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V E Steele

Publications and source records attributed to V E Steele.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluation of chemopreventive agents in different mechanistic classes using a rat tracheal epithelial cell culture transformation assay.

The rat tracheal epithelial (RTE) cell focus inhibition assay was used to identify potential chemopreventive agents. Ninety-nine agents were evaluated for their ability to inhibit benzo[a]pyrene-induced transformation of RTE cells. Freshly isolated RTE cells were exposed to benzo[a]pyrene alone or in combination with a chemopreventive agent. After 30 days in culture, transformed foci were scored and inhibition was quantitated. In these studies, foci formation was inhibited mainly by agents which modulate the initiation of carcinogenesis by altering drug-metabolizing enzymes, inhibiting the binding of benzo[a]pyrene to DNA, enhancing detoxification of activated carcinogens, or by inducing epithelial cell differentiation. Such agents include antioxidants, free radical scavengers, glutathione S-transferase enhancers, vitamins, retinoids, and sulfhydryl compounds. Agents which inhibit ornithine decarboxylase and arachidonic acid metabolism were not as effective. The RTE assay provides important data for agent selection prior to whole animal-screening assays in the development of chemoprevention drugs.

Animals

K-ras mutations in lung tumors from A/J and A/J x TSG-p53 F1 mice treated with 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone and phenethyl isothiocyanate.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the loss of a p53 allele and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) pre-treatment on the tumorigenicity of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and K-ras mutation frequency in a hybrid mouse model. Male TSG-p53 'knock-out' mice were bred with A/J female mice to produce (A/J x TSG-p53) F1 mice either homozygous (p53+/+) or heterozygous (p53+/-) for p53 alleles. These mice, together with female A/J mice, were treated at 6-8 weeks of age with NNK or dosed with PEITC prior to administration of NNK. The A/J mice treated with NNK had a 100% incidence of lung tumors, with 9.7 +/- 3.4 tumors/mouse. A/J mice pre-treated with PEITC prior to NNK administration had 3.5 +/- 2.1 lung tumors/animal, although the incidence remained at 100%. In (A/J x TSG-p53) F1 mice with either the p53(+/-) or p53(+/+) genotype PEITC pre-treatment significantly decreased tumor incidence (100 to 40 and 36%, respectively) and multiplicity (2.0 +/- 0.5 to 0.5 +/- 0.4 and 2.1 +/- 0.5 to 0.5 +/- 0.4, respectively), indicating that PEITC is an effective chemopreventive agent in both A/J mice and (A/J x TSG-p53) F1 mice. Analysis of lung tumor DNA from A/J mice treated with NNK or NNK/PEITC indicated that 15 of 17 (88%) and 20 of 23 (87%) of the tumors, respectively, contained G-->A transitions at the second base of codon 12 in the K-ras gene. Similarly, in lung tumors from (A/J x TSG-p53) F1 mice treated with NNK or NNK/PEITC 29 of 30 (96%) and 9 of 10 (90%), respectively contained G-->A transitions at the second base of codon 12 of the K-ras gene. No mutations of the p53 gene were found in any of the tumors analyzed, suggesting minimal involvement of this gene in the development of lung adenomas. These data indicate that absence of a p53 allele in (A/J x TSG-p53) F1 mice does not alter the incidence or multiplicity of NNK-induced lung tumors and that PEITC inhibition of NNK tumorigenesis does not affect the frequency or spectrum of K-ras gene mutations found consistently with NNK carcinogenesis.

Animals

Cancer chemoprevention agent development strategies for genistein.

Cancer chemoprevention refers to the reduction of cancer incidence by administration of agents or drugs that inhibit, reverse or retard the cancer process. Genistein has demonstrated a wide variety of biological activities that make it a good candidate for a chemopreventive agent. Many agents, such as genistein, are currently being tested with the goal of developing safe and effective chemopreventive drugs for human use. Genistein was investigated as a potential chemopreventive agent in an azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis model. Genistein was tested for its ability to inhibit aberrant colon crypts in the colon of F344 rats that had been treated with azoxymethane. Genistein was administered in the diet from 1 wk before the carcinogen to 4 wk after the first carcinogen dose for a total of 5 wk. At both doses, 75 and 150 mg/kg, the mean number of foci per colon was significantly reduced. Further development of this agent includes demonstration of the preventive efficacy in an in vivo tumorigenesis model, followed by preclinical pharmacology and toxicology testing. Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical chemoprevention trials would be then performed to determine pharmacokinetics, safe doses, and effectiveness for New Drug Approval.

Animals

Screening of potential chemopreventive agents using biochemical markers of carcinogenesis.

