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European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 2009; 13: 13-21 Cytoskeleton structure and dynamic behaviour: quick excursus from basic molecular mechanisms to some implications in cancer chemotherapy C. ALBERTI L.D. of Surgical Semeiotics, University of Parma (Italy) Abstract. – Novel nanoscale microscopic technologies are driving dramatic advances in the knowledge of cytoskeleton structure and dynamics. Cytoskeleton, that is organized into microtubules, actin meshwork and intermediate filaments, besides providing cells with important mechanical properties, allows, within the cell, not only the molecule cargo transport, but also the charged particle/biophoton transmission, so that the cell signaling might be considered as consisting of both molecule/chemically- and charged particle/physically-addressed systems. Molecular motors that drive molecule cargo translocation along the cytoskeletal highway, either through endocytic or secretory-exocytic mechanisms, include kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, traveling on microtubule, and myosin family members, traveling along actin meshwork. The membrane-bound organelles and protein complexes are sorted with high specificity to their various destinations. In the field of highly structured cell signaling machinery, the endocytosis appears to play an important role with following specific changes in gene expression. In the opposite direction, the exocytosis involves many intracellular steps toward the vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane. Insights into cytoskeletal structure and dynamics are providing important progress in identifying proper targets for cancer therapy. Taxane and Vinca alkaloids, by stabilizing the polymerized microtubules, are able to suppress their dynamic behaviour with subsequent cell death. Epithelones, by acting in same way, are emerging as a new class of anticancer drugs, moreover their toxicity resulting unaffected also towards taxane-resistant cancer cells. Even the alkylating agent nitrogen mustard exerts some cytotoxic effects at the level of the microtubule, whereas azaspiracid-1 induces cytoskeletal actin disorganization without affecting microtubule architecture. Regarding the influences of extracellular mechanical forces on changes in cell adhesion gene expression, the iatrogenic pressure-in- duced tumor cell implantation within surgical wounds may be prevented by perioperative administration of microtubule/actin inhibitors. Even though, among the different cancer therapy strategies, the chemotherapy could appear to be conceptually outclassed because of its low cancer cell-selectivity in comparison with novel molecular mechanism-based agents. However "combo-strategies", that combine the chemotherapeutic high killing potential with new molecule targeted agents, may be an effective curative measure. Some anticytoskeleton agents are under evaluation for their applications in tumor chemotherapy; benomyl, griseofulvin, sulfonamides, that are used as antimycotic and antimicrobial drugs, appear to have a powerful antitumor potential by targeting microtubule assembly dinamics, together with exhibiting, in comparison with taxane and Vinca alkaloids, a more limited toxicity. An exciting challenge for the next future will be to properly define the cytoskeleton structure and dynamic behaviour to design more effective drugs for cancer chemotherapy. Key Words: Cytoskeleton, Intracellular signal trafficomics, Cytoskeleton inhibitors, Chemotherapy, Prostate cancer. Introduction Recent developments of microscopic technologies (atomic force microscopy, confocal laser-scanning microscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy, small angle X-ray diffraction microscopy, etc), that are able to explore cytoskeletal structure and dynamics at nanometer scale, have induced tremendous progress in understanding single-molecular Corresponding Author: Contardo Alberti, MD; mobile: +39.331.9823032 13 C. Alberti events which promote the cytoskeleton dynamic behaviour, thus also providing idea-of-principle that targeting the microtubule/actin elements may be a fruitful chance for an effective cancer therapy. actin meshwork (Figure 1). From here, in the reverse direction, microtubules, with their minus ends, converge on their organizing center1-4. Cortical actin meshwork is composed of actin plus end filaments that are oriented toward the plasma membrane and, in the opposite direction, of actin minus end filaments reaching to intersect with microtubule cytoskeleton4,5. Intermediate filaments assemble into extensive cytoskeletal nanofibrillar complex which is able to connect both cell surface/desmosomes and membranous organelles with the nuclear surface and nucleoplasm, together with providing cells with important elasto-mechanical properties. In fact, intermediate filaments are very flexible polymers (vimentin, desmin, keratinepiplakin) that, on the one hand, act as tracks for the transduction of mechanical perturbation (mechanical stress) from the cell periphery to the nucleus and, on the other hand, interact with membranous organelles, such as Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, mitochondria and