Aberrant nuclear factor-κB activity and its participation in the growth of human malignant astrocytoma

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 909-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoichi Nagai ◽  
Kazuo Washiyama ◽  
Masanori Kurimoto ◽  
Akira Takaku ◽  
Shunro Endo ◽  
...  

Object. It has been suggested that nuclear factor (NF)-κB, a pleiotropic transcription factor, controls cell proliferation. The authors examined NF-κB activity and its participation in the growth of human malignant astrocytoma. Methods. The authors examined NF-κB activity in human malignant astrocytoma cell lines and high-grade astrocytoma tissues by using electrophoretic mobility shift assays and immunohistochemical studies, respectively. In addition, messenger (m)RNA expression of p50 and RelA, which are representative subunits of NF-κB, and IκBα, which is a representative inhibitory protein of NF-κB, were analyzed using Northern blot hybridization in the astrocytoma cell lines. Furthermore, alterations in DNA synthesis and cell growth in the astrocytoma cell lines were examined after inhibition of NF-κB activity by RelA antisense oligodeoxynucleotide. The authors found NF-κB activity in all astrocytoma cell lines and high-grade astrocytoma tissues that were examined, but not in the fetal astrocyte strain or in normal cerebral tissue. Expression of p50, RelA, and IκBα mRNA was found in the fetal astrocyte strain and normal adult brain tissue, in addition to the astrocytoma cell lines. The relative levels of expression of these mRNAs were similar among these cell lines, the cell strain, and normal tissue. The RelA antisense oligodeoxynucleotide specifically reduced the levels of RelA mRNA expression and NF-κB activity in the astrocytoma cell lines, thus significantly inhibiting their DNA synthesis and cell growth. Conclusions. Human malignant astrocytoma cells have aberrant NF-κB activity, which promotes their growth. This activity is not associated with aberrant expression of p50 and RelA.

2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Kurimoto ◽  
Yutaka Hirashima ◽  
Tsuneaki Ogiichi ◽  
Hideo Hamada ◽  
Hironaga Kamiyama ◽  
...  

Object. Patients with neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) have a predisposition to development of a variety of benign and malignant tumors including neurofibromas, astrocytomas, pheochromocytomas, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. The availability of an astrocytoma cell line derived from NF1 would be useful in studies in which sporadic astrocytomas could be compared with NF1-derived astrocytomas. In this article the authors describe a novel astrocytoma cell line, TM-31, that they established from a tumor removed in a 42-year-old woman with NF1. Methods. The TM-31 cell line was prepared from a surgical specimen of malignant astrocytoma and was serially subcultured over 250 times throughout a 6-year period without showing any sign of cell senescence. Immunocytochemical analyses demonstrated that TM-31 cells are negative for glial fibrillary acidic protein but positive for vimentin and S-100 protein. The TM-31 cells display little neurofibromin expression when subjected to immunoblotting, indicating that there is an NF1 gene mutation. Polymerase chain reaction—single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis revealed that TM-31 cells harbor a p53 point mutation in exon 7, codon 238. Chemosensitivity testing of TM-31 cells revealed a resistance to 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea, although they are sensitive to cisplatin and etoposide. In addition, TM-31 cells displayed no morphological differentiation after all-transretinoic acid and dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate treatments. Pharmacological inhibition of farnesyltransferase of the Ras oncoprotein led to decreased proliferative activity and inhibition of anchorage-independent growth of TM-31 cells in soft agar. Conclusions. The TM-31 cell line is an immortalized astrocytoma cell line derived from a tumor obtained in a patient with NF1. Ras activation may be the major event of proliferative activity and of the transformed phenotype of TM-31 cells, and the farnesyltransferase inhibitor may be potentially important as a novel antiproliferative therapy for NF1-derived astrocytomas.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey C. Allen ◽  
Shraga Aviner ◽  
Allan J. Yates ◽  
James M. Boyett ◽  
Joel M. Cherlow ◽  
...  

