The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is overactivated in primary aldosteronism.

BACKGROUND: To date, the available non-invasive remedies for primary aldosteronism are not satisfactory in clinical practice. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3Ks)/protein kinase B (PKB or AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is essential for tumorigenesis and metastasis in many types of human tumors, including renal cancer, adrenal carcinoma and pheochromocytoma. The possibility that this pathway is also necessary for the pathogenesis of primary aldosteronism has not yet been explored. To answer this question, we investigated the activity of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in normal adrenal glands (NAGs), primary aldosteronism (PA) patients and NCI-H295R cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
FINDINGS: Between January 2005 and December 2011, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 45 patients with PA. We compared clinical characteristics (age, gender and biochemical data) and the expression of phospho-AKT (p-AKT), phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR), phospho-S6 (p-S6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by immunohistochemical staining and western blotting, analyzing 30 aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs), 15 idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) tissues and 12 NAGs following nephrectomy for renal tumors (control group). Compared with the control group, most of the PA patients presented with polydipsia, polyuria, resistant hypertension, profound hypokalemia, hyperaldosteronemia and decreased plasma renin activity. Compared with normal zona glomerulosa, the levels of p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF were significantly upregulated in APA and IHA. No significant differences were found between APA and IHA in the expression of these proteins. Additionally, positive correlations existed between the plasma aldosterone levels and the expression of p-AKT and p-mTOR. In vitro studies showed that mTOR inhibitor rapamycin could inhibit cell proliferation in NCI-H295R cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, this inhibitor also decreased aldosterone secretion.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which was overactivated in APA and IHA compared with normal zona glomerulosa, may mediate aldosterone hypersecretion and participate in the development of PA.

Introduction

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common form of endocrine hypertension, accounting for up to 5% to 10% of all hypertensive patients. It is characterized by the excessive and autonomous secretion of aldosterone by the adrenal gland, and aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) are the major forms [1], [2]. In the last few years, significant advances have been made in the treatment of these two subtypes of PA. Patients with APA can be cured or experience significant amelioration following unilateral adrenalectomy, whereas patients with IHA can benefit from targeted pharmacotherapy with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists [3]. However, some patients cannot tolerate surgery due to their physical condition, and treatment with medication may cause side effects, including gynecomastia, erectile dysfunction, low libido and irregular menstruation.

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3Ks)/protein kinase B (PKB or AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is a major pathway involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and has therefore become a focus of tumor research in recent years [4], [5]. Overactivation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, characterized by the production of phospho-AKT (p-AKT), phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR), phospho-S6 (p-S6) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), occurs in many tumors such as renal cancer, adrenal carcinoma and pheochromocytoma, but it has not been examined in PA [6], [7]. Previous studies have provided evidence that the PI3K/AKT pathway stimulates aldosterone secretion in the glomerulosa cells of bovine adrenal glands through the activity of sphingosine-1-phosphate [8] and that teratocarcinoma-derived growth factor-1 (TDGF-1) associated with the PI3K/AKT pathway is significantly upregulated in human APA and mediates NCI-H295R cell aldosterone hypersecretion [9].

Based on the above evidence, the present study was undertaken to investigate whether the downstream mTOR pathway was overactivated in APA and IHA, in an attempt to understand the functional role of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway with regard to the autonomous secretion of aldosterone and the alterations in cell growth observed in these two subtypes. Additionally, we used an in vitro analysis to evaluate the effects of mTOR inhibitors on cellular proliferation and aldosterone hypersecretion using NCI-H295R cells.

Materials and Methods

Patients and Tissue Samples

Tumor tissues from 45 PAs were collected from patients who underwent adrenalectomy at Ruijin Hospital between January 2005 and December 2011 and were divided into two groups: 30 APAs and 15 IHA tissues. The 30 PA patients included 12 males and 18 females, ranging from 42 to 55 years of age. The 15 IHA patients included 6 males and 9 females, ranging from 38 to 57 years of age. The PA pathology specimens used in this study were removed from patients studied in our hypertension unit who had been homogeneously selected following a rigorous diagnostic flowchart that included adrenal venous sampling and a post-adrenalectomy evaluation. The definite diagnosis was based on a pathologic examination.

