Expression of Ley antigen in human immunodeficiency virus-infected human T cell lines and in peripheral lymphocytes of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC).

Ley determinant (Fuc alpha 1----2Gal beta 1----4[Fuc alpha 1----3]GlcNAc beta 1----R) defined by mAb BM-1 is highly expressed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected T cell lines and in CD3+ peripheral mature T cells of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or with AIDS-related complex (ARC). Ley expression increased greatly in the CD3+ population in the advanced stage of AIDS when the CD4+ population decreased greatly. Six other carbohydrate antigens tested by their respective mAbs were not detected in these same cells. None of the carbohydrate antigens tested by the seven mAbs used in this study were found in noninfected T cell lines and in normal peripheral blood lymphocytes.

The mechanism for the activation of latent TGF-beta during co-culture of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells: cell-type specific targeting of latent TGF-beta to smooth muscle cells.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is secreted in a latent form and activated during co-culture of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. Plasmin located on the surface of endothelial cells is required for the activation of latent TGF-beta (LTGF-beta) during co-culture, and the targeting of LTGF-beta to the cellular surface is requisite for its activation. In the present study, the cellular targeting of LTGF-beta was examined. We detected the specific binding of 125I-large LTGF-beta 1 isolated from human platelets to smooth muscle cells but not to endothelial cells. A mAb against the latency-associated peptide (LAP) of large LTGF-beta 1 complex, which blocked the binding of 125I-large LTGF-beta 1 to smooth muscle cells, inhibited the activation of LTGF-beta during co-culture. The binding of 125I-large LTGF-beta 1 could not be competed either by mannose-6-phosphate (300 microM) or by the synthetic peptide Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (300 micrograms/ml). These results indicate that the targeting of LTGF-beta to smooth muscle cells is required for the activation of LTGF-beta during co-culture of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. The targeting of LTGF-beta to smooth muscle cells is mediated by LAP, and the domain of LAP responsible for the targeting to smooth muscle cells may not be related to mannose-6-phosphate or an Arg-Gly-Asp sequence, both of which have been previously proposed as candidates for the cellular binding domains within LAP.

Hedgehog signal activation in oesophageal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

The zinc finger protein glioma-associated oncogene homologue 1 (Gli-1) is a critical component of the Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway, which is essential for morphogenesis and stem-cell renewal, and is dysregulated in many cancer types. As data were not available on the role of Gli-1 expression in oesophageal cancer progression, we analysed whether it could be used to predict disease progression and prognosis in oesophageal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Among 69 patients with histologically confirmed oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs), 25 showed a pathological complete response after preoperative CRT. Overall survival (OS) was significantly associated with lymph-node metastasis, distant metastasis, and CRT, and was further correlated with the absence of both Gli-1 nuclear expression and residual tumour. All patients with Gli-1 nuclear expression (10.1%) had distant or lymph-node metastasis, and six out of seven died within 13 months. Furthermore, patients with Gli-1 nuclear-positive cancers showed significantly poorer prognoses than those without (disease-free survival: mean DFS time 250 vs 1738 months, 2-year DFS 0 vs 54.9%, P=0.009; OS: mean OS time 386 vs 1742 months, 2-year OS 16.7 vs 54.9%, P=0.001). Our study provides the first evidence that Gli-1 nuclear expression is a strong and independent predictor of early relapse and poor prognosis in ESCC after CRT. These findings suggest that Hh signal activation might promote cancer regrowth and progression after CRT.

Interaction of a hepatoma-specific nuclear factor with transcription-regulatory sequences of the human alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes.

DNase I footprinting and gel mobility shift analysis showed that an HuH-7 hepatoma nuclear protein, termed AFP1, binds specifically to an AT-rich sequence, TGATTAATAATTACA, in domain B of the human alpha-fetoprotein enhancer. No such binding activity was found in HeLa cell nuclei. Transient transfection studies showed that a 54-base-pair region corresponding to the AFP1-binding site could stimulate the simian virus 40 early promoter to express a linked chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene in an orientation-independent and cell-specific manner. The correlation between the binding of AFP1 and the stimulation of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene expression strongly suggests that specific interaction of AFP1 with the AT motif is important for cell-specific transcriptional enhancement. Competition gel mobility shift analysis revealed that similar AT-rich sequences with high affinities to AFP1 were also present in the promoters of the alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes. These results suggest that AFP1 may function as a common regulatory factor in the transcription of the alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes.

ATBF1, a multiple-homeodomain zinc finger protein, selectively down-regulates AT-rich elements of the human alpha-fetoprotein gene.

ATBF1 is a 306-kDa protein containing four homeodomains, 17 zinc finger motifs, and several segments potentially involved in transcriptional regulation (T. Morinaga, H. Yasuda, T. Hashimoto, K. Higashio, and T. Tamaoki, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:6041-6049, 1991). At least one of the homeodomains of ATBF1 binds to an AT-rich element in the human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) enhancer (enhancer AT motif). In the present work, we analyzed the transcriptional regulatory activity of ATBF1 with respect to the enhancer AT motif and similar AT-rich elements in the human AFP promoter and the human albumin promoter and enhancer. Gel retardation assays showed that ATBF1 binds to the AFP enhancer AT motif efficiently; however, it binds weakly or not at all to other AT-rich elements in the AFP and albumin regulatory regions studied. Alterations of the enhancer AT motif by site-specific mutagenesis resulted in the loss of binding of ATBF1. Cotransfection experiments with an ATBF1 expression plasmid and the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene fused to AFP promoter or enhancer fragments showed that ATBF1 suppressed the activity of AFP enhancer and promoter regions containing AT-rich elements. This suppression was reduced when the mutated AT motifs with low affinity to ATBF1 were linked to the CAT gene. The ATBF1 suppression of AFP promoter and enhancer activities appeared to be due, at least in part, to competition between ATBF1 and HNF1 for the same binding site. In contrast to the AFP promoter and enhancer, the albumin promoter and enhancer were not affected by ATBF1, although they contain homologous AT-rich elements. These results show that ATBF1 is able to distinguish AFP and albumin AT-rich elements, leading to selective suppression of the AFP promoter and enhancer activities.

A position-dependent silencer plays a major role in repressing alpha-fetoprotein expression in human hepatoma.

A large percentage of human hepatomas produce alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), but the levels of AFP expression vary greatly among hepatomas. To understand the molecular basis for this variation, we analyzed transcriptional regulatory activities associated with the 5'-flanking region of the AFP gene in two human hepatoma cell lines, HuH-7 and huH-1/cl-2, which produce a high and a low level of AFP, respectively. We found that the low level of AFP production in huH-1/cl-2 is due to the action of at least two silencer regions located between the enhancer and the promoter of the AFP gene. In contrast, no silencer activity is expressed in HuH-7. We identified 5'-CTTCATAACTAATACTT-3' to be a core sequence responsible for the negative regulatory activity. This sequence is repeated four times in a strong, distal silencer region, Sd, whereas one copy is present in a weak, proximal silencer region, Sp. The silencer reduces transcriptional initiation by blocking enhancer activation of the AFP promoter in a position-dependent manner. The silencer functions in the presence of positive transcription factors and may play a key role in developmental repression as well as variable expression of the AFP gene in hepatomas.

A human alpha-fetoprotein enhancer-binding protein, ATBF1, contains four homeodomains and seventeen zinc fingers.

We have isolated a full-length cDNA encoding a protein (ATBF1) that binds to an AT-rich motif in the human alpha-fetoprotein gene enhancer. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA revealed that this is the largest DNA-binding protein (306 kDa) known to date, containing four homeodomains, 17 zinc finger motifs, and a number of segments potentially involved in transcriptional regulation. Although the exact function of this protein has not been determined, these structural features suggest that ATBF1 plays a transcriptional regulatory role.

c-Ha-ras down regulates the alpha-fetoprotein gene but not the albumin gene in human hepatoma cells.

