Effects of mevinolin and mevalonate on cell growth in several transformed cell lines

The potential of the mevalonate pathway for enhanced isoprenoid production

The cytosol-localised mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway delivers the basic isoprene unit isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). In higher plants, this central metabolic intermediate is also synthesised by the plastid-localised methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway. Both MVA and MEP pathways conspire through exchange of intermediates and regulatory interactions. Products downstream of IPP such as phytosterols, carotenoids, vitamin E, artemisinin, tanshinone and paclitaxel demonstrate antioxidant, cholesterol-reducing, anti-ageing, anticancer, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Other isoprenoid precursors including isoprene, isoprenol, geraniol, farnesene and farnesol are economically valuable. An update on the MVA pathway and its interaction with the MEP pathway is presented, including the improvement in the production of phytosterols and other isoprenoid derivatives. Such attempts are for instance based on the bioengineering of microbes such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as plants. The function of relevant genes in the MVA pathway that can be utilised in metabolic engineering is reviewed and future perspectives are presented.

d-δ-Tocotrienol-mediated suppression of the proliferation of human PANC-1, MIA PaCa-2, and BxPC-3 pancreatic carcinoma cells

OBJECTIVE

The rate-limiting activity of the mevalonate pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase, provides intermediates essential for growth. Competitive inhibitors of HMG CoA reductase, such as the statins, and down-regulators of reductase, such as the tocotrienols, suppress tumor growth. We evaluated the impact of d-delta-tocotrienol, the most potent vitamin E isomer, on human MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 pancreatic carcinoma cells and BxPC-3 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells.

METHODS

Cell proliferation was measured by using CellTiter 96 Aqueous One Solution (Promega, Madison, Wis). Cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry. Apoptosis was evaluated by Annexin V staining and fluorescence microscopy after dual staining with acridine orange and ethidium bromide.

RESULTS

d-delta-Tocotrienol induced concentration-dependent suppression of cell proliferation with 50% inhibitory concentrations of 28 (6) micromol/L (MIA PaCa-2), 35 (7) micromol/L (PANC-1), and 35 (8) microL (BxPC-3), respectively. These effects are attributable to cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and apoptosis. Mevalonate attenuated d-delta-tocotrienol-mediated growth inhibition. A physiologically attainable blend of d-delta-tocotrienol and lovastatin synergistically suppressed the proliferation of MIA PaCa-2 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Suppression of mevalonate pathway activities, be it by modulators of HMG CoA reductase (statins, tocotrienols, and farnesol), farnesyl transferase (farnesyl transferase inhibitors), and/or mevalonate pyrophosphate decarboxylase (phenylacetate) activity, may have a potential in pancreatic cancer chemotherapy.

Lipid-lowering drug use and breast cancer in older women: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that use of lipid-lowering drugs reduces the risk of breast cancer in older women.

METHODS

This was a multicenter prospective cohort study conducted at four community-based clinical centers in the United States, including 7528 Caucasian women, mean age 77 years. The main outcome measure was incident breast cancer confirmed by medical record and pathology reports identified over an average of 6.8 years (244 cases).

RESULTS

The use of lipid-lowering drugs was reported by 576 women (7.7%). The age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer was 3.1/1000 person-years among statin users, 1.4 among women using other lipid-lowering agents, and 5.0 among nonusers. After adjustment for age and body weight, the relative risk (RR) of breast cancer among statin users was 0.28 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.09-0.86), and among women who used other lipid-lowering drugs, it was 0.37 (95% CI 0.14-0.99) in comparison to nonusers. The combined group of lipid-lowering drug users had a 68% reduction in the risk of breast cancer (95% CI 32%-85%). Further adjustment for hormone use, family history of breast cancer, mammography use, or other risk factors did not alter the results.

CONCLUSIONS

Older women who use lipid-lowering drugs may have a reduced risk of breast cancer. Given the widespread use of statins in older women, these results could have a large public health impact. However, these findings need confirmation in other prospective studies, as they were based on a small number of breast cancer events.

Leukaemia inhibitory factor or Oncostatin M induction of Swiss 3T3 cells does not require mevalonic acid synthesis nor protein isoprenylation to initiate DNA replication

Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) or Oncostatin M (OSM), both mitogens for Swiss mouse 3T3 cells, triggers initiation of DNA synthesis without the requirement for mevalonic acid. Thus, Lovastatin (LOV), an inhibitor of the hydroxy methylglutaryl CoA (HMGCoA) reductase, does not block LIF or OSM induced DNA replication and cell multiplication. In contrast, increasing concentrations of LOV from 1 to 60 microM block the mitogenic action of PGF(2alpha) by decreasing the number of cells capable of entering S-phase and dividing. This inhibition by LOV can be reversed by addition of mevanolactone (MEV), an analogue of mevalonic acid. Thus, LIF or OSM triggers initiation of DNA replication independently of mevalonic acid synthesis and therefore without the involvement of isoprenylation of various signalling proteins.

