title: Lipoprotein-associated alpha-tocopheryl-succinate inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in human MCF-7 and HBL-100 breast cancer cells.
abstract: alpha-Tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TS) is a potent inhibitor of tumor cell proliferation. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether and to what extent alpha-TS associates with plasma lipoproteins and if alpha-TS-enriched lipoproteins inhibit breast cancer cell growth in a manner comparable to the free drug. In vitro enrichment of human plasma revealed that alpha-TS readily associated with the main lipoprotein classes, findings confirmed in vivo in mice. At the highest alpha-TS concentrations, lipoproteins carrying 50000 (VLDL), 5000 (LDL) and 700 (HDL) alpha-TS molecules per lipoprotein particle were generated. alpha-TS enrichment generated lipoprotein particles with slightly decreased density and increased particle radius. To study whether the level of LDL-receptor (LDL-R) expression affects alpha-TS uptake from apoB/E containing lipoprotein particles human breast cancer cells with low (MCF-7) and normal (HBL-100) LDL-R expression were used. The uptake of free, VLDL- and (apoE-free) HDL(3)-associated alpha-TS was nearly identical for both cell lines. In contrast, uptake of LDL-associated alpha-TS by HBL-100 cells (normal LDL-R expression) was about twice as high as compared to MCF-7 cells (low LDL-R expression). VLDL and LDL-associated alpha-TS inhibited proliferation most effectively at the highest concentration of alpha-TS used (100% inhibition of MCF-7 growth with 20 microg/ml of lipoprotein-associated alpha-TS). However, also alpha-TS-free VLDL and LDL inhibited HBL-100 cell proliferation up to 55%. In both cell lines, alpha-TS-enriched HDL(3) inhibited cell growth by 40-60%. Incubation of both cell lines in the presence of free or lipoprotein-associated alpha-TS resulted in DNA fragmentation indicative of apoptosis. Collectively, the present findings demonstrate that: (1) alpha-TS readily associates with lipoproteins in vitro and in vivo; (2) the lipoprotein-enrichment efficacy was dependent on the particle size and/or the triglyceride content of the lipoprotein; (3) uptake of LDL-associated alpha-TS was apparently dependent on the level of LDL-R expression; and (4) lipoproteins were efficient alpha-TS carriers inducing reduced cell proliferation rates and apoptosis in human breast cancer cells as observed for the free drug.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Pussinen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lindner
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Glatter
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reicher
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kostner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wintersperger
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Malle
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sattler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000378:metabolism*; D024505:Tocopherols; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D008079:Lipoproteins, VLDL; D011973:Receptors, LDL; D014810:Vitamin E; D024505:Tocopherols