vesicles, as well as with other cytoskeleton components such as microtubules, actin meshwork and their associate motor proteins, thus playing important key roles in organizing organelles in the cytoplasm, providing them with proper motility and anchorage sites1,6-8. Cytoskeleton Structure and Dynamics Three different cytoskeletal structures – microtubules, actin meshwork and intermediate filaments – besides providing cells with proper mechanical forces, contribute to ensure intracellular signaling efficiency and specificity. Microtubules are composed of several individual polarized protofilaments consisting of α/β tubulin dimers, whose addition or loss can induce growing or shortening of their ends. This dynamic behaviour – microtubule dynamic instability – is important for mediating the movements of cargo-carrying motors to reach their final destination at intracellular specific sites as well as for promoting the alignment of sister chromatids, through tension at the kinetochores, on the mitotic spindle during metaphase, and, subsequently, during anaphase, their segregation into the nascent daughter cells. Micro-tubules originate from an organizing center (MTOC) near the nucleus, faning out, with their plus ends, toward the cell cortex, where they intersect with cortical A A M km A M dm M A M mtoc M Figure 1. Cartoon illustration of cell cortex actin filaments (A)/cell interior microtubules (M) together with their plus-end(+)minus-end(-) and kinesin (km)/cytoplasmic dynein (dm) microtubule-based motors. Cell nucleus (N), microtubule-organizing center (mtoc). 14 N A Cytoskeleton targeted chemotherapy Molecular Cargo Transport and Delivery Intracellular cargo transport – transport of organelles, secretory vesicles and protein complexes – needs specific microtubule- and actin-based molecular motors together with polarized microtubule/actin rail-tracks along which the cargoes go on. Molecular motors that drive cargo translocation along the cytoskeleton highway include kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, traveling on microtubule, and myosin, traveling along actin meshwork, both of them managing the transit manoeuvres through a complex cytoskeletal network8-11. Cargoes carried by kinesin motors are transferred to the plus ends of microtubules, that are oriented toward the cell cortex and, subsequently, upon reaching the peripheral actin meshwork, they are translocated, by myosin Va motor, to the plus ends of F-actin filaments toward the plasma membrane. In the opposite direction (e.g., in endocytosis process), cargoes are transported by myosin Vl motors, that walk toward the minus ends of F-actin filaments, into the cell interior, and, subsequently, upon reaching actin-microtubule intersections, they are transferred, by cytoplasmic dynein motors, toward the minus ends of microtubules, which are located, near the cell nucleus, in the MTOC11,12. All motor proteins – kinesin, cytoplasmic dynein and myosin – are able to hydrolyze ATP, adenosine triphosphate, to ADP, hence converting energy into motion. Anyway, cargo shipping is carried out through a well-defined three-dimensional array of actin filaments and microtubules. Dynactin, electrostatically tethering the motors to the microtubules, prevents the free motors from diffusing away, thus facilitating their further use for running again11. Interestingly, microtubule-associated τ (tau) protein can increase protein motor switching at microtubule-microtubule intersections, by inhibiting kinesin motor binding to microtubules, hence avoiding that many kinesin molecules might give rise to a reciprocal “tug of war” at level of intersections11,13. Within the cell, both membrane-bound organelles and protein complexes are sorted with high specificity to their destinations. In the secretory pathway, that connect, in sequence, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and plasma membrane, newly synthesized proteins are strictly screneed, in the first sorting station – endoplasmic reticulum – for misfolding or mutation (quality control), by means of different chaperones, misfolded proteins resulting targeted for locally degradation while correctly folded proteins are exported. This process requires specific endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles and proper cytoskeletal structures for various cargo proteins sorted from endoplasmic reticulum14-19. The Golgi apparatus activity is directed, on the one hand, to post-translationally modify both protein and lipid cargoes, by modulating, through a glycosilation process, their stability and function, and, on the other hand, to send them to the plasma membrane or toward other cell compartments20-24. In the field of highly structured cell signal transmission machinery, that is able to translate cell responses to external agents into specific changes in gene expression, the endocytosis – endocytic organelle-mediated process – appears to play an active role in signal amplification, propagation and spatial-temporal transduction control. By the way, some downstream signal cascades are carried-out by receptor-ligand complex internalization and endosome specific compartmentalization, the molecular signal trafficking among various endocytic organelles requiring, anyhow, a