Benzylideneacetone Derivatives Inhibit Osteoclastogenesis and Activate Osteoblastogenesis Independently Based on Specific Structure-Activity Relationship.

(E)-3,4-Dihydroxybenzylideneacetone (compound 1) inhibited receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-induced osteoclastogenesis of C57BL/6 bone marrow monocyte/macrophages with IC50 of 7.8 µM (IC50 of alendronate, 3.7 µM) while stimulating the differentiation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells, accompanied by the induction of Runt-related transcription factor 2, alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin. (E)-4-(3-Hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one (compound 2c) showed a dramatically increased osteoclast-inhibitory potency with IC50 of 0.11 µM while sustaining osteoblast-stimulatory activity. (E)-4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one (compound 2g) stimulated alkaline phosphatase production 2-fold at 50 µM without changing osteoclast-inhibitory activity, compared with compound 1. Oral administration of compounds 1, 2c, and 2g prevented ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in ddY mice to a degree proportional to their osteoclastogenesis-inhibitory potencies. The administration of 1 (mg/kg)/d compound 2c ameliorated histomorphometry of osteoporotic bone to a degree comparable with 10 (mg/kg)/d alendronate. Conclusively, the in vitro capacity of a few benzylideneacetone derivatives to inhibit osteoclastogenesis supported by independent osteoblastogenesis activation was convincingly reflected in in vivo management of osteoporosis, suggesting a potential novel therapeutics for osteopenic diseases.

Inhibition of ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 and cholinesterases by pterosins via a specific structure-activity relationship with a strong BBB permeability.

We extracted 15 pterosin derivatives from Pteridium aquilinum that inhibited ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and cholinesterases involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). (2R)-Pterosin B inhibited BACE1, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with an IC50 of 29.6, 16.2 and 48.1 µM, respectively. The Ki values and binding energies (kcal/mol) between pterosins and BACE1, AChE, and BChE corresponded to the respective IC50 values. (2R)-Pterosin B was a noncompetitive inhibitor against human BACE1 and BChE as well as a mixed-type inhibitor against AChE, binding to the active sites of the corresponding enzymes. Molecular docking simulation of mixed-type and noncompetitive inhibitors for BACE1, AChE, and BChE indicated novel binding site-directed inhibition of the enzymes by pterosins and the structure-activity relationship. (2R)-Pterosin B exhibited a strong BBB permeability with an effective permeability (Pe) of 60.3×10-6 cm/s on PAMPA-BBB. (2R)-Pterosin B and (2R,3 R)-pteroside C significantly decreased the secretion of Aß peptides from neuroblastoma cells that overexpressed human ß-amyloid precursor protein at 500 µM. Conclusively, our study suggested that several pterosins are potential scaffolds for multitarget-directed ligands (MTDLs) for AD therapeutics.

MicroRNA-196b enhances the radiosensitivity of SNU-638 gastric cancer cells by targeting RAD23B.

Gastric cancer is characterized by resistance to ionizing radiation. The development of resistance to radiotherapy in gastric cancer patients is one of the obstacles to effective radiotherapy. MicroRNAs are small well-conserved non-coding RNA species that regulate post-transcriptional activation. Our study aimed to investigate the role of miR-196b in radiation-induced gastric cancer. In the present study, we found that miR-196b expression was significantly reduced following radiation. The ectopic miR-196b expression sensitized SNU-638 gastric cancer cells and increased γ-H2AX foci upon radiation treatment. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that the DNA repair protein RAD23B was a putative target gene of miR-196b. Overexpression of miR-196b suppressed RAD23B expression in SNU-638 cells. Reporter assays further showed that miR-196b inhibited RAD23B 3'-UTR luciferase activity. Knockdown of RAD23B by small interfering RNA transfection closely mimicked the outcomes of miR-196b transfection, leading to impaired DNA damage repair in gastric cancer cells. Our results show that miR-196b improved radiosensitivity of SNU-638 cells by targeting RAD23B. Our data indicate that miR-196b is a potential target to enhance the effect of radiation treatment on gastric cancer cells. These findings will provide evidence for a new therapeutic target in radiotherapy.

Augmentation of natural cytotoxicity by chronic low-dose ionizing radiation in murine natural killer cells primed by IL-2.

The possible beneficial effects of chronic low-dose irradiation (LDR) and its mechanism of action in a variety of pathophysiological processes such as cancer are a subject of intense investigation. While animal studies involving long-term exposure to LDR have yielded encouraging results, the influence of LDR at the cellular level has been less well defined. We reasoned that since natural killer (NK) cells constitute an early responder to exogenous stress, NK cells may reveal sentinel alterations in function upon exposure to LDR. When purified NK cells received LDR at 4.2 mGy/h for a total of 0.2 Gy in vitro, no significant difference in cell viability was observed. Likewise, no functional changes were detected in LDR-exposed NK cells, demonstrating that LDR alone was insufficient to generate changes at the cellular level. Nonetheless, significant augmentation of cytotoxic, but not proliferative, function was detected when NK cells were stimulated with low-dose IL-2 prior to irradiation. This enhancement of NK cytotoxicity was not due to alterations in NK-activating receptors, NK1.1, NKG2D, CD69 and 2B4, or changes in the rate of early or late apoptosis. Therefore, LDR, in the presence of suboptimal cytokine levels, can facilitate anti-tumor cytotoxicity of NK cells without influencing cellular proliferation or apoptosis. Whether these results translate to in vivo consequences remains to be seen; however, our data provide initial evidence that exposure to LDR can lead to subtle immune-enhancing effects on NK cells and may explain, in part, the functional basis underlying, diverse beneficial effects seen in the animals chronically exposed to LDR.

Cells with dysfunctional telomeres are susceptible to reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide via generation of multichromosomal fusions and chromosomal fragments bearing telomeres.

During genotoxic stress, reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is a prime mediator of the DNA damage response. Telomeres function both to assist in DNA damage repair and to inhibit chromosomal end-to-end fusion. Here, we show that telomere dysfunction renders cells susceptible to H(2)O(2), via generation of multichromosomal fusion and chromosomal fragments. H(2)O(2) caused formation of multichromosomal end-to-end fusions involving more than three chromosomes, preferentially when telomeres were erosive. Interestingly, extensive chromosomal fragmentation (yielding small-sized fragments) occurred only in cells exhibiting such multichromosomal fusions. Telomeres were absent from fusion points, being rather present in the small fragments, indicating that H(2)O(2) cleaves chromosomal regions adjacent to telomeres. Restoration of telomere function or addition of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine prevented development of chromosomal aberrations and rescued the observed hypersensitivity to H(2)O(2). Thus, chromosomal regions adjacent to telomeres become sensitive to reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide when telomeres are dysfunctional, and are cleaved to produce multichromosomal fusions and small chromosomal fragments bearing the telomeres.

Clusterin induces matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression via ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathways in monocytes/macrophages.

Most solid tumor tissues possess a significant population of macrophages, which are known to be closely linked with tumor progression and metastasis. Clusterin has been reported to be overexpressed in various tumors and to have a tumor-promoting role. As clusterin induction and macrophage infiltration occur concurrently at the tumor site, it raises a possibility that clusterin may regulate the function of macrophages via facilitating ECM remodeling. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the expression of MMP-9 by clusterin in human primary monocytes as well as human and murine macrophage cell lines, THP-1, and Raw264.7. MMP-9 expression was accompanied by increased enzymatic activity, as revealed by gelatin zymography. The MMP-9 activity promoted by clusterin was found to be dependent on the activation of ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt but not p38 or JNK pathways. Inhibition of PI3K activity did not affect the activation of ERK1/2 and vice versa, indicating that the two pathways were independently operated to stimulate MMP-9 activity. Moreover, clusterin facilitated nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 along with IκB-α degradation and phosphorylation, which was critical for MMP-9 expression. As NF-κB is a central regulator of inflammation, clusterin may provide a molecular link between inflammation and cancer via up-regulating NF-κB and MMP-9. Collectively, these data highlight a novel role of clusterin as a stimulator for MMP-9 expression in macrophages, which may contribute to the tissue reorganization by serving as a modulator for ECM degradation.

