PTHrP Expression in Human MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells Is Critical for Tumor Growth and Survival and Osteoblast Inhibition

This study examined the effects of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) derived from human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells on the tumor growth and osteoblast inhibition. Results revealed that knocking down PTHrP expression in the breast cancer cells strikingly inhibited the formation of subcutaneous tumors in nude mice. PTHrP knockdown dramatically decreased the levels of cyclins D1 and A1 proteins and arrested the cell cycle progression at the G1 stage. PTHrP knockdown led to the cleavage of Caspase 8 and induced apoptosis of the tumor cells. Interestingly, knocking down PTHrP increased the levels of Beclin1 and LC3-II and promoted the formation of autophagosomes. Knocking down PTHrP expression significantly reduced the abilities of the breast cancer cells to inhibit osteoblast differentiation and bone formation in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we found that PTHrP activated its own expression through an autocrine mechanism in MDA-MB-231 cells. Collectively, these studies suggest that targeting PTHrP expression in the tumor cells could be a potential therapeutic strategy for breast cancers, especially those with skeletal metastases.     

蛋白表达抑制稳定株MDA—MB-231-Tudor—SNI的筛选和鉴定

目的采用针对人类Tudor—SN基因的RNA干扰（RNAi）技术建立Tudor—SN表达抑制的乳腺癌MDA—MB-231稳定细胞株。方法利用脂质体转染方法将pGenesil—shRNA—hTudor—SNI质粒转染进入MDA—MB-231细胞,经G418筛选出稳定株,通过RT—PCR检测Tudor—SN的mRNA水平,再以Western印迹技术鉴定Tudor—SN蛋白表达情况并计算蛋白表达抑制率。结果与对照组相比,以G418筛选的MDA—MB-231-Tudor—SNI稳定株Tudor—SN的mRNA水平降低（P〈0．01,n=3）,蛋白表达水平明显下调（P〈0．01,n=3）,蛋白表达抑制率达78．12％。结论成功筛选并鉴定人类Tudor—SN蛋白表达抑制MDA—MB-231稳定株,有助于深入研究Tudor—SN蛋白在乳腺癌中的作用。     

线粒体钙单向转运体和线粒体应激关系的研究进展

钙离子(calcium ion,Ca~(2+))在线粒体功能障碍及细胞损伤凋亡过程中发挥重要的细胞信号作用。近些年来关于Ca~(2+)通道以及其调控蛋白的研究越来越多,其中,线粒体单向转运体(uniporter)复合物的结构组成及其相关蛋白的分布特点成为主要研究热点。作为uniporter复合物中关键的通道蛋白,线粒体钙单向转运蛋白(mitochondrial calcium uniporter,MCU)可顺电化学梯度摄入Ca~(2+),将Ca~(2+)从胞质转运到线粒体基质并控制转运速率,其在胞内Ca~(2+)信号转导、Ca~(2+)稳态、线粒体能量代谢以及细胞凋亡方面具有重要意义。识别调控线粒体内Ca~(2+)信号的MCU及其相关蛋白可深入阐明线粒体应激在相关疾病中的发生发展,并为进一步的疾病治疗提供理论依据。     

瑞戈非尼抑制三阴性乳腺癌MDA-MB-231细胞增殖的研究

目的:利用裸鼠皮下成瘤动物模型及裸鼠肝脏原位多发与弥散模型,探索新型分子靶向药物瑞戈非尼对三阴性乳腺癌MDA-MB-231增殖的抑制作用,确定其分子机制。方法:培养获得人高侵袭性三阴性乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231,经BALB/c裸鼠皮下注射形成皮下肿瘤,或经肝门静脉注射形成肝脏多发、弥散的肿瘤模型。给予瑞戈非尼灌胃给药治疗,3周后解剖,测量肿瘤体积并称重;或进行PET/CT检测,对核素强度、散发肿瘤占肝脏面积进行定量。通过定量PCR(q PCR)实验验证上皮-间质转化标志物与转移、侵袭相关标志物的表达水平。结果:在裸鼠皮下成瘤模型以及裸鼠肝脏原位多发与弥散肿瘤模型中,瑞戈非尼隔日灌胃给药持续3周能够显著抑制MDA-MB-231的增殖;皮下肿瘤体积、重量,以及裸鼠肝脏PET/CT检测显示瑞戈非尼持续给药组的相对核素强度均明显低于对照组;q PCR实验反映出瑞戈非尼能够抑制MDA-MB-231的上皮-间质转化与转移、侵袭作用。结论:揭示了瑞戈非尼对三阴性乳腺癌细胞系MDA-MB-231的增殖抑制作用,初步探索了其分子机制,为瑞戈非尼应用于三阴性乳腺癌的治疗提供参考。     

NUAK1增加乳腺癌细胞的趋化和粘附能力

本课题组先前已证明NUAK1/ARK5可通过影响F-actin的聚合从而促进乳腺癌细胞的侵袭和转移. 但是NUAK1是否还通过其它机制影响乳腺癌的侵袭和转移尚有待于探讨.本文证明NUAK1还可以影响乳腺癌细胞趋化、粘附能力从而在乳腺癌细胞侵袭转移中起重要作用. 应用化学合成的小RNA干扰质粒转染到乳腺癌细胞系MDA MB 231中,用免疫印迹技术检测NUAK1蛋白的表达情况. 结果显示,在敲除NUAK1的细胞（siNUAK1/MDA231）中, NUAK1蛋白表达水平明显降低;趋化运动实验结果显示, siNUAK1/MDA231细胞的趋化运动能力比未处理组（Scr/MDA231）细胞明显降低;细胞粘附实验结果显示, EGF刺激5 min、15 min后,siNUAK1/MDA231细胞比Scr/MDA231细胞粘附细胞数量均明显减少;免疫印迹技术检测integrin β1磷酸化验证NUAK1影响乳腺癌细胞粘附的机制. 结果显示,siNUAK1/MDA231细胞内integrin β1磷酸化比Scr/MDA231细胞不同程度降低. 上述结果表明, NUAK1通过磷酸化integrin β1促进乳腺癌细胞与纤维粘连蛋白的粘附,从而促进乳腺癌的侵袭和转移.     

Distinct Regulation of Cytoplasmic Calcium Signals and Cell Death Pathways by Different Plasma Membrane Calcium ATPase Isoforms in MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) actively extrude Ca(2+) from the cell and are essential components in maintaining intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis. There are four PMCA isoforms (PMCA1-4), and alternative splicing of the PMCA genes creates a suite of calcium efflux pumps. The role of these different PMCA isoforms in the control of calcium-regulated cell death pathways and the significance of the expression of multiple isoforms of PMCA in the same cell type are not well understood. In these studies, we assessed the impact of PMCA1 and PMCA4 silencing on cytoplasmic free Ca(2+) signals and cell viability in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The PMCA1 isoform was the predominant regulator of global Ca(2+) signals in MDA-MB-231 cells. PMCA4 played only a minor role in the regulation of bulk cytosolic Ca(2+), which was more evident at higher Ca(2+) loads. Although PMCA1 or PMCA4 knockdown alone had no effect on MDA-MB-231 cell viability, silencing of these isoforms had distinct consequences on caspase-independent (ionomycin) and -dependent (ABT-263) cell death. PMCA1 knockdown augmented necrosis mediated by the Ca(2+) ionophore ionomycin, whereas apoptosis mediated by the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-263 was enhanced by PMCA4 silencing. PMCA4 silencing was also associated with an inhibition of NFκB nuclear translocation, and an NFκB inhibitor phenocopied the effects of PMCA4 silencing in promoting ABT-263-induced cell death. This study demonstrates distinct roles for PMCA1 and PMCA4 in the regulation of calcium signaling and cell death pathways despite the widespread distribution of these two isoforms. The targeting of some PMCA isoforms may enhance the effectiveness of therapies that act through the promotion of cell death pathways in cancer cells.     

筛选MDA-MB-231乳腺癌耐药细胞株两种方法的比较

目的 比较间歇刺激法和浓度梯度递增法对雌激素受体（estrogen receptor,ER）阴性的乳腺癌耐药细胞株的建立,为进一步探讨ER阴性乳腺癌可能的耐药机制.方法 采用间歇刺激法和浓度梯度递增法,用紫杉醇诱导6个月,分别建立了耐药细胞系231 TIM10和231 TAX8,并用倒置相差显微镜、MTT法、Western印迹、流式细胞术比较了两株耐药细胞的形态学变化、耐药表型、ER-α蛋白表达及紫杉醇诱导细胞G2/M期阻滞效应的改变等生物学特性.结果 间歇刺激法比浓度梯度递增法更容易诱导ER阴性的乳腺癌细胞获得耐药表型,231 TIM10耐药指数为11.9,231 TAX8耐药指数为2.3.用紫杉醇处理后,231 TIM10细胞能够抵抗100 nmol/L紫杉醇引起的G2/M期阻滞效应,231 TAX8细胞仅能够抵抗10 nmol/L紫杉醇引起的G2/M期阻滞效应.231 TIM10细胞在诱导过程中形成了两个细胞亚群,体积增大明显,细胞之间黏连更加明显.MDA-MB-231敏感细胞和两株耐药细胞均无ER-α蛋白的表达.结论 间歇刺激法更合理地模拟了临床上ER阴性乳腺癌的耐药过程,建立了可靠的细胞耐药模型,为耐药机制研究建立了基础.     

