Enzyme lost in 100 percent of kidney tumors analyzed

In an analysis of small molecules called metabolites used by the body to make fuel in normal and cancerous cells in human kidney tissue, a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania identified an enzyme key to applying the brakes on tumor growth. The team found that an enzyme called FBP1 – essential for regulating metabolism – binds to a transcription factor in the nucleus of certain kidney cells and restrains energy production in the cell body. What’s more, they determined that this enzyme is missing from all kidney tumor tissue analyzed. These tumor cells without FBP1 produce energy at a much faster rate than their non-cancer cell counterparts. When FBP1 is working properly, out-of-control cell growth is kept in check.

The new study, published online this week in Nature, was led by Celeste Simon, PhD, a professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and the scientific director for the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most frequent form of kidney cancer, is characterized by elevated glycogen (a form of carbohydrate) and fat deposits in affected kidney cells. This over-storage of lipids causes large clear droplets to accumulate, hence the cancer’s name.

In the last decade, ccRCCs have been on the rise worldwide. However, if tumors are removed early, a patient’s prognosis for five-year survival is relatively good. If expression of the FBP1 gene is lost, patients have a worse prognosis.

“This study is the first stop in this line of research for coming up with a personalized approach for people with clear cell renal cell carcinoma-related mutations,” says Simon, also an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

A Series of Faulty Reactions

The aberrant storage of lipid in ccRCC results from a faulty series of biochemical reactions. These reactions, called the Kreb’s cycle, generate energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the form of ATP. However, the Kreb’s cycle is hyperactive in ccRCC, resulting in enhanced lipid production. Renal cancer cells are associated with changes in two important intracellular proteins: elevated expression of hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) and mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) encoded protein, pVHL. In fact, mutations in pVHL occur in 90 percent of ccRCC tumors. pVHL regulates HIFs, which in turn affect activity of the Kreb’s cycle.

Although much is already known about metabolic pathways and their role in cancer, there are still important questions to be answered. For example, kidney-specific VHL deletion in mice does not elicit clear cell-specific tumor formation, suggesting that additional mechanisms are at play. Toward answering that hunch, recent large-scale sequencing analyses have revealed the loss of several epigenetic enzymes in certain types of ccRCCs, suggesting that changes within the nucleus also account for kidney tumor progression.

To complement genetic studies revealing a role for epigenetic enzymes, the team evaluated metabolic enzymes in the 600-plus tumors they analyzed. The expression of FBP1 was lost in all kidney cancer tissue samples examined. They found FBP1 protein in the cytoplasm of normal cells, where it would be expected to be active in glucose metabolism. But, they also found FBP1 in the nucleus of these normal cells, where it binds to HIF to modulate its effects on tumor growth. In cells without FBPI, the team observed the Warburg effect – a phenomenon in which malignant, rapidly growing tumor cells go into overdrive, producing energy up to 200 times faster than their non-cancer-cell counterparts.

This unique dual function of FBP1 explains its ubiquitous loss in ccRCC, distinguishing FBP1 from previously identified tumor suppressors that are not consistently inhibited in all tumors. “And since FBP1 activity is also lost in liver cancer, which is quite prevalent, FBP1 depletion may be generally applicable to a number of human cancers,” notes Simon.

Next steps, according to the researchers, will be to identify other metabolic pathways to target, measure the abundance of metabolites in kidney and liver cancer cells to determine FBP1’s role in each, and develop a better mouse model for preclinical studies.

Picture Credit: Credit: Bo Li and Brian Keith, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/279893.php

 

 

 

Nanoparticles used to enhance chemotherapy

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new formulation of cisplatin, a common chemotherapydrug, that significantly increases the drug’s ability to target and destroy cancerous cells.

Cisplatin may be used to treat a variety of cancers, but it is most commonly prescribed for cancer of the bladder, ovaries, cervix, testicles and lung. It is an effective drug, but many cancerous cells develop resistance to the treatment.

Shanta Dhar, assistant professor of chemistry in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Rakesh Pathak, a postdoctoral researcher in Dhar’s lab, constructed a modified version of cisplatin called Platin-M, which is designed to overcome this resistance by attacking mitochondria within cancerous cells. They published their findings recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“You can think of mitochondria as a kind of powerhouse for the cell, generating the energy it needs to grow and reproduce,” said Dhar, a member of the UGA Cancer Center and principal investigator for the project. “This prodrug delivers cisplatin directly to the mitochondria in cancerous cells. Without that essential powerhouse, the cell cannot survive.”

Sean Marrache, a graduate student in Dhar’s lab, entrapped Platin-M in a specially designed nanoparticle 1,000 times finer than a human hair that seeks out the mitochondria and releases the drug. Once inside, Platin-M interferes with the mitochondria’s DNA, triggering cell death.

Dhar’s research team tested Platin-M on neuroblastoma – a cancer commonly diagnosed in children-that typically originates in the adrenal glands. In preliminary experiments using a cisplatin-resistant cell culture, Platin-M nanoparticles were 17 times more active than cisplatin alone.

“This technique could become a treatment for a number of cancers, but it may prove most useful for more aggressive forms of cancer that are resistant to current therapies,” said Pathak.

Both Dhar and Pathak caution that their experimental results are preliminary and they must do more work before Platin-M enters any clinical trials. However, their early results in mouse models are promising, and they are currently developing safety trials in larger animals.

“Cisplatin is a well-studied chemotherapy, so we hope our unique formulation will enhance its efficacy,” said Dhar, who is also a member of UGA’s Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Center for Drug Discovery, and Regenerative Bioscience Center. “We are excited about these early results, which look very promising.”

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/279303.php

Picture courtesy of www.sciencedaily.com