Frameshift mutations of OGDH, PPAT and PCCA genes in gastric and colorectal cancers.

Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer. However, genetic alterations in metabolism-related genes are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to identify whether somatic mutations in OGDH, PPAT and PCCA genes known to be involved in amino acid or nucleotide metabolism are mutated in gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). By public database search, we identified that OGDH, PPAT and PCCA genes harbor mononucleotide repeats that may serve as mutation targets in cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI). We analyzed the repeats for the presence of the mutations in 90 GCs and 141 CRCs using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and samples of 10 patients with shifted bands were sequenced. We found frameshift mutations of OGDH (3 cases), PCCA (5 cases) and PPAT (2 cases) in the cancers. These mutations were exclusively detected in MSI-high (MSI-H), and not in MSI-low or MSI-stable (MSI-L/MSS) cancers. We also analyzed 16 CRCs for the presence of intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) and found that one CRC harbored regional ITH for OGDH frameshift mutation showing very rare frequency of OGDH mutation ITH in colorectal cancer tissues. Our data indicate that amino acid/nucleotide metabolism-related genes OGDH, PPAT and PCCA acquire somatic mutations in MSH-H GCs and CRCs and that mutational ITH may occur in at least some of these tumors. Collectively, our results may extend our insight into the involvement of amino acid/nucleotide metabolism in the pathogenesis of cancer for, in particular, MSI-H GCs and CRCs.

Combination drug therapy using edaravone and Daio-Orengedoku-to after transient focal ischemia in rats.

In this study, we investigated the effect of Daio-Orengedoku-to (DOT) on ischemic brain damage in a rat model of focal ischemia-reperfusion and attempted to identify synergistic effects for the combination of edaravone and DOT against ischemic insult. Ischemia was induced by intraluminal occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 2 h and reperfusion followed for 22 h. To determine the neuroprotective effect of DOT, it was administered orally just before reperfusion and then 2 h after reperfusion. To examine the effects of combination therapy on survival, rats were divided into groups treated with edaravone, DOT, and edaravone and DOT. Microglial activation, neutrophil infiltration and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression were examined in surviving animals. Infarct volume was significantly reduced by DOT (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg; P < 0.05), and edaravone plus DOT markedly improved the survival rate after transient ischemia (P = 0.0133). Microglial activation was reduced by edaravone and DOT and their combination (P < 0.05), and neutrophil infiltration was lowered in these groups (P < 0.05). BDNF-positive cells were increased in the combination edaravone and DOT group (P < 0.05). It appears that the neuroprotective mechanisms of combined therapy involve inhibition of microglial activation, reduction of invading neutrophils and enhancement of BDNF expression.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) suppresses TKR-growth factor signaling independent of metalloproteinase inhibition.

The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) block matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated increases in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion that are associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover. Here we demonstrate a direct role for TIMP-2 in regulating tyrosine kinase-type growth factor receptor activation. We show that TIMP-2 suppresses the mitogenic response to tyrosine kinase-type receptor growth factors in a fashion that is independent of MMP inhibition. The TIMP-2 suppression of mitogenesis is reversed by the adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536, and implicates cAMP as the second messenger in these effects. TIMP-2 neither altered the release of transforming growth factor alpha from the cell surface, nor epidermal growth factor (EGF) binding to the cognate receptor, EGFR. TIMP-2 binds to the surface of A549 cells in a specific and saturable fashion (K(d) = 147 pm), that is not competed by the synthetic MMP inhibitor BB-94 and is independent of MT-1-MMP. TIMP-2 induces a decrease in phosphorylation of EGFR and a concomitant reduction in Grb-2 association. TIMP-2 prevents SH2-protein-tyrosine phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) dissociation from immunoprecipitable EGFR complex and a selective increase in total SHP-1 activity. These studies represent a new functional paradigm for TIMP-2 in which TIMP suppresses EGF-mediated mitogenic signaling by short-circuiting EGFR activation.