Unbiased proteomic analysis of proteins interacting with the HIV-1 5'LTR sequence: role of the transcription factor Meis.

To depict the largest picture of a core promoter interactome, we developed a one-step DNA-affinity capture method coupled with an improved mass spectrometry analysis process focused on the identification of low abundance proteins. As a proof of concept, this method was developed through the analysis of 230 bp contained in the 5'long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1). Beside many expected interactions, many new transcriptional regulators were identified, either transcription factors (TFs) or co-regulators, which interact directly or indirectly with the HIV-1 5'LTR. Among them, the homeodomain-containing TF myeloid ectopic viral integration site was confirmed to functionally interact with a specific binding site in the HIV-1 5'LTR and to act as a transcriptional repressor, probably through recruitment of the repressive Sin3A complex. This powerful and validated DNA-affinity approach could also be used as an efficient screening tool to identify a large set of proteins that physically interact, directly or indirectly, with a DNA sequence of interest. Combined with an in silico analysis of the DNA sequence of interest, this approach provides a powerful approach to select the interacting candidates to validate functionally by classical approaches.

Middle holocene age of the sunnyvale human skeleton.

A morphologically modern human skeleton from Sunnyvale, California, previously dated by aspartic acid racemization to be approximately 70,000 years old and by uranium series isotopic ratios to be 8300 and 9000 years old, appears to be younger when dated by the carbon-14 method. Four carbon-14 determinations made by both decay and direct counting on three organic fractions of postcranial bone support a middle Holocene age assignment for the skeleton, probably in the range of 3500 to 5000 carbon-14 years before the present. This dating evidence is consistent with the geologic, archeological, and anthropometric relationships of the burial as well as previously determined carbon-14 determinations on associated materials.

Up-regulation of multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) expression in rat hepatocytes by dexamethasone.

Regulation of multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP2) expression in response to dexamethasone (DEX) was analyzed using mainly primary rat hepatocytes. Enhanced levels of MRP2 mRNAs associated with increased amounts of a 190 kDa MRP2 were found in cultured DEX-treated hepatocytes; similarly, administration of DEX to rats (100 mg/kg, i.p.) led to a marked increase of hepatic amounts of MRP2 mRNAs. Maximal induction of MRP2 expression in DEX-treated primary hepatocytes was reached with 10(-5) M DEX, a concentration higher than that (10(-7) M) required for maximal up-regulation of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT), a typical glucocorticoid receptor-regulated enzyme. In addition, the anti-glucocorticoid compound RU486 failed to inhibit MRP2 induction caused by DEX whereas it fully blocked that of TAT. These findings therefore demonstrate that DEX is a potent inducer of MRP2 expression in rat hepatocytes through a mechanism that seems not to involve the classical glucocorticoid receptor pathway.

Overexpression of the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP1) in human heavy metal-selected tumor cells.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the resistance to cytotoxic heavy metals remain largely to be characterized in mammalian cells. To this end, we have analyzed a metal-resistant variant of the human lung cancer GLC4 cell line that we have selected by a step-wise procedure in potassium antimony tartrate. Antimony-selected cells, termed GLC4/Sb30 cells, poorly accumulated antimony through an enhanced cellular efflux of metal, thus suggesting up-regulation of a membrane export system in these cells. Indeed, GLC4/Sb30 cells were found to display a functional overexpression of the multidrug resistance-associated protein MRP1, a drug export pump, as demonstrated by Western blotting, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and calcein accumulation assays. Moreover, MK571, a potent inhibitor of MRP1 activity, was found to markedly down-modulate resistance of GLC4/Sb30 cells to antimony and to decrease cellular export of the metal. Taken together, our data support the conclusion that overexpression of functional MRP1 likely represents one major mechanism by which human cells can escape the cytotoxic effects of heavy metals.

The sulphonylurea glibenclamide inhibits multidrug resistance protein (MRP1) activity in human lung cancer cells.

1. Glibenclamide, a sulphonylurea widely used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, has been shown to inhibit the activities of various ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. In the present study, its effects towards multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1), an ABC efflux pump conferring multidrug resistance and handling organic anions, were investigated. 2. Intracellular accumulation of calcein, an anionic dye substrate for MRP1, was strongly increased by glibenclamide in a dose-dependent manner in MRP1-overexpressing lung tumour GLC4/Sb30 cells through inhibition of MRP1-related calcein efflux. By contrast, glibenclamide did not alter calcein levels in parental control GLC4 cells. Another sulphonylurea, tolbutamide, was however without effect on calcein accumulation in both GLC4/Sb30 and GLC4 cells. 3. Glibenclamide used at 12.5 microM was, moreover, found to strongly enhance the sensitivity of GLC4/Sb30 cells towards vincristine, an anticancer drug handled by MRP1. 4. Efflux of carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein, an anionic dye handled by the ABC transporter MRP2 sharing numerous substrates with MRP1 and expressed at high levels in liver, was also strongly inhibited by glibenclamide in isolated rat hepatocytes. 5. In summary, glibenclamide reversed MRP1-mediated drug resistance likely through inhibiting MRP1 activity and blocked organic anion efflux from MRP2-expressing hepatocytes. Such effects associated with the known inhibitory properties of glibenclamide towards various others ABC proteins suggest that this sulphonylurea is a general inhibitor of ABC transporters.

Inhibition of multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) activity by rifampicin in human multidrug-resistant lung tumor cells.

The multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) is a drug efflux membrane pump conferring multidrug resistance on tumor cells. In order to look for compounds that can lead to reversal of such a resistance, the antituberculosis compound rifampicin, belonging to the chemical class of rifamycins, was examined for its effect on MRP activity in human multidrug resistant lung cancer GLC4/ADR cells. Rifampicin was shown to increase accumulation of the MRP substrate calcein in GLC4/ADR cells in a dose-dependent manner by inhibiting its MRP-mediated efflux from the cells; it also enhanced intracellular retention of another substrate of MRP such as the anticancer drug vincristine in the resistant cells. By contrast, the antituberculosis drug did not alter cellular levels of accumulation of either calcein or vincristine in parental drug-sensitive GLC4 cells. Other rifamycins such as rifamycin B and rifamycin SV were also demonstrated to increase intracellular accumulation of calcein in GLC4/ADR cells. These results therefore indicate that rifamycins, including rifampicin, probably constitute a new chemical class of modulators down-regulating MRP-mediated drug transport.

Characterization and inhibition by a wide range of xenobiotics of organic anion excretion by primary human hepatocytes.

Organic anion secretion by human hepatocytes was characterized using primary liver parenchymal cell cultures and the anionic fluorescent dye carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (CF). Probenecid, a well-known common blocker of the membrane transport process for anions, was shown to increase CF accumulation in primary human hepatocytes by inhibiting cellular CF efflux in a dose-dependent manner, thereby establishing the presence of an efflux system for organic anions in cultured hepatocytes. Outwardly directed transport of CF from hepatocytes was found to be temperature-dependent; it was not altered by changes in the ionic composition of the incubation medium used in efflux experiments. In addition to probenecid, various structurally and functionally unrelated xenobiotics such as glibenclamide, rifampicin, vinblastine, MK-571, indomethacin, and cyclosporin A were shown to inhibit secretion of CF by primary human hepatocytes, thus suggesting that organic anion excretion by human liver may be impaired by various drugs. Northern blot and Western blot analyses of the expression of multidrug resistance proteins (MRP), such as MRP1 and MRP2, which are known to mediate cellular outwardly directed transport of organic anions indicated that MRP2 was present at substantial levels in cultured human hepatocytes as well as in their in vivo counterparts, whereas MRP1 expression was only barely detectable. These results therefore suggest that MRP2, unlike MRP1, may contribute to the organic anion efflux system displayed by primary human hepatocytes and inhibited by a wide range of xenobiotics.

Resistance of human multidrug resistance-associated protein 1-overexpressing lung tumor cells to the anticancer drug arsenic trioxide.

The human multidrug-resistance protein (MRP1) confers resistance to some heavy metals such as arsenic and antimony, mainly through mediating an increased cellular efflux of metal. However, it was recently suggested that arsenic, used under its trioxide derivative form as anticancer drug, is not handled by MRP1. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesis in MRP1-overexpressing human lung tumor GLC4/Sb30 cells. Using the cytotoxicity MTT assay, GLC4/Sb30 cells were found to be 10.8-fold more resistant to arsenic trioxide (As2O3) than parental GLC4 cells. MK571, a potent inhibitor of MRP1 activity, almost totally reversed resistance of GLC4/Sb30 cells, but did not alter the sensitivity of GLC4 cells. Moreover, As2O3-loaded GLC4/Sb30 cells poorly accumulated arsenic through an increased MK571-sensitive efflux of metal. Finally, depletion of cellular glutathione levels in buthionine sulfoximine-treated GLC4/Sb30 cells was found to result in increased accumulation and reduced efflux of arsenic in cells exposed to As2O3, outlining the glutathione-dependence of MRP1-mediated transport of the metal. These results indicate that MRP1 overexpression in human tumor cells can confer resistance to As2O3, which may limit the clinical use of this anticancer drug for treatment of MRP1-positive tumors.

Differential expression and activity of P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance-associated protein in CD34-positive KG1a leukemic cells.

CD34+ acute myeloid leukemias generally respond poorly to chemotherapy when compared to CD34- myeloid leukemias. In order to contribute to the analysis of the mechanisms involved in this drug resistance, expression and activity of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), two drug efflux pumps conferring multidrug resistance, have been investigated in the CD34+ KG1a leukemic myeloid cell line and in two CD34- K562 and HL60 leukemic myeloid cell lines. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and dye efflux assays revealed that KG1a cells express P-gp but not MRP whereas neither P-gp nor MRP were detected in K562 and HL60 cells. In addition, KG1a cells were demonstrated to display resistance to anticancer drug substrates for P-gp such as vincristine and daunorubicin and to poorly accumulate vincristine. These results indicated that P-gp, in contrast to MRP, is expressed and functional in the drug-resistant CD34+ KG1a cell line, that may constitute a useful cellular model to analyze the constitutive chemoresistance of CD34+ acute myeloid leukemias.

Unaltered expression of multidrug resistance transporters in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-resistant rat liver cells.

Rat liver epithelial cells resistant to the chemical carcinogen 3MC, termed F258/3MC cells and generated by long-term exposure of parental F258 cells to the PAH, were characterized, especially with respect to expression of multidrug resistance transporters such as P-glycoprotein, MRP1 and MRP2. F258/3MC cells were found to be cross-resistant to other PAHs such as BP and dimethylbenz(a)anthracene but remained sensitive to known substrates of multidrug resistance efflux pumps such as doxorubicin and vincristine. They did not display either decreased cellular PAH accumulation or increased PAH efflux. In addition, P-glycoprotein and MRP2 mRNA levels were not, or only barely detected, in F258/3MC cells and in their parental counterparts whereas these PAH-resistant and sensitive cells showed closed levels of MRP1 mRNAs and activity. Moreover, P-gp- and MRP1-overexpressing cells were shown to display similar accumulation and efflux of BP than those found in P-gp- and MRP1-negative control cells. These data therefore suggest that multidrug resistance transporters do not contribute to PAH resistance in PAH-selected liver cells.

Regulation of biliary drug efflux pump expression by hormones and xenobiotics.

Biliary elimination of endogenous compounds and xenobiotics usually requires carrier-mediated systems allowing movement across the canalicular membrane of hepatocytes. The major systems implicated belong to the ATP binding cassette transporter family: P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2), principally mediate the passage into the bile of cationic and anionic compounds, respectively, whereas the bile salt export pump (BSEP) handles biliary acids and also some anticancer drugs. Expression of these canalicular proteins can be altered in response to various hormones and structurally unrelated xenobiotics. Indeed, glucocorticoids up-regulate expression of both MRP2 and BSEP in rat hepatocytes, whereas insulin induces P-gp. P-gp expression is also up-regulated by numerous chemical carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 2-acetylaminofluorene and by some anticancer drugs, such as anthracyclins. 2-Acetylaminofluorene also induces MRP2; in addition, expression of this transporter in liver cells is increased in response to various drugs, such as the barbiturate phenobarbital, the chemopreventive agent, oltipraz and the anticancer drug, cisplatin. Most of the chemical inducers acting on canalicular transporter levels are well-known to up-regulate some hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes, suggesting a coordinate regulation of liver detoxifying proteins in response to these compounds.

Expression and regulation of hepatic drug and bile acid transporters.

Transport across hepatocyte plasma membranes is a key parameter in hepatic clearance and usually occurs through different carrier-mediated systems. Sinusoidal uptake of compounds is thus mediated by distinct transporters, such as Na(+)-dependent or Na(+)-independent anionic transporters and by some cationic transporters. Similarly, several membrane proteins located at the apical pole of hepatocytes have been incriminated in the excretion of compounds into the bile. Indeed, biliary elimination of anionic compounds, including glutathione S-conjugates, is mediated by MRP2, whereas bile salts are excreted by a bile salt export pump (BSEP) and Class I-P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is involved in the secretion of amphiphilic cationic drugs, whereas class II-P-gp is a phospholipid transporter. The expression of hepatic transporters and their activity are regulated in various situations, such as ontogenesis, carcinogenesis, cholestasis, cellular stress and after treatment by hormones and xenobiotics. Moreover, a direct correlation between a defect and the absence of transporter with hepatic disease has been demonstrated for BSEP, MDR3-P-gp and MRP2.