A Biophysically Based Mathematical Model for the Kinetics of Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter

Ca²⁺ transport through mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uniporter is the primary Ca²⁺ uptake mechanism in respiring mitochondria. Thus, the uniporter plays a key role in regulating mitochondrial Ca²⁺. Despite the importance of mitochondrial Ca²⁺ to metabolic regulation and mitochondrial function, and to cell physiology and pathophysiology, the structure and composition of the uniporter functional unit and kinetic mechanisms associated with Ca²⁺ transport into mitochondria are still not well understood. In this study, based on available experimental data on the kinetics of Ca²⁺ transport via the uniporter, a mechanistic kinetic model of the uniporter is introduced. The model is thermodynamically balanced and satisfactorily describes a large number of independent data sets in the literature on initial or pseudo-steady-state influx rates of Ca²⁺ via the uniporter measured under a wide range of experimental conditions. The model is derived assuming a multi-state catalytic binding and Eyring's free-energy barrier theory-based transformation mechanisms associated with the carrier-mediated facilitated transport and electrodiffusion. The model is a great improvement over the previous theoretical models of mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uniporter in the literature in that it is thermodynamically balanced and matches a large number of independently published data sets on mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake. This theoretical model will be critical in developing mechanistic, integrated models of mitochondrial Ca²⁺ handling and bioenergetics which can be helpful in understanding the mechanisms by which Ca²⁺ plays a role in mediating signaling pathways and modulating mitochondrial energy metabolism.     

靶向下调FOXM1基因表达对乳腺癌MDA-MB-231细胞增殖的影响

目的：探讨靶向抑制FOXM1对乳腺癌细胞增殖能力的影响,为乳腺癌的个性化靶向治疗提供理论依据。方法：利用重组真核转录载体pSilencer1．0-U6-FOXMI—shRNA,脂质体法转染乳腺癌细胞株MDA-MB-231,下调其FOXM1基因表达。采用四甲基偶氮唑盐（MTT）比色法、平板克隆形成实验观察细胞增值曲线以及克隆形成能力;采用实时定量·聚合酶链反应（Real—timeqPCR）、蛋白免疫印迹法（Westemblot）分别检测FOXMl基因在mRNA、蛋白水平的表达变化。结果：重组载体pSileneerl．0-U6-FOXMl-shRNA转染MDA-MB-231细胞后,与对照组相比,增殖速率明显下降（P〈0．05）,平板克隆形成显著减少（P〈0．05）,重组载体转染后显著抑制MDA—MB-231细胞中FOXM1基因在mRNA、蛋白水平的表达。结论：沉默FOXMI基因对乳腺癌细胞株MDA—MB-231生长具有抑制作用,为阐明乳腺癌发病机制提供了新的切入点,也为临床抑制肿瘤生长提供了新的作用靶点。     

亲骨转移乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231BO成瘤性的初步研究

目的通过比较亲骨转移乳腺癌细胞（MDA-MB-231BO）和亲代乳腺癌细胞（MDA-MB-231）的生长曲线和致瘤性,初步探讨MDA-MB-231BO细胞的生物学特性。方法MTT法测定两种细胞的生长曲线,并将两种乳腺癌细胞接种于裸鼠腋窝处皮下,建立乳腺癌细胞异种移植瘤动物模型,30 d后处死裸鼠,肿瘤组织及相关脏器官做病理检查。结果MTT法测得MDA-MB-231BO细胞生长速率高于MDA-MB-231细胞。接种两种乳腺癌细胞的裸鼠均长出肿瘤,成瘤率为100%。病理检查符合人乳腺癌细胞特征,MDA-MB-231BO组瘤体体积明显大于MDA-MB-231组（P〈0.05）。结论MDA-MB-231BO细胞生长速率高于MDA-MB-231细胞,而且MDA-MB-231BO在裸鼠体内的致瘤性强于MDA-MB-231。     

