Regulation of osteoprotegerin pro- or anti-tumoral activity by bone tumor microenvironment.

Tumor development in bone is often associated with fractures, bone loss and bone pain, and improvement is still needed in therapeutic approaches. Bone tumors are related to the existence of a vicious cycle between bone resorption and tumor proliferation in which the molecular triad osteoprotegerin (OPG)/receptor activator of NF-kappaB (RANK)/RANK ligand (RANKL) plays a pivotal role. RANKL, a member of the TNF superfamily, is one of the main inducers of bone resorption. Its soluble receptor OPG represents a promising therapeutic candidate as it prevents bone lesions and inhibits associated tumor growth. However, its therapeutic use in bone tumors remains controversial due to its ability to bind and inhibit another member of the TNF superfamily, TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), which is a potent inducer of tumor cell apoptosis. Through its heparin binding domain, OPG is also able to bind proteoglycans present in the bone matrix. This paper is an overview of the involvement of the micro-environment, as represented by the balance of RANKL/TRAIL and the presence of proteoglycans in the regulation of OPG biological activity in bone tumors.

Advantages of bioluminescence imaging to follow siRNA or chemotherapeutic treatments in osteosarcoma preclinical models.

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant primary bone tumor for which pertinent preclinical models are still needed to develop new therapeutic strategies. As osteosarcoma growth is strongly supported by bone resorption, previous studies have inhibited the cytokine receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand using antibodies or recombinant proteins. However, its expression has not yet been inhibited using genetic approaches using small interfering RNA. To optimize the delivery of small interfering RNA to its cellular target and demonstrate their efficiency in vivo, two new osteosarcoma models expressing the firefly luciferase enzyme were developed. These luciferase-expressing osteosarcomas showed conserved osteolytic and osteogenic activities in mice and were detectable by in vivo bioluminescence imaging. In comparison with measurement of tumor volume, bioluminescence analysis enabled earlier tumor detection and revealed extensive cell death in response to ifosfamide treatment. Finally, by targeting the luciferase expression into osteosarcoma, we established a protocol for in vivo administration of small interfering RNA combined with cationic liposome.