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Service d’Oncologie et d’Endocrinologie Moléculaires (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Besançon and Institut d’Etude et de Transfert de Gènes) and Contract Recherche INSERM 96.01 (L.B., F.La., F.Lo., S.F., G.L.A.), 25000 Besançon, France; Investigate Treatment Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute East (H.E.), Kashiwa, Chiba 277, Japan; and Istituto di Patologia Generale e Oncologia, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Seconda Università di Napoli (A.W.), 80138 Naples, Italy
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Gérard L. Adessi, M.D., Ph.D., Bâtiment Inserm, 240 route de Dole, 25000 Besançon, France. E-mail: gerard.adessi{at}ufc-chu.univ-fcomte.fr
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Abstract |
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Introduction |
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In cycling human endometrium, VEGF expression is stronger in secretory than in proliferative endometrium and is prominent in the glandular compartment (7) suggesting hormonal regulation. In endometrial carcinoma, the mechanisms responsible for angiogenesis are not well defined. Nevertheless, VEGF appears to notably contribute to tumor angiogenesis and thus to endometrial carcinoma growth (8, 9, 10).
The major risk factor of endometrial carcinoma is defined by overweight of more than 23 kg (11, 12). The metabolic disorders associated with obesity frequently involve hyperinsulinemia. Insulin is a growth factor known for its mitogenic activity with regard to carcinoma cell lines (13, 14). However, the biological role of insulin in endometrial adenocarcinoma is unclear, and although elevated insulin levels may partly explain the increased risk of endometrial cancer observed in obese postmenopausal women (12), the real implication of insulin in the growth of endometrial adenocarcinoma is still a matter of debate (15).
Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the effects of insulin on VEGF expression in endometrial carcinoma cells. The present work is the continuation of a former one (16) in which we showed that insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) increased VEGF expression in endometrial carcinoma cells. The similarities of the signaling pathways activated by these growth factors led us to study the potential role of insulin in tumoral angiogenesis via the regulation of VEGF expression.
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Materials and Methods |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMaterials and MethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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Insulin and other biochemical reagents were purchased from Sigma (Saint Quentin, France) unless otherwise stated. Other chemicals were of the highest grade available.
Cell lines and culture
The HEC-1A, KLE, and RL 95–2 cell lines were purchased from American Type Culture Collection(Biovalley, Conches, France). HEC-1A cells were maintained in phenol red-free McCoy’s 5a medium supplemented with 5% FBS (Life Technologies, Inc., Cergy Pontoise, France) and a 1% antibiotic cocktail (10 mg/mL streptomycin, 10,000 U/mL penicillin, and 25 µg/mL Amphotericin). KLE and RL 95–2 cells were maintained in phenol red-free DMEM/Ham’s F-12 medium supplemented with 10% FBS, 5 µg/mL insulin, and a 1% antibiotic cocktail. Ishikawa cells (clone 3-H-12, no. 23) were provided by Dr. M. Nishida (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan) and maintained in DMEM with phenol red supplemented with 10% FBS and a 1% antibiotic cocktail. All cell lines were tested for the absence of mycoplasma before starting the experiments. The HEC-1A cell line was tested several times for the presence of estrogen receptors (ER) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (Abbott, Rungis, France), and we failed to detect ER (<1 fmol/mg proteins). Castro-Rivera and Safe (17) have shown that HEC-1A cells expressed the wild-type form of the ER and were estradiol responsive. Thus, HEC-1A cells seem to have unsettled features. Therefore, to eliminate any estrogenic effect, HEC-1A cells as well as other cell lines were subcultured for 72 h in the presence of desteroided FBS (dextran-charcoal-treated FBS). For the experiments, cells were trypsinized and seeded in six-well plates (Falcon, Elvetec, Venissieux, France) for 72 h with 2% desteroided FBS, then placed in serum-free medium for 24 h before stimulation. HEC-1A cells were seeded in six-well plates with 1.5 x 105 and 2.5 x 105 cells/well for KLE, RL 95–2, and Ishikawa cells. Stimulations were performed in 1 mL of the appropriate serum-free medium supplemented with 1 mg/mL BSA and with or without insulin.
