Role of E2F3 expression in modulating cellular proliferation rate in human bladder and prostate cancer cells.

Amplification and overexpression of the E2F3 gene at 6p22 in human bladder cancer is associated with increased tumour stage, grade and proliferation index, and in prostate cancer E2F3 overexpression is linked to tumour aggressiveness. We first used small interfering RNA technology to confirm the potential importance of E2F3 overexpression in bladder cancer development. Knockdown of E2F3 expression in bladder cells containing the 6p22 amplicon strongly reduced the extent of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and the rate of cellular proliferation. In contrast, knockdown of CDKAL1/FLJ20342, another proposed oncogene, from this amplicon had no effect. Expression cDNA microarray analysis on bladder cancer cells following E2F3 knockdown was then used to identify genes regulated by E2F3, leading to the identification of known E2F3 targets such as Cyclin A and CDC2 and novel targets including pituitary tumour transforming gene 1, Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and Caveolin-2. For both bladder and prostate cancer, we have proposed that E2F3 protein overexpression may cooperate with removal of the E2F inhibitor retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRB) to drive cellular proliferation. In support of this model, we found that ectopic expression of E2F3a enhanced the BrdU incorporation, a marker of cellular proliferation rate, of prostate cancer DU145 cells, which lack pRB, but had no effect on the proliferation rate of PC3 prostate cancer cells that express wild-type pRB. BrdU incorporation in PC3 cells could, however, be increased by overexpressing E2F3a in cells depleted of pRB. When taken together, these observations indicate that E2F3 levels have a critical role in modifying cellular proliferation rate in human bladder and prostate cancer.

Pharmacokinetically guided phase I trial of topotecan and etoposide phosphate in recurrent ovarian cancer.

A pharmacokinetically guided phase I study of topotecan and etoposide phosphate was conducted in recurrent ovarian cancer. The scheduling of the topoisomerase I and II inhibitors was determined using in vitro activity data. All patients had recurrent disease following prior platinum-containing chemotherapy. Patients had a World Health Organisation performance status of 0-2 and adequate bone marrow, renal and hepatic function. Treatment was with topotecan intravenously for 5 days followed immediately by a 5-day intravenous infusion of etoposide phosphate (EP), with pharmacokinetically guided dose adjustment. Plasma etoposide levels were measured on days 2 and 4 of the infusion. A total of 21 patients entered the study. In all, 48% were platinum resistant and 71% had received prior paclitaxel. The main toxicities were haematological, short lived and reversible. A total of 29% of patients experienced grade 4 thrombocytopenia and 66% grade 4 neutropenia after the first cycle. Neutropenia and thrombocytopenia was dose limiting. The maximum-tolerated dose was topotecan 0.85 mg m(-2) day(-1) days 1-5 followed immediately by a 5-day infusion of EP at a plasma concentration of 1 mug ml(-1). The response rate (RR) was 28% in 18 evaluable patients. There was marked interpatient variability in topoisomerase IIalpha levels measured from peripheral lymphocytes, with no observed increase following topotecan. This regimen of topotecan followed by EP demonstrated good activity in recurrent ovarian cancer and was noncrossresistant with paclitaxel. Both the toxicity and RR was higher than would be expected from the single agent data, in keeping with synergy of action.

Expression analysis onto microarrays of randomly selected cDNA clones highlights HOXB13 as a marker of human prostate cancer.

In a strategy aimed at identifying novel markers of human prostate cancer, we performed expression analysis using microarrays of clones randomly selected from a cDNA library prepared from the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. Comparisons of expression profiles in primary human prostate cancer, adjacent normal prostate tissue, and a selection of other (nonprostate) normal human tissues, led to the identification of a set of clones that were judged as the best candidate markers of normal and/or malignant prostate tissue. DNA sequencing of the selected clones revealed that they included 10 genes that had previously been established as prostate markers: NKX3.1, KLK2, KLK3 (PSA), FOLH1 (PSMA), STEAP2, PSGR, PRAC, RDH11, Prostein and FASN. Following analysis of the expression patterns of all selected and sequenced genes through interrogation of SAGE databases, a further three genes from our clone set, HOXB13, SPON2 and NCAM2, emerged as additional candidate markers of human prostate cancer. Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated the specificity of expression of HOXB13 in prostate tissue and revealed its ubiquitous expression in a series of 37 primary prostate cancers and 20 normal prostates. These results demonstrate the utility of this expression-microarray approach in hunting for new markers of individual human cancer types.

Gene expression microarray analysis in cancer biology, pharmacology, and drug development: progress and potential.