The IHA specimens were primarily obtained from patients who did not respond to mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist therapy and patients who required surgical exploration when it was difficult to distinguish APA and IHA. The patients of both groups in our study all took MR antagonists, anti-hypertensive medications and potassium treatment before the surgery. The first group was failed to mineralocorticoid treatment and had to take the surgery treatment. The second group was failed to the differentiation diagnosis of APA and IHA and had to receive the surgery for the treatment and diagnosis. The influences of prior treatment on the two groups was the same. Ipsilateral normal adrenal glands (NAGs) from 12 cases undergoing nephrectomy for renal tumors served as the control group. All tissue specimens were collected with written informed consent, and approval was obtained from the institutional ethics review board of Ruijin Hospital.

Cell Culture

NCI-H295R cells were purchased from American Type Culture collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA), cultured in DMEM/F12 supplemented with 2.5% nu-serum replacements, 1% ITS+ Premix, 1% l-glutamine and 1% penicillin-streptomycin (Gibco Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and maintained at 37°C in a humidified 5% CO2 incubator. We tested the effects of rapamycin (Cell Signaling Technologies, Danvers, MA, USA) on cell growth with the concentrations of 25 nM, 50 nM, 100 nM after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h treatment. Culture media were collected and assayed for aldosterone by radio-immunoassay after 48 h of incubation as described previously [10]. Aldosterone measurements were normalized using the total protein concentrations of cell lysates. DMSO was used as a vehicle. All experiments were performed in triplicate and repeated 3 times.

Immunohistochemistry

Specimens were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin. Sections were incubated with polyclonal rabbit antihuman p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 (Cell Signaling Technologies, Danvers, MA, USA, 1∶150) and VEGF antibodies (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, 1∶400) and were developed using diaminobenzidine (DAB) substrate.

The slides were examined independently by two investigators who were blinded to both the clinical and pathological data. Protein expression was quantified based on the extent of staining (percent of positive tumor cells graded on a scale of 0 to 4∶0, none; 1, 1%–25%; 2, 26%–50%; 3, 51%–75%; 4, >75%) and staining intensity (graded on a scale of 0 to 3∶0, no staining; 1, weak staining; 2, moderate staining; 3, strong staining). For further analysis, we used the product of the grades of the extent and intensity of staining to define the cutoff value to classify protein expression as high (grades 4–12∶4–6, +; 7–9, ++; 10–12, +++) or low (grade 0–3: −).

Western Blotting

Frozen adrenal gland samples were centrifuged, and the soluble protein concentrations were determined before loading on a gel. Antibodies against the following antigens were used: p-AKT, p-S6, β-actin antibody (Cell Signaling Technologies, Danvers, MA, USA, 1∶2000) and VEGF (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, 1∶1000). Protein bands were visualized using an enhanced chemiluminescence assay kit (SuperSignal Pierce Biotechnology, USA). The protein bands were identified by comparison with known molecular weight markers.

Statistical Analysis

Data analyses were performed using SPSS statistical package 15.0 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). The significance of differences in the measurement data were evaluated by ANOVA, while enumerable data were analyzed using the chi-square test and independent samples T test. Ranked data were analyzed by the rank sum test and the Spearman correlation test. The results were considered significant if the P-value was less than 0.05. The quantitative data were expressed as the mean± SD.

Results

Summary of Clinical Characteristics

Table 1 lists the clinical features and the results of biochemical examination of PA patients. Most of the patients presented with polydipsia, polyuria, resistant hypertension, profound hypokalemia, hyperaldosteronemia and decreased plasma renin activity. Significant differences were observed between the control group and PA groups in oral water intake, urine volume, plasma renin activity, serum potassium and serum aldosterone. The urinary potassium and aldosterone between the control group and PA groups were also significantly different. The aldosterone level of APA patients in serum and urine were higher than those of IHA patients, while potassium level (serum and urine) of APA patients were lower than that of IHA patients (P<0.05). No significant differences were found in other physiological parameters between APA and IHA patients (Table 1).

Table 1

The demographics and clinical outcomes of the patients.