We studied the effects of transfection of the normal c-Ha-ras gene, rasGly-12, and its oncogenic mutant, rasVal-12, on expression of the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and albumin genes in a human hepatoma cell line, HuH-7. The mutant and, to a lesser extent, the normal ras gene caused reduction of the AFP mRNA but not the albumin mRNA level in transfected HuH-7 cells. Cotransfection experiments with a rasVal-12 expression plasmid and a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene fused to AFP regulatory sequences showed that rasVal-12 suppressed the activity of enhancer and promoter regions containing A + T-rich sequences (AT motif). In contrast, rasVal-12 did not affect the promoter activity of the albumin and human hepatitis B virus pre-S1 genes even though these promoters contain homologous A + T-rich elements. ras transfection appeared to induce phosphorylation of nuclear proteins that interact with the AFP AT motif, since gel mobility analysis revealed the formation of slow-moving complexes which was reversed by phosphatase treatment. However, similar changes in complex formation were observed with the albumin and hepatitis B surface antigen pre-S1 promoters. Therefore, this effect alone cannot explain the specific down regulation of the AFP promoter and enhancer activity. ras-mediated suppression of the AFP gene may reflect the process of developmental gene regulation in which AFP gene transcription is controlled by a G-protein-linked signal transduction cascade triggered by external growth stimuli.

Detection of messenger RNAs of alpha-fetoprotein and albumin in a human hepatoma cell line by in situ hybridization.

Detection of RNA transcripts within individual cells by in situ hybridization provides a powerful means for identifying specific cell types actively transcribing specific genes. We have applied this technique in order to analyze expression of the alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes in a human hepatoma cell line, HuH-7. Using either 3H- or 35S-labeled human alpha-fetoprotein complementary DNA clone as a probe, we found that essentially all HuH-7 cells contained alpha-fetoprotein mRNA, although in various amounts. This correlated well with the presence of alpha-fetoprotein in all cells as detected by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunoenzyme method. The intracellular concentration of albumin, on the other hand, was below the level of detection by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Consistent with this observation, we could not detect albumin mRNA with 3H-labeled albumin complementary DNA probes. However, the use of 35S-labeled probes having higher specific activities and higher efficiency of grain development resulted in the detection of albumin mRNA in a small percentage of HuH-7 cells. A variety of parameters involved in the in situ hybridization technique was examined to establish conditions suitable for demonstrating the presence of high- and low-copy numbers of mRNA in various cell and tissue preparations.

Changes in polysomal polyadenylated RNA and alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA during hepatocarcinogenesis.

Polysomal polyadenylated RNA was isolated from preneoplastic and neoplastic livers obtained from rats kept on a choline-deficient diet containing ethionine for 8 and 25 to 32 weeks, respectively. Normal, preneoplastic, and neoplastic liver polysomal messenger RNA's (mRNA's) were hybridized with homologous and heterologous 3H-labeled complementary DNA's (cDNA's). The results show that, in terms of RNA mass, all or most of the polysomal polyadenylated RNA present in preneoplastic or neoplastic liver is also present in normal liver. This was induced by the similar extent of hybridization between [3H]cDNA transcribed from preneoplastic or neoplastic liver mRNA's with their homologous mRNA's and with mRNA from normal liver. Conversely, most or all of the polysomal polyadenylated RNA of normal liver is also found in preneoplastic and neoplastic livers, as indicated by the extent of hybridization of [3H]cDNA transcribed from normal liver with mRNA's from normal, preneoplastic, and neoplastic livers. Shifts in the relative abundance of mRNA sequences were detected in the polysomal mRNA of preneoplastic livers and especially in the mRNA of neoplastic liver. Hybridization of alpha-fetoprotein cDNA with liver polyadenylated RNA showed a substantial increase in alpha-fetoprotein mRNA content after 8 and 15 weeks of feeding the carcinogenic diet. Similar experiments using globin cDNA failed to show an increase in globin mRNA content in preneoplastic livers.

Inhibition of DNA chain growth by alpha-2'-deoxythioguanosine.

Mecca lymphosarcoma cells were incubated with (35-S)-alpha-2'-deoxythioguanosine for 8 hr and DNA was analyzed in alkaline sucrose gradients. 35-S radioactivity was found exclusively in a low-molecular-weight fraction. Pulse-chase experiments showed that 35-S-containing DNA fragments formed during the pulse were not incorporated into high-molecular-weight DNA following the chase. These results, together with the previous observation that (35-S)-alpha-2'-deoxythioguanosine was found predominantly in the terminal nucleoside position of DNA chains, suggested that alpha-2'deoxythioguanosine, once incorporated, terminates chain elongation.

