Tetraidothyroacetic acid (Tetrac) and tetrac nanoparticles inhibit growth of human renal cell carcinoma xenografts

Renal cell carcinoma is the most lethal of the common urologic malignancies, with no available effective therapeutics. Tetrac (tetraiodothyroacetic acid) is a deaminated analogue of L-thyroxine (T ₄) that blocks the pro-angiogenesis actions of T₄ and 3, 5, 3′-triiodo-L-thyronine as well as other growth factors at the cell surface receptor for thyroid hormone on integrin αvβ3. Since this integrin is expressed on cancer cells and also on endothelial and vascular smooth cells, the possibility exists that Tetrac may act on both cell types to block the proliferative effects of thyroid hormone on tumor growth and tumor-related angiogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we determined the effect of Tetrac on tumor cell proliferation and on related angiogenesis of human renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We used two models: tumor cell implants in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) system and xenografts in nude mice. To determine the relative contribution of the nuclear versus the plasma membrane action of Tetrac, we compared the effects of unmodified Tetrac to Tetrac covalently linked to poly (lactide-co-glycolide) as a nanoparticle (Tetrac NP) that acts exclusively at the cell surface through the integrin receptor. In the CAM model, Tetrac and Tetrac NP (both at 1 μg/CAM) arrested tumor-related angiogenesis and tumor growth. In the mouse xenograft model, Tetrac and Tetrac NP promptly reduced tumor volume (p<0.01) when administered daily for up to 20 days. Animal weight gain was comparable in the control and treatment groups. Overall, the findings presented here provide evidence for the anti-angiogenic, and anti-tumor actions of Tetrac and Tetrac NP and suggest their potential utility in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.