Suppression of tumor growth by designed dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine targeting hypoxia-inducible transcription factor complex.

Hypoxia is a hallmark of solid tumors, is associated with local invasion, metastatic spread, resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy, and is an independent, negative prognostic factor for a diverse range of malignant neoplasms. The cellular response to hypoxia is primarily mediated by a family of transcription factors, among which hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) plays a major role. Under normoxia, the oxygen-sensitive α subunit of HIF1 is rapidly and constitutively degraded but is stabilized and accumulates under hypoxia. Upon nuclear translocation, HIF1 controls the expression of over 100 genes involved in angiogenesis, altered energy metabolism, antiapoptotic, and pro-proliferative mechanisms that promote tumor growth. A designed transcriptional antagonist, dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine (ETP 2), selectively disrupts the interaction of HIF1α with p300/CBP coactivators and downregulates the expression of hypoxia-inducible genes. ETP 2 was synthesized via a novel homo-oxidative coupling of the aliphatic primary carbons of the dithioacetal precursor. It effectively inhibits HIF1-induced activation of VEGFA, LOX, Glut1, and c-Met genes in a panel of cell lines representing breast and lung cancers. We observed an outstanding antitumor efficacy of both (±)-ETP 2 and meso-ETP 2 in a fully established breast carcinoma model by intravital microscopy. Treatment with either form of ETP 2 (1 mg/kg) resulted in a rapid regression of tumor growth that lasted for up to 14 days. These results suggest that inhibition of HIF1 transcriptional activity by designed dimeric ETPs could offer an innovative approach to cancer therapy with the potential to overcome hypoxia-induced tumor growth and resistance.

Regulation of colony stimulating factor-1 expression and ovarian cancer cell behavior in vitro by miR-128 and miR-152.

BACKGROUND: Colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) plays an important role in ovarian cancer biology and as a prognostic factor in ovarian cancer. Elevated levels of CSF-1 promote progression of ovarian cancer, by binding to CSF-1R (the tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by c-fms proto-oncogene).Post-transcriptional regulation of CSF-1 mRNA by its 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) has been studied previously. Several cis-acting elements in 3'UTR are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of CSF-1 mRNA. These include conserved protein-binding motifs as well as miRNA targets. miRNAs are 21-23nt single strand RNA which bind the complementary sequences in mRNAs, suppressing translation and enhancing mRNA degradation. RESULTS: In this report, we investigate the effect of miRNAs on post-transcriptional regulation of CSF-1 mRNA in human ovarian cancer. Bioinformatics analysis predicts at least 14 miRNAs targeting CSF-1 mRNA 3'UTR. By mutations in putative miRNA targets in CSF-1 mRNA 3'UTR, we identified a common target for both miR-128 and miR-152. We have also found that both miR-128 and miR-152 down-regulate CSF-1 mRNA and protein expression in ovarian cancer cells leading to decreased cell motility and adhesion in vitro, two major aspects of the metastatic potential of cancer cells. CONCLUSION: The major CSF-1 mRNA 3'UTR contains a common miRNA target which is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of CSF-1. Our results provide the evidence for a mechanism by which miR-128 and miR-152 down-regulate CSF-1, an important regulator of ovarian cancer.

Direct inhibition of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor complex with designed dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine.

Selective blockade of hypoxia-inducible gene expression by designed small molecules would prove valuable in suppressing tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and altered energy metabolism. We report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a dimeric epidithiodiketopiperazine (ETP) small molecule transcriptional antagonist targeting the interaction of the p300/CBP coactivator with the transcription factor HIF-1alpha. Our results indicate that disrupting this interaction results in rapid downregulation of hypoxia-inducible genes critical for cancer progression. The observed effects are compound-specific and dose-dependent. Controlling gene expression with designed small molecules targeting the transcription factor-coactivator interface may represent a new approach for arresting tumor growth.

Old target new approach: an alternate NF-kappaB activation pathway via translation inhibition.

Activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB is a highly regulated multi-level process. The critical step during activation is the release from its inhibitor IkappaB, which as any other protein is under the direct influence of translation regulation. In this review, we summarize in detail the current understanding of the impact of translational regulation on NF-kappaB activation. We illustrate a newly developed mechanism of eIF2alpha kinase-mediated IkappaB depletion and subsequent NF-kappaB activation. We also show that the classical NF-kappaB activation pathways occur simultaneously with, and are complemented by, translational down regulation of the inhibitor molecule IkappaB, the importance of one or the other being shifted in accordance with the type and magnitude of the stressing agent or stimuli.

Mechanism of UV-induced IkappaBalpha-independent activation of NF-kappaB.

Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) plays an important role in UV-induced skin tumorigenesis. Activation of NF-kappaB by UV-irradiation is composed of two phases. The early phase culminates with maximal levels of DNA binding ability at 4 h postirradiation and is dependent on translational inhibition. The late-phase activation of NF-kappaB occurs between 16 and 48 h post-irradiation and the mechanism is not clear due to the fact that NF-kappaB was activated in the presence of high level of IkappaBalpha. In this report, we provide evidence that without translational inhibition, the transcription of IkappaBalpha was induced by UV-irradiation. In the late-phase of UV-induced NF-kappaB activation, the IkappaBalpha depletion is the combined result of regulation at both transcriptional and translational levels. Neither ubiquitination nor proteasomal degradation have detectable attributions to IkappaBalpha breakdown. We also demonstrate that UV only induced phosphorylation of p65(S276), while tumor necrosis factor-alpha induced phosphorylation at both Ser276 and 536 sites of p65. Based upon our results, we propose a novel mechanism for translation-regulated IkappaBalpha depletion and MSK-mediated NF-kappaB activation at 24 h post-UV-irradiation.

Inhibition of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor complex with designed epipolythiodiketopiperazine.

Designed small molecule inhibitors of hypoxia-inducible gene expression have potential to become new research tools for molecular biology, genetics and serve as leads to new therapeutics. We report design, synthesis evaluation of biological activity, and a preliminary mechanistic study of epipolythiodiketopiperazine (ETP) transcriptional antagonist that targets the interaction between the C-terminal transactivation domain (C-TAD) of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and cysteine-histidine rich region (CH1) of transcriptional coactivator p300/CBP. Our results indicate that in cultured cells synthetic ETP 3 disrupts the structure and function of this complex in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in rapid downregulation of hypoxia-inducible gene expression.

The role of nitric-oxide synthase in the regulation of UVB light-induced phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2.

UV light induces phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha) and inhibits global protein synthesis. Both eIF2 kinases, protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) and general control of nonderepressible protein kinase 2 (GCN2), have been shown to phosphorylate eIF2alpha in response to UV irradiation. However, the roles of PERK and GCN2 in UV-induced eIF2alpha phosphorylation are controversial. The one or more upstream signaling pathways that lead to the activation of PERK or GCN2 remain unknown. In this report we provide data showing that both PERK and GCN2 contribute to UV-induced eIF2alpha phosphorylation in human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. Reduction of expression of PERK or GCN2 by small interfering RNA decreases phosphorylation of eIF2alpha after UV irradiation. These data also show that nitric-oxide synthase (NOS)-mediated oxidative stress plays a role in regulation of eIF2alpha phosphorylation upon UV irradiation. Treating the cells with the broad NOS inhibitor N(G)-methyl-l-arginine, the free radical scavenger N-acetyl-l-cysteine, or the NOS substrate l-arginine partially inhibits UV-induced eIF2alpha phosphorylation. The results presented above led us to propose that NOS mediates UV-induced eIF2alpha phosphorylation by activation of both PERK and GCN2 via oxidative stress and l-arginine starvation signaling pathways.

The role of translational regulation in ultraviolet C light-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression.

AIMS: The role of ultraviolet C light (UVC)-induced phosphorylation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) in the regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression at both transcriptional and translational levels is investigated. MAIN METHODS: Western analysis was used to determine COX expressions. Immunoprecipitation after [(35)S]-Met/Cys metabolic labeling was used to determine the rate for COX-2 synthesis and turnover. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine COX-2 mRNA levels. Ingenuity Pathways Analysis 6 was used for mapping COX-2 activation network. KEY FINDINGS: UVC induces COX-2 expression in wild-type mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF(S/S)) and that the inducibility is reduced in MEF(A/A) cells in which the phosphorylation site, Ser-51 in the eIF2alpha, is replaced with a nonphosphorylatable Ala (S51A). UVC-induced transcription of COX-2 is delayed in MEF(A/A) cells, which correlates with NF-kappaB activation as previously reported (Wu, S, Tan, M, Hu, Y, Wang, JL, Scheuner, D, Kaufman, RJ, Ultraviolet light activates NFkappaB through translational inhibition of IkappaBalpha synthesis. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279, 34898-34902, 2004). The translational efficiency of COX-2 is higher in MEF(A/A) cells than in MEF(S/S) cells at 4 h, but not at 24 h post-UVC. The translation efficiency is correlated to the ratio of activated COX-2 binding protein HuR/TIAR. In addition, the newly synthesized COX-2 protein is more stable in MEF(A/A) cells than in MEF(S/S) cells. The results demonstrated a complex and dynamic regulation of COX-2 expression. SIGNIFICANCE: UVC induces a prolonged expression of COX-2. While transcriptional regulation of COX-2 expression is intensively studied, the role of translational regulation of COX-2 synthesis upon UVC-irradiation is not yet clear. This study elucidated a novel eIF2alpha phosphorylation-centered network for the regulation of COX-2 expression after UVC-irradiation.