Biomedical subjects

Anupama Munshi

Publications and source records attributed to Anupama Munshi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Adenoviral-mediated mda-7 expression suppresses DNA repair capacity and radiosensitizes non-small-cell lung cancer cells.

The melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (mda-7) was identified by virtue of its enhanced expression in human melanoma cells induced into terminal differentiation. Enforced expression of mda-7 in human cancer cell lines of diverse origins results in the suppression of growth and induction of apoptosis. We have shown that adenoviral-mediated mda-7 (Ad-mda7) radiosensitizes non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells by enhancing the apoptotic pathway. To identify the mechanism of this radiosensitization, we examined the level of proteins involved in the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Western blot analysis indicated that the expression of NHEJ pathway components Ku70, XRCC4, and DNA ligase IV was downregulated in NSCLC cells--A549 with Ad-mda7 treatment. No such change was observed in normal human CCD16 fibroblasts previously shown not to be radiosensitized by Ad-mda7. The biological significance of these changes of expression of proteins critical for repair of radiation-induced DSBs was confirmed via the analysis of DSB rejoining kinetics using pulsed field gel electrophoresis and assessment of host cell reactivation capacity following Ad-mda7 treatment. Based on these results, we hypothesize that Ad-mda7 sensitizes NSCLC cells to ionizing radiation by suppressing the activity of NHEJ, a pathway essential for repair of radiation-induced DSBs.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2004

Predicting radiosensitivity using DNA end-binding complex analysis.

Previous reports have suggested that measuring radiosensitivity of normal and tumor cells would have significant clinical relevance for the practice of radiation oncology. We hypothesized that radiosensitivity might be predicted by analyzing DNA end-binding complexes (DNA-EBCs), which form at DNA double-strand breaks, the most important cytotoxic lesion caused by radiation. To test this hypothesis, the DNA-EBC pattern of 21 primary human fibroblast cultures and 15 tumor cell lines were studied. DNA-EBC patterns were determined using a modified electrophoretic mobility shift assay and were correlated with radiosensitivity, as measured by SF2. DNA-EBC analysis identified a rapidly migrating ATM-containing band (identified as "band-A") of which the density correlated with SF2 (0.02 </= SF2 </= 0.41) in primary fibroblasts (r(2) = 0.77). The DNA-EBC pattern of peripheral blood lymphocytes was identical to that of fibroblasts. In addition, band-A density correlated with SF2 (0.35 </= SF2 </= 0.80) in 15 human tumor cell lines (r(2) = 0.91). Densitometry of other bands, or total DNA-EBC binding, correlated more poorly with SF2 (r(2) < 0.45). These data indicate that DNA-EBC analysis may be a practical, clinically relevant predictor of tumor and primary cell radiosensitivity.

Cell Line↗

PubMed2004

Adenovirus-mediated mda-7 (IL24) gene therapy suppresses angiogenesis and sensitizes NSCLC xenograft tumors to radiation.

Melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (mda-7), recently classified as interleukin-24 (approved gene symbol IL24), is thought to be a tumor suppressor gene based on the loss of its expression in many different types of cancer. Gene therapy by adenovirus-mediated mda-7 (Ad-mda7) gene transfer has been shown to inhibit the growth of several different tumor cell lines, in vitro and in vivo. We previously demonstrated that Ad-mda7 radiosensitized non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines by enhancing an apoptosis pathway through the activation of JNK and c-Jun. In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of intratumoral administration of Ad-mda7 combined with ionizing radiation for treating A549 xenograft tumors in nude mice. Substantial and long-lasting inhibition of tumor growth was evident following the combined treatment. Histological examination revealed marked reduction of angiogenic factors (bFGF, VEGF) and microvessel density and enhanced apoptosis in the tumors treated with the combination therapy compared to those treated with Ad-mda7 alone or radiation alone. To confirm the radiosensitizing effect of secreted MDA-7 protein, we performed clonogenic survival assays using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), A549 cells, and normal human lung fibroblasts, CCD16 cells, pretreated with the conditioned medium from 293 cells that had been stably transfected with mda-7 or a control vector. The results showed that MDA-7 protein sensitized HUVECs to ionizing radiation but not A549 cells or CCD16 cells. Our results suggest that Ad-mda7 in combination with radiation enhances apoptosis in the tumors and that secreted MDA-7 protein inhibits angiogenesis by sensitizing endothelial cells to ionizing radiation without affecting other normal cells. We conclude that the combination of mda-7 gene therapy and radiotherapy may be a feasible and effective strategy for treatment of NSCLC.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2004

Inhibition of constitutively activated nuclear factor-kappaB radiosensitizes human melanoma cells.

