Open Access

Einleitung: In dieser Studie wurden die antidepressiv wirksamen Medikamente Amitriptylin, Fluoxetin, Tranylcypromin und Venlafaxin auf ihre peripheren vasoaktiven Eigenschaften hin untersucht, da sie in der klinischen Anwendung häufig zu Blutdruckveränderungen führen. Material und Methoden: Es wurden in-vitro-Untersuchungen an endothelintakten und endothelfreien Rattenaorten durchgeführt. Wir ermittelten die Effekte der Antidepressiva in kumulativer Dosierung auf mittels KCl, Phenylephrin und Prostaglandin F2α präkontrahierte Aortenringe. Weiterhin wurden die zugrunde liegenden vasoaktiven Mechanismen im Hinblick auf die NO cGMP-Signaltransduktion, den second-messenger cAMP und die Beteiligung von K+ Kanälen sowie Adrenozeptoren näher untersucht. Ergebnisse: Alle vier Antidepressiva haben direkte Effekte auf die Rattenaorta in vitro. Sie dilatieren konzentrationsabhängig vorkontrahierte Aortenringe; pEC50 nach Vorkontraktion mit Phenylephrin (0,1 µM): Amitriptylin (6,98±0,13), Fluoxetin (6,11±0,05), Tranylcypromin (5,33±0,05), Venlafaxin (4,45±0,08) (n=8); mit KCl (20 mM): Amitriptylin (4,89±0,11), Fluoxetin (6,00±0,06), Tranylcypromin (4,99±0,30), Venlafaxin (5,02±0,07) (n=7). Hohe Konzentrationen an Tranylcypromin führen nach Vorkontraktion mit PGF2α zu einer weiteren Kontraktion endothelintakter Aorten. Gegenüber den Kontrollexperimenten führte die Hemmung des NO-cGMP-Signalweges, der cAMP-Produktion sowie die Blockade von K+-Kanälen und Adrenozeptoren zu Verschiebungen der Dosis-Antwort-Kurven der Antidepressiva. Amitriptylin, Fluoxetin und Venlafaxin hemmen die Kontraktionsantwort von Aortenringen auf adrenerge Einflüsse, Tranylcypromin verstärkt diese hingegen. Diskussion: Amitriptylin interagiert mit der pharmakomechanischen Kopplung im glatten Gefäßmuskel, indem es die Aortenringe durch eine antagonistische Wirkung an α1 Adrenozeptoren relaxiert. Auch Venlafaxin interagiert mit Adrenozeptoren. Fluoxetin, Tranylcypromin und Venlafaxin wirken über die elektromechanische Kopplung durch eine K+-Kanal-Aktivierung vasodilatierend. Die Relaxation der glatten Gefäßmuskulatur durch die antidepressiven Medikamente ist teilweise abhängig von der Integrität des Endothels, da insbesondere eine Aktivierung der endothelabhängigen Induktion der NO-cGMP-Signalkaskade durch die Antidepressiva stattfindet. Die zusätzlich vasokonstriktive Wirkung von Tranylcypromin lässt sich durch seine bekannte Interaktion mit dem Prostaglandin-Stoffwechsel erklären. Die Relaxation der Rattenaorta in vitro und das Auftreten hypotensiver Verläufe bei klinischer Anwendung der untersuchten Antidepressiva kann durch die in dieser Studie gezeigten direkten peripheren vaskulären Effekte dieser Medikamente mit erklärt werden.

Objective: In the rat, the pancreatic islet transplantation model is an established method to induce hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), due to insulin-mediated metabolic and molecular alterations like increased glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis and the oncogenic AKT/mTOR pathway including upregulation of the transcription factor Carbohydrate-response element-binding protein (ChREBP). ChREBP could therefore represent an essential oncogenic co-factor during hormonally induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods: Pancreatic islet transplantation was implemented in diabetic C57Bl/6J (wild type, WT) and ChREBP-knockout (KO) mice for 6 and 12 months. Liver tissue was examined using histology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and Western blot analysis. Finally, we performed NGS-based transcriptome analysis between WT and KO liver tumor tissues. Results: Three hepatocellular carcinomas were detectable after 6 and 12 months in diabetic transplanted WT mice, but only one in a KO mouse after 12 months. Pre-neoplastic clear cell foci (CCF) were also present in liver acini downstream of the islets in WT and KO mice. In KO tumors, glycolysis, de novo lipogenesis and AKT/mTOR signalling were strongly downregulated compared to WT lesions. Extrafocal liver tissue of diabetic, transplanted KO mice revealed less glycogen storage and proliferative activity than WT mice. From transcriptome analysis, we identified a set of transcripts pertaining to metabolic, oncogenic and immunogenic pathways that are differentially expressed between tumors of WT and KO mice. Of 315 metabolism-associated genes, we observed 199 genes that displayed upregulation in the tumor of WT mice, whereas 116 transcripts showed their downregulated expression in KO mice tumor. Conclusions: The pancreatic islet transplantation model is a suitable method to study hormonally induced hepatocarcinogenesis also in mice, allowing combination with gene knockout models. Our data indicate that deletion of ChREBP delays insulin-induced hepatocarcinogenesis, suggesting a combined oncogenic and lipogenic function of ChREBP along AKT/mTOR-mediated proliferation of hepatocytes and induction of hepatocellular carcinoma.