With the imminent completion of the Human Genome Project, biomedical research is being revolutionised by the ability to carry out investigations on a genome wide scale. This is particularly important in cancer, a disease that is caused by accumulating abnormalities in the sequence and expression of a number of critical genes. Gene expression microarray technology is gaining increasingly widespread use as a means to determine the expression of potentially all human genes at the level of messenger RNA. In this commentary, we review developments in gene expression microarray technology and illustrate the progress and potential of the methodology in cancer biology, pharmacology, and drug development. Important applications include: (a) development of a more global understanding of the gene expression abnormalities that contribute to malignant progression; (b) discovery of new diagnostic and prognostic indicators and biomarkers of therapeutic response; (c) identification and validation of new molecular targets for drug development; (d) provision of an improved understanding of the molecular mode of action during lead identification and optimisation, including structure-activity relationships for on-target versus off-target effects; (e) prediction of potential side-effects during preclinical development and toxicology studies; (f) confirmation of a molecular mode of action during hypothesis-testing clinical trials; (g) identification of genes involved in conferring drug sensitivity and resistance; and (h) prediction of patients most likely to benefit from the drug and use in general pharmacogenomic studies. As a result of further technological improvements and decreasing costs, the use of microarrays will become an essential and potentially routine tool for cancer and biomedical research.

Schedule-dependent cytotoxicity of SN-38 in p53 wild-type and mutant colon adenocarcinoma cell lines.

In this study the effects of SN-38 on colon adenocarcinoma cell lines expressing wild-type p53 (LS174T) or mutant non-functional p53 (HT29) have been investigated. On exposure to SN-38, HT29 cells rapidly progressed through G1 and S and arrested in G2/M. Release and concomitant increase in apoptosis after 48 h was concentration- and time-dependent (P < 0.001), being more rapid at higher concentrations, but reaching plateau at 10 ng ml(-1) with prolonged exposure. LS174T cells showed only a small increase in apoptosis, and only at high concentrations (50-100 ng ml(-1)). The main effect of SN-38 in LS174T cells was prolonged cell cycle arrest, which was independent of concentration. Arrest occurred in all phases of the cell cycle, with the distribution depending on concentration (P < 0.001) and not duration (P > 0.05). With increasing concentration, LS174T cells arrested in G2/M, S and G1. Cell cycle arrest was coincident with increased p53 expression in each phase of the cell cycle. Expression in G1 increased with time and concentration (P < 0.001, P = 0.01 respectively)whereas in S and G2/M p53 expression increased only with time (P< 0.001). Dose-dependent p53-associated G1 arrest, in the absence of DNA synthesis indicates an additional cytotoxic mechanism for SN-38, which requires higher concentrations than the S phase mechanism, and detection of which seems to involve p53. For incubations with the same ED (exposure x duration), apoptosis in HT29 cells was significantly higher for prolonged exposure to lower concentrations, whereas in LS174T cells there was a trend towards increased apoptosis with shorter exposures to higher concentrations, indicating a schedule effect of SN-38. Although expression of wild-type p53 leads to a more rapid induction of apoptosis, SN-38 cytotoxicity was generally greater in cells with mutant p53, as wild-type cells escaped apoptosis by p53 associated prolonged cell cycle arrest. Thus, pulsed schedules with higher doses may be more effective in cells expressing wild-type p53, whereas continued exposure with protracted schedules may be more active in cells expressing mutant p53.

RNA synthesis block by 5, 6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) triggers p53-dependent apoptosis in human colon carcinoma cells.

Most modern chemo- and radiotherapy treatments of human cancers use the DNA damage pathway, which induces a p53 response leading to either G1 arrest or apoptosis. However, such treatments can induce mutations and translocations leading to secondary malignancies or recurrent disease, which often have a poor prognosis because of resistance to therapy. Here we report that 5, 6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB), an inhibitor of CDK7 TFIIH-associated kinase, CKI and CKII kinases, blocking RNA polymerase II in the early elongation stage, triggers p53-dependent apoptosis in human colon adenocarcinoma cells in a transcription independent manner. The fact that DRB kills tumour-derived cells without employment of DNA damage gives rise to the possibility of the development of a new alternative chemotherapeutic treatment of tumours expressing wild type p53, with a decreased risk of therapy-related, secondary malignancies.

An efficient system for active bovine pancreatic ribonuclease expression in Escherichia coli.

Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A) is a member of a homologous group of extensively studied proteins. It is a small, basic protein, containing 124 amino acid residues and four stabilizing disulfide bridges. Ribonuclease A catalyzes the hydrolysis of the phosphodiester bonds in ribonucleic acids. Since this degradation of RNA interferes with normal cell functions, the signal peptide of alkaline phosphatase (phoA, Escherichia coli) was cloned onto the gene coding for RNase A, directing the protein to the periplasm. Several expression systems have been evaluated which use T7, trc, or PR promoters to transcribe the RNase A gene. Also, variation in host strains was tested to optimize the protein yield. It was found that the PR system gave better expression than the two other systems. E. coli strain BL21 was shown to be the strain in which export to the periplasm was most effective and recombinant RNase A could be isolated from the periplasmic fraction of these cells. The system provides a stable yield of active recombinant bovine pancreatic RNase of about 45-50 mg/liter of cell culture.