Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. Inactivation of synaptic glutamate is handled by the glutamate transporter GLT1 (also known as EAAT2; refs 1, 2), the physiologically dominant astroglial protein. In spite of its critical importance in normal and abnormal synaptic activity, no practical pharmaceutical can positively modulate this protein. Animal studies show that the protein is important for normal excitatory synaptic transmission, while its dysfunction is implicated in acute and chronic neurological disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, brain tumours and epilepsy. Using a blinded screen of 1,040 FDA-approved drugs and nutritionals, we discovered that many beta-lactam antibiotics are potent stimulators of GLT1 expression. Furthermore, this action appears to be mediated through increased transcription of the GLT1 gene. beta-Lactams and various semi-synthetic derivatives are potent antibiotics that act to inhibit bacterial synthetic pathways. When delivered to animals, the beta-lactam ceftriaxone increased both brain expression of GLT1 and its biochemical and functional activity. Glutamate transporters are important in preventing glutamate neurotoxicity. Ceftriaxone was neuroprotective in vitro when used in models of ischaemic injury and motor neuron degeneration, both based in part on glutamate toxicity. When used in an animal model of the fatal disease ALS, the drug delayed loss of neurons and muscle strength, and increased mouse survival. Thus these studies provide a class of potential neurotherapeutics that act to modulate the expression of glutamate neurotransmitter transporters via gene activation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive vascular cancer characterized by diverse etiology, activation of multiple signal transduction pathways, and various gene mutations. Here, we have determined a specific role for astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG1) in HCC pathogenesis. Expression of AEG1 was extremely low in human hepatocytes, but its levels were significantly increased in human HCC. Stable overexpression of AEG1 converted nontumorigenic human HCC cells into highly aggressive vascular tumors, and inhibition of AEG1 abrogated tumorigenesis by aggressive HCC cells in a xenograft model of nude mice. In human HCC, AEG1 overexpression was associated with elevated copy numbers. Microarray analysis revealed that AEG1 modulated the expression of genes associated with invasion, metastasis, chemoresistance, angiogenesis, and senescence. AEG1 also was found to activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling via ERK42/44 activation and upregulated lymphoidenhancing factor 1/T cell factor 1 (LEF1/TCF1), the ultimate executor of the Wnt pathway, important for HCC progression. Inhibition studies further demonstrated that activation of Wnt signaling played a key role in mediating AEG1 function. AEG1 also activated the NF-κB pathway, which may play a role in the chronic inflammatory changes preceding HCC development. These data indicate that AEG1 plays a central role in regulating diverse aspects of HCC pathogenesis. Targeted inhibition of AEG1 might lead to the shutdown of key elemental characteristics of HCC and could lead to an effective therapeutic strategy for HCC.

Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) was initially identified as an HIV-1-and tumor necrosis factor A (TNF-A)-inducible transcript in primary human fetal astrocytes by a rapid subtraction hybridization approach. Interestingly, AEG-1 expression is elevated in subsets of breast cancer, glioblastoma multiforme and melanoma cells and AEG-1 cooperates with Ha-ras to promote transformation of immortalized melanocytes. Activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor KB (NF-KB), a TNF-A downstream signaling component, is associated with several human illnesses, including cancer, and NF-KB controls the expression of multiple genes involved in tumor progression and metastasis. We now document that AEG-1 is a significant positive regulator of NF-KB. Enhanced expression of AEG-1 via a replication-incompetent adenovirus (Ad.AEG-1) in HeLa cells markedly increased binding of the transcriptional activator p50/p65 complex of NF-KB. The NF-KB activation induced by AEG-1 corresponded with degradation of IKBA and nuclear translocation of p65 that resulted in the induction of NF-KB downstream genes. Infection with an adenovirus expressing the mt32IKBA superrepressor (Ad.IKBA-mt32), which prevents p65 nuclear translocation, inhibited AEG-1-induced enhanced agar cloning efficiency and increased matrigel invasion of HeLa cells. We also document that TNF-A treatment resulted in nuclear translocation of both AEG-1 and p65 wherein these two proteins physically interacted, suggesting a potential mechanism by which AEG-1 could activate NF-KB. Our findings suggest that activation of NF-KB by AEG-1 could represent a key molecular mechanism by which AEG-1 promotes anchorage-independent growth and invasion, two central features of the neoplastic phenotype.

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A differentiation induction subtraction hybridization strategy is being used to identify and clone genes involved in growth control and terminal differentiation in human cancer cells. This scheme identified melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (mda-7), whose expression is upregulated as a consequence of terminal differentiation in human melanoma cells. Forced expression of mda-7 is growth inhibitory toward diverse human tumor cells. The present studies elucidate the mechanism by which mda-7 selectively suppresses the growth of human breast cancer cells and the consequence of ectopic expression of mda-7 on human breast tumor formation in vivo in nude mice. Infection of wild-type, mutant, and null p53 human breast cancer cells with a recombinant type 5 adenovirus expressing mda-7, Ad.mda-7 S, inhibited growth and induced programmed cell death (apoptosis). Induction of apoptosis correlated with an increase in BAX protein, an established inducer of programmed cell death, and an increase in the ratio of BAX to BCL-2, an established inhibitor of apoptosis. Infection of breast carcinoma cells with Ad.mda-7 S before injection into nude mice inhibited tumor development. In contrast, ectopic expression of mda-7 did not significantly alter cell cycle kinetics, growth rate, or survival in normal human mammary epithelial cells. These data suggest that mda-7 induces its selective anticancer properties in human breast carcinoma cells by promoting apoptosis that occurs independent of p53 status. On the basis of its selective anticancer inhibitory activity and its direct antitumor effects, mda-7 may represent a new class of cancer suppressor genes that could prove useful for the targeted therapy of human cancer.

Subtraction hybridization identified melanoma differentiationassociated gene-7 (mda-7) as a gene induced during terminal differentiation in human melanoma cells. On the basis of structure, chromosomal localization and cytokine-like properties, mda-7 is classified as IL-24. Administration of mda-7͞IL-24 by means of a replication-incompetent adenovirus (Ad.mda-7) induces apoptosis selectively in diverse human cancer cells without inducing harmful effects in normal fibroblast or epithelial cells. The present studies investigated the mechanism underlying this differential apoptotic effect. Infection of melanoma cells, but not normal immortal melanocytes, with Ad.mda-7 induced a time-and dose-dependent increase in expression, mRNA and protein, of a family of growth arrest and DNA damage (GADD)-inducible genes, which correlated with induction of apoptosis. Among the members of the GADD family of genes, GADD153, GADD45␣, and GADD34 displayed marked, and GADD45␥ showed minimal induction. Treatment of melanoma cells with SB203580, a selective inhibitor of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, effectively inhibited Ad.mda-7-induced apoptosis. Additional support for an involvement of the p38 MAPK pathway in Ad.mda-7-mediated apoptosis was documented by using an adenovirus expressing a dominant negative mutant of p38 MAPK. Infection with Ad.mda-7 increased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and heat shock protein 27 in melanoma cells but not in normal immortal melanocytes. In addition, SB203580 effectively inhibited Ad.mda-7-mediated induction of the GADD family of genes in a time-and dosedependent manner, and it effectively blocked Ad.mda-7-mediated down-regulation of the antiapoptotic protein BCL-2. Inhibition of GADD genes by an antisense approach either alone or in combination also effectively blocked Ad.mda-7-induced apoptosis in melanoma cells. These results support the hypothesis that Ad.mda-7 mediates induction of the GADD family of genes by means of the p38 MAPK pathway, thereby resulting in the selective induction of apoptosis in human melanoma cells. melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 ͉ growth arrest DNA damage-inducible gene family ͉ programmed cell death

