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1 Paterson Institute for Cancer Research and Christie Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom; 2 Cancer Research United Kingdom Beatson Laboratories, Glasgow University, Glasgow, United Kingdom ; and 3 University Chemical Laboratory, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Requests for Reprints:Geoffrey P. Margison, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M204BX, United Kingdom.
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR) is a pyrimidine analogue that has been extensively studied since its synthesis in 1964 (7). In the cell, 5-aza-CdR is phosphorylated by deoxycytidine kinase, then rapidly converted to the triphosphate, 5-aza-dCTP, by other kinases. 5-aza-CTP is a substrate for DNA polymerase
and is incorporated into DNA. The presence of 5-aza-CdR in DNA results in the inactivation of DNA cytosine methyltransferase by the irreversible formation of a covalent bond between this enzyme and the analogue (8). The inhibition of DNA methylation using 5-aza-CdR became a research focus when some reports suggested that such analogues could reactivate previously silenced DNA repair genes in mammalian cells (9, 10). More recently, it has been observed that resistance to Temozolomide (and a variety of other clinically important cytotoxic drugs) in ovarian and colon tumor xenografts could be reversed by 5-aza-CdR, which induces demethylation of the hMLH1 promoter and therefore restoration of a functional MMR (11).
O6-meG DNA adducts can be repaired by the DNA repair protein O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase (MGMT). MGMT removes adducts from the O6 position of guanine by accepting them onto a cysteine residue within its active site. The protective role of MGMT against the cytotoxic effect of Temozolomide has been shown in human cell lines and human xenograft models (12). Fibroblasts and bone marrow cells of MGMT knockout mice are more sensitive to Temozolomide (13) and the important role played by both MGMT and MMR (hMLH1) in the cytotoxic effect of alkylating agents has been confirmed in a double knockout mouse model (14).
MGMT can be successfully inactivated by free guanine base derivatives, with alkyl groups at the O6 position, which act as "pseudosubstrates." O6-benzylguanine (15) and O6-(4-bromothenyl)guanine (PaTrin-2) (16) have been identified as the most promising MGMT inactivators. Compared to Temozolomide used as a single agent, the combination PaTrin-2/Temozolomide has been shown to significantly increase tumor growth inhibition in human melanoma xenografts (17); PaTrin-2 and O6-benzylguanine have recently entered phase II clinical trials (12).
Given the role of MMR in O6-meG toxicity, MGMT inactivators would not be expected to be effective in increasing the killing effects of Temozolomide in MMR defective cells. Conversely, MMR reactivation by 5-aza-CdR might not significantly increase killing in a cell that was MGMT proficient. We therefore set out to examine if reactivation of MMR in a silenced but MGMT proficient cell line would increase the toxicity of Temozolomide more extensively if combined with an MGMT inactivator.
A2780-Cp70 is a human ovarian tumor cell line which lacks functional MMR, compared to the parental cell line A2780, because of hMLH1 gene silencing by promoter methylation (18). It has been observed that the sensitivity of A2780-Cp70 xenografts to the cytotoxic effect of Temozolomide can be increased by 5-aza-CdR (11). We now show that MGMT, which is expressed in both cell lines, can be successfully depleted by PaTrin-2, and that the hMLH1 gene is re-expressed in the A2780-Cp70 cell line following exposure to 5-aza-CdR. Furthermore, we demonstrate that by combining 5-aza-CdR with PaTrin-2, a further sensitization of the A2780-Cp70 cell line to the cytotoxic effect of Temozolomide can be achieved.
| Materials and Methods |
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A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells were screened on a weekly basis throughout the experiment for Mycoplasma by PCR (VenorGeM, Cambridge, United Kingdom, PCR-Mycoplasma Detection Kit; protocol detailed in the user manual, pp. 912) and always proved to be contamination-free.
MGMT Assay
The preparation of cell extracts for MGMT assay, the MGMT assay itself, and protein estimations were performed following the protocols described by McElhinney et al. (16). Briefly, the MGMT assay involved measuring [3H]methyl group transfer to MGMT protein: high specific radioactivity [3H]-methylated DNA substrate was incubated with extract under protein-limiting conditions until the transfer reaction was complete. Excess substrate DNA was hydrolyzed to acid solubility and radioactivity in the residual protein was measured by liquid scintillation counting.
Depletion of MGMT by PaTrin-2
The MGMT activity of A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells and the ability of PaTrin-2 to deplete this activity were initially determined. On day 1, equal number (2 x 106) of A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells were seeded in a series of T75 flasks containing 10 ml of RPMI 1640, supplemented with 10% FCS and 200 mM L-glutamine, and 10 µM PaTrin-2. After 2, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h, cells were rinsed twice with 10 ml EDTA (200 mg/l H2O; Sigma), then harvested for MGMT assay. On day 5, the medium was changed to one not containing PaTrin-2. Cells were harvested for MGMT assay on days 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Effect of 5-Aza-CdR on hMLH1 Expression in A2780-Cp70
Equal number (0.5 x 106) of A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells were seeded in T75 flasks containing 10 ml of RPMI 1640, supplemented with 10% FCS and 200 mM L-glutamine on day 1. On day 2, the medium was changed to one containing 10 µM 5-aza-CdR (Sigma), or the equivalent concentration of the vehicle (0.16 mM acetic acid) as negative control. On day 12, the culture medium was removed from the flasks containing vehicle-treated or 5-aza-CdR-treated A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells. Cells were rinsed twice with 10 ml EDTA, trypsinized (Sigma) and removed from the culture flasks on dilution with 10 volumes of medium. The resulting cell suspension was centrifuged at 150 x g for 5 min and the pellet was then washed once in culture medium to remove excess trypsin and recentrifuged. Culture medium was removed from the final pellet and cells were fixed by the addition of 70% ethanol, and left overnight at room temperature. Ethanol was then removed, the samples were embedded in paraffin wax, and 4-µM sections were cut and mounted on slides.
Immunocytochemistry
Fixed cells were immunostained for hMLH1 using an immunoperoxidase procedure as previously described (19). Briefly, monoclonal antibodies against human hMLH1 (BD PharMingen, Franklin Lakes, NJ) were used as the primary antibody. The secondary antibody was a biotinylated rabbit anti-mouse (DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark), which was then followed by streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase incubation (StreptABComplex/horseradish peroxidase; DAKO). Finally, the samples were counterstained with haematoxylin, dehydrated, and mounted.
Cell Growth Assays
MTT Assay. Cells were seeded in T75 flasks and treated with 5-aza-CdR or its vehicle as described above. On day 12, an equal number (500) of vehicle-treated or 5-aza-CdR-treated A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells were seeded in 96-well plates (Falcon), with 100 µl of medium containing 10 µM PaTrin-2 or the equivalent concentration of the vehicle (0.05% DMSO; Sigma) as negative control. On day 13, 100 µl of medium containing Temozolomide at increasing concentrations (0100 µg/ml of DMSO) were added to each well. On day 19 (or when cells were subconfluent), 50 µl of MTT (3 mg/ml H2O, Sigma) were added to the cells, and incubated at 37°C for 3 h. Each well was then emptied. Two hundred microliters of DMSO were added to each well, and after 10 min, the plates were read at 540 and 690 nm on a multiscan plate reader.
Clonogenic Assay. Cells were seeded in T75 flasks and treated with 5-aza-CdR or its vehicle as described above. On day 12, an equal number (8 x 104) of vehicle-treated or 5-aza-CdR-treated A2780 and A2780-Cp70 cells were seeded in T25 flasks (Falcon), with 5 ml of medium containing 10 µM PaTrin-2 or the equivalent concentration of the vehicle as negative control. On day 14, the medium was replaced by one containing 10 µM PaTrin-2 or the equivalent concentration of the vehicle, and Temozolomide at increasing concentrations (0100 µg/ml of DMSO). On day 16, cells were rinsed twice with 10 ml EDTA, harvested, and counted. Equal number (103) of cells were seeded in Petri dishes (Falcon) (three dishes per experiment, i.e., 196 dishes in total) with 5 ml of medium (no drug addition). On day 23, the medium was removed and 5 ml of gentian violet [10% (w/v) methyl violet 2B (Sigma-Aldrich Co. Ltd., Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom) in 70% ethanol (Prolabo, Manchester, United Kingdom)] was added to each dish for 5 min (cell staining). The dye was then poured off, the dish rinsed with tap water, and the colonies counted after the dishes were inverted and allowed to dry.
Statistical Analysis
In each experiment, and for each concentration of Temozolomide, a series of nine absorbance data measurements (MTT assay) or cell colonies count (clonogenic assay) was obtained. The mean was taken and expressed as a percentage of the appropriate control. Each set of experimental data was compared using Student's t test.
| Results |
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| Discussion |
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It therefore appears that this combination of agents may be appropriate for clinical studies specifically of tumors with promoter methylation-mediated down-regulation of MMR and expressing MGMT. Both of these conditions could be determined in biopsies of the tumors, so that patients with the most appropriate tumors could be preselected. However, another question to be addressed when considering the use of combined therapies in clinical trials is the additional toxicity. PaTrin-2 depletes ATase not only in tumors, but also in other tissues such as the bone marrow. The cytotoxic effect of Temozolomide, combined with PaTrin-2, is therefore enhanced in tumors, but myelosuppression is also increased, forcing a modest reduction of the dose of the alkylating agent, although some strategies are now being implemented to protect the bone marrow (20). The cytotoxic effect of 5-aza-CdR has been used in the treatment of acute myeloid (non lymphoblastic) leukaemia (21), with myelosuppression as a major side effect. However, the reactivation of previously silenced genes by 5-aza-CdR requires a significantly lower dose of the drug. Myelosuppression caused by 5-aza-CdR is therefore expected to be minimal at doses that induce demethylation: clinical trials with appropriate pharmacodynamic measures of DNA demethylation will be necessary to confirm this possibility. In addition, because normal tissues are MMR proficient, 5-aza-CdR might not be expected to influence MMR-mediated cell killing by Temozolomide. The additional therapeutic benefit of PaTrin-2 in combination with 5-aza-CdR may thus be very substantial.
In summary, we show that a significant enhancement of sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of Temozolomide can be achieved by combining the action of an MGMT inactivator and a demethylating agent in the A2780-Cp70 ovarian tumor cell line. This opens the possibility of further experiments involving xenograft models and future clinical trials.
| Footnotes |
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received 4/30/03; revised 10/30/03; accepted 11/ 3/03.
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