Interstitial chromosomal deletion within 4q11-q13 in a human hepatoma cell line.

Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of an aberrant albumin gene as well as a normal one in a human hepatoma cell line, HuH-7. A genomic sequence carrying this altered gene was isolated and characterized. This clone contains a 3-kbp 3' segment of the albumin gene linked to a non-albumin sequence at intron 11. The non-albumin sequence is assigned to chromosome 4q12-q13 by in situ hybridization. This indicates an interstitial deletion of a chromosomal segment within 4q11-q13 because the albumin gene is mapped there. The truncated albumin gene is detected in an early passage of HuH-7 cells and has been maintained stably in cell culture.

Antitumor activity of UCN-01, a selective inhibitor of protein kinase C, in murine and human tumor models.

Antitumor activity of UCN-01 (7-hydroxy staurosporine), a selective inhibitor of Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C, was examined in comparison with staurosporine, a nonselective inhibitor of protein kinases, on human and murine tumor cell lines which have some aberrations in cellular signal transduction. UCN-01 inhibited the growth of five tumor cell lines about 9 to 90 times less potently than staurosporine in vitro. UCN-01 showed an in vivo antitumor effect against three human tumor xenografts [epidermoid carcinoma A431 (c-erbB-1 overexpression), fibrosarcoma HT1080 (N-ras activation), and acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 (N-ras activation)], giving a minimum treated/control ratio of 0.40 (P less than 0.01), 0.17 (P less than 0.01), and 0.61 (P less than 0.05), respectively. UCN-01 also exhibited significant antitumor activity against two murine tumor models (fibrosarcoma, K-BALB and M-MSV-BALB), which activated the v-ras and v-mos oncogenes, showing a minimum treated/control ratio of 0.27 (P less than 0.01) and 0.21 (P less than 0.01). Staurosporine did not show significant antitumor activity against any of these five tumors. UCN-01 inhibited the down-modulation of epidermal growth factor receptor caused by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in A431 cells at a near 50% inhibitory concentration for cell growth. These results imply that UCN-01 is a promising antitumor agent which has a novel mechanism(s) of action.

Consequences of methotrexate inhibition of purine biosynthesis in L5178Y cells.

Addition of 1 muM methotrexate to cultures of L5178Y cells results in an initial inhibition of thymidine, uridine, and leucine incorporation into acid-insoluble material followed, after about 10 hr, by a partial recovery in the extent of incorporation of these precursors. Acid-soluble adenosine triphosphate and guanosine triphosphate concentrations are greatly reduced initially, but guanosine triphosphate concentrations appear to recover partially by 10 hr. Acid-soluble uridine triphosphate and cytidine triphosphate concentrations initially increase after methotrexate treatment but then, with time, they too decline. Hypoxanthine and guanine are more effective than is adenine in overcoming the methotrexate-induced inhibition of thymidine incorporation. These results suggest that, in the presence of methotrexate, guanine nucleotides become limiting for nucleic acid synthesis before adenine nucleotides do. The block of purine de novo synthesis in L5178Y cells by methotrexate is almost complete and is not reversed with time. This suggests that the additional purine nucleotides that are available for nucleic acid synthesis 8 to 10 hr after addition of methotrexate are being derived from nucleic acid breakdown. Consistent with this is the observed reduction in the number of polyribosomes and hence, presumably in messenger RNA levels.

Decrease in susceptibility toward induction of apoptosis and alteration in G1 checkpoint function as determinants of resistance of human lung cancer cells against the antisignaling drug UCN-01 (7-Hydroxystaurosporine).

