Heme oxygenase-1 expression in human gliomas and its correlation with poor prognosis in patients with astrocytoma.

In human glioma tumors, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been shown to be upregulated both when compared with normal brain tissues and also during oligodendroglioma progression. The cell types that express HO-1 have been shown to be mainly macrophages/microglia and T cells. However, many other reports also demonstrated that cell lines derived from glioma tumors and astrocytes express HO-1 after the occurrence of a wide variety of cell injuries and stressors. In addition, the significance of HO-1 upregulation in glioma had not, so far, been addressed. We therefore aimed at investigating the expression and significance of HO-1 in human glial tumors. For this purpose, we performed a wide screening of HO-1 expression in gliomas by using tissue microarrays containing astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, mixed tumors, and normal brain tissues. We subsequently correlated protein expression with patient clinicopathological data. We found differences in HO-1 positivity rates between non-malignant brain (22 %) and gliomas (54%, p = 0.01). HO-1 was expressed by tumor cells and showed cytoplasmic localization, although 19% of tumor samples also depicted nuclear staining. Importantly, a significant decrease in the overall survival time of grade II and III astrocytoma patients with HO-1 expression was observed. This result was validated at the mRNA level in a cohort of 105 samples. However, no association of HO-1 nuclear localization with patient survival was detected. In vitro experiments aimed at investigating the role of HO-1 in glioma progression showed that HO-1 modulates glioma cell proliferation, but has no effects on cellular migration. In conclusion, our results corroborate the higher frequency of HO-1 protein expression in gliomas than in normal brain, demonstrate that HO-1 is expressed by glial malignant cells, and show an association of HO-1 expression with patients' shorter survival time.

Vitamin D receptor expression is associated with improved overall survival in human glioblastoma multiforme.

Vitamin D and its analogs have been shown to display anti-proliferative effects in a wide variety of cancer types including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). These anticancer effects are mediated by its active metabolite, 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol) acting mainly through vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling. In addition to its involvement in calcitriol action, VDR has also been demonstrated to be useful as a prognostic factor for some types of cancer. However, to our knowledge, there are no studies evaluating the expression of VDR protein and its association with outcome in gliomas. Therefore, we investigated VDR expression by using immunohistochemical analysis in human glioma tissue microarrays, and analyzed the association between VDR expression and clinico-pathological parameters. We further investigated the effects of genetic and pharmacologic modulation of VDR on survival and migration of glioma cell lines. Our data demonstrate that VDR is increased in tumor tissues when compared with VDR in non-malignant brains, and that VDR expression is associated with an improved outcome in patients with GBM. We also show that both genetic and pharmacologic modulation of VDR modulates GBM cellular migration and survival and that VDR is necessary for calcitriol-mediated effects on migration. Altogether these results provide some limited evidence supporting a role for VDR in glioma progression.

Inhibition of p300 suppresses growth of breast cancer. Role of p300 subcellular localization.

There is evidence that p300, a transcriptional co-factor and a lysine acetyl-transferase, could play a role both as an oncoprotein and as a tumor suppressor, although little is known regarding its role in breast cancer (BC). First we investigated the role p300 has on BC by performing pharmacological inhibition of p300 acetyl-transferase function and analyzing the effects on cell count, migration and invasion in LM3 murine breast cancer cell line and on tumor progression in a syngeneic murine model. We subsequently studied p300 protein expression in human BC biopsies and evaluated its correlation with clinical and histopathological parameters of the patients. We observed that inhibition of p300 induced apoptosis and reduced migration and invasion in cultured LM3 cells. Furthermore, a significant reduction in tumor burden, number of lung metastases and number of tumors invading the abdominal cavity was observed in a syngeneic tumor model of LM3 following treatment with the p300 inhibitor. This reduction in tumor burden was accompanied by a decrease in the mitotic index and Ki-67 levels and an increase in Bax expression. Moreover, the analysis of p300 expression in human BC samples showed that p300 immunoreactivity is significantly higher in the cancerous tissues than in the non-malignant mammary tissues and in the histologically normal adjacent tissues. Interestingly, p300 was observed in the cytoplasm, and the rate of cytoplasmic p300 was higher in BC than in non-tumor tissues. Importantly, we found that cytoplasmic localization of p300 is associated with a longer overall survival time of the patients. In conclusion, we demonstrated that inhibition of the acetylase function of p300 reduces both cell count and invasion in LM3 cells, and decreases tumor progression in the animal model. In addition, we show that the presence of p300 in the cytoplasm correlates with increased survival of patients suggesting that its nuclear localization is necessary for the pro-tumoral effects.

