oxalates and Breast-Neoplasms

Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Humans; Oxalates

Microcalcifications can be the early and only presenting sign of breast cancer. One shared characteristic of breast cancer is the appearance of mammographic mammary microcalcifications that can routinely be used to detect breast cancer in its initial stages, which is of key importance due to the possibility that early detection allows the application of more conservative therapies for a better patient outcome. The mechanism by which mammary microcalcifications are formed is still largely unknown but breast cancers presenting microcalcifications are more often associated with a poorer prognosis.. We combined Capillary Electrochromatography, histology, and gene expression (qRT-PCR) to analyze patient-matched normal breast tissue vs. breast tumor. Potential carcinogenicity of oxalate was tested by its inoculation into mice. All data were subjected to statistical analysis.. To study the biological significance of oxalates within the breast tumor microenvironment, we measured oxalate concentration in both human breast tumor tissues and adjoining non-pathological breast tissues. We found that all tested breast tumor tissues contain a higher concentration of oxalates than their counterpart non-pathological breast tissue. Moreover, it was established that oxalate induces proliferation of breast cells and stimulates the expression of a pro-tumorigenic gene c-fos. Furthermore, oxalate generates highly malignant and undifferentiated tumors when it was injected into the mammary fatpad in female mice, but not when injected into their back, indicating that oxalate does not induce cancer formation in all types of tissues. Moreover, neither human kidney-epithelial cells nor mouse fibroblast cells proliferate when are treated with oxalate.. We found that the chronic exposure of breast epithelial cells to oxalate promotes the transformation of breast cells from normal to tumor cells, inducing the expression of a proto-oncogen as c-fos and proliferation in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, oxalate has a carcinogenic effect when injected into the mammary fatpad in mice, generating highly malignant and undifferentiated tumors with the characteristics of fibrosarcomas of the breast. As oxalates seem to promote these differences, it is expected that a significant reduction in the incidence of breast cancer tumors could be reached if it were possible to control oxalate production or its carcinogenic activity.

Topics: Animals; Breast Neoplasms; Calcinosis; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Female; Humans; Mammary Glands, Human; Mammary Neoplasms, Animal; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Neoplasms, Experimental; Oxalates; Prognosis

sigma(2) Receptors induce apoptosis in various cell types. The sphingolipid, ceramide as well as the sphingoid bases are involved in cell proliferation. Sphingolipids of MCF-7/Adr- and T47D breast tumor cells were metabolically radiolabeled. The sigma(2) receptor agonists (+)-1R,5R-E-8-(3,4-dichlorobenzylidene)-5-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methylmorphan-7-one (CB-184) and 1S,2R-(--)-cis-N-[2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]-N-methyl-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexylamine (BD737) caused dose-dependent increases in [(3)H]ceramide, with concomitant decreases in [(3)H]sphingomyelin. Both effects were attenuated by the novel sigma(2) receptor antagonist, N-phenethylpiperidine oxalate (AC927). sigma(2) Receptors may produce effects on cell growth and apoptosis by regulating the sphingolipid pathway.

Topics: Benzylidene Compounds; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Division; Cyclohexylamines; Humans; Infant; Morphinans; Oxalates; Piperidines; Pyrrolidines; Receptors, sigma; Sphingomyelins; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The radicals generated by adriamycin-sensitive (CHO-AB) and adriamycin-resistant (CHO-C5) Chinese hamster ovary cells as well as by adriamycin-sensitive and -resistant human breast cancer cells (MCF7-WT and MCF7-ADR) have been studied with spin-trapping and ESR spectroscopy. During anoxic exposure to adriamycin (ADR) both pairs of cell lines produced the broad ESR singlet characteristic of ADR semiquinone (AQ.). By use of tris(oxalato)chromate (CrOx) as an extracellular line-broadening agent, the distribution of AQ. between the intra- and extracellular compartments was studied. For cell densities of (1-3) X 10(7) cells/mL, CrOx eliminated most, though not all, of the ESR signal, indicating that the AQ. radicals freely diffuse and partition between the intra- and extracellular compartments proportionally to their respective volumes. Similar behavior was exhibited by all four cell lines studied. Upon introduction of oxygen to anoxic cells in the presence of the spin trap 5,5-dimethylpyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), the AQ. signal was replaced by that of the DMPO-OH spin adduct. Metal chelators such as desferrioxamine had no effect on DMPO-OH or AQ. formation. Superoxide dismutase, not catalase, totally eliminated the ESR signal, indicating that DMPO-OH produced by ADR-treated cells originates from superoxide rather than from .OH produced from H2O2. In the presence of CrOx, the DMPO-OH signal was not distinguishable from the background noise, thus excluding any contribution to the signal by intracellular spin adducts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Animals; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Chromates; Cricetinae; Cricetulus; Cyclic N-Oxides; Doxorubicin; Drug Resistance; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Female; Free Radicals; Humans; Hydroxides; Hydroxyl Radical; Oxalates; Superoxides; Tumor Cells, Cultured