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[Cancer Research 60, 2780-2785, June 1, 2000]
© 2000 American Association for Cancer Research


Advances in Brief

Differential Susceptibility of Renal Carcinoma Cell Lines to Tumor Suppression by Exogenous Fhit Expression1

Nicole Susann Werner, Zurab Siprashvili, Louise Y. Y. Fong, Guido Marquitan, Jan K. Schröder, Walter Bardenheuer, Siegfried Seeber, Kay Huebner, Jochen Schütte2 and Bertram Opalka2

Innere Klinik und Poliklinik (Tumorforschung), Universitätsklinikum Essen, Westdeutsches Tumorzentrum Essen, 45122 Essen, Germany [N. S. W., G. M., J. K. S., W. B., S. S., J. S., B. O.], and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Institute, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107 [Z. S., L. Y. Y. F., K. H.]


    ABSTRACT
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Hemizygous deletions of the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene at human chromosome band 3p14.2 and down-regulation of its gene product are found in the majority of renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). Functional tumor suppressive activity of Fhit in renal cancer cells previously was observed in RCC cell line RC48, which lacks endogenous Fhit expression. To further investigate the potential role of FHIT as a tumor suppressor gene in RCC, we transfected FHIT cDNA expression constructs into RCC cell lines RCC-1 and SN12C, which show low-level expression of endogenous Fhit and reveal an intact von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene. Stable transfectants of both cell lines showed no alterations of cell morphology, proliferation kinetics, or cell cycle parameters in vitro. The FHIT gene transfer rate, however, was significantly lower in RCC-1 cells compared with SN12C cells, suggesting a selection against exogenous Fhit expression. In addition, in nude mouse assays, a significant delay of tumor formation was observed for FHIT-transfected RCC-1 cell lines, with outgrowing tumors demonstrating loss of Fhit expression in the majority of cells. In contrast, tumorigenicity of FHIT-transfected SN12C cell clones was not suppressed, despite stable transgene expression. In conclusion, our results demonstrate a selective tumor suppressive activity of Fhit in RCC cells in vivo and suggest that the susceptibility to suppression is not restricted to cancer cells with complete loss of Fhit expression.


    Introduction
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Deletions of human chromosome 3p are observed in 50–90% of human RCCs3 and occur with high frequency in several other neoplasias. Loss of heterozygosity analyses have implicated at least three distinct regions on 3p in RCC development: 3p25-26; 3p21.2-21.3; and 3p12-14 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) . Results from functional studies suggest that in addition to the established VHL TSG at 3p25-26 (6) , chromosome 3p contains additional loci relevant to RCC tumorigenesis. Among these are the NRC-1 locus at 3p12 (7, 8, 9) , the NRC-2 locus at 3p14.2 (10) , the WNT5A gene at 3p14.3-21.1 (11) , at least one locus with telomerase-suppressive activity on 3p12-p21.1 (12 , 13) or 3p21.3-p22 (13) , and the FHIT gene on 3p14.2 (14) .

The FHIT gene spans the FRA3B fragile site and the t(3;8)(p14.2;q24) breakpoint described in a family with hereditary RCC (4) . Hemizygous, interstitial, or terminal 3p deletions involving the FHIT gene as well as down-regulated Fhit expression have been found in ~70–85% of ccRCCs, whereas homozygous deletions or aberrant FHIT transcripts were rarely observed (15, 16, 17, 18, 19) . In addition to a pro-apoptotic activity of Fhit described recently in lung cancer cell lines in vitro (20 , 21) , functional evidence for tumor-suppressive activity of the FHIT gene in vivo has been established previously in three lung and two gastric cancer cell lines (20 , 22) . In cervical carcinoma cell lines, on the other hand, restoration of FHIT expression showed no effects on tumor growth in nude mouse experiments (23 , 24) . In RCC, suppression of tumorigenicity by Fhit in vivo has to date been analyzed in a single RCC cell line, RC48, which shows a homozygous deletion involving FHIT exons 8–10 (22) .

