asialo-gm1-ganglioside and Uterine-Cervical-Neoplasms

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1alpha), a component of HIF-1, is expressed in human tumors and renders cells able to survive and grow under hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions. YC-1, 3-(5'-hydroxymethyl-2'-furyl)-1-benzylindazole, an agent developed for circulatory disorders that inhibits platelet aggregation and vascular contraction, inhibits HIF-1 activity in vitro. We tested whether YC-1 inhibits HIF-1 and tumor growth in vivo.. Hep3B hepatoma, NCI-H87 stomach carcinoma, Caki-1 renal carcinoma, SiHa cervical carcinoma, and SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cells were grown as xenografts in immunodeficient mice (69 mice total). After the tumors were 100-150 mm(3), mice received daily intraperitoneal injections of vehicle or YC-1 (30 microg/g) for 2 weeks. HIF-1 alpha protein levels and vascularity in tumors were assessed by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of HIF-1-inducible genes (vascular endothelial growth factor, aldolase, and enolase) was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. All statistical tests were two-sided.. Compared with tumors from vehicle-treated mice, tumors from YC-1-treated mice were statistically significantly smaller (P<.01 for all comparisons), expressed lower levels of HIF-1 alpha (P<.01 for all comparisons), were less vascularized (P<.01 for all comparisons), and expressed lower levels of HIF-1-inducible genes, regardless of tumor type.. The inhibition of HIF-1 alpha activity in tumors from YC-1-treated mice is associated with blocked angiogenesis and an inhibition of tumor growth. YC-1 has the potential to become the first antiangiogenic anticancer agent to target HIF-1 alpha.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinoma; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Hypoxia; Culture Media, Conditioned; Endothelial Growth Factors; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; G(M1) Ganglioside; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; Immunoblotting; Indazoles; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Kidney Neoplasms; Killer Cells, Natural; Liver Neoplasms; Lymphokines; Male; Mice; Mice, SCID; Neoplasms; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Neuroblastoma; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; Precipitin Tests; Rats; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Stomach Neoplasms; Transcription Factors; Transplantation, Heterologous; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors

As part of our efforts to define subpopulations at increased risk for gynecologic malignancies, sera from 145 women were obtained prior to diagnosis and analyzed for antibody to asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide. This neutral glycolipid is present on the surface of thymocytes and natural killer cells, and asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide antibody has been shown in animals to block natural killer cell activity and promote tumor cell proliferation. With the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and with a value of 2 SD above the mean for healthy women designated as the boundary for a positive response, antibody to asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide was detected in only one of 30 (3%) healthy women, none of 16 pregnant women, none of 18 women with benign masses, and two of 24 (8%) women with microbial infections. All of the above samples that contained antibodies were barely over the 2 SD limit. In marked contrast, 19 of 35 (54%) women with gynecologic malignancies had asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide antibodies, with positive values ranging to greater than 10 SD above the control mean. Asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide antibody was found in six of eight (75%) patients with cervical cancer, five of eight (63%) with endometrial cancer, and seven of 15 (47%) with ovarian cancer. Of the eight patients with Stage I gynecologic cancer at any site, five (62%) had asialo ganglio-N-tetraosylceramide antibodies. Four of 22 (18%) women with Hodgkin's disease also had antibodies, with values just exceeding 2 SD above control levels. The presence of these antibodies may contribute to an impaired immune surveillance system in these women and so increase their susceptibility to malignancy.

Topics: Antibodies; Antigen-Antibody Reactions; Female; G(M1) Ganglioside; Genital Neoplasms, Female; Glycosphingolipids; Humans; Ovarian Neoplasms; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Uterine Neoplasms