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Kanemoto Y, Iwaki M, Sawada T, Nojiri K, Kurokawa T, Tsutsumi R, Nagasawa K, Kato S. Advances in the Administration of Vitamin D Analogues to Support Bone Health and Treat Chronic Diseases. J Bone Metab 2023; 30:219-229. [PMID: 37718900 PMCID: PMC10509026 DOI: 10.11005/jbm.2023.30.3.219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Vitamin D (VD) exerts a wide variety of biological actions in addition to its well-known roles in calcium homeostasis. Nutritional VD deficiency induces rachitic abnormalities in growing children and osteomalacia in adults, and it has been proposed to underlie the onset and development of multiple non-communicable chronic diseases. Therefore, the administration of VD or synthetic VD analogues represents a promising therapeutic strategy; indeed, VD and a VD agonist have shown clinical promise in mitigating osteoporosis and symptoms of insufficient calcium intake. However, even though high doses of VD analogues have shown pre-clinical efficacy against several diseases, including cancers, they have not yet had wide-spread clinical success. This difference may be due to limitation of clinical doses in light of the inherent calcemic action of VD. An approach to overcome this problem involves the development of VD analogues with lower calcemic activity, which could be administered in high doses to attenuate the onset and progress of disease. In a similar strategy, selective estrogen receptor modulators have had success as anti-osteoporosis drugs, and they have shown benefit for other estrogen target organs by serving as partial antagonists or agonists of estrogen receptor α. It is thus conceivable to generate synthetic partial antagonists or agonists for the VD receptor (VDR) that would exert beneficial effects on bone and other VD target organs. In this review, we discuss the molecular basis of the development of such synthetic VDR ligands from the viewpoint of roles of VDR in gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiaki Kanemoto
- Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Iryo Sosei University, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- Research Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
| | - Miho Iwaki
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo,
Japan
| | - Takahiro Sawada
- Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Iryo Sosei University, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- Research Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
| | - Koki Nojiri
- Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Iryo Sosei University, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- Research Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kurokawa
- Research Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima,
Japan
| | - Rino Tsutsumi
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo,
Japan
| | - Kazuo Nagasawa
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Graduate School of Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo,
Japan
| | - Shigeaki Kato
- Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Iryo Sosei University, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- Research Institute of Innovative Medicine, Tokiwa Foundation, Iwaki, Fukushima,
Japan
- School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima,
Japan
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Vitamin D Derivatives in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: The Matter of Selecting the Right Targets. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14142851. [PMID: 35889808 PMCID: PMC9320351 DOI: 10.3390/nu14142851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive and often fatal hematopoietic malignancy. A very attractive way to treat myeloid leukemia, called “differentiation therapy”, was proposed when in vitro studies showed that some compounds are capable of inducing differentiation of AML cell lines. One of the differentiation-inducing agents, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), which can induce granulocytic differentiation in AML cell lines, has been introduced into clinics to treat patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in which a PML-RARA fusion protein is generated by a chromosomal translocation. ATRA has greatly improved the treatment of APL. Since 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D) is capable of inducing monocytic differentiation of leukemic cells, the idea of treating other AMLs with vitamin D analogs was widely accepted. However, early clinical trials in which cancer patients were treated either with 1,25D or with analogs did not lead to conclusive results. Recent results have shown that AML types with certain mutations, such as isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations, may be the right targets for differentiation therapy using 1,25D, due to upregulation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) pathway.
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Hino C, Pham B, Park D, Yang C, Nguyen MH, Kaur S, Reeves ME, Xu Y, Nishino K, Pu L, Kwon SM, Zhong JF, Zhang KK, Xie L, Chong EG, Chen CS, Nguyen V, Castillo DR, Cao H. Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: The Future of Immunotherapy and Natural Products. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10061410. [PMID: 35740430 PMCID: PMC9219790 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10061410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an essential role in the development, proliferation, and survival of leukemic blasts in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Within the bone marrow and peripheral blood, various phenotypically and functionally altered cells in the TME provide critical signals to suppress the anti-tumor immune response, allowing tumor cells to evade elimination. Thus, unraveling the complex interplay between AML and its microenvironment may have important clinical implications and are essential to directing the development of novel targeted therapies. This review summarizes recent advancements in our understanding of the AML TME and its ramifications on current immunotherapeutic strategies. We further review the role of natural products in modulating the TME to enhance response to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Hino
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (C.H.); (B.P.); (K.N.); (L.P.); (S.M.K.)
