Extracapsular spread (ECS) is one of the most important prognostic factors in oral
squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Gamma Glutamyl Hydrolase (GGH) is a lysosomal enzyme which is involved in folate homeostasis. It is overexpressed in several human malignancies but its role in
OSCC has never been reported. Carbonic Anhydrase 9 (CA9) is a transmembrane glycoprotein and is
related to hypoxia. High expression of CA9 has been associated with poor prognosis in several
tumours including OSCC. This study was aimed to investigate the expression of GGH and CA9 in
OSCC and their potential use as biomarkers to predict ECS. (Copied from article).
We report a series of novel metanilamide-based derivatives 3a-q bearing the 2-mercapto-4-oxo-4H-quinazolin-3-yl moiety as tail. All compounds were synthesized by means of straightforward condensation procedures and were investigated in vitro for their inhibition potency against the human (h) carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1.1) isoforms I, II, IX and XII. Among all compounds tested the 6-iodo 3g and the 7-fluoro 3i derivatives were the most potent inhibitors against the tumor associated CA IX and XII isoform (KIs 1.5 and 2.7nM respectively for the hCA IX and KIs 0.57 and 1.9nM respectively for the hCA XII). The kinetic data reported here strongly support compounds of this type for their future development as radiotracers in tumor pathologies which are strictly dependent on the enzymatic activity of the hCA IX and XII isoforms.
Both zinc and the α-subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) play important roles in the remodelling of mammary gland tissues. In the present study, we examined the level and the transcriptional activity of HIF-1α in mammary cells upon zinc treatment. In MCF-7 mammary adenocarcinoma and MCF-10A mammary epithelial cell lines, the toxicity levels of zinc differ. Interestingly, both cell lines overexpress HIF-1α following zinc treatment. As it was evident from an up-regulation of its specific target gene CA9 that encodes carbonic anhydrase IX, the stabilized HIF-1α translocated to the nucleus and was transcriptionally active. Hence, we conclude that zinc causes normoxic accumulation of transcriptionally active HIF-1α by interfering with its post-translational regulation.