Evidence for a multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1)-related transport system in cultured rat liver biliary epithelial cells.

Cellular accumulation and efflux of the anionic fluorescent dye carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (CF) were studied in rat liver SDVI cells thought to derive from primitive bile ductules, in order to characterize carrier-related membrane transport of organic anions in epithelial cells. Probenecid, a common blocker of anion transport, was found to strongly enhance CF levels in SDVI cells in a dose-dependent manner through inhibition of dye efflux. Such an outwardly-directed transport was demonstrated to be temperature-dependent and down-regulated by various metabolic inhibitors, therefore outlining its requirement for energy; it was shown to be Na+- and membrane potential-independent and inhibited by anionic drugs such as indomethacin, indoprofen and rifamycin B. These functional features are closed to those described for multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) that was furthermore demonstrated, in contrast to P-glycoprotein, to be expressed in SDVI cells and to lower CF accumulation in MRP1-overexpressing drug-resistant tumor cells. These data therefore suggest that active membrane transport of organic anions such as CF occurs in epithelial cells like cultured liver biliary SDVI cells through a MRP1-related efflux system.

Multidrug resistance protein (MRP) activity in normal mature leukocytes and CD34-positive hematopoietic cells from peripheral blood.

Multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs) such as MRP1, MRP2 and MRP3 are membrane efflux pumps involved in multidrug resistance and handling organic anions. In the present study, MRP activity was investigated in normal mature leucocytes and CD34-positive hematopoietic cells from peripheral blood using the flow cytometric carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (CF) efflux assay. Basal and similar cellular exports of CF, an anionic fluorescent dye substrate for MRP1 and MRP2 transporters, were evidenced in lymphocytes whatever their subsets (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20 and CD56 cells), in CD14 monocytes and in CD15 granulocytes whereas higher CF efflux was found in CD34 cells. Such outwardly-directed transports of CF were inhibited by known blockers of MRP function such as probenecid whereas the P-glycoprotein modulator verapamil did not alter the retention of the dye in the blood leukocytes. Peripheral mature blood leukocytes were moreover found to express MRP1 mRNAs and MRP1 protein as assessed by Northern-blot and Western-blot analyses, whereas MRP2 and MRP3 transcripts were not present or only at very low levels. Mature leukocytes therefore display basal constitutive MRP-related transport activity regardless of cell lineage and likely related to MRP1 expression whereas higher MRP-related efflux can be detected in peripheral CD34 hematopoietic cells.

Differentiation of the P-gp and MRP1 multidrug resistance systems by mobile lipid 1H-NMR spectroscopy and phosphatidylserine externalization.

We have previously demonstrated that proton NMR spectra of fatty acid chains in erythroleukemia K562 wild-type cells and their MDR1 counterparts show variations related to the phenotype over-expressing the P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Human lung cancer cells whose multidrug resistance (MDR) counterparts over-express the multidrug resistance-associated protein MRP1 have not yet been studied by NMR. Both P-gp and MRP1 belong to the same ATP-binding cassette transporter superfamily. A comparison of NMR spectra from both these multidrug-resistance phenotypes showed that the results previously obtained on the MDR1 family are not valid for MRP1. Furthermore, flow cytofluorimetry studies with external phosphatidylserine labelling showed that P-gp and MRP1 overexpressions have strong but differentiated effects on cell lipid pools.

[Labial embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Value of cell culture and electron microscopy, histogenesis]. / Rhabdomyosarcome embryonnaire labial. Apport de la culture cellulaire et de la microscopie électronique, histogenèse.

The authors report the case of a labial embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of a baby. This appears to be an exceptional localization. The study of the first biopsy which was too superficial leads to the thought of a capillary angioma. At the age of 6 months the lesion is 35 mm in diameter, a lobulated formation, typically botryoid. The excision after a frozen section control was in healthy tissue. At the age of 10 months, there is a local relapse with a nodule of 18 mm with left submandibular lymph nodes. A second surgical operation allows the culture of the tumoral tissue. The conventional histopathological examinations shows the aspect of an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. On the ultrastructural examination one can visualize in some cells an intracytoplasmic filamentous material. The cellular proliferation in culture, after May Grunwald Giemsa coloration is monomorphous, spindle shaped and of fibroblastic aspect. The ultrastructural study of this cellular proliferation after trypsinization on the 7th day shows some cells including an intracytoplasmic filamentous material. On the data of the cellular culture, the ultrastructural studies and the review of the literature, the authors discuss the possibility of the relationship between the cells of embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas and the fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. Embryonal sarcoma seems to be a better denomination than embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, as regards the histogenesis.

