Modulation of carcinoembryonic antigen release by HT-29 colon carcinoma line in the presence of different agents

In Vitro and in Vivo Regulation of Human Tumor Antigen Expression by Human Recombinant Interferons: A Review

The ongoing development of monoclonal antibody technology may eventually lead to the selective targeting of human carcinoma lesions by MAbs conjugated with a variety of cytotoxic agents (i.e., radionuclides, drugs, etc.). The antigen phenotype of the carcinoma cell will play an important role in the efficacy of the MAbs. Clearly, the human tumor antigens that are expressed on all carcinoma cells, and with a high antigen density, should provide the optimal target for the MAbs. More often than not, however, the human tumor antigens whose expression is highly selective for human tumor cells will also exhibit a certain degree of heterogeneity. Therefore, the ability of interferon to augment the level of expression of human tumor antigens such as TAG-72 and CEA, may play an important role in an adjuvant setting for immunoscintigraphy and/or immunotherapy. More recent observations have demonstrated that interferon treatment can also enhance the amount of TAG-72 and CEA secreted by the tumor cell. The ability of interferon to enhance the shedding of both TAG-72 and CEA could be of particular importance since recent reports suggest that their presence in the sera of patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma may be complementary and that the ability to increase either marker may facilitate earlier diagnosis of recurrent disease. It is conceivable that in subsequent years effective approaches to monitoring and/or treating malignacies may include a new combination of biological/immunological therapy.

Application of PBPK modeling to predict monoclonal antibody disposition in plasma and tissues in mouse models of human colorectal cancer

This investigation evaluated the utility of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model, which incorporates model parameters representing key determinants of monoclonal antibody (mAb) target-mediated disposition, to predict, a priori, mAb disposition in plasma and in tissues, including tumors that express target antigens. Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed to predict the disposition of two mAbs, 8C2 (as a non-binding control mouse IgG1 mAb) and T84.66 (a high-affinity murine IgG1 anti-carcinoembryonic antigen mAb), in mice bearing no tumors, or bearing colorectal HT29 or LS174T xenografts. Model parameters were obtained or derived from the literature. (125)I-T84.66 and (125)I-8C2 were administered to groups of SCID mice, and plasma and tissue concentrations were determined via gamma counting. The PBPK model well-predicted the experimental data. Comparisons of the population predicted versus observed areas under the plasma concentration versus time curve (AUC) for T84.66 were 95.4 ± 67.8 versus 84.0 ± 3.0, 1,859 ± 682 versus 2,370 ± 154, and 5,930 ± 1,375 versus 5,960 ± 317 (nM × day) at 1, 10, and 25 mg/kg in LS174T xenograft-bearing SCID mice; and 215 ± 72 versus 233 ± 30, 3,070 ± 346 versus 3,120 ± 180, and 7,884 ± 714 versus 7,440 ± 626 in HT29 xenograft-bearing mice. Model predicted versus observed 8C2 plasma AUCs were 312.4 ± 30 versus 182 ± 7.6 and 7,619 ± 738 versus 7,840 ± 24.3 (nM × day) at 1 and 25 mg/kg. High correlations were observed between the predicted median plasma concentrations and observed median plasma concentrations (r (2) = 0.927, for all combinations of treatment, dose, and tumor model), highlighting the utility of the PBPK model for the a priori prediction of in vivo data.

Function of CSE1L/CAS in the secretion of HT-29 human colorectal cells and its expression in human colon

The secretion of colorectal epithelium is important for maintaining the physiological function of colorectal organ. Herein, we report that cellular apoptosis susceptibility (CAS) (or CSE1L) protein regulates the secretion of HT-29 human colorectal cells. Polarity is essential for directed secretion of substances produced by epithelial cells to the external (luminal) compartment; CAS overexpression induced polarization of HT-29 cells. CAS was punctate stained in the cytoplasm of HT-29 cells, and CAS overexpression increased the translocation of CAS-stained vesicles to the cytoplasm near cell membrane and cell protrusions. CAS overexpression increased the secretion of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cathepsin D. Immunohistochemistry showed CAS was positively stained in the goblet cells of colon mucosa and cells in the crypts of Lieberkühn of human colon as well as the glands in metastatic colorectal cancer tissue. Our results suggest that CAS regulates the secretion of colorectal cells and may regulate the metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Vitamin A up-regulates expression of bone-type alkaline phosphatase in rat small intestinal crypt cell line and fetal rat small intestine

Vitamin A is a potent inducer for liver/bone/kidney alkaline phosphatase (L/B/K ALP) in a variety of tissues. However, the evidence for induction of L/B/K ALP by vitamin A in small intestine is limited. In this study, we investigated the influence of vitamin A on L/B/K ALP expression in rat small intestinal crypt IEC-6 cells and fetal rat small intestine. Treatment of IEC-6 cells with all-trans retinoic acid (RA) increased the levels of activity, protein and mRNA of L/B/K ALP, whereas enterocyte-specific proteins, including intestinal ALP, sucrase-isomaltase and glucose transporter-2, were not induced. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique revealed that this L/B/K ALP transcript had the bone-type but not the liver-type leader exon. IEC-6 cells constitutively expressed mRNAs of all subtypes of retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) at varied concentrations. Among these receptor mRNAs, RARbeta mRNA quickly responded to RA treatment, and the level was doubled within 4 h. Gel mobility shift assay showed that RA induced an RXRE-binding activity in IEC-6 cells. The L/B/K ALP transcript, expressed in fetal rat small intestine, also contained the bone-type leader exon. Intragastric administration of 10 mg retinyl acetate to pregnant rats from gestational d 7 to 15 increased the levels of this transcript and enzyme in 15-d fetal rat small intestine. Our results suggest that vitamin A may be an important regulator for L/B/K ALP expression in fetal rat small intestine as well as in IEC-6 cells.

