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Metastasis of Breast Tumor Cells to Brain Is Suppressed by Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in a Novel In Vivo Metastasis Model.

ABSTRACT: Breast tumor metastasis is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Breast tumor cells frequently metastasize to brain and initiate severe therapeutic complications. The chances of brain metastasis are further elevated in patients with HER2 overexpression. In the current study, we evaluated the anti-metastatic effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in a novel murine model of breast tumor metastasis. The MDA-MB-231-BR (BR-brain seeking) breast tumor cells stably transfected with luciferase were injected into the left ventricle of mouse heart and the migration of cells to brain was monitored using a non-invasive IVIS bio-luminescent imaging system. In order to study the efficacy of PEITC in preventing the number of tumor cells migrating to brain, mice were given 10 µmol PEITC by oral gavage for ten days prior to intra-cardiac injection of tumor cells labeled with quantum dots. To evaluate the tumor growth suppressive effects, 10 µmol PEITC was given to mice every day starting 14(th) day after intra-cardiac cell injection. Based on the presence of quantum dots in the brain section of control and treated mice, our results reveal that PEITC significantly prevented the metastasis of breast cancer cells to brain. Our results demonstrate that the growth of metastatic brain tumors in PEITC treated mice was about 50% less than that of control. According to Kaplan Meir's curve, median survival of tumor bearing mice treated with PEITC was prolonged by 20.5%. Furthermore as compared to controls, we observed reduced HER2, EGFR and VEGF expression in the brain sections of PEITC treated mice. To the best of our knowledge, our study for the first time demonstrates the anti-metastatic effects of PEITC in vivo in a novel breast tumor metastasis model and provides the rationale for further clinical investigation.

SUBMITTER: Gupta P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695065 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Metastasis of Breast Tumor Cells to Brain Is Suppressed by Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in a Novel In Vivo Metastasis Model.

Gupta Parul P Adkins Chris C Lockman Paul P Srivastava Sanjay K SK

PloS one 20130627 6

Breast tumor metastasis is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Breast tumor cells frequently metastasize to brain and initiate severe therapeutic complications. The chances of brain metastasis are further elevated in patients with HER2 overexpression. In the current study, we evaluated the anti-metastatic effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in a novel murine model of breast tumor metastasis. The MDA-MB-231-BR (BR-brain seeking) breast tumor cells stably transfected with l ...[more]

PMID: 23826254

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Project description:BackgroundHER2 is an oncogene, expression of which leads to poor prognosis in 30% of breast cancer patients. Although trastuzumab is apparently an effective therapy against HER2-positive tumors, its systemic toxicity and resistance in the majority of patients restricts its applicability. In this study we evaluated the effects of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in HER2-positive breast cancer cells.MethodsMDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells stably transfected with HER2 (high HER2 (HH)) were used in this study. The effect of PEITC was evaluated using cytotoxicity and apoptosis assay in these syngeneic cells. Western blotting was used to delineate HER2 signaling. SCID/NOD mice were implanted with MDA-MB-231 (HH) xenografts.ResultsOur results show that treatment of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells with varying concentrations of PEITC for 24 h extensively reduced the survival of the cells with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 8 μM in MDA-MB-231 and 14 μM in MCF-7 cells. PEITC treatment substantially decreased the expression of HER2, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) at Tyr-705. The expression of BCL-2-associated × (BAX) and BIM proteins were increased, whereas the levels of B cell lymphoma-extra large (BCL-XL) and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) were significantly decreased in both the cell lines in response to PEITC treatment. Substantial cleavage of caspase 3 and poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) were associated with PEITC-mediated apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. Notably, transient silencing of HER2 decreased and overexpressing HER2 increased the effects of PEITC. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial depolarization and apoptosis by PEITC treatment were much higher in breast cancer cells expressing higher levels of HER2 (HH) as compared to parent cell lines. The IC50 of PEITC following 24 h of treatment was reduced remarkably to 5 μM in MDA-MB-231 (HH) and 4 μM in MCF-7 (HH) cells, stably overexpressing HER2. Oral administration of 12 μM PEITC significantly suppressed the growth of breast tumor xenografts in SCID/NOD mice. In agreement with our in vitro results, tumors from PEITC-treated mice demonstrated reduced HER2, EGFR and STAT3 expression and increased apoptosis as revealed by cleavage of caspase 3 and PARP. In addition our results show that PEITC can enhance the efficacy of doxorubicin.ConclusionsOur results show a unique specificity of PEITC in inducing apoptosis in HER2-expressing tumor cells in vitro and in vivo and enhancing the effects of doxorubicin. This unique specificity of PEITC offers promise to a subset of breast cancer patients overexpressing HER2.

