Oncogenic mutations of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-KIT play an important role in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, systemic mastocytosis, and some acute myeloid leukemias (AML). Although juxtamembrane mutations commonly detected in gastrointestinal stromal tumor are sensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors, the kinase domain mutations frequently encountered in systemic mastocytosis and AML confer resistance and are largely unresponsive to targeted inhibition by the existing agent imatinib. In this study, we show that myeloid cells expressing activated c-KIT mutants that are imatinib sensitive (V560G) or imatinib resistant (D816V) can inhibit the tumor suppressor activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). This effect was associated with the reduced expression of PP2A structural (A) and regulatory subunits (B55α, B56α, B56γ, and B56δ). Overexpression of PP2A-Aα in D816V c-KIT cells induced apoptosis and inhibited proliferation. In addition, pharmacologic activation of PP2A by FTY720 reduced proliferation, inhibited clonogenic potential, and induced apoptosis of mutant c-KIT + cells, while having no effect on wild-type c-KIT cells or empty vector controls. FTY720 treatment caused the dephosphorylation of the D816V c-KIT receptor and its downstream signaling targets pAkt, pSTAT5, and pERK1/2. Additionally, in vivo administration of FTY720 delayed the growth of V560G and D816V c-KIT tumors, inhibited splenic and bone marrow infiltration, and prolonged survival. Our findings show that PP2A inhibition is essential for c-KIT-mediated tumorigenesis, and that reactivating PP2A may offer an attractive strategy to treat drug-resistant c-KIT + cancers. Cancer Res; 70(13); 5438-47. ©2010 AACR.

The role of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP)-5 in human breast cancer cell growth is unclear. We determined the effects of IGFBP-5 expression on the growth of human breast cancer cell lines in vivo and in vitro. Expression of IGFBP-5, both by stable transfection and adenoviral-mediated infection, was inhibitory to the growth of MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T human breast cancer cells over a 13-day period. IGFBP-5 expression resulted in a G 2 /M cell cycle arrest and the induction of apoptosis in both cell lines, an effect that was abrogated in the presence of the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk. IGFBP-5-induced apoptosis was associated with a transcriptional increase in expression of the proapoptotic regulator bax and decrease in the anti-apoptotic bcl-2 compared with vector controls. Secreted IGFBP-5 when added exogenously to breast cancer cells was not internalized and had no effect on cell growth or apoptosis, suggesting that IGFBP-5 may elicit its inhibitory effects via a novel, intracrine mechanism. In athymic nude mice, stable expression of IGFBP-5 significantly inhibited both the formation and growth of tumors derived from MDA-MB-231 cells. IGFBP-5-expressing tumors also had a significantly elevated level of bax mRNA and decreased levels of bcl-2 mRNA compared with vector tumors. These data suggest that IGFBP-5 is a potent growth inhibitor and proapoptotic agent in human breast cancer cells via modulation of cell cycle regulation and apoptotic mediators.The insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) 1 are a family of proteins that bind with high affinity to IGFs and modulate their mitogenic actions by regulating their ability to interact with their signaling receptor, the type I IGF receptor (IGFRI, reviewed in Ref. 1). However, it is now becoming clear that many IGFBPs have direct roles in the regulation of cell growth and cell death. For example, we and others have demonstrated the antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of IGFBP-3 in breast (2-4) and prostate (4) cancer cell lines.The role of IGFBP-5 in cell growth is complex, with reports that it can either stimulate or inhibit cell proliferation in various experimental systems (5-7). There is also evidence that IGFBP-5 expression is up-regulated by antiproliferative agents such as retinoic acid (8), vitamin D-related compounds (9), and antiestrogen ICI 182780 (10), with some evidence that it may mediate their growth inhibitory effects (8, 10). Similarly, growth stimulation of human breast cancer cells by estradiol is associated with a down-regulation of IGFBP-5 expression (10), although exogenous IGFBP-5 had no effect on IGF-I-stimulated DNA synthesis in the breast cancer cell line, MCF-7 (11). They demonstrated that addition of exogenous IGFBP-5 to Hs578T cells protects these cells from ceramide-induced apoptosis, suggesting IGFBP-5 may have a survival function in response to apoptotic stimuli (20,21). A similar conclusion was reached by Roschier et al. (22) following their demonstration that induction of apoptosis...

IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 has antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects on the growth of human breast cancer cells in vitro. However, clinical studies suggest that high levels of IGFBP-3 in breast tumor tissue are associated with large, highly proliferative tumors. In this study, we examined the effects of stable transfection with human IGFBP-3 cDNA on the growth of T47D human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Expression of IGFBP-3 initially inhibited the growth of T47D in vitro but was associated with enhanced growth in vivo. Furthermore, IGFBP-3-expressing cells in vitro became growth stimulated at higher passages post transfection, suggesting breast cancer cells may switch their response to IGFBP-3 with increasing tumorigenicity. These stimulatory effects observed in IGFBP-3-expressing cells were associated with an enhanced responsiveness to the proliferative effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF). When EGF receptor (EGFR) kinase activity was blocked using PD153035, high passage IGFBP-3 transfectants were growth inhibited compared with controls treated with inhibitor. These findings suggest that the interaction between IGFBP-3 and the EGFR system is central to whether IGFBP-3 acts as a growth stimulator or inhibitor in breast cancer cells and that therapies targeting EGFR may have increased efficacy in breast tumors expressing high levels of IGFBP-3.

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Antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli , particularly those resistant to critically important antimicrobials, are increasingly reported in wildlife. The dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to wildlife indicates the far-reaching impact of selective pressures imposed by humans on bacteria through misuse of antimicrobials. The grey-headed flying fox (GHFF; Pteropus poliocephalus), a fruit bat endemic to eastern Australia, commonly inhabits urban environments and encounters human microbial pollution. To determine if GHFF have acquired human-associated bacteria, faecal samples from wild GHFF (n=287) and captive GHFF undergoing rehabilitation following illness or injury (n=31) were cultured to detect beta-lactam-resistant E. coli . Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, PCR and whole genome sequencing were used to determine phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles, strain type and virulence factor profiles. Overall, 3.8 % of GHFF carried amoxicillin-resistant E. coli (wild 3.5 % and captive 6.5 %), with 38.5 % of the 13 GHFF E. coli isolates exhibiting multidrug resistance. Carbapenem (bla NDM-5) and fluoroquinolone resistance were detected in one E. coli isolate, and two isolates were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins (bla CTX-M-27 and ampC). Resistance to tetracycline and trimethoprim plus sulfamethoxazole were detected in 69.2% and 30.8 % of isolates respectively. Class 1 integrons, a genetic determinant of resistance, were detected in 38.5 % of isolates. Nine of the GHFF isolates (69.2 %) harboured extraintestinal virulence factors. Phylogenetic analysis placed the 13 GHFF isolates in lineages associated with humans and/or domestic animals. Three isolates were human-associated extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ST10 O89:H9, ST73 and ST394) and seven isolates belonged to lineages associated with extraintestinal disease in both humans and domestic animals (ST88, ST117, ST131, ST155 complex, ST398 and ST1850). This study provides evidence of anthropogenic multidrug-resistant and pathogenic E. coli transmission to wildlife, further demonstrating the necessity for incorporating wildlife surveillance within the One Health approach to managing antimicrobial resistance.

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The hypoglycemic potential of circulating IGFs is thought to be regulated through the formation of ternary complexes consisting of an IGF, either IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) or IGFBP-5, and the acid-labile subunit. These high molecular weight complexes are confined to the circulation and represent a reservoir of IGF with a prolonged half-life. In this study, we show that hypoglycemia, induced by a bolus injection of recombinant human IGF-I into rats, can be blocked by coadministering equimolar concentrations of either recombinant glycosylated IGFBP-3 or nonglycosylated IGFBP-3 (IGFBP-3NG). In contrast, an IGFBP-3 mutant with reduced acid- labile subunit affinity (IGFBP-3MUT) only partially blocked the IGF-I hypoglycemic effect. IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-3NG significantly enhanced IGF-I retention in the circulation, whereas IGFBP-3MUT had a smaller effect. IGFBP-3MUT clearance was more rapid than that of the other IGFBP-3 forms, and the retention of all IGFBP-3 forms was greatly enhanced by coadministration of IGF-I. Characterization of the molecular mass distribution of the IGFBP-3 analogs indicated that 60% of IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-3NG was initially found in ternary complexes compared with 30% of IGFBP-3MUT. These data confirm the hypothesis that regulation of IGF-I bioactivity in vivo by IGFBP-3 depends on its ability to form ternary complexes.