Skip to main content
  • AACR Publications
    • Blood Cancer Discovery
    • Cancer Discovery
    • Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
    • Cancer Immunology Research
    • Cancer Prevention Research
    • Cancer Research
    • Clinical Cancer Research
    • Molecular Cancer Research
    • Molecular Cancer Therapeutics

AACR logo

  • Register
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • About
    • The Journal
    • AACR Journals
    • Subscriptions
    • Permissions and Reprints
  • Articles
    • OnlineFirst
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Meeting Abstracts
    • Collections
      • COVID-19 & Cancer Resource Center
      • Focus on Computer Resources
      • Highly Cited Collection
      • Editors' Picks
      • "Best of" Collection
  • For Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Author Services
    • Early Career Award
    • Best of: Author Profiles
    • Submit
  • Alerts
    • Table of Contents
    • Editors' Picks
    • OnlineFirst
    • Citations
    • Author/Keyword
    • RSS Feeds
    • My Alert Summary & Preferences
  • News
    • Cancer Discovery News
  • COVID-19
  • Webinars
  • Search More

    Advanced Search

  • AACR Publications
    • Blood Cancer Discovery
    • Cancer Discovery
    • Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
    • Cancer Immunology Research
    • Cancer Prevention Research
    • Cancer Research
    • Clinical Cancer Research
    • Molecular Cancer Research
    • Molecular Cancer Therapeutics

User menu

  • Register
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Cancer Research
Cancer Research
  • Home
  • About
    • The Journal
    • AACR Journals
    • Subscriptions
    • Permissions and Reprints
  • Articles
    • OnlineFirst
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Meeting Abstracts
    • Collections
      • COVID-19 & Cancer Resource Center
      • Focus on Computer Resources
      • Highly Cited Collection
      • Editors' Picks
      • "Best of" Collection
  • For Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Author Services
    • Early Career Award
    • Best of: Author Profiles
    • Submit
  • Alerts
    • Table of Contents
    • Editors' Picks
    • OnlineFirst
    • Citations
    • Author/Keyword
    • RSS Feeds
    • My Alert Summary & Preferences
  • News
    • Cancer Discovery News
  • COVID-19
  • Webinars
  • Search More

    Advanced Search

Experimental Therapeutics

Adenosine-mediated Killing of Cultured Epithelial Cancer Cells

Catherine P. Barry and Stuart E. Lind
Catherine P. Barry
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stuart E. Lind
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DOI:  Published April 2000
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Because micromolar concentrations of adenosine (Ado) have been documented recently in the interstitial fluid of carcinomas growing in animals, we examined the effects of low concentrations of Ado on the growth of cultured human carcinoma cells. Ado alone had little effect upon cell growth. In the presence of one of a number of Ado deaminase (ADA) inhibitors, Ado led to significant growth inhibition of all cell lines tested. Similar effects were found when ATP, ADP, or AMP was substituted for Ado. Surprisingly, the ADA inhibitor coformycin (CF) had a much greater potentiating effect than did 2′-deoxycoformycin (DCF), although DCF is a more potent ADA inhibitor. The growth inhibition of the Ado/CF combination was not abrogated by pyrimidines or caffeine, a nonspecific Ado receptor blocker. Toxicity was prevented by the addition of the Ado transport inhibitor dipyridamole or the Ado kinase inhibitor 5′-amino 5′-deoxyadenosine. S-Adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase is not involved because neither homocysteine thiolactone nor an S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitor (adenosine dialdehyde) potentiated toxicity of the Ado/CF combination. Unexpectedly, substitution of 2′-deoxyadenosine (the toxic moiety in congenital ADA deficiency) for Ado, did not lead to equivalent toxicity. The Ado/CF combination inhibited DNA synthesis and brought about morphological changes consistent with apoptosis. Together, these findings indicate that the Ado-mediated killing proceeds via an intracellular route that requires the action of Ado kinase. The enhanced cofactor activity of CF may be attributable to its being a more potent inhibitor of AMP deaminase than is DCF.

INTRODUCTION

Although adenine nucleotides are usually thought of as intracellular compounds, a growing body of literature indicates that they are also found in the extracellular space. Release of ATP (or related compounds) has been demonstrated from ocular ciliary epithelial cells (1) , neutrophils (2) , erythrocytes (3) , nasal epithelial cells (4) , endothelial and smooth muscle cells (5) , and hepatocytes (6 , 7) . Extracellular Ado 3 is thought to arise from the sequential dephosphorylation of extracellular ATP by ecto-ATP diphosphohydrolases and 5′-nucleotidases (8, 9, 10) , but recently secretion of adenosine by cultured muscle cells has been demonstrated (11) .

Ado, deoxyadenosine, and their nucleotide derivatives have long been recognized to have a multiplicity of effects upon cultured cells. Depending upon the experimental conditions, some members of this group may be either toxic and inhibit growth (12 , 13) or alternatively, stimulate cellular proliferation (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22) . Ado may also stimulate (15 , 17 , 23, 24, 25, 26) or inhibit (27) a variety of cellular functions and reactions, including migration, adhesion, neurite outgrowth, and a number of reactions contributing to the inflammatory response. Many of these studies have used variable concentrations of adenosine (or related compounds), up to 50 μm or more, in part because the physiological concentrations of these compounds has been a matter of conjecture.