Volatile isoprenoid constituents of fruits, vegetables and herbs cumulatively suppress the proliferation of murine B16 melanoma and human HL-60 leukemia cells

Substantial evidence from epidemiological studies supports the inverse association between the intake of fruits, vegetables and other plant products and cancer incidence. Cancer-preventive constituents of fruits and vegetables may inhibit carcinogen activation, enhance carcinogen detoxification, prevent carcinogens from interacting with critical target sites, or impede tumor progression. These activities, however, are achievable only when levels of individual bioactive constituents reach beyond those attainable from a normal balanced diet. Isoprenoids, a broad class of mevalonate-derived phytochemicals ubiquitous in the plant kingdom, suppress the proliferation of tumor cells and the growth of implanted tumors. A search for volatile isoprenoid constituents of food products spanning seven plant families identified 179 isoprenoids. Of these, 41 purchased from commercial sources were screened for efficacy in suppressing the proliferation of murine B16 melanoma cells. Individual isoprenoids suppressed the proliferation of B16 and HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells with varying degrees of potency. Cell cycle arrest at the G(0)-G(1) phase and apoptosis account, at least in part, for the suppression. Blends of isoprenoids suppressed B16 and HL-60 cell proliferation with efficacies equal to the sum of the individual impacts. These findings suggest that the cancer-protective property of fruits, vegetables, and related products is partly conferred by the cumulative impact of volatile isoprenoid constituents.

Enhancement of sterol synthesis by the monoterpene perillyl alcohol is unaffected by competitive 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibition

Monoterpenes such as limonene and perillyl alcohol (PA) are currently under investigation for their chemotherapeutic properties which have been tied to their ability to affect protein isoprenylation. Because PA affects the synthesis of isoprenoids, such as ubiquinone, and cholesterol is the end product of the synthetic pathway from which this isoprenoid pathway branches, we investigated the effects of this compound upon cholesterol metabolism in the colonic adenocarcinoma cell line SW480. PA (1 mM) inhibited incorporation of 14C-mevalonate into 21-26 kDa proteins by 25% in SW480 cells. Cholesterol (CH) biosynthesis was assessed by measuring the incorporation of 14C-acetate and 14C-mevalonate into 27-carbon-sterols. Cells treated with PA (1 mM) exhibited a fourfold increase in the incorporation of 14C-acetate but not 14C-mevalonate into cholesterol. Mevinolin (lovastatin), an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA(HMG-CoA) reductase, at 2 microM concentration, inhibited CH synthesis from 14C-acetate by 80%. Surprisingly, concurrent addition of mevinolin and PA did not significantly alter the stimulatory effects of PA. As observed differences in 14C-acetate and 14C-mevalonate precursor labeling could indicate PA affects early pathway events, the effects of this monoterpene on HMG-CoA reductase activity were evaluated. Unexpectedly, 1 mM PA did not stimulate activity of this enzyme. Consistent with its action as a reversibly bound inhibitor, in washed microsomes, 2 microM mevinolin pretreatment increased reductase protein expression causing a 12.7 (+/- 2.4)-fold compensatory HMG-CoA reductase activity increase; concurrent treatment with 1 mM PA attenuated this to a 5.3 (+/- 0.03)-fold increase. Gas chromatographic analysis confirmed CH was the major lipid present in the measured thin-layer chromatography spot. Since 14C-acetate incorporation into free fatty acid and phospholipid pools was not significantly affected by PA treatment, nonspecific changes in whole acetate pool sizes were not indicated. Because increases in endogenous CH synthesis should result in compensatory changes in exogenous sterol utilization, the effects of PA upon low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor activity were evaluated. Consistent with the observed increases in CH synthesis, 1 mM PA decreased 125I-LDL internalization to 50% of the fetal bovine serum control; concurrent addition of 2 microM mevinolin attenuated this effect to a reduction of 80% of the control value. Data suggest that in certain colonic tumor cells PA strongly affects cholesterol metabolism via a mechanism of action that is insensitive to the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor mevinolin.

Apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest in human and murine tumor cells are initiated by isoprenoids

Diverse classes of phytochemicals initiate biological responses that effectively lower cancer risk. One class of phytochemicals, broadly defined as pure and mixed isoprenoids, encompasses an estimated 22,000 individual components. A representative mixed isoprenoid, gamma-tocotrienol, suppresses the growth of murine B16(F10) melanoma cells, and with greater potency, the growth of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human leukemic (HL-60) cells. beta-Ionone, a pure isoprenoid, suppresses the growth of B16 cells and with greater potency, the growth of MCF-7, HL-60 and human colon adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells. Results obtained with diverse cell lines differing in ras and p53 status showed that the isoprenoid-mediated suppression of growth is independent of mutated ras and p53 functions. beta-Ionone suppressed the growth of human colon fibroblasts (CCD-18Co) but only when present at three-fold the concentration required to suppress the growth of Caco-2 cells. The isoprenoids initiated apoptosis and, concomitantly arrested cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Both suppress 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase activity. beta-Ionone and lovastatin interfered with the posttranslational processing of lamin B, an activity essential to assembly of daughter nuclei. This interference, we postulate, renders neosynthesized DNA available to the endonuclease activities leading to apoptotic cell death. Lovastatin-imposed mevalonate starvation suppressed the glycosylation and translocation of growth factor receptors to the cell surface. As a consequence, cells were arrested in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. This rationale may apply to the isoprenoid-mediated G1-phase arrest of tumor cells. The additive and potentially synergistic actions of these isoprenoids in the suppression of tumor cell proliferation and initiation of apoptosis coupled with the mass action of the diverse isoprenoid constituents of plant products may explain, in part, the impact of fruit, vegetable and grain consumption on cancer risk.

