
[Cancer Research 60, 4645-4653, August 15, 2000]
© 2000 American Association for Cancer Research
The Effect of Exogenous Prostaglandin Administration on Tumor Size and Yield in Min/+ Mice1
James W. Wilson2 and
Christopher S. Potten
Cancer Research Campaign Epithelial Biology Laboratory, Section of Cell and Tumour Biology, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester M20 4BX, United Kingdom
 |
ABSTRACT
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This study set out to examine the effect of exogenous prostaglandin (PG)
administration on tumor development in
Min/+ mice. Mice were treated with the
stable prostaglandin E2 analogue
16,16-dimethyl-PGE2 from 618 weeks of age. Mice were
sacrificed, and tumor burden was assessed using morphometric
techniques. Parameters measured were median tumor size, mean tumor
size, the proportion of the area of the gastrointestinal mucosa
covered with tumor, and the number of tumors per 1000 mm2
of gastrointestinal mucosa. In addition, proliferative and apoptotic
indices were determined. These measurements were carried out for all
regions of the small intestine (i.e., duodenum, jejunum,
upper ileum, and lower ileum) and the large intestine
(i.e., cecum and mid-colon/rectum).
16,16-Dimethyl-PGE2-treated animals showed a significant
decrease in tumor burden (by approximately 5070%), in
comparison with those animals that were treated with vehicle alone
(0.001% ethanol in 0.9% sterile saline), in all regions of the
intestine (at P = 0.008 or better). This
effect was contributed to by a reduction in the number of tumors (by
approximately 2050%) and a reduction in tumor size (by approximately
1070%). An increase in tumor cell turnover was associated with this
decrease in tumor burden, as determined by the changes in the levels of
thymidine incorporation (significant at P = 0.003), apoptosis, and mitosis (nonsignificant).
 |
INTRODUCTION
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The Min/+ mouse is a well-characterized
model of
GI3
tumorigenesis (1, 2, 3)
and has been used in many studies
examining the efficacy of NSAIDs in inhibiting tumor cell growth
(4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
. The mice are characterized by a mutation in the
APC gene (the gene mutated in familial adenomatous
polyposis) that results in the insertion of a premature stop codon
(2)
. Loss of heterozygosity of the APC gene
results in the development of small adenomas with a noninvasive
phenotype, primarily within the intestinal mucosa. The precise number
of tumors that an animal develops and their growth characteristics are
determined by a number of genotypic modifiers (3
, 9)
.
Over the last decade, much research has suggested that endogenous PGs
can act as proliferative and survival factors for colorectal tumor
cells as well as other tumor types. This is evidenced by a number of
findings. NSAIDS, which inhibit COX (PG
H2/G2 synthase), have been
shown to reduce tumor cell proliferation both in vivo and
in vitro and also to promote apoptosis of tumor cells
(5, 6, 7, 8
, 10)
. COX has been shown to exist as two different
isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2. The COX-2 isoenzyme has been demonstrated to
be overexpressed in human colorectal tumors (11
, 12)
, in
carcinogen-induced tumors in animals (12, 13, 14, 15)
, in
spontaneous tumors that develop in Min/+ mice
(16)
, and in colorectal cell lines (17)
.
Tsujii and DuBois (18)
showed that forced overexpression
of COX-2 in RIE cells resulted in increased expression of Bcl-2,
increased cell:basement membrane adhesion (both of which promote the
survival of intestinal epithelial cells), reduced E-cadherin expression
[associated with dysregulated cell migration and proliferation (see
Ref. 19
)], and elevated levels of
PGE2. Overexpression of COX-2 in colorectal tumor
cell lines also results in increased metastatic potential
(20)
. Conversely, deletion of the COX-2 gene
results in decreased tumor formation in mice with mutations in the
APC gene (21)
. Recently, specific inhibitors of
COX-2 have been developed. These have been shown to induce apoptosis
and/or inhibit the growth of colorectal tumor cell lines in
vitro (22)
, in vivo using xenograft models
(23)
, in chemically induced tumors in experimental animals
(24)
, and in Min/+ mice
(25)
. It has also been proposed that COX-2 expression and
tumorigenesis can be influenced by diet in experimental models of
colorectal cancer (13
, 26)
.