RNA isolation and Northern blotting analysis
Total RNA from confluent cells was extracted with Tri-Reagent
(Molecular Research Center, Inc., Euromedex,
Souffelweyersheim, France). RNA samples (30 µg) were electrophoresed
through 1.2% agarose gels (SeaKem LE agarose, TEBU, Le
Perray-en-Yvelines, France) for 3 h at 80 V, followed by 1 h
at 100 V, then transferred to nylon membranes (Zeta-Probe GT Genomic,
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Ivry-sur-Seine, France) using
a vacuum blotting system and cross-linked to the membranes by heating
for 1 h at 80 C. Blots were concomitantly hybridized to a VEGF
complementary DNA (cDNA) probe (18) and to a 0.3-kb human
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) probe for 48 h at
42 C with gentle agitation. The cDNA probes were labeled with
[
-32P]deoxy-CTP (NEN Life Science Products, Paris, France) using the random hexamer labeling
method (Prime-a-Gene Labeling System, Promega Corp., Lyon,
France). Final washes were in 0.3 x SSC (standard saline
citrate)-0.1% SDS for 15 min at 55 C. Membranes were then exposed to
the Imaging Screen-CS (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.), and
image analysis was performed using MultiAnalyst software (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.).
VEGF messenger RNA (mRNA) stability
After a 24-h incubation in a serum-free medium with or without 10 nmol/L insulin, actinomycin D (final concentration, 10 µg/mL) was added to block transcription. Cells were harvested 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after the addition of actinomycin D, and Northern blot analysis was performed for VEGF mRNA expression. Densitometric scanning was conducted using the Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. GS-505 Molecular Imager system.
VEGF mRNA run-on analysis
Nuclei were prepared from HEC-1A cells incubated with 10 nmol/L insulin for 4 or 24 h in 75-cm2 flasks. Untreated cells were incubated with McCoy’s 5a medium supplemented with 1 mg/mL BSA. At the end of the incubation cells were rinsed twice with ice-cold PBS and scraped. The cells were then pelleted at 500 x g at 4 C for 5 min, and the supernatants were discarded. Cells were lysed in ice-cold lysis buffer [10 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 10 mmol/L NaCl, 3 mmol/L MgCl2, and 0.5% Nonidet P-40] and allowed to swell on ice for 5 min. The nuclei were pelleted at 500 x g at 4 C for 5 min, and the lysis step was repeated once. The nuclei were then resuspended in 200 µL in 40% glycerol, 5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.1 mmol/L ethylenediamine tetraacetate, and 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 8.3.
The transcription assay was performed by adding to the nuclei
suspension 200 µL transcription buffer [10 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 8), 5
mmol/L MgCl2, 300 mmol/L KCl, and 0.5 mmol/L
dithiothreitol] containing 1 mmol/L each of ATP, CTP, and GTP and 100
mCi [-32P]UTP (SA, 3000 Ci/mmol; NEN Life Science Products) and incubated for 30 min at 30 C. The
sample volumes were adjusted to 1 mL with HSB buffer [10 mmol/L
Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 500 mmol/L NaCl, 50 mmol/L
MgCl2, and 2 mmol/L CaCl2]
containing ribonuclease-free deoxyribonuclease I (20 U/sample) and
incubated for 15 min at 30 C. Each sample was then treated with 200
µL Tris-SDS buffer [500 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 125 mmol/L
ethylenediamine tetraacetate, and 0.5% SDS] and 10 µL of a 20 mg/mL
protein K solution and incubated for 20 min at 42 C. Nuclear RNA was
isolated by the addition of 1 mL Tri-Reagent (Molecular Research Center, Inc., Euromedex) and 200 µL chloroform. After 10 min
at room temperature, the mixture was centrifuged at 12,000 x
g at 4 C for 15 min. The upper aqueous layer was removed and
combined with an equal volume of isopropyl alcohol and incubated at
-70 C overnight. Afterward, samples were centrifuged at 10,000 x
g at 4 C for 20 min, and the pellets were washed with 70%
ethanol and dissolved in diethylpyrocarbonate-treated water. The
labeled RNA obtained was used as a probe for hybridization. Before
hybridization, RNA was heated at 80 C for 1 min.
Nylon membranes (Zeta-Probe GT Genomic, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.) containing 5 µg each of VEGF and GAPDH cDNA were prepared. Five micrograms of DNA in 100 µL sterile water were heated at 95 C for 10 min and placed on ice. The single stranded DNA was slot-blotted using a Millipore Corp. manifold (Bedford, MA), and the membranes were baked at 80 C for 1 h. Filters were prehybridized in 50% formamide, 5 x SSC, 7% SDS, 50 mmol/L sodium phosphate, 2% blocking reagent (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Meylan, France), 0.1% N-lauryl sarcosine, and 50 µg/mL yeast RNA at 42 C for 30 min. The filters were hybridized to the run-on products in 1 mL hybridization solution at 42 C for 48 h. They were washed successively in 2 x SSC-0.1% SDS and 1 x SSC-0.1% SDS at room temperature and finally in 0.3 x SSC-0.1% SDS at 55 C and were exposed to the Imaging Screen Cassette-CS (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.). Densitometric scanning was performed with a Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., GS-505 Molecular Imager system, and image analysis was conducted using MultiAnalyst software (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.). The data were reported as relative increases in the transcription rate of VEGF after normalizing to GAPDH transcriptional rates.
