GGH-Cu and Vitamin C Suppress Cancer

Cancer Research. 1983 Feb;43(2):824-28.

Enhancement of Antitumor Activity of Ascorbate against Ehrlich Ascites Tumor Cells by the Copper:Glycylglycylhistidine Complex

Kimoto E, Tanaka H, Gyotoku J, Morishige F, Pauling L, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka 814, Japan [E. K., H. T., J. G.]; Tachiarai Hospital, Fukuoka 838, Japan IF. M.]," and Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, Palo Alto, California 94306 [L. P.]

Abstract

Ascorbate in an aqueous solution is easily oxidized by molecular oxygen in the presence of cupric ion, thus producing reactive oxygen species and exhibiting cytotoxicity.

In order to increase the antitumor activity of ascorbate, we used the innocuous form of cupric ion complexed with glycyl- glycylhistidine, a tripeptide designed to mimic the specific Cu(ll) transport site of albumin molecule. Although this square planar copper:glycylglycylhistidine complex did not significantly oxidize ascorbate at pH 7.4, it killed Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in vitro in a high concentration of ascorbate. The injections of large doses of ascorbate together with copper: glycylglycylhistidine prolonged the life span of mice inoculated i.p. with Ehrlich tumor cells. The target specificity against tumor cells was primarily attributable to their high peptide-cleaving activity.

Repeat of Pauling Experiment with GHK-Cu and Vitamin C in mice with fibrosarcoma

In 1986, I repeated the Pauling anti-cancer treatment in mice but with GHK-copper and vitamin C. The mice were implanted with fibrosarcoma cells which grows as a solid mass in the thigh muscles. After 5 days, the mice were injected intraperitoneally with GHK-copper and Vitamin C with the Pauling dosage three times per week (Mon, Wed, Fri) for 2 weeks. Then the experiment was stopped at 6 weeks.

There was a strong inhibition of tumor growth (about -70%) and some of the mice appeared
to have no tumors. The injected copper peptides and vitamin C appeared to have no negative
effect on the mice's behavior or physical condition. The first row is the control mice. The section is the mice with tumors which show as an increase in the muscle tissue. The third row is mice with the tumors which were treated with vitamin C and GHK-copper.

I could not obtain funding to extend this work from the National Cancer Institute. The Review Panel said such therapies were not needed since new non-toxic biologicals would be used in the near future to cure cancer. However, 26 years later, damaging and poorly effective toxic cancer therapies are still the main treatment.

GHK suppresses human cancer metastasis genes

Clin Exp Metastasis. 2010 Feb;27(2):83-90. Epub 2010 Feb 9.

A 'metastasis-prone' signature for early-stage mismatch-repair proficient sporadic colorectal cancer patients and its implications for possible therapeutics.

Hong Y, Downey T, Eu KW, Koh PK, Cheah PY.,Department of Colorectal Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, 169608, Singapore.

Abstract

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer mortality. We aimed to find a metastasis-prone signature for early stage mismatch-repair proficient sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients for better prognosis and informed use of adjuvant chemotherapy. The genome-wide expression profiles of 82 age-, ethnicity- and tissue-matched patients and healthy controls were analyzed using the Affymetrix U133 Plus 2 array. Metastasis-negative patients have 5 years or more of follow-up. A 10 x 10 two-level nested cross-validation design was used with several families of classification models to identify the optimal predictor for metastasis. The best classification model yielded a 54 gene-set (74 probe sets) with an estimated prediction accuracy of 71%. The specificity, sensitivity, negative and positive predictive values of the signature are 0.88, 0.58, 0.84 and 0.65, respectively, indicating that the gene-set can improve prognosis for early stage sporadic CRC patients. These 54 genes, including node molecules YWHAB, MAP3K5, LMNA, APP, GNAQ, F3, NFATC2, and TGM2, integrate multiple bio-functions in various compartments into an intricate molecular network, suggesting that cell-wide perturbations are involved in metastasis transformation. Further, querying the; 'Connectivity Map' with a subset (70%) of these genes shows that Gly-His-Lys and securinine could reverse the differential expressions of these genes significantly, suggesting that they have combinatorial therapeutic effect on the metastasis-prone patients. These two perturbagens promote wound-healing, extracellular matrix remodeling and macrophage activation thus highlighting the importance of these pathways in metastasis suppression for early-stage CRC.

