N-cadherin is up-regulated in aggressive breast carcinomas, but its mechanism of action in vivo remains unknown. Transgenic mice coexpressing N-cadherin and polyomavirus middle T antigen (PyVmT) in the mammary epithelium displayed increased pulmonary metastasis, with no differences in tumor onset or growth relative to control PyVmT mice. PyVmT-N-cadherin tumors contained higher levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) than PyVmT controls, and phosphorylated ERK staining was further increased in pulmonary metastases. Tumor cell isolates from PyVmT-N-cadherin mice exhibited enhanced ERK activation, motility, invasion, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression relative to PyVmT controls. MAPK/ERK kinase 1 inhibition in PyVmT-N-cadherin cells reduced MMP-9 production and invasion but not motility. Furthermore, inactivation of fibroblast growth factor receptor in PyVmT-N-cadherin cells reduced motility, invasion, and ERK activation but had no effect on PyVmT cells. Thus, de novo expression of N-cadherin in mammary ducts enhances metastasis of breast tumors via enhanced ERK signaling. [Cancer Res 2007;67(7):3106-16]

The S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) salvage enzyme 5 -methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) has been implicated as both a cancer target and a tumor suppressor. We tested these hypotheses in mouse xenografts of human lung cancers. AdoMet recycling from 5 -methylthioadenosine (MTA) was blocked by inhibition of MTAP with methylthioDADMe-Immucillin-A (MTDIA), an orally available, nontoxic, picomolar transition state analogue. Blood, urine, and tumor levels of MTA increased in response to MTDIA treatment. Disruption of pathways linked to polyamine synthesis and S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) 2 salvage provides metabolic targets in anticancer therapy based on the essential roles of these metabolites in cell growth. AdoMet is the major methyl donor for biosynthetic methylation reactions, a precursor for polyamine synthesis, and the source of methyl groups for DNA methylation. Targeting polyamine metabolism directly at L-ornithine decarboxylase by ␣,␣-difluoromethylornithine has had limited anticancer success (1). Two AdoMet molecules are converted to 5Ј-methylthioadenosine (MTA) in spermine synthesis, and 5Ј-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) recycles MTA by phosphorolysis to permit subsequent resynthesis of AdoMet (Fig. 1). Our working hypothesis was that inhibition of MTAP would affect cellular MTA and AdoMet metabolism with downstream effects on protein, DNA methylation, polyamine synthesis, and polyamine-dependent enzyme reactions. We targeted MTAP by transition state analysis and developed methylthio-DADMe-Immucillin-A (MTDIA), an orally available transition state analogue inhibitor of MTAP (2). Others have proposed that MTAP is a tumor suppressor gene (3), and experiments here explore the effects of MTAP inhibition in human lung cancer xenografts.We previously demonstrated that treatment of human FaDu head and neck tumors in mouse xenografts with MT-DIA prevented tumor growth with no apparent toxicity to the mice (4). Here, we report that both MTAP-positive (H358) and MTAP-deleted (A549) human lung cancer cell lines are also sensitive to MTAP inhibition in mouse xenografts. The mechanism is probed by the metabolic and genetic consequences of MTDIA administration. In culture, MTDIA in combination with MTA slows A549 cell growth but induces apoptosis in H358 cells.Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (5). Patients diagnosed at an advanced stage have a median survival of less than 12 months (6 -8). Thus, development of novel therapeutics for lung cancer is a research priority. MTDIA demonstrated significant suppression of tumor growth with human lung cancer A549 and H358 cells in mouse xenografts. Low toxicity, oral availability, and significant tumor suppression by MTDIA all support additional evaluation as an agent for the treatment of lung cancers. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURESCell Lines-Human non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma (NSCLC) cell line A549 and prostate carcinoma cell line PC3 were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Manassas, VA). Human bronchioloalveolar ...

Prostate adenocarcinoma, treated with localized tumor hyperthermia (LTH), can potentially serve as a source of tumor antigen, where dying apoptotic/necrotic cells release tumor peptides slowly over time. In addition, LTH-treated cells can release heat shock proteins that can chaperone antigenic peptides to antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells. We attempted to discern whether sequential LTH and intratumoral dendritic cell and/or systemic granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) would activate antitumor immune response in a syngeneic murine model of prostate cancer (RM-1). Palpable RM-1 tumors, grown in the distal appendage of C57BL/6 male mice, were subjected to LTH (43.7°C for 1 h) Â 2, separated by 5 days. Following the second LTH treatment, animals received either PBS or dendritic cells (2 Â 10 6

Background and AimsPreparative hepatic irradiation (HIR), together with mitotic stimulation of hepatocytes, permits extensive hepatic repopulation by transplanted hepatocytes in rats and mice. However, whole liver HIR is associated with radiation-induced liver disease (RILD), which limits its potential therapeutic application. In clinical experience, restricting HIR to a fraction of the liver reduces the susceptibility to RILD. Here we test the hypothesis that repopulation of selected liver lobes by regional HIR should be sufficient to correct some inherited metabolic disorders.MethodsHepatocytes (107) isolated from wildtype F344 rats or Wistar-RHA rats were engrafted into the livers of congeneic dipeptidylpeptidase IV deficient (DPPIV−) rats or uridinediphosphoglucuronateglucuronosyltransferase-1A1-deficient jaundiced Gunn rats respectively by intrasplenic injection 24 hr after HIR (50 Gy) targeted to the median lobe, or median plus left liver lobes. An adenovector expressing hepatocyte growth factor (1011 particles) was injected intravenously 24 hr after transplantation.ResultsThree months after hepatocyte transplantation in DPPIV− rats, 30–60% of the recipient hepatocytes were replaced by donor cells in the irradiated lobe, but not in the nonirradiated lobes. In Gunn rats receiving median lobe HIR, serum bilirubin declined from pretreatment levels of 5.17±0.78 mg/dl to 0.96±0.30 mg/dl in 8 weeks and remained at this level throughout the 16 week observation period. A similar effect was observed in the group, receiving median plus left lobe irradiation.ConclusionsAs little as 20% repopulation of 30% of the liver volume was sufficient to correct hyperbilirubinemia in Gunn rats, highlighting the potential of regiospecific HIR in hepatocyte transplantation-based therapy of inherited metabolic liver diseases.