Background
The endothelin (ET) family includes three 21-amino acid peptides, ET-1, ET-2 and ET-3, which bind to two G-protein-coupled receptors, endothelin receptor type A (ETRA) and endothelin receptor type B (ETRB). The ETRA binds ET-1 and ET-2 with equal preference over ET-3, while ETRB binds all three isoforms with equal affinity [
1]. The ET axis is believed to play a role in various malignancies including ovarian, prostate, cervical and breast carcinomas, melanoma and central nervous system tumors [
2]. The influence of the ET family on cancer is multifactorial: ET-1 induces proliferation [
3‐
7], suppresses apoptosis [
8], enhances angiogenesis [
9,
10] and promotes invasion [
11‐
13].
Components of the ET system have been found in many glioma tumor specimens and cell lines, and ET expression positively correlates with the degree of malignancy [
14‐
17]. Two studies demonstrated ETRA expression in the neovasculature of glioblastoma tumors, while ETRB was localized to the tumor cells [
18,
19]. Inhibitors of ET converting enzyme 1, which converts ET-1 into its active form, block DNA synthesis in glioblastoma cells [
20]. ET-1 induces proliferation in glioblastoma through various pathways including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and BQ788, an ETRB-specific receptor antagonist, blocks the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase, a key step in MAPK signaling [
21]. This led us to consider whether potential therapeutic candidates, the ETRB antagonists, negatively impact glioma growth.
Our laboratory previously showed that high levels of BQ788 inhibit melanoma proliferation both
in vitro and
in vivo [
22]. We are currently investigating the effects of ETRB antagonists on melanoma and glioma, with particular interest in two ETRB-specific antagonists, BQ788, a peptide, and A-192621, an orally bioavailable small molecule. In the present work we demonstrate that both ETRB antagonists decrease the number of viable cells in melanoma and glioma cultures, while an ETRA-specific antagonist, BQ123, has no effect. In glioma cells, A-192621 induces cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and expression of DNA-damage associated genes. Surprisingly, however, the down-regulation of ETRB levels has no effect on the reduction in cell number by either ETRB antagonist.
Methods
Cells and cell culture conditions
The human glioma cell lines LN-229 and SW1088 and the human melanoma cell line A375 (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, VA, USA) were maintained in Dulbecco's Modification of Eagle's Medium (DMEM) (Mediatech, Inc., Herndon, VA, USA) and the human melanoma cell line WM35 (ATCC) was maintained in Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) (Mediatech, Inc.). All cells were supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) (Gemini Biological Products, Calabasas, CA, USA), 100 units/mL penicillin and 100 μg/mL streptomycin (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and cultured in a humidified incubator with 5% CO2 at 37°C. For cell viability assays, 2.5 × 104 cells were plated onto 12-well tissue-culture treated plates (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) using media supplemented with 1% FBS. A-192621 (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, USA), BQ788 (EMD Chemicals Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) and/or BQ123 (EMD) were added 24 h after plating and viable cell number was assessed using the Live/Dead Viability/Cytotoxicity Kit for mammalian cells (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fluorescent intensity was measured on an FLx800 multi-detection microplate reader (BioTek, Winooski, VT, USA) and values represent the mean of a 25-point well scan.
Cell proliferation and cell death
LN-229 and SW1088 cells were plated at 5 × 105 cells per 100 mm dish in DMEM with 1% FBS, and A-192621 was added 24 h later. Cell cycle analysis was performed with a BrdU/propidium iodide double stain using the Absolute-S Cell Proliferation Kit (eBioscience, San Diego, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions allowing 40 minutes to pulse-label cells with BrdU. Fluorescent intensity was measured using the BD FACSCalibur System (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA). The rate of cell proliferation was assessed using the CellTrace CFSE Cell Proliferation Kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Cells were labeled with carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) at the time of plating and fluorescent intensity was analyzed at 9, 24, 48 and 72 h after the addition of A-192621 using the BD FACSCalibur System. Cell death was quantified by staining cells with propidium iodide (Invitrogen) following treatment with A-192621. Fluorescent intensity was analyzed using the BD FACSCalibur System. All FACS data was analyzed with FlowJo (Tree Star, Inc., Ashland, OR, USA). Caspase 3/7 activity was measured using EnzChek Caspase-3 Assay Kit #2 (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions and values adjusted for total cell number. Fluorescent intensity was measured using the FLx800 multi-detection microplate reader.