Object. The purpose of this study was to devise an improved method of treating high-grade gliomas of the spinal cord in children who have a dismal prognosis following conventional treatment. Methods. Eighteen children with newly diagnosed high-grade astrocytomas arising in the spinal cord were enrolled in the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) protocol 945. Following surgery, they were all assigned to receive two cycles of “8-drugs-in-1-day” (8-in-1) chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy and eight additional cycles thereafter. A centralized neuropathology review was used to confirm the diagnosis of high-grade astrocytoma in 13 of the 18 children: anaplastic astrocytoma (eight patients), glioblastoma multiforme (four patients), and mixed malignant glioma (one patient). Diagnoses were discordant in five patients. There were eight boys and five girls in the group with confirmed diagnoses, with a median age of 7 years (range 1–15 years). The extent of resection was confirmed by computerized tomography or magnetic resonance (MR) evaluation in five of 13 patients. There were six gross-total or near-total resections (> 90%), four partial or subtotal resections (10–90%), and three biopsies. Six patients showed evidence of leptomeningeal metastases at diagnosis based on staging MR examinations. Eight of the 13 patients completed at least eight of the prescribed 10 cycles of chemotherapy; five received craniospinal radiotherapy and five spinal radiotherapy. Conclusions. The 5-year progression-free and total survival rates for the 13 children were 46 ± 14% and 54 ± 14%, respectively. Seven patients suffered a relapse at the primary site, four of whom also had leptomeningeal metastases. Seven of the 13 patients (54%) remain alive at the time of this report at a median of 76 months (range 51–93 months) from study entry. Six patients died between 8 and 38 months after diagnosis, all with active disease. Intensification of therapy may further improve outcome in this high-risk population.


2004 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Humayun Khalid ◽  
Shobu Shibata ◽  
Koichi Furukawa ◽  
Amal Nadel ◽  
Matthew D. Ammerman ◽  
...  

Object. The expression of estrogen receptor—related antigen (ER-D5) has been demonstrated in many tumors, including those of the brain, but the actual role of ER-D5 in cell growth is unknown. The authors evaluated the role of ER-D5 in the growth of gliomas in vitro. Methods. Human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines A172, T98G, U87MG, and U118MG; rat C6 glioma and 9L gliosarcoma; AS human astrocytoma; GBM in primary culture and tumor tissues; and normal brain tissues were examined for ER-D5 by using immunohistochemical, Western immunoblot, flow cytometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The ER-D5 was detected in all tumor cell types of human origin, but not in rat cell lines and normal brain; the expression of ER-D5 was not related to cell cycle phase. Kinetic analysis of ER-D5 expression in cultured cell lines revealed that an enhanced and sharp accumulation of ER-D5 occurred during the first 24 hours of culture, followed by a sharp fall in the next 24 hours. Gradual decreases of ER-D5 during the subsequent days were demonstrated in all human cell lines, and in primary cultures of GBM. This accumulation pattern of ER-D5 was confirmed on Western blot analysis. The ER-D5 was also detected in cells cultured in serum-free medium. Culture cells were treated with D5 antibody against ER-D5 for 48 hours and the effects were evaluated using a monotetrazolium colorimetric assay; the result revealed that growth of cultured cells was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner, and that addition of a single median inhibitory concentration dose resulted in complete growth inhibition and arrest of cell growth at the G0/G1 phase at 96 hours posttreatment. Conclusions. These findings indicated that synthesis and accumulation of ER-D5 is an essential event in the very early phase of in vitro growth of human gliomas.


1978 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Sogg ◽  
Sarah S. Donaldson ◽  
Craig H. Yorke

✓ A 9-year-old schoolgirl received 6007 rads to the suprasellar region for craniopharyngioma. Five years later, a malignant astrocytoma developed in the right temporal lobe. We cite clinical and experimental evidence to support our suspicion that the glioma may have been induced by radiation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie de Boüard ◽  
Christo Christov ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Guillamo ◽  
Lina Kassar-Duchossoy ◽  
Stéphane Palfi ◽  
...  

Object. The reliable assessment of the invasiveness of gliomas in vitro has proved elusive, because most invasion assays inadequately model in vivo invasion in its complexity. Recently, organotypical brain cultures were successfully used in short-term invasion studies on glioma cell lines. In this paper the authors report that the invasiveness of human glioma biopsy specimens directly implanted into rodent brain slices by using the intraslice implantation system (ISIS) can be quantified with precision. The model was first validated by the demonstration that, in long-term studies, established glioma cells survive in the ISIS and follow pathways of invasion similar to those in vivo. Methods. Brain slices (400 µm thick) from newborn mice were maintained on millicell membranes for 15 days. Cells from two human and one rodent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines injected into the ISIS were detected by immunohistochemistry or after transfection with green fluorescent protein—containing vectors. Preferential migration along blood vessels was identified using confocal and fluorescent microscopy. Freshly isolated (≤ 24 hours after removal) 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate—prelabeled human glioma biopsy specimens were successfully implanted in 19 (83%) of 23 cases, including 12 GBMs and seven lower grade gliomas (LGGs). Morphometric quantification of distance and density of tumor cell invasion showed that the GBMs were two to four times more invasive than the LGGs. Heterogeneity of invasion was also observed among GBMs and LGGs. Directly implanted glioma fragments were more invasive than spheroids derived from the same biopsy specimen. Conclusions. The ISIS combines a high success rate, technical simplicity, and detailed quantitative measurements and may, therefore, be used to study the invasiveness of biopsy specimens of gliomas of different grades.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evanthia Galanis ◽  
Jan C. Buckner ◽  
Paul Novotny ◽  
Roscoe F. Morton ◽  
William L. McGinnis ◽  
...  