Statistical analysis
When appropriate, data from image analysis and VEGF protein quantification were expressed as the mean ±95% confidence limits. Statistical analysis to test the significance of the differences was performed using t test, and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Before performing the t test, the data were tested using an F test for their variance homogeneities.
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Results |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMaterials and MethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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HEC-1A cells were grown for various time periods with or without
10 nmol/L insulin, and expression of VEGF mRNA was then determined by
Northern blotting. Figure 1
shows that
the VEGF cDNA probe hybridizes with a 4.5- and a 3.7-kb mRNA, the
former being more abundant than the latter. There was also a faint and
inconstantly visible band at 5.2 kb that was not quantified. In
insulin-treated cells, a biphasic response of VEGF mRNA was observed,
with a faint peak after 4 h of stimulation and a more important
one after 24 h. The maximum induction (3.5- and 1.9-fold for the
4.5- and 3.7-kb mRNA, respectively) was reached after a 24-h incubation
period with insulin compared with unstimulated cells for the same time
period (P < 0.05; Fig. 1B). The dose-dependent effect
of insulin on VEGF mRNA expression in HEC-1A cells was then determined
(Fig. 2A). A 24-h incubation period of
HEC-1A cells with various concentrations of insulin showed an increase
in VEGF mRNA expression (Fig. 2B). An ANOVA showed that insulin induced
a significant increase in both the 4.5- and 3.7-kb VEGF mRNA (F =
16.3; P = 1.6 x
10-4 and F = 6.2;
P = 5 x
10-3, respectively).
Subsequently, quantification of VEGF protein in the conditioned medium
of HEC-1A cells was performed. A significant increase in the amounts of
soluble VEGF isoforms was observed in the conditioned medium of cells
stimulated with 10 nmol/L insulin, compared with untreated cells, after
24- and 48-h incubation periods (1.8- and 2.1-fold; P
< 0.002 and P < 0.01 respectively; Fig. 3A). The insulin effect after a 24-h
incubation was dose dependent, and the maximum value was obtained with
100 nmol/L insulin (2.2-fold; P <
10-5; Fig. 3B).
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To define the level of regulation of VEGF expression by
insulin, the half-life as well as the transcription rate of VEGF mRNA
in insulin-stimulated HEC-1A cells were determined. In unstimulated
cells, the half-lives of the 4.5- and 3.7-kb mRNA were statistically
different and were, respectively, 0.8 ± 0.1 and 1.4 ±
0.1 h (P < 0.01). The half-lives of both
messengers were prolonged in HEC-1A cells treated for 24 h with 10
nmol/L insulin (Fig. 4) and were,
respectively, 1.8 ± 0.1 and 2.6 ± 0.2 h. The
differences (stimulated vs. unstimulated) were statistically
significant for both mRNAs (P < 0.001). Concurrently,
the run-on analysis showed that after 4 h of stimulation (Fig. 5), insulin induced a faint increase in
the VEGF transcription rate (1.3-fold), which could be the
cause of the faint peak observed by Northern blotting. In other
respects, after 24 h of stimulation, insulin induced a 3.4-fold
increase in the VEGF transcription rate compared with that
in unstimulated cells (Fig. 5). However, the run-on analysis does not
permit a study of both the 4.5- and 3.7-kb mRNAs separately, and the
increase in the transcription rate therefore corresponds to both
transcripts. Thus, it appeared that insulin regulated VEGF expression
at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels in HEC-1A
cells.
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The effect of insulin on VEGF mRNA expression was tested in
several endometrial adenocarcinoma cell lines. Figure 6 shows that insulin enhanced VEGF mRNA
expression after 4- and 24-h incubation periods in HEC-1A and Ishikawa
cells, whereas there was no response in KLE and RL 95–2 cells, which,
moreover, respectively expressed moderate and low levels of VEGF mRNA
in these conditions.