In a recent study (28) , microdialysis was used to study the Ado concentrations of interstitial fluid of carcinomas growing in mice. When inhibitors of ADA were used to inhibit Ado breakdown in the microdialysis apparatus, extracellular concentrations of Ado as high as 9 μm were found. Prompted by these observations, we reasoned that low concentrations of Ado might promote tumor cell growth and began experiments to determine whether cultured carcinoma cells would grow more rapidly in its presence. We found instead that Ado, in the presence of ADA inhibitors, inhibited growth of a variety of carcinoma cells. Surprisingly, Ado was substantially more toxic to cells in the presence of CF than DCF, although the latter is a more potent ADA inhibitor. Furthermore, we found that dAdo, which is believed to mediate the lymphoid toxicity characteristic of ADA deficiency, was much less toxic than Ado to the epithelial lines studied.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Materials.

DCF was obtained from SuperGen (San Ramon, CA) and the National Cancer Institute (Drug Synthesis and Chemistry Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment). CF was obtained from Calbiochem (San Diego, CA) as well as the National Cancer Institute. Cell viability testing was performed with a kit (Cell Titer 96 Aqueous One Solution) purchased from Promega Corp. (Madison, WI). Phalloidin-Alexa 488 was obtained from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR), as was the Prolong reagent to enhance photostability. All other materials were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO).

Methods.

All cell lines were purchased from American Type Culture Collection, except for the OVCAR 3 line, which was provided by Dr. Satya Murthy (Evanston Hospital). The cells were all grown according to American Type Culture Collection specifications. The OVCAR 3 line was grown in DMEM + 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum with penicillin/streptomycin. After passaging, the cells were plated in 96-well plates at a density of 2000–5000 cells/well and were grown overnight. The medium was then removed and replaced with fresh medium containing various concentrations of the compounds to be tested.

Viability Testing.

The cells were cultured for 60 h in the presence of drugs, at which time untreated controls were just approaching confluence. All treatments were performed in quadruplicate. Viability was tested using the formazan dye, MTS (29) . Reagents were added according to the manufacturer’s specifications, and the plates were incubated at 37°C until the untreated wells exhibited an A490 of ∼0.7. Wells containing medium alone were used as blanks. Viability was expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. All experiments were performed at least three times.

BrdUrd Incorporation.

A colorimetric ELISA kit was used (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN) to determine BrdUrd incorporation into cells. Cell lines were plated out in 96-well plates as described above and allowed to adhere and grow overnight. Ado, CF, and/or DCF were added for 6 and 12 h at a final concentration of 10 μm each, in quadruplicate. BrdUrd label was added for the last 2 h of each treatment time, and the manufacturer’s instructions were followed for performing the immunoassay and measurement steps. The experiment was performed three times on each cell type

Morphological Evaluation.

Cells were grown on chamber slides overnight. Drugs were added in fresh media. At the times indicated, the medium was removed, and the cells were rinsed with PBS and fixed in 3.7% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 10 min. After rinsing three times with PBS, the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33258 (0.5 μg/ml in 10 mm phosphate, 0.15 m NaCl, pH 7.4) was added to the cells for 2 min. The cells were rinsed, dried thoroughly, and then coverslipped with an aqueous mounting medium. Cells were then evaluated by fluorescent microscopy. Alternatively, cells grown on coverslips were fixed, permeabilized, and stained with phalloidin-Alexa 488 as per the manufacturer’s protocol and evaluated by fluorescent microscopy.

RESULTS

Various (1–500 μm) concentrations of Ado or its possible precursors, adenine, AMP, ADP, or ATP (30) , were added to the culture medium used to grow lines derived from human epithelial cancers of breast (MCF-7 and MDA MB-231), colonic (HT-29), and ovarian (OVCAR-3 and OVCAR-5) origin. The cells’ growth was assessed after 60 h of incubation with the added compounds (Fig. 1 ⇓ ). Instead of observing growth stimulation from the addition of these compounds, we noticed a trend toward growth inhibition at higher concentrations. To determine the effects of Ado in the absence of the protective effects of ADA, we grew the cells in the presence of various ADA inhibitors.

Fig. 1.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 1.

Effect of adenine, Ado, AMP, ADP, or ATP addition to the growth of human malignant epithelial cell lines. Cells were incubated for 60 h in the presence of increasing amounts of the compounds, and viability was assessed with the MTS assay. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

One to 10 μm concentrations of Ado were added to the cells in the presence of low (3–20 μm) concentrations of the ADA inhibitors EHNA or CF. As shown in Table 1 ⇓ , the addition of EHNA to Ado resulted in only modest degrees of growth inhibition. The addition of low (5–20 μm) concentrations of CF, however, resulted in a much greater growth inhibition, especially of the two ovarian cancer cell lines. Neither CF nor Ado alone inhibited the proliferation of any of the cells tested (Table 1) ⇓ . Prostate cancer lines (PC3, LNCaP, TSU-Pr1, and DU145) were also sensitive to the Ado/CF combination (Fig. 2 ⇓ ). Substituting ATP, ADP, or AMP for Ado led to the same degree of growth inhibition (Fig. 2 ⇓ ). Substitution of 10 μm adenine for Ado did not lead to growth inhibition (data not shown).

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
Table 1

Comparison of the ADA inhibitors EHNA and CF on the viability of human epithelial cancer cells lines alone and in combination with Ado

Cells were grown in the presence of drugs for 60 h, and viability was assessed with the MTS assay. Values shown are percentages of viable cells compared with untreated controls.

Fig. 2.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 2.

