Identification of human basic fetoprotein as glucose-6-phosphate isomerase by using N- and C-terminal sequence tags and terminal tag database.

Human basic fetoprotein (BFP), found in fetal serum and tissue extracts as well as in extracts of various cancer tissues, has long been known as a marker protein for cancers; however, the primary sequence has not yet been reported. This paper describes the identification of BFP using the N- and C-terminal amino acid sequence tags (Ac-AALTRDPQFQ and QQREARVQ, respectively) clarified by mass spectrometry-based methods, and a terminal tag database (ProteinCarta). In this study, BFP was identified as glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (G6PI_HUMAN).

Proteomic study of malignant pleural mesothelioma by laser microdissection and two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis identified cathepsin D as a novel candidate for a differential diagnosis biomarker.

To investigate the proteomic background of malignancies of the pleura, we examined and compared the proteomic profile of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM)(10 cases), lung adenocarcinoma (11 cases), squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (13 cases), pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung (3 cases) and synovial sarcoma (6 cases). Cellular proteins were extracted from specific populations of tumor cells recovered by laser microdissection. The extracted proteins were labeled with CyDye DIGE Fluor saturation dyes and subjected to two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) using a large format electrophoresis device. Among 3875 protein spots observed, the intensity of 332 was significantly different (Wilcoxon p value less than 0.05) and with more than two-fold inter-sample-group average difference between the different histology groups. Among these 332, 282 were annotated by LC-MS/MS and included known biomarker proteins for MPM, such as calretinin, as well as proteins previously uncharacterized in MPM. Tissue microarray immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression of cathepsin D was lower in MPM than in lung adenocarcinoma (15% vs. 44% of cases respectively in immunohistochemistry). In conclusion, we examined the protein expression profile of MPM and other lung malignancies, and identified cathepsin D to distinguish MPM from most popular lung cancer such as lung adenocarcinoma.

Comparison of different clones (WT49 versus 6F-H2) of WT-1 antibodies for immunohistochemical diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is known to mimic the morphology of a number of diverse neoplastic conditions. WT-1 protein is conventionally used as a positive mesothelioma marker. Recently, a new monoclonal antibody clone WT49 has recently become commercially available. To compare specificity and sensitivity of the conventionally used clone 6F-H2 for the diagnosis of MPM to those of the new clone WT49. Forty cases of MPM, and 55 cases of lung carcinoma, 10 cases of synovial sarcoma of the intrathoracic region were analyzed. Of the 40 cases of MPM tested, clone WT49 and 6F-H2 stained 30 (75.0%) and 26 (65.0%) cases, respectively. Nuclear staining of clone WT49 was observed in 4 (7.2%) cases of lung carcinomas and in 1 (10.0%) case of synovial sarcoma. However, there was no nuclear staining of clone 6F-H2 in lesions other than MPM. There was no cytoplasmic staining of clone WT49 in any tumor. However, cytoplasmic staining of clone 6F-H2 was observed in 7 (17.5%) cases of MPM, 17 (30.1%) cases of lung carcinomas, and 5 (50.0%) cases of synovial sarcoma. The main advantage of WT49 is its higher reactivity with the sarcomatoid area of biphasic mesothelioma, but the results also indicate 1 drawback, that this clone was seen to react with a small percentage of lung carcinomas when it is used to distinguish epithelioid mesotheliomas from lung carcinomas. Furthermore, the positive reaction of clone WT49 was restricted to nucleus without cytoplasmic staining, which is seen in conventionally used WT-1 antibodies.

Taurine chloramine: a possible oxidant reservoir.

