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Biomedical subjects

F Cuttitta

Publications and source records attributed to F Cuttitta.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Control of tumor cell biology through regulation of peptide hormone processing.

Control of the biology of individual cells, organs, and organisms is achieved through an interplay of a host of specific interactions, many involving peptide hormones as modulators or effectors. In tumor cells these processes may result in uncontrolled growth as a consequence of autocrine and/or paracrine growth effects. Most peptide hormones are bioactive only after processing of the precursor prohormone by posttranslational processing enzymes. The enzymes involved with the production of bioactive peptides, in particular those associated with peptide alpha-amidation, provide potential targets for disruption of posttranslational processing mechanisms as a means of regulation of the progression of tumor cells. This information provides a rational basis for consideration of inhibition of autocrine neuropeptide synthesis as a strategy for chemointervention.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Early events in the neoplastic transformation of respiratory epithelium.

The complex process of epithelial carcinogenesis is composed of discrete biologic events including the early activation events of "initiation" and "promotion." For lung cancer, these events are only now being elucidated. Despite the identification of possible target genes and their mutations, the "initiation" events for lung cancer remain poorly understood. The identification of these "initiation" events is a crucial step toward the development of practical molecular markers for early detection of this disease. The reversible process of tumor promotion remains somewhat enigmatic but is a promising target for chemoprevention. A wide range of substances, including asbestos and various substances in cigarette smoke, behave as tumor promoters for lung cancer. They appear to promote tumor formation by inducing cellular proliferation mediated in part by growth factors. The intracellular signals these factors provide are ultimately translated into cellular growth via steps involving nuclear transcription factors. Early response genes such as the jun and fos gene family members encode such nuclear transcription factors which are expressed in lung cancer cells and primary bronchial epithelial cells. The expression of these transcription factors is highly responsive to stimulation by growth factors including serum, transforming growth factor, and gastrin-releasing peptide. A more thorough understanding of this process will allow the development of molecular and/or pharmacologic antagonists that can interfere with the biologic process of tumor promotion and therefore function as chemoprevention agents.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed1991

Preclinical evaluation of an anti-autocrine growth factor monoclonal antibody for treatment of patients with small-cell lung cancer.

We have evaluated an anti-autocrine growth factor monoclonal antibody for potential use in the treatment of patients with small-cell lung cancer. The monoclonal antibody, designated 2A11, binds to the C-terminal region of the autocrine growth factor gastrin-releasing peptide and neutralizes its growth-promoting effects in vitro and in vivo. Equilibrium-binding analysis demonstrated that the peptide binds to the antibody (dissociation constant = 1.5 x 10(-10) at least as avidly as it binds to the tumor peptide receptor. Pharmacokinetic studies in normal BALB/c mice demonstrated an initial clearance half-life (alpha t1/2) of 24.3 +/- 4 hours and a secondary clearance half-life (beta t1/2) of 1039.6 +/- 309 hours, and biodistribution studies revealed a distribution pattern which generally reflected blood flow. Single intravenous infusions of 2A11 (20 mg/20-25-kg dogs) into normal mongrel dogs with surgically created gastric fistulas antagonized the stimulatory effects of exogenously infused gastrin-releasing peptide or bombesin on plasma gastrin release and gastric acid secretion. Toxicology studies in normal dogs (with gastric fistulas) infused with 50 mg 2A11 intravenously three times a week for 4 weeks failed to reveal any adverse behavioral, clinical, or pathological effects. Four of six dogs developed an immune response to 2A11. Anti-idiotypic antibodies elicited in two cases did not mimic the functional effects of the peptide. We conclude that the concept of immunoblockade of an autocrine growth factor appears feasible in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Psi 13,14] bombesin analogues inhibit growth of small cell lung cancerin vitro and in vivo.

