We tested the effect of substituents at the (1) C3´, C3´N, (2) C10, and (3) C2-meta-benzoate positions of taxane derivatives on their activity against sensitive versus counterpart paclitaxel-resistant breast (MCF-7) and ovarian (SK-OV-3) cancer cells. We found that (1) non-aromatic groups at both C3´ and C3´N positions, when compared with phenyl groups at the same positions of a taxane derivative, significantly reduced the resistance of ABCB1 expressing MCF-7/PacR and SK-OV-3/PacR cancer cells. This is, at least in the case of the SB-T-1216 series, accompanied by an ineffective decrease of intracellular levels in MCF-7/PacR cells. The low binding affinity of SB-T-1216 in the ABCB1 binding cavity can elucidate these effects. (2) Cyclopropanecarbonyl group at the C10 position, when compared with the H atom, seems to increase the potency and capability of the derivative in overcoming paclitaxel resistance in both models. (3) Derivatives with fluorine and methyl substituents at the C2-meta-benzoate position were variously potent against sensitive and resistant cancer cells. All C2 derivatives were less capable of overcoming acquired resistance to paclitaxel in vitro than non-substituted analogs. Notably, fluorine derivatives SB-T-121205 and 121,206 were more potent against sensitive and resistant SK-OV-3 cells, and derivatives SB-T-121405 and 121,406 were more potent against sensitive and resistant MCF-7 cells. (4) The various structure-activity relationships of SB-T derivatives observed in two cell line models known to express ABCB1 favor their complex interaction not based solely on ABCB1.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is recognized as one of the most lethal types of cancer. Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are thin membranous intercellular communications, which allow cells to exchange intracellular material and promote cell fitness. We show here that PDAC cells increase the formation of TNTs upon exposure to gemcitabine and that these TNTs contain ribosomal components. In the PANC-1 cell line and in PDAC explants obtained from patient biopsies, we observe polyadenylated RNA and assembled 80S ribosomes within the TNTs, indicating the possibility of an intercellular transfer of translationally active ribosomes. Using cells with labelled small ribosomal subunits (40S), we demonstrate active transport of the ribosomal subunit via TNTs to recipient cells. Our results show that PDAC cells can exchange components of the translational machinery, including mRNA, which may contribute to the resistance to therapy, highlighting the potential of targeting TNT dynamics as a therapeutic approach for PDAC. Highlights ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

A limited number of studies are devoted to regulating TRIP6 expression in cancer. Hence, we aimed to unveil the regulation of TRIP6 expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells (with high TRIP6 expression) and taxane-resistant MCF-7 sublines (manifesting even higher TRIP6 expression). We found that TRIP6 transcription is regulated primarily by the cyclic AMP response element (CRE) in hypomethylated proximal promoters in both taxane-sensitive and taxane-resistant MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, in taxane-resistant MCF-7 sublines, TRIP6 co-amplification with the neighboring ABCB1 gene, as witnessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), led to TRIP6 overexpression. Ultimately, we found high TRIP6 mRNA levels in progesterone receptor-positive breast cancer and samples resected from premenopausal women.

The main problem precluding successful therapy with conventional taxanes is de novo or acquired resistance to taxanes. Therefore, novel experimental taxane derivatives (Stony Brook taxanes; SB-Ts) are synthesized and tested as potential drugs against resistant solid tumors. Recently, we reported alterations in ABCC3, CPS1, and TRIP6 gene expression in a breast cancer cell line resistant to paclitaxel. The present study aimed to investigate gene expression changes of these three candidate molecules in the highly resistant ovarian carcinoma cells in vitro and corresponding in vivo models treated with paclitaxel and new experimental Stony Brook taxanes of the third generation (SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606). We also addressed their prognostic meaning in ovarian carcinoma patients treated with taxanes. We estimated and observed changes in mRNA and protein profiles of ABCC3, CPS1, and TRIP6 in resistant and sensitive ovarian cancer cells and after the treatment of resistant ovarian cancer models with paclitaxel and Stony Brook taxanes in vitro and in vivo. Combining Stony Brook taxanes with paclitaxel caused downregulation of CPS1 in the paclitaxel-resistant mouse xenograft tumor model in vivo. Moreover, CPS1 overexpression seems to play a role of a prognostic biomarker of epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients' poor survival. ABCC3 was overexpressed in EOC tumors, but after the treatment with taxanes, its up-regulation disappeared. Based on our results, we can suggest ABCC3 and CPS1 for further investigations as potential therapeutic targets in human cancers.

