Synergistic interaction of hyperthermia and Gemcitabine in lung cancer.

Hyperthermia increases cytotoxicity of various antineoplastic agents. We investigated the cytotoxic effects of Gemcitabine and/or hyperthermia on BZR-T33 (human non-small-cell lung cancer cells) in vitro and in immune-suppressed athymic nude mice. Isobologram analysis of monolayer cell cultures for cytotoxicity demonstrates a synergistic interaction between hyperthermia and Gemcitabine. Clonogenic results show significant reductions in surviving fractions and colony size for both therapies; greatest reduction was for the combined therapy group. Using cell cycle analysis, hyperthermia enhanced Gemcitabine-induced G2-M arrest resulting in destruction of 3.5 log cells. Apoptotic studies (Annexin-V FITC staining) showed that hyperthermia augmented Gemcitabine-induced apoptosis. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated pathology observed in cultures exposed to either therapy present in cultures exposed to both therapies. Studies in nude mice show that the combination therapy group had both an initial decrease in tumor size, and a significantly delayed rate of growth. Additionally, using tumor material harvested from nude mice two days after end to treatment reveals a significantly greater apoptotic index and significantly smaller mitotic index for the combined therapy group. Western blots of the same tumor material, showed that heat shock protein 70 was not significantly increased, however, caspase-3 activity of was significantly increased because of the combined therapy. In conclusion, the combined therapy is synergistic in effect because of hyperthermia enhancing Gemcitabine-induced apoptosis.

A mechanism of hyperthermia-induced apoptosis in ras-transformed lung cells.

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women, is the consequence of disordered apoptosis, induction of which may have therapeutic utility. Hyperthermia has been identified as a stimulus for apoptosis. We investigated the mechanism of hyperthermia-induced cell death in ras-transformed lung cells. Effect of hyperthermia (43 degrees C for 180 min) was compared between two cell lines, an immortalized (sv-40) normal human bronchial epithelial (BEAS2-B) and its malignant transformed (H-ras transfected) counterpart (BZR-T33). Survival after hyperthermia: 7-d growth culture BEAS2-B, 1.03 +/- 0.007 and BZR-T33, 0.39 +/- 0.008 (P < 0.05); clonogenic assays BEAS2-B, 0.76 +/- 0.003 and BZR-T33, 0.41 +/- 0.004 (P < 0.05). Hoechst positive (apoptotic) cells: BEAS2-B, 11 +/- 3% and BZR-T33, 78 +/- 5% (P < 0.05). TUNEL, DNA fragmentation, and Annexin-V all corroborate this result. Western blot comparing the effect of hyperthermia in BZR-T33 cells to BEAS2-B cells revealed: TRAIL and FAS-L displayed significant increases (threefold and twofold, respectively); caspase-3 showed a decrease in uncleaved form and an increase in cleaved form, and a 50-fold increase in activity effectively blocked with the caspase-3 inhibitor DEVD-fmk; caspase-9 showed near depletion of uncleaved; poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) degradation was clearly visible during heating. After hyperthermia, gene expression demonstrates a 5.7-fold increase in TRAIL and insignificant changes in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), FAS-L, and caspases 3, 8, 9 in transformed cells. Data demonstrated that hyperthermia induces apoptosis in transformed cells, and that apoptosis is mediated by caspase-3 as a result of activation of cell-death membrane receptors of the tumor-necrosis-factor family. In summary, these data suggest that hyperthermia could become an additional modality in the multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of lung cancer.