Lovastatin induces apoptosis in malignant mesothelioma cells

Malignant mesothelioma causes profound morbidity and nearly universal mortality that is refractory to conventional treatment with aggressive surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. We report that pharmacologic concentrations of lovastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitor, induced apoptosis in human malignant mesothelioma cell lines. Mesothelioma cell viability was decreased in a dose-dependent manner by lovastatin (5 to 30 microM). These effects were not reversed by exogenous growth factors or cholesterol, but were reversed by addition of 100 microM mevalonate, confirming that lovastatin affected mesothelioma viability by inhibiting mevalonate synthesis. Lovastatin appeared to decrease mesothelioma viability by inducing apoptosis, as indicated by morphologic changes, histologic evidence of nuclear condensation and degeneration, and flow-cytometric analysis of DNA content. Lovastatin's effects on cell viability were partially reversed in the presence of farnesol, and treatment of mesothelioma cells with a specific farnesyl-protein transferase (FTP) inhibitor decreased cell viability and induced morphologic changes indistinguishable from those caused by lovastatin. In addition, lovastatin-treated cells showed translocation of ras guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins from membrane to cytosolic fractions on Western blots, suggesting that lovastatin's effects on mesothelioma were mediated in part by disrupting acylation of GTP-binding proteins. Thus, lovastatin is a commercially available and clinically well-tolerated agent that reduces viability and induces apoptosis of mesothelioma cells, and may provide the basis for adjunctive treatments of patients with mesothelioma.

The effects of pravastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, on cell viability and DNA production of rat hepatocytes

Some metabolites and products of mevalonic acid are involved in various cellular functions, particularly cell growth. In this study, we assessed the effects of pravastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, on cell viability and DNA production of rat hepatocytes stimulated with epidermal growth factor. Pravastatin (0.1 to 10 microM) induced a dose-dependent reduction of DNA synthesis, assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation in rat hepatocytes, which dropped by approximately 60% at a drug concentration of 10 microM. This suppression of DNA synthesis was nearly reversed by exogenous mevalonic acid, but was not prevented by purified low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Pravastatin did not affect the mitochondrial reduction of Dimethylthiazolyl-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), but induced apoptotic change as assessed by nuclear chromatin staining. This apoptotic change was also reversed by exogenous mevalonic acid. These results indicate that mevalonic acid metabolites are necessary for DNA synthesis by rat hepatocytes stimulated by epidermal growth factor and for suppressing cell death.

Effect of lovastatin alone and as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent on hepatoma tissue culture-4 cell growth

BACKGROUND

Cholesterol is essential for cell viability and growth. Interference with the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway with a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (e.g., lovastatin) may preferentially slow malignant cell growth and offer a new approach to cancer chemotherapy. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the effect of lovastatin alone, and as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent, on the growth and function of hepatoma tissue culture-4 (HTC-4) cells.

METHODS

HTC-4 cells were treated with lovastatin at concentrations of 1, 3, 5, and 10 microM, with mitomycin-C at concentrations of 10, 25, 50, and 100 nM, or with combinations of the two drugs. Cell growth was evaluated by daily cell counts and substrate adhesion to fibronectin.

RESULTS

Lovastatin alone slowed HTC-4 cell growth at concentrations as low as 1 microM (p < 0.01). Mitomycin-C alone slowed HTC-4 cell growth at concentrations of 25 nM and above (p < 0.01). Lovastatin added to mitomycin-C-treated cells resulted in a significant adjuvant effect, with cell growth slowed by an additional 20-30% by 1 microM lovastatin and by an additional 43-63% by 5 microM lovastatin, compared to mitomycin-C alone (p < 0.01). Lovastatin-treated cells also exhibited decreased adherence to substrate (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Lovastatin is effective alone and as an adjuvant to mitomycin-C in slowing the growth of HTC-4 cells. These in vitro results support further investigation of lovastatin as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent in animal models.

