BACKGROUND. Management of prostate cancer that has spread outside of the prostate capsule is a difficult problem. Innovative, non-toxic approaches to the disease are required. New, relatively non-toxic vitamin D-3 analogs have recently been synthesized. We report that several of these compounds have marked antiproliferative effects on prostate cells.METHODS. The clonal antiproliferative activity of five novel analogs of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D-3 [1,25(OH)(2)D-3, (cmpd C)] as well as 1,25(OH)(2)D-3 itself was tested on three human prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3, LNCaP, and DU-145). The analogs were 20-epi-22oxa-24a,26a, 27a-tri-homo-1 alpha,25 (OH)(2)D-3 (code name: KH 1060); 24a26a27a-tri-homo-22, 24-diene-1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D-3 (code name: EB 1089); 1,25(OH)(2)-16ene-D-3 (code name: HM); 1,25(OH)(2)-16ene-23yne-D-3 (code name: V); 1,25(OH)(2)-20-epi-D-3 (code name: MC 1288)].RESULTS. With the parent compound [1,25(OH)(2)D-3], the effective dose that inhibited 50% clonogenic growth of PC-3 and LNCaP was 10(-8)M and 7x10(-9) M, respectively. For these prostate cancer cell lines, KH 1060 was the most potent analog by an order of 25- to 35-fold as compared to cmpd C. The second and third most potent analogs were HM and MC 1288. DU-145 was resistant to all the vitamin D, analogs. The major side-effect of 1,25(OH)(2)D-3 is the production of hypercalcemia. The relative inhibitory index (RII) was determined by comparing the antiproliferative activity of the analog to its ability to produce hypercalcemia in mice injected intraperitoneally every other day. The KH 1060 had the best RTI: 50- to 70-fold greater than 1,25(OH)(2)D-3 for PC-3 and LNCaP, respectively.CONCLUSIONS. A trial of one or more of these innovative compounds should be considered for treatment of minimal residual disease of prostate cancer. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The biologic effects of retinoids such as all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and 9-cis-retinoic acid on proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells are mediated by binding and activating two distinct families of transcription factors: the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and the retinoid X receptors (RXRs). The RARs require heterodimerization with RXRs; in addition, RXRs can form homodimers, which can bind to DNA response elements that are either distinct or the same as those bound by the RAR/RXR heterodimers. Therefore, the two retinoid pathways provide sequences that are specific for effective DNA binding and activation of target genes. We have developed several series of novel synthetic retinoids that selectively interact with RXR/RXR homodimers and RAR/RXR heterodimers. We show here that SR11236 and SR11246, which are RXR-selective analogs, had little ability to inhibit clonal growth and induce differentiation of leukemic cells (HL- 60 cells and fresh acute myeloid leukemia cells). However, SR11249, SR11256, and LGD1069, which activated both RXR/RXR homodimers and RAR/RXR heterodimers, could inhibit clonal growth and induce differentiation of HL-60 cells as well as leukemic cells from patients, including those with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). This is similar to results observed with RAR/RXR-specific ligands. Interestingly, the combination of ATRA and either SR11249, SR11256, or LGD1069 showed synergistic effects in inducing differentiation of HL-60 cells. A retinoid (SR11238) with strong anti-AP-1 activity that did not activate the RARs and RXRs for gene transcription from the response element TREpal was inactive in our assay systems, suggesting that the antiproliferative effects of retinoids on leukemic cells is not mediated by inhibiting the AP-1 pathway. We conclude that the RAR/RXR pathway is more important than RXR/RXR pathway for differentiation and proliferation of acute myeloid leukemic cells, and certain retinoids or combination of retinoids with both RAR and RXR specificities may synergistically enhance the differentiation activity of ATRA, which may be relevant in several clinical situations.

A newly cloned gene named wild-type p53-activated fragment 1 (WAF1; also known as p21, Pic-1, Cip-1, or SDI1) is directly regulated by p53 and can itself suppress tumor cell growth in culture. Induction of expression of WAF1 may be an important means by which cells with DNA injury arrest their growth to repair DNA or undergo apoptosis. Based on the hypothesis that mutations of this gene may play a role in carcinogenesis, we have studied 351 DNAs from 14 kinds of malignancies, as well as 36 human transformed cell lines, for alterations of WAF1 gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction amplification of the DNA coding region of the WAF1 gene. No abnormal band shifts of WAF1 were noted in any of the samples or cell lines, but three major variants in exons 2 and 3 of the gene were found that are consistent with the existence of two different DNA polymorphisms. Sequence analysis of the amplified products producing these three variants in each exon from normal DNAs confirmed the presence of the polymorphisms in the WAF1 gene. Of 290 selected tumor samples previously evaluated for p53 mutations by single-strand conformation polymorphism, 90% had no detectable p53 alterations. In summary, mutations within the coding portion of the WAF1 gene were undetectable in a large series of human tumors, many of which had a normal p53 gene. This suggests that WAF1 alterations are generally caused indirectly, through p53 mutations rather than through intragenic mutation of the WAF1 itself.

Retinoids, such as all-trans-retinoic acid and 9-cis-retinoic acid, are naturally occurring ligands of the nuclear retinoic acid receptors (RARs). In concert with binding of ligand, these receptors from heterodimers with the retinoic X receptor (RXR) and transactivate RAR/RXR-responsive genes. Retinoids can differentiate leukemic cell lines in vitro and induce clinically complete remissions in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. Synthetic ligands to the RAR and RXR receptors have been developed that selectively bind and activate RAR/RXR (TTAB) and RXR/RXR dimers (SR11217). We investigated the affect of these ligands, either alone or in combination, on in vitro growth and differentiation of cells from the HL-60, KG-1, THP-1, and WEHI-3 myeloid cell lines as well as on clonal growth of fresh myeloid leukemic blasts from patients. Clonal inhibition of proliferation of these cells was studied in soft agar cultures. Cells were plated in the presence of either one or a combination of retinoids at concentrations of 10(-5) to 10(-10) mol/L. TTAB inhibited 50% clonal growth at an effective dose (ED50) that was about 1,000-fold lower than the concentration of SR11217 required to achieve an ED50 for the same leukemic cells. Combination of both ligands at a variety of concentrations showed no synergistic effects. Superoxide production (nitroblue tetrazolium reduction) and CD11b expression as parameters of differentiation of HL-60 cells were also examined. Results paralleled those of clonal growth, with SR11217 being markedly less potent than TTAB. These results show that the ligand selective for RXR-homodimers has little effect on either inducing differentiation or inhibiting clonal growth of leukemic cells. The differentiating and antiproliferative effects of retinoids are mainly induced through RAR/RXR heterodimers, and development of therapeutic analogs should focus on this category of retinoids.

Cells with divergent mutant alleles of the p53 gene have different biological and biochemical properties in vitro. Increasing evidence indicates that p53 is a transcriptional activator, and recently, high affinity DNA binding sites for p53 have been identified. The purpose of this study was to determine in vivo, the effect that various mutant p53 proteins have on their ability to mediate transactivation and to bind specifically to DNA. Either a p53 responsive or control reporter gene was transfected into 18 human carcinoma cell lines, having various p53 mutations, either with or without a wild-type p53 expression vector. The CAT activity and DNA gel retardation were studied to measure transactivation and DNA binding by these endogenous p53s. As expected, the endogenously produced wild-type p53 binds to DNA binding sequences and can transactivate a reporter construct containing a p53 high affinity DNA binding site. Four of five cell lines with homozygous p53 mutations at codon 273 (273His), contained p53 which had the ability to bind to p53 DNA binding sequences and transactivate. In contrast, all the homozygous, non-codon 273 mutant p53s (156Pro, 175His, 223Leu, 248Gln, 248Trp, 280Lys) present in the other cell lines had no transactivating ability. These findings suggest that the biology of cancers with mutations at codon 273 may be different than those with p53 mutations at other sites. The p53 from WRO, a thyroid carcinoma cell line with p53 mutation at codon 223 (223Leu), was able to bind p53 DNA recognition sequences, but was unable to transactivate. Interestingly, in a vulvar carcinoma cell line (A431) with a p53 mutation at codon 273 (273His), the p53 was unable to transactivate and gave an aberrant band on gel retardation. Both CEM and SK-UT-1, which have compound heterozygous mutations at codons 175/248 (175His/248His), produced p53 which can complex with DNA, as well as transactivate. In contrast, the p53 in cell lines with either homozygous 175His or 248His p53 mutations, were unable either to transactivate or bind to the p53 response element. A cell line (NPA) heterozygous for 266Glu p53 mutation, was able to efficiently transactivate a reporter containing a p53 DNA binding site, therefore showing no evidence of a dominant negative effect of the endogenous p53 mutant allele. In summary, this in vivo study further supports the idea that different p53 mutant alleles have various properties which may affect their function.