Effects of the combined treatment with CF (10μ m) and Ado (10 μm), AMP (10μ m), ADP (10 μm), or ATP (10μ m) upon the growth of cultured malignant epithelial cell lines. The cells were cultured for 60 h, and their viability was assessed with the MTS assay. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

Surprisingly, much less growth inhibition was seen when the more potent ADA inhibitor DCF was substituted for CF (Fig. 3 ⇓ ). The same results were obtained when either CF or DCF obtained from a second source was used (data not shown).

Fig. 3.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 3.

Effect of combined treatment with 10 μm each of Ado and CF versus Ado and DCF upon the growth of human malignant epithelial cell lines. Cells were incubated for 60 h in the presence of the compounds, and viability was assessed with the MTS assay. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

A dose response relationship was seen when either the Ado (Fig. 4A ⇓ ) or CF (Fig. 4B ⇓ ) concentrations were varied and the CF or Ado concentrations, respectively, held constant (10μ m). Although a 24-h exposure to the drugs was necessary to see the maximal drug effect (data not shown), the effects on cell growth became more evident with increasing observation times (Fig. 4C ⇓ ).

Fig. 4.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 4.

Dose response and time course of growth inhibition of Ado and CF on the growth of cultured malignant epithelial cell lines. A, cells were cultured for 60 h in the presence of 10 μm CF and various concentrations of Ado. Viability was then assessed with the MTS assay. B, cells were cultured for 60 h in the presence of 10 μm Ado and various concentrations of CF. Viability was then assessed with the MTS assay. C, cells were cultured with 10 μm CF and 10 μm Ado. At the indicated times, the viability of treated and untreated cells was assessed with the MTS assay. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. A–C: bars, SD.

To determine whether the site of action of the Ado/CF was extra- or intracellular, cells were grown in Ado/CF-containing medium in the presence of the nonspecific Ado receptor antagonist, caffeine. Caffeine (100 μm) had no effect upon the Ado/CF-mediated toxicity (data not shown). Toxicity was largely abrogated, however, by the nucleoside transport inhibitor, dipyridamole (Fig. 5A ⇓ ), suggesting that the Ado/CF combination is acting intracellularly and not via cell surface receptors. This conclusion was supported by the finding that the Ado kinase inhibitors 5′-amino-5′-deoxyadenosine (Fig. 5B ⇓ ) or iodotubericidin (data not shown) protected cells from the Ado/CF combination.

Fig. 5.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 5.

Effects of the addition of dipyridamole, 5′-amino-5-deoxyadenosine, or pyrimidines upon growth inhibition attributable to Ado and CF. Cells were grown for 60 h in the presence of 10 μm CF and 10 μm Ado with the addition of: A, 5 μm dipyridamole (an adenosine transport inhibitor); B, 50 μm 5′-amino-5-deoxyadenosine (an adenosine kinase inhibitor); or C, 100 μm thymidine (T), cytidine (C), and uridine (U). The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

Ado toxicity in fibroblasts or lymphoblasts can be abrogated by supplementing the growth media with pyrimidines (30 , 31) . The addition of up to 100 μm thymidine, uridine, cytidine, or deoxycytidine (data not shown), or a combination of 100μ m thymidine, cytidine, and uridine (Fig. 5C ⇓ ) did not prevent toxicity of the Ado/CF combination to these carcinoma lines.

Elevation of dAdo concentrations, an irreversible inhibitor of the enzyme SAHH (32) , is believed to play an important role in mediating lymphoid toxicity in patients with congenital ADA deficiency (33) . To determine whether the effects of Ado and CF on carcinoma cells might be attributable to the intracellular conversion of Ado to dAdo, we treated cells with equimolar concentrations of dAdo and CF. As shown in Fig. 6 ⇓ , the combination of dAdo and CF caused much less toxicity than Ado/CF. This result implies that the toxicity of the Ado/CF treatment is not attributable simply to the generation of dAdo or its nucleotides.

Fig. 6.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 6.

Effect of combined treatment with 10 μm Ado and 10 μm CF versus 10 μm dAdo and 10 μm CF upon the growth of human malignant epithelial cell lines. Cells were incubated for 60 h in the presence of the compounds, and viability was assessed with the MTS assay. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

In some circumstances, Ado toxicity is thought to occur because homocysteine and Ado can be enzymatically converted to S-adenosylhomocysteine by SAHH, thereby interfering with a number of cellular methylation reactions (34) . The importance of this reaction has been inferred from experiments in which the toxicity of low concentrations of Ado is potentiated by the addition of homocysteine (or its thiolactone; Refs. 35, 36, 37, 38 ). We therefore treated cells with 1 μm Ado, 10μ m CF, and 100 μm homocysteine thiolactone. As shown in Fig. 7A ⇓ , homocysteine thiolactone did not potentiate the toxicity induced by this low concentration of Ado, suggesting that the observed toxicity was not attributable to the formation of SAH. To further explore the possible involvement of the SAH pathway in the toxicity we found, we added an SAHH inhibitor, Ado dialdehyde. As shown in Fig. 7B, ⇓ 100 μm Ado dialdehyde did not inhibit the toxicity of the Ado/CF combination, further arguing that the toxicity we observed was not mediated, directly or indirectly, by SAHH.

Fig. 7.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 7.

