DARPP-32 and regulation of the ethanol sensitivity of NMDA receptors in the nucleus accumbens.

The medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens receive both an excitatory glutamatergic input from forebrain and a dopaminergic input from the ventral tegmental area. This integration point may constitute a locus whereby the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-subtype of glutamate receptors promotes drug reinforcement. Here we investigate how dopaminergic inputs alter the ethanol sensitivity of NMDA receptors in rats and mice and report that previous dopamine receptor-1 (D1) activation, culminating in dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein-32 kD (DARPP-32) and NMDA receptor subunit-1 (NR1)-NMDA receptor phosphorylation, strongly decreases ethanol inhibition of NMDA responses. The regulation of ethanol sensitivity of NMDA receptors by D1 receptors was absent in DARPP-32 knockout mice. We propose that DARPP-32 mediated blunting of the response to ethanol subsequent to activation of ventral tegmental area dopaminergic neurons initiates molecular alterations that influence synaptic plasticity in this circuit, thereby promoting the development of ethanol reinforcement.

Activators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha partially inhibit mouse skin tumor promotion.

Several recent reports have suggested that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) may be involved in the development of neoplasias in different tissue types. The present study was undertaken to determine whether PPARs play a role in skin physiology and tumorigenesis. In an initiation-promotion study, SENCAR mice treated topically with the PPARalpha ligands conjugated linoleic acid and 4-chloro-6-(2,3-xylidino)-2-pyrimidinylthioacetic acid (Wy-14643) exhibited an approximately 30% lower skin tumor yield compared with mice treated with vehicle. The PPARgamma and PPARdelta activators troglitazone and bezafibrate, respectively, exerted little, if any, inhibitory activity. PPARalpha was detected in normal and hyperplastic skin and in papillomas and carcinomas by immunohistochemistry. In addition, PPARalpha, PPARdelta/PPARbeta, and PPARgamma protein levels were analyzed by immunoblotting in normal epidermis and papillomas. Surprisingly, the levels of all three isoforms were increased significantly in tumors as opposed to normal epidermis. In primary keratinocyte cultures, protein levels of PPARalpha and, to a lesser extent, PPARgamma were markedly increased when the cells were induced to differentiate with high-calcium (0.12 mM) conditions. In addition, we observed that Wy-14643 enhanced transcriptional activity of a peroxisome proliferator-response element-driven promoter in a mouse keratinocyte cell line. These results demonstrate that keratinocytes express functional PPARalpha, that PPARalpha may play a role in differentiation, and that ligands for PPARalpha are moderately protective against skin tumor promotion. We conclude that selective PPARalpha ligands may exert their protective role against skin tumor promotion by ligand activation of PPARalpha.

Prostaglandin E(2) regulation of cyclooxygenase expression in keratinocytes is mediated via cyclic nucleotide-linked prostaglandin receptors.

Inflammatory responses are thought to be mediated in part by the prostaglandins derived from arachidonic acid (AA) by the action of prostaglandin H synthase, also referred to as cyclooxygenase (COX). The mitogen-inducible isoform, COX-2, is over-expressed in numerous chronic inflammatory disease conditions and in neoplasms from both human and experimental animal models. COX-1 expression, on the other hand, has been referred to as constitutive or non-inducible. In this study, we present evidence demonstrating autoregulation of prostaglandin (PG) production by the PGs themselves and their precursor, AA. We observed that AA and PGs induced COX-2, as well as COX-1, expression in cultured murine keratinocytes approximately 3 h after treatment. In primary keratinocytes transiently transfected with a full-length COX-2 promoter linked to a luciferase reporter gene, we observed enhanced transcription by AA, PGE(2), and the other prostaglandins. Forskolin, a known activator of adenylate cyclase, and dibutryl-cAMP, a cAMP analog, induced COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA, suggesting that cAMP is a second messenger for COX expression. SQ 22536, an adenylate cyclase inhibitor, inhibited COX-2 mRNA induction by PGE(2) in a dose-dependent manner suggesting that PGE(2)-induced expression may be through one of the cAMP-linked PGE(2) receptors. The results of this study demonstrate that both COX-1 and COX-2 are inducible. Further, both COX isoforms can be up-regulated by their products, the PGs, and this autoregulation probably occurs via prostaglandin receptors linked to a cAMP signal transduction pathway.

Multifactor regulation of prostaglandin H synthase-2 in murine keratinocytes.

