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Experimental Therapeutics |
Research Laboratories of Schering AG, 13342 Berlin, Germany
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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The receptor can be stimulated upon autocrine or paracrine interaction with corresponding ligands such as EGF or transforming growth factor-
(5)
. The binding of ligand to EGFR induces receptor dimerization, followed by conformational changes activating the intrinsic tyrosine kinase, leading to receptor autophosphorylation and the phosphorylation of numerous cellular substrates. Several strategies have been developed to prevent EGFR activation, such as inhibition of ligand binding to EGFR (reviewed in Ref. 6
) or blockade of the tyrosine kinase activity (reviewed in Refs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
). Phosphotyrosine kinase inhibitors have been studied extensively in tissue culture systems of transformed cells and in animal models. It could be demonstrated that EGFR TKIs of different classes inhibited receptor phosphorylation and subsequent events, such as tumor cell adhesion and invasion and growth of tumor cells in tissue culture or in animals (reviewed in Refs. 8
, 11
), and even revert tumor cells to a phenotypically differentiated and nontransformed phenotype (12)
.
During the last years, extraordinary advances have been made in the area of EGFR TKIs. Most of these newer generation inhibitors are competitive with respect to ATP. Within this group of compounds, the quinazoline derivatives PD 153035 (13) , ZD 1839 (14) , and CP-358774 (15) showed outstanding potencies on the isolated receptor and in cellular assays.
Recently, it was shown that the EGFR-specific quinazoline derivatives AG-1478 and AG-1517 not only compete with ATP in the classical mode of action but in addition induce the formation of inactive, unphosphorylated EGFR dimers, even in the absence of ligand (16) . Receptor dimers are considered to have high affinity for the ligand. Therefore, in this study the effects of several reversible, ATP-competing TKIs were tested on ligand binding to the surface of intact tumor cells. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors of the quinazoline class (PD 153035 and ZD 1839) were compared with the 4,5-dianilinophthalimides DAPH1 (17) and DAPH2 (18) on a panel of human EGFR-positive carcinoma cell lines (A431, A549, MDA MB 231, and T47D). Furthermore, interference of PD 153035 with growth of rat mammary carcinoma MTLn3 cells was evaluated at escalating ligand and constant compound concentrations.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Cell Lines and Culture Conditions.
Human epidermoid A431, mammary MDA MB 231, lung A549 carcinoma, and rat mammary carcinoma cell clone MTLn3 (20)
cells were cultured in a 1:1 mixture of DMEM and F12 (Biochrom, Berlin, Germany) supplemented with 10% FCS. Human mammary T47D cells were cultivated in RPMI 1640 without phenol red, supplemented with 10% FCS, 200 milliunits/ml insulin, and 0.1 nM estradiol.
EGFR-Phosphotyrosine ELISA.
Tumor cells grown in 1% serum were incubated with the compounds for 15 min, then stimulated with 10 ng/ml EGF for 10 min and lysed, and the EGFR-phosphotyrosine content was determined by ELISA using mAb 14E1 as described (21)
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Binding of 125I-Labeled EGF to Tumor Cells.
Tumor cells were plated at 1 x 105 cells in 1 ml of medium with 1% FCS in 24-well plates and allowed to attach for 1820 h. Cell monolayers were placed on ice and washed once with wash buffer (PBS containing 0.01% Mg2+ and 0.005% Ca2+ plus 1 mg/ml BSA), precooled to 4°C. Subsequently, cells were incubated in wash buffer with the TKIs, cold EGF or EGF-binding blocking antibody for 1 h on ice, followed by addition of 125I-labeled EGF (
4 x 104 cpm) for 2 h at 4°C. For Scatchard analysis, increasing concentrations of unlabeled EGF (0.5150 ng/ml) were added for 2 h at 4°C (22)
. After this time, monolayers were washed three times with wash buffer, lysed with 0.1 M NaOH, and counted in a counter. Nonspecific binding to untreated cells was determined by addition of either excess unlabeled EGF (250 ng/ml) or 500 ng/ml 14E1 antibody and was always <10% of total binding.
Growth Studies.
MTLn3 cells were seeded in 100 µl of medium plus 0.5% of serum at 1500 cells/well in 96-well plates. Cells were allowed to adhere for 2 h, and then EGF plus or minus the TKI was added in 100 µl of medium. On day 3, cells were stained with crystal violet, and the absorbance was recorded (23)
. Values were normalized to the absorbance of untreated cells. Experiments have been performed at least two times, and a representative experiment with mean ± SD from six wells is shown.
Cross-Linking Experiments.