[Neurocysticercosis disclosed by cerebrovascular complication]. / Neurocysticercose révélée par un accident vasculaire cérébral.

Cysticercosis in one of the most common parasitoses in the world but is rare in France. This is the case of a thirty two years old man who had a stroke which revealed a neurocysticercosis, the diagnosis of which appeared on CT-scan. MR-imaging gave a more precise topographical diagnosis of the cysticercosis lesions and allowed a physiopathological understanding of the stroke. The ischemic lesion in the lenticulostriate territory was due to cysts in the sylvian fissure at the level of the beginning of those arteries with a perilesional inflammatory reaction. We learned the link between cysticercosis and stroke studing the cases reported in the literature.

[Drug membrane transporters in the liver: regulation of their expression and activity]. / Les transporteurs membranaires de xénobiotiques à travers les barrières hépatiques: modulation de leur expression et de leur activité

Membrane transport proteins play a major role in hepato-biliary secretion of xenobiotics. Some of them, especially OATPs and OCT1, are present at the vascular pole of hepatocytes and mediate uptake of xenobiotics into parenchymal liver cells from blood whereas others, such as P-glycoprotein and MRP2, are ABC transporters present at the canalicular domain of hepatocytes and responsible for the transmembrane passage into bile of drugs or their metabolites. Many endogenous or exogenous factors, including drug metabolizing enzyme inducers, alter expression of hepatic transporters whose activity can moreover be inhibited by various structurally-unrelated compounds. Such changes of expression and/or activity of membrane transport proteins may contribute to some drug interactions.

Glucose metabolism and hexosamine pathway regulate oncogene-induced senescence.

Oncogenic stress-induced senescence (OIS) prevents the ability of oncogenic signals to induce tumorigenesis. It is now largely admitted that the mitogenic effect of oncogenes requires metabolic adaptations to respond to new energetic and bio constituent needs. Yet, whether glucose metabolism affects OIS response is largely unknown. This is largely because of the fact that most of the OIS cellular models are cultivated in glucose excess. In this study, we used human epithelial cells, cultivated without glucose excess, to study alteration and functional role of glucose metabolism during OIS. We report a slowdown of glucose uptake and metabolism during OIS. Increasing glucose metabolism by expressing hexokinase2 (HK2), which converts glucose to glucose-6-phosphate (G6P), favors escape from OIS. Inversely, expressing a glucose-6-phosphatase, [corrected] pharmacological inhibition of HK2, or adding nonmetabolizable glucose induced a premature senescence. Manipulations of various metabolites covering G6P downstream pathways (hexosamine, glycolysis, and pentose phosphate pathways) suggest an unexpected role of the hexosamine pathway in controlling OIS. Altogether, our results show that decreased glucose metabolism occurs during and participates to OIS.

Targeting the multidrug ABCG2 transporter with flavonoidic inhibitors: in vitro optimization and in vivo validation.

This review describes the breast cancer resistance protein ABCG2 through its structure, functional roles and involvement in cell multidrug resistance, especially in cancer cells resistance to chemotherapeutics. The different types of known inhibitors are described, some being non-selective, since they also bind to other targets, and others being quite specific such as flavonoids. The different classes of active flavonoids and other polyphenols are described, some as plant natural compounds, but most of them being prepared and derivatized through medicinal chemistry. Quantitative structure-activity relationships of the ability of flavones, chalcones, xanthones, acridones and various benzopyrane/benzofurane derivatives to inhibit ABCG2-mediated drug efflux have led to pharmacophores and molecular models allowing to optimize the available hit compounds and to design new-generation lead compounds. Interestingly, inhibitory flavonoids are quite specific for ABCG2 versus ABCB1 and ABCC1, and appear either non-competitive or partially competitive towards mitoxantrone efflux. Most compounds do not inhibit ATPase activity, and are assumed not to be transported themselves by the transporter. Some acridones, firstly optimized in vitro as potent inhibitors, are indeed efficient in vivo, against human xenografts in SCID mice, more efficiently than gefitinib taken as a control. Future developments should open the way to more efficient/targeted modulators including (i) the potential interest of bimodulation by combining two different inhibitors, (ii) computer-assisted ligand-based drug design for getting more potent and more specific inhibitors, (iii) structure-based drug design from ABCG2 molecular models allowing in silico screening and docking of new inhibitors.