Effects of the addition of the SAHH substrate, homocysteine thiolactone, or the SAHH inhibitor, adenosine dialdehyde, upon growth inhibition attributable to Ado and CF. Cells were grown for 60 h, and their viability was then assessed with the MTS assay. A, 1 μm Ado, 10 μm CF, and 100 μm homocysteine thiolactone; B, 10μ m Ado, 10 μm CF, and 10 μm adenosine dialdehyde. The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

Although the number of cells in Ado/CF-treated cultures does not begin to differ from untreated cultures until after 24 h of drug exposure, we observed morphological changes in the cells at earlier time points. We therefore used an immunoassay of BrdUrd uptake to determine the effects of the Ado/CF combination upon DNA synthesis. After 6 h of drug exposure, DNA synthesis was inhibited by 60% and after 12 h was inhibited by >90%, as compared with untreated cultures. In contrast, treatment of cells with DCF and Ado resulted in only a slight effect upon DNA synthesis after 12 h (Fig. 8 ⇓ ). Thus, inhibition of DNA synthesis after 6 h exposure predicted the growth inhibition seen after 60 h of treatment.

Fig. 8.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 8.

Effects of treatment with Ado and CF or Ado and DCF upon DNA synthesis. BrdUrd uptake was determined in cultured cells after varying exposure to the drug combinations shown (each compound present at 10 μm). The values shown are expressed as a percentage of the untreated controls. Bars, SD.

Microscopic examination of cells treated with Ado/CF showed a notable change in cell morphology within the first 6 h of addition. Treated cells pulled away from neighboring cells and became more cuboidal in shape. After 8 h of drug treatment, the Ado/CF-treated cells showed a loss of cytoskeletal organization, as evidenced by a loss of actin stress fiber staining with phalloidin. By 24 h, phase contrast microscopy revealed the cells to be smaller and more refractile, and membrane blebs were seen (data not shown). Staining of the cells with the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33258 (Fig. 9 ⇓ ) revealed increased nuclear uptake and fragmentation, as compared with control cells, changes consistent with the induction of apoptosis (39) .

Fig. 9.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig. 9.

Uptake and distribution of the fluorescent dye Hoechst 33258 in human carcinoma cell lines cultured in the absence (A, C, and E) or presence (B, D, and F) of 10μ m Ado and 10 μm CF for 18 h at 37°C. A and B, OVCAR-3; C and D, MCF-7; E and F, HT-29.

DISCUSSION

The present study provides the most extensive analysis of the effects of Ado upon human epithelial cancer lines performed to date. Initiated by the observation that Ado could be detected in the interstitial fluid surrounding a carcinoma (28) , the experiments described here demonstrate the toxic effects of Ado and the ADA inhibitor CF upon multiple representatives of this important group of cancers. Although many others have found Ado to be toxic to a variety of cell types (12 , 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) , this report documents toxicity at low micromolar Ado concentrations, without apparent involvement of the usual mechanisms cited to explain such toxicity: Ado receptor stimulation, depletion of intracellular pyrimidine stores, alteration of cellular methylation because of involvement of SAHH, and/or elevation of increased concentrations of dAdo.

Because inhibition by the Ado/CF combination was blocked by the nucleoside-transport inhibitor dipyridamole (47) but not the nonspecific Ado receptor blocker caffeine (48) , an intracellular rather than extracellular site of action was established, in contrast to recent reports of growth inhibition or killing via stimulation of extracellular Ado receptors (44, 45, 46) .

Although under some conditions Ado toxicity appears to be attributable to a depletion of intracellular pyrimidine stores, which can be ameliorated by the addition of one or more members of this family (30 , 49 , 50) , the addition of a 10-fold molar excess of thymidine, cytidine, and/or uridine did not protect the cells.

The lack of involvement of SAHH is inferred from the results of several experiments: (a) in lymphoblasts, Ado toxicity may proceed in the absence of Ado kinase activity (51) because of inhibition of cellular methylation reactions, acting through SAHH (35 , 52) . Because the toxicity of Ado/CF seen here was blocked by the Ado kinase inhibitors 5′-amino-5′-deoxyadenosine and iodotubericidin, a phosphorylation event is apparently involved in Ado/CF toxicity; (b) the addition of homocysteine thiolactone, which can increase SAH levels when coupled to Ado by SAHH, thereby potentiating Ado toxicity (35 , 37 , 38 , 52) , did not alter the toxicity of 1 μm Ado and CF; (c) inhibition of SAHH with Ado dialdehyde had no protective effect upon the toxicity of the Ado/CF combination, arguing against a build-up of SAH levels because of increased Ado concentrations; and (d) substitution of Ado by dAdo, a potent SAHH inhibitor (32) , did not lead to comparable toxicity.

This last finding was particularly surprising because much of the pathophysiology of congenital ADA deficiency, which has often been modeled in vitro by adding ADA inhibitors such as CF, has been thought to be attributable to elevated levels of dAdo (33 , 53, 54, 55, 56) . Furthermore, in vitro studies have shown dAdo to be toxic to a variety of cell types (13) , including lymphoid cells (57 , 58) , fibroblasts (59) , adrenal chromaffin cells (60) , sympathetic neurons (61) , and monocytoid leukemia cells (62) . Taken together, these experiments argue against the involvement of either SAHH or dAdo in low-dose Ado-mediated toxicity to carcinoma cell lines.

Because the Ado kinase inhibitor 5′-amino-5′-deoxyadenosine protected the cells, it seems likely that phosphorylation of Ado with a resultant elevation in AMP, ADP, and/or ATP is required for growth inhibition. It is possible that both Ado and CF must be phosphorylated intracellularly for toxicity to occur. Although DCF can be phosphorylated by enzymes other than Ado kinase and incorporated into cellular DNA (63) , it is not known whether CF is similarly phosphorylated and incorporated into DNA or RNA.