Nuclear localization of heme oxygenase-1 is associated with tumor progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

The expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was shown to be increased in multiple tumors compared with their surrounding healthy tissues and was also observed to be up-regulated in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). However, conflicting results were obtained and little information is available regarding HO-1 significance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to perform a wide screening of HO-1 expression in a large collection of human primary HNSCCs and to correlate the results with clinical and pathological parameters. For this purpose, we investigated the expression of this protein by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tissue microarrays (TMAs) of HNSCC and in an independent cohort of paraffin-embedded tumor specimens. HO-1 expression was further validated by real-time qPCR performed on selected laser capture-microdissected (LCM) oral tissue samples. Both the number of HO-1-positive samples and HO-1 immunoreactivity in the cancerous tissues were significantly higher than those in the non-tumor tissues. These results were confirmed at the mRNA level. Interestingly, HO-1 localization was observed in the nucleus, and the rate of nuclear HO-1 in HNSCC was higher than that in non-malignant tissues. Nuclear HO-1 was observed in HNSCC cell lines and increased even further following hemin treatment. Analysis of HO-1 expression and sub-cellular localization in a mouse model of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and in human HNSCC revealed that nuclear HO-1 increases with tumor progression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that HO-1 is up-regulated in HNSCC and that nuclear localization of HO-1 is associated with malignant progression in this tumor type.

The expression of sphingosine kinase-1 in head and neck carcinoma.

Sphingosine kinase-1 (SPHK1) modulates the proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of keratinocytes through the regulation of ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate levels. However, studies on the expression of SPHK1 in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) specimens are lacking. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to evaluate SPHK1 expression in human primary HNSCCs and to correlate the results with clinical and anatomopathological parameters. We investigated the expression of this protein by immunohistochemistry performed in tissue microarrays of HNSCC and in an independent cohort of 37 paraffin-embedded specimens. SPHK1 expression was further validated by real-time PCR performed on laser capture-microdissected tissue samples. The positive rate of SPHK1 protein in the cancerous tissues was significantly higher (74%) than that in the nontumor oral tissues (23%), and malignant tissues showed stronger immunoreactivity for SPHK1 than normal matching samples. These results were confirmed by real-time PCR quantification of SPHK1 mRNA. Interestingly, the positive expression of SPHK1 was associated with shorter patient survival time (Kaplan-Meier survival curves) and with the loss of p21 expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SPHK1 is upregulated in HNSCC and provide clues of the role SPHK1 might play in tumor progression.

Intracellular distribution of p300 and its differential recruitment to aggresomes in breast cancer.

It has been recently suggested that p300 cytoplasmic redistribution and degradation are important for controlling the availability and activity of the protein as a transcriptional coactivator. As a step towards determining the functional relevance of p300 intracellular redistribution in mammary cancer, we aimed at studying p300 localization in two different animal models of mammary carcinoma as well as in human primary breast carcinoma samples. Analysis of p300 protein levels showed stronger expression in tumor epithelia than in normal mammary gland. Cytoplasmic localization of p300 was observed in malignant cells. Furthermore, cytoplasmic p300 was found in tumor epithelia whereas nuclear localization was observed in normal mammary glands in both animal models and in non-malignant adjacent areas of human breast cancer specimens. Interestingly, proteasomal inhibition induced p300 redistribution to perinuclear inclusion bodies in tumor but not in normal mammary gland-derived cells. These inclusions were confirmed to be aggresomes by doing immunofluorescence for ubiquitin, vimentin and 20S proteasomal subunit. Taken together, these findings show that both the localization of p300 and the recruitment to aggresomes differ between mammary tumors and normal mammary glands, and suggest that the formation of these inclusions could be a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

The alkynylphosphonate analogue of calcitriol EM1 has potent anti-metastatic effects in breast cancer.