7-Hydroxystaurosporine (UCN-01) is a protein kinase inhibitor that is under development as an anticancer agent in the United States and Japan. Long-term exposure of human A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells to UCN-01 furnished cells (A549/UCN) with acquired resistance against UCN-01. In this study, the sensitivity of these cells toward the growth-arresting properties of certain conventional cytotoxic agents was explored. Cells were not cross-resistant against adriamycin, Taxol, staurosporine, and UCN-02, but they displayed 14- and 4.4-fold resistance against cisplatin and mitomycin C, respectively. Previous studies on the mechanism(s) of action of UCN-01 suggest that induction of apoptosis and G1 phase accumulation are important for its anticancer activity; therefore, we compared induction of apoptosis and cell cycle distribution caused by UCN-01 in wild-type A549 and A549/UCN cells using flow cytometry. UCN-01 (0.4 microM) induced apoptosis (62% terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling-positive cells) in A549 cells, but not in A549/UCN cells. The percentages of cells that accumulated in G1 when exposed to UCN-01 (0.4 microM) were 22% in A549 cells and 67% in A549/UCN cells. These results suggest that acquired resistance of cancer cells against UCN-01 is characterized by attenuation of apoptosis induction associated with reinforcement of the G1 checkpoint and that apoptosis regulation is drastically altered in A549/UCN cells as compared with A549 cells. Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor proteins p21 and p27 in A549/UCN cells were up-regulated, which was accompanied by overexpression of G1 cyclins D1 and E, but UCN-01 hardly affected levels of these proteins. In contrast, cyclin A, cyclin B1, retinoblastoma, and CDK2 proteins were apparently down-regulated, without changes in CDK4/6. UCN-01 hardly affected the expression level of cyclin B1 and induced dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma in both cell types. UCN-01 induced down-regulation of cyclin A level and CDK2 activity accompanied with its dephosphorylation in A549/UCN cells, but not in A549 cells. The antiapoptotic protein bcl-2 was apparently up-regulated in A549/UCN cells, however, bcl-xL, another antiapoptotic protein, was down-regulated, without changes in bak and bax. Taken together, these results are consistent with the notion that induction of apoptosis and block of cell cycle in G1 are important determinants of the sensitivity of cancer cells to UCN-01 and suggest that inhibition of CDK2 activity accompanied by its dephosphorylation and decrease of expression level of cyclin A might play an important role in the G1 phase accumulation induced by UCN-01.

In vitro synthesis of murine pre-alpha-fetoprotein.

Murine alpha-fetoprotein was synthesized in a wheat germ cell-free system in the presence of radioactive amino acids under the direction of alpha-fetoprotein messenger RNA isolated from mouse yolk sacs. The radiolabeled alpha-fetoprotein was isolated by immunoabsorption, and the amino acid residues at the NH2 terminus were determined by radioactive sequencing techniques. In a comparison to the NH2-terminal sequence of circulating alpha-fetoprotein, the in vitro-synthesized alpha-fetoprotein was found to contain an extra peptide 20 amino acids long linked at the NH2 terminus, the sequence of which is: (formula: see text). The molecular size, the hydrophobic nature, and the other properties of the peptide are consistent with the "leader" or "signal" piece found in the precursors of many other secretory proteins. This suggests that alpha-fetoprotein, the synthesis of which is limited primarily to fetal development, is produced in the form of the precursor as are secretory proteins in the adult tissues.

Adenovirus-mediated gene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma using cancer-specific gene expression.

Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma have an elevated alpha-feto-protein (AFP) level. This high level of AFP expression is transcriptionally controlled by the 5'-flanking sequence of the AFP gene. Using the 5'-flanking sequence as a promoter for the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene in an adenoviral vector (Av1AFPTK1), the therapeutic efficacy of adenovirus-mediated HSV-TK gene transduction, followed by ganciclovir (GCV) administration, was studied in tumors in athymic nude mice. Av1AFPTK1 transduction of two cell lines demonstrated HSV-TK enzyme activity only in the AFP-producing cells (HuH7) and not in the AFP nonproducing cells (SK-Hep-1). As expected, only transduced HuH7 cells were killed by GCV treatment. Transduction by an adenoviral vector harboring a Rous sarcoma virus promoter and HSV-TK gene (Av1TK1) showed enzymatic activity and GCV killing in both cell lines. All HuH7 tumors that were transduced with either Av1AFPTK1 or Av1TK1 completely regressed after GCV treatment. On the other hand, there was complete regression of SK-Hep-1 tumors only when treated with Av1TK1 and GCV and not when treated with Av1AFPTK1 and GCV. Thus, cell-specific killing was achieved by adenoviral vector containing AFP promoter for the HSV-TK gene and GCV treatment.

