In the early 1920s, Otto Warburg demonstrated that tumor cells have a capacity to convert glucose and other substrates into lactic acid instead of CO2 and water, even under aerobic conditions. Consequently, Warburg assumed that the intracellular pH (pHi) of tumor was acidic. However, later studies have shown that maintenance of pHi within a pH range of 7.0-7.2 is necessary for normal cellular proliferation and that the extracellular pH (pHe) is partially acidic in solid tumors. A low pHe may be an important factor inducing invasive behavior in tumor cells. Research into causes and consequences of this acid pH of tumors are highly dependent on accurate, precise and reproducible measurements. Techniques for measuring tissue pHi and pHe have undergone great changes since 1950s. From microelectrode and dye distribution studies, measurement of pH underwent a revolution with the advent of pH-sensitive dyes that could be loaded into the cytosol. Further significant advances have come from the measurement of cell and tissue pH in whole organisms by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and pH-sensitive Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracers.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in female population worldwide. In addition to mutations, the breast tumor microenvironment especially the tumor cell - stroma interactions through extracellular matrix components and multiple growth factors have been shown to promote tumor progression. Among those, increases in both TGF-β (transforming growth factor beta) activities and periostin expression were associated with tumor cell survival, proliferation and metastasis. TGF-β role in breast cancer progression including its ability to promote periostin expression has been extensively studied. In contrast, the role of periostin in cancer progression remains to be fully understood. Thus, the present study aimed to determine whether TGF-β and periostin have effect on each other’s expressions in breast tumor and stroma cells using in vitro cell models. Through Western blot analyses and ELISAs, the periostin and TGF-β expressions of both stroma and tumor cells were analyzed following TGF-β and periostin treatments, respectively. The results indicate that TGF-β treatments led to significant increase in periostin expression in fibroblasts (p<0.05). In addition, periostin was differentially expressed by human breast cancer cells following TGF-β1 treatment. The TGF-β activities involved activation of pSMAD2 in both L929 fibroblasts and MCF10A mammary cells. Taken together, all experimental data indicate that within the breast tumor TGF-β and periostin likely participate in a regulation loop. Whether this putative regulation loop is critical to metastasis remains to be determined. Should periostin play a critical role in breast cancer progression, it could become a specific target in the preventive and/or therapeutic development of breast cancer patients.

In Canada, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. There are many different factors that contribute to the progression and spread of the disease. However, increasing evidence now suggests that the tumor microenvironment plays a paramount role in these processes. CD26 is a multifunctional, cell-surface glycoprotein that has intrinsic enzyme activity, binds adenosine deaminase and interacts with the extracellular matrix. Through its various functions it serves to constrain cancer progression. For example, it is known to cleave CXCL12, the ligand for CXCR4. The CXCL12:CXCR4 axis is normally involved in cancer metastasis by promoting cancer cell migration, invasion and proliferation. Down-regulation of CD26 is observed in certain cancers - this has been shown in vitro to occur in response to certain soluble mediators. The first part of this study looked at the effects of glucose and its metabolic product lactate on CD26 expression in colorectal carcinoma cells. Our study showed that CD26 expression is lower in cancer cells that are grown in low-glucose, high-lactate conditions, which replicates the situation within a tumor. The second part of this study examined the effect of adenosine, a purine nucleoside, on colorectal carcinoma cells and supportive stromal cells - cancer-associated HS675.T fibroblasts (CAFs) and Met-5a mesothelial cells. Adenosine increased the proliferation of CAFs and increased CXCL12 mRNA in both stromal cell lines. It also increased MMP-13 mRNA in stromal cells as well as colorectal cancer cells, suggesting that adenosine may promote progression and metastasis through various mechanisms. The last section focused on the ability of cellular products and 3-dimensional tissue topology to coordinate and affect the behaviour of the different cell populations. Here we show that secretory products from colorectal cancer cells promote CAF proliferation but inhibit mesothelial cell proliferation, and are also able to modulate MMP-13 expression. Finally, certain responses are enhanced in multicellular spheroids. In conclusion, the tumor microenvironment represents a major consideration in the treatment of solid tumors. Our data suggest that various soluble mediators, such as adenosine, may have therapeutic implications in cancer treatment and might represent novel targets for future research.

Orientador: Noeme Sousa Rocha / Resumo: O tumor venéreo transmissível (TVT) é um câncer transmissível, que propaga-se naturalmente entre os cães, pela transferência alogênica de células tumorais, principalmente, durante o coito. Sabe-se que o microambiente tumoral influencia diretamente no comportamento tumoral, além de interagir com o sistema imune do hospedeiro. Face aos escassos estudos relacionados aos eventos celulares envolvidos no microambiente tumoral, o presente estudo teve por objetivo quantificar a expressão de genes relacionados com esse microambiente, tanto em células do TVT in vivo como in vitro, correlacionando-o com a resposta clínica dos animais tratados com vincristina. Para tal, foram incluídos neste estudo 18 cães atendidos no Hospital Veterinário da FMVZ-UNESP, Câmpus de Botucatu, portadores de TVT de ocorrência natural. As amostras tumorais foram coletadas antes do tratamento quimioterápico, cultivadas e submetidas à análise citogenética e quantificação através de RT-qPCR. Observou-se amostras tumorais com reduzido número cromossomos (59) em relação ao cão (78) e o subtipo celular prevalente foi o plasmocitoide, embora células com padrão linfocitoide também tenham sido observadas. Quando comparamos as expressões gênicas, o gene TP53 se mostrou elevado na maioria dos casos, indicando possível alteração nesse gene, enquanto BCL-2, BCL-xL, BAX e RASSF1 apresentaram-se variáveis, dependendo do animal analisado, fato que pode ser devido a alterações genéticas e/ou epigenéticas no TVT, além da possi... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Doutor

