Metabolism, uptake, and excretion of a D-glucaric acid salt and its potential use in cancer prevention.

D-Glucaric acid (GA) is a nontoxic, natural compound. One of its derivatives is the potent beta-glucuronidase inhibitor D-glucaro-1,4-lactone (1,4-GL). The goal of this study was to demonstrate the in vivo formation of 1,4-GL from a D-glucarate salt and determine its metabolism, uptake by selected organs, and excretion following oral administration of potassium hydrogen D-[14C]glucarate to male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. 1,4-GL increases detoxification of carcinogens and tumor promoters/progressors by inhibiting beta-glucuronidase and preventing hydrolysis of their glucuronides. 1,4-GL and its precursors, such as potassium hydrogen D-glucarate and calcium D-glucarate, may exert their anticancer action, in part, through alterations in steroidogenesis accompanied by changes in the hormonal environment and the proliferative status of the target organ. Thus, GA derivatives may be useful as new or adjuvant cancer preventive and therapeutic agents. In our study, 1,4-GL was found to be formed from the D-glucarate salt in the stomach of rats. It was apparently absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, transported with the blood to different internal organs, and excreted in the urine and to a lesser extent in bile. There were no significant differences in the metabolism of PHG between male and female rats. Thus, formation of 1,4-GL from D-glucaric acid derivatives may be prerequisite for their inhibition of chemical carcinogenesis in rodents and prevention of breast, prostate, and colon cancer in humans.

Comparative structural analysis of human and rat 65 kDa tumor-associated phosphoproteins.

1. A 65 kDa-tumor-associated protein (p65) was isolated from human and rat carcinoma cell culture media. Antibodies raised to the rat protein recognized an antigenically related protein in human cancer cell line. 2. Amino acid composition, N-terminal and internal sequence as well as peptide map and western blot analysis of the p65 strongly suggest a high degree of homology between the human and rat p65 proteins. 3. Homology searches indicated that p65 was not homologous to previously sequenced proteins, but that it may be related to proteins of the steroid receptor superfamily of genes, especially c-erb A gene.

Demonstration of a 65 kDa tumor-specific phosphoprotein in urine and serum of rats with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary adenocarcinomas.

Polyclonal antibodies against a 65 kDa tumor-associated phosphoprotein (p65) were used to develop an ELISA to analyze the presence of p65 in urine and serum of rats bearing N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary gland adenocarcinomas. Highly purified rat p65 was added to normal urine and serum to establish a quantitative standard curve with the average correlation coefficient being 0.98 and 0.99 respectively. All samples of urine and serum obtained from different carcinoma-bearing rats showed p65 concentrations above the normal levels found in the control urine and sera. The correlation coefficient between tumor burden and p65 concentration in urine and serum was 0.65 and 0.77 respectively. The average levels of p65 in normal urine and normal serum were 37.0 +/- 32.0 and 48.0 +/- 38.0 ng/ml respectively. In the case of urine obtained from rats bearing mammary adenocarcinomas, the mean p65 level was 119.0 +/- 35.9 ng/ml and their serum level was 225.4 +/- 67.5 ng/ml. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value for serum and urine marker elevation were 78.5, 70.0 and 78.5% respectively. Following in vitro phosphorylation of concentrated urinary proteins, isoelectrofocusing, SDS-PAGE and autoradiography, a phosphorylated form of the 65 kDa protein with a pI of 5.8 was identified in the urine of tumor-bearing rats. This phosphoprotein bound to an antiphosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody and an anti-p65 polyclonal as determined by Western blot analysis. Using the anti-p65 antibodies in an immunoprecipitation procedure, the main radio- and immunoactive band of 65 kDa and two lower mol. wt bands of 50 and 41 kDa, apparently representing degradation products of p65, were identified after in vitro and in vivo phosphorylation of urinary proteins obtained from mammary carcinoma-bearing rats.

Monoclonal antibodies against a 65-kDa tumor-associated phosphoprotein: development and use in cancer detection.

Five hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to a 65-kDa tumor-associated phosphoprotein (p65) were established. Purified to homogeneity, p65 was used as an immunogen to induce immune response in C57BL/6N mice. Splenocytes were fused with mouse myeloma cells and hybridoma lines were selectively subcloned. A rapid and sensitive sandwich type ELISA, using purified MAbs was established to measure markedly elevated amounts of p65 in sera obtained from both tumor-bearing rats and from cancer patients. The p65 from rat and human sources was added quantitatively to normal sera to construct standard curves. The average level of p65 in normal rat sera was 38 ng/ml +/- 13 ng/ml (mean +/- SD), and in sera from rats bearing mammary adenocarcinomas, the average value was 1005 +/- 140 ng/ml. In normal human sera the mean level of p65 was 34 +/- 35 ng/ml (mean +/- SD) and sera of patients with variety of cancers had an average p65 value of 344 +/- 57 ng/ml. More than 80% of tested sera from adenocarcinoma-bearing rats (20/24) as well as from cancer patients (82/98) had p65 levels elevated two standard deviations above the mean. Overall the assay had a sensitivity of 80.9% and specificity of 85%. The purified IgG1 MAbs, with high titers and strong anti p65 specificities were also used to develop an immunohistochemical method to visualize the expression of p65 in rat tumor tissue sections. The HB2, HF11 and RE6 cell lines have proved to be quite stable in the ability to secrete anti-p65 MAbs.

Purification and characterization of a 65-kDa tumor-associated phosphoprotein from rat transplantable hepatocellular carcinoma 1682C cell line.

We have isolated a homogeneous tumor-associated phosphoglycoprotein of about 65 kDa (p65) by ammonium sulfate precipitation of proteins from conditioned medium containing the rat transplantable hepatocellular carcinoma 1682C cell line, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography on molecular-sieving and phenyl hydrophobic interaction columns. The protein was concentrated in a Rotofor isoelectric focusing cell and finally separated by isoelectrofocusing followed by SDS--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We achieved a purification of approximately 11,000-fold after the Rotofor concentration step. This protein migrated as a single band upon electrophoresis in SDS-PAGE and had a pI of 5.8 in isoelectrofocusing gels. The carbohydrate content of the blotted phosphoglycoprotein was analyzed by probing the blots with biotinylated lectins; a positive reaction was detected with concanavalin A, wheat-germ agglutinine, and Ricinus communis agglutinine. To confirm the tumor origin of this molecule, hepatocellular carcinoma cells were labeled in vivo using [32P]orthophosphate as well as [35S]methionine and cell culture medium was analyzed for the presence of radioactive band that corresponds with our protein. Phosphoamine acid analysis by thin-layer chromatography showed the presence of phosphotyrosine, phosphothreonine, and phosphoserine, which was later confirmed by analysis of the amino acid composition. Using the method described by Marchalonis and Weltman for comparative analysis of protein structure and evolution, we compared the protein isolated by us with other tumor markers and proteins showing similar properties and found no significant similarities.

Antiproliferative effect of dietary glucarate on the Sprague-Dawley rat mammary gland.

Dietary glucarate has previously been shown to inhibit chemical carcinogen-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis. It is demonstrated in this paper that in the mammary gland of the female Sprague-Dawley rat, feeding glucarate at a dose of 70 mmol/kg AIN76A diet for 2 weeks beginning at 35 days of age, markedly reduces [3H]thymidine labeling. Specific histochemical staining for beta-glucuronidase is used to show that the glucarate diet fed to rats for 2-4 weeks inhibits beta-glucuronidase activity in the mammary gland and has a marked antiproliferative effect on mammary epithelium. Glucarate may inhibit rat mammary carcinogenesis, in part, by changing the proliferative status of the target organ.