Variables	APA	IHA	NAG	P value
				APA VS NAG	IHA VS NAG	IHA VS APA
Age	51.2±8.5	52.6±6.5	49.2±4.3	0.227	0.219	0.098
Sex, M/F	12/18	6/9	5/7	1	1	1
Blood pressure
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	167.4±6.1	158.2±4.9	148.4±6.7	0.359	0.893	0.403
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	107.1±5.9	105.6±5.1	97.8±54.2	0.536	0.948	0.583
Water balance
Oral water intake (mL)	2193±92	1927±110	1379±87	0.037	0.013	0.732
Urine volume (mL)	2765±114	2583±75	1728±96	0.038	0.008	0.211
Serum physiological parameters
Serum potassium (mmol/L)	2.47±0.21	2.81±0.32	4.56±0.55	0.003	0.007	0.004
Serum aldosterone (pmol/L)	872±190	785±189	287±146	0.021	0.015	0.037
Basis plasma renin activity (ng·ml−1·h−1)	0.14±0.18	0.21±0.35	1.49±0.25	0.041	0.038	0.789
Serum sodium (mmol/L)	146.8±1.7	142.9±2.7	137.3±3.2	0.578	0.427	0.874
Serum chlorine (mmol/L)	101.8±3.1	99.5±2.4	98.8±3.5	0.753	0.668	0.947
Urinary physiological parameters parameters
24 h urinary potassium (mmol/L)	115.3±29.8	93.3±33.6	64.4±22.3	0.001	0.043	0.038
24 h urinary aldosterone (ug)	37.1±5.6	32.6±7.2	15.4±4.9	0.029	0.038	0.041
24 h urinary sodium (mmol/L)	202.6±35.3	188.1±29.8	215.4±47.7	0.493	0.387	0.582
24 h urinary chlorine (mmol/L)	189.6±56.9	217.7±43.5	202.5±67.5	0.294	0.198	0.781

APA aldosterone-producing adenomas; IHA idiopathic hyperaldosteronism; NAG normal adrenal gland.

mTOR Signaling Pathway was Overactivated in Adrenal Tissues of Primary Aldosterone Patients

At the microscopic level, typical cell patterns were observed in the diseased adrenal tissues of IHA and APA patients. These cells were cuboidal or low columnar in shape and were arranged in spherical masses. The volumes of the cells and nuclei were smaller than the zona fasciculata, with fewer lipid droplets (Figure 1). Immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections demonstrated that p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF were predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm of APA and IHA tissues. In contrast, only faint protein labeling was visible in the cytoplasm of normal zona glomerulosa cells (Figure 1). Table 2 showed these four proteins were significantly upregulated in APA and IHA tissues compared with normal zona glomerulosa, while no differences were found between APA and IHA tissues.

Figure 1

Expression of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway by immunohistochemistry in NAGs, APA and IHA patients.

NAGs served as a reference. In NAGs, faint staining of these proteins is visible in the cytoplasm of normal zona glomerulosa cells. However, in IHA and APA patients, the staining of these four proteins is stronger. In general, the immunohistochemical staining of the tissue sections indicated that p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF were highly expressed in APA and IHA sections compared with NAGs. (Magnification × 400).

Table 2

Summary of the immunohistochemical staining results for p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF in APA, IHA and NAG tissues.

Proteins	Group	APA	IHA	NAG	P value
					APA VS NAG	IHA VS NAG	IHA VS APA
p-AKT	High	22	11	3	0.011	0.021	1
	Low	8	4	9
p-mTOR	High	25	12	4	0.005	0.022	1
	Low	5	3	8
p-S6	High	26	11	4	0.002	0.057	0.491
	Low	4	4	8
VEGF	High	21	10	2	0.002	0.019	1
	Low	9	5	10

APA aldosterone-producing adenomas; IHA idiopathic hyperaldosteronism; NAG normal adrenal gland.

As shown in table 3, p-AKT and p-mTOR expression was correlated with the plasma aldosterone level (P<0.05) but not with any other variable. A Spearman correlation analysis indicated that positive correlations existed between the plasma aldosterone level and p-AKT and p-mTOR expression (rs = 0.356, P<0.01; rs = 0.295, P<0.05).

Table 3

The association between p-AKT and p-mTOR activities and the clinicopathological characteristics in the adrenocortical lesions of primary aldosteronism patients.