Ninety potential chemopreventive agents were screened using 6 chemoprevention-associated biochemical end points. These compounds were tested using rodent (tracheal epithelial or liver) cells and human cells [neonatal foreskin fibroblasts, bronchial epithelial cells, or human leukemic cells (HL-60)]. The effects measured were: (a) inhibition of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced tyrosine kinase activity in HL-60 cells; (b) inhibition of TPA-induced ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in rat tracheal epithelial cells; (c) inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase in propane sultone-treated primary human fibroblasts; (d) inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene(B[a]P)-DNA binding in human bronchial epithelial cells; (e) induction of reduced glutathione in Buffalo rat liver cells; and (f) inhibition of TPA-induced free radical formation in primary human fibroblasts or HL-60 cells. Fifty compounds were highly effective in inhibiting TPA-induced tyrosine kinase activity. This assay identified compounds from a wide variety of chemical classes as effective inhibitors, including all the vitamins, retinoic acid analogues, protein kinase C inhibitors, and chemicals belonging to the amino acid category. Fifty-two chemicals were classified as highly positive compounds when examined for their ability to inhibit TPA-induced ODC activity. These agents showed a dose-dependent inhibition or inhibition at all doses. Retinoids, in general, exhibited strong inhibition of ODC activity. A category of compounds showing dose-dependent inhibition were the sulfur compounds, especially the thiols and thiones. Among the natural products, terpenes were strong inhibitors of ODC. Forty-seven compounds were classified as strong inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase. In the carcinogen-DNA binding inhibition assay, 21 compounds were identified as strong inhibitors, which include phenolic compounds as well as sulfur compounds. Vitamins and their analogues were also good inhibitors. Testing for induced glutathione yielded 19 compounds that were good inducers. Sulfur-containing compounds and most of the phenolic compounds were also inducers of glutathione. Twenty compounds were highly positive for inhibition of TPA-induced free radical formation. A significant number of phenolic and sulfur compounds were again strong oxygen radical scavengers. Some antiinflammatory agents were also identified as free radical inhibitors. In general, retinoids were quite active in all the assays. Eight compounds were positive in all of the six assays; these were vitamin C (ascorbic acid), bismuththiol, esculetin, etoperidone, folic acid, hydrocortisone, indole-3-carbinol, and tocopherol succinate. Agents that were positive in these assays may inhibit the carcinogenesis process by similar mechanisms in humans and are identified as candidates for development as chemopreventive agents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals

Mechanistic considerations in chemopreventive drug development.

This overview of the potential mechanisms of chemopreventive activity will provide the conceptual groundwork for chemopreventive drug discovery, leading to structure-activity and mechanistic studies that identify and evaluate new agents. Possible mechanisms of chemopreventive activity with examples of promising agents include carcinogen blocking activities such as inhibition of carcinogen uptake (calcium), inhibition of formation or activation of carcinogen (arylalkyl isothiocyanates, DHEA, NSAIDs, polyphenols), deactivation or detoxification of carcinogen (oltipraz, other GSH-enhancing agents), preventing carcinogen binding to DNA (oltipraz, polyphenols), and enhancing the level or fidelity of DNA repair (NAC, protease inhibitors). Chemopreventive antioxidant activities include scavenging reactive electrophiles (GSH-enhancing agents), scavenging oxygen radicals (polyphenols, vitamin E), and inhibiting arachidonic acid metabolism (glycyrrhetinic acid, NAC, NSAIDs, polyphenols, tamoxifen). Antiproliferation/antiprogression activities include modulation of signal transduction (glycyrrhetinic acid, NSAIDs, polyphenols, retinoids, tamoxifen), modulation of hormonal and growth factor activity (NSAIDs, retinoids, tamoxifen), inhibition of aberrant oncogene activity (genistein, NSAIDs, monoterpenes), inhibition of polyamine metabolism (DFMO, retinoids, tamoxifen), induction of terminal differentiation (calcium, retinoids, vitamin D3), restoration of immune response (NSAIDs, selenium, vitamin E), enhancing intercellular communication (carotenoids, retinoids), restoration of tumor suppressor function, induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis) (butyric acid, genistein, retinoids, tamoxifen), correction of DNA methylation imbalances (folic acid), inhibition of angiogenesis (genistein, retinoids, tamoxifen), inhibition of basement membrane degradation (protease inhibitors), and activation of antimetastasis genes. A systematic drug development program for chemopreventive agents is only possible with continuing research into mechanisms of action and thoughtful application of the mechanisms to new drug design and discovery. One approach is to construct pharmacological activity profiles for promising agents. These profiles are compared among the promising agents and with untested compounds to identify similarities. Classical structure-activity studies are used to find optimal agents (high efficacy with low toxicity) based on good lead agents. Studies evaluating tissue-specific and pharmacokinetic parameters are very important. A final approach is design of mechanism-based assays and identification of mechanism-based intermediate biomarkers for evaluation of chemopreventive efficacy.