Taurine is abundant in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) where it reacts with PMN-derived hypochlorous acid to form taurine chloramine (Tau-NHCl), a substance that does not readily cross the cell membrane. When PMNs were stimulated in PBS lacking taurine, extracellular oxidant concentration was low, but the concentration increased 3-4 fold when 15 mM taurine was added, indicating that taurine lowers oxidant levels inside the cell. When Tau-NHCl was added to Jurkat cells in suspension, its half life was about 75 min. In contrast, membrane-permeable ammonia mono-chloramine (NH2Cl) has a half life of only 6 min. Accordingly, NH2Cl oxidizes cytosolic proteins, such as IkappaB, and inhibits NF-kappaB activation, whereas Tau-NHCl exhibits no comparable effect. However, when NH4+ was added to the medium, Tau-NHCl oxidizes IkappaB and inhibits NF-kappaB activation, probably through oxidant transfer to NH4+ leading to NH2Cl formation. These results indicate that Tau-NHCl can serve as an oxidant reservoir, exhibiting either delayed oxidant effects or acting as an oxidant at a distant site.

Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase is essential for oxidative stress-induced Jurkat cell apoptosis by monochloramine.

Leukemic cell apoptosis may be enhanced by appropriate oxidative stress. We report here the mechanism of Jurkat cell apoptosis by monochloramine (NH(2)Cl), a neutrophil-derived oxidant. NH(2)Cl induced caspase-dependent apoptosis, which was preceded by cytochrome c and Smac/Diablo release from mitochondria. Within 10min of NH(2)Cl treatment, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and elevation of cytosolic Ca(2+) were observed. JNK inhibitors (SP600125 or JNK inhibitor VIII) significantly suppressed the apoptosis as well as caspase cleavage and cytochrome c release. In contrast, Ca(2+) chelation by EGTA+acetoxymethyl-EGTA had no effects on apoptosis. Our results indicated that JNK activation contributed most importantly to the NH(2)Cl-induced apoptosis.

Oxidative modification of IkappaB by monochloramine inhibits tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced NF-kappaB activation.

We have previously reported that monochloramine (NH(2)Cl), a neutrophil-derived oxidant, inhibited tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha)-induced expression of cell adhesion molecules and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation (Free Radical Research 36 (2002) 845-852). Here, we studied the mechanism how NH(2)Cl inhibited TNFalpha-induced NF-kappaB activation, and compared the effects with taurine chloramine (Tau-NHCl). Pretreatment of Jurkat cells with NH(2)Cl at 70 microM resulted in suppression of TNFalpha-induced IkappaB phosphorylation and degradation, and inhibited NF-kappaB activation. In addition, a slow-moving IkappaB band appeared on SDS-PAGE. By contrast, Tau-NHCl for up to 200 microM had no effects. Interestingly, NH(2)Cl did not inhibit IkappaB kinase activation by TNFalpha. Protein phosphatase activity did not show apparent change. When recombinant IkappaB was oxidized by NH(2)Cl in vitro and phosphorylated by TNFalpha-stimulated Jurkat cell lysate, its phosphorylation occurred less effectively than non-oxidized IkappaB. In addition, when NF-kappaB-IkappaB complex was immunoprecipitated from NH(2)Cl-treated cells and phosphorylated in vitro by recombinant active IkappaB kinase, native IkappaB but not oxidized IkappaB was phosphorylated. Amino acid analysis of the in vitro oxidized IkappaB showed methionine oxidation to methionine sulfoxide. Although Tau-NHCl alone had little effects on TNFalpha-induced NF-kappaB activation, simultaneous presence of Tau-NHCl and ammonium ion significantly inhibited the NF-kappaB activation, probably through the conversion of Tau-NHCl to NH(2)Cl. These results indicated that NH(2)Cl inhibited TNFalpha-induced NF-kappaB activation through the oxidation of IkappaB, and that NH(2)Cl is physiologically more relevant than Tau-NHCl in modifying NF-kappaB-mediated cellular responses.

Cell cycle arrest by monochloramine through the oxidation of retinoblastoma protein.

Impairment of cell cycle control has serious effects on inflammation, tissue repair, and carcinogenesis. We report here the G1 cell cycle arrest by monochloramine (NH2Cl), a physiological oxidant derived from activated neutrophils, and its mechanism. When Jurkat cells were treated with NH2Cl (70 microM, 10 min) and incubated for 24 h, the S phase population decreased significantly with a slight increase in the hypodiploid cell population. The G0/ G1 phase and G2/M phase populations did not show marked changes. Three hours after NH2Cl treatment, the retinoblastoma protein (pRB) was dephosphorylated especially at Ser780 and Ser795, both of which are important phosphorylation sites for the G1 checkpoint function. The phosphorylation at Ser807/811 showed no apparent change. The expression of cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases, and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors showed no apparent change. Moreover, the kinase activity that phosphorylates pRB remained constant even after NH2Cl treatment. The protein phosphatase activity that dephosphorylates pRB showed a marginal increase. Notably, when the recombinant pRB was oxidized by NH2Cl in vitro, the oxidized pRB became difficult to be phosphorylated by kinases, especially at Ser780 and Ser795, but not at Ser807/811. Amino acid analysis of oxidized pRB showed methionine oxidation to methionine sulfoxide. The NH2Cl-treated Jurkat cell proteins also showed a decrease in methionine. These observations suggested that direct pRB oxidation was the major cause of NH2Cl-induced cell cycle arrest. In the presence of 2 mM NH4+, NaOCl (200 microM) or activated neutrophils also induced a G1 cell cycle arrest. As protein methionine oxidation has been reported in inflammation and aging, cell cycle modulation by pRB oxidation may occur in various pathological conditions.

Physiological oxidants induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in a multidrug-resistant natural killer cell line, NK-YS.

Natural-killer (NK) cell-derived malignant tumors, such as angiocentric lymphoma, is often resistant to various chemotherapeutic agents and follows an aggressive clinical course. We report the effects of physiological oxidants (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2; sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl and monochloramine, NH2Cl) on the cell growth and cell death in a multidrug-resistant NK tumor cell line, NK-YS. Among the oxidants tested, NH2Cl was most cytotoxic, in which more than 90% of the cells died at 150 nmol/1 x 10(6) cells. H2O2 was less cytotoxic, whereas NaOCl showed no significant cell death at this dose. The cell death induced by NH2Cl was accompanied by DNA cleavage and caspase activation, which suggested apoptosis. In addition, lower dose of NH2Cl (70 nmol/1 x 10(6) cells) retarded cell growth and inhibited the cell cycle transition from G1 to S. This cell cycle arrest accompanied a decrease in the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein at serine 795. These observations suggest that NH2Cl may induce apoptotic cell death and growth arrest in multidrug-resistant NK cell tumors.

Effects of phlebotomy on the growth of ferric nitrilotriacetate-induced renal cell carcinoma.

The ferric nitrilotriacetate-induced carcinogenesis model is unique in that reactive oxygen species-free radicals are involved in the carcinogenic process. But the effects of iron-withdrawal in the progression of renal cell carcinoma are not well understood. We performed repeated phlebotomies on animals that had been administered ferric nitrilotriacetate in the initiation stage of renal cell carcinoma (phlebotomy group), and compared the development of renal tumors with those not receiving repeated phlebotomies (non-phlebotomy group). Ferric nitrilotriacetate-treated male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: a phlebotomy group (21 rats) and a non-phlebotomy group (17 rats). Ten age-adjusted normal rats were also observed as a normal group. Hematocrit was maintained under 25% in the phlebotomy group. Hematocrit levels in the normal group and in the non-phlebotomy group were not significantly different. As a result, the incidence of renal cell carcinoma was not significantly different between phlebotomy and non-phlebotomy animals. However, the total weight of the renal cell carcinoma was significantly heavier in the animals from non-phlebotomy group than in those from the phlebotomy group (23.64 g +/- 18.54 vs. 54.40 g +/- 42.40, P < 0.05). The present study demonstrated that phlebotomy after the administration of ferric nitrilotriacetate did not reduce the incidence of renal cell carcinoma. In addition, we showed that iron withdrawal at the promotion stage of carcinogenesis will retard tumor growth.