Optimization of Beclin 1-Targeting Stapled Peptides by Staple Scanning Leads to Enhanced Antiproliferative Potency in Cancer Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (18) ◽  
pp. 13475-13486
Author(s):  
Qifan Yang ◽  
Xianxiu Qiu ◽  
Xiaozhe Zhang ◽  
Yingting Yu ◽  
Na Li ◽  
...  
Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2045
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gornowicz ◽  
Anna Szymanowska ◽  
Mariusz Mojzych ◽  
Robert Czarnomysy ◽  
Krzysztof Bielawski ◽  
...  

Cancer therapy is one of the most important challenges of modern medical and chemical sciences. Among the many methods of combating cancer, chemotherapy plays a special role. Imperfect modern chemotherapy justifies continuing the search for new, more effective, and safe drugs. Sulfonamides are the classic group of chemotherapeutic drugs with a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity. Recent literature reports show that sulfonamide derivatives have anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. The aim of the study was to synthesize a novel 1,2,4-triazine sulfonamide derivative and check its anticancer potential in DLD-1 and HT-29 colon cancer cells. The biological studies included MTT assay, DNA biosynthesis, cell cycle analysis, Annexin V binding assay, ethidium bromide/acridine orange staining, and caspase-8, -9, and -3/7 activity. The concentrations of important molecules (sICAM-1, mTOR, Beclin-1, cathepsin B) involved in the pathogenesis and poor prognosis of colorectal cancer were also evaluated by ELISA. We demonstrated that the novel compound was able to induce apoptosis through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways and was capable of decreasing sICAM-1, mTOR, cathepsin B concentrations, whereas increased Beclin-1 concentration was detected in both colon cancer cell lines. The novel compound represents promising multi-targeted potential in colorectal cancer, but further in vivo examinations are needed to confirm the claim.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1259-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
WEN-LIN LI ◽  
LI-XIA XIONG ◽  
XIAO-YU SHI ◽  
LIANG XIAO ◽  
GUAN-YUN QI ◽  
...  

Nanomaterials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Jie Hu ◽  
Jing-Ying Zhang ◽  
Qian Luo ◽  
Jia-Rui Xu ◽  
Yan Yan ◽  
...  

The heterogeneity of breast cancer and the development of drug resistance are the relapse reasons of disease after chemotherapy. To address this issue, a combined therapeutic strategy was developed by building the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes. Investigations were performed on human breast cancer cells in vitro and xenografts in nude mice. The results indicated that dihydroartemisinin could significantly enhance the efficacy of epirubicin in killing different breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We found that the combined use of dihydroartemisinin with epirubicin could efficiently inhibit the activity of Bcl-2, facilitate release of Beclin 1, and further activate Bax. Besides, Bax activated apoptosis which led to the type I programmed death of breast cancer cells while Beclin 1 initiated the excessive autophagy that resulted in the type II programmed death of breast cancer cells. In addition, the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes prolonged circulation of drugs, and were beneficial for simultaneously delivering drugs into breast cancer tissues. Hence, the nanostructured dihydroartemisinin plus epirubicin liposomes could provide a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. e2020478118
Author(s):  
Tobias Wijshake ◽  
Zhongju Zou ◽  
Beibei Chen ◽  
Lin Zhong ◽  
Guanghua Xiao ◽  
...  

Beclin 1, an autophagy and haploinsufficient tumor-suppressor protein, is frequently monoallelically deleted in breast and ovarian cancers. However, the precise mechanisms by which Beclin 1 inhibits tumor growth remain largely unknown. To address this question, we performed a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen in MCF7 breast cancer cells to identify genes whose loss of function reverse Beclin 1-dependent inhibition of cellular proliferation. Small guide RNAs targeting CDH1 and CTNNA1, tumor-suppressor genes that encode cadherin/catenin complex members E-cadherin and alpha-catenin, respectively, were highly enriched in the screen. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of CDH1 or CTNNA1 reversed Beclin 1-dependent suppression of breast cancer cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. Moreover, deletion of CDH1 or CTNNA1 inhibited the tumor-suppressor effects of Beclin 1 in breast cancer xenografts. Enforced Beclin 1 expression in MCF7 cells and tumor xenografts increased cell surface localization of E-cadherin and decreased expression of mesenchymal markers and beta-catenin/Wnt target genes. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of BECN1 and the autophagy class III phosphatidylinositol kinase complex 2 (PI3KC3-C2) gene, UVRAG, but not PI3KC3-C1–specific ATG14 or other autophagy genes ATG13, ATG5, or ATG7, resulted in decreased E-cadherin plasma membrane and increased cytoplasmic E-cadherin localization. Taken together, these data reveal previously unrecognized cooperation between Beclin 1 and E-cadherin–mediated tumor suppression in breast cancer cells.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257298
Author(s):  
Joohyun Woo ◽  
Jong Bin Kim ◽  
Taeeun Cho ◽  
Eun Hye Yoo ◽  
Byung-In Moon ◽  
...  