Paclitaxel stimulates chromosomal fusion and instability in cells with dysfunctional telomeres: implication in multinucleation and chemosensitization.

The anticancer effect of paclitaxel is attributable principally to irreversible promotion of microtubule stabilization and is hampered upon development of chemoresistance by tumor cells. Telomere shortening, and eventual telomere erosion, evoke chromosomal instability, resulting in particular cellular responses. Using telomerase-deficient cells derived from mTREC-/-p53-/- mice, here we show that, upon telomere erosion, paclitaxel propagates chromosomal instability by stimulating chromosomal end-to-end fusions and delaying the development of multinucleation. The end-to-end fusions involve both the p- and q-arms in cells in which telomeres are dysfunctional. Paclitaxel-induced chromosomal fusions were accompanied by prolonged G2/M cell cycle arrest, delayed multinucleation, and apoptosis. Telomere dysfunctional cells with mutlinucleation eventually underwent apoptosis. Thus, as telomere erosion proceeds, paclitaxel stimulates chromosomal fusion and instability, and both apoptosis and chemosensitization eventually develop.

Clonal cell populations unresponsive to radiosensitization induced by telomerase inhibition.

A combination of a radiotherapeutic regimen with telomerase inhibition is valuable when tumor cells are to be sensitized to radiation. Here, we describe cell clones unresponsive to radiosensitization after telomere shortening. After extensive division of individual transformed clones of mTERC-/- cells, about 22% of clones were unresponsive to radiosensitization even though telomerase action was inhibited. The telomere lengths of unsensitized mTERC-/- clones were reduced, as were those of most sensitized clones. However, the unsensitized clones did not exhibit chromosomal end-to-end fusion to the extent noted in all sensitized clones. Thus, a defense mechanism preventing telomere erosion is operative even when telomeres become shorter under conditions of telomerase deficiency, and results in unresponsiveness to the radiosensitization generally mediated by telomere shortening.

p31comet Induces cellular senescence through p21 accumulation and Mad2 disruption.

Functional suppression of spindle checkpoint protein activity results in apoptotic cell death arising from mitotic failure, including defective spindle formation, chromosome missegregation, and premature mitotic exit. The recently identified p31(comet) protein acts as a spindle checkpoint silencer via communication with the transient Mad2 complex. In the present study, we found that p31(comet) overexpression led to two distinct phenotypic changes, cellular apoptosis and senescence. Because of a paucity of direct molecular link of spindle checkpoint to cellular senescence, however, the present report focuses on the relationship between abnormal spindle checkpoint formation and p31(comet)-induced senescence by using susceptible tumor cell lines. p31(comet)-induced senescence was accompanied by mitotic catastrophe with massive nuclear and chromosomal abnormalities. The progression of the senescence was completely inhibited by the depletion of p21(Waf1/Cip1) and partly inhibited by the depletion of the tumor suppressor protein p53. Notably, p21(Waf1/Cip1) depletion caused a dramatic phenotypic conversion of p31(comet)-induced senescence into cell death through mitotic catastrophe, indicating that p21(Waf1/Cip1) is a major mediator of p31(comet)-induced cellular senescence. In contrast to wild-type p31(comet), overexpression of a p31 mutant lacking the Mad2 binding region did not cause senescence. Moreover, depletion of Mad2 by small interfering RNA induced senescence. Here, we show that p31(comet) induces tumor cell senescence by mediating p21(Waf1/Cip1) accumulation and Mad2 disruption and that these effects are dependent on a direct interaction of p31(comet) with Mad2. Our results could be used to control tumor growth.