With regard to the PG products themselves, elevated serum and mucosal
levels of PGs have been shown to be associated with colorectal tumors
(27
, 28)
. Exogenous PGs have also been shown to stimulate
the proliferation of normal intestinal epithelial cells and tumor cells
both in vitro and in vivo (29
, 30)
.
One of the prime factors in promoting tumor cell growth and survival
has been suggested to be PGE2, which can mimic
the effects of COX-2 expression in vitro (31)
.
In this study, we have examined the effect of exogenous
PGE2 on tumor development in
Min/+ mice. We hypothesized that, given previous
data, we should observe more rapid tumor development and perhaps tumors
with an invasive phenotype. However, the results we obtained suggest
that the role of PGs as either paracrine or autocrine growth factors
for tumor cells may be more complex than first proposed.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
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Mice
Min/+ mice were bred in house, on a C57BL/6
background. PCR analysis was used to identify the genotype of the
Min/+ mice used in this study (32)
. Both male
and female Min/+ mice were used in these experiments.
Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated no significant
difference between the tumor burden of male and female animals (data
not shown). Mice were kept on a 12-h light/12-h dark cycle with lights
on at 7 a.m. and were allowed free access to food and water.
Animals were monitored daily for physical well-being.
16,16dmPGE2
16,16dmPGE2 was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (Poole,
United Kingdom). 16,16dmPGE2 was obtained as a
solution in methyl acetate. The methyl acetate was evaporated under a
stream of nitrogen, and the 16,16dmPGE2 was
immediately dissolved in ice-cold 100% ethanol (analytical grade) at a
concentration of 1 mg/ml. The 16,16dmPGE2 was
aliquoted into 30-µl volumes that were stored at -80°C until use.
Experimental Procedure
Experimental cohorts consisted of six mice [three males and
three females (caged separately)]. Mice were injected with
16,16dmPGE2 from 6 until 18 weeks of age. The age
of 18 weeks was chosen as an end point because our colony of
Min/+ mice show well-developed adenomas at this age without
significant morbidity. Injections were carried out using the
following regimen: three i.p. injections of
16,16dmPGE2 (0.25 ml; 40 ng/ml in physiological
saline) were given weekly (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 p.m.). Parallel cohorts of mice were injected with 0.25 ml of ethanol
(0.0004%)/physiological saline. Three separate experiments were
carried out on three separate batches of animals. Experiments were
carried out in a series with an interval of 24 weeks between each
experiment.
The above-mentioned regimen was chosen on the basis of results from a
pilot experiment that assessed three different dosing schedules (data
not shown).
Assessment of Tumor Burden
Tissue Processing.
When the mice were 18 weeks old, they were sacrificed by cervical
dislocation. The intestines were excised and flushed with ice-cold PBS
(pH 7.4). The intestines of two male and two female mice from each
cohort were taken for morphometric analysis of tumor size. The small
intestine was cut into four regions (duodenum, jejunum, and upper and
lower ileum), and the large intestine was cut into two regions (cecum
and mid-colon/rectum). Each length of intestine was opened out by
longitudinal incision and pinned flat, using entomology pins, on to a
wax base in a large plastic Petri dish. Next, the intestinal segments
were fixed in 4% formaldehyde in PBS overnight at 4°C and
transferred to 70% ethanol.
Methylene Blue Staining.
After initial processing, as outlined above, the tissue was rinsed
twice in 70% ethanol and left for 1 h. The 70% ethanol was then
replaced by 40% ethanol (in PBS), and the dishes were placed on an
orbital shaking table for 10 min. The tissue was then washed in PBS for
an additional 10 min before staining the tissue with 0.1% methylene
blue (in PBS) for 10 min. After staining with methylene blue, the
tissue was washed three times in ice-cold PBS (10 min/wash). Each
region of tissue was cut into three approximately equal pieces that
were then mounted individually in glycerol on glass microscope slides.
Morphometry.
A Zeiss Axiohome microscope was used in conjunction with a
personal computer and Zeiss software to make morphometric measurements.
Specifically, we measured the area of the whole mount and the area of
all individual tumors. Whole mounts were viewed using a x4
magnification objective and x10 magnification eye pieces, with
bright-field illumination.
