title: Anti-tumorigenic effect of a K-ras ribozyme against human lung cancer cell line heterotransplants in nude mice.
abstract: Approximately 15-30% of human non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) carry K-ras mutations, among which point mutations at codon 12 are the most common. This study characterizes the anti-tumor effect of an anti-K-ras ribozyme adenoviral vector (KRbz-ADV; replication-deficient, E1-deleted Ad5 backbone) against NSCLC lines that express the relevant mutation (K-ras codon 12 GGT --> GTT; H441 and H1725). KRbz-ADV significantly inhibited tumor cell growth (38-94% reduction by 3H-thymidine uptake) in a time- and dose-dependent manner, but produced minimal growth inhibition on normal epithelial cells, or NSCLC H1650 cells that lack the relevant mutation. The in vivo anti-tumorigenic effect of KRbz-ADV treatment was characterized with cell line xenografts in nu/nu mice. Pre-treatment with KRbz-ADV (10 or 20 p.f.u. per cell) completely abrogated subcutaneous engraftment of H441 (n = 13) or H1725 cells (n = 8), as compared with a 100% tumor take and progressive tumor growth in animals that received untreated tumor cells, or control vector (luciferase-adenovirus/Luc-ADV)-treated tumor cells. Pre-treatment with a mutant anti-K-ras ribozyme adenoviral vector (mutKRbz-ADV), which has the same specificity as KRbz but lacks ribozyme catalytic activity, did not produce an anti-tumorigenic effect. The in vivo effect of KRbz-ADV treatment was further examined by initiating injections (2 x 10(9) p.f.u.) at 7 days after tumor induction. Pre-existing tumor growth was reduced by 39% by a single intratumoral injection. Repeat injections (three or five KRbz-ADV-intratumoral injections at 2 x 10(9) p.f.u. every other day) resulted in complete tumor regression in five of seven mice. In contrast, single or multiple injections of control vector Luc-ADV did not significantly alter tumor xenograft outcome. Ribozyme expression was confirmed in H441 cells that demonstrated reduced growth after KRbz-ADV treatment. Reduced growth corresponded to significantly lowered levels of K-ras mRNA, as defined by RT-PCR (51% of untreated level, n = 3) and RNase protection assay (56% of untreated level, n = 4) analyses. Further, 37.5% of KRbz-ADV-treated cells underwent apoptosis, as compared with 11.7%, and 19.0% in untreated and Luc-ADV-treated cultures, respectively. A significantly higher proportion of KRbz-ADV-treated H441 cells (58.2%) underwent apoptosis when maintained under anchor-independent conditions that simulate in vivo tumorigenesis ('anoikis'). This is the first report that demonstrates that KRbz-ADV can effectively inhibit in vivo tumorigenesis, and produces regression of pre-existing human lung tumor xenografts having the relevant K-ras mutation.
authors.affiliation: Mary C Crowley Cancer Research Program, Baylor Research Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75246, USA.
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nemunaitis
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Scanlon
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Tong
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D011905:Genes, ras; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D017354:Point Mutation; D016337:RNA, Catalytic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D016337:RNA, Catalytic