maxacalcitol and Pancreatic-Neoplasms

Effective chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to compare the anti-proliferative activity on pancreatic cancer cell lines of the vitamin D(3) analog, 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), maxacalcitol, with that of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), calcitriol, with analysis of vitamin D receptor status and the G(1)-phase cell cycle-regulating factors. Antiproliferative effects of both agents were compared using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method and by measuring the tumor size of xenografts inoculated into athymic mice. Scatchard analysis of vitamin D receptor contents, and mutational analysis of receptor complementary DNA were performed. Levels of expression of cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p21 and p27, were analysed by western blotting. In vitro, maxacalcitol and calcitriol markedly inhibited the proliferation and caused a G(1) phase cell cycle arrest with the appearance of numerous domes. In vivo, maxacalcitol inhibited the growth of BxPC-3 xenografts more significantly than calcitriol, without inducing hypercalcemia. Responsive cells had abundant functional vitamin D receptors. However, Hs 766T, showing no response to either agent, had the second highest receptor contents with no abnormalities in its primary structure deduced by receptor complementary DNA. In the responsive cells, p21 and p27 were markedly up-regulated after 24h of treatment with both agents. In non-responsive cells, no such changes were observed. In conclusion, maxacalcitol and calcitriol up-regulate p21 and p27 as an early event, which in turn could block the G(1)/S transition and induce growth inhibition in responsive cells, and maxacalcitol may provide a more useful tool for the chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer than calcitriol because of its low toxicity.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Calcitriol; Cell Cycle; Cell Division; Cell Line, Tumor; Humans; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Receptors, Calcitriol

Hypercalcemia represents one of the important paraneoplastic syndromes affecting morbidity and mortality of cancer patients. We and others have demonstrated that vitamin D analogs with little calcemic activities suppress the transcription of the parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) gene, a major humor responsible for cancer hypercalcemia, and thereby prevent the development of hypercalcemic syndrome. The present study was undertaken: to compare the therapeutic efficacy of a vitamin D analog, 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (OCT), and a bisphosphonate (disodium 3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate pentahydrate [AHPrBP]), an inhibitor of osteoclastic bone resorption, on cancer-induced hypercalcemia; and to see if the effect could be enhanced by combination treatment, using a nude mouse model implanted with a human pancreas carcinoma (FA-6). After a single intravenous administration, OCT (5 microg/kg of body weight [BW]) was as effective as AHPrBP (10 mg/kg of BW) in lowering blood ionized calcium levels in tumor-bearing nude mice, and their combination further enhanced the therapeutic effect. Although AHPrBP lost its efficacy after repeated injections, OCT was still effective after the third administration. The therapeutic effect of OCT in cancer hypercalcemia was observed in four other human tumors, including another pancreas carcinoma (PAN-7), two squamous cell carcinomas of the lung (KCC-C1 and LC-6), and a squamous carcinoma of the pharynx (PHA-1), all of which elaborated PTHrP into the circulation. Treatment with OCT resulted in a decrease in circulating PTHrP levels by approximately 50% in two representative models. However, the mechanism underlying the antihypercalcemic effect of OCT seemed complex, involving inhibition of PTHrP production, suppression of excessive bone resorption, and an antitumor activity. OCT also markedly inhibited the body weight loss with tumor growth, while AHPrBP, which exhibited a similar antihypercalcemic effect, was less effective than OCT in preventing cachexia. The anticachectic activity of their combination did not exceed that of OCT alone, suggesting a hypercalcemia-dependent as well as an independent mechanism of cancer cachexia. It is concluded that OCT may be useful, either as a single agent or in combination with bisphosphonates, for the treatment of cancer-associated hypercalcemia and cachexia.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Cachexia; Calcitriol; Calcium; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Diphosphonates; Drug Synergism; Humans; Hypercalcemia; Lung Neoplasms; Mice; Mice, Nude; Neoplasm Transplantation; Pamidronate; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein; Pharyngeal Neoplasms; Proteins

To obtain information regarding the growth-inhibitory effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and its non-calcaemic analogue 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on pancreatic cancer cell lines, differences in the effects of G1-phase cell cycle-regulating factors were studied in vitamin D-responsive and non-responsive cell lines. Levels of expression of cyclins (D1, E and A), cyclin-dependent kinases (2 and 4) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (p21 and p27) were analysed by Western blotting after treatment with these compounds. In the responsive cells (BxPC-3, Hs 700T and SUP-1), our observations were: (1) marked up-regulation of p21 and p27 after 24 h treatment with 10(-7) mol l(-1) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; and (2) marked down-regulation of cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors after 7 days' treatment. In non-responsive cells (Hs 766T and Capan-1), no such changes were observed. In conclusion, vitamin D analogues up-regulate p21 and p27 as an early event, which in turn could block the G1/S transition and induce growth inhibition in responsive cells.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Blotting, Western; Calcitriol; Cell Cycle; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; Cyclins; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Microtubule-Associated Proteins; Neoplasm Proteins; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor Suppressor Proteins; Up-Regulation

Effective chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to compare the anti-proliferative activity of a new vitamin D3 analogue, 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (22-oxa-calcitriol), on pancreatic cancer cells lines with that of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) with analysis of vitamin D receptor status.. Antiproliferative effects of both agents were compared using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method and by measuring the tumor size of xenograft inoculated into athymic mice. Vitamin D receptor contents by Scatchard analysis and mutational analysis of receptor complementary DNA were performed.. In vitro, 22-oxa-calcitriol and calcitriol markedly inhibited the proliferation (3 of 9 cell lines) and caused a G1 phase cell cycle arrest by appearance of numerous domes. In vivo, 22-oxa-calcitriol inhibited the growth of BxPC-3 xenografts more significantly than calcitriol without including hypercalcemia. Hs 766T, showing no response to either agent, had the second highest receptor contents with no abnormalities in its primary structure deduced by receptor complementary DNA.. 22-oxa-calcitriol may provide a more useful tool for the chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer than calcitriol. Also, the susceptibility of the cell lines to both agents is not well determined by evaluating either the contents or the mutation of vitamin D receptor.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Base Sequence; Calcitriol; Cell Division; DNA Mutational Analysis; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Female; Humans; Mice; Mice, Nude; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Neoplasm Transplantation; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Receptors, Calcitriol; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The present study was undertaken to clarify the pharmacokinetics of 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (22-oxa-1,25-(OH)2D3, OCT), a vitamin D3 analogue with little calcemic activity, and its effect on the transcription of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHRP) gene in nude mice bearing a human carcinoma (FA-6) associated with humoral hypercalcemia. FA-6 tumor expressed vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA, and its nuclear extract contained a specific and saturable 1,25-(OH)2D3 binding activity. Although [3H]OCT administered intravenously into FA-6 tumor-bearing nude mice was cleared from the circulation more rapidly than [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3, the uptake of [3H]OCT into the tumor tissue, relative to the radioactivity in the circulation, was greater than that of [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3. Intravenous or oral administration of OCT reduced the steady-state levels of PTHRP mRNA in FA-6 tumor, and nuclear run-off assays demonstrated that the effect of OCT on PTHRP gene expression occurred at a transcriptional level. RNase mapping analysis revealed that both upstream and downstream promoters of the human PTHRP gene were down-regulated by OCT. Finally, OCT exerted a preventive as well as therapeutic effect on cancer-associated hypercalcemia with a marked prolongation of the survival time in tumor-bearing animals. These results suggest that OCT is effectively taken up by a VDR-positive human carcinoma in vivo and has a therapeutic potential for cancer-associated hypercalcemia through suppression of PTHRP gene transcription.

Topics: Animals; Calcitriol; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Hypercalcemia; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Neoplasm Proteins; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein; Proteins; RNA, Messenger; Tissue Distribution; Transcription, Genetic