人乳腺癌MDA-MB-231细胞裸鼠移植瘤模型的建立及生物学特性研究

目的-建立人乳腺癌MDA-MB-231细胞株裸小鼠模型,研究其生物学特性,观察MDA-MB-231乳腺癌细胞在移植前后的形态学变化。方法-将人乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231接种于裸鼠腋窝处皮下,每3天测量肿瘤大小,第30天处死小鼠。肿瘤组织及相关脏器送病理切片。皮下肿瘤组织细胞及细胞株培养HE染色。结果-肿瘤生长较快,成功率为72%,病理检查符合人乳腺癌细胞特征。肿瘤组织细胞及培养细胞形态学未见显著差异。结论-人乳腺癌细胞株MDA-MB-231裸小鼠模型建立方法较简便,细胞形态无明显差异,且保持了人乳腺癌的生物学特性。     

Biochemical Constitution of Extracellular Medium is Critical for Control of Human Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cell Motility

Although voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) activity, upregulated significantly in strongly metastatic human breast cancer cells, has been found to potentiate a variety of in vitro metastatic cell behaviors, the mechanism(s) regulating channel expression/activity is not clear. As a step toward identifying possible serum factors that might be responsible for this, we tested whether medium in which fetal bovine serum (FBS) was substituted with a commercial serum replacement agent (SR-2), comprising insulin and bovine serum albumin, would influence the VGSC-dependent in vitro metastatic cell behaviors. Human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells were used as a model. Measurements of lateral motility, transverse migration and adhesion showed consistently that the channel's involvement in metastatic cell behaviors depended on the extracellular biochemical conditions. In normal medium (5% FBS), tetrodotoxin (TTX), a highly specific blocker of VGSCs, suppressed these cellular behaviors, as reported before. In contrast, in SR-2 medium, TTX had opposite effects. However, blocking endogenous insulin/insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling with AG1024 eliminated or reversed the anomalous effects of TTX. Insulin added to serum-free medium increased migration, and TTX increased it further. In conclusion, (1) the biochemical constitution of the extracellular medium had a significant impact upon breast cancer cells' in vitro metastatic behaviors and (2) insulin, in particular, controlled the mode of the functional association between cells' VGSC activity and metastatic machinery.     

Cardiolipin Regulates the Activity of the Reconstituted Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter by Modifying the Structure of the Liposome Bilayer

Reconstitution of mitochondrial calcium transport activity requires the incorporation of membrane proteins into a lipidic ambient. Calcium uptake has been measured previously using Cytochrome oxidase vesicles. The enrichment of these vesicles with cardiolipin, an acidic phospholipid that is found only in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotic cells, strongly inhibits calcium transport, in remarkable contrast with the activation effect that cardiolipin exerts upon other mitochondrial transporters and enzymes. The relation of the inactivation of calcium transport to the physical state of the bilayer was studied by following the polarization changes of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and by flow cytometry in the cardiolipin-enriched liposomes with incorporated mitochondrial solubilized proteins. Non-bilayer molecular arrangements in the cardiolipin-supplemented liposomes, detected by flow cytometry, may produce the fluidity changes observed by fluorescence polarization of DPH. Fluidity changes correlate with the abolition of calcium uptake, but have no effect on the establishment of a membrane potential in the vesicles required for calcium transport activity. Changes in the membrane structure and uniporter function are observed in the combined presence of cardiolipin and calcium leading to a modified lipid configuration.     

Golgi Calcium Pump Secretory Pathway Calcium ATPase 1 (SPCA1) Is a Key Regulator of Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor (IGF1R) Processing in the Basal-like Breast Cancer Cell Line MDA-MB-231

Calcium signaling is a key regulator of pathways important in tumor progression, such as proliferation and apoptosis. Most studies assessing altered calcium homeostasis in cancer cells have focused on alterations mediated through changes in cytoplasmic free calcium levels. Here, we show that basal-like breast cancers are characterized by an alteration in the secretory pathway calcium ATPase 1 (SPCA1), a calcium pump localized to the Golgi. Inhibition of SPCA1 in MDA-MB-231 cells produced pronounced changes in cell proliferation and morphology in three-dimensional culture, without alterations in sensitivity to endoplasmic reticulum stress induction or changes in global calcium signaling. Instead, the effects of SPCA1 inhibition in MDA-MB-231 cells reside in altered regulation of calcium-dependent enzymes located in the secretory pathway, such as proprotein convertases. Inhibition of SPCA1 produced a pronounced alteration in the processing of insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF1R), with significantly reduced levels of functional IGF1Rβ and accumulation of the inactive trans-Golgi network pro-IGF1R form. These studies identify for the first time a calcium transporter associated with the basal-like breast cancer subtype. The pronounced effects of SPCA1 inhibition on the processing of IGF1R in MDA-MB-231 cells independent of alterations in global calcium signaling also demonstrate that some calcium transporters can regulate the processing of proteins important in tumor progression without major alterations in cytosolic calcium signaling. Inhibitors of SPCA1 may offer an alternative strategy to direct inhibitors of IGF1R and attenuate the processing of other proprotein convertase substrates important in basal breast cancers.     

