Purpose: Cell cycle dysregulation resulting in expression of antiapoptotic genes and uncontrolled proliferation is a feature of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The pharmacodynamic effects of seliciclib, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor, were studied in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Experimental Design: Patients with treatment-naI« ve locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma received seliciclib at 800 mg or 400 mg twice daily on days 1 to 3 and 8 to 12. Paired tumor samples obtained at baseline and on day 13 were assessed by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and transcriptional profiling using real-time PCR low-density array consisting of a panel of 380 genes related to cell cycle inhibition, apoptosis, signal transduction, and cell proliferation. Results: At 800 mg bd, one patient experienced grade 3 liver toxicity and another had grade 2 vomiting; no significant toxicities were experienced in 13 patients treated at 400 mg bd. Seven of fourteen evaluable patients had clinical evidence of tumor reduction. Some of these responses were associated with increased tumor apoptosis, necrosis, and decreases in plasma EBV DNA posttreatment. Reduced protein expression of Mcl-1, cyclin D1, phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein pRB (T821), and significant transcriptional down-regulation of genes related to cellular proliferation and survival were shown in some patients posttreatment, indicative of cell cycle modulation by seliciclib, more specifically inhibition of cdk2/cyclin E, cdk7/cyclin H, and cdk9/cyclinT. Conclusions: Brief treatment with this regimen of seliciclib in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma is tolerable at 400 mg bd and associated with tumor pharmacodynamic changes consistent with cdk inhibition, and warrants further efficacy studies in this tumor.
The NPC methylome shows a special high-degree CpG methylation epigenotype, similar to the Epstein-Barr virus-infected gastric cancer, indicating a critical epigenetic etiology for NPC pathogenesis.
We have previously reported that Bcl-2 expression resulted in an increase in intracellular superoxide anion and that a dominant negative mutant of the small GTPase Rac1 sensitized Bcl-2 expressing cells to apoptosis. Here we report that silencing and functional inhibition of Rac1 blocks Bcl-2 mediated increases in intracellular and mitochondrial superoxide levels in tumor cells. We provide evidence that this effect is mediated via specific interaction between the two proteins using co-immunoprecipitation, confocal and electron microscopy, as well as GST-fusion proteins. Analysis of the sub-cellular localization of these proteins revealed increased association of Bcl-2 and mitochondrial Rac1 in Bcl-2 overexpressing cells. This interaction can be blocked in vitro and in vivo by BH3 mimetics such as HA14-I, BH3-I as well as synthetic Bcl-2 BH3 domain peptides. That this interaction is functionally relevant is supported by the ability of the Bcl-2 BH3 peptide to inhibit intracellular superoxide production as well as overcome drug resistance in Bcl-2 overexpressing cells. Lastly, using patient-derived primary tissues, we observed the interaction only in cancerous tissues with marked overexpression of Bcl-2 and not in peripheral blood leukocytes or samples from non-cancerous tissue. These data provide a novel facet in the biology of Bcl-2 with potential implications for targeted anti-cancer drug design. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1025.
Resistance to chemotherapy remains a challenge in the clinical management of diffuse B cell lymphomas despite aggressive chemotherapy such as CHOP and monoclonal CD20. We previously reported that sequestration of Apaf-1 to membrane lipid rafts was responsible for apoptosis resistance in B-cell lymphoma cell lines1. Here, we extended our studies to 60 clinical biopsies from patients with B-cell lymphomas, T-cell lymphomas and reactive lymphadenopathy, to investigate if the resistance to drug-induced apoptosis was, indeed, a function of Apaf-1 mislocalization. Firstly, cells were separated from these biopsies and their sensitivity to a variety of apoptosis inducing agents was assessed. Whereas, most T cell lymphomas as well as reactive lymphadenopathy cells were sensitive to apoptotic stimuli, B cell lymphomas exhibited strong resistance. We then investigated the expression of Apaf-1 and its intracellular localization in these clinical biopsies. To do so, cell fraction was performed to separate cytosol from membrane-enriched fractions. The latter were further subjected to density gradient centrifugation to obtain lipid raft fractions. We show that Apaf-1 was expressed in total cell lysates from B and T cell lymphomas, however upon fractionation the localization was strikingly different. In T cell lymphoma samples as well as in cells derived from reactive lymphadenopathy biopsies, Apaf-1 expression was prominently detected in the cytosol, which correlated with the sensitivity of the cells to apoptotic stimuli. In contrast, whereas cytosolic Apaf-1 expression was significantly lower or absent in almost all B cell lymphomas analyzed, increased localization of the protien was detected in membrane lipid rafts. The latter was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis of tissues from the same biopsy specimens. Interestingly, the resistance of B cell lymphomas to apoptotic execution (drug-induced or death receptor-mediated) was significantly bypassed upon incubation of cells with pharmacological agents that facilitated the dissociation of Apaf-1 from the lipid rafts to the cytosol. Taken together, our results implicate Apaf-1 mislocalization as a potential diagnostic marker for B-cell lymphomas as well as a predictor of response to therapeutic management. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):B63.
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