Increased intracellular cAMP concentration plays a well established role in leukemic cell maturation. We previously reported that U937 cells stimulated by H2 receptor agonists, despite a robust increase in cAMP, fail to mature because of rapid H2 receptor desensitization and phosphodiesterase (PDE) activation. Here we show that intracellular cAMP levels not only in U937 cells but also in other acute myeloid leukemia cell lines are also regulated by multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs), particularly MRP4. U937, HL-60, and KG-1a cells, exposed to amthamine (H2-receptor agonist), augmented intracellular cAMP concentration with a concomitant increase in the efflux. Extrusion of cAMP was ATP-dependent and probenecidsensitive, supporting that the transport was MRP-mediated. Cells exposed to amthamine and the PDE4 inhibitor showed enhanced cAMP extrusion, but this response was inhibited by MRP blockade. Amthamine stimulation, combined with PDE4 and MRP inhibition, induced maximal cell arrest proliferation. Knockdown strategy by shRNA revealed that this process was mediated by MRP4. Furthermore, blockade by probenecid or MRP4 knockdown showed that increased intracellular cAMP levels induce maturation in U937 cells. These findings confirm the key role of intracellular cAMP levels in leukemic cell maturation and provide the first evidence that MRP4 may represent a new potential target for leukemia differentiation therapy.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for self-tolerance. While adoptive transfer of expanded Tregs limits graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), ex vivo generation of large numbers of functional Tregs remains difficult. Here, we demonstrate that in vivo targeting of the TNF superfamily receptor TNFRSF25 using the TL1A-Ig fusion protein, along with IL-2, resulted in transient but massive Treg expansion in donor mice, which peaked within days and was nontoxic. Tregs increased in multiple compartments, including blood, lymph nodes, spleen and colon (a GVHD target tissue). Tregs did not expand in bone marrow, a critical site for graft-versus-malignancy (GVM) responses. Adoptive transfer of in vivo expanded Tregs in the setting of MHC-mismatched or MHC-matched allo-HSCT significantly ameliorated GVHD. Critically, transplant of Treg expanded donor cells facilitated transplant tolerance without GVHD, with complete sparing of GVM. This approach may prove valuable as a therapeutic strategy promoting transplantation tolerance.
Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women. Several reports demonstrated that adrenergic receptors (ARs) are involved in breast cancer. Here we observed that epinephrine (Epi), an endogenous AR agonist, caused opposite effects in non-tumorigenic (MCF-10A and HBL-100) and tumor cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). Thus, Epi, in non-tumor breast cells, as well as isoproterenol (β-agonist), in all cell lines, maintained a benign phenotype, decreasing cell proliferation and migration, and stimulating cell adhesion. β-AR expression and cAMP levels were higher in MCF-10A than in MCF-7 cells. β2-AR knock-down caused a significant increase of cell proliferation and migration, and a decrease of cell adhesion both in basal and in Iso-stimulated conditions. Coincidently, β2-AR over-expression induced a significant decrease of cell proliferation and migration, and an increase of cell adhesion. Therefore, β2-AR is implied in cell phenotype and its agonists or antagonists could eventually complement cancer therapy.
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