Malignant glioma is a consistently fatal brain cancer. The tumor invades the surrounding tissue, limiting complete surgical removal and thereby initiating recurrence. Identifying molecules critical for glioma invasion is essential to develop targeted, effective therapies. The expression of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) increases in malignant glioma and AEG-1 regulates in vitro invasion and migration of malignant glioma cells by activating the nuclear factor-KB (NF-KB) signaling pathway. The present studies elucidate the domains of AEG-1 important for mediating its function. Serial NH 2 -terminal and COOH-terminal deletion mutants were constructed and functional analysis revealed that the NH 2 -terminal 71 amino acids were essential for invasion, migration, and NF-KB-activating properties of AEG-1. The p65-interaction domain was identified between amino acids 101 to 205, indicating that p65 interaction alone is not sufficient to mediate AEG-1 function. Coimmunoprecipitation assays revealed that AEG-1 interacts with cyclic AMPresponsive element binding protein-binding protein (CBP), indicating that it might act as a bridging factor between NF-KB, CBP, and the basal transcription machinery. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that AEG-1 is associated with the NF-KB binding element in the interleukin-8 promoter. Thus, AEG-1 might function as a coactivator for NF-KB, consequently augmenting expression of genes necessary for invasion of glioma cells. In these contexts, AEG-1 represents a viable potential target for the therapy of malignant glioma.

It is well established that Ha-ras and c-myc genes collaborate in promoting transformation, tumor progression, and metastasis. However, the precise mechanism underlying this cooperation remains unclear. In the present study, we document that astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is a downstream target molecule of Ha-ras and c-myc, mediating their tumor-promoting effects. AEG-1 expression is elevated in diverse neoplastic states, it cooperates with Ha-ras to promote transformation, and its overexpression augments invasion of transformed cells, demonstrating its functional involvement in Ha-ras-mediated tumorigenesis. We now document that AEG-1 expression is markedly induced by oncogenic Ha-ras, activating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway that augments binding of c-Myc to key E-box elements in the AEG-1 promoter, thereby regulating AEG-1 transcription. In addition, Ha-ras-mediated colony formation is inhibited by AEG-1 siRNA. This is a demonstration that Ha-ras activation of a tumorpromoting gene is regulated directly by c-Myc DNA binding via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling, thus revealing a previously uncharacterized mechanism of Ha-ras-mediated oncogenesis through AEG-1.tumor-promoting gene ͉ signaling pathway ͉ transcription T he ras protooncogene is a small GTP͞GDP-binding protein that plays a critical role in cell growth control as a central component of mitogenic signaling (1). Ras activation initiates a complex array of signal transduction pathways including the Raf͞MAPK (ERK) pathway, primarily involved in plasmamembrane-to-nucleus signaling crucial for mitogen-induced cell proliferation (2, 3); the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)͞ AKT pathway, which is involved in cell survival signaling (4); the Rac͞Rho pathway, involved in cytoskeletal remodeling (5); and Rac͞JNK and Rac͞p38 pathways, both of which appear to be involved in cell stress responses, growth inhibition, and apoptotic signaling (6-8). Activation of Ras signaling pathways is essential for cells to exit a quiescent state and pass through the G 1 phase of the cell cycle (9). Under normal conditions, the action of Ras and other members of the Ras pathway are stringently regulated during the cell cycle and under different growth conditions (10). In a tumor cell, the oncogenic activation of ras is a consequence of point mutations that either impair GTPase activity or enhance GTP-binding affinity, resulting in a highly active proliferative signal (1). In addition, it is possible that the downstream protein targets of that signal transduction pathway might be expressed abnormally. Ras mutations are found in a wide variety of human cancers (11). Therefore, aberrant Ras signaling represents a nodal pathway regulating tumor-cell growth and providing a potential target for cancer therapy (12, 13).We recently reported the cloning and functional characterization of an HIV-1-inducible gene, astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1), which is induced in primary human fetal astrocytes infected with HIV-1 or treated with gp120 or TNF-␣ (14-1...