, we also found that Ras is an effective promoter of apoptosis, through the Raf pathway. Thus Ras activates contradictory intracellular pathways that modulate cell viability. Induction of apoptosis by Ras may be an important factor in limiting the expansion of somatic cells that sustain oncogenic ras mutations.

Topics: Androstadienes; Animals; Apoptosis; Cell Line; Chromones; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fibroblasts; Morpholines; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); Point Mutation; Polyenes; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; ras Proteins; Rats; Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases; Signal Transduction; Sirolimus; Tamoxifen; Wortmannin