title: Sulfasalazine inhibits the growth of primary brain tumors independent of nuclear factor-kappaB.
abstract: Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is a pleiotropic transcription factor that generally enhances cellular resistance to apoptotic cell death. It has been shown to be constitutively active in some cancers and is being pursued as potential anticancer target. Sulfasalazine which is used clinically to treat Crohn's disease has emerged as a potential inhibitor of NF-kappaB and has shown promising results in two pre-clinical studies to target primary brain tumors, gliomas. Once digested, sulfasalazine is cleaved into sulfapyridine and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA; mesalamine) by colonic bacteria, and the latter, too, is reported to suppress NF-kappaB activity. We now show that glioma cells obtained from patient biopsies or glioma cell lines do not show significant constitutive NF-kappaB activation, unless exposed to inflammatory cytokines. This does not change when gliomas are implanted into the cerebrum of severe combined immun-deficient mice. Nevertheless, sulfasalazine but not its cleaved form 5-ASA caused a dose-dependent inhibition of glioma growth. This effect was entirely attributable to the inhibition of cystine uptake via the system x(c)(-) cystine-glutamate transporter. It could be mimicked by S-4-carboxy-phenylglycine (S-4-CPG) a more specific system x(c)(-) inhibitor, and lentiviral expression of a constitutively active form of IkappaB kinase b was unable to overcome the growth retarding effects of sulfasalazine or S-4-CPG. Both drugs inhibited cystine uptake causing a chronic depletion of intracellular GSH and consequently compromised cellular redox defense which stymied tumor growth. This data suggests that system x(c)(-) is a promising therapeutic target in gliomas and possibly other cancers and that it can be pharmacologically inhibited by Sulfasalazine, an FDA-approved drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology & Center for Glial Biology in Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0021, USA.
authors.forename: W Joon
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sontheimer
mesh_terms: D027182:Amino Acid Transport System y+ / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D012460:Sulfasalazine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D027182:Amino Acid Transport System y+; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D016328:NF-kappa B; C492255:Slc7a11 protein, mouse; D012460:Sulfasalazine; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase