morphinans and Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor of the bone. The long-term survivals continue to be unsatisfactory for patients with metastatic and recurrent disease. Metastasis is still a severe challenge in osteosarcoma treatment. Sinomenine, an alkaloid from traditional Chinese medicine, has been proved to possess potent antitumor and anti-invasion effect on various cancers. However, the effect of sinomenine on human osteosarcoma and the underlying mechanisms remains unknown. We report here that sinomenine inhibited proliferation by inducing S phase arrest and suppressing the clone formation. Significant inhibitory effects were found in invasion and metastasis in osteosarcoma, but little cytotoxicity was observed in tested concentrations. Exposure to sinomenine resulted in suppression of invasion and migration in osteosarcoma cells as well as tube formation ability in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and U2OS cells. Furthermore, it demonstrated that CXCR4 played a key role contributing to invasion in osteosarcoma which is considered to be a core target site in sinomenine treatment. Sinomenine inhibited invasion by suppressing CXCR4 and STAT3 phosphorylation then downregulating the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, RANKL, VEGF downstream. In addition, then RANKL-mediated bone destruction stimulated by osteoclastogenesis and VEGF-related neovascularization were restrained. Importantly, in vivo, sinomenine suppressed proliferation, osteoclastogenesis and bone destruction. Through these various comprehensive means, sinomenine inhibits metastasis in osteosarcoma. Taken together, our results revealed that sinomenine caused S phase arrest, inhibited invasion and metastasis via suppressing the CXCR4-STAT3 pathway and then osteoclastogenesis-mediated bone destruction and neovascularization in osteosarcoma. Sinomenine is therefore a promising adjuvant agent for metastasis control in osteosarcoma.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Bone Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Humans; Mice; Morphinans; Neoplasm Metastasis; Osteosarcoma; Receptors, CXCR4; Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; S Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints; Signal Transduction; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

The stimulation of peripheral opioid receptors yields analgesic responses in a model of bone cancer-induced pain in mice. In order to know the type(s) of peripheral opiate receptors involved, the paw thermal withdrawal latencies were measured in C3H/HeJ mice bearing a tibial osteosarcoma, after administering selective agonists of mu-,delta-and kappa-opiate receptors. The peritumoral administration of DAGO (0.6-6 microg) inhibited the osteosarcoma-induced hyperalgesia at doses ineffective in healthy animals, the highest one even increasing the withdrawal latencies over the control values. Naloxone-methiodide (2 mg/kg) and cyprodime (1 mg/kg), but not naltrindole (0.1 mg/kg) nor nor-binaltorphimine (10 mg/kg), antagonized DAGO-induced analgesic effects, these therefore probably being mediated through peripheral mu-opioid receptors. The peritumoral injection of DPDPE (100 microg) induced analgesia which was inhibited by naloxone-methiodide and naltrindole but not by nor-binaltorphimine. Cyprodime partially antagonized the analgesia induced by 100 microg of DPDPE, but did not modify the effect induced by 30 microg of this agonist-a dose that restores the hyperalgesic latencies up to the control values. The antihyperalgesic effect induced by the peritumoral administration of U-50,488H (1 microg) was antagonized by naloxone-methiodide and nor-binaltorphimine, but not by cyprodime nor naltrindole, thus suggesting the involvement of peripheral kappa-opioid receptors. In conclusion, the stimulation of peripheral mu-, delta- and kappa-opioid receptors is a pharmacological strategy useful for relieving this experimental type of bone cancer-induced pain, the greatest analgesic effect being achieved by stimulating peripheral mu-opioid receptors.

Topics: Analgesics, Opioid; Animals; Bone Neoplasms; Drug Interactions; Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-; Hyperalgesia; Mice; Morphinans; Naltrexone; Narcotic Antagonists; Osteosarcoma; Receptors, Opioid