Variables	Number	p-AKT				p-mTOR
		−	+	++	+++	−	+	++	+++
Gender
Male	23	8	9	5	1	6	10	7	0
Female	34	13	17	3	1	10	12	11	1
Age (Years)
<50	28	11	9	8	0	8	13	6	1
≥50	29	10	12	6	1	8	15	6	0
Blood pressure
Normal	10	6	3	1	0	3	5	2	0
High	47	15	19	12	1	13	18	16	0
Plasma aldosterone
Normal	18	10	7	1	0	6	11	1	0
High	39	11	12	16	0#	10	11	16	2#
Serum K
Normal	17	9	7	1	0	5	7	5	0
Low	40	12	21	6	1	11	15	14	0
PRA
Normal	27	9	11	7	0	5	15	6	1
Low	30	12	13	4	1	11	13	6	0

indicates that the expression of p-AKT and p-mTOR was correlated with the plasma aldosterone level (P = 0.008, P = 0.027).

The results of western blotting were consistent with the immunohistochemical staining. Compared with NAGs, p-AKT, p-S6 and VEGF were highly expressed in APA and IHA tissues (Figure 2). A photodensitometric analysis of the APA and IHA samples revealed elevations of the p-AKT/β-actin, p-S6/β-actin and VEGF/β-actin ratios compared with NAGs (Figure 2). The ratios of p-AKT/β-actin, p-S6/β-actin and VEGF/β-actin significantly differed between NAGs and APA (P<0.05) and NAGs and IHA (P<0.05), while no significant differences were observed in these ratios between IHA and APA samples (p = 0.751, 0.302, 0.347), respectively.

Figure 2

Different activities of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in NAGs, APA and IHA patients.

Proteins were analyzed by western blotting using monoclonal antibodies specific for the protein forms. NAGs served as a reference. Panel A shows that p-AKT, p-S6 and VEGF are highly elevated in APA and IHA tissues compared with NAGs. β-actin was used as the endogenous control protein. Panels B, C and D reveal significant elevations of the p-AKT/β-actin, p-S6/β-actin and VEGF/β-actin ratios in APA and IHA tissues by photodensitometric analysis. There were significant differences in the ratios of p-AKT/β-actin, p-S6/β-actin and VEGF/β-actin between NAGs and APA and IHA tissues. Mean and SEM shown; t test:* P<0.05, in comparison with NAGs.

Rapamycin Inhibited NCI-H295R Cell Proliferation and Aldosterone Secretion

Since mTOR pathway is activated in PA, we studied the effect of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin on the proliferation of NCI-H295R cells. Our results showed that rapamycin significantly suppressed cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner (Figure 3). A statistically significant reduction in cell proliferation with rapamycin treatment was evident at 50 nM and 100 nM (P<0.05). Additionally, aldosterone levels in the supernatant of NCI-H295R cells grown as monolayers were inhibited by rapamycin (48 h of incubation) in a dose-dependent manner. Aldosterone secretion was inhibited by 47.6% in the rapamycin (50 nM)-treated cells (P<0.05) and by 54.6% in rapamycin (100 nM)-treated cells (P<0.01) (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Rapamycin inhibited NCI-H295R cell proliferation and aldosterone secretion.

Rapamycin (25 nM, 50 nM, 100 nM) was applied on cultured NCI-H295R cells for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h treatment. Panel A shows that dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects of rapamycin on cell proliferation. Living cells were counted after different treatments with rapamycin. Data are expressed as the percentage of living cells in control group, which was 100%. Panel B shows rapamycin (25 nM, 50 nM, 100 nM) could inhibit aldosterone production in NCI-H295R cell after 48 h of incubation in a dose-dependent manner. The aldosterone levels measured were normalized by the cell protein concentration in each well (aldosterone/total cell protein concentration). Data are expressed as percentage of control, which was set as 100%. Statistically significant reduction in aldosternoe secretion with rapamycin treatment was evident at 50 nM and 100 nM. Mean and SEM shown; t test: *P<0.05, in comparison with the control.