Accumulating evidence supports the hypothesis that tumor-suppressor p53 can act as a transcriptional activator. Insertion of high-affinity p53 DNA binding sites upstream of a promoter yields a p53-responsive vector. Chimeric proteins fusing p53 and the GAL4 DNA-binding domain demonstrate the presence of a transcriptional activating domain in the N-terminus of p53. GAL4-p53 chimeras constructed using naturally occurring p53 mutations at either codon 141 (Tyr-141) or 175 (His-175) of p53 had little ability to activate the reporter gene; in contrast, mutations at either codon 248 (Trp-248) or 273 (His-273) produced greater transcriptional activities than did wild-type p53. GAL4 chimeras can be used to analyse interactions between different domains of p53 and between different p53 alleles; a DNA binding site is defined, and a simple measurement can be made of function. We had expected that coexpression of GAL4 chimeras and p53 alleles would squelch transcriptional activation downstream of GAL binding sites. Surprisingly, coexpression of either p53 (Trp-248) or (His-273) with the GALA-p53 (wild-type, His-273, Trp-248, His-175, Tyr-141) effectors conferred an increase in transcriptional activation as compared with the effector alone. Oligomerization of p53 alleles with GAL4-p53 chimeras could underlie this effect, leading to an increase in transcription-activating motifs near the promoter. To test this possibility, we constructed a GAL4-p53 C-terminal chimera with p53 residues 160-393, lacking the transcriptional activating domain but retaining regions believed to be important in p53 oligomerization. Neither GAL4-p53 (C-terminus) nor p53 expression vectors were able to transactivate G5E1B-CAT alone. Both p53 (His-273) and (Trp-248) co-expressed with GAL4-p53 (C-terminus) were able to transactivate the G5E1B-CAT reporter gene; in contrast, p53 (Tyr-141) was not able to activate transcription. p53 (Tyr-141/His-273) behaved as a dominant negative mutant and inhibited the ability of the combination of p53 (His-273) and GAL4-p53 (C-terminus) to stimulate the reporter gene. Double immunoprecipitation by sequentially using GAL4 and p53 antibodies showed that p53 (His-273) and (Tyr-141/His-273), but not p53 (Tyr-141), can efficiently oligomerize in vivo to the C-terminal region of p53. Transcriptional activating function of p53 may be modulated by oligomerization; some mutations, such as His-273 and Trp-248, participate in these functions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

p53 mutations are found in a wide variety of cancers, including hematologic malignancies. These alterations apparently contribute to development of the malignant phenotype. We analyzed a large series of lymphoid (330 cases) and a smaller series of myeloid (29 cases) malignancies of childhood for p53 mutations by single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) following polymerase chain reaction. Samples with abnormal SSCP were reamplified and analyzed by direct sequencing method. p53 mutations were detected within the known mutational hotspots (exons 5 to 8) in 8 of 330 lymphoid malignancies, and in none of 29 myeloid malignancies, showing that the frequency of p53 mutations in childhood lymphoid malignancies was very low (8 of 330 cases [2%]). Four of these patients had very aggressive, fatal acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). None of 13 infants and none of 48 patients with T-lineage leukemia had detectable p53 mutations in their ALL cells. Exceptionally, p53 mutations were comparatively frequent in a small sample of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (2 of 8 cases). Mutations were detected in samples from two patients with ALL at relapse; these were not detected in samples at initial diagnosis from the same patients, suggesting that p53 mutations may be associated with progression to a more malignant phenotype. Seven of eight alterations of p53 were missense mutations, and seven of eight samples may be heterozygous for the mutant p53, indicating that p53 protein may act in a dominant negative fashion.