Prostaglandin H synthase (PGHS) is the rate-limiting enzyme responsible for the formation of the prostaglandins from arachidonic acid. Prostaglandins (and other metabolites) elicit signals for inflammation, which is thought to be required for tumor promotion in the mouse skin carcinogenesis model. This study was designed to examine the effect of protein kinase C (PKC)-activating tumor promoters (4 beta-12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)), non-PKC-type promoters (anthralin, benzoyl peroxide, okadaic acid), and mitogens (epidermal growth factor (EGF)) on the levels of the constitutive (PGHS-1) and inducible (PGHS-2) forms of PGHS in murine keratinocytes. Northern analysis of mRNA isolated from cultures treated with TPA (1 microgram/mL) showed that a single treatment of TPA produced a sevenfold increase in PGHS-2 mRNA by 1 h that decreased by 6 h after treatment. PGHS-2 protein levels were elevated threefold by 3 h and remained elevated through 9 h. Downregulation of PKC with a second TPA treatment 15 h after the first resulted in diminished induction of PGHS-2 expression. Of the other promoters examined, anthralin (5 microM), benzoyl peroxide (10 microM), and okadaic acid (1 microM) induced PGHS-2 mRNA with different kinetics and to different extents. Additionally, the non-tumor-promoting phorbol ester analogue 4 alpha-12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced PGHS-2 mRNA significantly by 1 h, and this response remained elevated up to 6 h after treatment. Elevated PGHS-2 expression was also observed by 3 h in response to EGF (10 ng/mL) treatment. Collectively, these observations indicate that there are several different signaling pathways by which PGHS-2 can be upregulated in murine keratinocytes.

Arachidonate has protumor-promoting action that is inhibited by linoleate in mouse skin carcinogenesis.

Previous studies demonstrated a requirement for arachidonic acid metabolites in tumor development in mouse skin. The goal of this study was to determine whether the arachidonate content of epidermal phospholipids could be altered by increasing dietary levels of linoleate and whether specific metabolites of linoleate and arachidonate have dissimilar biological effects. In a series of tumor studies in which the quantity of dietary linoleate was incrementally increased, a slight reduction in phospholipid levels of arachidonate was observed that correlated with an increased phospholipid level of linoleate and a suppression in tumor yield. A comparison of the arachidonate lipoxygenase metabolite 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) with the 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE) lipoxygenase metabolite of linoleate revealed that 12-HETE has biological activities that mimic the phorbol ester tumor promoters, whereas 13-HODE has antithetical effects. Specifically, 12(S)-HETE enhanced the activation of protein kinase C by phorbol esters, mimicked phorbol ester-induced adhesion of keratinocytes to fibronectin and mimicked phorbol ester repression of expression of a differentiation-related gene, keratin-1. 13-HODE blocked 12-HETE-induced cell adhesion and prevented 12-HETE-induced suppression of keratin-1 expression. Overall, these studies suggest that arachidonate and linoleate have opposing functions in the epidermis, particularly with regard to events involved in tumor development.

Tumor-promoting activity of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the skin-sensitizing agent 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) would elicit the same morphological and biochemical events that are characteristic of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). While single applications of 0.1% or 0.2% DNFB produced only mild epidermal hyperplasia, multiple applications produced pronounced hyperplasia. Compared with TPA, a single application of DNFB produced small increases in ODC activity, although a second DNFB treatment produced a greater response. Both DNFB and TPA caused marked induction of ODC, c-fos and c-jun mRNA. Vascular permeability increased significantly in response to DNFB, such that after 15 hr the response was quantitatively the same as for TPA. Repeated TPA produced the same response as a single application, but repeated DNFB resulted in a response that was half that of TPA. In contrast to TPA, DNFB failed to activate partially purified protein kinase C (PKC), although it did cause transient down-regulation of activity 15 hr after treatment. The ability of DNFB to induce ODC activity, however, was unaffected by prior down-regulation of PKC. DNFB was also shown to promote tumors in initiated SSIN mice. Twice-weekly applications of 0.1% or 0.2% DNFB resulted in approximately 65% and 85% of the mice developing an average of 2.0 or 3.2 tumors each, respectively. These results demonstrate that DNFB elicits many of the same changes as TPA and that it does so in a PKC-independent manner.

Association of protein kinase C activation with induction of ornithine decarboxylase in murine but not human keratinocyte cultures.

