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Quercetin (Q) is a flavonoid widely distributed in the plant kingdom and well-known for its ability to exert antioxidant, prooxidant and anticarcinogenic activities in several tumor cells. Furthermore, quercetin plays an important role both in the regulation of key elements in cellular signal transduction pathways related to apoptotic cell death, and in cell cycle progression. Several studies have reported of toxic effects of Q against glioma cell lines. In this study, the effects of Q and of some Q-derivatives (acyl esters and bromo-derivatives) on U373-MG and 9L glioma cell lines survival are analyzed. The 24-hour treatment of glioma cells with several concentrations of Q (25, 50 and 100 ?M) did not cause any cytotoxic effects, while the administration of Q-derivatives, such as acylated and brominated quercetin, caused a sharp increase in cell death. Among all tested derivatives, 3-O-decanoylquercetin 10 manifested the strongest cytotoxic effect at a concentration as low as 25 ?M both in U373-MG (ca. 40% viability after 24 hours) and in 9L cells (ca. 20% viability after 24 hours).The cytotoxic effects of the Q-derivatives 3 and 10 - 13 were proven to be satisfactorily selective for glioma cells. When Q-derivatives were in fact administered to primary astroglial or human fibroblast cell cultures, a higher cell survival rate (~ 90-70% and 55-45%, respectively) was observed relative to that detected in glioma cells. These results prove that selective esterification and bromination of Q increase to a great extent the toxicity of this polyphenol against glioma cells, thereby providing a possible new tool for cyto-specific glioma therapy.

The FHIT gene has many hallmarks of a tumor-suppressor gene and is involved in a large variety of cancers. We treated A/J mice and (C57BL/6J × 129/SvJ)F 1 (B6/129 F 1 ) mice, either wild-type or FHIT +/− , with multiple doses of benzo[ a ]pyrene (B[ a ]P) by gavage. B[ a ]P caused a time-related increase of micronuclei in peripheral blood erythrocytes. Both A/J and B6/129 F 1 mice, irrespective of their FHIT status, were sensitive to induction of forestomach tumors, whereas B[ a ]P induced glandular stomach hyperplasia and a high multiplicity of lung tumors in A/J mice only. Preneoplastic lesions of the uterus were more frequent in FHIT +/− mice. B6/129 F 1 mice underwent spontaneous alopecia areata and hair bulb cell apoptosis, which were greatly accelerated either by FHIT heterozygosity or by B[ a ]P treatment, thus suggesting that FHIT plays a role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata. The oral administration of either budesonide or N -acetyl- l -cysteine (NAC) inhibited the occurrence of this inflammatory skin disease. In addition, these agents prevented B[ a ]P-induced glandular stomach hyperplasia and decreased the size of both forestomach tumors and lung tumors in A/J mice. Budesonide also attenuated lung tumor multiplicity. In B6/129 F 1 mice, NAC significantly decreased the proliferating cell nuclear antigen in lung tumors. Both budesonide and NAC inhibited B[ a ]P-induced forestomach tumors and preneoplastic lesions of the respiratory tract in B6/129 F 1 mice. In conclusion, heterozygosity for FHIT affects susceptibility of mice to spontaneous alopecia areata and B[ a ]P-induced preneoplastic lesions of the uterus and does not alter responsiveness to budesonide and NAC.

Dexamethasone (DEX), a glucocorticoid hormone (GCH) with specificity for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) induces T lymphocyte and thymocyte apoptosis. DEX-activated thymocyte apoptosis requires a sequence of biochemical events including mRNA and protein synthesis. In particular, GCH treatment induces non-genomic mechanisms, such as for example Ca(2+) mobilization and PI-PLC activation, and genomic mechanisms. Most of these events, including protein synthesis, are required and precede caspase activation. As protein synthesis is required for caspases and apoptosis activation, DEX-induced GR nuclear translocation is necessary for apoptosis. Cell treatment with geldanamycin (GA) inhibits the GR nuclear translocation and consequently, caspases activation and apoptosis. Although DEX treatment induces loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (deltapsim) and cytochrome c release, deltapsim induction does not correlate with thymocyte apoptosis. In fact, while Cyclosporin-A and the caspase-9 inhibitor, Z-LEHD-FMK, inhibit DEX-induced deltapsim, do not influence apoptosis. These data indicate many biochemical events and are activated by DEX treatment of thymocytes and some, but not all, are required for apoptosis.

Glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) is a leucine zipper protein, whose expression is augmented by dexamethasone (DEX) treatment and downregulated by T-cell receptor (TCR) triggering. Stable expression of GILZ in T cells mimics some of the effects of glucocorticoid hormones (GCH) in GCH-mediated immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory activity. In fact, GILZ overexpression inhibits TCR-activated NF-kappaB nuclear translocation, interleukin-2 production, FasL upregulation, and the consequent activation-induced apoptosis. We have investigated the molecular mechanism underlying GILZ-mediated regulation of T-cell activation by analyzing the effects of GILZ on the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family members, including Raf, MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 (MEK-1/2), ERK-1/2, and c-Jun NH(2)-terminal protein kinase (JNK). Our results indicate that GILZ inhibited Raf-1 phosphorylation, which resulted in the suppression of both MEK/ERK-1/2 phosphorylation and AP-1-dependent transcription. We demonstrate that GILZ interacts in vitro and in vivo with endogenous Raf-1 and that Raf-1 coimmunoprecipitated with GILZ in murine thymocytes treated with DEX. Mapping of the binding domains and experiments with GILZ mutants showed that GILZ binds the region of Raf interacting with Ras through the NH(2)-terminal region. These data suggest that GILZ contributes, through protein-to-protein interaction with Raf-1 and the consequent inhibition of Raf-MEK-ERK activation, to regulating the MAPK pathway and to providing a further mechanism underlying GCH immunosuppression.

Glucocorticoid hormones (GCHs) regulate normal and neoplastic lymphocyte development by exerting antiproliferative and/or apoptotic effects. We have previously shown that dexamethasone (DEX)–activated thymocyte apoptosis requires a sequence of events including interaction with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), and acidic sphingomyelinase (aSMase) activation. We analyzed the mechanisms of GCH-activated apoptosis by focusing on GR-associated Src kinase, cytochrome c release, and caspase-8, -9, and -3 activation. We show here that PI-PLC binds to GR-associated Src kinase, as indicated by coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Moreover, DEX treatment induces PI-PLC phosphorylation and activation. DEX-induced PI-PLC phosphorylation, activation, and apoptosis are inhibited by PP1, a Src kinase inhibitor, thus suggesting that Src-mediated PI-PLC activation is involved in DEX-induced apoptosis. Caspase-9, -8, and -3 activation and cytochrome c release can be detected 1 to 2 hours after DEX treatment. Caspase-9 inhibition does not counter cytochrome crelease, caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis. Caspase-8 inhibition counters cytochrome c release, caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation, and apoptosis, thus suggesting that caspase-8 inhibitor can directly inhibit caspase-9 and/or that DEX-induced caspase-8 activation is upstream to mitochondria and can regulate caspase-3 directly or through cytochrome c release and the consequent caspase-9/caspase-3 activation. DEX-induced caspase-8 activation, like ceramide-induced caspase-8 activation, correlates with the formation of Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD)/caspase-8 complex. Caspase-8 activation is countered by the inhibition of macromolecular synthesis and of Src kinase, PI-PLC, and aSMase activation, suggesting it is downstream in the DEX-activated apoptotic pathway of thymocytes.