Object. It is standard practice for the oncological follow-up of patients with brain tumors (especially in the setting of clinical trials) to include neurological examination and neuroradiological studies such as computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in addition to evaluation of the patients' symptomatology and performance score. The validity of this practice and its impact on the welfare of patients with high-grade gliomas has not been adequately assessed. The purpose of this study is to provide such an assessment.Methods. The authors studied 231 similarly treated patients who were participating in three prospective North Central Cancer Treatment Group or Mayo Clinic trials who developed progressive disease during follow up. According to the protocol, the symptom status, performance score, results of neurological examination, and CT or MR status were recorded prospectively in each patient at each evaluation (every 6–8 weeks).At progression, 177 (77%) of 231 patients experienced worsening of their baseline symptoms or they developed new ones. In the remaining 54 asymptomatic patients (23%), neuroradiological imaging revealed the progression. Asymptomatic progression was more likely to be detected on MR imaging compared with CT studies (p < 0.01). In no asymptomatic patient was progression detected on neurological examination alone. The median survival time after tumor recurrence was 13.3 weeks in symptomatic patients compared with 41.7 weeks in the asymptomatic group (p < 0.0001). Asymptomatic patients were more aggressively treated, with surgery (p < 0.0001) and second-line chemotherapy (p < 0.0002). Multivariate analysis of survival time following first progression by using both classification and regression trees and Cox models showed that treatment at recurrence was the most important prognostic variable.Conclusions. Symptoms are the most frequent indicators of progression in patients with high-grade gliomas (77%). All asymptomatic progressions were detected on neuroradiological studies; MR imaging was more likely than CT scanning to reveal asymptomatic recurrences. Survival after disease progression was significantly longer in asymptomatic patients and could be related both to treatment following progression and to other favorable prognostic factors such as performance score.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Savarese ◽  
Taichang Jang ◽  
Hoi Pang Low ◽  
Rebecca Salmonsen ◽  
N. Scott Litofsky ◽  
...  

Object. Brain tumors, including gliomas, develop several months after rats are exposed in utero to N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU). Although pathological changes cannot be detected until these animals are several weeks old, the process that eventually leads to glioma formation must begin soon after exposure given the rapid clearance of the carcinogen and the observation that transformation of brain cells isolated soon after exposure occasionally occurs. This model can therefore potentially provide useful insights about the early events that precede overt glioma formation. The authors hypothesized that future glioma cells arise from stem/progenitor cells residing in or near the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the brain. Methods. Cells obtained from the SVZ or corpus striatum in ENU-exposed and control rats were cultured in an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-containing, chemically defined medium. Usually, rat SVZ cells cultured in this manner (neurospheres) are nestin-positive, undifferentiated, and EGF-dependent and undergo cell senescence. Consistent with these prior observations, control SVZ cells undergo senescence by the 12th to 15th doubling (20 of 20 cultures). In contrast, three of 15 cultures of cells derived from the SVZs of individual ENU-treated rats continue to proliferate for more than 60 cell passages. Each of these nestin-expressing immortalized cell lines harbored a common homozygous deletion spanning the INK4a/ARF locus and was unable to differentiate into neural lineages after exposure to specific in vitro stimuli. Nevertheless, unlike the rat C6 glioma cell line, these immortalized cell lines demonstrate EGF dependence and low clonogenicity in soft agar and did not form tumors after intracranial transplantation. Conclusions. Data in this study indicated that immortalized cells may represent glioma precursors that reside in the area of the SVZ after ENU exposure that may serve as a reservoir for further genetic and epigenetic hits that could eventually result in a full glioma phenotype.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1055-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roksana Rodak ◽  
Hisashi Kubota ◽  
Hideyuki Ishihara ◽  
Hans-Pietro Eugster ◽  
Dilek Könü ◽  
...  

