Cancer has been postulated to be a disorder of differentiation. It is proposed to examine the ability of differentiation inducers to act as anti-tumor agents in solid tumors of epithelia, using a mouse epidermal cell model. Mouse epidermal cells exhibit 4 stages of differentiation similar to human epidermal cells, with characterized morphologic and immunologic markers, and they contain keratin, a protein marker common to internal lining epithelia such as nasopharynx, trachea, bladder and colon. Mouse epidermal cell clones recently developed in our laboratory offer an approach to these studies because they respond, like normal primary epidermal cultures, to extracellular Ca++ as a differentiation signal. Unlike primary cultures however, this model provides """"""""normal"""""""", carcinogen-altered but non-tumorigenic, and benign and malignant tumor lines from a common cell lineage, suitable for reproducible tests of drug efficacy and mechanism of action. This model offers the additional advantages of permitting colony assays for more precise quantitation of drug effects as well as permitting selective quantitation of malignant vs. normal cells after drug treatment in mixed culture. Differentiation inducers active in vitro, like Ca++, or which may be active in vivo, like retinoids, Ca++ or K+ channel blockers, or modulators of protein kinase C, an enzyme involved in epidermal growth regulation, will be tested for ability to selectively attack neoplastic cells, either alone, or in combination with certain agents currently used in the treatment of human squamous cell cancers. The following alternative hypotheses are to be tested: First, that differentiation inducers act directly on tumor cells to arrest their growth and divert them toward terminal differentiation, or secondly, that they may be used to selectively protect normal cells, by temporary cell cycle arrest, from subsequent treatment with an anti-proliferative agent, which would be effective on the regulator-insensitive, proliferating tumor cells. The potency of each agent for inducing differentiation markers in normal vs. tumor cells and selectively inhibiting the growth of neoplastic cells will be assessed. Agents or combinations found to be effective in vitro will be tested in vivo. The proposed studies of these natural tissue specific agents in chemotherapy may suggest new, less toxic approaches to the treatment of human cancer.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA042852-03
Application #
3184469
Study Section
Experimental Therapeutics Subcommittee 2 (ET)
Project Start
1986-08-01
Project End
1990-07-31
Budget Start
1988-08-01
Budget End
1990-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1988
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Buffalo
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14263
Kulesz-Martin, M F; Blumenson, L E; Manly, K F et al. (1991) Tumor progression of murine epidermal cells after treatment in vitro with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or retinoic acid. Cancer Res 51:4701-6
Kulesz-Martin, M; Glurich, I; Lisafeld, B et al. (1990) Induction by transforming growth factor beta of pemphigus vulgaris antigen activity in mouse papilloma cells. Cancer Res 50:686-90
Kulesz-Martin, M; Kozlowski, P; Glurich, I et al. (1989) Pemphigoid, pemphigus and desmoplakin as antigenic markers of differentiation in normal and tumorigenic mouse keratinocyte lines. Cell Tissue Kinet 22:279-90