Glucuronidation of SN-38 and NU/ICRF 505 in human colon cancer and adjacent normal colon.

BACKGROUND: Glucuronidation represents a novel mechanism of intrinsic drug resistance in colon cancer cells. To safely reverse this mechanism in vivo, it is essential to identify which isoforms of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases are responsible for catalysing this drug metabolism in tumour tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LC-MS was applied to measure rates of glucuronidation of two anticancer compounds (SN-38 and NU/ICRF 505) by patient colon cancer biopsies and paired normal colon. RESULTS: Three independent lines of enquiry indicated that, in the tumour specimens, SN-38 was glucuronidated primarily by UGT1A1, the isozyme generally recognised as being responsible for hepatic detoxification of this compound, while with NU/ICRF 505 two candidate isoforms emerged - UGT1A8 and/or UGT1A10 - both of which are not normally expressed in the liver. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that tumour selective modulation of this drug resistance mechanism in patients may be feasible with NU/ICRF 505 but more difficult to realise with SN-38. De novo drug resistance is recognised as contributing significantly to the poor response rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) to chemotherapy (1). Nonetheless, the underlying mechanisms responsible for drug insensitivity remain

Glucuronidation as a mechanism of intrinsic drug resistance in human colon cancer: reversal of resistance by food additives.

Colon cancer exhibits inherent insensitivity to chemotherapy by mechanisms that are poorly characterized. We have shown that human colon cancer cells are efficient in drug conjugation catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) and now report on the role of glucuronidation in de novo resistance to two topoisomerase I inhibitors. Identification of the UGT responsible for glucuronidation of SN-38 and the anthraquinone NU/ICRF 505 was achieved by first using a panel of human cDNA-expressed isozymes to measure conjugating activity. HT29 colon cancer cells were then probed by reverse transcriptase-PCR, Western Blot analysis, and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for their profile and activity of UGT isozymes and screened for effective inhibitors of glucuronidation. Expression analysis was also conducted in colon cancer biopsies and paired adjacent normal colon specimens. UGT1A9 was identified as the isozyme catalyzing biotransformation of the two compounds in HT29 cells and propofol as an effective competitive inhibitor of this metabolism. Inhibition of glucuronidation resulted in up to a 5-fold enhancement in drug activity. The majority of colon cancer biopsies studies expressed UGT protein at levels greater than in HT29 cells but with marked interpatient variations and proficiently glucuronidated the two anticancer drugs. A range of UGT aglycones were capable of modulating glucuronidation in the biopies with octylgallate being 10-fold more potent (ID(50) 24 microM) than propofol. In a subset of tumors (33%), UGT protein levels and activity exceeded that of paired normal colon. Glucuronidation may represent a mechanism of intrinsic drug resistance in colon cancer open to modulation by a range of food additives and proprietary medicines.

DNA damage is able to induce senescence in tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.

Often the use of cytotoxic drugs in cancer therapy results in stable disease rather than regression of the tumor, and this is typically seen as a failure of treatment. We now show that DNA damage is able to induce senescence in tumor cells expressing wild-type p53. We also show that cytotoxics are capable of inducing senescence in tumor tissue in vivo. Our results suggest that p53 and p21 play a central role in the onset of senescence, whereas p16(INK4a) function may be involved in maintaining senescence. Thus, like apoptosis, senescence appears to be a p53-induced cellular response to DNA damage and an important factor in determining treatment outcome.