Animals

Preclinical efficacy evaluation of potential chemopreventive agents in animal carcinogenesis models: methods and results from the NCI Chemoprevention Drug Development Program.

In the NCI, Chemoprevention Branch drug development program, potential chemopreventive agents are evaluated for efficacy against chemical carcinogen-induced tumors in animal models. This paper summarizes the results of 144 agents in 352 tests using various animal efficacy models. Of these results, 146 were positive, representing 85 different agents. The target organs selected for the animals model are representative of high-incidence human cancers. The assays include inhibition of tumors induced by MNU in hamster trachea, DEN in hamster lung, AOM in rat colon (including inhibition of AOM-induced aberrant crypts), MAM in mouse colon, DMBA and MNU in rat mammary glands, DMBA promoted by TPA in mouse skin, and OH-BBN in mouse bladder. The agents tested may be classified into various pharmacological and chemical structural categories that are relevant to their chemopreventive potential. These categories include antiestrogens, antiinflammatories (e.g., NSAIDs), antioxidants, arachidonic acid metabolism inhibitors, GST and GSH enhancers, ODC inhibitors, protein kinase C inhibitors, retinoids and carotenoids, organosulfur compounds, calcium compounds, vitamin D3 and analogs, and phenolic compounds (e.g., flavonoids). The various categories of compounds have different spectra of efficacy in animal models. In hamster lung, GSH-enhancing agents and antioxidants appear to have high potential for inhibiting carcinogenesis. In the colon, NSAIDs and other antiinflammatory agents appear particularly promising. Likewise, NSAIDs are very active in mouse bladder. In rat mammary glands, retinoids and antiestrogens (as would be expected) are efficacious. Several of the chemicals evaluated also appear to be promising chemopreventive agents based on their activity in several of the animal models. Particularly, the ODC inhibitor DFMO was active in the colon, mammary glands, and bladder models, while the dithiolthione, oltipraz, was efficacious in all the models listed above (i.e., lung, colon, mammary glands, skin, and bladder).

Animals

Strategy and planning for chemopreventive drug development: clinical development plans. Chemoprevention Branch and Agent Development Committee. National Cancer Institute.

At the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, the Chemoprevention Branch and Agent Development Committee develop strategies for efficiently identifying, procuring, and advancing the most promising drugs into clinical trials. Scientific expertise is applied at each phase of development to critically review the testing methods and results, and to establish and apply criteria for evaluating the agents for further development. The Clinical Development Plan, prepared by the Chemoprevention Branch and the Agent Development Committee, is a summary of the status of the agent regarding evidence for safety and chemopreventive efficacy in preclinical and clinical studies. It also contains the strategy for further development of the drug that addresses pharmacodynamics, drug effect measurements, intermediate biomarkers for monitoring efficacy, toxicity, supply and formulation, regulatory approval, and proposed clinical trials. Sixteen Clinical Development Plans are presented here: N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), aspirin, calcium, beta-carotene, 2-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), DHEA analog 8354, 18 beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR), ibuprofen, oltipraz, piroxicam, Proscar, sulindac, tamoxifen, vitamin D3 and analogs, and vitamin E. The objective of publishing these plans is to stimulate interest and thinking among the scientific community on the prospects for developing chemopreventive drugs.

Clinical Trials as Topic

Chemopreventive effects of the aromatase inhibitors vorozole (R-83842) and 4-hydroxyandrostenedione in the methylnitrosourea (MNU)-induced mammary tumor model in Sprague-Dawley rats.

The chemopreventive activity of the aromatase inhibitors vorozole and 4-hydroxyandrostenedione were determined in the methylnitrosourea (MNU)-induced model of rat mammary tumorigenesis. Vorozole (5 and 2.5 mg/kg body wt) and 4-hydroxyandrostenedione (15 and 6 mg/rat) were administered daily (by gavage) to virgin female Sprague-Dawley rats starting at an age of 43 days. Seven days later animals were given a single dose of MNU. Following treatment with MNU, animals continued to be treated with vorozole and 4-hydroxyandrostenedione daily until the end of the experiment (100 days post MNU treatment). Vorozole at either dose proved to be a profound inhibitor of MNU-induced mammary tumors. Vorozole decreased tumor incidence from 100% to 10%, while simultaneously decreasing tumor multiplicity from 5 tumors per animal to 0.1 tumors per animal. This chemopreventive effect was accompanied by significant increases in body weight gain in the animals treated with vorozole when compared with control rats. In contrast, neither dose of 4-hydroxyandrostenedione had any effect on tumor incidence and only the higher dose slightly decreased tumor multiplicity.

Adenocarcinoma