seocalcitol and Head-and-Neck-Neoplasms

Treatment of cancer cells with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] or its analogs induces growth arrest and expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(KIP1). Although 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) transiently enhances p27(kip1) gene transcription in some cells, its effects on p27(KIP1) protein levels are generally more gradual and sustained. This suggests that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) treatment may be stabilizing p27(KIP1) protein, which is sensitive to modification by the SCF(SKP2) protein ubiquitin ligase and proteosomal degradation. Here, we show that treatment of AT-84 head and neck squamous carcinoma cells with the 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) analog EB1089 increases p27(KIP1) protein levels without significantly affecting expression of its mRNA. EB1089 treatment repressed expression of mRNAs encoding the F-box protein p45(SKP2), a marker of poor head and neck cancer prognosis, and the cyclin kinase subunit CKS1, which is essential for targeting p45(SKP2) to p27(KIP1). This coincided with a reduction of total p45(SKP2) protein, and p45(SKP2) associated with p27(KIP1). Consistent with these findings, turnover of p27(KIP1) protein was strongly inhibited in the presence of EB1089. A similar reduction in p45(SKP2) expression and stabilization of p27(KIP1) protein was observed in 1,25(OH)(2)D(3)-sensitive UF-1 promyelocytic leukemia cells, which also respond by transiently increasing p27(kip1) gene transcription. Our results reveal that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) analogs increase levels of p27(KIP1) in different cell types by inhibiting expression of SCF(SKP2) subunits and reducing turnover of p27(KIP1) protein.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Blotting, Northern; Calcitriol; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; Drug Stability; Enzyme Inhibitors; G1 Phase; Gene Expression; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Immunosorbent Techniques; Mice; Neoplasms; Resting Phase, Cell Cycle; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger; S-Phase Kinase-Associated Proteins; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor Suppressor Proteins

1alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] and its analogues inhibit growth of various types of cancer cells. Although the therapeutic potential of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) is limited by its tendency to induce hypercalcemia, analogues such as EB1089 are potent inhibitors of cell growth and exhibit reduced calcemic effects. We analyzed the antiproliferative and calcemic effects of EB1089 in tissue culture and animal models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to investigate its potential as a chemotherapeutic/chemopreventive agent.. The effects of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and EB1089 on cell growth and expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p27(KIP1), which encode cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, and a novel target, gadd45alpha, a growth-arrest and DNA-damage gene, were monitored in cultured murine AT-84 SCC cells. The effects of these agents on AT-84 cell growth in vitro and on growth of AT-84 tumors in syngeneic C3H mice were monitored; treatment started at the time of tumor implantation (early tumor model) or after 12 days (late tumor model). Weight and serum calcium levels were also monitored in these animals. All P values were two-sided.. Both 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and EB1089 arrested proliferation of AT-84 cells in G(0)/G(1) phase, inhibited p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression, and induced expression of p27(KIP1) protein. 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) also enhanced the expression of gadd45alpha, apparently by a p53-independent mechanism. There was a statistically significant decrease in tumor growth for 1,25(OH)(2)D(3)-treated mice (P<.001 for early tumor model) and EB1089-treated mice (P<.001 and P =.001 for early and late tumor models, respectively). Unlike 1,25(OH)(2)D(3), EB1089 did not induce cachexia or hypercalcemia. The effects of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and EB1089 on expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and GADD45alpha were similar in tumors and in vitro.. EB1089 completely inhibited growth of AT-84 SCC cells at nanomolar concentrations, reduced tumor growth, and did not have calcemic effects. Our results support continued investigation of EB1089 as a chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic agent for head and neck SCC.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Blotting, Northern; Blotting, Western; Calcitriol; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cell Cycle; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cell Division; Cell Nucleus; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27; Cyclins; Cytoplasm; DNA Damage; GADD45 Proteins; Genes, p53; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Immunohistochemistry; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Microtubule-Associated Proteins; Neoplasm Transplantation; Precipitin Tests; Proteins; RNA; Time Factors; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor Suppressor Proteins

Analogs of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1alpha, 25(OH)2D3) inhibit growth in vitro and in vivo of cells derived from a variety of tumors. Here, we examined the effects of 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 and its analog EB1089 on proliferation and target gene regulation of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) lines SCC4, SCC9, SCC15, and SCC25. A range of sensitivities to 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 and EB1089 was observed, from complete G0/G1 arrest of SCC25 cells to only 50% inhibition of SCC9 cell growth. All lines expressed similar levels of vitamin D3 receptor (VDR) mRNA and protein, and no significant variation was observed in 1alpha,25(OH)2D3-dependent induction of the endogenous 24-hydroxylase gene, or of a transiently transfected 1alpha,25(OH)2D3-sensitive reporter gene. The antiproliferative effects of 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 and EB1089 in SCC25 cells were analyzed by screening more than 4,500 genes on two cDNA microarrays, yielding 38 up-regulated targets, including adhesion molecules, growth factors, kinases, and transcription factors. Genes encoding factors implicated in cell cycle regulation were induced, including the growth arrest and DNA damage gene, gadd45alpha, and the serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase gene, sgk. Induction of GADD45alpha protein in EB1089-treated cells was confirmed by Western blotting. Moreover, while expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was reduced in EB1089-treated cells, coimmunoprecipitation studies revealed increased association between GADD45alpha and PCNA in treated cells, consistent with the capacity of GADD45alpha to stimulate DNA repair. While 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 and EB1089 modestly induced transcripts encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(waf1/cip1), no changes in protein levels were observed, indicating that p21(waf1/cip1) induction does not contribute to the antiproliferative effects of 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 and EB1089 in SCC cells. Finally, in partially resistant SCC9 cells, there was extensive loss of target gene regulation (10 of 10 genes tested), indicating that resistance arises from widespread loss of 1alpha,25(OH)2D3-dependent gene regulation in the presence of normal levels of functional VDRs.

Topics: Blotting, Northern; Calcitriol; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cell Division; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; Cyclins; Drug Resistance; GADD45 Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; Proteins; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Transfection; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor Suppressor Proteins