To further investigate the tumor-suppressive activity, and thus, the potential role of FHIT in RCC pathogenesis, we transfected FHIT cDNA expression constructs into two additional RCC cell lines, RCC-1 and SN12C (10 , 25) , which, similar to many primary ccRCCs, show low levels of endogenous Fhit expression (18) . We here report on the growth characteristics of these RCC cell lines in vitro and their tumorigenicity in vivo.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Cell Lines and Culture Conditions.
The human ccRCC cell line RCC-1 (alternate name, D-RC-1; kindly provided by Dr. T. Ebert, Fürth, Germany) has been described previously (10 , 26 , 27) . The sporadic nonpapillary RCC cell line SN12C (kindly provided by Dr. Fidler, Houston, TX) is of mixed clear cell and granular cell origin and has been described (7, 8, 9 , 25) . Both cell lines contain a wild-type VHL gene as shown by single-strand conformation analysis for SN12C cells (9) and by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography for RCC-1 cells,4 and are tumorigenic in nude mice. All cell lines were maintained as monolayer cultures in DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin-streptomycin (Life Technologies, Eggenstein, Germany).

Expression Constructs and Transfections.
Plasmid expression constructs containing wild-type FHIT cDNA (pRcFHIT) and a FHIT cDNA mutated at the His96 codon (pRcFHITH96N), significantly reducing the hydrolase activity of Fhit, have been described (14 , 22 , 28) . RCC-1 and SN12C cells were stably transfected with 2 µg of pRcFHIT, pRcFHITH96N, or control plasmid (pRcCMV), using lipofectin (Life Technologies) following the manufacturer’s guidelines. After transfections, individual G418-resistant colonies were selected in the presence of 500 µg/ml active G418 (Geneticin; Life Technologies).

PCR Analyses.
RT-PCR analyses were performed to assess the endogenous FHIT gene status within the RCC-1 and SN12C parental cell lines, using a nested set of primers (A, 5U2 plus 3D2; B, 5U1 plus 3D1) as described (14) . In addition, to analyze the coding region, RT-PCR was performed using oligonucleotide primers 5'-TGAGGACATGTCGTTCAGATTT-3' and 5'-CACTGAAAGTAGACCCGC-3', which flank exons 5 and 9 (14) . The presence of the exogenous FHIT gene in transfected RCC-1 and SN12C clones was verified by PCR analysis using the primer pair HITF and HITR as described previously (28) .

In Vitro Proliferation Parameters.
To examine the proliferation rates and saturation densities of cell lines, cells were plated in 24-well cell culture plates (2 cm2/well) at a density of 4–5 x 104 cells per well. Cells from triplicate cultures were counted once every 24 h for 8–9 days, and the doubling time was calculated from the logarithmic part of the growth curve. The saturation density was defined as the number of cells per cm2 at the time of reaching confluence.

Cell Cycle Analysis.
Cells were trypsinized, fixed, washed, and incubated in DNA-staining solution containing 50 µg/ml propidium iodide (Sigma), 5 Kunitz units/ml bovine pancreas RNase type A (Boehringer-Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany), and 10 µl of PCNA-FITC monoclonal mouse antibody (DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark), and were analyzed by flow cytometry according to the manufacturer’s recommendations (DAKO). Cell cycle analysis was performed using a Coulter flow cytometer equipped with an argon laser (488 nm; Coulter Electronics, Miami, FL), and data were registered and stored in list mode. Debris was excluded by gating on a forward and side scatter dot plot or on a DNA histogram. Fluorescence was recorded in channel FL1 (525 nm) and channel FL2 (575 nm), using linear and logarithmic amplification. Data were evaluated with the Multicycle software for DNA analysis (Phoenix Flow Systems, San Diego, CA) and with System II software (Coulter Electronics) for sub-G0-G1 analysis.

Tumorigenicity Assay.
For the determination of tumorigenicity, 1 x 107 cells of parental RCC-1 or SN12C cells and their derivatives were injected s.c. into the right flank of 4- to 6-week-old female NMRI-nu/nu mice (Central animal facility, University of Essen Medical School) with groups of at least three animals per cell line tested. Control mice were inoculated with the parental RCC-1 and SN12C cells and with their derivatives containing the empty vector. Animals were monitored at least weekly for tumor formation. Mice were sacrificed when the largest tumor diameter was ~1 cm, and tumors were removed and weighed. One part of these tumors was established in culture for further analysis, and another part was fixed in 10% formalin for immunohistochemistry. Animal care was provided in accordance with institutional guidelines.

Western Blot Analysis.
Preparation of cell lysates and Western blot analysis have been described previously (22 , 28) . Rabbit polyclonal anti-Fhit antiserum (22) was used at a dilution of 1:5000 for immunoblot analysis and 1:1000 for immunohistochemical analysis.

Immunofluorescent Staining of Fhit Protein in Wild-Type and Transfectant Cell Lines.
Cytospins of 5 x 105 RCC-1 and SN12C parental cells and derivative FHIT transfectants (passage 5) were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde-PBS and permeabilized in 0.5% Triton X-100-PBS. After washing with PBS, samples were incubated with the rabbit polyclonal anti-Fhit antibody diluted 1:200 in PBS containing 1.5% goat serum for 1 h at 37°C. Slides were washed three times with PBS and subsequently incubated with rhodamine-conjugated Affinipure goat antirabbit IgG diluted 1:150 in PBS containing 1.5% goat serum (Jackson ImmunoResearch Labs Inc., West Grove, PA) for 45 min at room temperature. Stained cells were visualized under a fluorescence microscope (Axioplan; Zeiss, Göttingen, Germany).

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Tumors.
Formalin-fixed tumor samples were paraffin-embedded, cut into 4-µm sections, and mounted on Superfrost Plus glass slides (Menzel, Braunschweig, Germany). After deparaffinization of all sections followed by rehydratation through an ethanol series, the slides were immersed in 0.01 M citrate buffer (pH 6.0), heated in a microwave oven twice for 5 min for antigen recovery, and cooled for 20 min. The sections were then incubated at 37°C overnight with the rabbit anti-Fhit primary antiserum (diluted 1:1000). Thereafter, the sections were reacted with biotinylated goat antirabbit IgG secondary antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Santa Cruz, TX) and exposed to an avidin-biotin complex (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) for 45 min. Slides were washed with PBS, subsequently subjected to a 12-min application of diaminobenzidine-peroxide solution (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), washed again, counterstained with hematoxylin, and coverslipped prior to evaluation.

Statistical Analyses.
Comparison of tumor-free survival of mice was performed using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method and the log-rank test (SPSS software, version 7.0, SPSS Inc.). The {chi}2 test was used for analyzing the rates of FHIT gene transfer into transfected SN12C and RCC-1 cells. Cell cycle parameters were compared using the two-sided Spearman’s test. The Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of tumor weights and the time intervals between first visibility of tumors and the time of sacrificing the animals when tumors showed diameters of ~1 cm. Two-sided P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.


    Results
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
In Vitro Characteristics of Parental Tumor Cell Lines and FHIT Transfectants.
The endogenous FHIT gene status within the parental renal carcinoma cell lines RCC-1 and SN12C was assessed by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. Aberrant PCR products were detected in the SN12C cells (~600 and ~450 bp) and in the RCC-1 cells (~500 bp plus a wild-type 707-bp product; Ref. 14 ) when a nested set of oligonucleotide primers was used. The wild-type-sized product (450 bp; data not shown) was obtained using oligonucleotide primers encompassing the FHIT coding exons 5–9, suggesting an intact coding region of the FHIT gene in both cell lines. Expression of the endogenous Fhit protein in the parental cell lines at one to two passages prior to injection was analyzed by immunofluorescence and Western blotting and showed a low degree of endogenous Fhit expression (Figs. 1Citation 2Citation I). Immunohistochemistry of tumors derived from wild-type RCC-1 and SN12C cells (Fig. 2Citation II) revealed barely detectable levels of endogenous Fhit protein.



