No abstract

The development of imatinib resistance has become a significant therapeutic problem in which the etiology seems to be multifactorial and poorly understood. As of today, clinical criteria to predict the development of imatinib resistance in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), other than rebound of the myeloproliferation, are under development. However, there is evidence that the control of glucose-substrate flux is an important mechanism of the antiproliferative action of imatinib because imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal KIT-positive tumors reveal highly elevated glucose uptake in radiologic images. We used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography mass spectrometry to assess 13 C glucose uptake and metabolism (glycolysis, TCA cycle, and nucleic acid ribose synthesis) during imatinib treatment in CML cell lines with different sensitivities to imatinib. Our results show that sensitive K562-s and LAMA84-s BCR-ABL-positive cells have decreased glucose uptake, decreased lactate production, and an improved oxidative TCA cycle following imatinib treatment. The resistant K562-r and LAMA84-r cells maintained a highly glycolytic metabolic phenotype with elevated glucose uptake and lactate production. In addition, oxidative synthesis of RNA ribose from 13 C-glucose via glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was decreased, and RNA synthesis via the nonoxidative transketolase pathway was increased in imatinib-resistant cells. CML cells which exhibited a (oxidative/nonoxidative) flux ratio for nucleic acid ribose synthesis of >1 were sensitive to imatinib. The resistant K562-r and LAMA84-r exhibited a (oxidative/nonoxidative) flux ratio of <0.7. The changes in glucose uptake and metabolism were accompanied by intracellular translocation of GLUT-1 from the plasma membrane into the intracellular fraction in sensitive cells treated with imatinib, whereas GLUT-1 remained located at the plasma membrane in LAMA84-r and K562-r cells. The total protein load of GLUT-1 was unchanged among treated sensitive and resistant cell lines. In summary, elevated glucose uptake and nonoxidative glycolytic metabolic phenotype can be used as sensitive markers for early detection of imatinib resistance in BCR-ABL-positive cells.Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder associated with a t(9;22) chromosomal translocation which gives rise to the Philadelphia chromosome, resulting in the production of a BCR-ABL fusion protein (1, 2). A large portion of a proto-oncogene on chromosome 9, called ABL, is translocated to the BCR gene on chromosome 22 (2). The two gene segments are fused and ultimately produce a chimeric protein that is larger than the normal ABL protein (3).The development of novel targeted cancer-specific therapies is a major strategy in oncology, and the treatment of CML with imatinib mesylate (Gleevec or Glivec, formerly known as STI571) was the first successful proof of concept. Imatinib mesylate has revolutionized the way we treat CML its high level of activity, low toxicity...

Background: More than 4 million children are exposed annually to sedatives and general anaesthetics (GAs) in the USA alone. Recent data suggest that common GAs can be detrimental to brain development causing neurodegeneration and long-term cognitive impairments. Challenged by a recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning about potentially neurotoxic effects of GAs in children, there is an urgent need to develop safer GAs. Methods: Postnatal Day 7 (P7) rat pups of both sexes were exposed to six (repeated every 2 h) injections of equipotent hypnotic doses of ketamine or the neuroactive steroid (3b,5b,17b)-3-hydroxyandrostane-17-carbonitrile (3b-OH) for 12 h. Loss of righting reflex was used to assess hypnotic properties and therapeutic index; quantitative caspase-3 immunohistochemistry was used to assess developmental neuroapoptosis; patch-clamp recordings in acute brain slices were used to assess the effects of 3b-OH on neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission. Cognitive abilities of rats exposed to ketamine, 3b-OH, or vehicle at P7 were assessed in young adulthood using the radial arm maze. Results: The neuroactive steroid 3b-OH has a therapeutic index similar to ketamine, a commonly used clinical GA. We report that 3b-OH is safe and, unlike ketamine, does not cause neuroapoptosis or impair cognitive development when administered to P7 rat pups. Interestingly, 3b-OH blocks T-type calcium channels and presynaptically dampens synaptic transmission at hypnotically-relevant brain concentrations, but it lacks a direct effect on g-aminobutyric acid A or glutamate-gated ion channels.

SignificanceEpidemiological evidence suggests that vitamin D can protect women from developing breast cancer (BC). This study reveals that vitamin D and its receptor regulate autophagy in both normal mammary epithelial cells and luminal BCs, and suggests a potential mechanism underlying the link between vitamin D levels and BC risk. In addition, this work suggests that vitamin D receptor ligands could be exploited therapeutically for the treatment of a significant subset of BCs.