doi:10.1369/jhc.4A6572.2005
Volume 53 (8): 989-995, 2005 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Immunocytochemical Localization of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide, Vessel Dilator, Long-acting Natriuretic Peptide, and Kaliuretic Peptide in Human Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas
Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Internal Medicine, Pathology, Physiology and Biophysics, University of South Florida Cardiac Hormone Center (SRS,AHG,LCC,WRG,DLV), and James A. Haley Veteran's Administration Medical Center (SRS,JS,WRG,DLV), Tampa, Florida Correspondence to: David L. Vesely, MD, PhD, Director, Cardiac Hormone Center University of South Florida for Health Sciences, 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612. E-mail: david.vesely{at}med.va.gov
We recently found that four peptide hormones synthesized by the same gene completely inhibit the growth of human pancreatic adenocarcinomas in athymic mice. The present immunocytochemical investigation was designed to determine where in the adenocarcinomas these peptide hormones localize. Atrial natriuretic peptide, vessel dilator, long-acting natriuretic peptide, and kaliuretic peptide localized to the cytoplasm and nucleus of the human pancreatic adenocarcinomas, which is consistent with their ability to decrease DNA synthesis in the nucleus of this cancer. In this first investigation of where these peptide hormones with anticancer effects localize in any cancer, these peptide hormones also localized to the endothelium of capillaries and fibroblasts within these cancers. This is the first demonstration of growth-inhibiting peptide hormones localizing to the nucleus, where they inhibit DNA synthesis and may interact with growth-promoting hormones that localize there as the etiology of their ability to inhibit the growth of adenocarcinomas both in vitro and in vivo. (J Histochem Cytochem 53:989995, 2005)
Key Words: atrial natriuretic peptides immunocytochemistry pancreatic adenocarcinomas
A FAMILY OF PEPTIDE HORMONES referred to as atrial natriuretic peptides (ANPs) are synthesized mainly within the heart and stored in the atrial myocyte as prohormones for rapid release in response to stimuli (Brenner et al. 1990
We have found that vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, and ANP decrease the number of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells in culture by 65%, 47%, 37%, and 34%, respectively, within 24 hr (Vesely et al. 2003
In vivo, vessel dilator (139 ng·min1·kg1 of body weight) infused for 14 d completely stopped the growth of the human pancreatic adenocarcinomas in athymic mice (n=14) with a decrease in their tumor volume, whereas the tumor volume increased 69-fold (p<0.001) in the placebo-treated mice (n=30) (Vesely et al. 2004 The present investigation was designed to determine where these peptide hormones localize within human pancreatic cancers. Where these peptide hormones localize within any cancer has never been investigated.
Tissue Samples The human pancreatic adenocarcinomas growing in athymic mice were removed after separate four-week infusions via Alzet Model 2004 osmotic pumps (Duret Corporation; Cupertino, CA) of vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, and ANP with each peptide at a concentration of 1.4 µg·min1·kg1 body weight) (Vesely et al. 2004
Immunohistochemistry
Cross-reactivity of Vessel Dilator, LANP, Kaliuretic Peptide, and ANP
Immunoperoxidase staining of vessel dilator was very strong (+++) in the cytoplasm of the human adenocarcinoma cells (Figure 1A) compared with control adenocarcinoma cells (insert, Figure 1D), which did not receive a vessel dilator infusion in vivo. Essentially all of the cytoplasm and perinuclear areas of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells had strong staining with vessel dilator (Figure 1A). The nucleus of the adenocarcinoma cells had weaker (+) but discernible vessel dilator immunoperoxidase staining (insert, Figure 1A). Vessel dilator also localized (+++) to the endothelium of the small capillaries invading the human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. On histological hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining, there were not any large blood vessels (e.g., arteries) within these tumors, but numerous small capillaries invading this tumor could be visualized (Figure 2) . In the H & E evaluation, one can observe mitosis occurring within the cancer cells with their nuclei clearly discernible (Figure 2). Each of the tumors had necrotic centers in both the treated and untreated adenocarcinomas. Vessel dilator also localized to the fibroblasts within the adenocarcinomas where the cytoplasm, but not the nuclei, of the fibroblasts stained positive for vessel dilator (Figure 1A).