O microambiente tumoral é composto por células, como fibroblastos, células do sistema imune, células endoteliais e pericitos, envoltas por uma matriz extracelular, além de possuir fatores solúveis que participam da comunicação celular. Nas últimas décadas, têm-se entendido cada vez melhor seu papel na iniciação e progressão dos tumores. É de fundamental importância, portanto, entender a biologia dos seus componentes e como podem agir em favor do desenvolvimento tumoral. Diversos trabalhos demonstram que há uma associação entre a presença dos pericitos nos vasos tumorais com a agressividade e prognóstico de alguns tipos de câncer. Uma vez ativadas, além do papel estrutural, essas células modulam as atividades das células endoteliais durante a formação de novos vasos, além de adquirirem propriedades como proliferação e migração. Neste contexto, os pericitos passam a secretar fatores importantes na comunicação célula-a-célula e liberam enzimas moduladoras na matriz extracelular. A lisil oxidase (LOX) é uma das principais enzimas que atuam sobre a matriz extracelular. Já está bem descrito que, quando superexpressa em células tumorais, a LOX pode alterar a migração e invasão dessas células, promovendo a geração de metástases. Entretanto, pouco se sabe a respeito da atuação dessa enzima sobre os demais componentes celulares do estroma tumoral, como os pericitos. Sendo assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal verificar se enzima LOX é relevante para a ativação de propriedades dos pericitos que possam contribuir para suas funções pró-tumorigênicas, como migração, proliferação e formação de vasos. Os resultados foram gerados avaliando essas atividades dos pericitos após pré-tratamento de 24 horas com β-aminopropionitrile (βAPN), um inibidor irreversível da LOX. Foram utilizadas duas linhagens de pericitos derivados de tecido normal (adiposo e muscular) e duas linhagens de pericitos provenientes de tecido tumores do sistema nervoso central (neuroblastoma e ependimoma). Este composto foi capaz de diminuir a capacidade de migração das células de todas as linhagens testadas e, de maneira geral, tornou o processo de formação de estruturas tubulares in vitro menos eficiente. Entretanto, não foram observadas alterações na proliferação celular. Os dados indicam, portanto, que a enzima LOX pode ser importante para a ativação dos pericitos e, possivelmente, influenciem no seu comportamento no microambiente tumoral / The tumor microenvironment is composed of non-cancer cells, such as fibroblasts, immune cells, endothelial cells and pericytes, surrounded by an extracellular matrix, in addition to soluble factors involved in cellular crosstalk. In the last decades, it has been better understood its role in the initiation and progression of tumors. It is critical, therefore, to understand the biology of its components and how they can act in favor of tumor development. Several studies show an association between the presence of pericytes in tumor vessels with aggressiveness and prognosis of some cancers. Once activated, these cells modulate the activities of endothelial cells during the new vessels formation, and acquire properties as proliferation and migration. In this context, pericytes triggers the secretion of important factors in cell-to-cell communication and release modulating enzymes of extracellular matrix. The lysyl oxidase (LOX) is one of the main enzymes that act on the extracelular matrix. It is well described that when overexpressed in tumor cells, LOX can alter the migration and invasion of these cells, promoting the generation of metastases. However, little is known about the role of this enzyme over other cellular components of the tumor stroma, such as pericytes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify whether LOX enzyme is relevant to the activation of properties of the pericytes that could contribute to its pro-tumorigenic functions such as migration, proliferation and vessel formation. All the results were generated by evaluation of the activities of these pericytes after 24 hours pretreatment with β-aminopropionitrile (βAPN), an irreversible inhibitor of LOX. This study used two cell lines of pericytes derived from normal tissue (fat and muscle) and two isolated from tissue of the central nervous system. The βAPN was able to reduce the migration of cells of all tested cell lines and, in general, alter the tubular formation in vitro. However, changes in cell proliferation weren′t observed. The data showed, that the LOX family may be important for the activation of pericytes and possibly influence on their behavior in the tumor microenvironment

