Zinc protoporphyrin IX, a heme oxygenase-1 inhibitor, demonstrates potent antitumor effects but is unable to potentiate antitumor effects of chemotherapeutics in mice

Dominika Nowis¹ , Marek Bugajski¹ , Magdalena Winiarska¹^,2 , Jacek Bil¹ , Angelika Szokalska¹ , Pawel Salwa¹ , Tadeusz Issat¹ , Halina Was³ , Alicja Jozkowicz³ , Jozef Dulak³ , Tomasz Stoklosa¹ and Jakub Golab¹

¹Department of Immunology, Center of Biostructure Research, the Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1A, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland

²Department of Laboratory Diagnostics and Clinical Immunology, the Medical University of Warsaw, Marszalkowska 24, 00-576 Warsaw, Poland

³Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland

author email corresponding author email

BMC Cancer 2008, 8:197doi:10.1186/1471-2407-8-197


Published:	11 July 2008

Abstract

Background

HO-1 participates in the degradation of heme. Its products can exert unique cytoprotective effects. Numerous tumors express high levels of HO-1 indicating that this enzyme might be a potential therapeutic target. In this study we decided to evaluate potential cytostatic/cytotoxic effects of zinc protoporphyrin IX (Zn(II)PPIX), a selective HO-1 inhibitor and to evaluate its antitumor activity in combination with chemotherapeutics.

Methods

Cytostatic/cytotoxic effects of Zn(II)PPIX were evaluated with crystal violet staining and clonogenic assay. Western blotting was used for the evaluation of protein expression. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the influence of Zn(II)PPIX on the induction of apoptosis and generation of reactive oxygen species. Knock-down of HO-1 expression was achieved with siRNA. Antitumor effects of Zn(II)PPIX alone or in combination with chemotherapeutics were measured in transplantation tumor models.

Results

Zn(II)PPIX induced significant accumulation of reactive oxygen species in tumor cells. This effect was partly reversed by administration of exogenous bilirubin. Moreover, Zn(II)PPIX exerted potent cytostatic/cytotoxic effects against human and murine tumor cell lines. Despite a significant time and dose-dependent decrease in cyclin D expression in Zn(II)PPIX-treated cells no accumulation of tumor cells in G1 phase of the cell cycle was observed. However, incubation of C-26 cells with Zn(II)PPIX increased the percentage of cells in sub-G1 phase of the cells cycle. Flow cytometry studies with propidium iodide and annexin V staining as well as detection of cleaved caspase 3 by Western blotting revealed that Zn(II)PPIX can induce apoptosis of tumor cells. B16F10 melanoma cells overexpressing HO-1 and transplanted into syngeneic mice were resistant to either Zn(II)PPIX or antitumor effects of cisplatin. Zn(II)PPIX was unable to potentiate antitumor effects of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin or doxorubicin in three different tumor models, but significantly potentiated toxicity of 5-FU and cisplatin.

Conclusion

Inhibition of HO-1 exerts antitumor effects but should not be used to potentiate antitumor effects of cancer chemotherapeutics unless procedures of selective tumor targeting of HO-1 inhibitors are developed.