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Discussion |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMaterials and MethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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/Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear
Translocator transcription complex formation, which specifically
binds the hypoxia response element present in the promoter of numerous
genes, such as VEGF or EPO (erythropoietin), and
thus induces their transcription. However, the protein kinase B and
mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways usually activated
by insulin could be implicated, directly or indirectly, in the
regulation of VEGF expression. The mechanisms responsible for VEGF mRNA
stabilization are not well understood, but it appeared that
3'-untranslated region-specific sequences were implicated. Indeed, Shih
and Claffey (20) identified a hypoxia-sensible region in
the 3'-untranslated region of VEGF mRNA that is able to specifically
interact with heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L and reduce mRNA
degradation. As hypoxia shares with insulin the ability to regulate
the expression of some stress-induced genes by similar mechanisms
(19), it can be hypothesized that insulin also stabilizes
VEGF mRNA via an increase in heterogeneous nuclear
ribonucleoprotein L expression. The modest effect of insulin on VEGF protein expression could result from the behavior of the different VEGF isoforms. Thus, after the translation of VEGF messengers, only VEGF121 and a part of VEGF165 proteins are soluble forms in the extracellular medium and are detected by ELISA assays, whereas other isoforms escape from the ELISA quantification and could thus contribute to an underestimation of VEGF protein quantification.
The VEGF cDNA probe hybridized with three different messengers of 5.2, 4.5, and 3.7 kb, which were reported in a previous work (16). The relation between these different messengers and the major VEGF isoforms (189, 165, and 121 amino acids) has not been completely elucidated, and a link can be substantiated between the 5.2-, 4.5-, and 3.7-kb mRNA and the 189-, 165-, and 121-VEGF isoforms, respectively. However, the existence of an alternative initiation site of transcription 633 bp downstream of the main transcription start site (21) may enhance the complexity of VEGF regulation.
The faint VEGF expression in both KLE and RL 95–2 cells could be the result of low levels of insulin receptor expression. Nagamani and Stuart (14) have shown the presence of insulin receptors in five human endometrial carcinoma cell lines (HEC-1A, HEC-1B, RL 95–2, KLE, and AN3 CA), but at low levels on RL 95–2 cells. However, insulin stimulated the cell growth of all cell lines tested, and it can be suggested that mitogenic and VEGF stimulations by insulin may be transduced by different pathways. Another explanation refers to the degree of differentiation of these cell lines. Fujimoto et al. (10) analyzed VEGF expression in endometrial cancers and found that VEGF protein levels were higher in well differentiated cells (G1) compared with those in moderately (G2) and poorly (G3) differentiated cells. The lowest levels of VEGF mRNA were observed in the KLE and RL 95–2 cell lines, which are, respectively, poorly and moderately differentiated cells, while HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells, which expressed higher levels of VEGF mRNA, are moderately to well differentiated cells. Thus, VEGF expression could be decreased during endometrial cancer progression with dedifferentiation and might therefore contribute to the early process of tumoral growth via angiogenic activity. In a previous work (16) we observed a similar profile of VEGF mRNA expression in these four cell lines stimulated with IGF-I, except in the Ishikawa cell line, in which IGF-I failed to increase VEGF mRNA expression. This difference could be the result of large amounts of IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs), especially IGFBP-3 secreted by Ishikawa cells, which inhibit the action of IGF-I (22). Here, the low affinity of insulin for the IGFBPs does not impede insulin action on Ishikawa cells. Nevertheless, it cannot be excluded that insulin might regulate the expression of other angiogenic factors by endometrial carcinoma cells, namely VEGF B, VEGF C, VEGF D, or basic fibroblast growth factor, which could cooperate with VEGF to promote vascular growth. As the ability of insulin to induce VEGF expression is unlikely to be restricted to tumoral cells, such activity is likely to play a significant role in other pathologies characterized by neovascularization, such as diabetic retinopathy.
In summary, insulin could contribute to vascular growth due to its ability to regulate VEGF expression in endometrial carcinoma cells. Thus, the increased risk of endometrial carcinoma linked with severe obesity might be partially due to the hyperinsulinemia via the induction of VEGF expression, a potent angiogenic factor, by tumoral cells.
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Acknowledgments |
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Footnotes |
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Received June 12, 2000.
Revised September 22, 2000.
Accepted October 5, 2000.
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References |
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TopAbstractIntroductionMaterials and MethodsResultsDiscussionReferences |
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/ARNT. EMBO J. 17:5085–5094.[CrossRef][Medline]
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