The development and progression of thyroid tumors is signaled by phenotype-specific mutations of genes involved in growth control. Molecular events associated with undifferentiated thyroid cancer are not known. We examined normal, benign, and malignant thyroid tissue for structural abnormalities of the p53 tumor suppressor gene. Mutations were detected by single-strand conformation polymorphisms of PCR-amplified DNA, using primers bracketing the known hot spots on either exons 5,6,7, or 8. The prevalence of mutations was as follows: normal thyroid 0/6; follicular adenomas 0/31; papillary carcinomas 0/37; medullary carcinomas 0/2; follicular carcinomas 1 /11; anaplastic carcinomas 5/6; thyroid carcinoma cell lines 3/4. Positive cases were confirmed by direct sequencing of the PCR products. All five anaplastic carcinoma tissues and the anaplastic carcinoma cell line ARO had G:C to A:T transitions leading to an Arg to His substitution at codon 273. In both tumors and cell lines, examples of heterozygous and homozygous p53 mutations were identified. The only thyroid carcinoma cell line in which p53 mutations were not detected in exons 5-8 had markedly decreased p53 mRNA levels, suggesting the presence of a structural abnormality of either p53 itself or of some factor controlling its expression. The presence of p53 mutations almost exclusively in poorly differentiated thyroid tumors and thyroid cancer cell lines suggests that inactivation of p53 may confer these neoplasms with aggressive properties, and further loss of differentiated function.

The human ets-2 proto-oncogene is one of the homologs of the v-ets gene, found in avian acutely transforming retrovirus E26 (D. Leprince, A. Gegonne, J. Call, C. de Taisne, A. Schneeberger, C. Lagrou, and D. Stehelin, Nature [London] 306:395-397, 1983; M. F. Nunn, P. H. Seeburg, C. Moscovici, and P. H. Duesberg, Nature [London] 306:391-395, 1983), which causes leukemia in chickens. We used the DNA-binding domain of yeast transcriptional activator GAL4 to locate the transactivation region of human ets-2. The transactivation domain of ets-2 was found in the N-terminal part of the protein, which is homologous to ets-1, and can be disrupted by deletion of a stretch of acidic amino acid residues. A transactivation-deficient mutant of ets-2 failed to transform Rat-1 cells and suppressed the transforming activity of coexpressed wild-type ets-2. A mutation in the putative DNA-binding region of ets-2 abolished transforming activity. We show that the motif crucial for ets-2 transactivation capability is necessary for transforming activity in Rat-1 cells. Mutant ets-2 protein that lacks the transactivation domain has a dominant negative effect on transformation by wild-type ets-2. We were unable to detect ets-2-dependent transcriptional regulation of several enhancers containing ets-binding motifs.

Alterations or elimination of the p53 protein is frequently occurring during human carcinogenesis. Overexpression of wild-type p53 has a profound growth-inhibitory effect on many cell lines, including strong and apparently non-sequence specific repression of a number of promoters. Consistent with the hypothesis that it acts as transcriptional regulator, wild-type p53 protein binds DNA and activates transcription of several promoters. We have studied DNA binding and transactivation (TA) properties of human wild-type and mutant p53 proteins representing four major mutational hotspots. DNA-gel retardation was used to detect specific p53-DNA complexes in nuclear extracts, with radiolabelled oligonucleotides representing high affinity p53-binding sites (HBS) as a probe. p53-specific complexes were identified by competition with unlabelled 'self' oligos and by double band-shifts in the presence of anti-p53 antibodies. To show transactivation by p53, TK promoter-driven CAT reporter gene was placed 3' of the p53-binding site. CAT activity was assayed after co-transfection of reporters with either wild-type (WT) or mutant p53 expression constructs into human cells that do not express p53 (SKOV3). We found that wild-type p53 has strong transactivating effect on the reporter. All mutants, with the exception of His273, were inactive in TA-assay. p53 is a target of several oncogenes found in DNA tumor viruses. We examined the effect of either SV40 T-ag or 55 kDa EIB protein of Ad5 on DNA binding and transactivation by p53 in transformed COS-1 and 293 cell lines, respectively. COS-1 extracts produced strong p53-dependent band-shift of the HBS oligos, that was doubleshifted by anti-p53 but not anti-T-ag antibodies, indicating that T-ag is not part of the complex. COS-1 cells had a high level of WT p53-dependent expression of transfected CAT reporter, indicating the presence of transactivation-competent p53, acting through the HBS element. In human Ad-transformed 293 cells, endogenous p53 was also transactivation competent and capable of DNA binding. In summary, we found efficient transactivation of HBS motif by WT and His273-p53. Studies of COS-1 and 293 cells suggest that a proportion of p53 in transformed cells display wild-type DNA binding and TA properties and that expression of transcriptionally inactive mutant p53 proteins in these cells does not interfere with WT-dependent transactivation.