When making the incision along the gut during the initial preparation
of the whole mounts, occasional tumors were cut into two pieces. In
such a case, the two pieces of the same tumor appear on opposite sides
of the whole mount and can be easily identified and matched up. The
areas of the two pieces of tumor are determined separately and then
summed to give the true area for the whole tumor.
The following figures were recorded and calculated: (a) the
area of each intestinal region (area); (b) the area of each
tumor within each region; (c) the sum of the area of all
tumors within each region (areaT); (d)
the proportion of intestinal surface area covered by tumor
(areaT:area) for each region (pT); (e)
the total number of tumors within each region (T); and (f)
the number of tumors per 1000 mm2 area for each
region (TP1K).
 |
Assessment of DNA Synthesis by Autoradiography
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The incorporation of tritiated thymidine was used as a
measure of DNA synthesis to indicate the proliferative state of the
tissue. Briefly, at the end of each experiment, two mice from each
group (one male mouse and one female mouse) were selected and injected
i.p. with 25 µCi of tritiated thymidine (in 0.1 ml of physiological
saline). Mice were sacrificed 40 min later, and the intestines were
excised, flushed with ice-cold PBS, and fixed in 4% formaldehyde in
PBS overnight at 4°C. The intestine was cut into six regions, as
previously
described . Tissues were processed for wax embedding, and 3-µm-thick sections
were cut. Tissue sections on microscope slides were coated with nuclear
fastrack emulsion (Ilford, Mobberley, United Kingdom) and
exposed for 3 days before developing, as described previously
(33)
. After development, cells with three or more silver
grains over the nucleus were classified as being positive for thymidine
incorporation, and a labeling index was determined.
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Immunohistochemistry
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Immunohistochemical analysis of
p21WAF-1/CIP1 expression was carried out as
described previously (33)
, in parallel to assessment of
thymidine incorporation. Developed slide autoradiographs were rinsed
overnight in deionized water before incubation with rabbit polyclonal
antibody to p21WAF-1/CIP1 at 0.5 µg/ml (PC55;
Calbiochem, Nottingham, United Kingdom). Sections were subsequently
incubated with biotinylated goat antirabbit IgG (1:200 dilution; Vector
Laboratories, Peterborough, United Kingdom) and
avidin/biotin-horseradish peroxidase complex reagent (ABC Elite; Vector
Laboratories). Immunodetection was carried out by incubation with
3'3'-diaminobenzidine (Sigma). Slides were counterstained with thionin
blue before dehydration and mounting.
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Assessment of Mitosis and Apoptosis
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Mitotic and apoptotic events within tumor epithelium and
normal, uninvolved epithelium were assessed and recorded using
well-established and previously reported morphological scoring
techniques (33)
. For scoring of tumor cross-sections, the
Zeiss Axiohome system allows a grid to be superimposed on the image and
allows the user to place specific symbols (corresponding to specific
cellular features, i.e., apoptosis, mitosis, label, and so
forth) over each cell scored, which are then autotallied by the
computer.
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Statistical Analysis
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Statistical analysis was carried out using two-way ANOVA with
respect to morphometric measurements. No significant interaction
between variables was observed. For the analysis of cell kinetic
parameters, three- or four-way ANOVA was used. Analysis was carried out
using SPSS for Windows.
 |
RESULTS
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Morphometry
In total, 6967 tumors were measured [2922 from
16,16dmPGE2-treated animals
(n = 12) and 4045 from control-treated
animals (n = 10)]. In all three experiments,
it was observed that, contrary to our expectations, mice treated
with 16,16dmPGE2 had less tumor burden at 18
weeks of age, as judged by the proportion of the epithelial area that
was covered in tumors (pT; Fig. 1A
). The effect of
16,16dmPGE2 on tumor growth was observed in all
regions of the small intestine and the mid-colon/rectum. The reduction
in tumor burden was found to be due both to a decrease in the number of
tumors observed (TP1K; Fig. 1B
) and a reduction in tumor
size (Fig. 1 and D
). A plot of tumor
frequency, with tumors assigned to size bins with a
0.25-mm2 increment, demonstrated tumor size to
have a Poisson-like distribution, as demonstrated in Fig. 2
. The proximal small intestine (duodenum) had the tumors with the
largest area (largest tumor measured = 23.5
mm2), whereas the distal region (upper and lower
ileum) had the highest frequency of tumors (approximately 35% of all
tumors occurred in the upper ileum). There were very few small tumors
in the mid-colon/rectum, hence the high average tumor size in this
region (Fig. 1C
). Some colorectal tumors had a different
morphological appearance in comparison to the flat, mushroom-shaped
adenomas of the small intestine and were spheroidal. Two mice in
control groups from separate experiments were culled before they
reached 18 weeks of age because they became moribund. They were found
to have large, spheroidal tumors that appeared to have occluded the
colon. None of the other mice displayed any outward signs of distress
or discomfort during the course of the experiments. No tumors were
recorded in the cecum.
Cell Kinetic Studies
Measurements of parameters such as thymidine labeling and
apoptosis were performed to assess how
16,16dmPGE2 might have been exerting its effect.
From all of the mice used for the cell kinetics studies in all of the
experiments [total, 12 (6 treated and 6 untreated mice)], a total of
177 individual tumors were analyzed (85 tumors from untreated animals
and 92 tumors from treated animals). For this part of the study, we
chose to examine the duodenum because it had the tumors with the
largest areas and the upper ileum because it had the greatest numbers
of tumors per unit area. The mid-colon rectum was not included in this
analysis due to the low frequency of tumors within intestinal
cross-sections (<3% of tumors occurred within this region). For this
part of the analysis, tumors were assigned to three categories:
(a) cystic tumors, small, ring-shaped tumors in the
cross-section; (b) small tumors, tumors that are more
"glandular" in appearance than cystic tumors but are compact, with
a maximum cutoff size of 0.4 mm2 in cross-section
(as measured using the Zeiss Axiohome); and (c) large
tumors, large tumors (>0.4 mm2 cross-section)
with "tubulovillous" and "glandular" morphology. Representative
tumor sections are illustrated in Fig. 3
, showing typical patterns of thymidine labeling and
p21WAF-1/CIP1 immunoreactivity and high
magnification views of apoptotic and mitotic cells.

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Fig. 3. Representative tumor sections (A and
D) showing typical patterns of thymidine labeling
(nuclei with black grains) and
p21WAF-1/CIP1 immunoreactivity (brown
nuclei). High magnification images of apoptotic cells
(B and C) and mitotic cells
(E) are also shown. The scale bar in
A = 25 µm (the same scale was used in
D), and the scale bar in
B = 25 µm (the same scale was used in
C and E).
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Thymidine Labeling.
It was observed consistently that tumors from treated mice contained a
significantly higher percentage of cells demonstrating tritiated
thymidine incorporation, i.e., in S phase. This was true for
all tumor types in both the duodenum and upper ileum. Fig. 4
shows pooled thymidine incorporation data from all experiments for
duodenal and upper ileal tumors. Overall, the percentage of
thymidine-incorporating cells increased from a mean of 9.6 ± 2% (mean ± SE) to 18.5 ± 0.4%
in the duodenum and from 9.4 ± 3.4% to 13.5 ± 2.4% in the upper ileum. Data were analyzed using a three-way
ANOVA, which showed that the effect of the treatment was significant at
P = 0.003, with neither the region
(P = 0.31) nor the tumor type
(P = 0.69) having any significant effect on
thymidine incorporation.
Apoptosis.
The AI = (total number of apoptotic bodies)/(total
number of nonapoptotic cells + total number of apoptotic
bodies) x 100.
When tumors were assessed on a regional basis, AI was significantly
increased by 16,16dmPGE2 treatment in all tumor
types of upper ileal origin (P = 0.041), as
assessed by unpaired t test assuming unequal variance);
however, this was not observed in duodenal tumors, with only small
tumors showing an increase in AI, and cystic and large tumors showing a
decrease in AI (Fig. 5
). Overall, there was no significant effect of treatment on the levels
of apoptosis observed in duodenal tumors, as assessed in a three-way
ANOVA (P = 0.59); however, there was a
significant relationship between tumor type and apoptosis
(P = 0.009), with large tumors demonstrating
a smaller percentage of apoptotic cells than either small or cystic
tumors.
Mitosis.
The MI = (total number of mitotic cells)/(total number
of nonmitotic cells + total number of mitotic
cells) x 100, where the total number of nonmitotic
cells includes all apoptotic bodies.
