BackgroundPim family kinases are small constitutively active serine/threonine-specific kinases, elevated levels of which have been detected in human hematopoietic malignancies as well as in solid tumours. While we and others have previously shown that the oncogenic Pim kinases stimulate survival of hematopoietic cells, we now examined their putative role in regulating motility of adherent cancer cells. For this purpose, we inhibited Pim kinase activity using a small molecule compound, 1,10-dihydropyrrolo[2,3-a]carbazole-3-carbaldehyde (DHPCC-9), which we had recently identified as a potent and selective inhibitor for all Pim family members.ResultsWe now demonstrate that the Pim kinase inhibitor DHPCC-9 is very effective also in cell-based assays. DHPCC-9 impairs the anti-apoptotic effects of Pim-1 in cytokine-deprived myeloid cells and inhibits intracellular phosphorylation of Pim substrates such as Bad. Moreover, DHPCC-9 slows down migration and invasion of cancer cells derived from either prostate cancer or squamocellular carcinoma patients. Silencing of Pim expression reduces cell motility, while Pim overexpression enhances it, strongly suggesting that the observed effects of DHPCC-9 are dependent on Pim kinase activity. Interestingly, DHPCC-9 also abrogates NFATc-dependent migration of cancer cells, implying that NFATc factors mediate at least part of the pro-migratory effects of Pim kinases.ConclusionsAltogether, our data indicate that DHPCC-9 is not only a powerful tool to investigate physiological effects of the oncogenic Pim family kinases, but also an attractive molecule for drug development to inhibit invasiveness of Pim-overexpressing cancer cells.

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that control gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by binding to 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of their target mRNAs. They present a promising tool to delineate the molecular mechanisms regulating differentiation of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) and to improve the controlled differentiation of hMSCs in therapeutic applications. Here we show that three microRNAs, miR-96, miR-124, and miR-199a, were differentially expressed during osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic induction of human bone marrow-derived MSCs. miR-96 expression was increased during osteogenesis and adipogenesis, but not during chondrogenesis. miR-124 was exclusively expressed in adipocytes, whereas miR-199a was upregulated in osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Furthermore, functional studies with synthetic miRNA precursors and inhibitors demonstrated that miR-96, miR-124, and miR-199a regulated the expression of genes important for hMSC differentiation, such as aggrecan, transcription factor SOX9, and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4). Modulation of miR-96, miR-124, and miR-199a expression may thus be useful in specific targeting of hMSC differentiation, for e.g., MSC-based therapies. J

Extracellular adenosine mediates diverse anti-inflammatory, angiogenic, and other signaling effects via binding to adenosine receptors, and it also regulates cell proliferation and death via activation of the intrinsic signaling pathways. Given the emerging role of adenosine and other purines in tumor growth and metastasis, this study evaluated the effects of adenosine on the invasion of metastatic prostate and breast cancer cells. Treatment with low micromolar concentrations of adenosine, but not other nucleosides or adenosine receptor agonists, inhibited subsequent cell invasion and migration through Matrigel-and laminin-coated inserts. These inhibitory effects occurred via intrinsic receptor-independent mechanisms, despite the abundant expression of A2B adenosine receptors (ADORA2B). Extracellular nucleotides and adenosine were shown to be rapidly metabolized on tumor cell surfaces via sequential ecto-5 0 -nucleotidase (CD73/NT5E) and adenosine deaminase reactions with subsequent cellular uptake of nucleoside metabolites and their intracellular interconversion into ADP/ATP. This was accompanied by concurrent inhibition of AMP-activated protein kinase and other signaling pathways. No differences in the proliferation rates, cytoskeleton assembly, expression of major adhesion molecules [integrin1b (ITGB1), CD44, focal adhesion kinase], and secretion of matrix metalloproteinases were detected between the control and treated cells, thus excluding the contribution of these components of invasion cascade to the inhibitory effects of adenosine. These data provide a novel insight into the ability of adenosine to dampen immune responses and prevent tumor invasion via two different, adenosine receptor-dependent and -independent mechanisms.Implications: This study suggests that the combined targeting of adenosine receptors and modulation of intracellular purine levels can affect tumor growth and metastasis phenotypes.

The mevalonate synthesis pathway produces intermediates for isoprenylation of small GTPases, which are involved in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and cell motility. Here, we investigated the role of the prenylation transferases in the regulation of the cytoskeletal organization and motility of PC-3 prostate cancer cells. This was done by using FTI-277, GGTI-298 or NE-10790, the specific inhibitors of FTase (farnesyltransferase), GGTase (geranylgeranyltransferase)-I and -II, respectively. Treatment of PC-3 cells with GGTI-298 and FTI-277 inhibited migration and invasion in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This was associated with disruption of F-actin organization and decreased recovery of GFP-actin. Immunoblot analysis of various cytoskeleton-associated proteins showed that the most striking change in GGTI-298- and FTI-277-treated cells was a markedly decreased level of total and phosphorylated cofilin, whereas the level of cofilin mRNA was not decreased. The treatment of PC-3 cells with GGTI-298 also affected the dynamics of GFP-paxillin and decreased the levels of total and phosphorylated paxillin. The levels of phosphorylated FAK (focal adhesion kinase) and PAK (p-21-associated kinase)-2 were also lowered by GGTI-298, but levels of paxillin or FAK mRNAs were not affected. In addition, GGTI-298 had a minor effect on the activity of MMP-9. RNAi knockdown of GGTase-Ibeta inhibited invasion, disrupted F-actin organization and decreased the level of cofilin in PC-3 cells. NE-10790 did not have any effect on PC-3 prostate cancer cell motility or on the organization of the cytoskeleton. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the involvement of GGTase-I- and FTase-catalysed prenylation reactions in the regulation of cytoskeletal integrity and motility of prostate cancer cells and suggest them as interesting drug targets for development of inhibitors of prostate cancer metastasis.