We describe several novel analogs of the seco-steroid 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3[1,25(OH)2D3] and their effects on differentiation and proliferation of HL-60 human myeloid leukemic cells in vitro as well as their effects on calcium metabolism in vivo. The 1 alpha-25(OH)2–16ene-23yne-26,27F6- vitamin D3 is the most potent analog reported to date, having about 80- fold more activity than the reference 1,25(OH)2D3 for inhibition of proliferation and induction of differentiation of HL-60 cells. Also, this analog decreased RNA expression of MYC oncogene in HL-60 by 90% at 5 x 10(-10) mol/L. Intriguingly, intestinal calcium absorption and bone calcium mobilization mediated in vivo by 1 alpha-25(OH)2–16ene-23yne- 26,27F6-D3 was found to be markedly (15-fold) less than that of 1,25(OH)2D3. In addition, 1 alpha-25(OH)2D3 bound to 1,25(OH)2D3 receptors of both HL-60 and intestine more avidly than did 1 alpha- 25(OH)2–16ene-23yne-26,27F6-D3. This novel analog may open up new therapeutic strategies for several hematopoietic, skin, and bone abnormalities and may provide a new tool to understand how vitamin D3 seco-steroids induce cellular differentiation.

The human p53 gene codes for a 393 amino acid nuclear phosphoprotein. p53 is most commonly described as a tumor suppressor, or anti-oncogene, although its role in vivo remains unclear. We report that GAL4-p53 fusion protein can activate transcription of a CAT reporter gene downstream of a GAL4-DNA binding site. We tested both the amino terminal 160 amino acids and the carboxyl terminal 233 amino acids of the p53 protein and found that the transcriptional activating (TA) region was restricted to the amino terminal fragment. These results imply that p53 may be a transcriptional activating factor (TAF); furthermore, these data lend support to the hypothesis of p53 as a positive regulator of transcription which might mediate its tumor suppressor role by inducing expression of a set of genes with a negative effect on cellular growth.

The 1,25-dihydroxy-16-ene-23-yne-vitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3] is a vitamin D analog that is very potent in inhibiting proliferation and inducing differentiation of myeloid leukemic cells in vitro. Also, 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 is 300 times less active in mediating intestinal calcium absorption and bone calcium mobilization as compared to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], the physiologically active metabolite. Furthermore, 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 is 10-25 times less potent than 1,25(OH)2D3 in causing hypercalcemia in BALB/c mice injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) every other day (q.o.d.) for 6 weeks. We explored the therapeutic potential of 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 by developing and using the following three leukemia models. (i) Injection of 2.5 x 10(5) myeloid leukemic cells (WEHI 3BD+) into syngeneic BALB/c mice resulted in leukemic death of all diluent-injected mice by day 26. Mice who received the same number of leukemic cells and also received 1,25(OH)2D3 (0.1 micrograms q.o.d., i.p.) had nearly an identical survival curve. Those who received the leukemic cells and 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 (1.6 micrograms q.o.d., i.p.) had a significantly (P = 0.003) longer survival, with the last mouse dying of leukemia on day 50. (ii) Injection of 50% fewer leukemic cells (1 x 10(5) cells) into syngeneic BALB/c mice resulted in 86% dead of leukemia at 51 days. Experimental mice who received the same number of leukemic cells and 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 (0.8 microgram q.o.d.) had a significantly (P = 0.0006) longer survival than controls; only 53% of the mice were dead by day 100. (iii) After injection of 1.5 x 10(4) leukemic cells, 13% of syngeneic BALB/c mice were free of disease at day 180. In contrast, 43% of mice who received leukemic cells and 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 (1.6 micrograms q.o.d.) were still free of disease at day 180. In summary, 1,25(OH)2-16-ene-23-yne-D3 is a vitamin D analog that significantly increased survival of mice who had myeloid leukemia.