EHNA, a synthetic ADA inhibitor (64) , was significantly less toxic to the human epithelial cancer cell lines tested than CF. This was not surprising because EHNA is a less effective inhibitor of ADA (Ki = 6.5 nm; Ref. 65 ) than is CF (Ki =0.01 nm; Ref. 66 ). Of greater interest, however, was that CF potentiated the toxic effects of Ado to a greater degree than DCF, a yet more potent ADA inhibitor (Ki = 0.0025 nm; Ref. 65 ). Intracellular concentrations of the two drugs were likely comparable because others have shown that CF and DCF are transported across cell membranes equivalently (67) .

The difference in their cofactor activity in these experiments might be attributable to the fact that neither compound is totally specific for ADA, and each may have inhibitory effects upon other enzymes. In fact, all of the ADA inhibitors used in this study also inhibit AMPDA. Although DCF is a more potent ADA inhibitor than EHNA or CF, its AMPDA inhibitory activity is greater than that of EHNA (68) but 50-fold less potent than that of CF (69) . Because deamination, rather than dephosphorylation, is the primary route of AMP catabolism (33) , the enhanced toxicity of the CF-containing combination may be attributable to a greater combined blockade of ADA and AMPDA than is seen with DCF.

The growth inhibition seen when AMP, ADP, or ATP was substituted for Ado is likely attributable to extracellular conversion of these nucleotides to Ado by ecto-ATP diphosphohydrolase and 5′-nucleotidase. These results corroborate the work of others who have found that adenine nucleotides kill various types of cancer cells (reviewed in Ref. 70 ).

At this time, we cannot provide an explanation for the inhibition of DNA synthesis and induction of apoptosis seen after the cells were incubated with Ado/CF. Studies are in progress to confirm our suspicions that high intracellular concentrations of ATP arise as a result of treatment with this combination and to explore potential mechanisms whereby such elevations might trigger cell death.

To date, Ado analogues have not been useful in treating epithelial malignancies. We note that unlike either Ado or CF, the three Ado analogues in clinical use (fludarabine, DCF, and 2-chloro-2′-deoxyadenosine) all lack hydroxyl groups at the 2′ position of the ribose ring and are only active against lymphoid malignancies. Further study is required to determine whether Ado analogues with an intact ribose ring might be more useful against epithelial malignancies than are their 2′-deoxy counterparts.

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 Margaret B. Baker Memorial Fund.

  • ↵2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201. Phone: (847) 570-1521; Fax: (847) 570-2336; E-mail: s-lind{at}nwu.edu

  • ↵3 The abbreviations used are: Ado, adenosine; ADA, adenosine deaminase; dAdo, 2′-deoxyadenosine; CF, coformycin; DCF, 2′-deoxycoformycin; MTS, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium; BrdUrd, bromodeoxyuridine; EHNA, erythro-9-(2-hydroxyl-3 nonyl) adenine; SAHH, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase; AMPDA, AMP deaminase.

  • Received November 1, 1999.
  • Accepted February 2, 2000.
  • ©2000 American Association for Cancer Research.

