Cells from transgenic mice expressing a human mini-gene for collagen I were used as markers to follow the fate of mesenchymal precursor cells from marrow that were partially enriched by adherence to plastic, expanded in culture, and then injected into irradiated mice. Sensitive PCR assays for the marker collagen I gene indicated that few of the donor cells were present in the recipient mice after 1 week, but 1-5 months later, the donor cells accounted for 1.5-12% of the cells in bone, cartilage, and lung in addition to marrow and spleen. A PCR in situ assay on lung indicated that the donor cells diffusely populated the parenchyma, and reverse transcription-PCR assays indicated that the marker collagen I gene was expressed in a tissue-specific manner. The results, therefore, demonstrated that mesenchymal precursor cells from marrow that are expanded in culture can serve as long-lasting precursors for mesenchymal cells in bone, cartilage, and lung. They suggest that cells may be particularly attractive targets for gene therapy ex vivo.

Extracellular pH (pHc) was determined by needle microelectrodes in 67 tumour nodules in 58 patients. The objective was to evaluate the relationship between pHe, tumour histology and tumour volume. The mean age of the patients was 62 years, mean depth of the lesions was 2.7 +/- 0.2 cm, and mean tumour volume was 187 +/- 60 cm3. Lesions were located in readily accessible areas such as on the limbs, neck or chest wall. Tumour histologies included: 48% adenocarcinoma; 34% squamous cell carcinoma; 8% soft tissue sarcoma; and 10% malignant melanoma. The mean tumour pHe for the entire group of tumours was 7.06 +/- 0.05 (range 5.66-7.78). Variation in pHe measurements between tumours was greater than the variation in measurements within tumour (F = 7.11, p < 0.01). In adenocarcinomas pHe was 6.93 +/- 0.08 (range 5.66-7.78), in soft tissue sarcomas 7.01 +/- 0.21 (6.25-7.45), in squamous cell carcinomas 7.16 +/- 0.08 (6.2-7.6), and in malignant melanomas 7.36 +/- 0.1 (6.98-7.77). Tumour pHe was significantly different between the four histological groups (p < 0.001). When adenocarcinoma and soft tissue sarcoma lesions were grouped together, pHe was 6.94 +/- 0.08 compared with 7.20 +/- 0.07 in squamous cell carcinomas and malignant melanomas lesions (p < 0.01). Tumour pHe increased as a function of the logarithm of tumour volume at 0.07 +/- 0.02 pH unit/ln cm3 (p = 0.006, r = 0.34). In conclusion, tumour histology and tumour volume were the most important factors determining the range of pHe's.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lonidamine (LND) was initially introduced as an antispermatogenic agent. It was later found to have anticancer activity sensitizing tumors to chemo-, radio-, photodynamic-therapy and hyperthermia. Although the mechanism of action remained unclear, LND treatment has been known to target metabolic pathways in cancer cells. It has been reported to alter the bioenergetics of tumor cells by inhibiting glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration, while indirect evidence suggested that it also inhibited L-lactic acid efflux from cells mediated by members of the proton-linked monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) family and also pyruvate uptake into the mitochondria by the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC). Recent studies have demonstrated that LND potently inhibits MPC activity in isolated rat liver mitochondria (Ki 2.5 μM) and cooperatively inhibits L-lactate transport by MCT1, MCT2 and MCT4 expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes with K0.5 and Hill Coefficient values of 36–40 μM and 1.65–1.85, respectively. In rat heart mitochondria LND inhibited the MPC with similar potency and uncoupled oxidation of pyruvate was inhibited more effectively (IC50 ~7 μM) than other substrates including glutamate (IC50 ~20 μM). LND inhibits the succinate-ubiquinone reductase activity of respiratory Complex II without fully blocking succinate dehydrogenase activity. LND also induces cellular reactive oxygen species through Complex II and has been reported to promote cell death by suppression of the pentose phosphate pathway, which resulted in inhibition of NADPH and glutathione generation. We conclude that MPC inhibition is the most sensitive anti-tumour target for LND, with additional inhibitory effects on MCT-mediated L-lactic acid efflux, Complex II and glutamine/glutamate oxidation.

The antitumor agent lonidamine (LND; 1-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxylic acid) is known to interfere with energy-yielding processes in cancer cells. However, the effect of LND on central energy metabolism has never been fully characterized. In this study, we report that a significant amount of succinate is accumulated in LND-treated cells. LND inhibits the formation of fumarate and malate and suppresses succinate-induced respiration of isolated mitochondria. Utilizing biochemical assays, we determined that LND inhibits the succinate-ubiquinone reductase activity of respiratory complex II without fully blocking succinate dehydrogenase activity. LND also induces cellular reactive oxygen species through complex II, which reduced the viability of the DB-1 melanoma cell line. The ability of LND to promote cell death was potentiated by its suppression of the pentose phosphate pathway, which resulted in inhibition of NADPH and glutathione generation. Using stable isotope tracers in combination with isotopologue analysis, we showed that LND increased glutaminolysis but decreased reductive carboxylation of glutamine-derived α-ketoglutarate. Our findings on the previously uncharacterized effects of LND may provide potential combinational therapeutic approaches for targeting cancer metabolism.

In vivo 31P MRS demonstrates that human melanoma xenografts in immunosuppressed mice treated with lonidamine (LND, 100 mg/kg, i.p.) exhibit a decrease in intracellular pH (pHi) from 6.90 ± 0.05 to 6.33 ± 0.10 (p < 0.001), a slight decrease in extracellular pH (pHe) from 7.00 ± 0.04 to 6.80 ± 0.07 (p > 0.05), and a monotonic decline in bioenergetics (NTP/Pi) by 66.8 ± 5.7% (p < 0.001) relative to the baseline level. Both bioenergetics and pHi decreases were sustained for at least 3 hr following LND treatment. Liver exhibited a transient intracellular acidification by 0.2 ± 0.1 pH units (p > 0.05) at 20 min post-LND with no significant change in pHe and a small transient decrease in bioenergetics, 32.9 ± 10.6 % (p > 0.05), at 40 min post-LND. No changes in pHi or ATP/Pi were detected in the brain (pHi, bioenergetics; p > 0.1) or skeletal muscle (pHi, pHe, bioenergetics; p > 0.1) for at least 120 min post-LND. Steady-state tumor lactate monitored by 1H MRS with a selective multiquantum pulse sequence with Hadamard localization increased ~3-fold (p = 0.009). Treatment with LND increased systemic melanoma response to melphalan (LPAM; 7.5 mg/kg, i.v.) producing a growth delay of 19.9 ± 2.0 d (tumor doubling time = 6.15 ± 0.31d, log10 cell-kill = 0.975 ± 0.110, cell-kill = 89.4 ± 2.2%) compared to LND alone of 1.1 ± 0.1 d and LPAM alone of 4.0 ± 0.0 d. The study demonstrates that the effects of LND on tumor pHi and bioenergetics may sensitize melanoma to pH-dependent therapeutics such as chemotherapy with alkylating agents or hyperthermia.