| | - Bryan Pham
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (C.H.); (B.P.); (K.N.); (L.P.); (S.M.K.)
| | - Daniel Park
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco–Fresno, Fresno, CA 93701, USA;
| | - Chieh Yang
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA;
| | - Michael H.K. Nguyen
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Simmer Kaur
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Mark E. Reeves
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Yi Xu
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Kevin Nishino
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (C.H.); (B.P.); (K.N.); (L.P.); (S.M.K.)
| | - Lu Pu
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (C.H.); (B.P.); (K.N.); (L.P.); (S.M.K.)
| | - Sue Min Kwon
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (C.H.); (B.P.); (K.N.); (L.P.); (S.M.K.)
| | - Jiang F. Zhong
- Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA;
| | - Ke K. Zhang
- Department of Nutrition, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77030, USA; (K.K.Z.); (L.X.)
- Center for Epigenetics & Disease Prevention, Institute of Biosciences & Technology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Linglin Xie
- Department of Nutrition, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77030, USA; (K.K.Z.); (L.X.)
- Center for Epigenetics & Disease Prevention, Institute of Biosciences & Technology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Esther G. Chong
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Chien-Shing Chen
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
| | - Vinh Nguyen
- Department of Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA;
| | - Dan Ran Castillo
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
- Correspondence: (D.R.C.); (H.C.)
| | - Huynh Cao
- Department of Oncology/Hematology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA; (M.H.K.N.); (S.K.); (M.E.R.); (Y.X.); (E.G.C.); (C.-S.C.)
- Correspondence: (D.R.C.); (H.C.)
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Investigating the Role of Methylation in Silencing of VDR Gene Expression in Normal Cells during Hematopoiesis and in Their Leukemic Counterparts. Cells 2020; 9:cells9091991. [PMID: 32872475 PMCID: PMC7563846 DOI: 10.3390/cells9091991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present in multiple types of blood cells, and its ligand, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D), is important for the proper functioning of the immune system. Activity of VDR is higher in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells than in fully differentiated blood cells of mice and humans. In some human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts, the expression of the VDR gene is also high. The mechanism of silencing the VDR gene expression during differentiation of blood cells has been addressed in this work. (2) Methods: The cells have been obtained using fluorescence activated sorting from murine tissues and from human umbilical cord blood (UCB). Then, the expression of the VDR gene and transcriptional activity of the VDR protein has been tested in real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eventually, the methylation of VDR promoter regions was tested using bisulfite sequencing. (3) Results: The CpG islands in VDR promoters were not methylated in the cells studied both in mice and in humans. The use of hypomethylating agents had no effect toward expression of human VDR transcripts, but it increased expression of the VDR-target gene, CYP24A1. (4) Conclusions: The expression of the VDR gene and transcriptional activity of the VDR protein varies at successive stages of hematopoietic differentiation in humans and mice, and in blasts from AML patients. The experiments presented in this case indicate that methylation of the promoter region of the VDR gene is not the major mechanism responsible for these differences.