References

  1. ↵
    Mitchell C. H., Carré D. A., McGlinn A. M., Stone R. A., Civan M. M. A release mechanism for stored ATP in ocular ciliary epithelial cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 7174-7178, 1998.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. ↵
    van Waeg G., Van den Berghe G. Purine catabolism in polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Phorbol myristate acetate-induced accumulation of adenosine owing to inactivation of extracellularly released adenosine deaminase. J. Clin. Investig., 87: 305-312, 1991.
  3. ↵
    Ellsworth M. L., Forrester T., Ellis C. G., Dietrich H. H. The erythrocyte as a regulator of vascular tone. Am. J. Physiol., 269: H2155-H2161, 1995.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  4. ↵
    Watt W. C., Lazarowski E. R., Boucher R. C. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator-independent release of ATP. J. Biol. Chem., 273: 14053-14058, 1998.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  5. ↵
    Pearson J. D., Gordon J. L. Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells in culture selectively release adenine nucleotides. Nature (Lond.), 281: 384-386, 1979.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  6. ↵
    Wang Y., Roman R., Lidofsky S. D., Fitz J. G. Autocrine signaling through ATP release represents a novel mechanism for cell volume regulation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 12020-12025, 1996.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  7. ↵
    Schlosser S. F., Burgstahler A. D., Nathanson M. H. Isolated rat hepatocytes can signal to other hepatocytes and bile duct cells by release of nucleotides. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 9948-9953, 1996.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  8. ↵
    Richardson P. J., Brown S. J., Bailyes E. M., Luzio J. P. Ectoenzymes control adenosine modulation of immunoisolated cholinergic synapses. Nature (Lond.), 327: 232-234, 1987.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  9. ↵
    Weisman G. A., Lustig K. D., Lane E., Huang N-N., Belzer I., Friedberg I. Growth inhibition of transformed mouse fibroblasts by adenine nucleotides occurs via generation of extracellular adenosine. J. Biol. Chem., 263: 12367-12372, 1988.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  10. ↵
    Pelleg A., Burnstock G. Physiological importance of ATP released from nerve terminals and its degradation to adenosine in humans. Circulation, 82: 2269-2272, 1990.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  11. ↵
    Fishman P., Bar-Yehuda S., Vagman L. Adenosine and other low molecular weight factors released by muscle cells inhibit tumor cell growth. Cancer Res., 58: 3181-3187, 1998.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  12. ↵
    Henderson J. F., Scott F. W. Inhibition of animal and invertebrate cell growth by naturally occurring purine bases and ribonucleosides. Pharmacol. Ther., 8: 539-571, 1980.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  13. ↵
    Henderson J. F., Scott F. W., Lowe J. K. Toxicity of naturally occurring purine deoxyribonucleosides. Pharmacol. Ther., 8: 573-604, 1980.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  14. ↵
    Rozengurt E. Adenosine receptor activation in quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells. Enhancement of cAMP levels, DNA synthesis and cell division. Exp. Cell Res., 139: 71-78, 1982.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  15. ↵
    Meininger C. J., Schelling M. E., Granger H. J. Adenosine and hypoxia stimulate proliferation and migration of endothelial cells. Am. J. Physiol., 255: H554-H562, 1988.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  16. ↵
    Wang D-J., Huang N-N., Heppel L. A. Extracellular ATP and ADP stimulate proliferation of porcine aortic smooth muscle cells. J. Cell. Physiol., 153: 221-233, 1992.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  17. ↵
    Kartha S., Toback F. G. Adenine nucleotides stimulate migration in wounded cultures of kidney epithelial cells. J. Clin. Investig., 90: 288-292, 1992.
  18. ↵
    Rathbone M. P., Middlemiss P. J., Gysbers J. W., DeForge S., Costello P., Del Maestro R. F. Purine nucleosides and nucleotides stimulate proliferation of a wide range of cell types. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol., 28A: 529-536, 1992.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  19. ↵
    Rathbone M. P., Middlemiss P. J., Kim J-K., Gysbers J. W., DeForge S., Smith R. W., Hughes D. W. Adenosine and its nucleotides stimulate proliferation of chick astrocytes and human astrocytoma cells. Neurosci. Res., 13: 1-17, 1992.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  20. ↵
    Lemmens R., Vanduffel L., Teuchy H., Culic O. Regulation of proliferation of LLC-MK2 cells by nucleosides and nucleotides: the role of ecto-enzymes. Biochem. J., 316: 551-557, 1996.
  21. ↵
    Neary J. T., Rathbone M. P., Cattabeni F., Abbracchio M. P., Burnstock G. Trophic actions of extracellular nucleotides and nucleosides on glial and neuronal cells. Trends Neurosci., 19: 13-18, 1996.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  22. ↵
    Paller M. S., Schnaith E. J., Rosenberg M. E. Purinergic receptors mediate cell proliferation and enhanced recovery from renal ischemia by adenosine triphosphate. J. Lab. Clin. Med., 131: 174-183, 1998.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  23. ↵
    Strickler J., Jacobson K. A., Liang B. T. Direct preconditioning of cultured chick ventricular myocytes. Novel functions of cardiac adenosine A2a and A3 receptors. J. Clin. Investig., 98: 1773-1779, 1996.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  24. ↵
    Benowitz L. I., Jing Y., Tabibiazar R., Jo S. A., Petrausch B., Stuermer C. A. O., Rosenberg P. A., Irwin N. Axon outgrowth is regulated by an intracellular purine-sensitive mechanism in retinal ganglion cells. J. Biol. Chem., 273: 29626-29634, 1998.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  25. ↵
    MacKenzie W. M., Hoskin D. W., Blay J. Adenosine inhibits the adhesion of anti-CD3-activated killer lymphocytes to adenocarcinoma cells through an A3 receptor. Cancer Res., 54: 3521-3526, 1994.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  26. ↵
    Huang S., Apasov S., Koshiba M., Sitkovsky M. Role of A2a extracellular adenosine receptor-mediated signaling in adenosine-mediated inhibition of T-cell activation and expansion. Blood, 90: 1600-1610, 1997.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  27. ↵
    Cronstein B. N. Adenosine, an endogenous anti-inflammatory agent. J. Appl. Phys., 76: 5-13, 1994.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  28. ↵
    Blay J., White T. D., Hoskin D. W. The extracellular fluid of solid carcinomas contains immunosuppressive concentrations of adenosine. Cancer Res., 57: 2602-2605, 1997.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  29. ↵
    Cory A. H., Owen T. C., Barltrop J. A., Cory J. G. Use of an aqueous soluble tetrazolium/formazan assay for cell growth assays in culture. Cancer Commun., 3: 207-212, 1991.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  30. ↵
    Snyder F. F., Hershfield M. S., Seegmiller J. E. Cytotoxic and metabolic effects of adenosine and adenine on human lymphoblasts. Cancer Res., 38: 2357-2362, 1978.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  31. ↵
    Green H., Chan T. Pyrimidine starvation induced by adenosine in fibroblasts and lymphoid cells: role of adenosine deaminase. Science (Washington DC), 182: 836-837, 1973.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  32. ↵
    Hershfield M. S. Apparent suicide inactivation of human lymphoblast S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase by 2′-deoxyadenosine and adenine arabinoside. A basis for direct toxic effects of analogs of adenosine. J. Biol. Chem., 254: 22-25, 1979.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  33. ↵
    Hershfield M. S., Mitchell B. S. Immunodeficiency diseases caused by adenosine deaminase deficiency and purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency Ed. 7 Scriver C. R. Beaudet A. L. Sly W. S. Valle D. eds. . The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, : 1725-1768, McGraw-Hill New York 1995.
  34. ↵
    Chiang P. K., Gordon R. K., Tal J., Zeng G. C., Doctor B. P., Pardhasaradhi K., McCann P. P. S-Adenosylmethionine and methylation. FASEB J., 10: 471-480, 1996.
    OpenUrlAbstract
  35. ↵
    Kredich N. M., Martin D. V., Jr. Role of S-adenosylhomocysteine in adenosine mediated toxicity in cultured mouse T lymphoma cells. Cell, 12: 931-938, 1977.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  36. ↵
    Bynum J. W. Characterization of adenosine-induced cytostasis in melanoma cells. Cancer Res., 40: 2147-2152, 1980.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  37. ↵