Mevalonate dependency of the early cell cycle mitogenic response to epidermal growth factor and prostaglandin F2 alpha in Swiss mouse 3T3 cells

Lovastatin (LOV), a hydroxy-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase competitive inhibitor, blocks epidermal growth factor (EGF)- or prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha)-induced mitogenesis in confluent resting Swiss 3T3 cells. This inhibition occurs even in the presence of insulin, which potentiates the action of these mitogens in such cells. LOV exerts its effect in a 2-80 microM concentration range, with both mitogens attaining 50% inhibition at 7.5 microM. LOV exerted its effect within 0-8 h following mitogenic induction. Mevanolactone (10-80 microM) in the presence of LOV could reverse LOV inhibition within a similar time period. LOV-induced blockage of PGF2 alpha response is reflected in a decrease in the rate of cell entry into S phase. Neither cholesterol, ubiquinone, nor dolichols of various lengths could revert LOV blockage. In EGF- or PGF2 alpha-stimulated cells, LOV did not inhibit [3H]leucine or [3H]mannose incorporation into proteins, while tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N' glycosylation, prevented this last phenomenon. Thus, it appears that LOV exerts its action neither by inhibiting unspecific protein synthesis nor by impairing the N' glycosylation process. These findings strongly suggest that either EGF or PGF2 alpha stimulations generate early cell cycle signals which induce mevalonate formation, N' glycoprotein synthesis, and proliferation. The causal relationship of these events to various mechanisms controlling the onset of DNA synthesis is also discussed.

Inhibition of human vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation by lovastatin: the role of isoprenoid intermediates of cholesterol synthesis

Restenosis remains the largest single obstacle to the long-term success of invasive vascular interventions. Lovastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, has been shown to reduce myointimal hyperplasia in animal models of restenosis and in one clinical coronary restenosis trial. We have assessed the effect of lovastatin on the growth of cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells derived from saphenous vein and vascular graft stenoses. Lovastatin (2 microM) inhibited proliferation over 14 days in saphenous vein (and graft stenoses) derived vascular smooth muscle cells by 42% and 32% respectively: this was not significantly different. Lovastatin (10 microM) reduced [methyl 3H]-thymidine uptake by 51% in saphenous vein-derived cells. These concentrations were significantly higher than those achieved in plasma during therapeutic dosage. Lovastatin-induced inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and [methyl 3H]-thymidine uptake was completely reversed by adding mevalonate (100 microM) but cholesterol (10-40 micrograms ml-1) had no effect. Isopentenyl adenine (25-50 microM) did not affect the inhibition of [methyl 3H]-thymidine uptake by lovastatin (10 microM), but farnesol (20 microM), another isoprenoid precursor of cholesterol synthesis, reversed the antiproliferative effect.

Cytotoxicity of simvastatin to pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells containing mutant ras gene

Simvastatin (SV), a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, inhibits the synthesis of mevalonic acid. The dose-dependent (0.1-100 micrograms/ml) cytotoxicity of SV towards human (MIAPaCa-2, Panc-1, HPC-1, HPC-3, HPC-4, PK-1, PK-9) and hamster (T2) pancreatic carcinoma cell lines was determined by MTT assay. At up to 20 micrograms/ml of SV, the effect was reversible and was restored by 60 micrograms/ml mevalonic acid. Point mutation of Ki-ras at codon 12 in each cell line was detected by means of the modified polymerase chain reaction. The concentration of SV necessary to achieve 50% cytotoxicity was about 10 micrograms/ml, and at this concentration of SV, DNA synthesis assayed in terms of [3H]thymidine uptake, isoprenylation of p21ras examined by Western blotting and cell progression from G1 to S phase of the cell cycle analyzed by flow cytometry were all inhibited. Isoprenylation inhibitors of p21ras, such as SV, are expected to be useful for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Prominent inhibitory effects of tranilast on migration and proliferation of and collagen synthesis by vascular smooth muscle cells

To obtain some ideas about prevention of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), we examined the effects of transilast (anti-allergic agent) on migration and proliferation of, and collagen synthesis by, cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from the thoracic aorta of WKY rats. Tranilast was added to culture medium containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). The cultures were pulse-labeled with 3H-thymidine (TdR) or 3H-proline (Pro). TdR and Pro uptake into VSMC were measured. The effect of tranilast on migration of VSMC was examined by using culture dishes of an original design. We also examined the inhibitory effects of various drugs, such as a Ca antagonist, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, elastase, colchicine, and mitomycin C, on proliferation and migration of VSMC. Our data showed that the inhibitory effects of tranilast on migration and proliferation of, and collagen synthesis by, VSMC were prominent. Maximal percentage inhibition of proliferation, migration and collagen synthesis was 60.8 +/- 2.3%, 52.7 +/- 14.7% and 62.1 +/- 8.1%, respectively. On the other hand, the inhibitory effects of other drugs, with the exception of colchicine and mitomycin C, on proliferation and/or migration of VSMC were not very strong. Although the inhibitory effects of colchicine and mitomycin C were strong in vitro, their clinical usefulness may be limited by systemic side-effects. These results indicate the potential usefulness of tranilast for prevention of restenosis of coronary arteries after PTCA.