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Fig. 1. Western blot analysis of Fhit expression in transfected RCC-1 (left panel) and SN12C (right panel) cell lines. Immunoblotting was done with 70 µg of protein/lane obtained from cell lysates of RCC-1 and SN12C cell lines using rabbit polyclonal anti-Fhit antiserum (1:5000). Controls were HeLa cells stably transfected with FHIT cDNA without a FLAG epitope (HeLA/Fhit); RCC-1 (RCC-1 wt) and SN12C (SN12C wt) parental cells; and RCC-1 (CL-FV-E3) and SN12C (CL-FV-F6) cells transfected with the empty plasmid vector. Exogenous Fhit expression is shown for RCC-1 cell lines CL-F-A3 and CL-F-A5, and SN12C cell lines CL-F-A3 and CL-F-B4, which express wild-type Fhit. The mutant Fhit H96N is shown for RCC-1 cell line CL-MF-D5 and SN12C cell line CL-MF-D1. The lower bands (bottom arrows) show endogenous Fhit (16.8 kDa), and the upper bands (top arrows) show exogenous Fhit containing the FLAG tag. For designation of cell lines, see Table 1Citation .

 


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Fig. 2. Immunofluorescent and immunohistochemical detection of Fhit in cell lines and xenograft tumor sections. I, immunofluorescent staining of cytospins from RCC-1 parental cells (a) and FHIT-transfected RCC-1 cell line CL-F-A3 (b; passage 5), using rabbit polyclonal anti-Fhit antiserum at a dilution of 1:200 (original magnification, x630). II, immunohistochemical analysis of xenograft tumors using rabbit polyclonal anti-Fhit antiserum at a dilution of 1:1000 (original magnification, x500). a, control tumor DT-RCC-1d (see Table 1Citation ) derived from RCC-1 parental cell line. b, RCC-1-derived tumor DT-F-A3a containing the wild-type FHIT transgene. c, control tumor DT-SN12Ca derived from SN12C parental cell line. d, SN12C-derived tumor DT-F-A5b containing exogenous wild-type FHIT gene.

 
RCC-1 and SN12C cells were transfected with the empty vector pRcCMV (FV), wild-type FHIT cDNA (F), and mutated FHITH96N cDNA (MF). G418-resistant colonies were isolated, subcloned and screened for the transfected cDNA by PCR. The FHIT gene transfer rates were 100% (19 of 19) and 54% (14 of 26) in G418-resistant SN12C and RCC-1 derivative cell clones, respectively (P < 0.01). Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analyses showed that both the RCC-1 and SN12C cells exhibited a marked increase of Fhit expression after transfection of the expression constructs in almost all cells analyzed (Fig. 1Citation , Fig. 2ICitation , and data not shown). Overall, the expression levels of exogenous wild-type Fhit and mutant FhitH96N proteins as assessed by Western blotting appeared to be higher in the SN12C cell lines than in the RCC-1 cell lines (Table 1Citation and Fig. 1Citation ).


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Table 1 Growth characteristics, tumorigenicity, and Fhit expression analysis of human renal cell carcinoma cell lines RCC-1 and SN12C

Cell lines were transfected with either the empty vector pRcCMV (FV), wild-type FHIT cDNA (pRcFHIT; F series), or mutated FHITH96N cDNA (MF). In vitro growth characteristics, tumorigenicity, and exogenous Fhit expression was assessed in parental and derivative RCC-1 and SN12C cell lines. Detection of Fhit expression in cell lines was performed by Western blot analysis and in tumor tissue by immunohistochemistry.

 
The in vitro proliferation characteristics of parental RCC-1 and SN12C cell lines and stably transfected cell clones are given in Table 1Citation . All cell lines transfected with the FHIT expression constructs showed saturation densities and population doubling times similar to those of the RCC-1 and SN12C parental cells, and did not reveal gross alterations of cellular morphology.

Cell cycle analysis in RCC-1 cell lines showed no significant differences between control cell lines consisting of either wild-type cells or cells transfected with the empty plasmid vector, and those cell lines selected for expression of exogenous Fhit. The distributions of the G0-G1, S, G2-M, and sub-G0-G1 phases (mean ± SD) were 44.9 ± 5.3%, 38.2 ± 5.7%, 17.0 ± 0.7%, and 5.0 ± 4.0% for the RCC-1 control cell lines (n = 3), and 41.4 ± 12%, 40.0 ± 12.1%, 18.6 ± 10.5, and 5.7 ± 5.4% for the FHIT-transfected RCC-1 cell lines (n = 14), respectively (P > 0.667). Likewise, no significant differences for these parameters were observed in the SN12C cells (data not shown).

Tumorigenicity of RCC-1 and SN12C Cells and Derivative Cell Lines Expressing Exogenous Fhit.
In nude mouse assays with control cell lines, 14 of 15 mice given injections of the parental RCC-1 cell line developed tumors within a median of 39 days (range, 25–45 days), and mice (n = 3) injected with RCC-1 cells harboring the empty plasmid vector developed tumors within 33 days (Table 1)Citation . To assess the tumorigenicity of RCC-1 cell lines with constitutive expression of exogenous FHIT, five cell lines expressing the wild-type FHIT transgene and two cell lines expressing the mutant FHITH96N gene, respectively, were injected into nude mice. Overall, in this series of experiments tumors developed in 22 of 26 mice, with a median latency period of 77 days (range, 41–178 days), representing a significant delay in comparison with the controls (median, 36 days; P < 0.00001). Four mice remained tumor free for 171, 250, 349, and 400 days, respectively (Table 1)Citation . Thus, tumorigenicity was substantially suppressed by transfection of FHIT cDNA expression constructs.

In similar experiments using SN12C cells, control animals injected with parental SN12C cells (n = 6) and derivative cell lines transfected with the empty plasmid vector (n = 3) revealed tumor growth within a median of 18 days (range, 16–24 days; Table 1Citation ). In contrast to the RCC-1 cells, however, the SN12C cells, which strongly expressed exogenous Fhit (Fig. 1Citation ) after transfection with either the wild-type or mutated FHIT cDNA construct, showed no suppression of tumorigenicity in 17 of 18 nude mice (94%) with latency periods (median, 18 days; range, 8–24 days; Table 1Citation ) for tumor development similar to the controls (P > 0.05).

To determine the proliferation kinetics of developing tumors, time intervals between the first visibility of tumor growth and the time of reaching an approximate maximum tumor diameter of 1 cm (time of sacrificing) was compared between control mice injected with either parental cell lines or cell lines harboring the empty vector, and cell lines expressing exogenous wild-type or mutant Fhit proteins. For RCC-1, the time intervals (mean ± SD) were 17.1 ± 7.9 days for the controls (n = 17) and 12.8 ± 8.3 days for Fhit-expressing cell lines (n = 22; P = 0.096). For SN12C, the respective time intervals were 31.0 ± 13.8 days for the controls (n = 7) and 39.6 ± 13.8 days for Fhit expressing cell lines (n = 17; P = 0.337). Tumor weights (mean ± SD) in the RCC-1 controls (n = 14) and the Fhit-expressing tumors (n = 22) were 0.429 ± 0.188 g and 0.413 ± 0.314 g, respectively (P = 0.330). In the SN12C controls (n = 4) and the Fhit-expressing tumors (n = 17), tumor weights were 0.610 ± 0.151 g and 0.475 ± 0.248 g, respectively (P = 0.179). Thus, no significant differences were observed for these parameters between tumors derived from FHIT transfectants and tumors derived from control cell lines.

Analysis of Exogenous Fhit Expression in Nude Mouse Tumors.
Immunohistochemical analysis of explanted tumors from transfected SN12C cells showed a high level of Fhit expression with strong signals in >70% of the tumor cells (Table 1Citation and Fig. 2Citation II, d). A different pattern of exogenous Fhit expression was observed in the RCC-1-derived tumors. Immunohistochemistry revealed that in 13 of 15 RCC-1-derived tumors (87%), Fhit was detected in only 1–20% of the tumor cells (Table 1)Citation , suggesting an outgrowth of RCC-1-derived tumors from selected cells having down-regulated or lost the exogenous FHIT gene (Fig. 2Citation II, b). Results obtained with clone MF-D5 (Table 1)Citation are concordant with previous data (22) showing no difference in the tumor-suppressing potential of wild-type FHIT and the mutant FHITH96N with significantly reduced hydrolase activity.


    Discussion
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
The pathogenetic role of the FHIT gene for RCC has been controversial because biallelic inactivations of the FHIT gene, as would be expected for a classical TSG, have rarely been observed (3 , 4 , 16) . On the other hand, constitutive overexpression of Fhit in the RCC cell line RC48, showing a homozygous disruption of the FHIT gene (15 , 22) , resulted in tumor suppression in four of five nude mice, whereas three of four control mice developed tumors within 2 months (22) . Additional support for the potential role of FHIT as a candidate TSG for RCC has resulted from recent immunohistochemical studies that showed either absent or down-regulated Fhit expression in the majority of sporadic ccRCCs (18 , 19) .

Similar to these findings, the data reported here for the RCC cell line RCC-1, which shows a low level of intrinsic Fhit expression, provide further evidence for potential TS activity of FHIT in vivo. This activity is demonstrated by a significant delay of tumor formation in most animals injected with FHIT-transfected RCC-1 derivatives, including a small fraction of mice demonstrating a long-lasting tumor suppression. Moreover, tumors that did grow after the lag had lost Fhit expression in the vast majority of cells. Hence, taking into account the previous results obtained with cell line RC48 (22) , these data clearly establish a TS activity of FHIT in RCC cells in vivo. The restrictions to this activity, however, are presently unclear.

Immunohistochemical studies on primary ccRCC samples have suggested that Fhit inactivation may be an early event in tumors with G1 morphological grade and early clinical stage, and may be associated with tumor progression in G2/3 tumors (18 , 19) . Thus, it may be speculated that the selective TS activity of constitutive FHIT expression in the RCC-1 but not in the SN12C cells may reflect such a differential role of FHIT in the pathogenetic cascade of RCC tumorigenesis. The potential involvement of other chromosome 3p-specific TS loci within these pathways remains elusive. Both cell lines, RCC-1 and SN12C, have been shown to be susceptible to tumor suppression by the chromosome 3p loci NRC-2 and NRC-1, respectively (7, 8, 9, 10) . In the case of RCC-1, its sensitivity to phenotypic reversion by NRC-2 and FHIT, as shown here, may suggest independent TS activities of NRC-2 and FHIT. SN12C cells, on the other hand, can be reverted by reintroduction of chromosomal material containing the NRC-1 locus. Hence, if NRC-1 and Fhit were involved in a common regulatory TS pathway, the activity of Fhit would be upstream of NRC-1. A role of the VHL gene product in these systems is rather unlikely because both the RCC-1 and the SN12C cell lines contain wild-type alleles of this gene (9) . Thus, FHIT may act in RCC tumorigenesis by VHL-independent mechanisms, which have been postulated for 30–50% of sporadic ccRCCs (29) .

The functions involved in the TS activity of FHIT in vivo are not yet fully explained. Ji et al. (20) recently described an in vitro growth inhibition and/or induction of apoptosis by constitutive FHIT expression in one head and neck and in three lung cancer cell lines (including H460) lacking endogenous Fhit expression. Interestingly, inhibition of cell proliferation in these cell lines correlated with the level of exogenous Fhit expression. Likewise, Sard et al. (21) reported a significant rate of G0-G1 arrest, induction of apoptosis, and increased expression of p21waf1 in H460 lung cancer cells after transfection with FHIT. In contrast to these findings, various cancer cell lines lacking endogenous Fhit expression have been described in which no effects of FHIT on cell proliferation, cell cycle parameters, and/or induction of apoptosis in vitro have been observed irrespective of high levels of exogenous FHIT expression (22, 23, 24) . These include cell lines exhibiting reduced tumorigenicity after FHIT transfer, such as RC48 (22) , a head and neck cancer cell line (22) , and two gastric carcinoma cell lines (22) , or different cervical carcinoma cell lines that did not reveal a reduction of tumorigenicity after constitutive high-level expression of the FHIT gene (23 , 24) . Similar analyses with cells exhibiting low-level expression of endogenous Fhit, as is observed in many primary tumor samples, have been performed to date on a head and neck cancer cell line, 22B, which showed no changes of cell proliferation parameters in vitro after high-level expression of exogenous Fhit (20) . Tumorigenicity data for this cell line, however, were not reported.

In the present study, we have extended these investigations to the RCC cell lines RCC-1 and SN12C and found no detectable changes of cell cycle parameters in vitro after FHIT transfer, even in the RCC-1 cell lines with the highest level of transgene expression obtained. Nonetheless, we observed a significantly lower rate of successful FHIT gene transfer into the RCC-1 cells compared with the SN12C cells, a lower level of transgene expression, and loss of Fhit expression in most cells of tumors derived from the FHIT-transfected RCC-1 cells, suggesting a selection against FHIT expression and, hence, supporting a role of FHIT in cell proliferation or in the induction of cell death. It may be speculated that the levels of Fhit tolerated by our RCC-1 selectants were insufficient to detect changes in the in vitro growth characteristics that have been shown to be Fhit dosage dependent (20) .

In conclusion, the present study suggests that FHIT may have a role in RCC pathogenesis in vivo. In addition, the susceptibility to the potential TS activity of FHIT appears to be cell line or cell type specific. High-level expression of exogenous FHIT does not necessarily result in tumor suppression of cancer cells that either lack endogenous (e.g., cervical cancer cell lines; Refs. 23 , 24 ) or express residual low levels of endogenous Fhit (SN12C cells; this study). Furthermore, the TS activity of FHIT is not restricted to cells with a complete loss of FHIT expression by biallelic inactivation (e.g., RC48 cells; Ref. 22 ). It may also apply to cells with low-level expression of endogenous Fhit in which even a moderate elevation of Fhit expression by gene transfer may be sufficient for the induction of tumor suppression in vivo (RCC-1 cells; this study). Finally, the resistance to Fhit-induced tumor suppression by even high levels of Fhit suggest pathogenetic pathways which, if not independent of FHIT, reflect the frequent defects/losses of elements downstream of Fhit in human cancers. Identification of these pathways appears to be crucial for selecting those types of cancer that might be susceptible to FHIT gene replacement strategies.


    Acknowledgments
 
We thank C. Heyer for excellent technical assistance; Dr. H. Brauch, IKP, Stuttgart, Germany, for denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the VHL status of the RCC-1 cells; and Dr. E. Winterhager and U. Tlolka, Department of Anatomy, University of Essen Medical School, for help with the immunohistochemistry.


    FOOTNOTES
 
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

1 This work was supported by grants from ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft,’ Bonn, Germany, and Stiftung VerUm, Munich, Germany. Back

2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Innere Klinik und Poliklinik (Tumorforschung), Universitätsklinikum Essen, Westdeutsches Tumorzentrum Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, D-45122 Essen, Germany. Phone: 49-201-723-2020 (2024); Fax: 49-201-723-2020 (5925). Back

3 The abbreviations used are: RCC, renal cell carcinoma; VHL, von-Hippel-Lindau; NRC-1 and NRC-2, nonpapillary renal carcinoma-1 and -2; TSG, tumor suppressor gene; FHIT, fragile histidine triad; ccRCC, clear cell RCC; RT-PCR, reverse transcription-PCR; TS, tumor suppressor. Back

4 H. Brauch, IKP, Stuttgart, Germany, unpublished data. Back

Received 12/ 9/99. Accepted 4/17/00.


    REFERENCES
 Top
 ABSTRACT
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 REFERENCES
 

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