Biomedical subjects

Shibu Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to Shibu Thomas.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Calcitonin stimulates the secretion of urokinase-type plasminogen activator from prostate cancer cells: its possible implications on tumor cell invasion.

Calcitonin (CT) is synthesized and secreted in prostate epithelium, and its secretion from malignant prostates is several folds higher than that in benign prostates. CT receptor (CTR) is expressed in malignant prostate epithelium, and its activation increases invasiveness of prostate cancer (PC) cells via activation of protein kinase A. Since the role of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) in invasion of PC has been established, we tested the hypothesis that CT increases invasion of PC cells by stimulating uPA secretion from PC cells. Exogenously added CT stimulated the secretion of uPA from PC-3M cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was blocked by Rp.cAMP, a competitive inhibitor of protein kinase A. CT stimulated the secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 from PC-3M cells, and also increased their invasiveness. Both these actions of CT were blocked by uPA-neutralizing antibodies. Immunofluorescence studies with PC-3M cells suggest that CT stimulated redistribution of cellular uPA to focal adhesion sites, which was further confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation of uPA with focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in response to CT. These results suggest that CT increases invasiveness of PC cells by stimulating PKA-mediated uPA secretion and by redirecting the secreted uPA to focal adhesion sites. The results also suggest that uPA may, at least in part, mediate proinvasive actions of CT on PC cells by stimulating the secretion of gelatinases and degradation of focal adhesion sites.

Calcitonin↗

PubMed2006

Calcitonin increases tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells: evidence for the role of protein kinase A and urokinase-type plasminogen receptor.

The expression of human (h) calcitonin (CT) and its receptor (CTR) is localized to basal epithelium in benign prostates but is distributed in whole epithelium of malignant prostates. Moreover, the abundance of hCT and CTR mRNA in primary prostate tumors positively correlates with the tumor grade. We tested the hypothesis that the modulation of endogenous hCT expression of prostate cancer (PC) cell lines alters their oncogenicity. The effect of modulation of hCT expression on oncogenic characteristics was examined in LNCaP and PC-3M cell lines. The endogenous hCT expression was modulated using either constitutively active expression vector containing hCT cDNA or anti-hCT hammerhead ribozymes. The changes in the oncogenicity of cell sublines was assessed with cell proliferation assays, invasion assays, colony formation assays, and in vivo growth in athymic nude mice. Up-regulation of hCT in PC-3M cells and or enforced hCT expression in LNCaP cells dramatically enhanced their oncogenic characteristics. In contrast, the down-regulation of hCT in PC-3M cells led to a dramatic decline in their oncogenicity. These results, when combined with our other results, that the expression of hCT in primary PCs increase with tumor grade, suggest an important role for hCT in the progression of PC to a metastatic phenotype.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Calcitonin increases invasiveness of prostate cancer cells: role for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A in calcitonin action.

Calcitonin (CT) is synthesized and secreted in prostate epithelium, and its secretion from malignant prostates is several-fold higher than from benign prostates. CT receptor (CTR) is expressed in malignant prostate epithelium, and its activation stimulates growth of prostate cancer (PC) cells via activation of adenylyl cyclase and calcium/phospholipid pathways. To identify the role of "CT System" in prostate cancer, we tested the expression of CT and CTR mRNAs in invading tumor cells of prostate cancer specimens. The effect of CT on in vitro invasion of PC cell lines and on activation of gelatinases was also examined. The cells of primary tumors and those invading stroma co-expressed CT/CTR mRNAs. Exogenously added CT increased in vitro invasion of PC cell lines and caused a rapid, several-fold but transient increase in protein kinase A activity. In contrast, anti-CT serum caused a dose-dependent inhibition of in vitro invasion of PC-3M cells. CT also increased the concentration and activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Rp.cAMP, a competitive inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, myristoylated protein kinase A inhibitory peptide (PKI) as well as the expression of dominant negative form of PKA all attenuated basal in vitro invasion of PC-3M cells, and CT could not increase in vitro invasiveness in their presence. These results suggest that overexpression of "CT System" in invasive PC tumors significantly contributes to increased invasiveness of prostate cancer cells. The action of CT may be mediated by protein kinase A signaling, which subsequently leads to increased cell invasion and secretion of gelatinases.

Calcitonin↗

PubMed2005

Calcitonin induces apoptosis resistance in prostate cancer cell lines against cytotoxic drugs via the Akt/survivin pathway.

The expression of calcitonin (CT) and CT-receptor (CTR) mRNA in primary prostate tumors increase with tumor progression. Since advanced prostate tumors display chemoresistance, we tested a hypothesis that CT increases apoptosis resistance of prostate cells against cytotoxic drugs. We examined the effect of CT on etoposide-induced apoptosis in PC-3M, LNCaP and NRP-152 cell lines. The cytoprotective actions of CT were then tested on paclitaxel-, dexamethasone- and selenite-induced apoptosis. We also examined cytotoxic actions of these drugs in CTR-silenced PC-3M cells. Since the role of Akt and inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) in chemoresistance of advanced prostate cancers has been established, we tested the effect of CT on phospho-Akt and survivin levels in PC-3M cells. Finally, the cytoprotective effect of CT on PC-3M cells was tested in the presence of PI3K inhibitors such as LY 294002 and wortmannin. Acutely added CT significantly attenuated apoptosis of PC cell lines in response to etoposide, dexamethasone and selenite treatment, but could not reduce paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. CT potently stimulated phospho-Akt and survivin synthesis in PC-3M cells in a sustained manner, and LY 294002 attenuated CT-induced survivin synthesis as well as apoptosis resistance. These results suggest that CT induces chemoresistance to etoposide, dexamethasone and selenite but not to paclitaxel in prostate cells. Cytoprotective action of CT is mediated by CTR-induced activation of Akt-survivin pathway. Since CT/CTR expression in prostate cancers increases with tumor progression, the suppression of "CT System" may enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2005

Calcitonin stimulates multiple stages of angiogenesis by directly acting on endothelial cells.

Although a strong correlation between neuroendocrine differentiation and angiogenesis of prostate cancer has been reported, no mechanistic link between the two events has been established. Because neuropeptide calcitonin is secreted by prostate tumors and endothelial cells are known to express calcitonin receptor-like receptor, we examined the potential action of calcitonin on endothelial cells. The presence of calcitonin receptor, calcitonin receptor-like receptor, and receptor activity-modifying proteins in human microvessel endothelial-1 cells was tested by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). The proangiogenic action of calcitonin was examined in several in vitro models of angiogenesis using HMEC-1 cells and also in vivo using dorsal skinfold assays. Calcitonin expression of PC-3M cells was modulated, and its effect on angiogenesis was examined in in vitro as well as in vivo models. The results of RT-PCR and radioligand receptor assays showed the presence of functional calcitonin receptor in HMEC-1 cells. Calcitonin stimulated all phases of angiogenesis through the calcitonin receptor, but its effect on tube morphogenesis by endothelial cells occurred at the concentration of the Kd of calcitonin receptor. Silencing of calcitonin receptor expression in HMEC-1 cells abolished calcitonin-induced tube formation. Vascular endothelial growth factor antibodies attenuated but did not abolish calcitonin-induced tube morphogenesis. PC-3M prostate cancer cells induced angiogenesis in in vivo and in vitro models. Overexpression of calcitonin in PC-3M cells increased their angiogenic activity, whereas the silencing of calcitonin expression abolished it. These results show that prostate tumor-derived calcitonin may play an important role in prostate tumor growth by regulating intratumoral vascularization.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Papillon Lefevre syndrome.

Papillon-Lefevre syndrome is a very rare autosomal recessive condition characterised by pronounced palmoplantar hyperkeratosis and severe early onset periodontitis, leading to early loss of teeth. Here, we report a case of Papillon-Lefevre syndrome with a brief discussion on treatment aspect.

Adolescent↗