LANP had a slightly stronger (++++) immunoperoxidase staining of the cytoplasm, but similar intensity (+++) of immunoperoxidase staining of the perinuclear area and nucleus (+) of the human pancreatic adenocarcinomas compared with vessel dilator (Figure 1B). Strong (++++) LANP immunoperoxidase staining was noted in the endothelium in the small capillaries in the adenocarcinomas (Figure 1B). LANP staining of the fibroblasts within this tumor was more intense (++++) than with vessel dilator (Figure 1B). Kaliuretic peptide immunoperoxidase staining in the adenocarcinomas infused with kaliuretic peptide had a decreased intensity compared with the other peptide hormones (Table 1 and Figure 1C). Kaliuretic peptide, however, localized to the same structures within the human pancreatic adenocarcinomas (Figure 1C). Thus kaliuretic peptide immunoperoxidase staining (+) localized to the nucleus of the cancer cells similar to that observed with vessel dilator and LANP (Figure 1C). Staining of the cytoplasm (++) of the human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells with kaliuretic peptide was less than that observed with vessel dilator, but there was definite localization of kaliuretic peptide to the cytoplasm. Kaliuretic peptide also localized to the endothelium of the small capillaries and to fibroblasts (Figure 1C), with an intensity similar to that of its localization to cytoplasm.
ANP had very strong immunoperoxidase (++++) localization to the cytoplasm of the human pancreatic cells (Figure 1D). ANP had slightly stronger immunoperoxidase staining of the nucleus (++) than each of the other peptide hormones (Table 1). ANP also had a very strong (+++) localization to the endothelium of the capillaries invading this cancer. Strong (++++) ANP immunoperoxidase staining was also present in the fibroblasts in this tumor (Figure 1D). The immunohistochemical data are summarized in Table 1. There was not any immunoperoxidase staining with vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, or ANP in the human adenocarcinomas when their respective primary antisera were either substituted with normal rabbit serum (Figure 1D) or when the primary antibody was preincubated with an excess of vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, or ANP in their respective immunoperoxidase assays for 24 hr at 37C.
This is the first demonstration of the localization of four peptide hormones synthesized by the ANP gene in any cancer. Human pancreatic adenocarcinomas were chosen as the first cancer to be investigated because people with pancreatic adenocarcinoma have the lowest 5-year survival rate (1%; with a median survival of only 4 months) of all common human malignancies (Pitchumoni 1998
Vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, and ANP had a very strong localization to the cytoplasm of these cancer cells. We had hypothesized that if these peptide hormones were reaching the nucleus to inhibit DNA synthesis, they should also be abundantly present in the cytoplasm after binding to the cell surface receptors on plasma membranes of the cancer cells. These peptides are known to bind to specific receptors in the plasma membranes of normal and cancer cells (Vesely et al. 1987
There is evidence that other peptides are transported from the external plasma membrane to the nucleus (Burack and Shaw 2000
These peptide hormones do have an intracellular mediator within the cytoplasm (i.e., cGMP) (Brenner et al. 1990
It is important to note that all of the previously reported peptide hormones that localize to the nucleus (i.e., insulin, epidermal growth factor, nerve growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone, and human chronic gonadotrophin) (Burwen and Jones 1987
In the present investigation, these peptide hormones also localized to the endothelium of the blood vessels growing into this cancer. This finding is similar to previous finding (Figure 3)
that these peptide hormones localized to the endothelium of blood vessels of normal kidneys (Ramirez et al. 1992
LANP, vessel dilator, ANP, and kaliuretic peptide also localized to the fibroblasts within the adenocarcinomas in the present investigation. It could not be determined with certainty whether these peptide hormones were being synthesized by the fibroblasts or whether they localized to the fibroblasts after their infusion. ANP prohormone mRNA is present in fibroblasts, which indicates that vessel dilator, LANP, kaliuretic peptide, and ANP, which are derived from the ANP prohormone, are synthesized by fibroblasts (Kawano et al. 2000
We thank Charlene Pennington for excellent secretarial assistance and Quentin W. McAfee for culturing the human pancreatic cells before their injection into athymic mice to form tumors. This study was funded in part by a grant from the Darren Manelski Foundation, New York, NY.
Received for publication November 3, 2004; accepted March 4, 2005
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