For cross-linking of ligand to EGFR, A431 cells were plated at 1 x 105 cells in 2 ml of medium with 1% FCS in six-well plates and allowed to attach for 1820 h. Cell monolayers were placed on ice and washed once with wash buffer (PBS containing 0.01% Mg2+ and 0.005% Ca2+ plus 1 mg/ml BSA), precooled to 4°C. Cells were incubated in wash buffer with the TKIs or EGF-binding blocking antibody for 1 h, followed by addition of 125I-labeled EGF (
4 x 104 cpm) for 2 h at 4°C. Cells were washed three times with ice-cold PBS plus Mg2+ and Ca2+ and incubated for an additional 15 min at 4°C in a 1 mM solution of BS3 in PBS. The reaction was stopped by adding 1 M Tris to a final concentration of 50 mM and incubated for 60 min at 4°C. After this, the cells were washed with PBS, scraped with a rubber policeman into 100 µl of solubilization buffer (150 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 2 mM sodium orthovanadate, 50 mM NaF, and 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6), and lysed end over end for 30 min at 4°C. Samples were centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 15 min at 4°C. Laemmli sample buffer was added to the supernatants, the samples were heated at 95°C for 5 min, and equal volumes were loaded onto the gel. In parallel aliquots, the radioactivity bound was measured in a gamma counter and found to correspond to the binding studies described above. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE on a conventional 415% gel, and labeled bands were visualized by autoradiography.
For cross-linking of EGFR, A431 cells were plated at 5 x 105 cells in 2 ml of medium with 1% FCS in six-well plates and allowed to attach for 1820 h. The TKIs were added for 30 min at 37°C, followed by EGF for 5 min. Subsequently, cells were washed three times with ice-cold PBS plus Mg2+ and Ca2+ and incubated for 60 min at 4°C in a 2 mM solution of BS3 in PBS. The reaction was stopped by adding 200 mM glycin in PBS to a final concentration of 100 mM and incubated for an additional 15 min at 4°C. After this, the cells were washed with PBS and 100 µl of 2x NuPAGE sample buffer plus 200 mM DTT added, the samples were heated at 70°C for 10 min, and equal volumes were loaded onto the gel. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE on a 38% NuPAGE gel and blotted onto nitrocellulose, and Western blot analysis was performed as described below.
Western Blot Techniques.
Transfer of electrophoretically separated polypeptides onto nitrocellulose was carried out in 25 mM Tris-base, 192 mM glycine (pH 8.3) at 50 V for 24 h at 4°C. The transfer was blocked with 5% skimmed milk in TBS (150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.9) for 2 h at room temperature and then washed with TBS plus 0.5% Tween 20 (TBS-T). The transfer was probed with rabbit anti-EGFR antibody 1005 (1:1000 dilution) for 1 h at room temperature, followed by a streptavidin-horseradish-peroxidase conjugate (1:3000 dilution in TBS-T) for 1 h at room temperature. After rinsing with TBS, labeled proteins were identified with the ECL detection system (Amersham Pharmacia) with exposure times between 3 and 10 s.
| RESULTS |
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Inhibition of EGFR Tyrosine Kinase in A431 Cells.
The potencies of all four compounds in an EGFR-phosphotyrosine ELISA using EGFR-high expressing A431 cells were established first. Fig. 1
demonstrates a dramatic increase (18-fold) in the chemiluminescence signal upon addition of 10 ng/ml EGF within 10 min, which decreased dose dependently by the quinazoline derivatives PD 153035 and ZD 1839 with IC50s between 10 and 30 nM, respectively. PD 153035 was more potent than ZD 1839. In contrast, DAPH1 and DAPH2 showed only marginal effects at the highest concentration tested, with 2030% inhibition at 3 µM.
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(28)
. When given in combination with EGF, PD 153035 exerted the best inhibition of EGF-stimulated growth at low (0.010.3 nM) and the least potent at high (130 nM) ligand concentrations.
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| DISCUSSION |
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Recently, new classes of compounds interfering with EGFR tyrosine kinase activity by competing reversibly with ATP have been reported, such as 4,5-bis(anilino)-phthalamide derivatives (17 , 18) and three 4-anilino-quinazoline derivatives (2-thioindole dimers) PD 153035 (13) , ZD 1839 (14) , and CP-358744 (15) .
The first report of a potent and selective quinazoline EGFR TKI was by Fry et al. (13) . PD 153035 exhibited an IC50 of 29 pM for the inhibition of EGFR and blocked the autophosphorylation of EGFR at nM concentrations in a variety of cell types. However, its poor water solubility complicated the in vivo evaluation in tumor models (29) . Thus, it did not enter clinical trials for the tumor indication.
The quinazolines ZD 1839 and CP-358744 exhibiting equal in vitro potencies were considered to have sufficient in vivo antitumor efficacy and desirable pharmacokinetic properties to be selected for clinical trials. ZD 1839 was investigated in a Phase I clinical trial and showed an oral pharmacokinetic and safety profile in humans compatible with its development for the treatment of a range of human tumors (11) . CP-358744 also exhibited good efficacy in xenografts after oral administration to the animals (30) . Both compounds are currently in Phase II clinical trials.