suitable actin/microtubule-dependent motility25-27. In the opposite direction, the exocytosis is mediated by exosomes, that are endosomal-derived membrane vesicles shipping extracellular molecule-messages. Exocytic process involves multiple intracell steps, including the transport of exosomes along different cytoskeletal structures toward the fusion with the plasma membrane. Particularly, exosomes display a regulatory function in the immune system (maior histocompatibility complex, MHC, class -I and -II), so that, in cancer immunotherapy (tumor vaccines), an important interest is emerging in their use, either as exosomes derived from cancer antigen-loaded dendritic cells or as exosomes directly derived from tumor cell, to obtain anti-tumoral immune responses in vivo28,29. Moreover, the recent discovery of argosomes and prostasomes, leads to suggest that the exosomal pathway not only displays regulatory functions in the immune system but also, regarding the argosomes, might partecipate in tissue-developmental process, and, in the case of prostatosomes, it might be involved in promoting the fertility30,31. Otherwise, in the pathological field, certain exosomes, that transport angiogenic factors, can interact with the environment, thus facilitating tumoral growth29. In both the endocytic and exocytic pathways, vesicular containers carry the cargoes with high specificity dependently on their coat components 15 C. Alberti (coat protein complexes, COP-I and -II; clathrin protein) and adaptors (proteins binding cargoes to the coat-pits). While clathrin coats are used in the endocytic and recycling pathways between plasma membrane and lysosomes or in transGolgi membrane network, COP-I and -II coats, instead, are used in molecule trafficking between Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum30-32. During clathrin-mediated endocytosis of signaling receptors (EGFR, epithelial growth factor receptor; FGFR, fibroblast growth factor receptor; GPCR, G protein coupled receptor; etc), cargo recognition by coated-pit proteins confers specificity on this process32-34. Furthermore, as far as vesicular trafficking is concerned, membrane lipids, besides playing the role of sealing the transport containers, allow, through their various composition, the specific recruitment of protein cargoes from the cytosol, by acting as raft – lipid rafts – for protein sorting at sequential phases of both endocytic and secretory pathways35-37. Intriguingly, many signaling molecules, such as tyrosine kinase receptor and some Ras family members, appear to display high affinity for these lipid rafts. Tyrosine kinase receptor, through endocytic lipid rafts, is carried to the endoplasmic reticulum where PI3P (phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate) is synthesized, whereas Ras family members are localized to the Golgi apparatus where they may be activated by specific exchange factors such as phospholipase Cγ27,38,39. Last but not least, just considering the tight, even though dynamic, connections among the cytoskeleton components – microtubules, actin structures, intermediate filaments – and between these and membranous organelles, the mechanical perturbations on cell surface can produce organelle displacements by force transmission through cytoskeleton. Anti-cytoskeletal drugs, such as cytochalasin towards actin filaments and nocodazole towards microtubules, by disrupting either of two structures, induce a dramatic decrease in organelle spatial rearrangement40-42. Electron Transport Along Cytoskeleton Small electronic currents may be carried by semiconductive electron transport along biopolymers such as cytoskeletal components .These microcurrents begin by electrons released from mitochondrial respiratory chain and NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate H+)-oxidase complex that, in plasma membrane, catalyzes the reduction of oxygen to superoxide 16 − −• anion 0−• 2 (02 + e → 02 ), an electron donor which spontaneously dismutases to hydrogen peroxide • (0−• 2 + H2 → H2O2 ). Electrons leaking from mitochondrial respiratory chain should diffuse either along the actin filaments toward the plasma membrane or along the microtubules toward the nucleus; electrons leaking from plasma membrane NADPH-oxidase complex would diffuse directly along actin/microtubule cytoskeletal structures to various cell compartments like mitochondria or to the nucleus, where they can influence the transcriptional activity43,44. ROS, reactive oxygen species, either free radical superoxide anion or non radical hydrogen peroxide, are important mediators of damage to cell structure, including cytoskeleton, organelle and vesicle lipid membranes, nuclear matrix proteins and DNA, where, by means of free NF-kB (nuclear factor-kB), are able to activate proto-oncogene expression together with changes in tumor suppressor genes, thus promoting DNA → mRNA transcription. Moreover, microtubules are electrical polar structures with energy supply that results from hydrolysis of their tip-bound GTP (guanosine triphosphate) to GDP (guanosine diphosphate) and a part of this energy can excite cytoskeleton vibrations with subsequent generation of electromagnetic fields, so that some mechanisms of malignity (detachment of cancer cells, invasion, local invasion and metastatic spread) may be assumed as dependent on the cell electromagnetic field perturbations45,46. In addition to charged particles (electrons, protons, ions), cytoskeletal microtubules may transmit, on a part with glass optical fibres, optical and infraoptical radiations as well as quantized vibrational-mechanical waves47,48. Just considering these cytoskeletal properties, the biochemical model of intra-cell and cell-cell signal transduction (molecule- or chemically addressed system) is more and more integrated with a biophysical model (charged particle/biophoton or physically addressed system)43-48. Cytoskeleton as Attractive Target for Anticancer Drugs In the run of the last decades, thorough insights into cytoskeletal structure and dynamics have provided important progress not only in the knowledge of intracellular signaling but also in identifying new targets for anticancer therapy. The main classes of microtubule targeted agents, the Vinca alkaloids (vinblastine, vinorelbine, vinflumine) and taxanes (paclitaxel, doc- Cytoskeleton targeted chemotherapy etaxel) are able to stabilize the polymerized microtubules, thus effectively suppressing their dynamic behaviour at the mitotic spindle, hence causing, in cancer cells, mitotic block with subsequent cell death49-51. Improvements in cytotoxic effects on cancer cells may be achieved by associating taxanes or Vinca alkaloids with Vif11, a kinesin-5 motor protein inhibitor52. Significant anticancer activity of taxanes has been shown in patients with pre-treated nonsmall-cell-lung, ovarian, breast carcinoma, as well as in lymphoma53. Moreover, recent studies of docetaxel-based chemotherapy in men with hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) have shown a survival benefit, so lifting the burden of HRPC as a chemoresistant malignancy54. Epothilones (ixabepilone, patupilone) – macrolides extracted from a variety of myxobacteria such as Myxococcus xanthus, Sorangium cellulosum – are emerging as a new class of antineoplastic drugs because of their stabilizing effects, like those taxane-induced, on the polymerized microtubules, with following suppression of microtubule dynamics54,55. However, recent research findings reveal significant differences between epothilones and taxanes in drug-resistance mechanisms, epothilone cytotoxicity resulting unaffected by alanine-to-threonine substitution at reside 364 in microtubule β-tubulin, that, instead, is responsible for chemoresistance to taxanes56. Furthermore, epothilones are more cytotoxic than taxanes in cancer cell culture, particularly in tumors characterized by P-glycoprotein overexpression54,56,57. It suggests that taxane-resistant cancer cells might retain sensitivity to epothilones, which could play, in such case, a rescue drug role54-59. Also nitrogen mustard (component of the estramustine phosphate) exerts some cytotoxic effects at the level of the microtubule, besides binding to nuclear matrix60. On the other hand, cell growth inhibition through actin filament targeting, has been recently identified in vitro as the effect of AZA-l, azaspiracid-1 (a marine toxin), which is able to induce cytoskeletal actin disorganization, without affecting the amount of polymerized actin and the microtubule architecture. Irreversible actin rearrangements are completely caspase activation indipendent events57. In the same way should act mPTXS, macrolide pectenotoxins (PTX-1 ,-2 and -11), that are potently cytotoxic in human cancer cells, even though no clear explanation of their mechanism of action at molecular level is until now available61,62. Regarding that extracellular mechanical forces can induce, by cytoskeleton dependent signaling, changes in cell adhesion gene expression, recent experimental research data show that tumor cell adhesion may be stimulated by exposure to increased extracellular pressure, following the activated FAK (focal adhesion kinase)- and Src gene expression. In this regard, iatrogenic pressure-induced tumor cell implantation within surgical wounds, may be prevented by pretreatment or/and perioperative administration of either actin polymerization inhibitors, such as cytochalasin D, phalloidin and latrunculin B, or microtubule polymerization inhibitors, such as colchicine, thus enhancing tumor-free survival. Instead, the effectiveness of taxanes in inhibiting pressure-induced tumor cell adhesion is slightly significant63,64. Since microcurrent cytoskeletal network and ROS can activate several oncogenetic signaling pathways, the antioxidant and redox agents (electron trapping or quenching agents) – isoflavonoids, thyocyanates, polyphenols, carotenoids, trace elements such as selenium and zinc – play an antitumoral role, by inducing a downregulation of deleterious effects of electronic charges and ROS43,44. Conclusions and Perspectives The oncological research is highly dynamic field and recent insights into tumor signaling pathways by cell- and molecular biology, besides promoting the development of novel anticancer agents, have lead to suggest new therapeutic paradigms. So-called molecular mechanism-based drugs or smart drugs, that have been designed to target selectively such signaling pathways, may