ABSTRACT
Treatment of colon cancer with an antagonist of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), JMR-132, results in a cell cycle arrest in S-phase of the tumor cells. Thus, we investigated the effect of JMR-132 in combination with S-phase-specific cytotoxic agents, 5-FU, irinotecan and cisplatin on the in vitro and in vivo growth of HT-29, HCT-116 and HCT-15 human colon cancer cell lines. In vitro, every compound inhibited proliferation of HCT-116 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with JMR-132 (5 µM) combined with 5-FU (1.25 µM), irinotecan (1.25 µM) or cisplatin (1.25 µM) resulted in an additive growth inhibition of HCT-116 cells in vitro as shown by MTS assay. Cell cycle analyses revealed that treatment of HCT-116 cells with JMR-132 was accompanied by a cell cycle arrest in S-phase. Combination treatment using JMR-132 plus a cytotoxic drug led to a significant increase of the sub-G 1 fraction, suggesting apoptosis. In vivo, daily treatment with GHRH antagonist JMR-132 decreased the tumor volume by 40-55% (p < 0.001) of HT-29, HCT-116 and HCT-15 tumors xenografted into athymic nude mice. Combined treatment with JMR-132 plus chemotherapeutic agents 5-FU, irinotecan or cisplatin resulted in an additive tumor growth suppression of HT-29, HCT-116 and HCT-15 xenografts to 56-85%. Our observations indicate that JMR-132 enhances the antiproliferative effect of S-phase-specific cytotoxic drugs by causing accumulation of tumor cells in S-phase.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/toxicity , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone/antagonists & inhibitors , S Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints/drug effects , Sermorelin/analogs & derivatives , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Camptothecin/analogs & derivatives , Camptothecin/therapeutic use , Camptothecin/toxicity , Cell Line, Tumor , Cisplatin/therapeutic use , Cisplatin/toxicity , Colonic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Colonic Neoplasms/metabolism , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Fluorouracil/therapeutic use , Fluorouracil/toxicity , Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone/metabolism , HCT116 Cells , HT29 Cells , Humans , Irinotecan , Mice , Mice, Nude , Sermorelin/therapeutic use , Sermorelin/toxicity , Transplantation, HeterologousABSTRACT
Antagonists of GHRH are being developed for the treatment of various cancers. In this study we investigated in vivo and in vitro the effects of the GHRH antagonist MZ-J-7-118 and its mechanism of action in HEC-1A human endometrial cancer. Treatment of nude mice bearing HEC-1A xenografts with 10 mug/d MZ-J-7-118 for 6 wk significantly inhibited the volume of HEC-1A tumors by 43%, tumor weight by 40% compared with controls and prolonged the tumor doubling time from 18.7 +/- 1.4 to 25.4 +/- 3.8 d. Administration of 20 mug MZ-J-7-118, sc, twice a day significantly (P < 0.05) decreased HEC-1A growth, as evidenced by a 57.9% decrease in tumor volume, a 50.7% reduction in tumor weight, and the extension of tumor doubling time from 17.5 +/- 2.8 to 36.4 +/- 6.5 d. Therapy with GHRH antagonists significantly decreased serum IGF-I levels in experiment 1, and significantly increased tumoral IGF-I levels in experiment 2 in treated mice. Levels of IGF-II and vascular endothelial growth factor-A in tumors were not changed. Specific high affinity binding sites for GHRH were found on HEC-1A tumor membranes using ligand competition assays with (125)I-labeled GHRH antagonist JV-1-42. MZ-J-7-118 displaced radiolabeled JV-1-42 with an IC(50) of 0.13 +/- 0.04 nm. The expression of mRNA for GHRH and splice variants of the GHRH receptor in HEC-1A tumors was demonstrated by real-time RT-PCR analysis. HEC-1A cells cultured in vitro secreted GHRH into the medium. The GHRH antagonist MZ-J-7-118 inhibited the growth of HEC-1A cells in vitro. Our results indicate that GHRH antagonists can reduce the growth of human endometrial cancer and could be used as an alternative adjuvant therapy for the management of endometrial cancer.
Subject(s)
Endometrial Neoplasms/pathology , Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone/antagonists & inhibitors , Sermorelin/toxicity , Animals , Cell Division/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Female , Humans , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/metabolism , Insulin-Like Growth Factor II/metabolism , Kinetics , Mice , Mice, Knockout , Transplantation, Heterologous , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolismABSTRACT
In view of evidence that growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factors (IGF) may play a role in the development of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), we investigated the effects of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GH-RH) antagonist MZ-4-71 on the proliferation of the human renal adenocarcinoma cell line Caki-I in vitro and in vivo. Male nude mice bearing xenografts of human Caki-I RCC were treated for 4 weeks with MZ-4-71 injected s.c. twice daily at a dose of 20 microg per animal. Tumor growth, serum, liver, and tumor IGF levels and IGF-I receptor concentrations in Caki-I cell membranes were measured. After 4 weeks of therapy, the final volume of Caki-I tumors in nude mice treated with MZ-4-71 was significantly (P < 0.01) decreased to 52.6 +/- 12.3 mm3 as compared with controls that measured 504.2 +/- 104.1 mm3. Treatment with GH-RH antagonist also significantly reduced tumor weight, serum levels of GH and IGF-I, liver concentrations of IGF-I, and tumor levels of IGF-I and IGF-II. High-affinity binding sites for IGF-I were detected in the cell membranes of Caki-I tumors. IGF-I and IGF-II stimulated the proliferation of Caki-I cells in tissue cultures. Antagonist MZ-4-71 could inhibit in vitro growth of Caki-I cells, but only at high concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that GH-RH antagonist MZ-4-71 can significantly inhibit the growth of Caki-I RCC. MZ-4-71 may exert its suppressive effect on tumor growth through a reduction in GH release from the pituitary and the subsequent decrease in the production of IGF-I in the liver and IGF-I and II by the tumors. The efficacy of MZ-4-71 suggests that this compound could be considered for the therapy of recurrent or metastatic RCC.