Melanoma tumors and cultured cell lines are relatively resistant to the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation, thereby limiting the use of radiotherapy for the clinical treatment of melanoma. New strategies for sensitizing melanoma cells therefore deserve examination. In an attempt to identify and target signaling pathways that contribute to radioresistance, we investigated the role of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), a transcription factor known to inhibit apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli and promote radioresistance. Two human metastatic melanoma cell lines, A375 and MeWo, were used to examine the radiosensitizing effects of inhibitors of the NF-kappaB pathway. Nuclear extracts from these cell lines were tested for active NF-kappaB using the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Both melanoma cell lines had constitutively activated NF-kappaB as observed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In an attempt to reverse NF-kappaB activity, cells were treated either with vehicle alone (DMSO) or with a proteasome inhibitor Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-H (MG132; 10 micromol/L for 2 hours prior to irradiation) that inhibited both constitutive and radiation-induced NF-kappaB activity. The clonogenic cell survival assay showed that pretreatment with MG132 enhanced tumor cell radiosensitivity with the survival factor at 2 Gy being reduced from 48 +/- 0.8% and 48 +/- 1.6% in vehicle-treated cells to 27.7 +/- 0.32% and 34.3 +/- 0.7% in MG132-treated MeWo and A375 cells, respectively. To test the role of NF-kappaB in radioresistance more directly, MeWo cells were stably transfected with a dominant-negative mutant IkappaBalpha construct, which led to the inhibition of both constitutive and radiation-induced NF-kappaB activity. A modest restoration of radiosensitivity was also observed in the stably transfected MeWo cells with survival factor at 2 Gy values being reduced from 47 +/- 0.8% in parental MeWo cells to 32.9 +/- 0.7% in stable transfectants. Because constitutively activated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) pathway has been shown to lead to activated NF-kappaB, we wanted to determine the relative contribution of activated MEK in the human melanoma cells. To test this, MeWo and A375 melanoma cells were exposed to the MEK inhibitor PD184352. Treatment with PD184352 partially reversed NF-kappaB activity but did not impart radiation sensitivity to these cells. Our results indicate that activated NF-kappaB may be one of the pathways responsible for the radioresistance of melanoma cells and that strategies for inhibiting its influence may be useful in restoring the radioresponse of melanomas.

Benzamides↗

PubMed2003

Translation inhibitors sensitize prostate cancer cells to apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) by activating c-Jun N-terminal kinase.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in several human tumors both in vitro and in vivo, however, some tumors remain resistant for poorly understood reasons. Using a quantitative DNA fragmentation assay for apoptosis, we have shown that human prostate cancer cells are resistant to a wide range of TRAIL doses up to 500 ng/ml. However, translation inhibitors, such as anisomycin, cycloheximide, emetine, harringtonine, and puromycin, unlike several transcription inhibitors, significantly sensitized PC3-neomycin (PC3-neo) cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. These effects were inhibited in PC3 cells engineered to express bcl2 (PC3-bcl2). Translation inhibitors led to activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), which plays a role in this sensitization process because inhibition of JNK activation resulted in protection against TRAIL plus translation inhibitor-induced apoptosis. JNK activation may be required for this process, but it is not sufficient because activation of JNK using an MEKK2 expression vector did not mimic the sensitizing effect of translation inhibitors. Other stress-activated protein kinases, such as ERK and p38, play an insignificant role in determining the apoptotic sensitivity. We conclude that activation of JNK is required for sensitization of PC3 cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by translation inhibitors in cells that are otherwise TRAIL-resistant. However, in addition to JNK activation, other aspects of translation inhibition such as the suppressed activity of apoptosis-inhibitory proteins or activation of other signal transduction pathways must also be involved.

Activating Transcription Factor 2↗

PubMed2003

Adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 radiosensitizes human tumor cells by suppressing DNA repair capacity.

Functional inactivation of the p53 gene and robust DNA repair capacity may be among the salient causes of radioresistance in tumor cells. We expressed the wild-type (wt) p53 gene in a p53-mutant human epidermoid carcinoma cell line, A431, using an adenoviral vector [adenovirus-p53 (Ad-p53), INGN 201], examined its radiosensitivity, and correlated p53 status and radiosensitivity with cellular repair functions. Using clonogenic survival assays and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling assay for apoptosis, we demonstrated that preirradiation treatment with Ad-p53 significantly increased the radiosensitivity of A431 cells over controls. Induction of p53 expression using a construct where p53 expression was under the control of an inducible promoter also significantly increased radiosensitivity of H1299 lung tumor cells, which are otherwise null for p53. These results did not correlate with radiation-induced apoptosis but did correlate with functional impairment of DNA repair and suppressed expression of several repair-related genes, such as Ku70, DNA-dependent protein kinase, ataxia telangiectasia mutated, and X-ray-sensitive complementation group 4. Normal human fibroblast MRC-9 cells showed no impairment in the repair capability due to Ad-p53 despite the suppression of some repair genes. Expression of Ku70, which is known to mediate diverse cellular functions, correlated with the differential effects of p53 on radiosensitivity in the normal and tumor cells.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2002

Adenovirus-mediated mda-7 gene expression radiosensitizes non-small cell lung cancer cells via TP53-independent mechanisms.

We examined the ability of adenoviral-mediated expression of the melanoma differentiation associated gene-7 (Ad-mda-7), to radiosensitize non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (A549 (wt-TP53/wt-RB1) and H1299 (del-TP53/wt-RB1)), and normal human lung fibroblast (NHLF) lines (CCD-16 and MRC-9). Results of clonogenic assays indicated that Ad-mda7 enhanced the radiosensitivity of the NSCLC cells independent of their TP53 gene status. On the other hand, the NHLF cell lines seemed to be relatively resistant to the cytotoxic effects of Ad-mda7 and were not radiosensitized compared with the NSCLC cells. We further examined the basis for this difference in the ability of Ad-mda7 to radiosensitize NSCLC cells compared with normal cells. Radiation-induced apoptosis was restored in the NSCLC lines, but not in the normal lines. Western blot analysis revealed that Ad-mda7 enhances radiosensitivity independently of any ability to upregulate the expression of Fas or Bax in NSCLC cells. Further analysis indicated that phosphorylated c-Jun expression was increased by Ad-mda7 in both A549 and H1299 cells, but not in CCD-16 cells. These results support the use of gene replacement with Ad-mda7 in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of NSCLC.

Adenoviridae↗