Gene therapy for hepatoma cells using a retrovirus vector carrying herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene under the control of human alpha-fetoprotein gene promoter.

The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene is normally expressed in fetal liver and is transcriptionally silent in adult liver but is reactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma. It has been shown that the positive and negative transcriptionally regulatory elements of the human AFP gene, which play an important role in its developmental regulation, exist over the quite extended region (4 kb). We constructed a hybrid gene consisting of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene under the control of the 0.3-kb human AFP gene promoter and inserted it into a retroviral vector. When AFP-producing hepatoma cells were infected with this recombinant retrovirus (LNAF0.3TK virus), the cells expressed HSV-tk gene and exhibited increased sensitivity to ganciclovir parallel with the ability of AFP production. On the other hand, the retroviral infection had little effect on ganciclovir-mediated cytotoxicity in AFP-nonproducing hepatoma or non-hepatoma cells. Moreover, the addition of dexamethasone increased the cytotoxicity of aciclovir to the virus-infected, AFP-producing cells through a glucocorticoid-responsive element in the AFP promoter, although aciclovir, by itself, had little cytotoxicity. These results demonstrate that the AFP promoter sequence alone can provide enough tumor-specific activity for therapeutic gene expression and induce selective growth inhibition by ganciclovir in the virus-infected, AFP-producing human hepatoma cells. In addition, it is possible that expression of the therapeutic gene is modulated by administration of dexamethasone or other agents that alter AFP promoter activity after gene transduction.

Gene therapy targeting for hepatocellular carcinoma: selective and enhanced suicide gene expression regulated by a hypoxia-inducible enhancer linked to a human alpha-fetoprotein promoter.

We previously reported that the retroviral vector expressing the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase gene under the control of 0.3-kb human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene promoter (AF0.3) provided the cytotoxicity to ganciclovir (GCV) in high-AFP-producing human hepatoma cells but not in low-AFP-producing cells. Therefore, specific enhancement of AFP promoter activity is likely to be required to induce enough cytotoxicity in low-AFP-producing hepatoma cells. In this study, we constructed a hybrid promoter, [HRE]AF, in which a 0.4-kb fragment of human vascular endothelial growth factor 5'-flanking sequences containing hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) was fused to AF0.3 promoter. By means of the reporter gene transfection assay, hypoxia-inducible transcriptions that were mediated by [HRE]AF promoter were detected in low- and non-AFP-producing human hepatoma cells, but not in nonhepatoma cells. When the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase gene controlled by [HRE]AF promoter was transduced into hepatoma and nonhepatoma cells by a retroviral vector, the exposure to 1% O2 induced GCV cytotoxicity specifically in the hepatoma cells. Moreover, in nude mice bearing solid tumor xenografts, only the tumors consisting of the virus-infected hepatoma cells gradually disappeared by GCV administration. These results indicate that the hypoxia-inducible enhancer of the human vascular endothelial growth factor gene, which is directly linked to human AFP promoter, involves selective and enhanced tumoricidal activity in gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

In vivo gene therapy for alpha-fetoprotein-producing hepatocellular carcinoma by adenovirus-mediated transfer of cytosine deaminase gene.

The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene is normally expressed in fetal liver and is transcriptionally silent in adult liver but overexpressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we demonstrate that replication defective recombinant adenoviral vectors, containing the human AFP promoter/enhancer, can be used to express the Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase (CD) gene (AdAFPCD) and the beta-galactosidase gene (AdAF-PlacZ) in AFP-producing HCC cell lines. Expression of the CD gene by adenovirus from the AFP promoter/enhancer (AdAFPCD) induced cells sensitive to 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) in the AFP-producing cells but not in the AFP-nonproducing cells. Transduction by an adenoviral vector harboring an ubiquitous strong promoter and CD gene showed enzymatic activity and 5FC killing in all cell lines. When AdAFPlacZ was injected into the s.c. established hepatoma in vivo, expression of the beta-galactosidase gene was confined to AFP-producing HCC xenografts. Moreover, HCC xenografts regressed by transduction with AdAFPCD and subsequently with 5FC treatment in vivo. These findings suggest that utilization of the AFP promoter/enhancer in an adenoviral vector can confer selective expression of a heterologous suicide gene in hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.