The goal of this study was to compare the response of mouse epidermal keratinocytes (MEKs) and human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs) to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) with respect to the activation and downregulation of protein kinase C (PKC), the expression of c-jun and c-fos, and the expression and induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity. Keratinocytes from adult CD-1 mice and from discarded adult human skin were grown in primary culture in a high-calcium serum-free medium that supported proliferation and differentiation. Immunoblotting of freshly isolated and cultured MEKs and HEKs for isozymes of protein kinase C revealed that fresh HEKs contained PKC alpha, PKC beta, and PKC delta; no PKC gamma, PKC epsilon, or PKC zeta were detected. In fresh MEKs, PKC alpha, PKC beta, PKC delta, and PKC zeta were observed, but not PKC gamma or PKC epsilon. After 2 wk in culture, the isozyme profiles of MEKs and HEKs were similar except that PKC gamma was noticeably present in HEK cultures. Activation of partially purified total PKC by TPA was similar in freshly isolated and cultured MEKs and HEKs, indicating that the two species were similar in this regard and that 2 wk of culture did not alter this characteristic. When MEK and HEK cultures were treated with TPA for 3 h, less than 30% of the control level of PKC activity was detected, indicating that TPA-induced downregulation of PKC was similar in MEKs and HEKs. After treatment with TPA, MEK cultures produced a large induction of both c-jun and c-fos mRNA by 60 min, as determined by northern blot analysis, and a large induction of ODC mRNA and enzyme activity by 6 h. TPA treatment of cultured HEKs, however, did not induce ODC activity; in fact, less activity, compared with that of control cultures, was observed. Northern blot analysis also revealed no increase in c-jun, c-fos, and ODC mRNA in HEKs. However, c-jun and c-fos mRNA and both ODC mRNA and enzyme activity were induced in HEKs fed growth factors after several days of deprivation. This suggests that the lack of ODC induction by TPA in HEKs is probably due to species differences in downstream steps in PKC signal transduction.

Differential effects of dietary linoleic acid on mouse skin-tumor promotion and mammary carcinogenesis.

On the basis of reports of rat mammary- and pancreas-tumor models, we hypothesized that an increase in consumption of linoleic acid (LA) would also cause an enhancement in mouse skin-tumor promotion. SEN-CAR mice were placed on diets containing 0.8%, 2.2%, 3.5%, 4.5%, 5.6%, 7.0%, or 8.4% LA, 1 week after initiation with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and 3 weeks before starting promotion with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. An inverse correlation (r = -0.92) was observed between papilloma number and level of LA; however, there was little difference in tumor incidence. A relationship between diet and carcinoma incidence was also found. The fatty acid composition of epidermal phospholipids reflected the dietary LA levels. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced epidermal prostaglandin E2 levels generally decreased with increasing dietary LA. To determine whether this inverse correlation between dietary LA and tumor yield was due to species differences or organ-model differences, a mammary carcinogenesis experiment was performed. SENCAR mice were fed the 0.8%, 4.5%, and 8.4% LA diets. All mice received 6 mg 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, administered intragastrically at 1 mg/week. Tumor appearance was delayed in the 0.8% LA diet group, and a positive dose-response relationship between dietary LA and mammary-tumor incidence was observed. These studies suggest that the effect of dietary LA on tumor development is target tissue specific rather than species specific.

The effect of dietary fat on the rapid development of mammary tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene in SENCAR mice.

We recently reported (J. Leyton et al., Cancer Res., 51: 907-915, 1991) an inverse correlation between skin tumor number and level of dietary linoleic acid (LA) in SENCAR mice following an initiation-promotion protocol. These results differed from the reported (C. Ip et al., Cancer Res., 45: 1997-2001, 1985) positive correlation between dietary LA and tumor incidence for the rat mammary gland. The goal of the study reported here was to determine whether this dissimilarity was due to organ site or species differences. Female SENCAR mice were fed 1 of 3 15% fat diets containing LA at levels of 0.8, 4.5, and 8.4% before, during, and after intragastric administration of 6 mg (1 mg/week) 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. A positive correlation between level of dietary LA and mammary tumor incidence was observed such that for the first 15 weeks, the incidence was greatest in the 8.4% LA diet group, followed by the 4.5% and then the 0.8% LA groups. Distinct dietary effects on latency were also noted in that 15, 12, and 8 weeks after cessation of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene were required for a 40% carcinoma incidence in the 0.8, 4.5, and 8.4% LA diet groups, respectively. A histopathological analysis of all tumors revealed that the predominant type was the adenosquamous carcinoma, which comprised 46.6, 54.1, and 77.7% of all mammary tumors for diets containing 0.8, 4.5, and 8.4% LA, respectively. The second most common tumor was the adenocarcinoma type B, which was found with a frequency of 33% in the 0.8% and 4.5% LA diet groups and 22% in the 8.4% LA diet group. These results indicate that SENCAR mice have a short latency period for 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumor development and that rat and mouse mammary tumor development is modified by dietary LA in a similar manner, although in the SENCAR mouse dietary LA did not have a saturating effect. In addition, high dietary LA was found to be associated specifically with an increased incidence of adenosquamous carcinomas but not of other types of mammary tumors.