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Advances in Brief |
Brain Tumor Research Center, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| ABSTRACT |
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| Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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Tumor Cell Line.
An established human glioblastoma multiforme cell line, U87MG, was obtained from the Brain Tumor Research Center Tissue Bank at the University of California, San Francisco. Cells were maintained as monolayers in a complete medium consisting of Eagles minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and nonessential amino acids. Cells were cultured at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere consisting of 95% air and 5% CO2.
In vitro Exposure to TRAIL and Temozolomide.
On the day before treatment, 5 x 104 cells per well were seeded into a 24-well plate (Corning Inc., Corning, NY). After 24 hours of incubation, cells were exposed to TMZ (050 µmol/L), TRAIL (0350 ng/mL), or both agents in serum-free medium. DMSO, which was used to dissolve TMZ, had no effect on cell growth at the concentration used [<0.1% (v/v)] in this study. After another 24 hours of incubation, cell survival was estimated using a trypan blue exclusion assay.
Western Blotting for Cleaved Caspase-8, Cleaved Caspase-3, and Actin.
On the day before treatment, 80 x 104 cells per well were seeded into a 6-well plate (Corning Inc.). After 24 hours of incubation, cells were exposed to TMZ (15 µmol/L), TRAIL (200 ng/mL), or both agents in serum-free medium. After 6 hours of incubation, cells were collected, and protein was extracted using cell lysis buffer (Cell Signaling Technology, Beverly, MA). Equal amounts of protein were separated by 15% SDS-PAGE and blotted onto PDGF membrane (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). The PDGF membrane was incubated in blocking buffer (Tris-buffered saline/casein blocker; Bio-Rad) and then with anti-cleaved caspase-8 antibody (Cell Signaling Technology; 1:500, 4°C, overnight), anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibody (Cell Signaling Technology; 1:500, 4°C, overnight), and anti-ß actin antibody (Sigma; 1:1,000, room temperature, 1 hour). The blot was visualized with a colorimetric detection kit (Opti-4CN Detection Kit; Bio-Rad).
Animals.
Congenitally athymic, male, nude rats (rnu/rnu, homozygous) were purchased from the National Cancer Institute and housed under aseptic conditions, which included filtered air and sterilized food, water, bedding, and cages. Animals weighed approximately 250 g at the time of the experiments. All protocols used in the animal studies were approved by the University of California, San Francisco Committee on Animal Research.
Intracranial Tumor Implantation.
U87MG cells were harvested by trypsinization, washed once with Hanks balanced salt solution without Ca2+ and Mg2+ (HBSS), and resuspended in HBSS for implantation. A cell suspension containing 5 x 105 cells per 10 µL of HBSS was used for implantation into the striatum of rat brains. Under deep isofluorane anesthesia, rats were placed in a small animal stereotactic frame (David Kopf Instruments, Tujunga, CA). A sagittal incision was made through the skin to expose the cranium, and a burr hole was made in the skull at 0.5 mm anterior and 3 mm lateral from bregma using a small dental drill. Five microliters of cell suspension were injected at a depth of 4.5 mm from the brain surface. After a wait of 2 minutes, another 5 µL were injected at a depth of 4 mm. After a final wait of 2 minutes, the needle was removed, and the wound was closed with sutures.
Distribution of TRAIL after Convection-Enhanced Delivery.
Two intact rats and two tumor-bearing rats were used to evaluate the distribution of recombinant TRAIL (His-tagged) after CED infusion into their striatum or brain tumor, respectively. Nine days after tumor implantation, TRAIL protein (2 µg per 20 µL of PBS) was infused locally by means of CED. Using the same stereotactic coordinates as used for tumor cell implantation, an infusion cannula was inserted into the brain. The infusion was performed using our CED method as described previously (8)
. The following ascending infusion rates were applied to achieve the 20-µL infusion: 0.2 µL per minute for 15 minutes; 0.5 µL per minute for 10 minutes, and 0.8 µL per minute for 15 minutes. Animals were euthanized 4 hours after infusion, and their brains were harvested, fixed with 10% formalin, and cut into 40-µm serial coronal sections using a cryostat. Every twentieth section was stained for immunohistochemical analysis. Sections were washed in PBS and incubated in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 20 minutes. Sections were again washed in PBS and then incubated in blocking solution (10% normal horse serum and 0.1% Triton X-100 in PBS) for 30 minutes, followed by incubation in anti-His tag antibody solution (rabbit polyclonal antibody; 1:1,000; Cell Signaling Technology) for 24 hours. The sections were then incubated for 1 hour in biotinylated antirabbit IgG secondary antibody (1:300; Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Antibody binding was visualized with streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase (1:300; Vector Laboratories) and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine chromogen (Vector Laboratories).
Evaluation of Toxicity.
Three intact rats were evaluated for potential local toxicity after CED infusion of TRAIL protein. CED was performed as described above. Seven days after CED infusion of 2 µg of TRAIL protein in 20 µL of PBS into the striatum, rats were euthanized, and their brains were fixed, subjected to paraffin sectioning (5 µm), and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Additionally, two intact rats were evaluated for potential hepatotoxicity after CED infusion of TRAIL protein. Rats received two CED infusions of 2 µg of TRAIL protein in 20 µL of PBS into the striatum (the second infusion was performed 5 days after the first CED). Seven days after the second CED, rats were euthanized, and their livers were fixed, subjected to paraffin sectioning (5 µm), and stained with H&E.
Combination Therapy against the U87MG Intracranial Xenograft Model.
Thirty-five rats that received U87MG tumor cell implants were randomly divided into four groups: the control group (n = 8), the TMZ group (n = 9), the TRAIL group (n = 9), and the combination group (n = 9). Seven and 10 days after tumor implantation, CED infusions of 2 µg of TRAIL per 20 µL of PBS were performed in the TRAIL and combination groups (9)
. In the control and TMZ groups, CED infusion of 20 µL of PBS was performed as a control. In the TMZ and combination groups, TMZ (350 mg/m2/d) in a solution of 10% DMSO in 0.9% saline at a volume of 90 mL/m2 was given systemically (intraperitoneal administration) daily for 5 days, starting on day 7 after tumor implantation (10)
. Two rats from each group were euthanized 14 days after tumor implantation, and their brains were processed in paraffin block for detection of apoptosis. All other rats (n = 6 for the control group and n = 7 for the TMZ, TRAIL, and combination groups) were monitored for survival. Survival between the treatment groups was compared using a log-rank test. Estimated survival was expressed as a Kaplan-Meier curve.
TUNEL Staining.
Paraffin sections made from the brains of the two rats from each treatment group euthanized 14 days after tumor implantation were assessed for apoptosis. DNA fragmentation [terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining] was determined by using the FD NeuroApop Kit (FD Neurotechnologies Inc., Ellicott City, MD) according to the manufacturers instructions. Counterstaining was performed using FD Methyl Green Solution (FD Neurotechnologies).
| Results |
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Histologic Findings and Detection of Apoptotic Cell Death after Treatment.
Histologic examination revealed the presence of a large tumor in every rat that had to be euthanized due to neurologic symptoms after treatment (Fig. 4A, i)
. Seven rats survived more than 80 days: one rat each from the TRAIL and TMZ groups, and five rats from the combination therapy group. Careful examination of the brains of rats that received combination therapy and survived more than 80 days revealed fibrous scar tissue at necropsy (Fig. 4A
, ii and iii). TUNEL staining performed on brain slices of rats from each group 14 days after tumor implantation (i.e., 3 days after treatment completion) showed that tumors from rats treated with both TRAIL and TMZ exhibited a decrease in tumor cell density (Fig. 4B
, top panels) and an increase in the number of TUNEL-positive cells as compared with those from animals treated with either agent alone or control animals (Fig. 4B
, bottom panel).
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| Discussion |
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In addition to antitumor activity, one more promising property of TRAIL is that synergistic effects with chemotherapy may be achievable in malignant glioma cells (19) . Synergism between systemically administered cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) and TRAIL has already been demonstrated in an experimental glioma model (19) . We hypothesized that combining TRAIL-sensitizing chemotherapy with CED administration of TRAIL might improve the therapeutic index of a TRAIL-based anticancer strategy. We chose TMZ as a TRAIL sensitizer because use of TMZ is already clinically established for glioma therapy and because synergism between TRAIL and TMZ has been suggested recently in vitro (5) . In this study, TMZ given systemically was shown to sensitize intracranial tumors to TRAIL-induced cell death. Thus, systemic delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs such as TMZ combined with CED administration of TRAIL may be a promising method for the treatment of malignant brain tumors.
Recently, synergistic effects of recombinant TRAIL administered with chemotherapeutic agents were also demonstrated in several TRAIL-resistant cancer models. Some of the chemotherapeutic agents worked to change the death receptor profile in tumor cells, i.e., to increase the expression of death receptors DR4 and DR5 (20) . Some compounds that affect the caspase pathway also worked synergistically with TRAIL (21) . Radiation therapy, which has also been established as an accepted treatment modality for gliomas, may also serve as a TRAIL sensitizer for CED-delivered TRAIL (22) . These findings that TRAIL sensitizers work not only in TRAIL-sensitive cells but also in TRAIL-resistant cells strongly support the importance of developing TRAIL-based combination strategies. To apply recent combination strategies using TRAIL and TRAIL sensitizers to clinical applications for brain tumor treatment, distribution of TRAIL protein throughout the tumor mass will be the most basic requirement, which is difficult to achieve in brain tumors. We believe that our CED method will help not only in the development of TRAIL-based therapy but also in other combination treatment strategies in the future.
In this study, CED of TRAIL to tumor and surrounding tumor-infiltrated brain, alone or in combination with TMZ, improved therapeutic outcome in a human glioblastoma xenograft model. We propose that the CED approach used in this study offers a new and potentially effective method to deliver novel TRAIL-based chemotherapeutic regimens.
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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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.
Requests for reprints: Krystof S. Bankiewicz, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California at San Francisco, 1855 Folsom Street, Mission Center Building Room 230, San Francisco, CA 94103. Phone: 415-502-3132; Fax: 415-514-2177; E-mail: kbank{at}itsa.ucsf.edu
Received 5/12/04. Revised 7/28/04. Accepted 8/11/04.
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