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Wang X, Dawod A, Nachliely M, Harrison JS, Danilenko M, Studzinski GP. Differentiation agents increase the potential AraC therapy of AML by reactivating cell death pathways without enhancing ROS generation. J Cell Physiol 2019; 235:573-586. [PMID: 31245853 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.28996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has a poor prognosis and requires new approaches for treatment. We have reported that a combination of vitamin D-based cell differentiation agents (doxercalciferol/carnosic acid [D2/CA]) added following the cytotoxic drug arabinocytosine (AraC) increases AML cell death (CD), a model for improved therapy of this disease. Because AraC-induced CD is known to involve reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, here we investigated if the modulation of cellular REDOX status plays a role in the enhancement of cell death (ECD) by D2/CA. Using thiol antioxidants, such as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), we found a significant inhibition of ECD, yet this occurred in the absence of any detectable change in cellular ROS levels. In contrast, NAC reduced the vitamin D receptor (VDR) abundance and its signaling of ECD. Importantly, VDR knockdown and NAC similarly inhibited ECD without producing an additive effect. Thus, the proposed post-AraC therapy may be compromised by agents that reduce VDR levels in AML blasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuening Wang
- Department of Pathology, Immunology & Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey
| | - Alaa Dawod
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry & Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Matan Nachliely
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry & Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Jonathan S Harrison
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Michael Danilenko
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry & Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - George P Studzinski
- Department of Pathology, Immunology & Laboratory Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey
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Medrano M, Carrillo-Cruz E, Montero I, Perez-Simon JA. Vitamin D: Effect on Haematopoiesis and Immune System and Clinical Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19092663. [PMID: 30205552 PMCID: PMC6164750 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Vitamin D is a steroid-like hormone which acts by binding to vitamin D receptor (VDR). It plays a main role in the calcium homeostasis and metabolism. In addition, vitamin D display other important effects called “non-classical actions.” Among them, vitamin D regulates immune cells function and hematopoietic cells differentiation and proliferation. Based on these effects, it is currently being evaluated for the treatment of hematologic malignancies. In addition, vitamin D levels have been correlated with patients’ outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, where it might regulate immune response and, accordingly, might influence the risk of graft-versus-host disease. Here, we present recent advances regarding its clinical applications both in the treatment of hematologic malignancies and in the transplant setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayte Medrano
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS/CSIC/CIBERONC), Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Estrella Carrillo-Cruz
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS/CSIC/CIBERONC), Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Isabel Montero
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS/CSIC/CIBERONC), Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Jose A Perez-Simon
- Department of Hematology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS/CSIC/CIBERONC), Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
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Guo H, Lin SY, Ren WX, Lei Q, Chen ZC, Zhang L, Li QB. Enhanced Response of Acute Monocytic Leukemia Cells to Low-dose Cytarabine by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Curr Med Sci 2018; 38:35-42. [PMID: 30074149 DOI: 10.1007/s11596-018-1838-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Low-dose cytarabine combined with differentiating or DNA hypomethylating agents, such as vitamin D compounds, is a potential regimen to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who are unfit for high-intensity chemotherapy. The present study aimed to determine which subset of AML would be most responsive to low-dose cytarabine with the differentiating agent 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-D3). Here, firstly, cBioPortal database was used and we found out that vitamin D receptor (VDR) was highly expressed in acute monocytic leukemia (M5) and high VDR expression was associated with a poor survival of AML patients. Then, we confirmed that 1,25-D3 at clinical available concentration could induce more significant differentiation in acute monocytic leukemia cell lines (U937, MOLM-13, THP-1) and blasts from M5 patients than in non-monocytic cell lines (KGla and K562) and blasts from M2 patient. Finally, it was shown that the combination of 1,25-D3 and low-dose cytarabine further increased the differentiating rate, growth inhibition and G0/G1 arrest, while mild changes were found in the apoptosis in acute monocytic leukemia cell lines. Our study demonstrates that the enhanced response of acute monocytic leukemia cells to low-dose cytarabine by 1,25-D3 might indicate a novel therapeutic direction for patients with acute monocytic leukemia, especially for elderly and frail ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Guo
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Sheng-Yan Lin
- Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Wen-Xiang Ren
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Qian Lei
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.,Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Zhi-Chao Chen
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
| | - Qiu-Bai Li
- Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
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The role of VDR and BIM in potentiation of cytarabine-induced cell death in human AML blasts. Oncotarget 2017; 7:36447-36460. [PMID: 27144333 PMCID: PMC5095012 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.8998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) has grave prognosis due to aggressive nature of the disease, the toxicity of standard treatment, and overall low cure rates. We recently showed that AML cells in established culture treated with cytarabine (AraC) and a differentiation agent combination show enhancement of AraC cytotoxicity. Here we elucidate molecular changes which underlie this observation with focus on AML blasts in primary culture. The cells were treated with AraC at concentrations achievable in clinical settings, and followed by the addition of Doxercalciferol, a vitamin D2 derivative (D2), together with Carnosic acid (CA), a plant-derived antioxidant. Importantly, although AraC is also toxic to normal bone marrow cell population, the enhanced cell kill by D2/CA was limited to malignant blasts. This enhancement of cell death was associated with activation of the monocytic differentiation program as shown by molecular markers, and the increased expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR). Apoptosis elicited by this treatment is caspase-dependent, and the optimal blast killing required the increased expression of the apoptosis regulator Bim. These data suggest that testing of this regimen in the clinic is warranted.