Arginine deiminase enhances MCF-7 cell radiosensitivity by inducing changes in the expression of cell cycle-related proteins.

After successful clinical application, arginine deiminase (ADI) has been proposed to be a new cancer therapeutic. In the present study, we examined the effect of ADI in combination with ionizing radiation (IR) on MCF-7 cell growth and clonogenic cell death. Cell growth was inhibited by IR in a dose-dependent manner and ADI enhanced the radiosensitivity. ADI itself did not suppress the growth of MCF-7 cells due to the high level of expression of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS), which convert citrulline, a product of arginine degradation by ADI, to arginine. Previously, it was suggested that ammonia, another product of arginine degradation by ADI, is the main cause of the growth inhibition of irradiated hepatoma cells contaminated with ADI-expressing mycoplasma [van Rijn et al. (2003)]. However, we found that ammonia is not the only factor that enhances radiosensitivity, as enhancement was also observed in the absence of ammonia. In order to identify the enhancing effect, levels of ASS and proteins related to the cell cycle were examined. ASS was unchanged by ADI plus IR, but p21 (a CDK inhibitor) was upregulated and c-Myc downregulated. These findings indicate that changes in the expressions of cell cycle proteins are involved in the enhancement of radiosensitivity by ADI. We suggest that ADI is a potential adjunct to cancer therapy.

Evaluation of a malaria antibody enzyme immunoassay for use in blood screening.

Transfusion-transmitted malaria is rare, but it may produce severe problem in the safety of blood transfusion due to the lack of reliable procedure to evaluate donors potentially exposed to malaria. Here, we evaluated a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay malaria antibody test (ELISA malaria antibody test, DiaMed, Switzerland) to detect antibodies to Plasmodium vivax (the indigenous malaria) in the blood samples in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Blood samples of four groups were obtained and analyzed; 100 samples from P.vivax infected patients, 35 from recovery patients, 366 from normal healthy individuals, and 325 from domestic travelers of non-endemic areas residents to risky areas of ROK. P.vivax antibody levels by ELISA were then compared to the results from microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. As a result, the ELISA malaria antibody test had a clinical sensitivity of 53.0% and a clinical specificity of 94.0% for P.vivax. Twenty out of 325 domestic travelers (6.2%) were reactive and 28 cases (8.6%) were doubtful. Of the reactive and doubtful cases, only two were confirmed as acute malaria by both microscopy and PCR test. Thus we found that the ELISA malaria antibody test was insufficiently sensitive for blood screening of P.vivax in ROK.

Gamma-irradiation enhances RECK protein levels in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells.

Radiotherapy is an important treatment for many malignant tumors, but there are recent reports that radiation may increase the malignancy of cancer cells by stimulating expression of type IV collagenases. In this study, we examined changes in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors, such as the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, TIMP-2 and RECK, in response to irradiation in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells. Irradiation increased RECK protein levels but not mRNA levels, whereas no significant changes were found in TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. The enhanced RECK protein levels were associated with an increase in MMP inhibitory activity. However, irradiation slightly but reproducibly increased the invasiveness of the Panc-1 cells. Like irradiation, treatment of Panc-1 cells with transforming growth factor (TGF)-Beta1 led to a 2-fold increase in RECK protein levels. Transient transfection with Smad3 also increased RECK protein levels, but transfection with Smad7 markedly reduced them. Stable expression of Smad7 and treatment with SB431542, an inhibitor of TGF-Beta receptor I kinase, abolished TGF-Beta1- and radiation-mediated effects on RECK. Furthermore, irradiation increased levels of phosphorylated Smad3. We conclude that radiation post-transciptionally enhances RECK protein levels in Panc-1 cells, at least in part, via TGF-Beta signaling, and that irradiation increases Panc-1 invasiveness via a mechanism that may not be linked to MMP-2 activity.

