scholarly journals Oridonin enhances antitumor effects of doxorubicin in human osteosarcoma cells

Author(s):  
Liliya Kazantseva ◽  
José Becerra ◽  
Leonor Santos-Ruiz

Abstract Background Doxorubicin is the chemotherapeutic drug of choice in osteosarcoma treatment, but its cumulative administration causes dilated cardiomyopathy. Combination therapy represents a potential strategy to reduce the therapeutic dosage of the chemotherapeutic agent and minimize its side effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of oridonin, a natural product from the medicinal herb Rabdosia rubescens, to act in combination with doxorubicin for osteosarcoma treatment. To date, there are no reports of the simultaneous administration of both drugs in osteosarcoma therapy. Methods The combined administration of different doses of oridonin and doxorubicin, as compared with the drugs alone, were tested in an in vitro model of osteosarcoma. The synergistic effect of the drugs on cell death was assessed by alamarBlue™ and by CompuSyn software. Early and late apoptosis markers (JC-1 fluorescence and Annexin V immunofluorescence), as well as the production of reactive oxygen species, were evaluated by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to assess the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins. Results Oridonin and doxorubicin presented a synergistic cytotoxic effect in osteosarcoma cells. In the presence of sub-cytotoxic concentrations of the natural product, there was an increased accumulation of intracellular doxorubicin, increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), alteration of mitochondria membrane potential and a higher rate of apoptosis. Conclusion The combined use of oridonin and doxorubicin could help to reduce the clinical dosage of doxorubicin and its dangerous side effects.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuochao Liu ◽  
Hongyi Wang ◽  
Chuanzhen Hu ◽  
Chuanlong Wu ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this study, we identified the multifaceted effects of atezolizumab, a specific monoclonal antibody against PD-L1, in tumor suppression except for restoring antitumor immunity, and investigated the promising ways to improve its efficacy. Atezolizumab could inhibit the proliferation and induce immune-independent apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. With further exploration, we found that atezolizumab could impair mitochondria of osteosarcoma cells, resulting in increased release of reactive oxygen species and cytochrome-c, eventually leading to mitochondrial-related apoptosis via activating JNK pathway. Nevertheless, the excessive release of reactive oxygen species also activated the protective autophagy of osteosarcoma cells. Therefore, when we combined atezolizumab with autophagy inhibitors, the cytotoxic effect of atezolizumab on osteosarcoma cells was significantly enhanced in vitro. Further in vivo experiments also confirmed that atezolizumab combined with chloroquine achieved the most significant antitumor effect. Taken together, our study indicates that atezolizumab can induce mitochondrial-related apoptosis and protective autophagy independently of the immune system, and targeting autophagy is a promising combinatorial approach to amplify its cytotoxicity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1812-1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilong Zou ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Jiabing Sun ◽  
Xiaoyan Wang ◽  
Hualei Tu ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Osteosarcoma is the predominant form of primary bone malignancy. Although the combinational application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgical resection significantly increases the survival rate, the therapeutic outcome remains unsatisfactory. Deoxyelephantopin (DET), an active ingredient of Elephantopus scaber, has been reported to have an anti-tumor effect in recent publications. This study aimed to investigate whether DET has antineoplastic effects on osteosarcoma cells and its underlying mechanism. Methods: Cell viability and morphological changes were assessed by MTT and Live/dead assays. Cell apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential were detected utilizing Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining, DCFH-DA and JC-1 probes, respectively. Autophagy was detected by mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus transfection and western blot. Results: DET dose-dependently reduced the viability of osteosarcoma cells following the increase in intracellular ROS levels. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reversed this effect. Furthermore, DET induced mitochondrial apoptosis. Depolarized cells were increased, and apoptosis-related proteins, such as Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved ploy ADP-ribose polymerase, were activated. Additionally, we found that DET could induce autophagy in osteosarcoma cells, but autophagy inhibition did not affect the decrease in cell viability. Conclusion: DET induced apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells through ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation; in addition, autophagy was involved in the effects of DET on osteosarcoma cells.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document