Minimal residual disease in breast cancer and gynecological malignancies: phenotype and clinical relevance.

In breast cancer, about 35% of patients without any clinical signs of overt distant metastases already have disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow aspirates at the time of primary therapy. A significant prognostic impact of these disseminated tumor cells has been shown by many international studies: patients with tumor cells in their bone marrow have a significantly worse prognosis than those without them. Even in malignancies where the skeletal system is not a preferred location for distant metastasis, such as ovarian cancer, early presence of minimal residual disease (MRD) is correlated with poor patient outcome. Thus, besides analysis of the primary tumor, detection of MRD can be used for assessment of patient prognosis and for prediction or monitoring of response to systemic therapy. Disseminated tumor cells are also the targets for novel tumor biological therapy approaches such as specific antibody-based therapies against target cell-surface antigens such as HER2, Ep-CAM (17-1A), and uPA-R. In breast cancer, a first antibody-based tumor therapy against HER2 (Herceptin) has already been approved for clinical use in recurrent disease. However, patient selection for such tumor biological therapies becomes rather difficult due to phenotype changes, which may manifest themselves as differences between primary lesion and disseminated tumor cells. Therefore, not only identification of disseminated tumor cells but even more so their characterization at the protein and gene levels have become increasingly important. In conclusion, characterization of tumor biological properties of disseminated tumor cells allows identification of patients with breast cancer or gynecological malignancies at risk for relapse who are likely to benefit from systemic treatment and/or novel tumor biological therapy approaches.

Short-chain phosphatidates are subtype-selective antagonists of lysophosphatidic acid receptors.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) are members of the phospholipid growth factor family. A major limitation in the field to date has been a lack of receptor subtype-specific agonists and antagonists. Here, we report that dioctylglycerol pyrophosphate and dioctylphosphatidic acid are selective antagonists of the LPA(1) and LPA(3) receptors, but prefer LPA(3) by an order of magnitude. Neither molecule had an agonistic or antagonistic effect on LPA(2) receptor. Consistent with this receptor subtype selectivity, dioctylglycerol pyrophosphate inhibited cellular responses to LPA in NIH3T3 fibroblasts, HEY ovarian cancer cells, PC12 pheochromocytoma cells, and Xenopus laevis oocytes. Responses elicited by S1P in these cell lines that endogenously express S1P(1), S1P(2), S1P(3), and S1P(5) receptors were unaffected by dioctylglycerol pyrophosphate. Responses evoked by the G protein-coupled receptor ligands acetylcholine, serotonin, ATP, and thrombin receptor-activating peptide were similarly unaffected, suggesting that the short-chain phosphatidates are receptor subtype-specific lysophosphatidate antagonists.

Sphingosylphosphocholine is a naturally occurring lipid mediator in blood plasma: a possible role in regulating cardiac function via sphingolipid receptors.

Blood plasma and serum contain factors that activate inwardly rectifying GIRK1/GIRK4 K+ channels in atrial myocytes via one or more non-atropine-sensitive receptors coupled to pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-proteins. This channel is also the target of muscarinic M(2) receptors activated by the physiological release of acetylcholine from parasympathetic nerve endings. By using a combination of HPLC and TLC techniques with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight MS, we purified and identified sphingosine 1-phosphate (SPP) and sphingosylphosphocholine (SPC) as the plasma and serum factors responsible for activating the inwardly rectifying K+ channel (I(K)). With the use of MS the concentration of SPC was estimated at 50 nM in plasma and 130 nM in serum; those concentrations exceeded the 1.5 nM EC(50) measured in guinea-pig atrial myocytes. With the use of reverse-transcriptase-mediated PCR and/or Western blot analysis, we detected Edg1, Edg3, Edg5 and Edg8 as well as OGR1 sphingolipid receptor transcripts and/or proteins. In perfused guinea-pig hearts, SPC exerted a negative chronotropic effect with a threshold concentration of 1 microM. SPC was completely removed after perfusion through the coronary circulation at a concentration of 10 microM. On the basis of their constitutive presence in plasma, the expression of specific receptors, and a mechanism of ligand inactivation, we propose that SPP and SPC might have a physiologically relevant role in the regulation of the heart.

Pharmacological characterization of phospholipid growth-factor receptors.