Orientador: Jose Andres Yunes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T09:06:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vasconcellos_JairaFerreirade_D.pdf: 12382146 bytes, checksum: 9d05fdf79968e31e12ded32312675286 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: A leucemia linfóide aguda (LLA) é a neoplasia mais freqüente na infância. As interações dos blastos da LLA com as células do estroma da medula óssea (MO) têm um impacto positivo na sobrevivência das células e resistência a quimioterapia. A LLA estimula as células do estroma da MO que reciprocamente promovem a sobrevivência da leucemia. Para identificar moléculas envolvidas na interação leucemia-microambiente foi realizada análise do perfil de expressão gênica de células mesenquimais (MSC) da MO estimuladas com células primárias da LLA. O estímulo da LLA nas MSC ativou várias quimiocinas próinflamatórias, incluindo CCL2 e IL-8. Os níveis plasmáticos de CCL2 e IL-8 em crianças com LLA ao diagnóstico foram significativamente maiores do que em controles normais. A maioria das amostras de LLA primária expressou transcritos dos receptores de CCL2 e IL-8. Ensaios funcionais in vitro demonstraram que a LLA não é afetada pela adição de CCL2, IL- 8 ou anticorpos neutralizantes. Porém ambas as quimiocinas demonstraram estimular a sobrevivência das MSC em meio sem soro e aumentar sua proliferação em meio com quantidades limitadas de soro. Para explorar o efeito da IL-8 no microambiente da MO leucêmica foi sintetizado um antagonista do receptor CXCR2 da IL-8, denominado SB225002 (N-(2-hydroxy-4-nitrophenyl)-N'-(2-bromophenyl)urea). O SB225002 demonstrou efeito deletério contra as linhagens da LLA (Nalm6, REH, Jurkat, CEM e Molt4). Mas nem todas as linhagens da LLA sensíveis ao SB225002 expressaram o receptor CXCR2, sugerindo que seu mecanismo de ação ocorreria através de receptor alternativo. Recentemente foi descrito que o SB225002 também se liga a outros receptores acoplados a proteína G, dentre eles os receptores da histamina e dos canabinóides. Ambos foram testados in vitro e o receptor CNR2 dos canabinóides demonstra desempenhar função no mecanismo de ação do SB225002. Além disso, para identificar moléculas envolvidas na resposta celular ao SB225002 foi realizada a análise do perfil de expressão gênica de células Jurkat tratadas com SB225002. Eventos celulares de resposta inicial ao SB225002 incluíram (i) ativação de phospho-p44/42 ERK e (ii) ativação de GLIPR1 que demonstrou mediar a indução de morte do SB225002. Em conclusão, este trabalho indica a importância das quimiocinas CCL2 e IL-8 no microambiente da LLA, e demonstra o potencial do SB225002 como agente antileucêmico. / Abstract: The interactions of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) blasts with bone marrow (BM) stromal cells have a positive impact on leukemia cell survival and resistance to chemotherapy. ALL stimulates BM stromal cells, which reciprocally promote leukemia cell survival. To identify molecules critically involved in leukemia-microenvironment crosstalk, we performed gene expression profiling analyses of primary BM mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC) following stimulation by primary ALL cells. Leukemia stimulation of BMMSC up regulated the expression of several inflammatory chemokines, including CCL2 and IL-8. Secretion of these molecules was confirmed by ELISA assays of in vitro co-culture experiments and in BM plasma samples from pediatric ALL patients. Most primary ALL samples were found to express mRNA for CCL2 and IL-8 receptors. In vitro functional studies revealed that primary ALL cells co-cultured with BMMSC were not affected by addition of CCL2, IL-8 or neutralizing antibodies to these chemokines. On the other hand, both chemokines were found to enhance BMMSC survival in serum-free medium and to increase their proliferation in serum-starved conditions. To further explore the effect of IL-8 in the ALL-BM microenvironment the CXCR2 -IL-8 receptor-antagonist SB225002 ( N - ( 2 - hydroxyl - 4 - nitrophenyl ) - N' - ( 2 - bromophenyl ) urea) was synthesized. SB225002 had a deleterious effect against ALL cell lines (Nalm6, REH, Jurkat, CEM, and Molt4). Suprisingly, not all the ALL cells lines that were sensitive to SB225002 expressed CXCR2 receptor. This find suggested that the SB225002's mechanism of action occurred through a different receptor. SB225002 was recently described to also bind histamine and cannabinoid receptors that were investigated in ALL and the CNR2 cannabinoid receptor demonstrated to play a role in SB225002 mechanism of action. To identify molecules involved in the cellular effects promoted by SB225002, gene expression profiling analyses was performed of Jurkat cells treated with SB225002. Early cellular effects enhanced by SB225002 included (i) activation of phospho-p44/42 ERK and (ii) up regulation of GLIPR1 that shown to mediate SB225002-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, this work support a significant role for the chemokines CCL2 and IL-8 in the ALL-BM microenvironment, and demonstrate SB225002's therapeutic potential. / Doutorado / Ciencias Biomedicas / Doutor em Ciências Médicas

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第22039号 / 医博第4524号 / 新制||医||1038(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 濵﨑 洋子, 教授 武藤 学, 教授 妹尾 浩 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第22120号 / 医博第4533号 / 新制||医||1039(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 妹尾 浩, 教授 竹内 理, 教授 濵﨑 洋子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第22740号 / 医博第4658号 / 新制||医||1046(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 羽賀 博典, 教授 髙折 晃史, 教授 伊藤 貴浩 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第20229号 / 医博第4188号 / 新制||医||1019(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 武藤 学, 教授 原田 浩, 教授 山田 泰広 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM