EGFRvIII promotes glioma angiogenesis and growth through the NF-κB, interleukin-8 pathway.

Sustaining a high growth rate requires tumors to exploit resources in their microenvironment. One example of this is the extensive angiogenesis that is a typical feature of high-grade gliomas. Here, we show that expression of the constitutively active mutant epidermal growth factor receptor, ΔEGFR (EGFRvIII, EGFR*, de2-7EGFR) is associated with significantly higher expression levels of the pro-angiogenic factor interleukin (IL)-8 in human glioma specimens and glioma stem cells. Furthermore, the ectopic expression of ΔEGFR in different glioma cell lines caused up to 60-fold increases in the secretion of IL-8. Xenografts of these cells exhibit increased neovascularization, which is not elicited by cells overexpressing wild-type (wt)EGFR or ΔEGFR with an additional kinase domain mutation. Analysis of the regulation of IL-8 by site-directed mutagenesis of its promoter showed that ΔEGFR regulates its expression through the transcription factors nuclear factor (NF)-κB, activator protein 1 (AP-1) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP). Glioma cells overexpressing ΔEGFR showed constitutive activation and DNA binding of NF-κB, overexpression of c-Jun and activation of its upstream kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and overexpression of C/EBPß. Selective pharmacological or genetic targeting of the NF-κB or AP-1 pathways efficiently blocked promoter activity and secretion of IL-8. Moreover, RNA interference-mediated knock-down of either IL-8 or the NF-κB subunit p65, in ΔEGFR-expressing cells attenuated their ability to form tumors and to induce angiogenesis when injected subcutaneously into nude mice. On the contrary, the overexpression of IL-8 in glioma cells lacking ΔEGFR potently enhanced their tumorigenicity and produced highly vascularized tumors, suggesting the importance of this cytokine and its transcription regulators in promoting glioma angiogenesis and tumor growth.

Binding energy and specificity in the catalytic mechanism of yeast aldose reductases.

Derivatives of d-xylose and d-glucose, in which the hydroxy groups at C-5, and C-5 and C-6 were replaced by fluorine, hydrogen and azide, were synthesized and used as substrates of the NAD(P)H-dependent aldehyde reduction catalysed by aldose reductases isolated from the yeasts Candida tenuis, C. intermedia and Cryptococcus flavus. Steady-state kinetic analysis showed that, in comparison with the parent aldoses, the derivatives were reduced with up to 3000-fold increased catalytic efficiencies (k(cat)/K(m)), reflecting apparent substrate binding constants (K(m)) decreased to as little as 1/250 and, for d-glucose derivatives, up to 5.5-fold increased maximum initial rates (k(cat)). The effects on K(m) mirror the relative proportion of free aldehyde that is available in aqueous solution for binding to the binary complex enzyme-NAD(P)H. The effects on k(cat) reflect non-productive binding of the pyranose ring of sugars; this occurs preferentially with the NADPH-dependent enzymes. No transition-state stabilization energy seems to be derived from hydrogen-bonding interactions between enzyme-NAD(P)H and positions C-5 and C-6 of the aldose. In contrast, unfavourable interactions with the C-6 group are used together with non-productive binding to bring about specificity (6-10 kJ/mol) in a series of d-aldoses and to prevent the reaction with poor substrates such as d-glucose. Azide introduced at C-5 or C-6 destabilizes the transition state of reduction of the corresponding hydrogen-substituted aldoses by approx. 4-9 kJ/mol. The total transition state stabilization energy derived from hydrogen bonds between hydroxy groups of the substrate and enzyme-NAD(P)H is similar for all yeast aldose reductases (yALRs), at approx. 12-17 kJ/mol. Three out of four yALRs manage on only hydrophobic enzyme-substrate interactions to achieve optimal k(cat), whereas the NAD(P)H-dependent enzyme from C. intermedia requires additional, probably hydrogen-bonding, interactions with the substrate for efficient turnover.

Binding and catalysis by yeast aldose reductase: a substrate-analog approach with new aldose derivatives.

5-Deoxy-D-xylofuranose derivatives and a range of new 5,6-dideoxy analogs of D-glucofuranose bearing azido or fluoro substituents were synthesised and employed as substrates of the NADH-dependent aldehyde reduction catalysed by yeast aldose reductase. In terms of catalytic efficiencies, these products proved to be superior to the parent compounds.