Decrease In Phosphocholine Research Articles

VEGF Overexpression Significantly Increases Nanoparticle-Mediated siRNA Delivery and Target-Gene Downregulation.

The availability of nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) has significantly expanded the specificity and range of ‘druggable’ targets for precision medicine in cancer. This is especially important for cancers such as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) for which there are no targeted treatments. Our purpose here was to understand the role of tumor vasculature and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression in a TNBC xenograft in improving the delivery and function of siRNA NPs using in vivo as well as ex vivo imaging. We used triple negative MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer xenografts derived from cells engineered to overexpress VEGF to understand the role of VEGF and vascularization in NP delivery and function. We used polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated polyethylenimine (PEI) NPs to deliver siRNA that downregulates choline kinase alpha (Chkα), an enzyme that is associated with malignant transformation and tumor progression. Because Chkα converts choline to phosphocholine, effective delivery of Chkα siRNA NPs resulted in functional changes of a significant decrease in phosphocholine and total choline that was detected with 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). We observed a significant increase in NP delivery and a significant decrease in Chkα and phosphocholine in VEGF overexpressing xenografts. Our results demonstrated the importance of tumor vascularization in achieving effective siRNA delivery and downregulation of the target gene Chkα and its function.

Integration of MRI and MRS approaches to monitor molecular imaging and metabolomic effects of trabectedin on a preclinical ovarian cancer model.

Although several drugs are available to treat recurrences of human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), clinical responses often remain short lived and lead to only marginal improvements in patients' survival. One of the new drugs proposed for recurrent platinum-resistant EOC patients is trabectedin (Trab), a marine-derived antitumor agent initially isolated from the tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata and currently produced synthetically. Predictive biomarkers of therapy response to this drug and the potential use of non-invasive functional MRI and MRS approaches for an early assessment of Trab efficacy have not yet been evaluated, although they might be relevant for improving the clinical management of EOC patients. In the present work we combined functional and spectroscopic magnetic resonance technologies, such as in vivo diffusion-weighted MRI and 1 H MRS, with ex vivo high resolution MRS (HR-MRS) metabolomic analyses, with the aim of identifying new pharmacodynamic markers of Trab effectiveness on well characterized, highly aggressive human SKOV3.ip (a HER2-enriched cell variant derived from SKOV3 cells) EOC xenografts. In vivo treatment with Trab (three consecutive weekly 0.2mg/kg i.v. injections) resulted in the following: (1) a significant reduction of in vivo tumor growth, along with the formation in cancer lesions of diffuse hyper-intense areas detected by T2 -weighted MRI and attributed to necrosis, in agreement with histopathology findings; (2) significant increases in the apparent diffusion coefficient mean and median values versus saline-treated control tumors; and (3) a significant reduction in the choline-containing metabolites' signal detected by quantitative in vivo MRS. Multivariate and quantitative HR-MRS analyses on ex vivo tissue samples revealed Trab-induced alterations in phospholipid and glucose metabolism identified as a decrease in phosphocholine and an increase in lactate. Collectively, these data identify Trab-induced functional MRI and MRS alterations in EOC models as a possible basis for further developments of these non-invasive imaging methods to improve the clinical management of EOC patients.

Lactate and choline metabolites detected in vitro by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are potential metabolic biomarkers for PI3K inhibition in pediatric glioblastoma.

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is believed to be of key importance in pediatric glioblastoma. Novel inhibitors of the PI3K pathway are being developed and are entering clinical trials. Our aim is to identify potential non-invasive biomarkers of PI3K signaling pathway inhibition in pediatric glioblastoma using in vitro nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, to aid identification of target inhibition and therapeutic response in early phase clinical trials of PI3K inhibitors in childhood cancer. Treatment of SF188 and KNS42 human pediatric glioblastoma cell lines with the dual pan-Class I PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PI-103, inhibited the PI3K signaling pathway and resulted in a decrease in phosphocholine (PC), total choline (tCho) and lactate levels (p<0.02) as detected by phosphorus (31P)- and proton (1H)-NMR. Similar changes were also detected using the pan–Class I PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 which lacks significant mTOR activity and is entering Phase II clinical trials. In contrast, the DNA damaging agent temozolomide (TMZ), which is used as current frontline therapy in the treatment of glioblastoma postoperatively (in combination with radiotherapy), increased PC, glycerophosphocholine (GPC) and tCho levels (p<0.04). PI-103-induced NMR changes were associated with alterations in protein expression levels of regulatory enzymes involved in glucose and choline metabolism including GLUT1, HK2, LDHA and CHKA. Our results show that by using NMR we can detect distinct biomarkers following PI3K pathway inhibition compared to treatment with the DNA-damaging anti-cancer agent TMZ. This is the first study reporting that lactate and choline metabolites are potential non-invasive biomarkers for monitoring response to PI3K pathway inhibitors in pediatric glioblastoma.

