Antiproliferative effects of nitrosulindac on human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce the incidence of colon cancer, but their use is limited by toxicity in the gastrointestinal tract. The coupling of a nitric oxide-releasing moiety to NSAIDs strongly reduces these side effects. We demonstrated that the NO-releasing sulindac (nitrosulindac) has much more potent effects on colon adenocarcinoma cell lines compared to sulindac. Moreover, it could inhibit the growth of cells in soft agar experiments, demonstrating the antineoplastic activity at low concentration of nitrosulindac. However, this reduction in the growth of colon cancer cells seemed to be independent of the classical apoptosis pathway and could be explained by a cytostatic effect. Nitrosulindac caused a light perturbation of the cell cycle parameters not linked to a modification of the levels of p21 or the proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Moreover, neither sulindac, nor nitrosulindac, were able to inhibit the NF-kappa B pathway. These data suggested that nitrosulindac could be a better solution compared to other NSAIDs in the treatment of colon cancer.

Involvement of cyclooxygenase 2 in the protective effect of 17beta-estradiol on hypercholesterolemic rabbit aorta

The involvement of cyclooxygenase (COX) in the effects of 17beta-estradiol was investigated on hypercholesterolemic rabbits aorta. Acetylsalycilic acid, nimesulide, or SQ22536 was used as respective antagonist of COX-1, COX-2, or adenylate cyclase using aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine and exposed to cumulative concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh). The relaxation effect of ACh was impaired by hypercholesterolemia and restored by an 8-week 17beta-estradiol treatment. In the control group treated with estrogen, nimesulide, acetylsalycilic acid, or SQ22536 slightly reduced the response to ACh. In hypercholesterolemic rabbits treated with estrogen, nimesulide significantly reduced the maximal relaxation and shifted to the right the relaxation curve of ACh, whereas acetylsalycilic acid did not modify the maximal response to ACh but displaced slightly the concentration-response curve. SQ22536 reduced the relaxant effect of ACh down to the level obtained in the presence of nimesulide. These results suggest that the protective effect of 17beta-estradiol against hypercholesterolemia involved COX-2/adenylate cyclase pathway.

Purification of a new intestinal anti-proliferative factor from normal human small intestine

Previous studies suggest that intestinal cell proliferation may be controlled by endogenous mitosis inhibitors. We describe here the isolation of a protein named intestinal anti-proliferative factor (IAF) from human small intestine. Successive DEAE anion exchange, isoelectric focusing and gel filtration chromatographies led to a purified anti-proliferative protein fraction used to produce antibodies. Using these antibodies as affinity chromatography ligand, IAF was purified from human small intestine cytosolic fraction. IAF was a potent inhibitor of adenocarcinoma colon cells (HT-29 D4 line) DNA synthesis and proliferation with 50% inhibition observed at picomolar concentrations. Analyzed on SDS/PAGE under reducing conditions, this protein migrates with an apparent molecular mass of 120 kDa and amino acid sequence of two internal peptides displays no homology with another listed protein. Cell cycle studies showed that the growth inhibitory effect was maximal between mid G1 and early S phases. Moreover, flow cytometry studies demonstrated that IAF inhibited the progression of HT-29 D4 cells from G1 to S phase. Northern blot analysis using a dipeptidyl peptidase i.v. probe revealed that the growth arrest mediated by IAF was not linked to differentiation processes. By Western blotting with polyclonal antibodies against IAF, we found that this protein was not detected in differentiated colonic carcinoma. Our results suggest that IAF might regulate intestinal cell proliferation.

