5-hydroxy-6-8-11-14-eicosatetraenoic-acid and Neoplasms

Curcumin exhibits significant antitumorigenic activity in various preclinical models; data supporting its chemopreventive activity in humans, however, are lacking. To our knowledge, the first published results of a phase II chemoprevention study of curcumin are reported in this issue of the journal by Carroll and colleagues (beginning on page 354), who examined the effects of oral curcumin on various putative biomarkers of colonic tumorigenesis in smokers. This perspective discusses the potential significance and limitations of the current study findings in addressing the question of whether curcumin is clinically active as a chemopreventive agent.

Topics: Anticarcinogenic Agents; Apoptosis; Biological Availability; Biomarkers, Tumor; Chemoprevention; Clinical Trials as Topic; Curcumin; Dinoprostone; Humans; Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids; Neoplasms; Research Design; Smoking; Treatment Outcome

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of targeted arterial delivery of the branched chain fatty acid 12-methyltetradecanoic acid (12-MTA) on the VX2 squamous cell carcinoma in rabbits. An intramuscular VX2 squamous cell carcinoma was induced at a single site in the right thigh of 39 New Zealand white rabbits. Approximately 10 days after inoculation, a 3-French catheter was introduced into the right common carotid artery and positioned using fluoroscopic guidance in the right deep femoral artery, which was the main, if not exclusive, artery supplying the tumor. Ethiodol alone (targeting agent), Ethiodol containing 12-MTA, or Ethiodol containing myristic acid was then injected through the catheter. Tumor growth and histopathology were evaluated 7-8 days after treatment. Caspase-3 activity was evaluated 2 days after therapy, and tumor tissues were assayed for eicosanoid metabolites 2 and 7 days after treatment to assess the effects of the branched chain fatty acid on the lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme systems. Targeted arterial delivery of 12-MTA resulted in dose-dependent growth inhibition of intramuscular rabbit VX2 tumors while myristic acid, a saturated fatty acid of the same carbon length as 12-MTA, was found to stimulate tumor growth. Two and 7 days following treatment, tumors treated with 12-MTA showed a significant decrease in 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) and a concomitant increase in 15-HETE levels while tumors treated with myristic acid exhibited a significant increase in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels. Western blot as well as immunohistochemical analysis showed that 5-LOX and COX-2 proteins were present in the VX2 tumors. No alterations in tumor/tumor cell morphology or caspase-3 activity were evident on microscopic examination following treatment. These studies suggest that targeted arterial delivery of branched chain fatty acids such as 12-MTA may be considered as a potential new therapy for treatment of solid tumors. The exact mechanism(s) responsible for the observed inhibition of VX2 tumor growth by 12-MTA is unclear. Additional in vivo studies are warranted to elucidate 12-MTA's mechanism of action and further investigate the branched chain fatty acid's antitumor effects.

Topics: 12-Hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic Acid; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Arachidonate 5-Lipoxygenase; Blotting, Western; Caspase 3; Caspases; Cell Line, Tumor; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dinoprostone; Enzyme Inhibitors; Fatty Acids; Humans; Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids; Immunohistochemistry; Lipoxygenase Inhibitors; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neoplasms; Rabbits; Tissue Fixation

Human esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) develops in a sequence from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), columnar-lined esophagus (CLE), dysplasia, and eventually to EAC. We established a rat surgical EAC model with esophagogastroduodenal anastomosis (EGDA) to mimic the staged process of esophageal adenocarcinogenesis. Profiling of the AA metabolites with mass spectrometry showed that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), 15-hydroeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE), 12-HETE, 8-HETE and 5-HETE all increased at the esophagoduodenal junction after EGDA as compared with the proximal esophagus, with PGE2 as the major metabolite. Consistent with this profile, cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2) was overexpressed in the basal cell layer of esophageal squamous epithelium, CLE cells and EAC tumor cells of the EGDA rats, as compared with the normal esophageal epithelium. Sulindac (a Cox inhibitor), nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA, a lipoxygenase inhibitor) and alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, an ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor) were tested for their possible inhibitory actions against the formation of EAC in the rat EGDA model. In a short-term study (for 4 weeks after surgery), dietary administration of both sulindac (300 and 600 p.p.m.) and NDGA (100 p.p.m.) effectively reduced the EGDA-induced inflammation. In a long-term chemoprevention study (for 40 weeks after surgery), 300 p.p.m. sulindac, alone or in combination with 100 p.p.m. NDGA or 0.5% DFMO, decreased the tumor incidence from 57.7 to 26.9%, or 16.7 or 20%, respectively (P < 0.05). NDGA alone (100 and 200 p.p.m.) slightly decreased the tumor incidence to 52.4 and 37%, respectively, although the difference was not statistically significant. DFMO alone did not show significant effects on tumor incidence. Inhibition of tumor formation by sulindac was correlated with lowered levels of PGE2. In conclusion, sulindac exerted its chemopreventive effect against the formation of EAC in the rat EGDA model possibly through its inhibition of Cox.

Topics: 12-Hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic Acid; Animals; Arachidonic Acid; Body Weight; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dinoprostone; Eflornithine; Esophageal Neoplasms; Esophagus; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids; Immunoenzyme Techniques; In Situ Hybridization; Inflammation; Isoenzymes; Leukotriene B4; Male; Masoprocol; Mass Spectrometry; Neoplasms; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sulindac; Time Factors

Some studies report that endothelial cells preferentially take up the lipoxygenase-derived arachidonic acid metabolite, 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE), released from stimulated leukocytes (polymorphonuclear leukocytes, PMNs), whereas others report that endothelial cells preferentially take up 12-HETE released from platelets. The biological relevance of these observations, however, is unknown. Recently, we and others have found that, under basal conditions, endothelial cells, PMNs and tumor cells metabolize linoleic acid via the lipoxygenase enzyme to 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE). We propose that endogenous levels of these metabolites regulate blood-vessel wall cell adhesion. In this study, we have measured (1) the relative binding of 5-, 12- and 15-HETE, and 13-HODE to endothelial cell monolayers, and (2) their effects on endothelial cell adhesivity with platelets, PMNs and tumor cells. There was a dose-related and specific binding of 5-[3H]HETE to endothelial cells but no binding of 12- or 15-HETE or 13-HODE. Platelet or PMN adhesion to endothelial cells was unaffected by the 5-HETE binding, but tumor cell adhesion was blocked by 40% (P less than 0.01). Interestingly, preincubation of endothelial cells with 13-HODE, 12-HETE or 15-HETE decreased platelet adhesion to endothelial cells (P less than 0.05), even though these metabolites did not bind to the endothelial cells. We conclude that 5-HETE preferentially binds to endothelial cells and interferes with a specific receptor for tumor cells, whereas the other metabolites neither bind to cells nor affect cell adhesion.

Topics: 12-Hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic Acid; Cell Adhesion; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids; Linoleic Acids; Neoplasms; Neutrophils; Platelet Adhesiveness; Tumor Cells, Cultured