HMG-CoA reductase mRNA in the post-implantation rat embryo studied by in situ hybridization

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (EC 1.1.1.34) is the rate limiting step in the mevalonate pathway that produces isoprenoids and cholesterol. Inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase are teratogenic in vivo and induce neural tube defects in rat embryo culture, effects which appear unrelated to cholesterol deficiency. This study is the first to localize HMG-CoA reductase mRNA by in situ hybridization (ISH). Expression of reductase mRNA was examined in post-implantation rat embryos, and for control purposes in rat liver and UT-1 cells, using a digoxigenin-11 (dig-11) labelled cRNA probe. Eighteen-day fetal liver showed heavy but patchy hybridization, and adult rat liver showed strong hybridization only on some periportal hepatocytes, which was absent in livers of fasted animals. UT-1 cells stimulated to overexpress HMG-CoA reductase mRNA were strongly positive with the same probe. Control hybridizations with sense strand RNA probe, or with cRNA probe on pre-RNased tissue were negative. Strong hybridization signal for HMG-CoA reductase mRNA was observed in all tissues of the post-implantation rat embryo, from egg cylinder to 30 somite stages (7 to 12 days). Heavy signal was noted in primitive ectoderm and neural tube. The wide embryonic and extraembryonic distribution and abundance of HMG-CoA reductase mRNA may reflect developmental requirements for products of the mevalonate pathway, e.g., isoprenoids for post-translational farnesylation of p21ras.

Processing and characterization of the low density lipoprotein receptor in the human colonic carcinoma cell subclone HT29-18: a potential pathway for delivering therapeutic drugs and genes

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) processing has been investigated in the subcloned human colonic carcinoma cell line HT29-18. LDL binding at 4 degrees C was a saturable process in relation to time and LDL concentration. The Kd for LDL binding was 11 micrograms/ml. ApoE-free HDL3 or acetylated LDL did not significantly compete with 125I-LDL binding, up to 500 micrograms/ml. 125I-LDL binding was decreased by 70% in HT29-18 cells preincubated for 24 hours in culture medium containing 100 micrograms/ml unlabelled LDL. Ligand blotting studies performed on HT29-18 homogenates using colloidal gold labelled LDL indicated the presence of one autoradiographic band corresponding to an apparent molecular weight of 130 kDa, which is consistent with the previously reported molecular weight of the LDL receptor in human fibroblasts. At 37 degrees C, 125I-LDL was actively internalized by HT29-18 cells and lysosomal degradation occurred as demonstrated by the inhibitory effect of chloroquine. LDL uptake and degradation by HT29-18 cells also resulted in a marked decrease in endogenous sterol synthesis. These data demonstrate that the HT29-18 human cancerous intestinal cells are able to specifically bind and internalize LDL, and that LDL processing results in down-regulation of sterol biosynthesis. Thus, intestinal epithelial cells possess specific LDL receptors that can be exploited to accomplish drug delivery and gene transfer via the receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway.

Inhibition of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell growth by lovastatin

RAS protein (p21 ras) requires farnesyl (an intermediate of cholesterol synthesis) for activation. Activating mutations of K-ras gene have been detected in most human pancreatic adenocarcinomas. In the present study, the effect of lovastatin, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A, the rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol synthesis, on the growth of five pancreatic cancer cell lines (human-CAV, MIA Paca2, CAPAN2 and PANC1, and hamster-H2T) in vitro and of two cell lines (CAV and H2T) in vivo was examined. Inhibition of cell growth was observed with lovastatin doses at or above 2.5 micrograms/mL for H2T, CAV, MIA Paca2, and CAPAN2 or 10 micrograms/mL in PANC1. The H2T cell line was studied further to determine the reversibility of growth inhibition. Mevalonic acid (1 mmol/L) reversed lovastatin-induced inhibition of cell growth if it was added with lovastatin (2.5 micrograms/mL). Similarly, removal of lovastatin from the medium within 24 hours after treatment allowed recovery of cell growth. The effect of lovastatin on cell growth was irreversible after 48 hours of exposure. The survival fraction of H2T cells was markedly decreased by 1- or 24-hour exposure to 75 micrograms/mL but not to doses ranging from 0.5 to 60 micrograms/mL of lovastatin. Growth of pancreatic carcinoma xenografts (CAV and H2T) in nude mice was inhibited by a subcutaneous infusion of lovastatin (50 micrograms/h). These results indicate that mevalonic acid or a metabolite in the cholesterol synthesis pathway is necessary for growth of pancreatic cancer cells and suggest that lovastatin should be further examined as a potential therapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer.

Cholesterol inhibition, cancer, and chemotherapy

An important feature of malignant transformation is loss of the cholesterol feedback inhibition mechanism that regulates cholesterol synthesis. Cancer cells seem to require an increase in the concentrations of cholesterol and of cholesterol precursors. Therefore, a reasonable assumption is that prevention of tumour-cell growth can be achieved by restricting either cholesterol availability or cholesterol synthesis. In-vivo and cell-culture experiments have shown that lowering the plasma cholesterol concentration or intervening in the mevalonate pathway with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG) CoA reductase inhibitors decreases tumour growth. Currently prescribed doses of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors given orally or continuously by an implantable infusion pump could achieve tumour therapeutic tissue concentrations of these agents. My hypothesis is that cholesterol inhibition can inhibit tumour cell growth, can act as an adjuvant to cancer chemotherapy, and, possibly, can prevent carcinogenesis.

