Novel dichlorophenyl urea compounds inhibit proliferation of human leukemia HL-60 cells by inducing cell cycle arrest, differentiation and apoptosis.

Two novel dichlorophenyl urea compounds, SR4 and SR9, were synthesized in our laboratory and evaluated for anti-cancer activities. Specifically, we investigated the antiproliferative properties of these new compounds on promyelocytic HL-60 leukemia cells by analyzing their effects on cell differentiation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. SR4 and SR9 were both cytotoxic to HL-60 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner, with IC(50) of 1.2 µM and 2.2 µM, respectively, after 72 h treatment. Both compounds strongly suppressed growth of HL-60 cells by promoting cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 transition, with concomitant decrease in protein levels of cyclins D1 and E2 and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK 2 and CDK 4), and increased protein expression of CDK inhibitors p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1). In addition, either compounds induce cell differentiation as detected by increased NBT staining and expression of CD11b and CD14. Treatment with SR compounds also promoted mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis as confirmed by Annexin V-FITC double staining, DNA fragmentation, increased expression of caspase 3, 7 and 9, cytochrome c release, PARP degradation, and collapse in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ(MT)). Collectively, these results provide evidence that SR4 and SR9 have the potential for the treatment of human leukemia and merit further investigation as therapeutic agents against other types of cancer.

Identification of uPAR-positive chemoresistant cells in small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR/CD87) are major regulators of extracellular matrix degradation and are involved in cell migration and invasion under physiological and pathological conditions. The uPA/uPAR system has been of great interest in cancer research because it is involved in the development of most invasive cancer phenotypes and is a strong predictor of poor patient survival. However, little is known about the role of uPA/uPAR in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the most aggressive type of lung cancer. We therefore determined whether uPA and uPAR are involved in generation of drug resistant SCLC cell phenotype. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We screened six human SCLC cell lines for surface markers for putative stem and cancer cells. We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), fluorescence microscopy and clonogenic assays to demonstrate uPAR expression in a subpopulation of cells derived from primary and metastatic SCLC cell lines. Cytotoxic assays were used to determine the sensitivity of uPAR-positive and uPAR-negative cells to chemotherapeutic agents. The uPAR-positive cells in all SCLC lines demonstrated multi-drug resistance, high clonogenic activity and co-expression of CD44 and MDR1, putative cancer stem cell markers. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that uPAR-positive cells may define a functionally important population of cancer cells in SCLC, which are resistant to traditional chemotherapies, and could serve as critical targets for more effective therapeutic interventions in SCLC.