Erika L. Abel

A proposed primary pathway through which polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) disrupt normal biological functions is oxidative stress. In the present study, 4 PBDE congeners were evaluated for their potential to initiate oxidative stress in zebrafish during development: BDE 28, BDE 47, BDE 99, and BDE 100. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was used to increase intracellular glutathione concentrations and only decreased the effects of BDE 28 at 10 ppm and 20 ppm and BDE 47 at 20 ppm. N-acetylcysteine coexposure did not alter the rates of mortality or curved body axis compared with PBDE exposure alone. The activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was not altered at 24 h postfertilization (hpf), but increased following 10 ppm BDE 28 exposure at 120 hpf. Transcription of several genes associated with stress was also evaluated. At 24 hpf, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 6a (COX6a) transcription was up-regulated in embryos exposed to BDE 99, and BDE 28 exposure up-regulated the transcription of Glutathione-S-transferase-pi (GSTpi). At 24 hpf, glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCLC) was slightly down-regulated by all congeners evaluated. At 120 hpf, TNF receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1) and COX6A were up-regulated by all congeners, however GSTpi was down-regulated by all congeners. The results of quantitative real-time transcription polymerase chain reaction are mixed and do not strongly support a transcriptional response to oxidative stress. According to the authors' data, PBDEs do not induce oxidative stress. Oxidative stress may occur at high exposure concentrations; however, this does not appear to be a primary mechanism of action for the PBDE congeners tested. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:1154–1160. © 2015 SETAC

Although it is well known that the majority of human cancers occur as the result of exposure to environmental carcinogens, it is clear that not all individuals exposed to a specific environmental carcinogen have the same risk of developing cancer. Considerable evidence indicates that common allelic variants of low-penetrance, tumor susceptibility genes are responsible for this interindividual variation in risk. We previously reported a skin tumor promotion susceptibility locus, Psl1, which maps to the distal portion of chromosome 9, that modified skin tumor promotion susceptibility in the mouse. Furthermore, Psl1 was shown to consist of at least two subloci (i.e., Psl1.1 and Psl1.2) and that glutathione S-transferase alpha 4 (Gsta4), which maps to Psl1.2, is a skin tumor promotion susceptibility gene. Finally, variants of human GSTA4 were found to be associated with risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer. In the current study, a combination of nested and contiguous C57BL/6 congenic mouse strains, each inheriting a different portion of the Psl1 locus from DBA/2, were tested for susceptibility to skin tumor promotion with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. These analyses indicate that Psl1 is a compound locus with at least six genes, including Gsta4, that modify skin tumor promotion susceptibility. More than 550 protein-coding genes map within the Psl1 locus. Fine mapping of the Psl1 locus, along with two-strain haplotype analysis, gene expression analysis, and the identification of genes with amino acid variants, has produced a list of fewer than 25 candidate skin tumor promotion susceptibility genes.

The current study was designed to explore the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (Stat1) during tumor promotion using the mouse skin multistage carcinogenesis model. Topical treatment with both 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA) and 3‐methyl‐1,8‐dihydroxy‐9‐anthrone (chrysarobin or CHRY) led to rapid phosphorylation of Stat1 on both tyrosine (Y701) and serine (S727) residues in epidermis. CHRY treatment also led to upregulation of unphosphorylated Stat1 (uStat1) at later time points. CHRY treatment also led to upregulation of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF‐1) mRNA and protein, which was dependent on Stat1. Further analyses demonstrated that topical treatment with CHRY but not TPA upregulated interferon‐gamma (IFNγ) mRNA in the epidermis and that the induction of both IRF‐1 and uStat1 was dependent on IFNγ signaling. Stat1 deficient (Stat1^−/−) mice were highly resistant to skin tumor promotion by CHRY. In contrast, the tumor response (in terms of both papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas) was similar in Stat1^−/− mice and wild‐type littermates with TPA as the promoter. Maximal induction of both cyclooxygenase‐2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase in epidermis following treatment with CHRY was also dependent on the presence of functional Stat1. These studies define a novel mechanism associated with skin tumor promotion by the anthrone class of tumor promoters involving upregulation of IFNγ signaling in the epidermis and downstream signaling through activated (phosphorylated) Stat1, IRF‐1 and uStat1.