Experimental models of coronary artery restenosis

The study of potentially effective drug therapies and mechanical devices for the prevention of restenosis after percutaneous coronary revascularization has relied heavily on the use of experimental animal models. To date, greater than 50 experimental studies have been reported and have suggested that at least nine different classes of pharmacologic agents inhibit the intimal proliferative response to arterial injury. However, no pharmacologic intervention has yet been shown to reproducibly reduce the incidence of restenosis after coronary balloon angioplasty in humans. To identify the reasons for the apparent nonspecificity of the animal models and to determine which model should most reliably predict the efficacy of individual therapies in humans, the distinguishing characteristics of the experimental models were compared. Particular attention was paid to the size and morphologic structure of the treated artery, the susceptibility of the species to spontaneous and diet-induced arterial disease, the nature of the stimulus to intimal proliferation and several practical and logistic considerations. Finally, the reported efficacies of specific drug therapies in the respective animal models and in humans were compared. This review suggests that significant interspecies and occasionally intraspecies differences do exist among the respective animal models, particularly in the extent and composition of the neointimal thickening.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cell cycle-specific effects of lovastatin

Lovastatin (LOV), the drug recently introduced to treat hypercholesteremia, inhibits the synthesis of mevalonic acid. The effects of LOV on the cell cycle progression of the human bladder carcinoma T24 cell line expressing activated p21ras were investigated. At a concentration of 2-10 microM, LOV arrested cells in G1 and also prolonged--or arrested a minor fraction of cells in--the G2 phase of the cell cycle; at a concentration of 50 microM, LOV was cytotoxic. The cytostatic effects were reversed by addition of exogenous mevalonate. Cells arrested in the cycle by LOV were viable for up to 72 hr and did not show any changes in RNA or protein content or chromatin condensation, which would be typical of either unbalanced growth or deep quiescence. The expression of the proliferation-associated nuclear proteins Ki-67 and p105 in these cells was reduced by up to 72% and 74%, respectively, compared with exponentially growing control cells. After removal of LOV, the cells resumed progression through the cycle; they entered S phase asynchronously after a lag of approximately 6 hr. Because mevalonate is essential for the posttranslational modification (isoprenylation) of p21ras, which in turn allows this protein to become attached to the cell membrane, the data suggest that the LOV-induced G1 arrest may be a consequence of the loss of the signal transduction capacity of p21ras. Indeed, while exposure of cells to LOV had no effect on the cellular content of p21ras (detected immunocytochemically), it altered the intracellular location of this protein, causing its dissociation from the cell membrane and translocation toward the cytoplasm and nucleus. However, it is also possible that inhibition of isoprenylation of proteins other than p21ras (e.g., nuclear lamins) by LOV may be responsible for the observed suppression of growth of T24 cells.

Importance of antithrombin therapy during coronary angioplasty

Angioplasty procedures with balloons, cutters or lasers all may greatly enlarge the arterial lumen, but luminal diameter may decrease because of mural thrombus in 70% to 80%, smooth muscle proliferation, vasoconstriction or recoil. Thrombin binds to arterial wall matrix and fibrin within a thrombus. Heparin dose-dependently decreases platelet and thrombus deposition but does not eliminate these even at high doses. Specific thrombin inhibition started before angioplasty experimentally prevents mural thrombus and limits platelet deposition to a single layer or less. Experimentally, anticoagulant and antifibrin effects occur at lower antithrombin blood levels and lower activated partial thromboplastin times (1.7 times control). Because platelets are so sensitive to thrombin, the higher level of thrombin inhibition required may occur at a specific level (activated partial thromboplastin time greater than or equal to 2 times control); this is not defined in humans. The duration of therapy is not defined in animals or humans. Thrombus and thrombin may be related to cellular proliferation.

Lovastatin selectively inhibits ras activation of the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element in mammalian cells

To evaluate ras-mediated signal transduction, an alkaline phosphatase gene (SEAP) was placed under the control of the ras-inducible phorbol ester response element (TRE) in murine fibroblasts (TRE-SEAP cells). The Kirsten ras gene was placed under the control of the glucocorticoid-inducible mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and introduced into the TRE-SEAP cells. Dexamethasone increased ras expression in the TRE-SEAP cells carrying the Kirsten ras gene and stimulated SEAP activity 25-fold. Lavostatin blocked dexamethasone induction of SEAP activity (50% inhibitory concentration, 0.5 microM) but did not affect phorbol ester-induced SEAP activity in the same cells. Lovastatin also did not block forskolin induction of SEAP activity in cells expressing SEAP under the control of the cyclic AMP response element.

Lovastatin selectively inhibits ras activation of the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element in mammalian cells

To evaluate ras-mediated signal transduction, an alkaline phosphatase gene (SEAP) was placed under the control of the ras-inducible phorbol ester response element (TRE) in murine fibroblasts (TRE-SEAP cells). The Kirsten ras gene was placed under the control of the glucocorticoid-inducible mouse mammary tumor virus promoter and introduced into the TRE-SEAP cells. Dexamethasone increased ras expression in the TRE-SEAP cells carrying the Kirsten ras gene and stimulated SEAP activity 25-fold. Lavostatin blocked dexamethasone induction of SEAP activity (50% inhibitory concentration, 0.5 microM) but did not affect phorbol ester-induced SEAP activity in the same cells. Lovastatin also did not block forskolin induction of SEAP activity in cells expressing SEAP under the control of the cyclic AMP response element.

Effect of lovastatin on intimal hyperplasia after balloon angioplasty: a study in an atherosclerotic hypercholesterolemic rabbit

Restenosis, the major limitation of balloon angioplasty, is the result of intimal hyperplasia after the procedure. Lovastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) inhibitor, may influence intimal hyperplasia by lowering serum cholesterol and by blocking deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis. To determine whether lovastatin reduces intimal hyperplasia, a prospective, randomized blinded study was performed in 60 atherosclerotic New Zealand White male rabbits. Atherosclerosis was produced by air desiccation injury followed by a 28 day diet of 2% cholesterol and 6% peanut oil that was terminated before balloon angioplasty was performed. Angioplasty could not be performed in 14 rabbits with bilateral femoral artery occlusion, and in one rabbit the procedure was a technical failure. Forty-five rabbits underwent balloon angioplasty performed with use of a 2.5-mm balloon inflated to 10 atm for three 1 min dilations at 1 min intervals. Seven rabbits died during the procedure. Thirty-eight rabbits were randomized to either a lovastatin group (6 mg/kg body weight per day) or a control group. Angioplasty was performed on all patent vessels (n = 54); the procedure was bilateral in 16 rabbits and unilateral in 22. Fifteen lovastatin-treated and 15 control rabbits survived 39 days after angioplasty and were then killed. Angiograms, obtained before and 10 min and 39 days after balloon angioplasty, were read with use of electronic calipers by two observers who had no knowledge of treatment data. After the rabbits were killed, vessels were pressure perfused using a standardized protocol to maintain in vivo dimensions for blinded quantitative histologic analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Trapidil in preventing restenosis after balloon angioplasty in the atherosclerotic rabbit

Trapidil (triazolopyrimidine) possesses activity against platelet-derived growth factor-induced cellular proliferation in vitro and intimal proliferation in vivo. The objective of this study was to determine if trapidil could prevent restenosis in experimentally induced atherosclerotic rabbits. New Zealand White rabbits with preexisting iliac arterial lesions induced by balloon deendothelialization underwent balloon angioplasty. Arteriography was performed before, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the balloon dilatation. Tissue sections of the dilated arterial segment were also analyzed morphometrically. Seventeen rabbits were randomized to two groups: a control group (n = 8) and a trapidil-treated group (n = 9). The treatment group received 30 mg/kg s.c. trapidil twice daily. The angiographic luminal diameters before and after dilatation were similar. At the 4-week restudy, there was a significant preservation of luminal diameter in the trapidil group compared with the control group (1.27 +/- 0.20 vs. 0.94 +/- 0.48 mm, respectively; p less than 0.005). When luminal diameters immediately after dilatation were compared with diameters at the 4-week restudy (i.e., when the degree of restenosis was assessed), there was a greater luminal diameter reduction in the control group than in the trapidil group (0.70 +/- 0.44 vs. 0.30 +/- 0.25 mm, respectively; p = 0.005). By morphometric analyses, the luminal areas were also greater in the trapidil group than the control group (0.80 +/- 0.25 vs. 0.57 +/- 0.33 mm2, respectively; p = 0.03). Intimal thickness was significantly less for the trapidil group than for the control group (0.33 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.44 +/- 0.15 mm, respectively; p = 0.01), as well as medial thickness (0.09 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.11 +/- 0.03 mm, respectively; p = 0.01). In this study, trapidil significantly increased the luminal area and reduced the intimal thickness in the atherosclerotic rabbit iliac artery after balloon angioplasty.