Microarray analysis
LN-229 and SW1088 cells were treated with vehicle, 10 nM or 100 μM A-192621 for 12 h and total RNA was prepared using the RNeasy Plus Mini Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). The quality of the samples was checked using the RNA 6000 Nano LabChip kit (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). RNA samples were then processed according to the Affymetrix Eukaryotic Sample and Array Processing protocol. Hybridization of the in vitro amplified RNA to Affymetrix Human Genome U133Plus 2.0 chips (Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA), washing and scanning of the arrays were performed following standard Affymetrix protocols using a Hybridization Oven 640, a Fluidics Station 450, and a GeneChip® Scanner 3000 7G. The raw data (*.cel files) from the Affymetrix hybridizations were processed and analyzed using Resolver (Rosetta Biosoftware, Seattle, WA, USA). Genes were identified using cutoffs of fold-change > 3 and p < 0.0001.
Real-time reverse-transcription PCR
Total RNA was prepared using the RNeasy Plus Mini Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). The cDNA was prepared from 1 μg total RNA using the Transcriptor First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Roche Applied Science, Indianapolis, IN, USA) according to the manufacturers instructions. Primer/probe design was accomplished using the Universal ProbeLibrary (UPL) Assay Design Center (Roche Applied Science). The primer sets (Integrated DNA Technologies, Coralville, IA, USA) were as follows: 5'-GGC AGA AGC TGA AAG GTC TC-3' and 5'-CAT CGA AGC ACT GTC TCA GAG T-3' (DR5), 5'-GGA GAG CAG AAG ACC GAA AG-3' and 5'-AGT GAT CGT GCG CTG ACT C-3' (GADD45A), 5'-GCT TCT GGC AGA CCG AAC-3' and 5'-GTA GCC TGA TGG GGT GCT T-3' (GADD34), 5 '-ACT GCG TCT TTG GCA TCA G-3' and 5'-GTA GCA GGC CAC TGT CTT GA-3' (Sestrin 2), 5'-AAG GCA CTG AGC GTA TCA TGT-3' and 5'-TGA AGA TAC ACT TCC TTC TTG AAC AC-3' (GADD153), 5'-TTC ATC CCG TTC AGA AGA CA-3' and 5'-CCA ATG GCA AGC AGA AAT AGA-3' (ETRB) and 5'-TGA CCT TGA TTT ATT TTG CAT ACC-3' and 5'-CGA GCA AGA CGT TCA GTC CT-3' (HPRT). The corresponding probes were UPL probe #63 (DR5), #65 (GADD45A), #28 (GADD34), #17 (Sestrin 2), #21 (GADD153), #83 (ETRB) and #73 (HPRT) (Roche Applied Science). PCR was performed and analyzed on a LightCycler 480 System (Roche Applied Science) using LightCycler 480 Probes Master (Roche Applied Science). The PCR was done under the following conditions: pre-incubation at 95°C for 5 minutes, 45 cycles of amplification with melting at 95°C for 8 seconds, annealing at 60°C for 15 seconds and extension at 72°C for 2 seconds, and 1 cycle of cooling at 40°C for 10 seconds. All gene expression was quantified relative to HPRT expression.
Small interfering RNA (siRNA)
Following the reverse transfection protocol, Lipofectamine RNAiMAX (Invitrogen) was diluted in Opti-MEM I Medium (Invitrogen) and ON-TARGETplus SMARTpool ETRB siRNA or ON-TARGETplus siCONTROL non-targeting siRNA (Dharmacon, Lafayette, CO, USA) was diluted in Opti-MEM I Medium without serum. These solutions were then combined and incubated together at room temperature for 10–20 minutes. The siRNA duplex-Lipofectamine RNAiMAX complexes were then plated and overlaid with 2.5 × 104 cells per ml in media with 1% FBS. Media was changed 4–6 h after plating and cells were treated as described above. ETRB gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR and was reduced by 70 – 93%.
Statistical analysis
Values are expressed as mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was done using one-way ANOVA with Tukey posthoc unless otherwise noted. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Discussion
A number of ETRB antagonists are widely used in studies of cancer, and several have been tested in humans. We show here that both melanoma and glioma cell viability are sensitive to ETRB antagonists. Both BQ788 and A-192621 decrease melanoma and glioma cell number in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We find that A-192621 is more potent than BQ788, causing a greater decrease in viable cell numbers at lower concentrations and at earlier time points. In fact, within the time frame tested, only A-192621 was able to reduce the viable cell number in the astrocytoma line SW1088.