The response rate to treatment with trastuzumab (Tz), a recombinant humanized anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, is only 12–34% despite demonstrated effectiveness on improving the survival of patients with HER2-positive breast cancers. Selenium has an antitumor effect against cancer cells and can play a cytoprotective role on normal cells. This study investigated the effect of selenium on HER2-positive breast cancer cells and the mechanism in relation to the response of the cells to Tz. HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines, SK-BR-3 as trastuzumab-sensitive cells, and JIMT-1 as Tz-resistant cells were treated with Tz and sodium selenite (selenite). Cell survival rates and expression of Her2, Akt, and autophagy-related proteins, including LC3B and beclin 1, in both cell lines 72 h after treatment were evaluated. Significant cell death was induced at different concentrations of selenite in both cell lines. A combined effect of selenite and Tz at 72 h was similar to or significantly greater than each drug alone. The expression of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) was decreased in JIMT-1 after combination treatment compared to that after only Tz treatment, while p-Akt expression was increased in SK-BR-3. The expression of beclin1 increased particularly in JIMT-1 after only Tz treatment and was downregulated by combination treatment. These results showed that combination of Tz and selenite had an antitumor effect in Tz-resistant breast cancer cells through downregulation of phosphorylated Akt and beclin1-related autophagy. Selenite might be a potent drug to treat Tz-resistant breast cancer by several mechanisms.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 1557-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIANGLIANG ZHANG ◽  
HUIJUAN SHI ◽  
SHENGQV LIN ◽  
MINGCHEN BA ◽  
SHUZHONG CUI

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (8) ◽  
pp. 7022-7031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Shen ◽  
Ling Yin ◽  
Ganlu Deng ◽  
Cao Guo ◽  
Ying Han ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuhal Hamurcu ◽  
Nesrin Delibaşı ◽  
Ufuk Nalbantoglu ◽  
Elif Funda Sener ◽  
Nursultan Nurdinov ◽  
...  

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Emanuele ◽  
Antonietta Notaro ◽  
Antonio Palumbo Piccionello ◽  
Antonella Maggio ◽  
Marianna Lauricella ◽  
...  

Litchi chinensis Sonnerat is a tropical tree whose fruits contain significant amounts of bioactive polyphenols. Litchi cultivation has recently spread in Sicily where the climate conditions are particularly favorable for this crop. Recent findings have shown that Litchi extracts display anti-tumor and pro-apoptotic effects in vitro, but the precise underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we report for the first time the effects of Sicilian litchi fruit extracts on colon cancer cells. The results indicated that litchi exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp fractions reduce the viability and clonogenic growth of HT29 cells. These effects were due to cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase followed by caspase-dependent cell death. Interestingly, litchi exocarp and endocarp triggered a precocious autophagic response (16–24 h), which was accompanied by an increase in the level of autophagy related 1/autophagy activating kinase 1 (ATG1/ULK1), beclin-1, microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II and p62 proteins. Autophagy inhibition by bafilomycin A1 or beclin-1 silencing increased cell death, thus suggesting that autophagy was initially triggered as a pro-survival response. Significant effects of Litchi extracts were also observed in other colon cancer cells, including HCT116 and Caco-2 cells. On the other hand, differentiated Caco-2 cells, a model of human enterocytes, appeared to be insensitive to the extracts at the same treatment conditions. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole-Time-Of-Flight HPLC/ESI/Q-TOF evidenced the presence of some polyphenolic compounds, specifically in exocarp and endocarp extracts, that can account for the observed biological effects. The results obtained suggest a potential therapeutic efficacy of polyphenolic compounds purified from Sicilian Litchi fractions for the treatment of colon cancer. Moreover, our findings indicate that modulation of autophagy can represent a tool to improve the effectiveness of these agents and potentiate the anti-tumor response of colon cancer cells.


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