Noninvasive imaging identifies new roles for cyclooxygenase‐2 in choline and lipid metabolism of human breast cancer cells

The expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is observed in approximately 40% of breast cancers. A major product of the COX-2-catalyzed reaction, prostaglandin E(2), is an inflammatory mediator that participates in several biological processes, and influences invasion, vascularization and metastasis. Using noninvasive MRI and MRS, we determined the effect of COX-2 downregulation on the metabolism and invasion of intact poorly differentiated MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells stably expressing COX-2 short hairpin RNA. Dynamic tracking of invasion, extracellular matrix degradation and metabolism was performed with an MRI- and MRS-compatible cell perfusion assay under controlled conditions of pH, temperature and oxygenation over the course of 48 h. COX-2-silenced cells exhibited a significant decrease in invasion relative to parental cells that was consistent with the reduced expression of invasion-associated matrix metalloproteinase genes and an increased level of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1. We identified, for the first time, a role for COX-2 in mediating changes in choline phospholipid metabolism, and established that choline kinase expression is partly dependent on COX-2 function. COX-2 silencing resulted in a significant decrease in phosphocholine and total choline that was detected by MRS. In addition, a significant increase in lipids, as well as lipid droplet formation, was observed. COX-2 silencing transformed parental cell metabolite patterns to those characteristic of less aggressive cancer cells. These new functional roles of COX-2 may identify new biomarkers and new targets for use in combination with COX-2 targeting to prevent invasion and metastasis.

Preclinical study of treatment response in HCT‐116 cells and xenografts with 1H‐decoupled 31P MRS

The topoisomerase I inhibitor, irinotecan, and its active metabolite SN-38 have been shown to induce G(2) /M cell cycle arrest without significant cell death in human colon carcinoma cells (HCT-116). Subsequent treatment of these G(2) /M-arrested cells with the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, flavopiridol, induced these cells to undergo apoptosis. The goal of this study was to develop a noninvasive metabolic biomarker for early tumor response and target inhibition of irinotecan followed by flavopiridol treatment in a longitudinal study. A total of eleven mice bearing HCT-116 xenografts were separated into two cohorts where one cohort was administered saline and the other treated with a sequential course of irinotecan followed by flavopiridol. Each mouse xenograft was longitudinally monitored with proton ((1) H)-decoupled phosphorus ((31) P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) before and after treatment. A statistically significant decrease in phosphocholine (p = 0.0004) and inorganic phosphate (p = 0.0103) levels were observed in HCT-116 xenografts following treatment, which were evidenced within twenty-four hours of treatment completion. Also, a significant growth delay was found in treated xenografts. To discern the underlying mechanism for the treatment response of the xenografts, in vitro HCT-116 cell cultures were investigated with enzymatic assays, cell cycle analysis, and apoptotic assays. Flavopiridol had a direct effect on choline kinase as measured by a 67% reduction in the phosphorylation of choline to phosphocholine. Cells treated with SN-38 alone underwent 83 ± 5% G(2) /M cell cycle arrest compared to untreated cells. In cells, flavopiridol alone induced 5 ± 1% apoptosis while the sequential treatment (SN-38 then flavopiridol) resulted in 39 ± 10% apoptosis. In vivo (1) H-decoupled (31) P MRS indirectly measures choline kinase activity. The decrease in phosphocholine may be a potential indicator of early tumor response to the sequential treatment of irinotecan followed by flavopiridol in noninvasive and/or longitudinal studies.

The Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Inhibitor PI-103 Downregulates Choline Kinase α Leading to Phosphocholine and Total Choline Decrease Detected by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is a major target for cancer drug development. PI-103 is an isoform-selective class I PI3K and mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor. The aims of this work were as follows: first, to use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to identify and develop a robust pharmacodynamic (PD) biomarker for target inhibition and potentially tumor response following PI3K inhibition; second, to evaluate mechanisms underlying the MRS-detected changes. Treatment of human PTEN null PC3 prostate and PIK3CA mutant HCT116 colon carcinoma cells with PI-103 resulted in a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in phosphocholine (PC) and total choline (tCho) levels (P < 0.05) detected by phosphorus ((31)P)- and proton ((1)H)-MRS. In contrast, the cytotoxic microtubule inhibitor docetaxel increased glycerophosphocholine and tCho levels in PC3 cells. PI-103-induced MRS changes were associated with alterations in the protein expression levels of regulatory enzymes involved in lipid metabolism, including choline kinase alpha (ChoK(alpha)), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and phosphorylated ATP-citrate lyase (pACL). However, a strong correlation (r(2) = 0.9, P = 0.009) was found only between PC concentrations and ChoK(alpha) expression but not with FAS or pACL. This study identified inhibition of ChoK(alpha) as a major cause of the observed change in PC levels following PI-103 treatment. We also showed the capacity of (1)H-MRS, a clinically well-established technique with higher sensitivity and wider applicability compared with (31)P-MRS, to assess response to PI-103. Our results show that monitoring the effects of PI3K inhibitors by MRS may provide a noninvasive PD biomarker for PI3K inhibition and potentially of tumor response during early-stage clinical trials with PI3K inhibitors.

Abstract A72: Assessment of pyuvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibition by dichloroacetate in human colon carcinoma cells by dynamic hyperpolarized 13C MRS and steady state 1H MRS

Abstract Dichloroacetate (DCA) is an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), which causes the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase and increases glucose oxidation by promoting the influx of acetyl-CoA into the mitochondria and the Krebs cycle [1]. The aim of this work was to use hyperpolarised 1-13C pyruvate 13C-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and conventional 1H MRS to measure lactate formation/production in real-time and in steady state, respectively, in order to study the mechanism of action of DCA and to develop a non-invasive biomarker for response following PDK inhibition. Inhibition of PDK by DCA should cause a drop in lactate production. The hyperpolarised 13C experiment measures the exchange of labeled pyruvate for labeled lactate which has been shown to be proportional to lactate dehydrogenase activity and the availability of substrates as well as cellular NADH, the enzyme co-factor [2]. Conversely, steady state measurements of eupolarised (i.e. unlabelled) lactate production report on the overall flux through glycolysis. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) was used to hyperpolarise labelled 1-13C pyruvate, and to measure lactate formation in real-time in intact cells by 13C-MRS. Intact human HT29 (colon) carcinoma cells were studied after 24 hours of DCA treatment (100mM). Culture media and extracts from the DCA-treated and control cells were analysed by 1H-MRS. Cell cycle analysis was also performed. DCA treatment of HT29 cells caused a drop in cell number (∼40% of controls, p&amp;lt;0.0001) and G1 arrest (p&amp;lt;0.0001). A dramatic drop in lactate formation (0.69+/−0.06 nmol/s/106 cells in control versus 0.06+/−0.01 nmol/s/106 cells in treated cells; p&amp;lt;0.0001) was measured in real-time by DNP 13C-MRS. This could be due to the combined effect of: i) a drop in cellular NADH due to apoptosis, as DCA is known to induce apoptosis [1] which causes NADH loss [2]; and/or ii) an increase in glucose oxidation causing a decrease in NADH available for further metabolism of pyuvate to lactate. 1H spectra of the culture media of DCA treated cells also showed a reduction in steady state eupolarized lactate production (38% of controls; p&amp;lt;0.0001), increased alanine uptake (p&amp;lt;0.0001) and no difference in glucose uptake when compared with controls. Increases in alanine (p&amp;lt;0.0001), glucose (p=0.02), free choline (p=0.02) and glycerophosphocholine (p&amp;lt;0.0001) and decrease in phosphocholine (p&amp;lt;0.0001) were found in DCA-treated cell extracts. The phospholipid changes could be associated with modulation in membrane turnover, as DCA is known to reduce proliferation in cancer cells [1]. DCA treatment resulted in reduced lactate formation/production in HT29 cells, as shown by both real time and steady-state measurements. These changes are consistent with the mechanism of action and cellular response to PDK inhibition. DCA treatment also altered phospholipid metabolism, which could also be used as biomarkers of response. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):A72.

