Propranolol reduces viability and induces apoptosis in hemangioblastoma cells from von Hippel-Lindau patients

• Published in: Orphanet journal of rare diseases 2015-09, Vol.10 (1), p.118-118, Article 118
• Main Authors: Albiñana, Virginia, Villar Gómez de Las Heras, Karina, Serrano-Heras, Gemma, Segura, Tomás, Perona-Moratalla, Ana Belén, Mota-Pérez, Mercedes, de Campos, José María, Botella, Luisa María
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - pharmacology; Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - therapeutic use; Adult; Analysis; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis - physiology; Care and treatment; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cell Survival - physiology; Cerebellar Neoplasms - drug therapy; Cerebellar Neoplasms - pathology; Development and progression; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; HeLa Cells; Hemangioblastoma - drug therapy; Hemangioblastoma - pathology; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Nervous system diseases; Patient outcomes; Propranolol - pharmacology; Propranolol - therapeutic use; Propranolol hydrochloride; Rare diseases; Risk factors; RNA; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Vascular endothelial growth factor; von Hippel-Lindau Disease - drug therapy; von Hippel-Lindau Disease - pathology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1750-1172; 1750-1172
• DOI: 10.1186/s13023-015-0343-5

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare oncological disease with an incidence of 1:36,000, and is characterized by the growth of different types of tumors: hemangioblastomas in the central nervous system (CNS) and retina, renal carcinoma, pheochromocytomas, pancreatic serous cystadenoma, and endolymphatic sac tumors. These tumors do not express VHL protein (pVHL). pVHL ubiquitinates hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) protein for degradation by the proteasome; in the absence of VHL, HIF translocates to the nucleus to activate the expression of its target genes. Targeting VHL-derived tumors with drugs that have reduced side effects is urgent to avoid repeat CNS surgeries. Recent reports have shown that propranolol, a β-blocker used for the treatment of hypertension and other cardiac and neurological diseases, is the best option for infantile hemangioma (IH). Propranolol could be an efficient treatment to control hemangioblastoma growth in VHL disease because of its antiangiogenic effects demonstrated in IH and the hypothetical impact on HIF levels. HeLa 9X (HRE) hypoxia responsive element cell line and primary hemangioblastoma-derived cells were subjected to propranolol treatment and cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated. HIF1-α and Hif-2α expression after propranolol treatment was analyzed by western blotting. Quantitative PCR was performed to study the mRNA expression of HIF target genes. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was measured in culture supernatants by immunoassay. Propranolol downregulated HIF-dependent transcription in HeLa 9XHRE cells. Under hypoxic conditions, propranolol decreased the expression of HIF target genes in hemangioblastoma cells, which stopped proliferating and died following long-term treatment. These results suggests that propranolol treatment promoted reduced HIF protein expression and corresponding downregulation of HIF target genes, and inhibited cell proliferation in parallel with induction of cell death by apoptosis. Our results suggest that propranolol could reduce the growth of HIF-dependent tumors and may thus be a promising treatment to delay surgery in VHL patients.