title: Hyaluronan oligosaccharides inhibit anchorage-independent growth of tumor cells by suppressing the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt cell survival pathway.
abstract: Hyaluronan oligosaccharides (molecular weight: approximately 2.5 x 10(3)) inhibit growth of several types of tumors in vivo. In vitro, the oligomers inhibit anchorage-independent growth of several tumor cell types. In accordance with this finding, the oligomers also induce apoptosis and stimulate caspase-3 activity under anchorage-independent conditions. Since inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) mimic the action of hyaluronan oligomers and since the PI 3-kinase/Akt (protein kinase B) cell survival pathway has previously been implicated in anchorage-independent growth of tumor cells, we examined the effect of oligomers on PI 3-kinase and its downstream activities in TA3/St murine mammary carcinoma and HCT 116 human colon carcinoma cells. We observed that 50-150 microg/ml hyaluronan oligomers inhibit PI 3-kinase activity and phosphorylation of Akt to approximately the same extent as optimal doses of wortmannin and LY294002, known inhibitors of PI 3-kinase. Similar inhibition of downstream events, i.e. phosphorylation of BAD and FKHR, was also observed. These effects were not observed on treatment with similar concentrations of chitin oligomers, chondroitin sulfate, or hyaluronan polymer. High molecular weight (approximately 2 x 10(6)) and low molecular weight (approximately 8 x 10(4)) preparations of hyaluronan polymer were equally ineffective. The effects of hyaluronan oligomers on these parameters were similar in magnitude to the effect of treatment with activity-blocking antibody against CD44. We interpret these results to indicate that the oligomers competitively block binding of endogenous hyaluronan polymer to CD44, consequently giving rise to attenuated signaling. Finally, we observed that hyaluronan oligomers, but not chitin oligomers, chondroitin sulfate, or hyaluronan polymer, stimulate expression of PTEN, a phosphatase that degrades the major signaling product of PI 3-kinase action, phosphoinositide 3,4,5-trisphosphate. We conclude that perturbation of hyaluronan-CD44 binding leads to suppression of the PI 3-kinase/Akt cell survival pathway and consequently to inhibition of anchorage-independent growth in culture and tumor growth in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
authors.forename: Shibnath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghatak
authors.forename: Suniti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.forename: Bryan P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Toole
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000378:metabolism; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051025:bcl-Associated Death Protein
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D051025:bcl-Associated Death Protein; C494819:BAD protein, human; C494820:Bad protein, mouse; C085126:FOXO1 protein, human; C467200:Foxo1 protein, mouse; C494918:AKT1 protein, human; C494929:PTEN protein, human; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse