Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Mutations leading to activation of the Ras oncogenes and inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene are two of the most common alterations in lung cancer. As the tumor growth inhibitory action of chemotherapy and radiation therapy generally requires wild-type p53 function, lung tumors with p53 mutations or deletions develop resistance to therapy resulting in ultimate death of the patients. Moreover, oncogenic Ras activation and p53 inactivation results in elevated NF-kB activity that contributes to cell survival and therapeutic resistance. Tumor growth is regulated by a complex network of interactions between normal cells and cancer cells. In addition to local interactions, tumor growth may be influenced by growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting factors produced systemically by the host. Accordingly, cancer therapeutics can be aptly utilized to regulate the systemic environment in order to directly target aberrant growth. Understanding the mechanisms associated with systemic secretion of pro-apoptotic proteins by normal cells and their effect on tumor epithelial cells is a critical facet of such investigations. A majority of the cells throughout the body of lug cancer patients are normal and have wild type p53 status. This proposal will explore whether p53 activation in normal cells triggers paracrine cell death in p53-deficient lung tumors. As p53 activation only partially inhibits NF-kB activity, our Preliminary Studies used co-parallel activation of p53 and inhibition of NF-kB in normal cells to identify secreted protein(s) that can cause a paracrine apoptotic effect in p53-deficient lung cancer cells. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that p53 regulates the secretion of the pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor protein Par-4 from normal cells for paracrine effect in cancer cells, and that maximum induction of Par-4 protein by p53 activation and NF-kB inhibition from normal cells should effectively induce apoptosis in p53-deficient lung tumors in mice. The proposed study will explore the feasibility of this novel area of investigation by pursuing two Specific Aims.
(Aim 1) Determine the mechanism by which p53 activation in normal cells induces tumor cell apoptosis. We will study the kinetics and mechanism of Par-4 secretion induced by p53 in diverse normal cell types leading to apoptosis of p53-deficient lung cancer cells.
(Aim 2) Determine the paracrine effect of Par-4 secretion, which is induced by p53 activation in normal cells, on p53-deficient lung tumors. After concomitant activation of p53 and inhibition of NF-kB activity, we will test the kinetics of systemic elevation of Par-4 protein and its effect on apoptosis and regression of lung tumors in K-rasLSL-G12D,p53Fl/Fl mice. Moreover, mechanistic studies will be undertaken to gain deeper insights into the functional role of Par-4 in the paracrine action on these tumors in mice. Collectively, these studies will uncover the feasibility and mechanism of the paracrine effects of p53 activation in normal cells for apoptosis and regression of p53-deficient lung cancer. As p53 is mutated in diverse cancers, the findings of this study will have broad translational implications.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed studies will examine the paracrine effect of co-parallel activation of p53 and inhibition of NF-kB in normal cells on p53-deficient lung cancer cel lines and tumors. Both cell culture and mouse models will be used to determine the mechanism of tumor suppressor Par-4 protein secretion by normal cells. The findings will validate the role of Par-4 in mediating the paracrine tumor suppressor effect of p53.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21CA179283-02
Application #
8828616
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1)
Program Officer
Salnikow, Konstantin
Project Start
2014-04-01
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2015-04-01
Budget End
2017-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Kentucky
Department
Radiation-Diagnostic/Oncology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
939017877
City
Lexington
State
KY
Country
United States
Zip Code
40506
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Hebbar, Nikhil; Burikhanov, Ravshan; Shukla, Nidhi et al. (2017) A Naturally Generated Decoy of the Prostate Apoptosis Response-4 Protein Overcomes Therapy Resistance in Tumors. Cancer Res 77:4039-4050
Singh, Anup Kumar; Chauhan, Shikha S; Singh, Sudhir Kumar et al. (2016) Dual targeting of MDM2 with a novel small-molecule inhibitor overcomes TRAIL resistance in cancer. Carcinogenesis 37:1027-1040
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Sarkar, Shayan; Jain, Sumeet; Rai, Vineeta et al. (2015) Plant-derived SAC domain of PAR-4 (Prostate Apoptosis Response 4) exhibits growth inhibitory effects in prostate cancer cells. Front Plant Sci 6:822
Burikhanov, Ravshan; Sviripa, Vitaliy M; Hebbar, Nikhil et al. (2014) Arylquins target vimentin to trigger Par-4 secretion for tumor cell apoptosis. Nat Chem Biol 10:924-926
Burikhanov, Ravshan; Shrestha-Bhattarai, Tripti; Hebbar, Nikhil et al. (2014) Paracrine apoptotic effect of p53 mediated by tumor suppressor Par-4. Cell Rep 6:271-7