In this study, the effects of the two quinazoline derivatives PD 153035 and ZD 1839 are compared with the two 4,5-bis-anilino-phthalimides DAPH1 and DAPH2. PD 153035 and ZD 1839 were very potent at 10300 nM in completely blocking EGF-induced receptor phosphorylation, whereas DAPH1 and DAPH2 inhibited EGF-induced receptor phosphorylation at the maximal concentration used (3 µM) by only 20%. Both compounds were completely ineffective in the other assays used.
Surprisingly, binding of 125I-labeled EGF to cells indicated a 23-fold increased ligand binding to quinazoline-treated intact A431 cells, whereas DAPH1 and DAPH2 showed no effect. This increased ligand binding was independent of receptor numbers or the cell type-specific origin of the tumor cells. Increased ligand binding was most pronounced at low EGF concentrations, and consequently the potency of PD 153035 was markedly reduced in cell proliferation assays on addition of excess EGF. Cross-linking of EGFR or of 125I-labeled EGF to EGFR on drug-treated A431 cells showed dimer formation in the absence of ligand, increase by ligand, and binding of radiolabeled ligand to monomeric and dimeric EGFR. Concomitantly, only one single class of EGFR was identified by Scatchard analysis. Both classes of EGFR with low- and high-affinity for the ligand had disappeared after treatment with PD 153035, and a single receptor class of intermediate ligand binding affinity emerged. The total receptor number remained constant and was the sum of the two classes. These results extend the data of Arteaga et al. (16) to other quinazoline derivatives, but they show in contrast that ligand binding to quinazoline-treated cells was increased. This might be attributable to different efficiencies of the compounds. However, it is more likely that ligand concentrations used by Arteaga et al. (16) were too high to see further enhancement by the quinazolines.
Similar however not identical changes of EGFR ligand binding characteristics upon exposure of cells to PD 153035 were reported by Nelson and Fry (12) . In this study, A431 cells adapted to a prolonged suppression of EGFR tyrosine kinase were generated from parental A431 cells by prolonged growth in the presence of escalating concentrations of PD 153035 until 1 µM had been reached. These cells showed a dramatic change in cell morphology and growth characteristics. Although the parent cells continued to grow when confluency was reached, the resistant subline stopped growing and seemed to exhibit contact inhibition similar to nontransformed cells. There was no defect in EGFR kinase activity such as receptor autophosphorylation or receptor internalization in the resistant A431 subline. The most prominent change was the selective disappearance of the high-affinity EGFR class with equivalent receptor numbers compared with untreated cells. This seems to be in contrast to our study, because high- as well as low-affinity EGFR disappeared and a single receptor class of intermediate ligand binding affinity emerged. However, the different time periods of drug exposure (several days versus 3 h in this study) have to be considered.
Interestingly, in the PD 153035-resistant cells, profound changes in the actin filament system were observed with fewer EGFRs associated with the cytoskeleton (12) . This is compatible with previous reports indicating that EGFR associates with the cytoskeleton, possibly via actin (31) . This EGFR subpopulation represents mainly the high-affinity type (32) and can be linked to morphological changes (33) . In our previous studies, PD 153035 very efficiently blocked the modulating effects of EGF on adhesion of rat (MTLn3) and human (A431, MDA MB 231, and MDA MB 468) tumor cells to extracellular matrix proteins at concentrations between 15 and 75 nM (27) . We hypothesized that in the tumor cell adhesion assay, the TKI had efficiently blocked function of the high-affinity EGFR. The present study confirms our previous hypothesis of inhibition of high-affinity EGFR, because this receptor class disappeared in quinazoline-treated cells.
In summary, our data indicate that the investigated quinazolines not only cause the sequestration of EGFR into inactive dimers (16)
but also trap the ligand into these complexes, thus reducing available levels of ligand. This novel mode of action of quinazoline TKIs is depicted in Fig. 8
and may contribute to their extraordinary potency in cellular assays and tumor xenografts where the ligand is present in limiting amounts. It remains to be determined whether this mode of action is restricted to EGFR or may also apply to other ligand-stimulated growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases.
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at metaGen Pharmaceuticals GmbH, Oudenarderstrasse 16, 13347 Berlin, Germany. Fax: 49-30-45082101; E-mail: rosemarie.lichtner{at}metagen.de ![]()
2 The abbreviations used are: EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; BS3, bis[sulfosuccinimidyl]suberate; mAb, monoclonal antibody; TKI, tyrosine kinase inhibitor. ![]()
Received 4/18/01. Accepted 6/ 1/01.
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