Wound Healing Society Presentation

Click here for full poster

Metastases in breast cancer are a vital concern in treatment, with epidermal growth factor receptor and ErbB2 strongly implicated in mediating tumor invasion and spreading. In this study, we investigated the role of decorin in suppressing both primary breast carcinomas and pulmonary metastases. We show that decorin causes marked growth suppression both in vitro and in vivo using a metastatic breast cancer cell line and an orthotopic mammary carcinoma model. Treatment with decorin protein core reduced primary tumor growth by 70% and eliminated observed metastases. An adenoviral vector containing the decorin transgene caused primary tumor retardation of 70%, in addition to greatly reducing observed metastases. Moreover, we demonstrate that ErbB2 phosphorylation and total receptor protein levels are reduced in this model system upon de novo expression of decorin under the control of a doxycycline-inducible promoter. Primary tumor growth in vivo was reduced by up to 67% upon decorin induction, and pulmonary metastases were markedly hampered as well. These effects are likely occurring through decorin's long-term downregulation of the ErbB2 tyrosine kinase cascade. These results demonstrate a novel role for decorin in reduction or prevention of tumor metastases in this breast cancer model and could eventually lead to improved therapeutics for metastatic breast cancer.

Decorin, a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan gene family, down-regulates members of the ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family and attenuates their signaling, leading to growth inhibition. We investigated the effects of decorin on the growth of ErbB2-overexpressing mammary carcinoma cells in comparison with AG879, an established ErbB2 kinase inhibitor. Cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth assays showed that decorin was a potent inhibitor of breast cancer cell growth and a pro-apoptotic agent. When decorin and AG879 were used in combination, the inhibitory effect was synergistic in proliferation assays but only additive in both colony formation and apoptosis assays. Active recombinant human decorin protein core, AG879, or a combination of both was administered systemically to mice bearing orthotopic mammary carcinoma xenografts. Primary tumor growth and metabolism were reduced by approximately 50% by both decorin and AG879. However, no synergism was observed in vivo. Decorin specifically targeted the tumor cells and caused a significant reduction of ErbB2 levels in the tumor xenografts. Most importantly, systemic delivery of decorin prevented metastatic spreading to the lungs, as detected by novel species-specific DNA detection and quantitative assays. In contrast, AG879 failed to have any effect. Our data support a role for decorin as a powerful and effective therapeutic agent against breast cancer due to its inhibition of both primary tumor growth and metastatic spreading.

Lung metastasis is the most crucial event affecting the therapeutic outcome of osteosarcoma. The prevention of lung metastasis is therefore important in improving the prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma. Decorin is a major extracellular matrix protein which has become the focus of various cancer studies. The biological role of decorin in osteosarcoma has yet to be clarified. The aim of this study was to examine the potential of decorin as a novel biological target for the treatment of osteosarcoma. In this study, the LM8 murine osteosarcoma cell line (LM8) with high metastatic potential to the lung was used. The two cell lines established were LM8-DCN which stably expressed human decorin (hDCN) and LM8-mock, established as a control. The LM8-DCN cell line was subcutaneously injected into the backs of mice. Significantly fewer pulmonary metastases were observed in mice with LM8-DCN compared to mice inoculated with LM8 and LM8-mock (P<0.001). In addition, the mice in the LM8-DCN inoculated group survived significantly longer than those in the LM8 and LM8-mock inoculated group, based on the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank tests (P<0.005). The effect of decorin on the growth rates, motility and invasion ability of LM8 was investigated in vitro. There was no difference in the morphology and growth rates, but the motility and invasion of LM8 were inhibited by decorin. These results suggest that decorin has the therapeutic potential to prevent lung metastasis in osteosarcoma.

Oncology. 2009;77(2):92-9. Epub 2009 Jul 7.
Decorin suppresses bone metastasis in a breast cancer cell line.

Araki K, Wakabayashi H, Shintani K, Morikawa J, Matsumine A, Kusuzaki K, Sudo A, Uchida A. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie, Japan.

Decorin, the prototype of an expanding family of small leucine-rich proteoglycans, is involved in a number of cellular processes including matrix assembly, fibrillogenesis and the control of cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of decorin in suppressing tumor aggressiveness and bone metastases. We used a metastatic breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, to show that decorin causes marked growth suppression bothin vitro and in vivo. A cytomegaloviral vector containing the decorin transgene caused greatly reduced cell growth, motility and observed metastases. Bone metastases were decreased by >90% upon decorin transfection. These results demonstrate a novel role for decorin in the reduction or prevention of tumor metastases in this breast cancer model and could eventually lead to improved therapies for metastatic breast cancer.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and androgen receptor (AR) pathways play pivotal roles in prostate cancer progression. Therefore, agents with dual-targeting ability may have important therapeutic potential. Decorin, a proteoglycan present in the tumor microenvironment, is known to regulate matrix assembly, growth factor binding, and receptor tyrosine kinase activity. Here, we show that in prostate-specific Pten(P-/-) mice, a genetically defined, immune-competent mouse model of prostate cancer, systemic delivery of decorin inhibits tumor progression by targeting cell proliferation and survival pathways. Moreover, in human prostate cancer cells, we show that decorin specifically inhibits EGFR and AR phosphorylation and cross talk between these pathways. This prevents AR nuclear translocation and inhibits the production of prostate specific antigen. Further, the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt cell survival pathway is suppressed leading to tumor cell apoptosis. Those findings highlight the effectiveness of decorin in the presence of a powerful genetic cancer risk and implicate decorin as a potential new agent for prostate cancer therapy by targeting EGFR/AR-PI3K-Akt pathways.