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Wang X, Harrison JS, Studzinski GP. BRAF signals to pro-apoptotic BIM to enhance AraC cytotoxicity induced in AML cells by Vitamin D-based differentiation agents. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2017; 173:139-147. [PMID: 27637326 PMCID: PMC5348281 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Vitamin D has so far not fulfilled its early promise as an antineoplastic agent, in spite of compelling in vitro data. With the aim of bringing vitamin D or its derivatives (VDDs) effectively to the clinic, we developed a two-pronged approach. First, by adding the plant-derived Carnosic Acid (CA) to a vitamin D2 derivative Doxercalciferol we increased its differentiation potency without increasing it hypercalcemic properties. Second, we added these two agents together to AML cells already treated with Cytarabine (AraC), the standard drug for the treatment of patients with AML. We now report that BRAF, a part of the MAPK signaling pathway, is required for the optimally increased cell death in this system and acts upstream of BIM, the regulator of the caspase cascade that leads to cell death by apoptosis. It is proposed that this therapeutic regimen should be tested in a clinical trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuening Wang
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, NJ Medical School, Rutgers, 185 South Orange Ave., Newark, NJ 07103, United States
| | - Jonathan S Harrison
- Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT 06030, United States
| | - George P Studzinski
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, NJ Medical School, Rutgers, 185 South Orange Ave., Newark, NJ 07103, United States.
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Wang X, Harrison JS, Studzinski GP. Enhancement of arabinocytosine (AraC) toxicity to AML cells by a differentiation agent combination. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 164:72-78. [PMID: 26319201 PMCID: PMC4769988 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Arabinocytosine (AraC, also known as cytarabine) is one of the mainstays of AML therapy, but like other DNA damaging therapeutic agents it is rarely curative by itself. There is an emerging realization that the therapeutic outcomes may be improved by combining AraC with other compounds. Here we report that the addition of a differentiating agent combination immediately following AraC damage to AML blasts, selectively increases the cell kill. The experiments were performed using cultured cells from established cell lines of AML (HL60 and U937). The cells were exposed to 100nM AraC, a concentration which produced approximately 25-50% cell kill, followed by a combination of 100nM 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D2 (1-D2) and 10μM carnosic acid (CA), which together can serve as a powerful differentiating agent combination for AML cells, but are not toxic alone. AraC-induced cell death, measured by annexin V/propidium iodide, was significantly (p<0.01) increased by the 1-D2/CA combination in both cell lines, but not by 1-D2 or CA alone. The enhancement of cell death occurred by both apoptosis and necrosis, was associated with increased DNA damage and with higher levels of DNA damage response (DDR) activated marker Chk1, but the expression of p27, a cell cycle inhibitor protein, was not enhanced by 1-D2/CA. The principal finding is that a vitamin D analog 1-D2 combined with a plant-derived antioxidant CA can markedly augment the cytotoxic action of AraC, an anti-leukemia therapeutic agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuening Wang
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, NJ Medical School, Rutgers, 185 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ 07103, United States
| | - Jonathan S Harrison
- Department of Medicine, University of Missouri Medical School, Columbia, MO 65212, United States
| | - George P Studzinski
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, NJ Medical School, Rutgers, 185 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ 07103, United States.