Bombesin/gastrin releasing peptide (BN/GRP) functions as an autocrine growth factor in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Previously, this autocrine growth cycle was disrupted by a monoclonal antibody which binds to the carboxyl terminal of BN and neutralizes the peptide so that it is unable to interact with the BN/GRP receptor. Here a series of BN analogues were synthesized which have a reduced peptide bond near the carboxyl terminal. The analogues inhibited specific binding of 125I-GRP to SCLC cell line NCI-H345 in a dose-dependent manner and the analogue [D-Nal6, Psi13,14, Phe14] BN6-14 was approximately 6-fold more potent than was (Psi13,14, Leu14)BN with a 50% inhibition concentration value of 5 nM. [DNal6, Psi13,14, Phe14]BN6-14 and [Psi13,14, Leu14]BN had no effect on the cytosolic Ca2+ levels but antagonized the increase in cytosolic Ca2+ caused by 10 nM BN. [Psi13,14, Leu14]BN (1 microM) inhibited the growth of SCLC in vitro using a clonogenic assay by approximately 70% Also, injection of [Psi13,14, Leu14]BN (10 micrograms, s.c.) inhibited the growth of SCLC xenografts in nude mice in vivo by approximately 50%. These data suggest that the autocrine growth cycle of BN/GRP in SCLC may also be disrupted by peptide antagonists which bind to the BN receptor.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Alpha-amidation of peptide hormones in lung cancer.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), the most common neuroendocrine tumor in humans, provides an excellent model system for analyzing the role of growth factors in lung cancer. SCLCs secrete a wide range of peptide hormones, including some that stimulate tumor cell growth, such as gastrin-releasing peptide and insulin-like growth factor I. Many of these peptides are synthesized as prohormones that acquire biological activity only after specific post-translational modifications. Here, we review our current understanding of the biological role of neuroendocrine peptides in lung carcinogenesis and consider how a mechanistic knowledge of one particular modification, carboxy-terminal alpha-amidation, may permit identification of novel growth factors for lung cancer cells. We also describe potential applications of this knowledge as a basis for prevention-oriented approaches to the disease.

Amides↗
PubMed1991

Lung cancer: rational strategies for early detection and intervention.

The current mortality rate for lung cancer, which approaches 90% at two years, is not decreasing despite intensive clinical trials attempting to improve systemic therapy. New drug discoveries and dose intensification approaches have not resulted in more effective anti-tumor control. An alternative approach using sputum immunocytology for early lung cancer detection was recently reported. The proposed basis for this early detection reflects the underlying biology of immunodominant carbohydrate tumor-associated antigens, which are recognized as a class of oncofetal antigens. The process of bronchial epithelial carcinogenesis is associated with an evolution of carbohydrate display which reverses the sequence originally associated with fetal organ development. By elucidating this pattern of fetal carbohydrate display, a precise map of stage of bronchial carcinogenesis may emerge.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1991

Autocrine growth factors and solid tumor malignancy.

The ability of malignant cells to escape the constraint that normally regulate cell growth and differentiation has been a primary focus of attention for investigators of cancer cell biology. An outcome of this attention has been the discovery that the protein products of oncogenes play a role in the activation of growth signal pathways. A second outcome, possibly related to abnormal oncogene expression, has been the discovery that malignant cells frequently show an ability to regulate their own growth by the release of autocrine growth modulatory substances. Most important, the growth of certain malignant cell types has been shown to depend on autocrine growth circuits. A malignant tumor whose continued growth depends on the release of an autocrine growth factor may be vulnerable to treatment with specific receptor antagonists or immunoneutralizing antibodies designed to break the autocrine circuit. Information is rapidly emerging concerning autocrine growth factors in selected human solid tissue malignancy.

Cytokines↗
PubMed1990

Identification of conditioned medium proteins from human cancer cells adapted to serum-free conditions.

Recent studies have shown that human cancer cell lines can be adapted to grow in serum-free, unsupplemented RPMI-1640 (RO) medium. We have developed similar techniques to rapidly identify proteins of interest in serum-free conditioned medium (CM) of human lung cancer cell lines. Classic and variant small cell lung cancer (SCLC) lines were adapted to growth in RO medium. CM from each line was concentrated and fractionated on an anion-exchange column of a fast protein liquid chromatography system. Concentrates of each fraction were loaded onto lanes of minigels of an automated electrophoresis system. Analysis of the chromatograms reveals peaks seen only in CM of the classic SCLC lines. Electrophoretic analysis of the fractions containing these peaks reveal protein bands distinguishing between the subtypes of human SCLC. One protein was purified to homogeneity with subsequent reversed-phase chromatography and identified by protein microsequencing as histone H2B. These automated techniques have general use in the rapid identification of CM proteins associated with the differentiation or progression of the many types of neoplastic cells which can be adapted to growth in RO medium.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

A comparison of synaptophysin, chromogranin, and L-dopa decarboxylase as markers for neuroendocrine differentiation in lung cancer cell lines.

Synaptophysin is a Mr 38,000 integral membrane glycoprotein expressed by a variety of normal and neoplastic neuroendocrine cells. We studied synaptophysin as an immunocytochemical marker for neuroendocrine differentiation in lung cancer and compared it to the immunocytochemical expression of chromogranin A, a marker for dense core (endocrine) granules, and the biochemical activity of L-dopa decarboxylase (DDC), the key amine-handling enzyme. Of the 250 cell lines available to us, we selected examples representative of the following cell types: bronchial carcinoids (n = 4), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (n = 7), extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (n = 4), and non-small cell lung cancers (n = 18) whose neuroendocrine status had been previously determined on the basis of electron microscopy and DDC activity. We demonstrated (a) there was a higher incidence of synaptophysin than chromogranin A immunoreactivity in carcinoid (100 versus 75%), classic SCLC (70 versus 50%), and variant SCLC (57 versus 29%) cell lines; (b) 3 of the 4 (75%) extrapulmonary small cell lung cancer cell lines expressed synaptophysin and chromogranin A; (c) 5 of the 7 (71%) non-small cell lung cancer cell lines previously shown to express multiple neuroendocrine markers were positive for synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and DDC activity; (d) none of the other 11 non-small cell lung cancer cell lines expressed synaptophysin or chromogranin A; and (e) formalin fixation and paraffin embedding reduced synaptophysin immunoreactivity in 11 of 14 (79%) of the cell lines, as compared to freshly prepared specimens fixed in 95% ethanol. Western blot analysis using the synaptophysin antibody (SY38) demonstrated immunoreactive proteins ranging from Mr 43,000 to 45,000 in five representative cell lines. The concordance of expression of all three neuroendocrine markers was statistically significant when values for all cell lines were totalled. Synaptophysin was a more commonly expressed marker for variant SCLC cell lines, which rarely showed DDC activity. We conclude that synaptophysin may be a more sensitive and specific marker for neuroendocrine differentiation, when compared to chromogranin A and DDC in lung cancer cell lines which express only part of the neuroendocrine program.

Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases↗
PubMed1990

Characterization, in some human breast cancer cell lines, of gastrin-releasing peptide-like receptors which are absent in normal breast epithelial cells.