Decorin, the prototype member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycans, resides in the tumor microenvironment and affects the biology of various types of cancer by downregulating the activity of several receptors involved in cell growth and survival. Decorin binds to and modulates the signaling of the epidermal growth factor receptor and other members of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases. It exerts its antitumor activity by a dual mechanism: via inhibition of these key receptors through their physical downregulation coupled with attenuation of their signaling, and by binding to and sequestering TGFbeta. Decorin also modulates the insulin-like growth factor receptor and the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1, which indirectly affects the TGFbeta receptor pathway. When expressed in tumor xenograft-bearing mice or injected systemically, decorin inhibits both primary tumor growth and metastatic spreading. In this review, we summarize the latest reports on decorin and related molecules that are relevant to cancer and bring forward the idea of decorin as an anticancer therapeutic and possible prognostic marker for patients affected by various types of tumors. We also discuss the role of lumican and LRIG1, a novel cell growth inhibitor homologous to decorin.

Arch Dermatol Res. 2009 Apr;301(4):301-6. Copper-GHK increases integrin expression and p63 positivity by keratinocytes. Kang YA, Choi HR, Na JI, Huh CH, Kim MJ, Youn SW, Kim KH, Park KC. Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysyl (GHK) possesses a high affinity for copper(II) ions, with which it spontaneously forms a complex (copper-GHK). It is well known that copper-GHK plays a physiological role in the process of wound healing and tissue repair by stimulating collagen synthesis in fibroblasts. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of copper-GHK on keratinocytes. Proliferative effects were analyzed and hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry were conducted to evaluate the effects of copper-GHK in skin equivalent (SE) models. In addition, western blotting was performed. In monolayer cultured keratinocytes, copper-GHK increased the proliferation of keratinocytes. When the SE models were evaluated, basal cells became cuboidal when copper-GHK was added. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that copper-GHK increased proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p63 positivity. Furthermore, the expression of integrin alpha6 and beta1 increased in SE models, and these results were confirmed by Western blotting. The results of this study indicate that treatment with copper-GHK may increase the proliferative potential of basal keratinocytes by modulating the expression of integrins, p63 and PCNA. In addition, increased levels of p63, a putative stem cell marker of the skin, suggests that copper-GHK promotes the survival of basal stem cells in the skin.

Cell Death Differ. 2010 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print]

p53-family proteins and their regulators: hubs and spokes in tumor suppression.
Collavin L, Lunardi A, Del Sal G. Laboratorio Nazionale CIB (LNCIB), AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy.

Abstract
The tumor suppressor p53 is a central hub in a molecular network controlling cell proliferation and death in response to potentially oncogenic conditions, and a wide array of covalent modifications and protein interactions modulate the nuclear and cytoplasmic activities of p53. The p53 relatives, p73 and p63, are entangled in the same regulatory network, being subject at least in part to the same modifications and interactions that convey signals on p53, and actively contributing to the resulting cellular output. The emerging picture is that of an interconnected pathway, in which all p53-family proteins are involved in the response to oncogenic stress and physiological inputs. Therefore, common and specific interactors of p53-family proteins can have a wide effect on function and dysfunction of this pathway. Many years of research have uncovered an impressive number of p53-interacting proteins, but much less is known about protein interactions of p63 and p73. Yet, many interactors may be shared by multiple p53-family proteins, with similar or different effects. In this study we review shared interactors of p53-family proteins with the aim to encourage research into this field; this knowledge promises to unveil regulatory elements that could be targeted by a new generation of molecules, and allow more efficient use of currently available drugs for cancer treatment.

Inhibition of the growth of cultured cells and an implanted fibrosarcoma by aroylhydrazone analogs of the Gly-His-Lys-Cu(II) complex. Biochem Pharmacol 1983 Dec 15;32(24):3868-71.

Pickart L, Goodwin WH, Burgua W, Murphy TB, Johnson DK, Biochem. Pharmacol., 32, 1983, 3868-71.

Abstract

Aroylhydrazones of pyridoxal and of salicylaldehyde, a series of tridentate chelating agents, are potent inhibitors of DNA synthesis and cell growth in a number of human and rodent cell lines grown in culture. A copper(II) complex of the most potent of the chelators, salicylaldehyde benzoyl hydrazone (SBH), exhibits significantly greater inhibitory activity than does SBH itself. Although the bioactive forms and mechanism of action of these agents are uncertain, their cytotoxic activity can equal or exceed that of many chelators and chelates previously known to possess such properties, including compounds used clinically. SBH and its copper complex are relatively non-toxic to mice and show some measure of selectivity in their effects on different cell types. It is possible that aroylhydrozones of this type and/or their metal complexes could prove to be useful therapeutic agents.