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Biological Evaluation of Double Point Modified Analogues of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D₂ as Potential Anti-Leukemic Agents. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:ijms17020091. [PMID: 26840307 PMCID: PMC4783874 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17020091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2015] [Revised: 12/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/04/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Structurally similar double-point modified analogues of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D2 (1,25D2) were screened in vitro for their pro-differentiating activity against the promyeloid cell line HL60. Their affinities towards human full length vitamin D receptor (VDR) and metabolic stability against human vitamin D 24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1) were also tested. The analogues (PRI-1730, PRI-1731, PRI-1732, PRI-1733 and PRI-1734) contained 5,6-trans modification of the A-ring and of the triene system, additional hydroxyl or unsaturation at C-22 in the side chain and reversed absolute configuration (24-epi) at C-24 of 1,25D2. As presented in this paper, introduction of selected structural modifications simultaneously in two distinct parts of the vitamin D molecule resulted in a divergent group of analogues. Analogues showed lower VDR affinity in comparison to that of the parent hormones, 1,25D2 and 1,25D3, and they caused effective HL60 cell differentiation only at high concentrations of 100 nM and above. Unexpectedly, introducing of a 5,6-trans modification combined with C-22 hydroxyl and 24-epi configuration switched off entirely the cell differentiation activity of the analogue (PRI-1734). However, this analogue remained a moderate substrate for CYP24A1, as it was metabolized at 22%, compared to 35% for 1,25D2. Other analogues from this series were either less (12% for PRI-1731 and PRI-1733) or more (52% for PRI-1732) resistant to the enzymatic deactivation. Although the inactive analogue PRI-1734 failed to show VDR antagonism, when tested in HL60 cells, its structure might be a good starting point for our design of a vitamin D antagonist.
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12
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Gocek E, Studzinski GP. The Potential of Vitamin D-Regulated Intracellular Signaling Pathways as Targets for Myeloid Leukemia Therapy. J Clin Med 2015; 4:504-34. [PMID: 26239344 PMCID: PMC4470153 DOI: 10.3390/jcm4040504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2014] [Revised: 01/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The current standard regimens for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are curative in less than half of patients; therefore, there is a great need for innovative new approaches to this problem. One approach is to target new treatments to the pathways that are instrumental to cell growth and survival with drugs that are less harmful to normal cells than to neoplastic cells. In this review, we focus on the MAPK family of signaling pathways and those that are known to, or potentially can, interact with MAPKs, such as PI3K/AKT/FOXO and JAK/STAT. We exemplify the recent studies in this field with specific relevance to vitamin D and its derivatives, since they have featured prominently in recent scientific literature as having anti-cancer properties. Since microRNAs also are known to be regulated by activated vitamin D, this is also briefly discussed here, as are the implications of the emerging acquisition of transcriptosome data and potentiation of the biological effects of vitamin D by other compounds. While there are ongoing clinical trials of various compounds that affect signaling pathways, more studies are needed to establish the clinical utility of vitamin D in the treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elzbieta Gocek
- Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw, Joliot-Curie 14a, Wroclaw 50-383, Poland.
| | - George P Studzinski
- Department of Pathology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 185 South Orange Ave., Newark, NJ 17101, USA.