Growth-inhibitory and differentiation-inducing activity of dimethylformamide in cultured human malignant glioma cells

OBJECTIVE

To determine the growth-inhibitory and differentiation-inducing activity of dimethylformamide (DMF) on a human glioma cell line (SHG-44). DMF is a type of polar solvent and a potent differentiation-inducing agent in many kinds of human solid tumors, yet its effect on human glioma remains unclear.

METHODS

The effects of DMF on cell proliferation using 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, cell cycle distribution (with flow cytometry), colony-forming efficiency in double-layer soft agar, tumorigenicity in athymic nude mice, morphological changes, and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression were studied.

RESULTS

At dose ranges of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0%, DMF caused a dose-dependent proliferation inhibitory effect in monolayers and a marked dose-dependent suppression of colony-forming efficiency in double-layer soft agar with a complete loss of colony-forming ability in cells exposed to 0.75 and 1.0% DMF. Accumulation of cells in G0/G1 phases was observed in DMF-treated (0.5 and 1.0%) cells, also in a dose-dependent manner. SHG-44 cells exposed to DMF (0.5 and 1.0%) for 15 days changed morphologically from small spindle-shaped to large polygonal and flattened stellate cells with multiple slender processes. These cells were still tumorigenic in athymic nude mice, but the growth of xenografts was remarkably reduced, especially in the 1.0% DMF-treated group. The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein was notably increased by DMF (0.5 and 1.0%). Washout experiments revealed that the effects of DMF on cell proliferation and cell cycle distribution were reversible.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that DMF drove the SHG-44 cells to a more mature phenotype with inhibited growth.

Carcinoembryonic antigen regulation in human colorectal tumor cells by a site-selective cyclic AMP analogue: a comparison with interferon-gamma

Treatment of human colorectal tumor cells (LS174T, HT-29, and WiDr) with analogues of cyclic AMP (cAMP) (dibutyryl-cAMP and 8-Cl-cAMP) selectively enhances the expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Dose and temporal kinetics results revealed that 8-Cl-cAMP was approximately 100-fold more potent than dibutyryl-cAMP for increasing CEA expression. Results demonstrated that 8-Cl-cAMP treatment of LS174T quantitatively increased CEA levels in cell extracts 2-fold, increased anti-CEA monoclonal antibody (MAb) binding to the tumor cell surface, and induced the appearance of CEA-related mRNA transcripts. The findings suggest that 8-Cl-cAMP is capable of regulating CEA expression at transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional levels. Other human tumor cells, as well as normal cell types which do not constitutively express CEA, remained CEA-negative following 8-Cl-cAMP treatment. Moreover, the level of expression of other human tumor antigens as well as antigens of the major histocompatibility complex were not changed by 8-Cl-cAMP treatment, suggesting some selectivity for CEA regulation by this cAMP analogue. In vivo administration of 8-Cl-cAMP to athymic mice bearing LS174T tumor xenografts increased the amount of anti-CEA MAb bound to tumor extracts as well as the tumor localization of a radionuclide-conjugated anti-CEA MAb. The results indicate that 8-Cl-cAMP can selectively upregulate CEA expression on human colorectal tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, IFN-gamma treatment of the LS174T cells fails to enhance or induce expression of CEA or any of the histocompatibility leukocyte antigens. Thus, 8-Cl-cAMP treatment regulates CEA expression through another cellular pathway which may involve cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

Homogeneous penetration but heterogeneous binding of antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen in human colon carcinoma HT-29 spheroids

The monoclonal antibodies 38S1, directed against the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), were tested for penetration and binding in human colon carcinoma HT-29 spheroids. Penetration was studied with a method which has not previously been used in immunological investigations. The method, which allows unbound substances to be visualized, is based on freeze drying, vapour fixation, dry sectioning and dry autoradiography. The antibodies penetrated easily and all parts of the HT-29 spheroids seemed to be reached within 15 min. The penetration was even faster than in control glioma U-118MG spheroids that did not express CEA. Binding of the 38S1 antibodies was demonstrated after processing with conventional histology and autoradiography. The binding in the HT-29 spheroids was, after a 1-h incubation period, extremely heterogeneous and occurred mainly in the peripheral parts. More cells were binding the antibodies after 8-h and 32-h incubations and these cells were arranged in peripheral clusters. No binding at all was seen in the CEA-negative glioma spheroids. The distribution of CEA antigens in monolayers and in frozen sections of spheroids of HT-29 cells was analysed with immunohistochemical staining using polyclonal CEA antibodies. The CEA antigens were heterogeneously distributed in both spheroids and monolayers and were as heterogenous as the binding of the monoclonal antibodies in the living spheroids. Thus, the heterogeneous binding in the living spheroids was not due to penetration barriers, but instead to the heterogeneity in the CEA antigen expression.