Project description:It is well recognized that tumor hypoxia plays an important role in promoting malignant progression and affecting therapeutic response negatively. There is little knowledge about in situ, in vivo, tumor hypoxia during intracranial development of malignant brain tumors because of lack of efficient means to monitor it in these deep-seated orthotopic tumors. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI), based on the detection of light emitted by living cells expressing a luciferase gene, has been rapidly adopted for cancer research, in particular, to evaluate tumor growth or tumor size changes in response to treatment in preclinical animal studies. Moreover, by expressing a reporter gene under the control of a promoter sequence, the specific gene expression can be monitored non-invasively by BLI. Under hypoxic stress, signaling responses are mediated mainly via the hypoxia inducible factor-1? (HIF-1?) to drive transcription of various genes. Therefore, we have used a HIF-1? reporter construct, 5HRE-ODD-luc, stably transfected into human breast cancer MDA-MB231 cells (MDA-MB231/5HRE-ODD-luc). In vitro HIF-1? bioluminescence assay is performed by incubating the transfected cells in a hypoxic chamber (0.1% O?) for 24 hr before BLI, while the cells in normoxia (21% O?) serve as a control. Significantly higher photon flux observed for the cells under hypoxia suggests an increased HIF-1? binding to its promoter (HRE elements), as compared to those in normoxia. Cells are injected directly into the mouse brain to establish a breast cancer brain metastasis model. In vivo bioluminescence imaging of tumor hypoxia dynamics is initiated 2 wks after implantation and repeated once a week. BLI reveals increasing light signals from the brain as the tumor progresses, indicating increased intracranial tumor hypoxia. Histological and immunohistochemical studies are used to confirm the in vivo imaging results. Here, we will introduce approaches of in vitro HIF-1? bioluminescence assay, surgical establishment of a breast cancer brain metastasis in a nude mouse and application of in vivo bioluminescence imaging to monitor intracranial tumor hypoxia.

Project description:Mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene are prevalent in human cancers. The majority of p53 mutations are missense, which can be classified into contact mutations (that directly disrupts the DNA-binding activity of p53) and structural mutations (that disrupts the conformation of p53). Both of the mutations can disable the normal wild-type (WT) p53 activities. Nevertheless, it has been amply documented that small molecules can rescue activity from mutant p53 by restoring WT tumor-suppressive functions. These compounds hold promise for cancer therapy and have now entered clinical trials. In this study, we show that cruciferous-vegetable-derived phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) can reactivate p53 mutant under in vitro and in vivo conditions, revealing a new mechanism of action for a dietary-related compound. PEITC exhibits growth-inhibitory activity in cells expressing p53 mutants with preferential activity toward p53(R175), one of the most frequent 'hotspot' mutations within the p53 sequence. Mechanistic studies revealed that PEITC induces apoptosis in a p53(R175) mutant-dependent manner by restoring p53 WT conformation and transactivation functions. Accordingly, in PEITC-treated cells the reactivated p53(R175) mutant induces apoptosis by activating canonical WT p53 targets, inducing a delay in S and G2/M phase, and by phosphorylating ATM/CHK2. Interestingly, the growth-inhibitory effects of PEITC depend on the redox state of the cell. Further, PEITC treatments render the p53(R175) mutant sensitive to degradation by the proteasome and autophagy in a concentration-dependent manner. PEITC-induced reactivation of p53(R175) and its subsequent sensitivity to the degradation pathways likely contribute to its anticancer activities. We further show that dietary supplementation of PEITC is able to reactivate WT activity in vivo as well, inhibiting tumor growth in xenograft mouse model. These findings provide the first example of mutant p53 reactivation by a dietary compound and have important implications for cancer prevention and therapy.

Project description:BackgroundThe study of breast cancer metastasis depends on the use of established breast cancer cell lines that do not accurately represent the heterogeneity and complexity of human breast tumors. A tumor model was developed using primary breast tumor-initiating cells isolated from patient core biopsies that would more accurately reflect human breast cancer metastasis.MethodsTumorspheres were isolated under serum-free culture conditions from core biopsies collected from five patients with clinical diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Isolated tumorspheres were transplanted into the mammary fat pad of NUDE mice to establish tumorigenicity in vivo. Tumors and metastatic lesions were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (H+E) staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC).ResultsTumorspheres were successfully isolated from all patient core biopsies, independent of the estrogen receptor α (ERα)/progesterone receptor (PR)/Her2/neu status or tumor grade. Each tumorsphere was estimated to contain 50-100 cells. Transplantation of 50 tumorspheres (1-5 × 103 cells) in combination with Matrigel into the mammary fat pad of NUDE mice resulted in small, palpable tumors that were sustained up to 12 months post-injection. Tumors were serially transplanted three times by re-isolation of tumorspheres from the tumors and injection into the mammary fat pad of NUDE mice. At 3 months post-injection, micrometastases to the lung, liver, kidneys, brain and femur were detected by measuring content of human chromosome 17. Visible macrometastases were detected in the lung, liver and kidneys by 6 months post-injection. Primary tumors variably expressed cytokeratins, Her2/neu, cytoplasmic E-cadherin, nuclear β catenin and fibronectin but were negative for ERα and vimentin. In lung and liver metastases, variable redistribution of E-cadherin and β catenin to the membrane of tumor cells was observed. ERα was re-expressed in lung metastatic cells in two of five samples.ConclusionsTumorspheres isolated under defined culture conditions from patient core biopsies were tumorigenic when transplanted into the mammary fat pad of NUDE mice, and metastasized to multiple mouse organs. Micrometastases in mouse organs demonstrated a dormancy period prior to outgrowth of macrometastases. The development of macrometastases with organ-specific phenotypic distinctions provides a superior model for the investigation of organ-specific effects on metastatic cancer cell survival and growth.

Project description:BackgroundThis study was undertaken to determine the chemopreventative efficacy of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a bioactive constituent of many edible cruciferous vegetables, in a mouse model of prostate cancer, and to identify potential biomarker(s) associated with PEITC response.MethodsThe chemopreventative activity of dietary PEITC was investigated in Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate mice that were fed a control diet or one containing 3 μmol PEITC/g (n = 21 mice per group) for 19 weeks. Dorsolateral prostate tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathologic evaluations and subjected to immunohistochemistry for analysis of cell proliferation (Ki-67 expression), autophagy (p62 and LC3 protein expression), and E-cadherin expression. Autophagosomes were visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Apoptotic bodies were detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling. Plasma proteomics was performed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometry to identify potential biomarkers of PEITC activity. All statistical tests were two-sided.ResultsAdministration of PEITC (3 μmol/g diet) decreased incidence (PEITC diet vs control diet, mean = 21.65 vs 57.58%, difference = -35.93%, 95% confidence interval = -45.48% to -13.10%, P = .04) as well as burden (affected area) (PEITC diet vs control diet, mean = 18.53% vs 45.01%, difference = -26.48%, 95% confidence interval = -49.78% to -3.19%, P = .02) of poorly differentiated tumors in the dorsolateral prostate of transgenic mice compared with control mice, with no toxic effects. PEITC-mediated inhibition of prostate carcinogenesis was associated with induction of autophagy and overexpression of E-cadherin in the dorsolateral prostate. However, PEITC treatment was not associated with a decrease in cellular proliferation, apoptosis induction, or inhibition of neoangiogenesis. Plasma proteomics revealed distinct changes in the expression of several proteins (eg, suppression of clusterin protein) in the PEITC-treated mice compared with control mice.ConclusionsIn this transgenic model, dietary PEITC suppressed prostate cancer progression by induction of autophagic cell death. Potential biomarkers to assess the response to PEITC treatment in plasma were identified.

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Metastasis of Breast Tumor Cells to Brain Is Suppressed by Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in a Novel In Vivo Metastasis Model.

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Metastasis of Breast Tumor Cells to Brain Is Suppressed by Phenethyl Isothiocyanate in a Novel In Vivo Metastasis Model.

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