Object. Taurolidine, a derivative of the amino acid taurin, was recently found to display a potent antineoplastic effect both in vitro and in vivo. The authors therefore initiated studies to assess the potential antineoplastic activity of taurolidine in human glioma cell lines and in ex vivo malignant cell cultures. They also studied the mechanisms that induce cell death and the impact of taurolidine on tumor-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. Methods. Cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays were performed using crystal violet staining. In the cytotoxicity assay 100% of glioma cell lines (eight of eight) and 74% of ex vivo glioma cultures (14 of 19) demonstrated sensitivity to taurolidine, with a mean median effective concentration (EC50) of 51 ± 28 µg/ml and 56 ± 23 µg/ml, respectively. Colony formation was inhibited by taurolidine, with a mean EC50 of 7 ± 3 µg/ml for the cell lines and a mean EC50 of 3.5 ± 1.7 µg/ml for the ex vivo glioma cultures. On observing this high activity of taurolidine in both assays, the authors decided to evaluate its cell death mechanisms. Fragmentation of DNA, externalization of phosphatidylserine, activation of poly(adenosine diphosphate—ribose) polymerase, loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential followed by a release of apoptosis-inducing factor, and typical apoptotic features were found after taurolidine treatment. Cell death was preceded by the generation of reactive O2 intermediates, which was abrogated by N-acetylcysteine but not by benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone. Moreover, taurolidine also induced suppression of VEGF production on the protein and messenger RNA level, as shown by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by reverse transcription—polymerase chain reaction. Conclusions. Given all these findings, taurolidine may be a promising new agent in the treatment of malignant gliomas; it displays a combination of antineoplastic and antiangiogenic activities, inducing tumor cell apoptosis and inhibiting tumor-derived VEGF production.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiro Isoe ◽  
Hirofumi Naganuma ◽  
Shin Nakano ◽  
Atsushi Sasaki ◽  
Eiji Satoh ◽  
...  

Object. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which malignant glioma cells escape from growth inhibition mediated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a ubiquitous cytokine that inhibits cell proliferation by causing growth arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Methods. The authors measured the response of eight malignant glioma cell lines to the growth-inhibiting activity of TGF-β in vitro and the expression of TGF-β Types I and II receptors in malignant glioma cells. The effect of TGF-β on the expression of a p27Kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor was also investigated to assess the downstream signal transmission from TGF-β receptors. All malignant glioma cell lines were insensitive to growth inhibition by TGF-β1 and TGF-β2. Analyses of TGF-β receptors by means of affinity labeling in which 125I-TGF-β1 was used showed that six glioma lines had both TGF-β Types I and II receptors on their cell surfaces, whereas two lines had very small amounts of TGF-β Type I and/or Type II receptors. Northern blot analysis showed that all tumor lines expressed variable levels of messenger RNAs for both TGF-β Types I and II receptors. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that treatment of malignant glioma cells with TGF-β1 significantly downregulated the expression of p27Kip1 protein in all malignant glioma cell lines except one. Conclusions. The authors suggest that most malignant glioma cells express TGF-β Types I and II receptors, which can transmit some signals downstream and that the loss of response to TGF-β growth inhibition may not be caused by an abnormality of the TGF-β receptors.


1995 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 1035-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg-Christian Tonn ◽  
Hans Kristian Haugland ◽  
Jaakko Saraste ◽  
Klaus Roosen ◽  
Ole Didrik Laerum

✓ The aim of this study was to investigate the antimigratory and antiinvasive potential of vincristine sulfate (VCR) on human glioma cells and to analyze whether phenytoin (5,5-diphenylhydantoin; DPH) might act synergistically with VCR. Vincristine affects the cytoplasmic microtubules; DPH has been reported to enhance VCR cytotoxicity in murine cells. In two human glioma cell lines, GaMG and D-37MG, we found VCR to reduce monolayer growth and colony formation in a dose-dependent fashion at concentrations of 10 ng/ml and above. Phenytoin increased the cytotoxic and cystostatic effects of VCR in monolayer cells but not in spheroids. Multicellular spheroids were used to investigate directional migration. A coculture system of GaMG and D-37MG spheroids with fetal rat brain aggregates was used to analyze and quantify tumor cell invasion. A dose-dependent inhibition of migration and invasion by VCR was observed in both cell lines without further enhancement by DPH. Immunofluorescence microscopy with antibodies against α-tubulin revealed dose-dependent morphological alterations in the microtubules when the cells were exposed to VCR but not after incubation with DPH. Based on the combination of standardized in vitro model systems currently in use and the present data, the authors strongly suggest that VCR inhibits migration and invasion of human glioma cells. This is not altered by DPH, which inhibits cell proliferation in combination with VCR.


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