Alpha-keto acid metabolites of organoselenium compounds inhibit histone deacetylase activity in human colon cancer cells.

Abstract

Methylselenocysteine (MSC) and selenomethionine (SM) are two organoselenium compounds receiving interest for their potential anticancer properties. These compounds can be converted to beta-methylselenopyruvate (MSP) and alpha-keto-gamma-methylselenobutyrate (KMSB), alpha-keto acid metabolites that share structural features with the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor butyrate. We tested the organoselenium compounds in an in vitro assay with human HDAC1 and HDAC8; whereas SM and MSC had little or no activity up to 2 mM, MSP and KMSB caused dose-dependent inhibition of HDAC activity. Subsequent experiments identified MSP as a competitive inhibitor of HDAC8, and computational modeling supported a mechanism involving reversible interaction with the active site zinc atom. In human colon cancer cells, acetylated histone H3 levels were increased during the period 0.5-48 h after treatment with MSP and KMSB, and there was dose-dependent inhibition of HDAC activity. The proportion of cells occupying G(2)/M of the cell cycle was increased at 10-50 microM MSP and KMSB, and apoptosis was induced, as evidenced by morphological changes, Annexin V staining and increased cleaved caspase-3, -6, -7, -9 and poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose)polymerase. P21WAF1, a well-established target gene of clinically used HDAC inhibitors, was increased in MSP- and KMSB-treated colon cancer cells at both the messenger RNA and protein level, and there was enhanced P21WAF1 promoter activity. These studies confirm that in addition to targeting redox-sensitive signaling molecules, alpha-keto acid metabolites of organoselenium compounds alter HDAC activity and histone acetylation status in colon cancer cells, as recently observed in human prostate cancer cells.

• Authors: Hui Nian, William H Bisson, Wan-Mohaiza Dashwood, John T Pinto, Roderick H Dashwood
• Journal: Carcinogenesis (Carcinogenesis) Vol. 30 Issue 8 Pg. 1416-23 (Aug 2009) ISSN: 1460-2180 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19528666 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)

Chemical References

• Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21
• Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
• Histones
• Keto Acids
• Organoselenium Compounds
• RNA, Messenger
• Repressor Proteins
• Luciferases
• HDAC1 protein, human
• HDAC8 protein, human
• Histone Deacetylase 1
• Histone Deacetylases

Topics

• Acetylation (drug effects)
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Cell Cycle (drug effects)
• Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
• Colonic Neoplasms (enzymology, pathology)
• Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 (genetics, metabolism)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Flow Cytometry
• Histone Deacetylase 1
• Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
• Histone Deacetylases (metabolism)
• Histones (metabolism)
• Humans
• Immunoblotting
• In Situ Nick-End Labeling
• Keto Acids (pharmacology)
• Luciferases (metabolism)
• Organoselenium Compounds (pharmacology)
• Promoter Regions, Genetic
• RNA, Messenger (genetics, metabolism)
• Repressor Proteins (antagonists & inhibitors, metabolism)
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Tumor Cells, Cultured