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13
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Wang X, Pesakhov S, Weng A, Kafka M, Gocek E, Nguyen M, Harrison JS, Danilenko M, Studzinski GP. ERK 5/MAPK pathway has a major role in 1α,25-(OH)2 vitamin D3-induced terminal differentiation of myeloid leukemia cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2014; 144 Pt A:223-7. [PMID: 24514755 PMCID: PMC4000286 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2013.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2013] [Revised: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 10/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Vitamin D derivatives, including its physiological form 1α,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 (1,25D), have anti-tumor actions demonstrated in cell culture and confirmatory epidemiological associations are frequently reported. However, their promise for use in the cancer clinic is still incompletely fulfilled, suggesting that a better understanding of the molecular events initiated by these compounds is needed for therapeutic advances. While ERK1/2 has been intensely investigated and is known to transmit signals for cell survival, growth, and differentiation, the role of other MAPK pathways has been studied sporadically. Therefore, we utilized acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in culture (HL60 and U937), to determine if ERK5 has a role in 1,25D-induced terminal differentiation which is distinct from the previously shown involvement of ERK1/2. We previously found that inhibition of kinase activity of ERK5 by specific pharmacological inhibitors BIX02189 or XMD8-92 results in higher expression of general myeloid marker CD11b, but a lower expression of the monocytic marker CD14. In contrast, the inhibition of the ERK1/2 pathway by PD98059 or U0126 reduced the expression of all differentiation markers studied. We report here for the first time that the differentiation changes induced by ERK5 inhibitors are accompanied by the inhibition of cell proliferation, and this occurs in the both G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle. Of note, inhibition of ERK5 auto-phosphorylation by XMD8-92 results in a particularly robust cell cycle arrest in G2 phase in AML cells. This study provides a link between the 1,25D-elevated ERK5 pathway and changes in the cell cycle phase transitions in AML cells. Thus, combinations of vitamin D derivatives and ERK5 inhibitors may be more successful in cancer clinics than 1,25D or analogs alone. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled '16th Vitamin D Workshop'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuening Wang
- Department of Pathology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 17101, USA
| | - Stella Pesakhov
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Ashley Weng
- Department of Pathology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 17101, USA
| | - Michael Kafka
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Elzbieta Gocek
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Mai Nguyen
- Department of Pathology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 17101, USA
| | - Jonathan S Harrison
- Department of Medicine, RWJ Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA
| | - Michael Danilenko
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - George P Studzinski
- Department of Pathology, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 17101, USA.
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14
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Jensen HA, Bunaciu RP, Ibabao CN, Myers R, Varner JD, Yen A. Retinoic acid therapy resistance progresses from unilineage to bilineage in HL-60 leukemic blasts. PLoS One 2014; 9:e98929. [PMID: 24922062 PMCID: PMC4055670 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/08/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Emergent resistance can be progressive and driven by global signaling aberrations. All-trans retinoic acid (RA) is the standard therapeutic agent for acute promyelocytic leukemia, but 10-20% of patients are not responsive, and initially responsive patients relapse and develop retinoic acid resistance. The patient-derived, lineage-bipotent acute myeloblastic leukemia (FAB M2) HL-60 cell line is a potent tool for characterizing differentiation-induction therapy responsiveness and resistance in t(15;17)-negative cells. Wild-type (WT) HL-60 cells undergo RA-induced granulocytic differentiation, or monocytic differentiation in response to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (D3). Two sequentially emergent RA-resistant HL-60 cell lines, R38+ and R38-, distinguishable by RA-inducible CD38 expression, do not arrest in G1/G0 and fail to upregulate CD11b and the myeloid-associated signaling factors Vav1, c-Cbl, Lyn, Fgr, and c-Raf after RA treatment. Here, we show that the R38+ and R38- HL-60 cell lines display a progressive reduced response to D3-induced differentiation therapy. Exploiting the biphasic dynamic of induced HL-60 differentiation, we examined if resistance-related defects occurred during the first 24 h (the early or "precommitment" phase) or subsequently (the late or "lineage-commitment" phase). HL-60 were treated with RA or D3 for 24 h, washed and retreated with either the same, different, or no differentiation agent. Using flow cytometry, D3 was able to induce CD38, CD11b and CD14 expression, and G1/G0 arrest when present during the lineage-commitment stage in R38+ cells, and to a lesser degree in R38- cells. Clustering analysis of cytometry and quantified Western blot data indicated that WT, R38+ and R38- HL-60 cells exhibited decreasing correlation between phenotypic markers and signaling factor expression. Thus differentiation induction therapy resistance can develop in stages, with initial partial RA resistance and moderate vitamin D3 responsiveness (unilineage maturation block), followed by bilineage maturation block and progressive signaling defects, notably the reduced expression of Vav1, Fgr, and c-Raf.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly A Jensen
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Rodica P Bunaciu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Christopher N Ibabao
- Department of Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Rebecca Myers