ObjectiveLarge-scale genome sequencing efforts of human tumours identified epigenetic modifiers as one of the most frequently mutated gene class in human cancer. However, how these mutations drive tumour development and tumour progression are largely unknown. Here, we investigated the function of the histone demethylase KDM6A in gastrointestinal cancers, such as liver cancer and pancreatic cancer.DesignGenetic alterations as well as expression analyses of KDM6A were performed in patients with liver cancer. Genetic mouse models of liver and pancreatic cancer coupled with Kdm6a-deficiency were investigated, transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling was performed, and in vivo and in vitro drug treatments were conducted.ResultsKDM6A expression was lost in 30% of patients with liver cancer. Kdm6a deletion significantly accelerated tumour development in murine liver and pancreatic cancer models. Kdm6a-deficient tumours showed hyperactivation of mTORC1 signalling, whereas endogenous Kdm6a re-expression by inducible RNA-interference in established Kdm6a-deficient tumours diminished mTORC1 activity resulting in attenuated tumour progression. Genome-wide transcriptional and epigenetic profiling revealed direct binding of Kdm6a to crucial negative regulators of mTORC1, such as Deptor, and subsequent transcriptional activation by epigenetic remodelling. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo genetic epistasis experiments illustrated a crucial function of Deptor and mTORC1 in Kdm6a-dependent tumour suppression. Importantly, KDM6A expression in human tumours correlates with mTORC1 activity and KDM6A-deficient tumours exhibit increased sensitivity to mTORC1 inhibition.ConclusionKDM6A is an important tumour suppressor in gastrointestinal cancers and acts as an epigenetic toggle for mTORC1 signalling. Patients with KDM6A-deficient tumours could benefit of targeted therapy focusing on mTORC1 inhibition.

Simple Summary The tumor suppressor protein P53 is a major player in preventing liver cancer development and progression. In this study we could show that P53 negatively regulates the expression of Helicase, lymphoid specific (HELLS), previously described as an important pro-tumorigenic epigenetic regulator in hepatocarcinogenesis. The regulatory mechanism included induction of the P53 target gene P21 (CDKN1A) resulting in repression of HELLS via downregulation of the transcription factor Forkhead Box Protein M1 (FOXM1). Our in vitro and in vivo findings indicate an important additional aspect of the tumor suppressive function of P53 in liver cancer linked to epigenetic regulation. Abstract The major tumor suppressor P53 (TP53) acts primarily as a transcription factor by activating or repressing subsets of its numerous target genes, resulting in different cellular outcomes (e.g., cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence). P53-dependent gene regulation is linked to several aspects of chromatin remodeling; however, regulation of chromatin-modifying enzymes by P53 is poorly understood in hepatocarcinogenesis. Herein, we identified Helicase, lymphoid specific (HELLS), a major epigenetic regulator in liver cancer, as a strong and selective P53 repression target within the SNF2-like helicase family. The underlying regulatory mechanism involved P53-dependent induction of P21 (CDKN1A), leading to repression of Forkhead Box Protein M1 (FOXM1) that in turn resulted in downregulation of HELLS expression. Supporting our in vitro data, we found higher expression of HELLS in murine HCCs arising in a Trp53−/− background compared to Trp53+/+ HCCs as well as a strong and highly significant correlation between HELLS and FOXM1 expression in different HCC patient cohorts. Our data suggest that functional or mutational inactivation of P53 substantially contributes to overexpression of HELLS in HCC patients and indicates a previously unstudied aspect of P53′s ability to suppress liver cancer formation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly form of liver malignancy with limited treatment options. Amplification and/or overexpression of c-MYC is one of the most frequent genetic events in human HCC. The mammalian target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) is a major functional axis regulating various aspects of cellular growth and metabolism. Recently, we demonstrated that mTORC1 is necessary for c-Myc driven hepatocarcinogenesis as well as for HCC cell growth in vitro. Among the pivotal downstream effectors of mTORC1, upregulation of Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN) and its mediated de novo lipogenesis is a hallmark of human HCC. Here, we investigated the importance of FASN on c-Myc-dependent hepatocarcinogenesis using in vitro and in vivo approaches. In mouse and human HCC cells, we found that FASN suppression by either gene silencing or soluble inhibitors more effectively suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in the presence of high c-MYC expression. In c-Myc/Myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1) mouse liver tumor lesions, FASN expression was markedly upregulated. Most importantly, genetic ablation of Fasn profoundly delayed (without abolishing) c-Myc/MCL1 induced HCC formation. Liver tumors developing in c-Myc/MCL1 mice depleted of Fasn showed a reduction in proliferation and an increase in apoptosis when compared with corresponding lesions from c-Myc/MCL1 mice with an intact Fasn gene. In human HCC samples, a significant correlation between the levels of c-MYC transcriptional activity and the expression of FASN mRNA was detected. Altogether, our study indicates that FASN is an important effector downstream of mTORC1 in c-MYC induced HCC. Targeting FASN may be helpful for the treatment of human HCC, at least in the tumor subset displaying c-MYC amplification or activation.