Pyruvate Carboxylase Is Up-Regulated in Breast Cancer and Essential to Support Growth and Invasion of MDA-MB-231 Cells

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is an anaplerotic enzyme that catalyzes the carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, which is crucial for replenishing tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates when they are used for biosynthetic purposes. We examined the expression of PC by immunohistochemistry of paraffin-embedded breast tissue sections of 57 breast cancer patients with different stages of cancer progression. PC was expressed in the cancerous areas of breast tissue at higher levels than in the non-cancerous areas. We also found statistical association between the levels of PC expression and tumor size and tumor stage (P < 0.05). The involvement of PC with these two parameters was further studied in four breast cancer cell lines with different metastatic potentials; i.e., MCF-7, SKBR3 (low metastasis), MDA-MB-435 (moderate metastasis) and MDA-MB-231 (high metastasis). The abundance of both PC mRNA and protein in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435 cells was 2-3-fold higher than that in MCF-7 and SKBR3 cells. siRNA-mediated knockdown of PC expression in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435 cells resulted in a 50% reduction of cell proliferation, migration and in vitro invasion ability, under both glutamine-dependent and glutamine-depleted conditions. Overexpression of PC in MCF-7 cells resulted in a 2-fold increase in their proliferation rate, migration and invasion abilities. Taken together the above results suggest that anaplerosis via PC is important for breast cancer cells to support their growth and motility.     

Different Subunit Location of the Inhibition and Transport Sites in the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter behaves as a cooperative mechanism, where the velocity is dependent on [Ca2+]ex. Transport kinetics follows a sigmoidal behavior with a Hill coefficient near 2.0, indicating the binding of at least two calcium molecules. Calcium transport in mitochondria is dependent on a negative inner membrane potential and is inhibited by policationic ruthenium compounds. In this study, calcium uptake activity was reconstituted into cytochrome oxidase vesicles by incorporating solubilized mitochondrial proteins. Calcium accumulation plotted against increasing Ca2+ concentrations followed a sigmoidal behavior with a Hill coefficient of 1.53. The uptake was sensitive to ruthenium policationic inhibitors, e.g. ruthenium red and Ru360. After mitochondrial proteins were separated by preparative isoelectrofocusing and incorporated into cytochrome oxidase vesicles, two peaks of calcium uptake activity were recovered. One of the activities was inhibited by Ru360, while the second activity was insensitive to Ru360 and was associated with proteins focused at very acidic isoelectric points. By using a thiol-group crosslinker and radiolabeled Ru360, we proposed a scheme of partial dissociation of the uniporter inhibitor-binding subunit under acidic conditions.     

Nmnat3 Is Dispensable in Mitochondrial NAD Level Maintenance In Vivo

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is an essential co-enzyme mediating various enzymatic reactions. Mitochondrial NAD particularly occupies a considerable amount of total NAD in cells, and serves as a co-enzyme in tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), β-oxidation, and oxidative phosphorylation. Despite the importance of mitochondrial NAD, its synthesis pathway remains unknown. It has been proposed that NAD synthesis enzyme, Nmnat3, was localized in mitochondria, but its physiological relevance to the metabolism in mitochondria was not fully elucidated. Previously, we have reported that murine Nmnat3 protein was strongly expressed in the cytoplasm of mature erythrocytes, in which mitochondria were absent, and Nmnat3-deficient mice (Nmnat3-KO mice) exhibited splenomegaly and hemolytic anemia due to reduced NAD levels in mature erythrocytes. These results challenged the role of Nmnat3 in mitochondrial NAD synthesis. In this study, we demonstrated that mitochondrial NAD levels in various tissues, except for red blood cells, were unchanged in Nmnat3-KO mice. We also analyzed the metabolites in glycolysis and TCA cycle and found that there were no differences between Nmnat3-KO and WT mice. In addition, the aged Nmnat3-KO mice had comparable NAD levels to that observed in WT mice. Our results indicated that Nmnat3 is dispensable in the maintenance of mitochondrial NAD levels, and that other NAD regulatory pathways may exist in mitochondria.