Genetic susceptibility to two-stage skin carcinogenesis is known to vary significantly among different stocks and strains of mice. In an effort to identify specific protein changes or altered signaling pathways associated with skin tumor promotion susceptibility, a proteomic approach was used to examine and identify proteins that were differentially expressed in epidermis between promotion-sensitive DBA/2 and promotion-resistant C57BL/6 mice following treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). We identified 19 differentially expressed proteins of which 5 were the calcium-binding proteins annexin A1, parvalbumin α, S100A8, S100A9, and S100A11. Further analyses revealed that S100A8 and S100A9 protein levels were also similarly differentially upregulated in epidermis of DBA/2 versus C57BL/6 mice following topical treatment with two other skin tumor promoters, okadaic acid and chrysarobin. Pathway analysis of all 19 identified proteins from the present study suggested that these proteins were components of several networks that included inflammation-associated proteins known to be involved in skin tumor promotion (e.g. TNF-α, NFκB). Follow-up studies revealed that Tnf, Nfkb1, Il22, Il1b, Cxcl1, Cxcl2 and Cxcl5 mRNAs were highly expressed in epidermis of DBA/2 compared with C57BL/6 mice at 24h following treatment with TPA. Furthermore, NFκB (p65) was also highly activated at the same time point (as measured by phosphorylation at ser276) in epidermis of DBA/2 mice compared with C57BL/6 mice. Taken together, the present data suggest that differential expression of genes involved in inflammatory pathways in epidermis may play a key role in genetic differences in susceptibility to skin tumor promotion in DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice.

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a vesicating agent that was first used in chemical warfare over 100 years ago. SM alkylates DNA and is mutagenic in various model systems. Epidemiological studies indicate that chronic exposure increases the risk of cancer in exposed tissues. Due to its incapacitating effects, and the relative ease with which it may be synthesized, mustard gas remains a potential chemical threat to the present day. Currently, there are no antidotes for SM-induced toxicity; therefore, chemopreventive and therapeutic measures are needed. Glutathione (GSH) exerts a protective effect against SM toxicity, and detoxification of SM is believed to occur, in part, via GSH conjugation. The rate-limiting step in GSH synthesis is catalyzed by the glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) holoenzyme, which is composed of a catalytic and a regulatory subunit (GCLC and GCLM, respectively). Cancer chemopreventive agents are known to modulate expression of GCL and GSH S-transferases (GSTs) via activation of the transcription factor, Nrf2, and may, therefore, have utility in inhibiting SM-induced damage in the skin. We have screened 6 chemopreventive agents for ability to induce GSH synthesis and protect cultured NCTC2544 human keratinocytes against the SM analogue, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES). We found that sulforaphane and methyl-2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-dien-28-oate (CDDO-Me) stimulated nuclear localization of Nrf2 and induced expression of GCLM. Additionally, we found that treatment with CDDO-Me elevated reduced GSH content of NCTC2544 cells (118.0±11.6 nmol/mg protein versus 66.5±7.9 nmol/mg protein) and preserved their viability by ∼3-fold following exposure to CEES. CDDO-Me acted additively with 2,6-dithiopurine (DTP), a nucleophilic scavenging agent, to increase the viability of keratinocytes exposed to CEES by 6-fold (60% in cells treated with a combination of CDDO-Me and DTP vs 10% in cells treated with vehicle only). In vivo, topical application of either sulforaphane or CDDO-Me elevated epidermal GSH and GST levels in the skin of C57BL/6 mice. These results suggest that CDDO-Me and sulforaphane are promising chemopreventive agents for SM toxicity in the skin. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1339. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1339

Inflammation is a key component of cancer development in many tissues. Emerging clinical observations support the idea of a strong association of chronic inflammation and cancer. The JAK-STAT pathway is one of the major signaling pathways involved in modulating both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. Aberrant expression of STATs has been reported in multiple human cancers and in animal models of tumorigenesis. Previous work performed in our lab demonstrated a role for Stat1 in mediating the promotion stage of epithelial multi-stage carcinogenesis in mouse skin when chrysarobin was used as the promoting agent. To further investigate the role of Stat1 in chrysarobin-mediated skin tumor promotion, Stat1 knockout (KO) mice and wild-type controls were treated with chrysarobin and the inflammatory response was assessed. Stat1 deficiency caused a reduction in the dermal inflammatory response following a single topical application of chrysarobin. In this regard, Stat1 KO mice had reduced dermal immune cell influx following chrysarobin treatment. In particular, Stat1 KO mice exhibited reduced influx of macrophages following a single application. Other results also suggest that Stat1 may regulate various cytokine/chemokines involved in the inflammatory response following chrysarobin treatment. Mice deficient in Stat1 displayed an attenuated induction of Cox-2 mRNA and protein compared to wild-type controls following a single application of chrysarobin (200 nmol per mouse). This latter data suggest that Stat1 may be involved in the regulation of Cox-2 in keratinocytes. Collectively, these findings suggest that Stat1 may contribute to chrysarobin-mediated skin tumor promotion by regulating, in part, levels of Cox-2, PGE2 and ultimately skin inflammation. These and other ongoing studies aimed at identifying the mechanistic basis for the role of Stat1 in chrysarobin-mediated tumor promotion will be presented. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2730. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2730