The phospholipid growth-factor (PLGE) terminology is proposed to describe a group of endogenous glycerol- and sphingolipid mediators that regulate cell proliferation through plasma membrane receptors. In addition to LPA and SPP, multiple PLGFs are present in blood plasma and serum. PLGF activity is regulated by its stimulus-coupled production and by endogenous inhibitors. In addition to LPA and SPP, alkenyl-glycerophosphate, cyclic-phosphatidic acid, and sphingosylphosphorylcholine were detected in biological fluids using mass spectrometry. Heterologous desensitization studies indicate the expression of multiple LPA-activated receptors in a variety of cell types, which are differentially activated by the different PLGFs. Northern blot and RT-PCR results reinforce the coexpression of PSP24 alpha and different members of the EDG1-7 receptors in the same cell. Stable heterologous expression of the PSP24 alpha, EDG2, and EDG4 receptors in HEK293 cells show distinct PLGF specificities and dose-response properties for each receptor subtype. Thus, both the controlled availability of the different agonists/inhibitors and the regulated expression of their receptors regulate the biological effects of PLGFs.

Different roles for RhoA during neurite initiation, elongation, and regeneration in PC12 cells.

The goal of the present study was to characterize the effects of RhoA at different stages of nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neuronal differentiation in the PC12 model. This comparative analysis was prompted by previous studies that reported apparently opposite effects for Rho in different models of neuronal differentiation and regeneration. PC12 cells were transfected with activated V14RhoA or dominant negative N19RhoA under the control of either a constitutive or a steroid-regulated promoter. Upon exposure to NGF, V14RhoA cells continued to proliferate and did not extend neurites; however, they remained responsive to NGF, as indicated by the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases. This inability to differentiate was reversed by C3 toxin and activation of cyclic AMP signaling, which inactivate RhoA. N19RhoA expression led to an increase in neurite initiation and branching. In contrast, when the RhoA mutants were expressed after NGF priming, only the rate of neurite extension was altered; V14RhoA clones had neurites approximately twice as long, whereas neurites of N19RhoA cells were approximately 50% shorter than those of appropriate controls. The effects of Rho in neurite regeneration mimicked those observed during the initial stages of morphogenesis; activation inhibited, whereas inactivation promoted, neurite outgrowth. Our results indicate that RhoA function changes at different stages of NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and neurite regeneration.

Naturally occurring analogs of lysophosphatidic acid elicit different cellular responses through selective activation of multiple receptor subtypes.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), plasmalogen-glycerophosphate (alkenyl-GP) and, cyclic-phosphatidic acid (cyclic-PA) are naturally occurring phospholipid growth factors (PLGFs). PLGFs elicit diverse biological effects via the activation of G protein-coupled receptors in a variety of cell types. In NIH3T3 fibroblasts, LPA and alkenyl-GP both induced proliferation, whereas cyclic-PA was antiproliferative. LPA and alkenyl-GP decreased cAMP in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner, whereas cyclic-PA caused cAMP to increase. LPA and alkenyl-GP both stimulated the activity of the mitogen-actived protein kinases extracellular signal regulated kinases 1 and 2 and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase, whereas cyclic-PA did not. All three PLGFs induced the formation of stress fibers in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. To determine whether these lipids activated the same or different receptors, heterologous desensitization patterns were established among the three PLGFs by monitoring changes in intracellular Ca2+ in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. LPA cross-desensitized both the alkenyl-GP and cyclic-PA responses. Alkenyl-GP cross-desensitized the cyclic-PA response, but only partially desensitized the LPA response. Cyclic-PA only partially desensitized both the alkenyl-GP and LPA responses. We propose that pharmacologically distinct subsets of PLGF receptors exist that distinguish between cyclic-PA and alkenyl-GP, but are all activated by LPA. We provide evidence that the PSP24 receptor is selective for LPA and not activated by the other two PLGFs. RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis indicate the co-expression of mRNAs encoding the EDG-2, EDG-4, and PSP24 receptors in a variety of cell lines and tissues. However, the lack of mRNA expression for these three receptors in the LPA-responsive Rat-1 and Sp2-O-Ag14 cells suggests that a number of PLGF receptor subtypes remain unidentified.