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Experimental Therapeutics, Preclinical Pharmacology |
Department of Pathology, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio 43614 [W. T. G., P. M. K., M. A. P.]; Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 [R. A. L., V. E. S.]; Janssen Research Foundation, Spring House, Pennsylvania 19477 [D. W. E.]; and Janssen Research Foundation, Beerse, Belgium [W. W.]
| ABSTRACT |
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Experimental Design: Female strain A mice (78 weeks of age) were given 100 mg/kg benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] by i.p. injection, and 4 or 14 weeks later, they were given 50 or 100 mg/kg R115777 by oral gavage 5 days/week. The mice were sacrificed 22 weeks after they received the B(a)P.
Results: Tumor multiplicity was 5.0 ± 0.85, 4.5 ± 0.52, 2.1 ± 0.31, and 1.5 ± 0.31 tumors/mouse in mice that received 0, 50, 100 (weeks 422), or 100 (weeks 1422) mg/kg R115777. Thus, 100 mg/kg R115777 was similarly effective in preventing lung tumors when administered during the promotional phase of carcinogenesis [that is, either 4 or 14 weeks after B(a)P], whereas the lower dose of 50 mg/kg R115777 was ineffective. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index was also significantly reduced in lung tumors from mice treated with 100 mg/kg R115777 starting at 4 or 14 weeks.
Conclusions: These results demonstrated that R115777 can prevent the development of lung tumors in the A/J mouse model, where tumors routinely have mutations in the Ki-Rasoncogene.
| INTRODUCTION |
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Because of the known involvement of Ras proteins in cancer and their
early isolation, blocking of Ras activity became an early molecular
target for developing therapeutic or preventive drugs (3)
.
There are indeed a number of potential targets for blocking Ras
activity. Thus, one approach is to directly block the interaction of
Ras with one of its downstream elements. For Ras protein to translocate
to the cell membrane and become active, it must be prenylated,
typically farnesylated. Thus, a variety of drug companies and
investigators have taken the approach of developing inhibitors
directed against the enzyme farnesyltransferase, which farnesylates the
Ras proteins, as a method of blocking Ras activity (4, 5, 6, 7)
.
Although the Ras proteins are farnesylated, a number of additional
proteins can be farnesylated as well. One group of
FTIs,3
which includes R115777 [Zarnestra;
(B)-6-[amino(4-chlorophenyl)(1methyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)-methyl]-4-(3-chlorophenyl)-1-methyl-2(1H)-qui-nolinone
(Fig. 1)
], competes for the CAAX peptide binding site to prevent farnesylation
of the Ras protein and its subsequent translocation to the membrane
(8)
. R115777 has been shown to have antitumor effects in
four different human tumor xenograft models in nude mice
(9)
. R115777 has also entered Phase II clinical trials for
chemotherapy of solid malignancies (10)
. The purpose of
the study reported here was to evaluate the efficacy of R115777 in
preventing the development of lung tumors in strain A mice, which
routinely have mutations in the Ki-Ras oncogene.
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| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Animals.
Female A/J mice (56 weeks old) were purchased from The Jackson
Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). The mice were housed in our American
Association of Laboratory Animal Care-accredited laboratory animal
facility. Mice were housed in polycarbonate solid-bottom, shoebox-type
cages (13 x 18 x 28 cm) with Andersons Bed-o-Cob 1/8
bedding (Andersons, Maumee, OH). The mice were quarantined for 2 weeks
before the bioassay. The environment in the animal rooms was maintained
at a temperature of 72 ± 2°F, relative humidity of 4060%, at
least 1015 air changes per hour, approximately 30 foot-candles of
light (cage level), and a light cycle of 12 h on/12 h off. The
diet was a semipurified AIN-76A containing 20% casein, 0.3%
D,L-methionine, 52% cornstarch, 13% dextrose,
5% corn oil, 5% alphacel fiber, 3.5% AIN mineral mixture, 1.0% AIN
vitamin mixture, and 0.2% choline bitartrate (Dyets, Inc., Bethlehem,
PA). The diet and drinking water were provided ad libitum.
Experimental Design.