As would be expected from the thymidine incorporation data, a moderate
increase in mitosis was also observed in tumors of treated animals
([mean ± SE, 0.8 ± 0.1% (treated
animals) versus 0.6 ± 0.1% (controls)];
however, the effect of 16,16dmPGE2 on the levels
of mitosis was nonsignificant, as assessed in a three-way ANOVA
(P = 0.34). The fact that the increases
observed are nonsignificant may be explained by the fact that there are
few mitotic cells (
1% of total cells) and that there was
great variability in the number of mitotic cells between the fields
that were scored. Although the effect of the treatment was not
significant, the analysis did show that levels of mitosis were
significantly higher in upper ileal tumors (1 ± 0.1%)
than in duodenal tumors (0.7 ± 0.1%;
P = 0.030, Mann-Whitney U test).
AI:MI.
The ratio of apoptosis to mitosis was calculated because it can give a
better indication of any shift in the dynamic status of the tumors. The
results obtained were essentially similar to those obtained for
apoptosis alone. A consistent increase in the AI:MI ratio was observed
in all upper ileal tumors (Fig. 6
); no increase was observed in any duodenal tumor groups (data not
shown).
p21WAF-1/CIP1 Labeling.
An increase in p21WAF-1/CIP1-positive cells in
small and large tumors was observed in treated animals (Fig. 7
). In contrast, the number of
p21WAF-1/CIP1-positive cells in cystic tumors
decreased in animals treated with 16,16dmPGE2.
ANOVA showed this relationship between type and
p21WAF-1/CIP1 labeling and treatment to be
significant (P = 0.042).
Effects on Normal Epithelium.
In parallel to its effect on tumor cells,
16,16dmPGE2 also caused a modest increase in the
number of crypt epithelial cells demonstrating thymidine incorporation
(S-phase cells) in areas of normal epithelium showing no tumor
involvement. Fig. 8
shows the frequency distribution of thymidine incorporation on a cell
positional basis, with cell position 1 being the base of the crypt (see
Ref. 33
). Overall, the percentage incorporation
increased from 16% to 21% in the duodenum and from 16.1% to 19.4%
in the upper ileum in treated animals. We were unable to detect any
significant changes in apoptosis or mitosis.

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Fig. 8. Cell kinetic data for duodenal (AC) and
upper ileal crypts (DF) from areas of morphologically
normal epithelium showing no tumor involvement. Frequency distributions
of tritiated thymidine incorporation (A and
D), apoptosis (B and E),
and mitosis (C and F) on a cell
positional basis (cell position 1 represents the base of the crypts).
Data are the pooled results from six untreated and six treated mice for
apoptosis and mitosis and the pooled results from four untreated and
four treated mice for thymidine incorporation. A minimum of 40
(duodenum) and 49 (upper ileum) half crypts from a minimum of five
transverse histological sections were scored per animal for each
region. Data are expressed as the percentage of cells scored at each
cell position.
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DISCUSSION
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The data obtained from this study demonstrate that exogenous PG
administration can significantly inhibit GI tumor development using the
Min/+ tumor model. This finding was unexpected and perhaps
counterintuitive because previously published data suggested that PGs,
specifically PGE2, can act directly as growth and
survival factors for normal, intestinal crypt epithelial cells
(34)
and intestinal tumor cells (30
, 31)
.
There has also been a large amount of work that has indirectly
supported the role of PGE2, a product of
COX-mediated arachidonic acid metabolism, in GI tumorigenesis. Elevated
levels of mucosal PGE2 are associated with colon
tumors in man (27
, 28)
, and elevated levels of COX-2 are
observed in primary human tumors, colorectal tumor cell lines, and
murine models of tumorigenesis (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
. Diet-induced
tumor promotion in murine models of intestinal disease is also
associated with elevated levels of PGE2
(35)
. Ablation of COX-2 function through either
pharmacological means [i.e., NSAIDs and selective COX-2
inhibitors (5
, 6
, 10 , 24
, 25)
] or gene deletion of
COX-2 (21)
results in reduced tumorigenesis. In
contrast, enforced expression of COX-2 in colorectal tumor cells
results in enhanced metastatic potential associated with PG synthesis
(20)
.
However, there is now a growing body of evidence that suggests that the
role of COX-2 and PGE2 in malignancy may not be
so simple. There are numerous reports that the antitumor effect of
NSAIDs (including selective COX-2 inhibitors) is independent of their
ability to inhibit PGE2 synthesis (8
, 36, 37, 38, 39)
. Also, COX-2 expression does not correlate with
proliferative status or tumor stage in primary colorectal cancers
(40)
, and the selective COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 has been
shown to induce apoptosis in colorectal cell lines independently of
their COX-2 expression status (41)
. COX-2 has even been
hypothesized to be a tumor suppressor gene (42)
. In
addition, nontransformed, immortalized cells derived from mice null for
either COX-1 or COX-2 show up-regulation of the
remaining gene, enhanced expression of
cPLA2, and increased
PGE2 synthesis (43)
.
PGE2 has been reported to inhibit the
proliferation of certain colorectal cancer cell lines
(42)
. All of these data suggest that the effects resulting
from the manipulation COX function and PG biosynthesis depend on the
experimental context.
The data presented here support a role for PGE2
in promoting cell proliferation, with increased thymidine
incorporation observed in normal and tumor epithelium from all
mice treated with 16,16dmPGE2. Because
16,16dmPGE2 also reduced the tumor burden, this
increased proliferation must be viewed as reflecting an increase in
overall cell turnover in the GI epithelium. For tumor burden to
decrease in parallel to increased cell proliferation, cell loss through
apoptosis or extrusion into the gut lumen must also increase. We were
able to observe an increase in apoptosis in upper ileal tumors from
treated animals; however, we were not able to demonstrate a significant
increase in apoptosis between treated and untreated animals when pooled
experimental data (for all regions) were analyzed as a whole. The
failure to do so may be related to the intrinsic experimental
difficulties in trying to quantify apoptotic events in the tumor
cross-sections. The absolute numbers of apoptotic cells are small, and
the number of apoptotic events that can be observed in tumor
cross-sections is highly variable.
We have previously addressed the many difficulties related to the
interpretation of AIs (44)
. Some of the variability
associated with the identification of the denominator cell population
can be eliminated by calculating the ratio of apoptotic to mitotic
cells (AI:MI). An increase in AI:MI was found consistently in all upper
ileal tumors from treated animals, although the magnitude of the
increase did not reach significance. In contrast, a decrease in AI:MI
was observed in cystic (in particular) and large duodenal tumors.
Although changes in the AI:MI ratio may be small, they can have a
profound influence. For example, in the small intestinal crypts, there
are approximately 250 cells/crypt and 3500 cells/villus derived from
just four to six individual stem cells (45)
. Therefore,
each stem cell makes a substantial contribution, and the loss of just
one (in the absence of homeostatic compensatory mechanisms) would have
a significant effect on crypt and villus size. The same may be true for
tumor stem cells and tumor size.
Another complication associated with assessing apoptosis is that the
relationship between the absolute number of apoptotic events and the
number of apoptotic bodies observed is unclear. We have demonstrated
previously that different apoptotic stimuli can result in different
degrees of apoptotic cell fragmentation in normal small intestinal
crypt epithelial cells (Ref. 44
and the references
therein). When scoring apoptosis in the Min/+ tumor
cross-sections, one has to count the total number of apoptotic bodies
because it cannot be said with certainty how many individual apoptotic
events are represented by several adjacent apoptotic bodies. It is also
possible that drug treatment could reduce the half-life of apoptotic
cells (44)
; as we can only observe apoptosis in a single
time frame, a false appreciation of the true frequency of apoptotic
events would be gained. Only further experimentation will be able to
address all of these questions.
p21WAF-1/CIP1 is a cyclin-dependent kinase
inhibitor and induces cell cycle arrest at the
G1 checkpoint (46, 47, 48)
. Therefore,
p21WAF-1/CIP1expression was assessed because
decreased tumor burden may have been associated with reduced tumor cell
proliferation as a result of a
16,16dmPGE2-induced cell cycle arrest. In
accordance with previously published literature (29
, 30)
, we
observed increased cell proliferation in response to
16,16dmPGE2. A parallel increase in the frequency
of p21WAF-1/CIP1 expression was also observed in
treated animals. There are two plausible explanations for this result.