Combined Methionine Deprivation and Chloroethylnitrosourea Have Time-Dependent Therapeutic Synergy on Melanoma Tumors That NMR Spectroscopy-Based Metabolomics Explains by Methionine and Phospholipid Metabolism Reprogramming

Methionine (Met) deprivation stress (MDS) is proposed in association with chemotherapy in the treatment of some cancers. A synergistic effect of this combination is generally acknowledged. However, little is known on the mechanism of the response to this therapeutic strategy. A model of B16 melanoma tumor in vivo was treated by MDS alone and in combination with chloroethylnitrosourea (CENU). It was applied recent developments in proton-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics for providing information on the metabolic response of tumors to MDS and combination with chemotherapy. MDS inhibited tumor growth during the deprivation period and growth resumption thereafter. The combination of MDS with CENU induced an effective time-dependent synergy on growth inhibition. Metabolite profiling during MDS showed a decreased Met content (P < 0.01) despite the preservation of the protein content, disorders in sulfur-containing amino acids, glutamine/proline, and phospholipid metabolism [increase of glycerophosphorylcholine (P < 0.01), decrease in phosphocholine (P < 0.05)]. The metabolic profile of MDS combined with CENU and ANOVA analysis revealed the implication of Met and phospholipid metabolism in the observed synergy, which may be interpreted as a Met–sparing metabolic reprogramming of tumors. It follows that combination therapy of MDS with CENU seems to intensify adaptive processes, which may set limitations to this therapeutic strategy.

Noninvasive Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Pharmacodynamic Markers of the Choline Kinase Inhibitor MN58b in Human Carcinoma Models

MN58b is a novel anticancer drug that inhibits choline kinase, resulting in inhibition of phosphocholine synthesis. The aim of this work was to develop a noninvasive and robust pharmacodynamic biomarker for target inhibition and, potentially, tumor response following MN58b treatment. Human HT29 (colon) and MDA-MB-231 (breast) carcinoma cells were examined by proton (1H) and phosphorus (31P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) before and after treatment with MN58b both in culture and in xenografts. An in vitro time course study of MN58b treatment was also carried out in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, enzymatic assays of choline kinase activity in cells were done. A decrease in phosphocholine and total choline levels (P < 0.05) was observed in vitro in both cell lines after MN58b treatment, whereas the inactive analogue ACG20b had no effect. In MDA-MB-231 cells, phosphocholine fell significantly as early as 4 hours following MN58b treatment, whereas a drop in cell number was observed at 48 hours. Significant correlation was also found between phosphocholine levels (measured by MRS) and choline kinase activities (r2 = 0.95, P = 0.0008) following MN58b treatment. Phosphomonoesters also decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in both HT29 and MDA-MB-231 xenografts with no significant changes in controls. 31P-MRS and 1H-MRS of tumor extracts showed a significant decrease in phosphocholine (P < or = 0.05). Inhibition of choline kinase by MN58b resulted in altered phospholipid metabolism both in cultured tumor cells and in vivo. Phosphocholine levels were found to correlate with choline kinase activities. The decrease in phosphocholine, total choline, and phosphomonoesters may have potential as noninvasive pharmacodynamic biomarkers for determining tumor response following treatment with choline kinase inhibitors.

Regulation of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase in HeLa cells. Effect of oleate on phosphorylation and intracellular localization.

The mechanism by which oleate induced the translocation of CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase from the soluble to particulate fraction was studied in HeLa cells. Addition of 0.5 mM oleate caused a 10-fold stimulation of [methyl-3H]choline incorporation into phosphatidylcholine. The stimulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis was correlated with a decrease in phosphocholine and an increase in CDP-choline, indicating that cytidylyltransferase is regulatory under these conditions. The stimulation of cytidylyltransferase activity upon oleate treatment was concomitant with the translocation of this enzyme from the soluble to particulate fraction. Immunoblot analysis revealed the soluble form as multiple slowly migrating bands, and the particulate form as a faster migrating, single band. The slowly migrating form could be converted to the fast migrating form by phosphatase treatment, suggesting that the mobility difference was due to phosphorylation. In vivo 32P labeling showed that the soluble cytidylyltransferase was highly phosphorylated and the particulate form was much less phosphorylated. The kinetics of the translocation showed that the conversion of the majority of cytidylyltransferase from the soluble to the particulate form occurred within about 15 min following addition of oleate and that the translocation showed a good correlation with dephosphorylation. In contrast, the relocation of cytidylyltransferase from the particulate to the soluble fraction after the removal of oleate occurred within 1 min, and extensive phosphorylation was not required for cytidylyltransferase to leave the membrane. The relocated, soluble cytidylyltransferase was phosphorylated at a much slower rate than that at which the enzyme left the membrane. Immunolocalization showed that the cytidylyltransferase translocated to the nuclear envelope instead of the endoplasmic reticulum. These results indicate that activation of cytidylyltransferase by dephosphorylation and translocation to the nuclear envelope may be a general mechanism occurring in many cell types. Moreover, in HeLa cells, multiple mechanism exist for regulating cytidylyltransferase activity.