Discussion

AKT, also known as protein kinase B (PKB), is a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase that plays a key role in multiple cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell proliferation and cell migration. The predominant roles of mTOR and S6 in mammals are to regulate the function of ribosomes and promote the translation of cell cycle-related proteins [11]. Activation of the mTOR pathway occurs via a multistep process that includes upstream phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) and AKT activation, eliciting the activation of mTORC1. mTOR can also be directly phosphorylated as a part of the mTORC1 complex by AKT, forming phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR), which is often studied as a marker of mTOR activation [11]. Activation of the mTORC1 complex leads to the activation of the protein kinase p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6), which can promote the synthesis of several oncogenic proteins, including c-Myc, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), VEGF and cyclin D [12], [13].

Compared with normal zona glomerulosa, p-AKT expression was significantly upregulated in APA and IHA tissues, which is consistent with a previous study demonstrating that the PI3K/AKT pathway is related to aldosterone secretion in glomerulosa cells [9]. Our results also showed significant differences between NAG and PA tissues in the expression of p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF as downstream signaling molecules of p-AKT. Positive correlations existed between the level of plasma aldosterone and the expression of p-AKT and p-mTOR, suggesting that the PI3K/AKT pathway may participate in zona glomerulosa hyperplasia and the hypersecretion of aldosterone via the downstream mTOR pathway.

In vitro, the human NCI-H295R cell line is a commonly utilized model for autonomous aldosterone secretion, although it was derived from an adrenocortical carcinoma and therefore may inherently not reflect the molecular and functional changes of true aldosterone-producing adenomas [14]. Nevertheless, in contrast to other adrenocortical cell lines, such as SW13 cells, these cells are known to be capable of aldosterone production. Some groups have used these cells as a model of PA and aldosterone production [15]. Doghman et al found that p-mTOR was highly expressed in NCI-H295R cells and that mTOR inhibitors could significantly inhibit cell proliferation in vitro and xenograft growth, which was consistent with our results [16]. We also found that rapamycin could decrease aldosterone secretion in NCI-H295R cells, indicating that rapamycin may also have a potential inhibitory effect on PA.

In a recent study evaluating the effects of sorafenib (a VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor) and everolimus (an mTOR inhibitor) in primary adrenocortical cell cultures taken from APA, the authors showed that VEGF and the VEGFR were highly expressed in APA compared with NAGs and that these drugs significantly inhibited cell growth [17]. Bernini et al also observed higher VEGF expression in APA tissues than NAGs, which was in agreement with our results. Williams et al found that TDGF-1, which belongs to the epidermal growth factor-CFC family of proteins, was significantly upregulated in APA compared with NAGs and played a functional role in aldosterone secretion and protection from apoptosis in NCI-H295R cells via PI3K/Akt signaling [9]. These results all suggest that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway plays an important role in autonomous aldosterone secretion and alterations in cell growth in PA.

The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway may participate in zona glomerulosa hyperplasia or aldosterone secretion in the following ways. SREBP-1, a downstream signaling molecule of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, may participate in the synthesis of lipoidal substances such as cholesterol [18]. The overactivation of this pathway could activate SREBP-1 and generate more cholesterol for the synthesis of aldosterone. At the same time, more calcium ion channels could be activated to trigger aldosterone secretion [19]. Moreover, this pathway could stimulate the synthesis of several oncogenic proteins, such as c-Myc, VEGF and IGF-II, initiating cellular hyperplasia in PA [12]–[13]. However, further studies are required to test these hypotheses.

No significant differences in the expression of p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-S6 and VEGF were found between IHA and APA tissues, suggesting that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway may play an important role in the development of PA but might not be a marker for differentiating these two subtypes of PA. Changes in the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway may constitute one of several important changes in the pathogenesis of PA, in which the cumulative effects of a number of genetic alterations are required for the initiation of PA formation and the subsequent autonomous hypersecretion of aldosterone. The present study provides evidence for a potential role of this pathway in the pathogenesis of PA and highlights the lack of a significant difference between APA and IHA, thus providing the basis for future studies addressing the role of this pathway in the pathophysiology of PA.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed study reporting the overactivation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in PA. Our data indicate that this pathway may participate in the pathogenesis of PA and may be a potential target for the treatment of this disease. We also found that mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, could inhibit the proliferation of NCI-H295R cells and reduce aldosterone secretion. Inhibiting the synthesis of aldosterone and zona glomerulosa hyperplasia or neoplasia by blocking this pathway may be a new treatment option for IHA and patients who cannot tolerate the operation.