Inhibition of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C downregulates HER2 overexpression on plasma membrane of breast cancer cells

The plant non-specific phospholipase C gene family. Novel competitors in lipid signalling

Non-specific phospholipases C (NPCs) were discovered as a novel type of plant phospholipid-cleaving enzyme homologous to bacterial phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipases C and responsible for lipid conversion during phosphate-limiting conditions. The six-gene family was established in Arabidopsis, and growing evidence suggests the involvement of two articles NPCs in biotic and abiotic stress responses as well as phytohormone actions. In addition, the diacylglycerol produced via NPCs is postulated to participate in membrane remodelling, general lipid metabolism and cross-talk with other phospholipid signalling systems in plants. This review summarises information concerning this new plant protein family and focusses on its sequence analysis, biochemical properties, cellular and tissue distribution and physiological functions. Possible modes of action are also discussed.

Inhibition of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C results in loss of mesenchymal traits in metastatic breast cancer cells

Introduction

Acquisition of mesenchymal characteristics confers to breast cancer (BC) cells the capability of invading tissues different from primary tumor site, allowing cell migration and metastasis. Regulators of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) may represent targets for anticancer agents. Accruing evidence supports functional implications of choline phospholipid metabolism in oncogene-activated cell signaling and differentiation. We investigated the effects of D609, a xanthate inhibiting phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) and sphingomyelin synthase (SMS), as a candidate regulator of cell differentiation and MET in the highly metastatic BC cell line MDA-MB-231.

Methods

PC-PLC expression and activity were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), immunoblotting and enzymatic assay on human MDA-MB-231 compared with MCF-7 and SKBr3 BC cells and a nontumoral immortalized counterpart (MCF-10A). The effects of D609 on PC-PLC and SMS activity, loss of mesenchymal markers and changes in migration and invasion potential were monitored in MDA-MB-231 cells by enzymatic assays, CLSM, immunoblotting and transwell chamber invasion combined with scanning electron microscopy examinations. Cell proliferation, formation and composition of lipid bodies and cell morphology were investigated in D609-treated BC cells by cell count, CLSM, flow-cytometry of BODIPY-stained cells, nuclear magnetic resonance and thin-layer chromatography.

Results

PC-PLC (but not phospholipase D) showed 2- to 6-fold activation in BC compared with nontumoral cells, the highest activity (up to 0.4 pmol/μg protein/min) being detected in the poorly-differentiated MDA-MB-231 cells. Exposure of the latter cells to D609 (50 μg/mL, 24-72 h) resulted into 60-80% PC-PLC inhibition, while SMS was transiently inhibited by a maximum of 21%. These features were associated with progressive decreases of mesenchymal traits such as vimentin and N-cadherin expression, reduced galectin-3 and milk fat globule EGF-factor 8 levels, β-casein formation and decreased in vitro cell migration and invasion. Moreover, proliferation arrest, changes in cell morphology and formation of cytosolic lipid bodies typical of cell differentiation were induced by D609 in all investigated BC cells.

Conclusions

These results support a critical involvement of PC-PLC in controlling molecular pathways responsible for maintaining a mesenchymal-like phenotype in metastatic BC cells and suggests PC-PLC deactivation as a means to promote BC cell differentiation and possibly enhance the effectiveness of antitumor treatments.

Targeting phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C for atherogenesis therapy

Atherosclerosis, a dynamic and progressive vascular disease arising from the combination of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation, is becoming a major killer in the 21st century. Accumulating evidence implicates phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) in endothelial dysfunction and several inflammation processes. In addition, in a recent study, we demonstrated that PC-PLC contributed to the progression of atherosclerosis. Considering the important roles of PC-PLC in vascular endothelial cell dysfunction and its proinflammatory properties, we propose that a pharmacological blockade of PC-PLC represents a rational approach to atherosclerosis therapy.

Tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) mechanism of actions: a mini-review of literature

Tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) is known for its antiviral and antitumor properties. D609 actions are widely attributed to inhibiting phosphatidylcholine (PC)-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC). D609 also inhibits sphingomyelin synthase (SMS). PC-PLC and/or SMS inhibition will affect lipid second messengers 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) and/or ceramide. Evidence indicates either PC-PLC and/or SMS inhibition affected the cell cycle and arrested proliferation, and stimulated differentiation in various in vitro and in vivo studies. Xanthogenate compounds are also potent antioxidants and D609 reduced Aß-induced toxicity, attributed to its antioxidant properties. Zn²⁺ is necessary for PC-PLC enzymatic activity; inhibition by D609 might be attributed to its Zn²⁺ chelation. D609 has also been proposed to inhibit acidic sphingomyelinase or down-regulate hypoxia inducible factor-1α; however these are down-stream events related to PC-PLC inhibition. Characterization of the mammalian PC-PLC is limited to inhibition of enzymatic activity (frequently measured using Amplex red assay with bacterial PC-PLC as a standard). The mammalian PC-PLC has not been cloned; sequenced and structural information is unavailable. D609 showed promise in cancer studies, reduced atherosclerotic plaques (inhibition of PC-PLC) and cerebral infarction after stroke (PC-PLC or SMS). D609 actions as an antagonist to pro-inflammatory cytokines have been attributed to PC-PLC. The purpose of this review is to comprehensively evaluate the literature and summarize the findings and relevance to cell cycle and CNS pathologies.

