galloflavin and Burkitt-Lymphoma

Up-regulation of glycolysis, a well recognized hallmark of cancer cells, was also found to be predictive of poor chemotherapy response. This observation suggested the attempt of sensitizing cancer cells to conventional chemotherapeutic agents by inhibiting glucose metabolism. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibition can be a way to hinder glycolysis of cancer cells without affecting the metabolism of normal tissues, which usually does not require this enzymatic activity. In this paper, we showed that two LDH inhibitors (oxamate and galloflavin) can increase the efficacy of cisplatin in cultured Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cells and that this potentiating effect is not exerted in proliferating normal lymphocytes. This result was explained by the finding that in BL cells LDH inhibition induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which was not evidenced in proliferating normal lymphocytes. In BL cells treated with the association of cisplatin and LDH inhibitors, these ROS can be a further cause of DNA damage, to be added to that produced by cisplatin, leading to the failure of the response repair. At present LDH inhibitors suitable for clinical use are actively searched; our results can allow a better understanding of the potentiality of LDH as a possible target to develop innovative anticancer treatments.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Burkitt Lymphoma; Cell Line, Transformed; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Cisplatin; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Enzyme Inhibitors; Glycolysis; Humans; Isocoumarins; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Lymphocytes; Neoplasm Proteins; Organic Chemicals; Osmolar Concentration; Reactive Oxygen Species

Activation of the myc oncogene in cancer cells upregulates lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) expression, leading to a sustained glycolytic flux that is needed to produce ATP under hypoxic conditions. We studied the effects of galloflavin (GF), a recently identified LDH inhibitor, on myc overexpressing Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cells. Epstein-Barr virus-infected lymphoblasts were used as a non-neoplastic control. Our results showed that myc overactivation induced a two- to seven-fold increase in LDH-A expression in BL cells compared with non-neoplastic lymphoblasts; this result is consistent with previously reported data. Moreover, GF treatment suppressed LDH activity and inhibited BL cell replication but did not affect lymphoblast viability. Surprisingly, we found that increased levels of the MYC and LDH-A proteins did not lead to a metabolic shift in BL cells toward glycolytic ATP generation. BL cells were treated with GF at doses that achieved 50% inhibition of cell growth and lactate production, and ATP levels were scarcely affected after GF treatment. The same results were also obtained by suppressing LDH activity with oxamate, an LDH specific inhibitor. Our data suggest that LDH activity is important for maintaining a correct NAD/NADH balance in BL cells. LDH inhibition led to decreased NAD cellular levels, which resulted in sirtuin-1 inhibition. Confirming previous studies, sirtuin-1 inhibition caused a reduction in MYC protein levels, depriving BL cells of their most important survival signal. This study further describes the biological functions of the LDH enzyme and suggests that LDH inhibition could be useful for the treatment of cancer.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Burkitt Lymphoma; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Down-Regulation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Isocoumarins; Isoenzymes; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Lactate Dehydrogenase 5; Lactic Acid; NAD; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; Signal Transduction; Sirtuin 1; Time Factors