provide an effective antitumor activity. Therefore, among the various cancer therapies (Table I), the chemotherapy could appear to be conceptually outclassed because of its low cancer cellselectivity and association with serious side effects. However, single-agent anticancer therapy, even though carried out with a “smart drugs”, is often inadequate to eradicate the disease, hence combo strategies – regimens that combine the chemotherapeutic high killing potential with molecular cause-targeting selectivity of new anticancer agents – may be a rational synergic treatment, together with allowing the drug dose lowering with subsequent lower drug-induced toxici17 C. Alberti Table I. Principle approaches to cancer therapy. Antiproliferative chemotherapy Hormone therapy (in hormone-dependent tumors) Biomolecular selectively targeted therapy (smart drugs) Specific growth (a)/apoptosis (b) pathway targeted therapy Immunotherapy Gene-therapy Epigene-therapy Cancer stem cell eradicating therapy • Antimetabolites. Platin derivatives. Alkaloids among which several microtubule/actin inhibitors such as taxanes and Vinca-derivatives. Antibiotics like microtubule inhibitor macrolide epothilones. Alkylating agents such as microtubule inhibitor nitrogen mustard • Hormones: Androgens, Estrogens, Progestogens. Corticosteroids • Antihormones: Gn-RH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) analogues or antagonists. Antiandrogens. Antiestrogens. Aromatase inhibitors. • Monoclonal antibodies against growth factor signaling • (a) antiproliferative: Tyrosinekinase- and multikinase inhibitors. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamicin) inhibitors; (b) proapoptogenic: Recombinant TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand). Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors • Tumor vaccines. Immunomodulators • Replacement or inactivation of defective genes. Cytoreductive gene therapy. Gene-silencing by interfering short RNAs • Histone-deacetylase inhibitors. DNA-methyltransferase inhibitors • Exciting field of current research, especially with regard to a long-term success of cancer treatment strategy ty. Different smart drug combinations with chemotherapeutics are currently explored in various clinical trials to promote re-expression of genes involved in cell differentiation and apoptotic process, so leading to malignant disease eradication by endogenous surveillance pathways65-67. As far as chemotherapeutic agents are concerned, either microtubule or actin cytoskeletal inhibitors – taxanes and Vinca alkaloids, epothilones, pectenotoxins – can provide some favorable results in advanced/recurrent cancer disease, either alone or in combination with “smart drugs”, such as tyrosine- or multikinase inhibitors, antibodies targeting growth factor signaling, mTor (mammalian target of rapamicin) inhibitors, recombinant TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand). In this regard, microtubule inhibitors, such as taxol, nocodazole and colcemid, as well as cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin meshwork, are able to enhance the effects of the recombinant TRAIL by increasing caspase-3, -8, -9 activation, even in cancer cells overexpressing antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, thus showing that such “combo-therapy” can be efficient in the therapeutic management of cancers resistant to traditional chemotherapy (Table I)67-70. Particularly, taxanes are the most active drugs for the therapy of HRPC, either as single agents or in combination with other compounds, furthermore representing the critical component of 18 the “combo-therapies”. In such prostate malignancy state also epithelones are on trial, with significant results as far as effectiveness54,57. As above described, the machinery of intra-cell signal trafficking and transduction – one of the most active fields in the current biological studies so that the related area of research could be named as cell trafficomics like other neologisms such as genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics – includes both chemically/molecule- and physically/charged particle or biophoton addressed systems, the last one especially involving the cytoskeletal structures43-48. In this regard, looking to the future, an intriguing chance of cancer therapy will be accomplished, in the emerging area of nanomedicine, by making use of cytoskeletal rail-tracks and their associated electromagnetic fields, to drive and deliver nanosized materials (nanoparticles, nanospiders, nanorobots, either quantum dotbound or not) as “means of carriage” of therapeutic nucleic acids or anticancer agents, respectively into the nucleus (nanoparticle vector system for nucleic acid delivery; nanorobot-performed in vivo DNA-cytosurgery) or at other cell target level (targeted nanoscale drug delivery)71-76. Moreover, considering that extracellular mechanical forces can promote, through cytoskeletondependent transduction, several changes in cell adhesion gene expression with cell implantation within surgical wounds, the pre- and/or perioperative administration of microtubule/actin inhibitors appears to prevent this deleterious event63,64. 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