Evaluation of a malaria antibody enzyme immunoassay for use in blood screening

Transfusion-transmitted malaria is rare, but it may produce severe problem in the safety of blood transfusion due to the lack of reliable procedure to evaluate donors potentially exposed to malaria. Here, we evaluated a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay malaria antibody test (ELISA malaria antibody test, DiaMed, Switzerland) to detect antibodies to Plasmodium vivax (the indigenous malaria) in the blood samples in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Blood samples of four groups were obtained and analyzed; 100 samples from P.vivax infected patients, 35 from recovery patients, 366 from normal healthy individuals, and 325 from domestic travelers of non-endemic areas residents to risky areas of ROK. P.vivax antibody levels by ELISA were then compared to the results from microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. As a result, the ELISA malaria antibody test had a clinical sensitivity of 53.0 percent and a clinical specificity of 94.0 percent for P.vivax. Twenty out of 325 domestic travelers (6.2 percent) were reactive and 28 cases (8.6 percent) were doubtful. Of the reactive and doubtful cases, only two were confirmed as acute malaria by both microscopy and PCR test. Thus we found that the ELISA malaria antibody test was insufficiently sensitive for blood screening of P.vivax in ROK.

Mutation analysis of p31comet gene, a negative regulator of Mad2, in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Failure of mitotic checkpoint machinery leads to the chromosomal missegregation and nuclear endoreduplication, thereby driving the emergence of aneuploidy and tetraploidy population. Although abnormal nuclear ploidy and the resulting impairment of mitotic checkpoint function are typical physiological event leading to human hepatocellular carcinoma, any mutational change of mitotic checkpoint regulators has not yet been discovered. Therefore, we investigated the mutation of p31(comet), a recently identified mitotic checkpoint regulator, in human hepatocellular carcinoma. Of 51 human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and 6 cell lines tested, five samples exhibited nucleotide sequence variations dispersed on four sites within the entire coding sequence. Among these sites with sequence substitutions, three were found to be missense mutation accompanied with amino acid change but one was a silent mutation. Of these sequence substitutions, two were present in both tumor and non-tumor liver tissues, suggesting the possibility of polymorphism. The present findings indicate that p31(comet) does not have an impact on the formation of aneuploidy and tetraploidy found in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

SIRT1 promotes DNA repair activity and deacetylation of Ku70.

Human SIRT1 controls various physiological responses including cell fate, stress, and aging, through deacetylation of its specific substrate protein. In processing DNA damage signaling, SIRT1 attenuates a cellular apoptotic response by deacetylation of p53 tumor suppressor. The present study shows that, upon exposure to radiation, SIRT1 could enhance DNA repair capacity and deacetylation of repair protein Ku70. Ectopically over-expressed SIRT1 resulted in the increase of repair of DNA strand breakages produced by radiation. On the other hand, repression of endogenous SIRT1 expression by SIRT1 siRNA led to the decrease of this repair activity, indicating that SIRT1 can regulate DNA repair capacity of cells with DNA strand breaks. In addition, we found that SIRT1 physically complexed with repair protein Ku70, leading to subsequent deacetylation. The dominant-negative SIRT1, a catalytically inactive form, did not induce deacetylation of Ku70 protein as well as increase of DNA repair capacity. These observations suggest that SIRT1 modulates DNA repair activity, which could be regulated by the acetylation status of repair protein Ku70 following DNA damage.

Chromosomal end fusion resulting from telomere erosion increases susceptibility to radiation via multinucleation: effect of p53.