- Department of Biology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey D Varner
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew Yen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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15
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Marchwicka A, Cebrat M, Sampath P, Snieżewski L, Marcinkowska E. Perspectives of differentiation therapies of acute myeloid leukemia: the search for the molecular basis of patients' variable responses to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d and vitamin d analogs. Front Oncol 2014; 4:125. [PMID: 24904835 PMCID: PMC4034350 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of differentiation therapy of cancer is ~40 years old. Despite many encouraging results obtained in laboratories, both in vitro and in vivo studies, the only really successful clinical application of differentiation therapy was all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA)-based therapy of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). ATRA, which induces granulocytic differentiation of APL leukemic blasts, has revolutionized the therapy of this disease by converting it from a fatal to a curable one. However, ATRA does not work for other acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs). Since 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D) is capable of inducing monocytic differentiation of leukemic cells, the idea of treating other AMLs with vitamin D analogs (VDAs) was widely accepted. Also, some types of solid cancers responded to in vitro applied VDAs, and hence it was postulated that VDAs can be used in many clinical applications. However, early clinical trials in which cancer patients were treated either with 1,25D or with VDAs, did not lead to conclusive results. In order to search for a molecular basis of such unpredictable responses of AML patients toward VDAs, we performed ex vivo experiments using patient’s blast cells. Experiments were also performed using 1,25D-responsive and 1,25D-non-responsive cell lines, to study their mechanisms of resistance toward 1,25D-induced differentiation. We found that one of the possible reasons might be due to a very low expression level of vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA in resistant cells, which can be increased by exposing the cells to ATRA. Our considerations concerning the molecular mechanism behind the low VDR expression and its regulation by ATRA are reported in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Małgorzata Cebrat
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Science , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Preetha Sampath
- Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Lukasz Snieżewski
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Science , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Ewa Marcinkowska
- Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw , Wroclaw , Poland
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16
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Baurska H, Kiełbiński M, Biecek P, Haus O, Jaźwiec B, Kutner A, Marcinkowska E. Monocytic differentiation induced by side-chain modified analogs of vitamin D in ex vivo cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Leuk Res 2014; 38:638-47. [PMID: 24703772 DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2014.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2013] [Revised: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The differentiation-inducing potential of side-chain modified analogs of vitamins D, compared to the reference compound, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, was studied in blast cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia and in cell lines. Analogs PRI-1906 and PRI-1907 showed increased cell-differentiation activities, PRI-1907 even at a very low concentration. Our study revealed a high variability of individual patients' blasts in their susceptibility to vitamin D analogs. The blasts of the patients with normal karyotype and with mutated NPM1 reacted to analogs with stronger differentiation than the blasts of the remaining patients, while the blasts with mutated FLT3 receptor reacted with weaker differentiation than the remaining blasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Baurska
- Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Marek Kiełbiński
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wrocław Medical University, Pasteura 4, 50-367 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Przemysław Biecek
- Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Olga Haus
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Skłodowska-Curie 9, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Bożena Jaźwiec
- Department of Hematology, Blood Neoplasms and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Wrocław Medical University, Pasteura 4, 50-367 Wrocław, Poland
| | - Andrzej Kutner
- Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Rydygiera 8, 01-793 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Ewa Marcinkowska
- Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland.
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17
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Hall AC, Juckett MB. The role of vitamin D in hematologic disease and stem cell transplantation. Nutrients 2013; 5:2206-21. [PMID: 23778150 PMCID: PMC3725501 DOI: 10.3390/nu5062206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2013] [Revised: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 06/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone with a broad range of biological effects ranging from the classical role as a mediator of calcium and phosphate balance to cellular differentiation and immune modulation. These effects impact normal and dysfunctional hematopoietic and immune function, which may allow an avenue for improved treatment and support of patients suffering from hematologic disorders. In this review, we will summarize the role of vitamin D in normal hematopoiesis, discuss ways in which vitamin D may improve outcomes, and discuss a potential role of vitamin D for treating hematologic disorders and modulating the immune system to improve the outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aric C Hall
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
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