Heparin-binding growth factors stimulate DNA synthesis in rat alveolar type II cells

The proliferation of alveolar type II cells is important for repair of the alveolar epithelium after lung injury. We have previously reported that epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin, cholera toxin, and endothelial cell growth supplement (ECGS) stimulate DNA synthesis of rat alveolar type II cells in culture. ECGS is a crude extract from bovine neural tissue that contains heparin-binding growth factors, and in this report we have compared the effect of ECGS to purified heparin-binding growth factors. ECGS stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation into type II cells by 3-fold with half-maximal stimulation at 50 micrograms/ml. The purified acidic, class I heparin-binding growth factors, alpha-endothelial cell growth factor (-ECGF) and beta-ECGF stimulated type II cell DNA synthesis by 10-fold and 5-fold, respectively, with half-maximal stimulation at 40 ng/ml. Acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGFa) stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation by 16-fold with half-maximal stimulation at 20 ng/ml, whereas basic FGF (FGFb) only stimulated type II cell DNA synthesis by 3-fold. Heparin potentiates the mitogenic effect of the acidic heparin-binding growth factors for both endothelial cells and fibroblasts but was found to inhibit FGFa- and FGFb-induced [3H]thymidine incorporation in type II cells by 80% with half-maximal inhibition occurring with 0.4 micrograms/ml and 1.3 micrograms/ml, respectively. When type II cells were cultured in the absence of serum, the heparin-binding growth factors had very little effect on [3H]thymidine incorporation. Only rat high density lipoprotein (HDL), but not insulin, EGF, or transferrin, was found to act synergistically with FGFa in stimulating [3H]thymidine incorporation in type II cells cultured in serum-free medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Control of DNA replication and cell growth by inhibiting the export of mitochondrially derived citrate

When citrate export from mitochondria is blocked with 1,2,3-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) during the G1/S phase of the cell cycle, both DNA synthesis and cell growth are dramatically inhibited in suspension-grown 70Z/3 murine lymphoma cell cultures sustained under otherwise optimal conditions. Synchronized (G0/G1 or G1/S) and unsynchronized cultures are susceptible to this phenomenon. BTC prevents two requirements from being met. (1) It deprives the cytosol of the acetyl CoA necessary for operation of the cholesterogenesis pathway, thereby depleting the supply of mevalonate (MVA) implicated as a requirement for triggering DNA synthesis. (2) It behaves as a nonmetabolizable divalent cation chelator, reducing the availability of Ca2+ and Mg2+, which, in whole cells are both required for DNA synthesis. Such inhibitions are reversible. In whole cells, removal of the inhibitor yields rapid and complete recovery of DNA synthesis. During the prolonged presence of BTC, the addition of MVA plus the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 allows partial recovery of DNA synthesis. In isolated, DNA synthesizing nuclei, on the other hand, the slight inhibition of DNA synthesis by BTC is reversed merely by addition of Mg2+. We conclude that the uninterrupted production of citrate-derived MVA via the mitochondria, at the G1/S boundary of the cell cycle (i.e., subsequent to peak cholesterol synthesis), is mandatory for initiating the duplication of the cell genome. Consequently, by its mitochondrial site of action, BTC can severely limit the otherwise continuous supply of MVA during late G1, which in turn, prevents entry into the S phase, and thereby cell proliferation.

Isoprenylated proteins in cultured cells: subcellular distribution and changes related to altered morphology and growth arrest induced by mevalonate deprivation

In the presence of lovastatin (mevinolin), an inhibitor of endogenous mevalonate synthesis, C1300 murine neuroblastoma cells incorporated (2-14C)mevalonate into several discrete polypeptides that were separable by SDS-PAGE. The electrophoretic pattern of the labeled proteins did not vary substantially when cells were homogenized with Ca++, Mg++, high concentrations of NaCl or phosphatase inhibitor, or when cells were lysed immediately in trichloroacetic acid. When cells that had been prelabeled with (14C)mevalonate were incubated with lovastatin and simultaneously deprived of exogenous mevalonate, there was a 50-60% decline in the concentration of protein-bound isoprenoid label within 17 h. In contrast, there was little change in the radioactivity in the sterol, dolichol, or ubiquinone fractions. The time course of the decline in mevalonate-derived label in cellular polypeptides paralleled the onset of neurite outgrowth and preceded the decline of DNA synthesis, suggesting that a decreased intracellular concentration of protein-bound isoprenoid groups may contribute to the well-documented effects of mevalonate deprivation on cell morphology and cell cycling. Fractionation of neuroblastoma cells by differential centrifugation and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation revealed that mevalonate-labeled proteins of 53 kDA, 22-26 kDa, and 17 kDa were concentrated in the cytosol. Proteins migrating at 45 kDa were found in both the soluble and particulate fractions, including those enriched in mitochondria and plasma membrane. The isoprenylated proteins migrating at approximately 66 kDa were localized exclusively in the nuclear fraction. When chromatin was removed from the nuclei by extraction with 2 M NaCl, the 66 kDa isoprenylated proteins remained associated with the residual components of the nuclear matrix and lamina. Isoprenylated proteins with electrophoretic mobilities similar to those observed in neuroblastoma cells were detected in a variety of established cell lines. However, there was considerable variation among cell lines in the overall efficiency of protein labeling with (14C) mevalonate and in the prominence and mobilities of specific labeled proteins in the 45-70 kDa range. Comparisons of paired transformed vs. nontransformed fibroblast cell lines suggested that the profile of mevalonate-labeled proteins in a given cell line is not altered by malignant transformation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)