Heuberger Dorothea M, Wolint Petra, Jang Jae-Hwi, Itani Saria, Jungraithmayr Wolfgang, Waschkies Conny F, Meier-Bürgisser Gabriella, Andreoli Stefano, Spanaus Katharina, Schuepbach Reto A, Calcagni Maurizio, Fahrni Christoph J, Buschmann Johanna
Institute of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Sternwartstrasse 14, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
Division of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Sternwartstrasse 14, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
Cancers (Basel). 2022 Oct 19;14(20):5122. doi: 10.3390/cancers14205122.
Human lung cancer ranks among the most frequently treated cancers worldwide. As copper appears critical to angiogenesis and tumor growth, selective removal of copper represents a promising strategy to restrict tumor growth. To this end, we explored the activity of the novel high-affinity membrane-permeant Cu(I) chelator PSP-2 featuring a low-zeptomolar dissociation constant. Using H460 human lung cancer cells, we generated small tumors on the chorioallantoic membrane of the chicken embryo (CAM assay) and studied the effects of topical PSP-2 application on their weight and vessel density after one week. We observed a significant angiosuppression along with a marked decrease in tumor weight under PSP-2 application compared to controls. Moreover, PSP-2 exposure resulted in lower ki67 cell numbers at a low dose but increased cell count under a high dose. Moreover, HIF-1α cells were significantly reduced with low-dose PSP-2 exposure compared to high-dose and control. The total copper content was considerably lower in PSP-2 treated tumors, although statistically not significant. Altogether, PSP-2 shows promising potential as an anti-cancer drug. Nevertheless, further animal experiments and application to different tumor types are mandatory to support these initial findings, paving the way toward clinical trials.
人类肺癌是全球最常见的需治疗癌症之一。由于铜对血管生成和肿瘤生长似乎至关重要,选择性去除铜是限制肿瘤生长的一种有前景的策略。为此,我们探究了新型高亲和力膜渗透性Cu(I)螯合剂PSP - 2的活性,其解离常数低至zeptomolar级别。我们使用H460人肺癌细胞,在鸡胚尿囊膜上生成小肿瘤(鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜试验),并研究了局部应用PSP - 2一周后对肿瘤重量和血管密度的影响。与对照组相比,我们观察到在应用PSP - 2后出现了显著的血管生成抑制以及肿瘤重量明显下降。此外,低剂量PSP - 2暴露导致ki67细胞数量减少,而高剂量时细胞数量增加。而且,与高剂量和对照组相比,低剂量PSP - 2暴露使HIF - 1α细胞显著减少。PSP - 2处理的肿瘤中总铜含量明显较低,尽管在统计学上不显著。总之,PSP - 2作为一种抗癌药物显示出有前景的潜力。然而,需要进一步的动物实验以及应用于不同肿瘤类型来支持这些初步发现,为临床试验铺平道路。