    Wang H., Yoshizumi M., Lai K., Tsai J. C., Perrella M. A., Haber E., Lee M. E. Inhibition of growth and p21ras methylation in vascular endothelial cells by homocysteine but not cysteine. J. Biol. Chem., 272: 25380-25385, 1997.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  38. ↵
    Rounds S., Yee W. L., Dawicki D. D., Harrington E., Parks N., Cutaia M. V. Mechanism of extracellular ATP- and adenosine-induced apoptosis of cultured pulmonary artery endothelial cells. Am. J. Physiol., 275: L379-L388, 1998.
  39. ↵
    Kruidering M., van de Water B., Zhan Y., Baelde J. J., Heer E., Mulder G. J., Stevens J. L., Nagelkerke J. F. Cisplatin effects on F-actin and matrix proteins precede renal tubular cell detachment and apoptosis in vitro. Cell Death Differ., 5: 601-614, 1998.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  40. ↵
    Kizaki H., Shimada H., Ohsaka F., Sakurada T. Adenosine, deoxyadenosine, and deoxyguanosine induce DNA cleavage in mouse thymocytes. J. Immunol., 141: 1652-1657, 1988.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  41. ↵
    Szondy Z. Adenosine stimulates DNA fragmentation in human thymocytes by Ca(2+)-mediated mechanisms. Biochem. J., 304: 877-885, 1994.
  42. ↵
    Wakade T. D., Palmer K. C., McCauley R., Przywara D. A., Wakade A. R. Adenosine-induced apoptosis in chick embryonic sympathetic neurons: a new physiological role for adenosine. J. Physiol., 488: 123-138, 1995.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  43. ↵
    Dawicki D. D., Chatterjee D., Wyche J., Rounds S. Extracellular ATP and adenosine cause apoptosis of pulmonary artery endothelial cells. Am. J. Physiol., 273: L485-L494, 1997.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  44. ↵
    Kohno Y., Sei Y., Koshiba M., Kim H. O., Jacobson K. A. Induction of apoptosis in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells by adenosine A(3) receptor agonists. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 219: 904-910, 1996.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  45. ↵
    Yao Y., Sei Y., Abbracchio M. P., Jiang J. L., Kim Y. C., Jacobson K. A. Adenosine A3 receptor agonists protect HL-60 and U-937 cells from apoptosis induced by A3 antagonists. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 232: 317-322, 1997.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  46. ↵
    Dubey R. K., Gillespie D. G., Mi Z., Jackson E. K. Exogenous and endogenous adenosine inhibits fetal calf serum-induced growth of rat cardiac fibroblasts: role of A2B receptors. Circulation, 96: 2656-2666, 1997.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  47. ↵
    Thorn J. A., Jarvis S. M. Adenosine transporters. Gen. Pharmacol., 27: 613-620, 1996.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  48. ↵
    Daly J. W., Hide I., Muller C. E., Shamim M. Caffeine analogs: structure-activity relationships at adenosine receptors. Pharmacology, 42: 309-321, 1991.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  49. ↵
    Ishii K., Green H. Lethality of adenosine for cultured mammalian cells by interference with pyrimidine biosynthesis. J. Cell Sci., 13: 429-439, 1973.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  50. ↵
    Archer S., Juranka P. F., Ho J. H., Chan V. L. An analysis of multiple mechanisms of adenosine toxicity in baby hamster kidney cells. J. Cell. Physiol., 124: 226-232, 1985.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  51. ↵
    Hershfield M. S., Snyder F. F., Seegmiller J. E. Adenine and adenosine are toxic to human lymphoblast mutants defective in purine salvage enzymes. Science (Washington DC), 197: 1284-1287, 1977.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  52. ↵
    Kredich N. M., Hershfield M. S. S-Adenosylhomocysteine toxicity in normal and adenosine kinase-deficient lymphoblasts of human origin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 76: 2450-2454, 1979.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  53. ↵
    Simmonds H. A., Sahota A., Potter C. F., Careon J. S. Purine metabolism and immunodeficiency: urinary purine excretion as a diagnostic screening test in adenosine deaminase and purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency. Clin. Sci. Mol. Med., 54: 579-584, 1978.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  54. ↵
    Donofrio J., Coleman M. S., Hutton J. J., Daoud A., Lampkin B., Dyminski J. Overproduction of adenine deoxynucleosides and deoxynucleotides in adenosine deaminase deficiency with severe combined immunodeficiency disease. J. Clin. Investig., 62: 884-887, 1978.
  55. ↵
    Cohen A., Hirschhorn R., Horowitz S. D., Rubinstein A., Polmar S. H., Hong R., Martin D. W., Jr. Deoxyadenosine triphosphate as a potentially toxic metabolite in adenosine deaminase deficiency. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 75: 472-476, 1978.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  56. ↵
    Coleman M. S., Donofrio J., Hutton J. J., Hahn L., Daoud A., Lampkin B., Dyminski J. Identification and quantitation of adenine deoxynucleotides in erythrocytes of a patient with adenosine deaminase deficiency and severe combined immunodeficiency. J. Biol. Chem., 253: 1619-1626, 1978.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  57. ↵
    Carson D. A., Kaye J., Seegmiller J. E. Differential sensitivity of human leukemic T cell lines and B cell lines to growth inhibition by deoxyadenosine. J. Immunol., 121: 1726-1731, 1978.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  58. ↵
    Simmonds H. A., Panayi G. S., Corrigall V. A role for purine metabolism in the immune response: adenosine-deaminase activity and deoxyadenosine catabolism. Lancet, i: 60-63, 1978.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  59. ↵
    Lapi L., Cohen S. S. Toxicities of adenosine and 2′-deoxyadenosine in L cells treated with inhibitors of adenosine deaminase. Biochem. Pharmacol., 26: 71-76, 1977.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  60. ↵
    Wakade A. R., Guo X., Palmer K. C., Kulkarni J. S., Przywara D. A., Wakade T. D. 2′-Deoxyadenosine induces apoptosis in rat chromaffin cells. J. Neurochem., 67: 2273-2281, 1996.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  61. ↵
    Kulkarni J. S., Wakade A. R. Quantitative analysis of similarities and differences in neurotoxicities caused by adenosine and 2′-deoxyadenosine in sympathetic neurons. J. Neurochem., 67: 778-786, 1996.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  62. ↵
    Niitsu N., Yamaguchi Y., Umeda M., Honma Y. Human monocytoid leukemia cells are highly sensitive to apoptosis induced by 2′-deoxycoformycin and 2′-deoxyadenosine: association with dATP-dependent activation of caspase-3. Blood, 92: 3368-3375, 1998.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  63. ↵
    Siaw M. F., Coleman M. S. In vitro metabolism of deoxycoformycin in human T lymphoblastoid cells. Phosphorylation of deoxycoformycin and incorporation into cellular DNA. J. Biol. Chem., 259: 9426-9433, 1984.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  64. ↵
    Schaeffer H. J., Schwender C. F. Enzyme inhibitors. XXVI. Bridging hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions on adenosine deaminase with some 9-(2-hydroxy-3-alkyl)adenines. J. Med. Chem., 17: 6-8, 1974.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  65. ↵
    Agarwal R. P., Spector T., Parks R. E. Tight-binding inhibitors. IV. Inhibition of adenosine deaminases by various inhibitors. Biochem. Pharmacol., 26: 359-367, 1977.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  66. ↵
    Cha S., Agarwal R. P., Parks R. E. Tight-binding inhibitors. II. Non-steady state nature of inhibition of milk xanthine oxidase by allopurinol and alloxanthine and of human erythrocyte adenosine deaminase by coformycin. Biochem. Pharmacol., 24: 2187-2197, 1975.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  67. ↵
    Chen S. F., Cleaveland J. S., Hollmann A. B., Wiemann M. C., Parks R. E., Jr., Stoeckler J. D. Changes in nucleoside transport of HL-60 human promyelocytic cells during N,N-dimethylformamide induced differentiation. Cancer Res., 46: 3449-3455, 1986.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  68. ↵
    Henderson J. F., Brox L., Zombor G., Hunting D., Lomax C. A. Specificity of adenosine deaminase inhibitors. Biochem. Pharmacol., 26: 1967-1972, 1977.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  69. ↵
    Agarwal R. P., Parks R. E. Potent inhibition of muscle 5′-AMP deaminase by the nucleoside antibiotics coformycin and deoxycoformycin. Biochem. Pharmacol., 26: 663-666, 1977.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  70. ↵
    Agteresch H. J., Dagnelie P. C., van den Berg J. W., Wilson J. H. Adenosine triphosphate: established and potential clinical applications. Drugs, 58: 211-232, 1999.
    OpenUrlPubMed
PreviousNext
Back to top
April 2000
Volume 60, Issue 7
  • Table of Contents

Sign up for alerts

View this article with LENS

Open full page PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for sharing this Cancer Research article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Adenosine-mediated Killing of Cultured Epithelial Cancer Cells
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Cancer Research
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Cancer Research.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Adenosine-mediated Killing of Cultured Epithelial Cancer Cells
Catherine P. Barry and Stuart E. Lind
Cancer Res April 1 2000 (60) (7) 1887-1894;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Adenosine-mediated Killing of Cultured Epithelial Cancer Cells
Catherine P. Barry and Stuart E. Lind
Cancer Res April 1 2000 (60) (7) 1887-1894;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • MATERIALS AND METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Advertisement

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Mammary Carcinoma Suppression by Cellular Retinoic Acid Binding Protein-II
  • E1A, E1B Double-restricted Adenovirus for Oncolytic Gene Therapy of Gallbladder Cancer
  • All-trans-Retinoic Acid Eliminates Immature Myeloid Cells from Tumor-bearing Mice and Improves the Effect of Vaccination
Show more Experimental Therapeutics
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn  YouTube  RSS

Articles

  • Online First
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Meeting Abstracts

Info for

  • Authors
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers
  • Librarians

About Cancer Research

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Permissions
  • Submit a Manuscript
AACR logo

Copyright © 2021 by the American Association for Cancer Research.

Cancer Research Online ISSN: 1538-7445
Cancer Research Print ISSN: 0008-5472
Journal of Cancer Research ISSN: 0099-7013
American Journal of Cancer ISSN: 0099-7374

Advertisement