Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is an autocrine/paracrine factor produced by breast cancer cells that is speculated to play a major role in permitting breast cancer cells to grow into the bone microenvironment by stimulating the bone resorption axis. It has been previously shown that EGFR signaling induces the production of PTHrP in several primary and transformed epithelial cell types. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between EGFR and PTHrP gene expression in human breast cancer cells. Of a panel of 7 breast epithelial and cancer cell lines, the osteolytic, EGFRpositive lines (MDA-MB-231 and NS2T2A1) exhibited higher levels of PTHrP transcript expression. Amphiregulin mRNA levels in all lines were approximately 2 orders of magnitude higher than those of TGFα or HBEGF. In the EGFR bearing lines, the receptor was phosphorylated at tyrosine 992 under basal conditions, and the addition of 100 nM amphiregulin did not lead to the phosphorylation of other tyrosine residues typically phosphorylated by the prototypical ligand EGF. Treatment of the EGFR positive lines with the EGFR inhibitor PD153035 and amphiregulin-neutralizing antibodies reduced PTHrP mRNA levels by 50-70%. Stable EGFR expression in the MCF7 line failed to increase basal PTHrP mRNA levels; however, treatment of this cell line with exogenous EGF or amphiregulin increased PTHrP transcription 3-fold. Transient transfection analysis suggests that the MAPK pathway and ETS transcription factors mediate EGFR coupling to PTHrP gene expression. Taken together, it appears that autocrine stimulation of EGFR signaling by amphiregulin is coupled to PTHrP gene expression via EGFR Tyr992 and MAPK, and that this pathway may contribute to PTHrP expression by breast tumor cells.

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We analyzed the use of different promoters and the splicing patterns of the exons encoding 5-and 3-untranslated sequence amounts of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) gene products in breast cancers. Tumor samples from 74 cases of primary breast cancer that had been followed from 1 to 14 years were selected retrospectively according to the occurrence of metastasis: 18 patients developed no metastasis (

ABSTRACT

Adrenocortical tumors (ACT) are rare and heterogeneous, but their pathogenesis is unclear. The oncoprotein parathyroid hormone -related protein (PTHrP), found in many common tumors, can regulate their growth in an autocrine/paracrine fashion through the PTH-R1 receptor. Little is known about the role of PTHrP in ACT. We monitored the synthesis of PTHrP and PTH-R1 in a series of 25 ACT: 12 adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) and 13 adrenocortical adenomas (ACA), and investigated the effects of PTHrP (1-

We amplified, using the polymerase chain reaction and calcitonin receptor (CTR) specific primers, RNA extracted from medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and the derived TT cell line. Both secrete large amounts of calcitonin. Electrophoresis of amplification products revealed, in both cases, an ethidium bromide‐stained band that hybridized to a CTR probe. Sequencing the band amplified from TT cells revealed an open reading frame identical to the sequence of H‐CTR but lacking 16 amino acids in the first intracellular loop. This demonstrates the existence of an mRNA coding for a subtype of H‐CTR which is expressed in TT cells and MTC.

Various types of protein kinase A (PKA) alterations have been observed in adrenocortical tumours and Carney complex (CNC). PKA is a heterotetramer of two regulatory and two catalytic subunits. The R1A and R2B proteins are the most abundant regulatory subunits in endocrine tissues. A decrease in R2B protein levels has been observed in adrenal adenoma, whereas tumours from patients with CNC display a decrease in R1A protein levels. Dysregulation of the balance between R1A and R2B may thus be involved in adrenal tumourigenesis. We investigated the impact of the differences in the balance of PKA subunits on cell growth using specific cAMP analogues. We assessed the effects of 8-chloroadenosine-cAMP (8Cl-cAMP), a site-selective activator of PKA R2B, in H295R adrenocortical cells. 8Cl-cAMP stimulated PKA activity, decreased R1A levels and increased R2B levels. It had no cytotoxic effects, initially stimulating DNA synthesis and then inducing apoptosis by disrupting G 2 /M progression. We observed an initial accumulation of cells in the S phase, translocation of cyclin A to the nucleus, CDK2 activation, sustained DNA synthesis and proliferating cell nuclear antigen accumulation. Cell cycle arrest in the G 2 phase was parallel with the accumulation of cyclin B and the inactivation of CDC2 kinase. The 8CPT-cAMP, which activates the R2B subunit, had similar effects. R2B silencing reduced the apoptosis induced by tumour necrosis factor a and transforming growth factor b. Thus, R2B is a key regulator of proliferation/differentiation in H295R cell line along with the complex balance between the PKA subunits. Activation of PKA R2B and dysregulation of the R1A/R2B balance regulate cell cycle progression and apoptosis in adrenocortical cells by modulating cyclin production and cyclin-dependent kinase activities.

In treating age-related osteoporosis and Paget disease of bone, it is of major importance to avoid an escape phenomenon that would reduce effectiveness of the treatment. The factors involved in the loss of therapeutic efficacy with administration of large pharmacological doses of the hormone require special consideration. Down-regulation of the hormone receptors could account for the escape phenomenon. Specific binding sites for salmon calcitonin (sCT) were characterized and localized by autoradiography on rat kidney sections incubated with 125I-labeled sCT. Autoradiograms demonstrated a heterogenous distribution of 125I-labeled sCT binding sites in the kidney, with high densities in both the superficial layer of the cortex and the outer medulla. Infusion of different doses of unlabeled sCT by means of Alzet minipumps for 7 days produced rapid changes in plasma calcium, phosphate, and magnesium levels, which were no longer observed after 2 or 6 days of treatment. Besides, infusion of high doses of sCT induced down-regulation of renal sCT binding sites located mainly in the medulla, where calcitonin (CT) has been shown to exert its physiological effects on water and ion reabsorption. These data suggest that the resistance to high doses of sCT often observed during long-term treatment of patients may be the consequence of not only bone-cell desensitization but also down-regulation of CT-sensitive kidney receptor sites.