The binding of 125I-Tyr4 bombesin was investigated on plasma membranes of 8 human breast cancer cell lines and 2 long-term cultures of normal human breast epithelial cells. Scatchard plots were compatible with high-affinity, single-site class of receptors in 3 cell lines (KD of 0.75 x 10(-9) and 10(-9) M, Bmax of 0.75 x 10(-13) and 9.7 x 10(-13) M/mg protein in MDA-MB231 and in T47D cells, respectively) while no binding was observed in 5 other cell lines and normal epithelial cells. The neuropeptide and its structural analogues (natural or synthetic) inhibited the binding of 125I-Tyr4 bombesin in the following order of potency: gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP, EC50 = 1.7 x 10(-10) M) greater than BIM 26159 greater than bombesin, Tyr4 bombesin greater than BIM 26147 greater than litorin greater than neuromedin C. In contrast, 125I-Tyr4 bombesin binding was not displaced by neuromedin B, somatostatin, bradykinin and insulin. In agreement with our binding data, SDS-PAGE of the complex 125I-Tyr4 bombesin-receptor covalently linked by ethylene glycol-bis succinimidyl succinate (EGS) identified after autoradiography a single band with a molecular weight of 75,000, which disappeared in the presence of bombesin in excess. No transcription of either GRP or neuromedin B mRNA could be shown in tumor or normal cells. Exogenous gastrin-releasing peptide had no effect on growth of the cell lines when a serum-free medium was used, implicating that in breast cancer cell lines this receptor does not mediate growth but has a functional role.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1989

Multiple gastrin-releasing peptide gene-associated peptides are produced by a human small cell lung cancer line.

Products of the gastrin-releasing peptide gene were isolated from culture medium supernatant of a small cell lung cancer line, NCI-H345, by several (high performance liquid chromatography) HPLC steps. The column eluates were monitored by immunoassay and absorbance profiles. Gastrin-releasing peptide was identified in HPLC eluates by a specific radioimmunoassay. Two carboxyl-terminal gastrin-releasing peptide gene-associated peptides were identified by a radioimmunoassay specific for their predicted carboxyl terminus. The amino termini of these two peptides were determined by microsequence analysis. The shorter peptide was revealed to be a fragment of the larger peptide. Expression of an alternate mRNA was shown by isolation and characterization of a novel tetradecapeptide. Amino acid analysis, microsequence analysis, and mass spectral analysis confirmed that the structure was Ser-Leu-Leu-Gln-Val-Leu-Asn-Val-Lys-Glu-Gly-Thr-Pro-Ser. This peptide represents the carboxyl terminus of a peptide resulting from alternate processing of gastrin releasing peptide mRNA. This mRNA contains a 19-base deletion, creating a frame shift. A radioiodinated synthetic analog of this peptide (Tyr-Leu-Val-Asp-Ser-Leu-Leu-Gln-Val-Leu-Asn-Val-Lys-Glu-Gly-Thr-Pro-Ser ) bound specifically to a small cell cancer line with high affinity, suggesting possible biological activity of the isolated peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Detection of human probombesin mRNA in neuroendocrine (small cell) carcinoma of the lung. In situ hybridization with cRNA probe.

The production of human bombesin (gastrin-releasing peptide), a peptide with mitogenic action, is a recognized feature of neuroendocrine (small cell) carcinoma of the lung. However, immunostaining of bombesin is not always possible in these tumors, probably because of poor storage mechanisms or rapid release of hormone. Molecular biological analysis of the gene encoding human bombesin has revealed the DNA sequence of human pro-bombesin. We have used in situ hybridization to study the expression of the human bombesin gene at the cellular level in small cell carcinoma of the lung. Probombesin cDNA was subcloned in pSP64 vector, linearized with Bam HI and transcribed in the presence of phosphorus 32(32P)-cytosine triphosphate (CTP) and SP6 polymerase. The cRNA probe was applied to tissue sections (from six cases of small cell carcinoma of the lung, freshly fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde), cell culture preparations (two different cell lines of small cell carcinoma), and cytologic specimens (smears of cells from three different cases of small cell carcinoma). Hybridization of probombesin mRNA was detected in tumor cells in all samples. Specificity of the signal was determined by control experiments, including the use of a probe which has a sequence identical to probombesin mRNA. Our results provide evidence for the expression of the bombesin gene in small cell carcinoma of the lung at a cellular level and show that probombesin mRNA is highly expressed in these tumors.

Bombesin↗
PubMed1989

Intrathecal injection of bombesin inhibits gastric acid secretion in the rat.

Bombesin (100-500 ng) injected intrathecally (T9-10) inhibited gastric acid secretion stimulated by pentagastrin and the GABAB agonist baclofen in urethane-anesthetized rats and basal gastric acid secretion in conscious, pylorus-ligated rats. Peptide action was dose-related, occurred within 30 min, and lasted for greater than 1 h. Bombesin-induced inhibition of pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion was not altered by cervical cord transection. Intravenous infusion of the monoclonal bombesin antibody 2A11 abolished intravenous bombesin (10 micrograms/kg.h)-induced 33% inhibition of gastric response to pentagastrin but did not alter intrathecal bombesin (200 ng)-induced 38% inhibition of gastric response to pentagastrin. The inhibitory effect of bombesin (200 ng) on pentagastrin-stimulated gastric secretion was reversed by bilateral adrenalectomy or removal of celiac and mesenteric ganglia. Intrathecal injections of rat calcitonin gene-related peptide, neuromedin B, neuromedin U, and the stable substance P analogue (pGlu5, MePhe8, MeGly9)-substance P(5-11) did not alter pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion. These results demonstrate that bombesin injected into the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord inhibits vagally stimulated and pentagastrin-stimulated gastric secretion in rats. Bombesin action is peptide specific, exerted at a spinal site, and expressed through the sympathetic nervous system.

Adrenalectomy↗
PubMed1989

In vivo diagnosis and therapy of human tumors with monoclonal antibodies: selection of antibodies and preliminary clinical studies in small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Initial monoclonal antibody therapy trials include an attempt to control malignant proliferation of small cell lung cancer by blocking the autocrine stimulation of gastrin releasing peptide. A critical issue is the adequacy of antibody penetration into the tumor bed to effect immunologic blockade of the mitogenic peptide. The use of an indium-111 antibody chelate which is coadministered with the first therapeutic antibody administration facilitates analysis of the pharmacokinetic dynamics for this trial. If this approach is successful with gastrin releasing peptide, other peptide hormones with autocrine effects could also be targeted. A combination of anti growth factor therapies could lead to successful therapeutic control of this lethal disease.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1988

A novel bombesin receptor antagonist inhibits autocrine signals in a small cell lung carcinoma cell line.

The human small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cell line NCI-H345 constitutively produces gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), a peptide homologous to the mitogen bombesin. In addition, NCI-H345 cells express bombesin receptors and respond to bombesin with rapid activation of phospholipase C and mobilization of intracellular Ca2+. Treatment of NCI-H345 cells with a novel potent bombesin receptor antagonist [Leu13-psi-CH2NH-Leu14]bombesin blocked the increase in phosphatidylinositol turnover and cytoplasmic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) stimulated by bombesin. Furthermore [Leu13-psi-CH2NH-Leu14]bombesin inhibited NCI-H345 colony formation in defined semisolid medium in the absence of exogenous GRP. The rapid, hormone-induced accumulation of inositol(1,4,5)trisphosphate was markedly more sensitive to antagonist inhibition than the hormone-induced Ca2+ transient, the sustained accumulation of inositol monophosphates, or colony formation in soft agarose. These data demonstrated inhibition of transmembrane signals associated with autocrine growth control in SCLC by a novel peptide receptor antagonist.

Bombesin↗
PubMed1988

Swiss 3T3 mouse embryo fibroblasts transfected with a human prepro-GRP gene synthesize and secrete pro-GRP rather than GRP.

A prepro-gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) gene was introduced into Swiss 3T3 mouse embryo fibroblasts by DNA transfection in an attempt to establish autocrine growth stimulation. Clonal transfectants expressed varying amounts of GRP encoding mRNA. They synthesized and secreted a approximately 15-kd pro-GRP hormone but not fully processed 2.8-kd GRP. Accordingly, no changes in growth properties were associated with GRP gene expression. We postulate that Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts lack the enzymes necessary to process significantly pro-GRP into biologically active peptides and that this deficiency may be responsible for the failure to establish autocrine growth stimulation in the transfected cells.

Animals↗