In addition, A-192621 is attractive as a therapeutic agent because it is orally bioavailable, and considering that it is also more potent than BQ788, we investigated how it reduces glioma cell number in greater detail. The CFSE labeling study indicates that A-192621 inhibits mitosis. Using cell cycle analysis, treatment of glioma cells with A-192621 increases the percentage of cells with G2/M DNA content over time. This is coupled with a concomitant decrease in the percentage of cells with G0/G1 DNA content, indicating an arrest in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, which likely accounts for the reduction in cell division seen with CFSE labeling. We also find that A-192621 treatment induces apoptotic cell death. Reduction in viable cell number is therefore a consequence of both decreased mitosis and increased apoptosis. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of ETRB antagonist-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest.
To further elucidate the actions of A-192621 on human glioma cells, we analyzed changes in gene expression using microarray technology. Notably, after 12 h of A-192621 treatment, there are highly significant increases in the expression of several genes known to be up-regulated following DNA damage. These genes include GADD153, GADD45A, GADD34, Sestrin 2 and DR5. Environmental stressors such as methylmethane sulfonate, or ultraviolet or gamma irradiation induce GADD45A [
25]. Expression of GADD45A and other GADD45-like genes activates the p38/JNK pathway and apoptosis. GADD45A also induces G2/M cell cycle arrest through its interaction with Cdc2 and cyclin B1 following genotoxic stress [
26‐
29]. Two other members of the GADD family, GADD34 and GADD153, are also up-regulated by A-192621 treatment. Like other members of this family, GADD34 and GADD153 are induced by stressful growth conditions and DNA damage. Over-expression of GADD34 and GADD153, along with GADD45 and others, suppresses cell growth (as measured by colony formation) and induces apoptosis [
30‐
33]. Sestrin 2 is one of three closely related genes in the sestrin family [
34] and is closely linked to other GADD genes since sestrin 1, also known as PA26 [
35], is a member of the GADD gene family. Sestrin 2, also known as Hi95, is induced by hypoxia, oxidative stress and DNA damage [
36]. Over-expression of sestrin 2 leads to apoptosis approximately 24 h following induction, and the cells are hypersensitive to further insult. DR5 is one of the TRAIL receptors with a cytoplasmic death domain that induces caspase-dependent apoptosis [
37‐
39]. DR5 is induced by DNA damaging compounds in malignant gliomas, including LN-229 [
40]. Taken together, this evidence suggests that A-192621 affects glioma viability by activating stress/DNA damage response pathways, which leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. A similar process may also occur in melanoma. The up-regulation of these genes was confirmed by real-time PCR in LN-229 and SW1088 cell lines, and also occurs in human melanoma cell lines, A375 and WM35, following 12 h of A-192621 treatment. Up-regulation of these genes may account for the G2/M arrest and the apoptosis we see at later time points. This is the first evidence linking ETRB antagonist treatment to enhanced expression of DNA damage-inducible genes.
We also present evidence that the reduction of both glioma and melanoma
in vitro viability by A-192621 and BQ788 is not dependent on ETRB expression. This conclusion is supported by three types of data. (1) The concentrations of ETRB antagonists required to reduce cell number are far above the concentrations required to displace ET-1 from ETRB. (2) At the high dose, A-192621 reduces cell viability in the glioma cell line SW1088 despite the absence of detectable ETRB expression in these cells. (3) Experimental reduction of ETRB expression in the other cell lines by >90% has no effect on the ability of either antagonist to reduce glioma or melanoma cell numbers
in vitro. Despite the evidence that these ETRB antagonists are not acting through ETRB, it is clear that they are not toxic for all cell types. That is, our prior experiments showed that BQ788 kills 7 different melanoma cell lines without affecting the human kidney line 293, even at 100 μM [
23]. Thus, there appears to be something distinctive about melanoma and glioma cells, and possibly a number of cancer cell types (ovarian, prostate, meninges) that are susceptible to ETRB antagonists [
2].
Conclusion
We have demonstrated that ETRB antagonists are effective agents against glioma and melanoma cell growth in vitro. To date, mechanisms of ETRB antagonist action in cancer treatment have focused on blocking ET-1 induced pathways. Although determining the precise mechanism by which ETRB antagonists reduce cell number in these cancers is beyond the scope of this study, the data presented here indicate that ETRB antagonists function independently of direct ETRB antagonism to mediate their effects on in vitro cell viability. We present evidence that A-192621 affects glioma and melanoma viability by activating stress/DNA damage response pathways, which leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. This is the first evidence linking ETRB antagonist treatment to enhanced expression of DNA damage-inducible genes, and suggests a novel direction for future work on the mechanism of action of ETRB antagonists in cancer.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
JPM participated in the design of the study, drafted the manuscript and carried out the experimental work. PHP participated in the study conception, coordination and manuscript preparation. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.