Choline metabolism in malignant transformation

Abnormal choline metabolism is emerging as a metabolic hallmark that is associated with oncogenesis and tumour progression. Following transformation, the modulation of enzymes that control anabolic and catabolic pathways causes increased levels of choline-containing precursors and breakdown products of membrane phospholipids. These increased levels are associated with proliferation, and recent studies emphasize the complex reciprocal interactions between oncogenic signalling and choline metabolism. Because choline-containing compounds are detected by non-invasive magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), increased levels of these compounds provide a non-invasive biomarker of transformation, staging and response to therapy. Furthermore, enzymes of choline metabolism, such as choline kinase, present novel targets for image-guided cancer therapy.

MRS and MRSI guidance in molecular medicine: targeting and monitoring of choline and glucose metabolism in cancer

MRS and MRSI are valuable tools for the detection of metabolic changes in tumors. The currently emerging era of molecular medicine, which is shaped by molecularly targeted anticancer therapies combined with molecular imaging of the effects of such therapies, requires powerful imaging technologies that are able to detect molecular information. MRS and MRSI are such technologies that are able to detect metabolites arising from glucose and choline metabolism in noninvasive in vivo settings and at higher resolution in tissue samples. The roles played by MRS and MRSI in the diagnosis of different types of cancer, as well as in the early monitoring of the tumor response to traditional chemotherapies, are reviewed. The emerging roles of MRS and MRSI in the development and detection of novel targeted anticancer therapies that target oncogenic signaling pathways or markers in choline or glucose metabolism are discussed.

MR evaluation of response to targeted treatment in cancer cells

The development of molecular technologies, together with progressive sophistication of molecular imaging methods, has allowed the further elucidation of the multiple mutations and dysregulatory effects of pathways leading to oncogenesis. Acting against these pathways by specifically targeted agents represents a major challenge for current research efforts in oncology. As conventional anatomically based pharmacological endpoints may be inadequate to monitor the tumor response to these targeted treatments, the identification and use of more appropriate, noninvasive pharmacodynamic biomarkers appear to be crucial to optimize the design, dosage and schedule of these novel therapeutic approaches. An aberrant choline phospholipid metabolism and enhanced flux of glucose derivatives through glycolysis, which sustain the redirection of mitochondrial ATP to glucose phosphorylation, are two major hallmarks of cancer cells. This review focuses on the changes detected in these pathways by MRS in response to targeted treatments. The progress and limitations of our present understanding of the mechanisms underlying MRS-detected phosphocholine accumulation in cancer cells are discussed in the light of gene and protein expression and the activation of different enzymes involved in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and catabolism. Examples of alterations induced in the MRS choline profile of cells exposed to different agents or to tumor environmental factors are presented. Current studies aimed at the identification in cancer cells of MRS-detected pharmacodynamic markers of therapies targeted against specific conditional or constitutive cell receptor stimulation are then reviewed. Finally, the perspectives of present efforts addressed to identify enzymes of the phosphatidylcholine cycle as possible novel targets for anticancer therapy are summarized.

Design and synthesis of phospholipase C and A2-activatable near-infrared fluorescent smart probes

The primary focus of this work was to develop activatable probes suitable for in vivo detection of phospholipase activity. Phospholipases (PLs) are ubiquitous enzymes that perform a number of critical regulatory functions. They catalyze phospholipid breakdown and are categorized as A(1), A(2) (PLA(2)), C (PLC), and D (PLD) based on their site of action. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of self-quenching reporter probes that release fluorescent moieties upon cleavage with PLA(2) or PLC. A series of phospholipids were synthesized bearing the NIR fluorophore pyropheophorbide a (Pyro) at the sn-2 position. Fluorescence quenching was achieved by attachment of either a positively charged black hole quencher-3 (BHQ-3) to the phospholipid headgroup or another neutral Pyro moiety at the sn-1 position. The specificity to different phospholipases was modulated by insertion of spacers (C(6), C(12)) between Pyro and the lipid backbone. The specificity of the quenched fluorescent phospholipids was assayed on a plate reader against a number of phospholipases and compared with two commercial probes bearing the visible fluorophore BODIPY. While PyroC(6)-PyroC(6)-PtdCho revealed significant background fluorescence, and a 10% fluorescence increase under the action of PLA(2), Pyro-PtdEtn-BHQ demonstrated high selective sensitivity to PLC, particularly to the PC-PLC isoform, and its sensitivity to PLA(2) was negligible due to steric hindrance at the sn-2 position. In contrast, the C(12)-spacered PyroC(12)-PtdEtn-BHQ demonstrated a remarkable selectivity for PLA(2) and the best relative PLA(2)/PLC sensitivity, significantly outperforming previously known probes. These results open an avenue for future in vivo experiments and for new probes to detect PL activity.

Post-traumatic oedema of the foot after tibial fracture

A total of 97 patients with diaphyseal tibial fractures treated with functional bracing were studied prospectively. Persistent ipsilateral foot swelling was present in 84.5 per cent of the patients. Most of the swellings subsided with time, but a small percentage of them persisted for a duration of 2 years or more after injury. The time for disappearance of the swelling in 50 per cent of the patients was 18.6 weeks. The development of oedema is not related to the age and sex of the patients, the configuration, type and level of the fractures, or the association of a fibular fracture. The bone healed quicker in those who did not have swelling of the foot. Once the swelling has developed, it seems to run its own course and its disappearance is not related to the age and sex, the configuration, type and level of fractures, the association of a fibular fracture, or the time for fracture healing. This complication does not have any adverse effect on the functional recovery of the patients.