Objectives Taxane resistance is a serious problem in the successful treatment of ovarian carcinoma. New generations of taxane analogs (Stony Brook taxanes; SB-Ts) seem to be effective against resistant solid tumors. Our aim was to estimate in vitro and in vivo efficacy of SB-Ts in comparison to paclitaxel and discover underlying changes of gene expression profile connected with the treatment of taxanes. Methods NCI/ADR-RES and SKOV-3/PCT-RES human ovarian cancer cell lines were used as multidrug-resistant model. The efficacy of taxanes was compared via assessment of IC50 values. Flow cytometry was used for analysis of cell cycle changes. In vivo efficacy of taxanes was measured after intraperitoneal application of paclitaxel alone (10 mg/kg) or combined with SB-Ts (1–5 mg/kg) twice a week in resistant ovarian cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) models. Gene expression profiles were followed by quantitative real-time PCR in CDX tumors. Results In vitro experiments revealed the third generation SB-Ts – SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606 as the most effective. In vivo, both SB-Ts effectively suppressed tumor growth at low doses (<3 mg/kg) in combination with paclitaxel, limiting their adverse effects. Treatment of SB-Ts also led to significant deregulation of many genes involved in resistance. Conclusions SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606 are promising candidates for further studies, aimed at development of novel therapeutics for therapy of resistant ovarian tumors. Supported by projects of the Czech Science Foundation no. 21–14082S, the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports: INTER-ACTION, project no. LTAUSA19032, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S.A. grant R01 CA103314.

Introduction/Background* Resistance of cancer cells to taxanes is a serious problem preventing successful therapy. Efforts are ongoing to synthesize novel taxanes efficacious against the resistant phenotype. Stony Brook taxanes (SB-Ts) have proven to have potential, but require further preclinical testing and more detailed study of their mechanism of action. Here, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of several promising SB-Ts in resistant ovarian cancer models in vitro, and in vivo. We also studied the role of 3 candidate genes ABCC3, CPS1, and TRIP6 in SB-Ts cell death-inducing molecular mechanisms. Methodology The NCI/ADR-RES ovarian cancer cell line was incubated with either paclitaxel or one of the second generation (SB-T-1214 and SB-T-1216) or third generation (SB-T-121402, SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606) taxanes. Cell survival was measured as IC50 after 72 hours. Cell cycle analysis was performed using flow cytometry. Uptake of SB-Ts into cells was measured by HPLC. Female athymic mice Nude Crl: NU(NCr)-Foxn1nu (N=50) were used as the model organism for ovarian cancer by subcutaneous application of NCI/ADR-RES cells. In vivo efficacy of taxanes was measured after intraperitoneal application twice per week. Gene expression in tumour tissue was measured by RT-qPCR. Result(s)* Compared to paclitaxel, NCI/ADR-RES cells showed 30x lower resistance to SB-T-1214, SB-T-1216, and SB-T-121402 and 50x lower to the 3rd generation taxanes SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606. Cell cycle analysis showed the "1216" family to be more cytostatic than cytotoxic compared to "1214". Uptake of SB-T-1216 and its derivatives into cells was 6-15.5x higher than for paclitaxel. Treatment of mice (groups of 5) with regimen combining paclitaxel and SB-T-121605/-06 significantly slowed tumour growth and even reduced tumour volume after several applications. Doses of SB-Ts higher than 3 mg/kg caused severe toxicity. Both SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606, but not paclitaxel, led to significant decrease in CPS1 and ABCC3 expression in vitro and in case of CPS1 also in vivo. Conclusion* Third generation taxanes SB-T-121605 and SB-T-121606 are highly effective in a paclitaxel-resistant ovarian carcinoma model both in vitro and in vivo and warrant further investigation. SB-T treatment led to deregulation of CPS1 and ABCC3 expression that seems to play a role in their efficacy.

Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) gradually accumulate in the human organism due to their presence in the environment. Some studies have described a correlation between the level of POPs in the human body and the incidence of diabetes, but we know little about the direct effect of POPs on pancreatic beta-cells. We exposed pancreatic beta-cells INS1E to non-lethal concentrations of p,p′-DDT (1,1′-(2,2,2-Trichloroethane-1,1-diyl)bis(4-chlorobenzene)) and p,p′-DDE (1,1′-(2,2-dichloroethene-1,1-diyl)bis(4-chlorobenzene)) for 1 month, and assessed changes in protein expression and the intracellular insulin level. 2-D electrophoresis revealed 6 proteins with changed expression in cells exposed to p,p′-DDT or p,p′-DDE. One of the detected proteins – vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) – was upregulated in both cells exposed to p,p′-DDT, and cells exposed to p,p′-DDE. Both exposures to pollutants reduced the intracellular level of insulin mRNA, proinsulin, and insulin monomer; p,p′-DDT also slightly reduced the level of hexameric insulin. Overexpression of VDBP caused by the stable transfection of beta-cells with the gene for VDBP decreased both the proinsulin and hexameric insulin level in beta-cells similarly to the reduction detected in cells exposed to p,p′-DDT. Our data suggest that in the cells exposed to p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDE, the increased VDBP protein level decreased the proinsulin expression in an unknown mechanism.

Identification of novel proteins with changed expression in resistant cancer cells could be helpful in elucidation mechanisms involved in the development of acquired resistance to paclitaxel. In this study, we carried out a 2D-PAGE using the mitochondrial-enriched fraction from paclitaxel-resistant MCF7/PacR cells compared to original paclitaxel-sensitive MCF7 breast cancer cells. Differentially expressed proteins were identified employing mass spectrometry. We found that lysosomal cathepsin D and mitochondrial abhydrolase-domain containing protein 11 (ABHD11) had decreased expression in MCF7/PacR cells. On the other hand, mitochondrial carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) and ATPase family AAA-domain containing protein 3A and 3B (ATAD3A, ATAD3B) were overexpressed in MCF7/PacR cells. Further, we showed that there was no difference in localization of CPS1 in MCF7 and MCF7/PacR cells. We demonstrated a significant increase in the number of CPS1 positive MCF7/PacR cells, using FACS analysis, compared to the number of CPS1 positive MCF7 cells. Silencing of CPS1 expression by specific siRNA had no significant effect on the resistance of MCF7/PacR cells to paclitaxel. To summarize, we identified several novel proteins of a mitochondrial fraction whose role in acquired resistance to paclitaxel in breast cancer cells should be further assessed.

We tested the role of substituents at the C3' and C3'N positions of the taxane molecule to identify taxane derivatives capable of overcoming acquired resistance to paclitaxel. Paclitaxel-resistant sublines SK-BR-3/PacR and MCF-7/PacR as well as the original paclitaxel-sensitive breast cancer cell lines SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 were used for testing. Increased expression of the ABCB1 transporter was found to be involved in the acquired resistance. We tested three groups of taxane derivatives: (1) phenyl group at both C3' and C3'N positions, (2) one phenyl at one of the C3' and C3'N positions and a non-aromatic group at the second position, (3) a non-aromatic group at both C3' and C3'N positions. We found that the presence of phenyl groups at both C3' and C3'N positions is associated with low capability of overcoming acquired paclitaxel resistance compared to taxanes containing at least one non-aromatic substituent at the C3' and C3'N positions. The increase in the ATPase activity of ABCB1 transporter after the application of taxanes from the first group was found to be somewhat higher than after the application of taxanes from the third group. Molecular docking studies demonstrated that the docking score was the lowest, i.e. the highest binding affinity, for taxanes from the first group. It was intermediate for taxanes from the second group, and the highest for taxanes from the third group. We conclude that at least one non-aromatic group at the C3' and C3'N positions of the taxane structure, resulting in reduced affinity to the ABCB1 transporter, brings about high capability of taxane to overcome acquired resistance of breast cancer cells to paclitaxel, due to less efficient transport of the taxane compound out of the cancer cells.

Saturated stearic acid (SA) induces apoptosis in the human pancreatic β-cells NES2Y. However, the molecular mechanisms involved are unclear. We showed that apoptosis-inducing concentrations of SA activate the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in these cells. Therefore, we tested the role of p38 MAPK signaling pathway activation in apoptosis induction by SA in NES2Y cells. Crosstalk between p38 MAPK pathway activation and accompanying ERK pathway inhibition after SA application was also tested. The inhibition of p38 MAPK expression by siRNA silencing resulted in a decrease in MAPKAPK-2 activation after SA application, but it had no significant effect on cell viability or the level of phosphorylated ERK pathway members. The inhibition of p38 MAPK activity by the specific inhibitor SB202190 resulted in inhibition of MAPKAPK-2 activation and noticeable activation of ERK pathway members after SA treatment but in no significant effect on cell viability. p38 MAPK overexpression by plasmid transfection produced an increase in MAPKAPK-2 activation after SA exposure but no significant influence on cell viability or ERK pathway activation. The activation of p38 MAPK by the specific activator anisomycin resulted in significant activation of MAPKAPK-2. Concerning the effect on cell viability, application of the activator led to apoptosis induction similar to application of SA (PARP cleavage and caspase-7, -8, and -9 activation) and in inhibition of ERK pathway members. We demonstrated that apoptosis-inducing concentrations of SA activate the p38 MAPK signaling pathway and that this activation could be involved in apoptosis induction by SA in the human pancreatic β-cells NES2Y. However, this involvement does not seem to play a key role. Crosstalk between p38 MAPK pathway activation and ERK pathway inhibition in NES2Y cells seems likely. Thus, the ERK pathway inhibition by p38 MAPK activation does not also seem to be essential for SA-induced apoptosis.

Background. Pancreatic β-cells failure and apoptosis in response to chronically elevated concentrations of saturated fatty acids in blood was considered as one of the main causes of type 2 diabetes mellitus development. Although precise molecular mechanisms of this process are still unclear, there are some indications that the p38 MAPK signaling pathway could be involved.Aim, materials and methods. Therefore, we tested the role of p38 MAPK signaling pathway activation in apoptosis induction by SA in human pancreatic β-cells NES2Y. Crosstalk between p38 MAPK pathway activation and accompanying ERK pathway inhibition after SA application was also tested.Results. We have found that saturated SA at apoptosis-inducing concentration (1 mM) activated the p38 MAPK signaling pathway MKK3/6→p38 MAPK→MAPKAPK-2 and inhibited the ERK signaling pathway c-Raf→MEK1/2→ERK1/2. The inhibition of p38 MAPK expression by siRNA silencing had no significant effect on cell viability or the level of phosphorylated ERK pathway members after SA administration. The inhibition of p38 MAPK activity by the specific inhibitor SB202190 resulted in noticeable activation of ERK pathway members after SA treatment but in no significant effect on cell viability. p38 MAPK overexpression by plasmid transfection produced no significant influence on cell viability or ERK pathway activation after SA exposure. The activation of p38 MAPK by the specific activator anisomycin led to apoptosis induction similar to application of SA (PARP cleavage and caspase-7, -8, and -9 activation) and in inhibition of ERK pathway members.Conclusions. We demonstrated that apoptosis-inducing concentrations of SA activate the p38 MAPK signaling pathway and that this activation could be involved in apoptosis induction by SA in the human pancreatic β-cells NES2Y. However, this involvement does not seem to play a key role. Crosstalk between p38 MAPK pathway activation and ERK pathway inhibition in NES2Y cells seems likely. Thus, the ERK pathway inhibition by p38 MAPK activation does not also seem to be essential for SA-induced apoptosis.

Development of taxane resistance has become clinically very important issue. The molecular mechanisms underlying the resistance are still unclear. To address this issue, we established paclitaxel-resistant sublines of the SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines that are capable of long-term proliferation in 100nM and 300nM paclitaxel, respectively. Application of these concentrations leads to cell death in the original counterpart cells. Both sublines are cross-resistant to doxorubicin, indicating the presence of the MDR phenotype. Interestingly, resistance in both paclitaxel-resistant sublines is circumvented by the second-generation taxane SB-T-1216. Moreover, we demonstrated that it was not possible to establish sublines of SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 cells resistant to this taxane. It means that at least the tested breast cancer cells are unable to develop resistance to some taxanes. Employing mRNA expression profiling of all known human ABC transporters and subsequent Western blot analysis of the expression of selected transporters, we demonstrated that only the ABCB1/PgP and ABCC3/MRP3 proteins were up-regulated in both paclitaxel-resistant sublines. We found up-regulation of ABCG2/BCRP and ABCC4 proteins only in paclitaxel-resistant SK-BR-3 cells. In paclitaxel-resistant MCF-7 cells, ABCB4/MDR3 and ABCC2/MRP2 proteins were up-regulated. Silencing of ABCB1 expression using specific siRNA increased significantly, but did not completely restore full sensitivity to both paclitaxel and doxorubicin. Thus we showed a key, but not exclusive, role for ABCB1 in mechanisms of paclitaxel resistance. It suggests the involvement of multiple mechanisms in paclitaxel resistance in tested breast cancer cells.

Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) represent a major safety concern in pig-to-human xenotransplantation. To date, no PERV infection of a xenograft recipient has been recorded; however, PERVs are transmissible to human cells in vitro. Some recombinants of the A and C PERV subgroups are particularly efficient in infection and replication in human cells. Transcription of PERVs has been described in most pig cells, but their sequence and insertion polymorphism in the pig genome impede identification of transcriptionally active or silenced proviral copies. Furthermore, little is known about the epigenetic regulation of PERV transcription. Here, we report on the transcriptional suppression of PERV by DNA methylation in vitro and describe heavy methylation in the majority of PERV 5' long terminal repeats (LTR) in porcine tissues. In contrast, we have detected sparsely methylated or nonmethylated proviruses in the porcine PK15 cells, which express human cell-tropic PERVs. We also demonstrate the resistance of PERV DNA methylation to inhibitors of methylation and deacetylation. Finally, we show that the high permissiveness of various human cell lines to PERV infection coincides with the inability to efficiently silence the PERV proviruses by 5' LTR methylation. In conclusion, we suggest that DNA methylation is involved in PERV regulation, and that only a minor fraction of proviruses are responsible for the PERV RNA expression and porcine cell infectivity.

Technology, Brno, Czech Republic. PD, Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the 20 Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, Prague 4, Czech Republic. GM, Division of Retrovirology, 21 National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Health Protection Agency, South 22 Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom 23 JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 28 August 2013 J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.03262-12 Copyright © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.