The experimental design is illustrated in Table 1
. When the mice were 78 weeks old, they were given a single i.p.
injection of 100 mg/kg B(a)P in 0.2 ml of corn oil to induce lung
tumors. Starting at 4 or 14 weeks after administration of B(a)P, the
mice were given 50 or 100 mg/kg R115777 by gavage in 0.2 ml of a 20%
ß-cyclodextrin solution. The R115777 was administered 5 days/week for
the duration of the experiment. These dose levels of R15777 were chosen
because they were previously reported to be effective in human tumor
xenograft studies in nude mice (9)
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Histopathological Evaluation.
Lung tumors were classified as being solid/alveolar adenomas, papillary
adenomas, and undifferentiated carcinomas. The criteria used for
solid/alveolar adenoma classification required well-differentiated
cuboidal-shaped cells obliterating at least three contiguous
alveolar spaces (11)
. Papillary tumors were identified as
well differentiated columnar cells with pleomorphic nuclei expanding
within the lung parenchyma as finger-like projections.
PCNA Labeling Index.
To determine the PCNA labeling index, sections of adenomas were
deparaffinized with xylene and placed in 2N HCl at 50°C for 30 min.
Endogenous peroxidase was quenched with 3% hydrogen peroxide (Sigma)
for 30 min. The sections were blocked with diluted horse serum (Vector
Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) for 30 min and incubated with 100 µl of
monoclonal mouse anti-PCNA (dilution, 1:300; Sigma) at room temperature
for 1 h. The sections were washed and incubated with biotinylated
antimouse IgG (Vector Laboratories) for 30 min at room temperature,
followed by incubation with Vectastain ABC KIT reagent (Vector
Laboratories) for 30 min. Stain was developed with
3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride for 15 min. The slides were
counterstained with hematoxylin. Nuclei of PCNA-labeled cells stained
brown, whereas unlabeled nuclei were blue.
The PCNA-stained sections were analyzed using NIH Image 1.57 software with threshold density filters to negate user bias. A x40 objective lens was used. The labeling index was determined by enumerating PCNA-positive cells and then evaluating the total number of tumor cells present within the high-power field, dividing the PCNA-labeled cells by the total cell count and multiplying by 100. The total number of cells evaluated per tumor ranged from 600 to 4800 cells, depending on the tumor size.
Statistical Analysis.
Results are presented as means ± SE and were analyzed by an ANOVA
followed by a Tukey test, with significance indicated by
P < 0.05.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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Virtually all lung tumors induced by B(a)P in strain A mice have previously been shown to have mutations in codon 12 of the Ki-Rasoncogene (15) . In a previous study with another FTI, FTI-276, the percentage of tumors with Ki-Ras mutations was similarly high in tumors from control and FTI-276-treated mice (13) . The question therefore arises whether FTIs, including FTI-276 and R115777, are working directly against mutated Ki-Ras or working against a number of other farnesylated proteins including Rho, nonmutated forms of Ha-Ras or N-Ras, and so forth. To test this hypothesis, we are presently testing R115777 in an A/J tumor model using azoxymethane, an agent that induces few, if any, lung tumors with Ki-Ras mutations.
The present study demonstrates the efficacy of the FTI R115777, an imidazole analogue that can be administered p.o. and is presently in multiple Phase II trials for cancer therapy. Furthermore, the present studies also examined both a true prevention model (R115777 treatment from weeks 422) and a mixed prevention/therapy model (R115777 treatment from weeks 1422). The similar effects of both models imply that most or all of the effects of R115777 occur during the progression/promotion phase of tumor development. Furthermore, the most likely scenario for Phase II prevention trials would more closely parallel the prevention/therapy model using former or present smokers. These results support the potential use of R115777 in such prevention trials.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 Supported in part by Contract N01-CN-95107 with
the National Cancer Institute. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Department of Pathology, Block Health Science Building,
Medical College of Ohio, 3035 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, OH 43614-5806.
Phone: (419) 383-5256; Fax: (419) 383-3066; E-mail: wgunning{at}mco.edu ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: FTI,
farnesyltransferase inhibitor; B(a)P, benzo(a)pyrene;
PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen. ![]()
Received 9/ 3/02; revised 12/31/02; accepted 12/31/02.
| REFERENCES |
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