Human FLT3/FLK2 receptor tyrosine kinase is expressed at the surface of normal and malignant hematopoietic cells

FLT3/FLK2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) which is thought to play an important role in early stages of hematopoiesis. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the extracellular domain of human FLT3 were generated to study the cell surface expression of this class III RTK on normal bone marrow cells and on leukemic blasts from patients with acute leukemias. Functional analysis of five mAbs (SF1 series) revealed that all of them can mimic to variable extents the activity of the FLT3 ligand (FL) upon receptor activation and modulation, while only one mAb weakly inhibited ligand binding. Using flow cytometry, we detected surface expression of FLT3 on cell lines of the myeloid (4/8) and B lymphoid (7/10) lineages. On normal human bone marrow cells, the expression of FLT3 is restricted, in agreement with a presumed function of this receptor at the level of the stem cells and early committed progenitors. Expression of FLT3 was found on a fraction of CD34-positive and CD34-negative cells. Three-color analysis further revealed that most of the CD34 FLT3+ cells coexpress CD117 (KIT) at a high level. Finally, FLT3 is expressed on leukemic blasts of 18/22 acute myeloid leukemias (AML) and 3/5 acute lymphoid leukemias (ALL) of the B lineage, providing a possible application in diagnosis and therapy of these diseases.

Expression and signal transduction of the FLT3 tyrosine kinase receptor

FLT3 is a receptor tyrosine kinase of 130-55 kDa expressed on normal bone marrow stem and early progenitor cells and on leukemic blasts from patients with acute leukemias. The FLT3 ligand, FL, is a new cytokine which acts on hematopoietic progenitors in synergy with other cytokines. FLT3 transduces FL-mediated signal through interaction with a number of cytoplasmic substrates.

Identification and characterization of a functional murine FLT3 isoform produced by exon skipping

The FLT3 gene encodes an hematopoietic receptor related to the receptors for colony-stimulating factor 1, FMS, and for Steel factor, KIT. The extracellular part of these molecules is exclusively composed of five immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains, designated 1 to 5, from the amino terminus to the carboxyl terminus of the extracellular region. We have isolated a unique murine FLT3 cDNA that codes for a variant isoform of FLT3, devoid of the fifth Ig-like domain, by comparison with the prototypic form. The corresponding mRNA is the result of a splicing event that leads to the elimination of two coding exons. mRNA coding for this variant was detected in almost all the tissues expressing the mRNA coding for the prototypic molecule, although at a lower level. Ligand-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the two isoforms was equivalent in COS-1 transfected cells, indicating that the fifth Ig-like domain is not strictly necessary for either ligand-binding or kinase activation.

Purification and biological properties of an epithelial intestinal cell growth inhibitor from a human small intestine

Endogenous mitotic inhibitors act as control-mechanisms in intestinal epithelium proliferation. The presence of an inhibitor of cultured intestinal epithelial cell from a villous extract of rat jejunum has been reported in one of our papers. The object of the study now reported was to find the presence of a growth inhibitor in the villous extract from man's small intestine and to purify and characterize this factor when found. Our results reveal that: (1) Such an inhibitor was found in a supernatant preparation obtained from human intestinal epithelial cells. The inhibition of the proliferation of epithelial cells (IRD-98) it induced was seem to be dose-dependent and non-cytotoxic. (2) After chromatography on hydroxylapatite, on DEAE and then on ACA 54 (gel permeation), a low-molecular-weight protein (15 kDa) called purified intestinal inhibitor (PII) was isolated (purification factor of approx. 50,000 with respect to the supernatant fraction). This fraction proved to inhibit the IRD-98 cells in a reversible manner. When cells are incubated with this protein, cells prove to be arrested in phase G1 of the cell cycle as is revealed by the flow cytometry studies. The results obtained support the hypothesis that regulation of cell proliferation is mediated by endogenous inhibitors at the epithelial level.

Effects of an inhibitor isolated from human small intestine on organ culture of intestinal mucosa

Endogenous mitotic inhibitors have been implicated as controlling mechanisms of intestinal epithelium proliferation. We previously reported the purification of an inhibitor of intestinal epithelial cells in culture isolated from a villous extract of human jejunum. This article describes the biologic effects of this inhibitor on organ cultures of rabbit intestinal mucosa. Our results reveal that (1) this factor is not cytotoxic; (2) it inhibits intestinal epithelial cell proliferation in a dose-dependent and reversible manner; (3) it does not appear to be species-specific; (4) it is specific to the digestive tract, and more particularly to the small intestine.