title: Selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition suppresses basic fibroblast growth factor expression in human esophageal adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 is reported to suppress growth and induce apoptosis in human esophageal adenocarcinoma (EADC) cells, although the precise biologic mechanism is unclear. In this study we tested the hypothesis that the antitumor activity of COX-2 inhibitors may involve modulation of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), which is overexpressed in EADC. We evaluated the effects of NS-398, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, on FGF-2 expression and proliferation of EADC cell lines that express COX-2 and those that do not. We also correlated COX-2 and FGF-2 expression with clinico-pathologic findings and outcome in a well-characterized series of surgically resected EADC tissues. Seg-1 cells robustly expressed COX-2 and FGF-2, whereas Bic-1 cells expressed neither transcript. FGF-2 was reduced to undetectable levels in Seg-1 cells following NS-398 treatment, but increased within 4 h of drug removal. NS-398 significantly inhibited the growth of Seg-1 cells, and this effect was ameliorated by addition of exogenous FGF-2. In contrast, NS-398 had no effect on Bic-1 cell proliferation and FGF-2 alone had no effect on proliferation of either cell line. NS-398, or a neutralizing anti-FGF-2 antibody, induced apoptosis in Seg-1 cells, and these effects were inhibited by addition of exogenous FGF-2. COX-2 protein was strongly expressed in 46% (10/22) of EADCs, and was associated with a trend towards reduced disease-free survival. These findings indicate that the antitumor effects of COX-2 inhibition in EADC cells may be mediated via suppression of FGF-2, and that COX-2 may be a clinically relevant molecular marker in the management of human EADC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baguma-Nibasheka
authors.forename: Christie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barclay
authors.forename: Audrey W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Laurette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Geldenhuys
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blay
authors.forename: Alan G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Casson
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D017209:Apoptosis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009578:Nitrobenzenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D009578:Nitrobenzenes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013449:Sulfonamides; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; C080955:N-(2-cyclohexyloxy-4-nitrophenyl)methanesulfonamide; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human