Firstly, that 16,16dmPGE2 is driving tumor cell
proliferation and, subsequently, differentiation, given that
p21WAF-1/CIP1 expression in epithelial cell
types is associated with the early stage of commitment to cell
differentiation (49
, 50)
. However,
p21WAF-1/CIP1 expression was not observed
within the differentiated villus epithelial cell population in
"normal" epithelium of Min/+ mice. Alternatively,
16,16dmPGE2-driven proliferation may ultimately
result in cells becoming senescent;
p21WAF-1/CIP1 expression is also associated with
cellular senescence (51
, 52) .
It is reasonable to assume, given the previously published results from
in vitro studies (30
, 31
, 34)
, that
16,16dmPGE2-induced cell proliferation is
mediated directly through the E prostaglandin receptor subtypes
localized to the intestinal epithelial cells, i.e., EP2 and
EP4 receptors (53
, 54)
. However, we cannot rule out the
fact that metabolites of 16,16dmPGE2 may also
contribute to the observed effects. 16,16dmPGE2
undergoes extensive metabolism before elimination. The parent compound
shows biphasic clearance from the plasma with an initial half-life of
4.5 min and a subsequent half-life of 2030 min, although it takes
24 h to eliminate approximately 50% of the radioactivity of a
single labeled dose from the plasma (55
, 56)
. Metabolism
occurs via
-oxidation and ß-oxidation, giving rise to a variety of
compounds, of which the dinor and tetranor metabolites are the most
abundant (55
, 56)
. We have found no literature concerning
the action of these compounds in any epithelial cell systems.
It is possible that the antitumor effect of
16,16dmPGE2 is mediated through a mechanism other
than binding to the EP receptors on the epithelial cells. Certain
prostanoids are known to be ligands for the PPAR family
(57, 58, 59)
. Within the intestinal epithelium, two PPAR
subtypes are expressed, PPAR-
(colon > small
intestine) and PPAR-
(small intestine > colon; Ref.
60
). Recently, PPAR-
agonists were demonstrated to
promote tumor formation in Min/+ mice (61)
;
however, in other experimental systems, prostanoid ligands of PPAR-
were shown to promote apoptosis (62
, 63)
.
16,16dmPGE2 does not have agonist activity at any
known PPAR subtypes (57)
; however, its ability to bind
PPARs has not been reported and thus the possibility exists that it
could act as a PPAR antagonist. With regard to the metabolites of
16,16dmPGE2, there is no literature concerning
their action at PPARs.
It is also possible that other EP receptor-mediated effects on
other cell systems contribute to the antitumor action of
16,16dmPGE2. The compound results in contraction
of the GI longitudinal smooth muscle and relaxation of the circular
smooth muscle; the muscle layers demonstrate both EP1 and EP3 receptor
subtype expression (54)
. Combined with its effect on
epithelial cells to reduce water absorption (64)
, this can
result in reduced transit time for GI contents and diarrhea. We
observed no diarrhea in our treated animals; however, faster throughput
of intestinal content may still have occurred and could have enhanced
the loss of cells from tumors through mechanical action.
In summary, we have demonstrated that a PGE2
analogue, 16,16dmPGE2, can act as a tumor
suppressor using the Min/+ mouse model of intestinal
tumorigenesis. At the present time, we are unable to adequately explain
the effect that we have observed in these studies; however, our
findings indicate clearly that the role of PGs in GI tumorigenesis is
very complex, as borne out by current literature.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
|
|---|
We thank Steve Roberts (Biostatistics and Computing, Paterson
Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester, United Kingdom) for
help with statistical analysis, M. Cristina Nostro and David Reilly for
help with morphometry, and Greg Tudor for help with PG treatments and
whole mounts.
 |
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 Supported by the Cancer Research Campaign. 
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Cancer Research Campaign Epithelial Biology Laboratory,
Section of Cell and Tumour Biology, Paterson Institute for Cancer
Research, Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester M20 4BX, United
Kingdom. Phone: 0161-446-3182; Fax: 0161-446-3181; E-mail: jwilson{at}picr.man.ac.uk 
3 The abbreviations used are: GI,
gastrointestinal; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug;
16,16dmPGE2, 16,16-dimethyl-prostaglandin E2;
PG, prostaglandin; COX, cyclooxygenase; AI, apoptotic index; MI,
mitotic index; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor. 
Received 11/17/99.
Accepted 6/22/00.
 |
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