The active form of vitamin D3, calcitriol, plays a major role in maintaining calcium/phosphate homeostasis. In addition, it is a potent antiproliferative and prodifferentiating agent. However, when effective antitumor doses of calcitriol are employed, hypercalcemic effects are observed, thus precluding its therapeutic application. To overcome this problem, structural analogues have been designed with the aim at retaining or even increasing the antitumor effects while decreasing its calcemic activity. This report shows the biological evaluation of an alkynylphosphonate vitamin D less-calcemic analogue in a murine model of breast cancer. We demonstrate that this compound has potent anti-metastatic effects through its action over cellular migration and invasion likely mediated through the up-regulation of E-cadherin expression. Based on the current in vitro and in vivo results, EM1 is a promising candidate as a therapeutic agent in breast cancer.

Anti-nociceptive activity and toxicity evaluation of Cu(II)-fenoprofenate complexes in mice.

The proposed curative properties of copper(II)-non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have led to the development of numerous copper(II)-NSAID complexes with enhanced anti-inflammatory activity. In this work, the antinociceptive and toxic effects of two new coordination complexes: Cu2(fen)4(caf)2 [fen: fenoprofenate anion; caf: caffeine] and Cu2(fen)4(dmf)2 [dmf: N-N'-dimethylformamide] were evaluated in mice. The antinociceptive effect was evaluated with two models: acetic acid-induced writhing response and formalin test. For the sub-acute exposure, the complexes were added to the diet at different doses for 28days. Behavioral and functional nervous system parameters in a functional observational battery were assessed. Also, hematological, biochemical and histopathological studies were performed. Cu2(fen)4(caf)2 and Cu2(fen)4(dmf)2 significantly decreased the acetic acid-induced writhing response and the licking time on the late phase in the formalin test with respect to the control and fenoprofen salt groups. The sub-acute exposure to Cu2(fen)4(caf)2 complex increased the motor activity, the number of rearings and the arousal with respect to the control and fenoprofen salt groups. These impaired parameters in mice exposed to Cu2(fen)4(caf)2 can be attributable to the presence of caffeine as stimulating agent. On the other hand, all exposed groups decreased the urine pools in the functional observational battery and increased the plasmatic urea. These effects could be due to the decrease in the glomerular filtration caused by NSAIDs. In conclusion, both complexes Cu2(fen)4(dmf)2 and Cu2(fen)4(caf)2 were more potent antinociceptive agents than fenoprofen salt. Sub-acute exposure to different doses of these complexes did not produce significant changes in the parameters that evaluate toxicity.

Expression of heme oxygenase-1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlation with clinical data.

While changes in heme oxygenase (HO-1) in lung cancer have already been reported, conflicting results were obtained for enzyme expression in human lung cancer specimens. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study HO-1 expression in a large collection of human lung cancer samples. For this purpose, we analyzed the expression of HO-1 in an organized tissue microarray (TMA) and investigated its correlation with clinicopathological data. Ninety-six percent of tumor samples were positive for HO-1, and the expression of HO-1 was significantly higher in cancerous than in non-cancerous tissues. Importantly, HO-1 expression correlated with advanced stages and lymph node involvement. Additionally, quantitative RT-PCR in 18 pairs of human lung carcinomas and their adjacent non-malignant tissues was performed. Our results demonstrate that HO-1 protein is upregulated in epithelial malignant cells in NSCLC and its expression is associated with higher stages of the disease. Additionally, different subcellular localization is observed between tumor and adjacent non-malignant tissues.