hymecromone and Esophageal-Neoplasms

Aerobic glycolysis is a unique feature of tumour cells that entails several advantages for cancer progression such as resistance to apoptosis. The low MW compound, dichloroacetate, is a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor, which restores oxidative phosphorylation and induces apoptosis in a variety of cancer entities. However, its therapeutic effectiveness is limited by resistance mechanisms. This study aimed to examine the role of the anti-apoptotic hyaluronan (HA) matrix in this context and to identify a potential add-on treatment option to overcome this limitation.. The metabolic connection between dichloroacetate treatment and HA matrix augmentation was analysed in vitro by quantitative PCR and affinity cytochemistry. Metabolic pathways were analysed using Seahorse, HPLC, fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis, colourimetry, immunoblots, and immunochemistry. The effects of combining dichloroacetate with the HA synthesis inhibitor 4-methylumbelliferone was evaluated in 2D and 3D cell cultures and in a nude mouse tumour xenograft regression model by immunoblot, immunochemistry, and FACS analysis.. Mitochondrial reactivation induced by dichloroacetate metabolically activated HA synthesis by augmenting precursors as well as O-GlcNAcylation. This process was blocked by 4-methylumbelliferone, resulting in enhanced anti-tumour efficacy in 2D and 3D cell culture and in a nude mouse tumour xenograft regression model.. The HA rich tumour micro-environment represents a metabolic factor contributing to chemotherapy resistance. HA synthesis inhibition exhibited pronounced synergistic actions with dichloroacetate treatment on oesophageal tumour cell proliferation and survival in vitro and in vivo suggesting the combination of these two strategies is an effective anticancer therapy.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; Cell Proliferation; Dichloroacetic Acid; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Esophageal Neoplasms; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Extracellular Matrix; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid; Hymecromone; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Mitochondria; Molecular Structure; Neoplasms, Experimental; Regression Analysis; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Oesophageal cancer is a highly aggressive tumour entity with at present poor prognosis. Therefore, novel treatment options are urgently needed. Hyaluronan (HA) is a polysaccharide present in the matrix of human oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Importantly, in vitro ESCC cells critically depend on HA synthesis to maintain the proliferative phenotype. The aim of the present study is (1) to study HA-synthase (HAS) expression and regulation in human ESCC, and (2) to translate the in vitro results into a mouse xenograft model of human ESCC to study the effects of systemic versus tumour targeted HAS inhibition on proliferation and distribution of tumour-bound and stromal hyaluronan.. mRNA expression was investigated in human ESCC biopsies by semiquantitative real-time RT PCR. Furthermore, human ESCC were xenografted into NMRI nu/nu mice. The effects on tumour progression and morphology of 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU), an inhibitor of HA-synthesis, and of lentiviral knock down of HA-synthase 3 (HAS3), the main HAS isoform in the human ESCC tissues and the human ESCC cell line used in this study, were determined. Tumour progression was monitored by calliper measurements and by flat-panel detector volume computed tomography (fpVCT). HA content, cellular composition and proliferation (Ki67) were determined histologically.. mRNA of HAS isoform 3 (HAS3) was upregulated in human ESCC biopsies and HAS3 mRNA was positively correlated to expression of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. EGF was also proven to be a strong inductor of HAS3 mRNA expression in vitro. During the course of seven weeks, 4-MU inhibited progression of xenograft tumours. Interestingly, remodelling of the tumour into a more differentiated phenotype and inhibition of cell proliferation were observed. Lentiviral knockdown of HAS3 in human ESCC cells prior to xenografting mimicked all effects of 4-MU treatment suggesting that hyaluronan produced by ESCC is accountable for major changes in tumour environment in vivo.. Systemic inhibition of HA-synthesis and knockdown of tumour cell HAS3 cause decreased ESCC progression accompanied by tumour stroma remodelling and may therefore be used in novel approaches to ESCC therapy.

Topics: Animals; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Disease Progression; ErbB Receptors; Esophageal Neoplasms; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Glucuronosyltransferase; Humans; Hyaluronan Synthases; Hyaluronic Acid; Hymecromone; Immunohistochemistry; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Mice, Nude; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA Interference; RNA, Messenger; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Hyaluronan (HA) is a polysaccharide component in the parenchyma and stroma of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Clinically, esophageal cancer represents a highly aggressive tumor type with poor prognosis resulting in a 5-year survival rate of 5%. The aim of the present study was the detailed analysis of the role of HA synthesis for ESCC phenotype in vitro using the ESCC cell line OSC1. In OSC1 cells, pericellular HA-matrix surrounding extended actin-dependent filopodia was detected. The small molecule inhibitor of HA synthesis, 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU, 0.3 mm) caused loss of these filopodia and focal adhesions and inhibited proliferation and migration. In search of the underlying mechanism cleavage of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was detected by immunoblotting. In addition, displacing HA by an HA-binding peptide (Pep-1, 500 mug/ml) and digestion of pericellular HA by hyaluronidase resulted in cleavage of focal adhesions. Furthermore, real-time reverse transcription PCR revealed that HA synthase 3 (HAS3) > HAS2 are the predominant HA-synthases in OSC1. Lentiviral transduction with shHAS3, and to a lesser extent with shHAS2, reduced intact FAK protein and filopodia as well as proliferation and migration. Furthermore, down-regulation by lentiviral shRNA of RHAMM (receptor of HA-mediated motility) but not CD44 induced loss of filopodia and caused FAK cleavage. In contrast, knockdown of both HA receptors inhibited proliferation and migration of OSC1. In conclusion, HA synthesis and, in turn, RHAMM and CD44 signaling promoted an activated phenotype of OSC1. Because RHAMM appears to support both filopodia, FAK, and the proliferative and migratory phenotype, it may be promising to explore RHAMM as a potential therapeutic target in esophageal cancer.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Esophageal Neoplasms; Extracellular Matrix Proteins; Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Focal Adhesions; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Glucuronosyltransferase; Humans; Hyaluronan Receptors; Hyaluronan Synthases; Hyaluronic Acid; Hymecromone; Molecular Sequence Data; Phenotype; Pseudopodia