Cortical stabilization of beta-catenin contributes to NHERF1/EBP50 tumor suppressor function.

Anchorage-independent growth is a hallmark of tumor growth and results from enhanced proliferation and altered cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. By using gene-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), we showed for the first time that NHERF1/EBP50 (Na/H exchanger regulator factor 1/ezrin-radixin-moesin binding phosphoprotein 50), an adapter protein with membrane localization under physiological conditions, inhibits cell motility and is required to suppress anchorage-independent growth. Both NHERF1 PDZ domains are necessary for the tumor suppressor effect. NHERF1 associates directly through the PDZ2 domain with beta-catenin and is required for beta-catenin localization at the cell-cell junctions in MEFs. Mechanistically, the absence of NHERF1 selectively decreased the interaction of beta-catenin with E-cadherin, but not with N-cadherin. The ensuing disorganization of E-cadherin-mediated adherens junctions as well as the observed moderate increase in beta-catenin transcriptional activity contributed most likely to the anchorage-independent growth of NHERF1-deficient MEFs. In vivo, NHERF1 is specifically localized at the apical brush-border membrane in intestinal epithelial cells and is required to maintain a fraction of the cortical beta-catenin at this level. Thus, NHERF1 emerges as a cofactor essential for the integrity of epithelial tissues by maintaining the proper localization and complex assembly of beta-catenin.

In vivo response to the different LET regions of a 55 MeV helium ion beam.

We evaluated the in vivo response to heavy particle irradiation in rat tail epidermis using silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) as the end-point. The energy degradation of the beam across the circular section of the tail allowed us to study the damage elicited by two different LET regions of a helium beam, i.e. non-Bragg peak (NBP) and Bragg peak (BP), at different sites on the same sample. The tails were locally irradiated with a helium ion beam at different fluences. AgNOR exhibited marked variations between tissue areas only a few micrometers apart within each tail exposed to a given beam fluence. An analysis of the AgNOR variations in NBP and BP areas of tails exposed to different beam fluences revealed a dose-dependent effect. The AgNOR provide quantitative evidence of differential damage in neighboring tissue areas exposed to different LET regions of a helium-ion beam.

Boron neutron capture therapy for the treatment of oral cancer in the hamster cheek pouch model.

We have proposed and validated the hamster cheek pouch model of oral cancer for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) studies and shown that boronophenylalanine delivers potentially therapeutic 36.9 +/- 17.5 ppm boron to tumor tissue with tumor:normal tissue and tumor:blood ratios of 2.4:1 and 3.2:1, respectively. Here we report the first evidence of the usefulness of BNCT for the treatment of oral cancer in an experimental model. We assessed the response of hamster cheek pouch tumors, precancerous tissue, and normal oral tissue to boronophenylalanine-mediated BNCT using the thermalized epithermal beam of the RA-6 Reactor at the Bariloche Atomic Center. BNCT leads to complete remission by 15 days posttreatment in 78% of tumors and partial remission in an additional 13% of tumors with virtually no damage to normal tissue.

The hamster cheek pouch as a model of oral cancer for boron neutron capture therapy studies: selective delivery of boron by boronophenylalanine.

Herein we propose and validate the hamster cheek pouch model of oral cancer for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) studies. This model serves to explore new applications of the technique, study the biology and radiobiology of BNCT, and assess the uptake of boron compounds and response of tumor, precancerous tissue, and clinically relevant normal tissues. These issues are central to evaluating and improving the therapeutic gain of BNCT. The success of BNCT is dependent on the absolute amount of boron in the tumor, and the tumor:blood and tumor:normal tissue boron concentration ratios. Within this context, biodistribution studies are pivotal. Tumors were induced in the hamsters with a carcinogenesis protocol that uses dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene and mimics spontaneous tumor development in human oral mucosa. The animals were then used for biodistribution and pharmacokinetic studies of boronophenylalanine (BPA). Blood, tumor, precancerous pouch tissue surrounding tumor, normal pouch tissue, tongue, skin, cheek mucosa, palate mucosa, liver, and spleen, were sampled at 0-12 h after administration of 300 mg BPA/kg. The data reveal selective uptake of BPA by tumor tissue and, to a lesser degree, by precancerous tissue. Mean tumor boron concentration was 36.9 +/- 17.5 ppm at 3.5 h and the mean boron ratios were 2.4:1 for tumor:normal pouch tissue and 3.2:1 for tumor:blood. Higher doses of BPA (600 and 1200 mg BPA/kg) increased tumor uptake. Potentially therapeutic absolute boron concentrations, and tumor:normal tissue and tumor:blood ratios can be achieved in the hamster oral cancer model using BPA as the delivery agent.