Loss of p53 tumor suppressor facilitates acquisition of telomerase activity. In fact, both p53 inactivation and telomerase activation are frequently found in human cancers. p53 inactivation, however, eliminates or attenuates the biological responses to telomerase inhibition and the eventual telomere erosion. We show that telomere erosion can increase the susceptibility to radiation, irrespective of p53 status. Both telomerase inhibition and critically shortened telomere with significant change of chromosomal end-to-end fusion were essential for the enhancement of radiosensitivity. The enhancement was correlated with greater formation of multinucleated cells. p53 inactivation did not eliminate the observed generation of chromosomal fusion and multinucleation, and the resulting increased susceptibility to radiation, as opposed to the previously proved role of p53 in mediating cellular responses to telomere dysfunction. The present findings suggest the importance of chromosomal end fusion in modulating radiosensitivity rather than p53 DNA damage signaling. Thus, the suggested anticancer radiotherapeutic strategy combined with telomerase inhibition could clinically be applicable to cancers, irrespective of p53 status.

The nuclear 16-kD protein methylation increases in the early period of liver regeneration in a hepatectomized rat.

Methylation events play a critical role in various cellular processes including regulation of gene transcription and proliferation. We observed that methyltransferase activity underwent time-dependent changes in the cytosol of the rat hepatocytes upon partial hepatectomy. However,any change in the methylation of nuclear proteins is not clear during hepatocyte proliferation. The nuclear fraction possesses basal level of methyltransferase to catalyze methylation of several proteins ranging from 7 to 70 kD prior to any hepatecmony. The specific p16 (16 kD)band was transiently and heavily methylated post 1 day hepatectomy, and then became non-detectable, but not in the control liver. Methylation of p16 band was completely inhibited by exogenously added histones, particularly 2AS, 1,2A and 2B subtypes. The methylated p16 protein remains stable in either acid or alkali- induced demethylation conditions, indicating that methylation is not likely to occur on isoaspartyl or C-terminal cysteinyl residues. Exogenous addition of non-hydrolyzable GTP caused a dose-dependent suppression of a p16 methylation suggesting that G-proteins might play a role as an endogenous methylation inhibitor in vivo. Taken together, we have identified the proliferation event associated-methylation of the nuclear p16 protein in the hepatocytes undergoing liver regeneration.

Pharmacokinetics of (111)In-labeled triplex-forming oligonucleotide targeting human N-myc gene.

The radiolabeled triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) demonstrated the potential for sequence-specific DNA binding and destruction. In this study, by selecting the polypurine-polypyrimidine stretch (2950-2978) in the human N-myc gene as a target, the (111)In-labeled TFO targeting human N-myc gene (N-mycTFO(111)In) was tested for its cellular uptake and nuclear localization in vitro and in vivo. This is because the deregulated N-myc expression is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of several important human malignancies, including breast carcinoma and neuroblastoma. N-mycTFO(111)In was bound selectively to the N-myc sequence in vitro. The total cellular uptake of TFO after the incubation of various normal and cancer cells with TFO for 24 h was 20-54.8% of the injected dose (%ID), and the nuclear localization was 6.59-30.0%ID, depending on cell lines. The highest cellular uptake was found in the human neuroblastoma SK-N-DZ (54.8%ID), human mammary ductal carcinoma T47-D (54%ID), human acute T cell leukemia Jurkat (54%ID), and multidrug-resistant human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7/TH (49.5%ID). The lowest was in the human normal mammary epithelium MCF10A (20.0%ID). The highest nuclear localization was found in MCF7/TH (30%ID) and SK-N-DZ (28.7%ID). The lowest was in MCF11A (6.59%ID). We next injected TFO into human mammary tumor-xenografted Balb/c nude mice. Tumor targeting of TFO in vivo reached its maximum peak 5 h after the intravenous injection in three types of tumor models. They are 21.0 +/- 3.23%ID per gram of tissue (%ID/g) for MCF7/TH, 7.77 +/- 2.11%ID/g for MCF7, and 4.53 +/- 1.20%ID/g for MCF10A. The TFO blood level decreased from 8.00 +/- 0.90%ID/g 15 min after the injection, to 1.30 +/- 0.30%ID/g after 19 h. The kidney TFO level increased rapidly from 5.93 +/- 0.94%ID/g after 15 min, to 25.1 +/- 5.60%ID/g after 19 h. A high TFO level (19.7-24.5%ID/g) in the liver was maintained until 19 h after the injection. Therefore, we suggest that the (111)In-labeled N-myc-targeting TFO, a promising modality for nanoexplosive gene therapy, could effectively target the nucleus of the multidrug-resistant breast carcinoma MCF7/TH in vitro and in vivo. It has approximately 130 min of half-life of blood TFO.

Genome-wide expression profiling of 8-chloroadenosine- and 8-chloro-cAMP-treated human neuroblastoma cells using radioactive human cDNA microarray.

Previous reports raised question as to whether 8-chloro-cyclic adenosine 3,5-monophosphate (8-Cl-cAMP) is a prodrug for its metabolite, 8-Cl-adenosine which exerts growth inhibition in a broad spectrum of cancer cells. The present study was carried out to clarify overall cellular affects of 8-Cl-cAMP and 8-Cl-adenosine on SK-N-DZ human neuroblastoma cells by systematically characterizing gene expression using radioactive human cDNA microarray. Microarray was prepared with PCR-amplified cDNA of 2,304 known genes spotted on nylon membranes, employing (33)P-labeled cDNAs of SK-N-DZ cells as a probe. The expression levels of approximately 100 cDNAs, representing about 8% of the total DNA elements on the array, were altered in 8-Cl-adenosine- or 8-Cl-cAMP-treated cells, respectively. The genome-wide expression of the two samples exhibited partial overlaps; different sets of up-regulated genes but the same set of down-regulated genes. 8-Cl-adenosine treatment up-regulated genes involved in differentiation and development (LIM protein, connexin 26, neogenin, neurofilament triplet L protein and p21(WAF1/CIP1)) and immune response such as natural killer cells protein 4, and down-regulated ones involved in proliferation and transformation (transforming growth factor-beta, DYRK2, urokinase-type plasminogen activator and proteins involved in transcription and translation) which were in close parallel with those by 8-Cl-cAMP. Our results indicated that the two drugs shared common genomic pathways for the down-regulation of certain genes, but used distinct pathways for the up-regulation of different gene clusters. Based on the findings, we suggest that the anti-cancer activity of 8-Cl-cAMP results at least in part through 8-Cl-adenosine. Thus, the systematic use of DNA arrays can provide insight into the dynamic cellular pathways involved in anticancer activities of chemotherapeutics.

Induction of adaptive response by low-dose radiation in RIF cells transfected with Hspb1 (Hsp25) or inducible Hspa (Hsp70).

An adaptive response results in a reduced effect of a high challenging dose of a stressor after a smaller, inducing dose has been applied a few hours earlier. Radiation-induced fibrosarcoma (RIF) cells did not show an adaptive response, i.e. a reduced effect from a high challenging dose (2 Gy) of a radiation after a priming dose (1 cGy) had been applied 4 or 7 h earlier, but cells of a thermoresistant clone (TR) derived from RIF cells did. Since the expression of inducible Hspa (also known as Hsp70) and Hspb1 (also known as Hsp25) was different in these two cell lines, the role of inducible Hspa and Hspb1 in the adaptive response was examined. When RIF cells were transfected with inducible Hspa or Hspb1, both radioresistance measured by clonogenic assays and a reduction of apoptosis were detected. The adaptive response was also acquired by these two cell lines. The inducible Hspa transfectant showed a more pronounced adaptive response than the Hspb1 transfectant. Based on these results, it appears that inducible Hspa and Hspb1 are at least partly responsible for the induction of the adaptive response in these cells. Moreover, when inducible Hspa or Hspb1 was transfected into RIF cells, co-regulation of the two genes was detected. Heat-shock factor (Hsf) was found to be at least partially responsible for the induction of the adaptive response in these cells.