THER-04. IS THERE A ROLE FOR CANNABIDIOL IN THE TREATMENT OF CHILDHOOD BRAIN TUMOURS?

Abstract Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer related death in children with limited treatment options and high recurrence rates. Recent evidence suggests there may be anti-tumoral properties of cannabinoids, and of cannabidiol (CBD) in particular. We evaluated the effect of CBD on paediatric brain tumour cell lines in 2D and 3D spheroids; pHGG (SF188), ependymoma (BxD-1425EPN) and human astrocytes. At the CBD EC50 concentration, astrocytic cell death was insignificant. 3D spheroids decreased in size by approximately 20% when cultured in CBD compared to cells only after 5-day exposure. Cell death increased with time after a single dose of CBD. Western Blot showed an increase in Lc3b expression (autophagy) after 24 hours incubation (early cell death) with CBD in both BxD-1425EPN and SF188 with PARP expression (apoptosis) increased after 5 days incubation (late cell death). Cell cycle analysis showed a decrease of cells in G1 and no change in G2 indicating cell cycle arrest. In hypoxia, SF188 and BxD-1425EPN cells showed decreased cell death after 24 hours and 5 days when compared to normoxia and an EC50 within acceptable limits could not be achieved. SF188 cells pre-treated with receptor antagonists indicate that CBD was not acting through CB1, CB2, GPR18, PPARα or PPARγ receptors but may act as a partial agonist of the TRPV1 and 5-HT1A receptors and a full agonist of the GPR55 receptor (resazurin assay). This provides evidence that CBD is effective at killing paediatric brain tumour cells and does not have a significant effect on normal astrocytes.

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Transcriptional CDK inhibitors, CYC065 and THZ1 promote Bim-dependent apoptosis in primary and recurrent GBM through cell cycle arrest and Mcl-1 downregulation

Cell Death and Disease ◽

10.1038/s41419-021-04050-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

Author(s):

Viktorija Juric ◽

Lance Hudson ◽

Joanna Fay ◽

Cathy E. Richards ◽

Hanne Jahns ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Death ◽

Cell Cycle Arrest ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Apoptotic Cell ◽

Cdk Inhibitors ◽

Induce Cell Death ◽

Viability Loss ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Recurrent Gbm

AbstractActivation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) contributes to the uncontrolled proliferation of tumour cells. Genomic alterations that lead to the constitutive activation or overexpression of CDKs can support tumourigenesis including glioblastoma (GBM), the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour in adults. The incurability of GBM highlights the need to discover novel and more effective treatment options. Since CDKs 2, 7 and 9 were found to be overexpressed in GBM, we tested the therapeutic efficacy of two CDK inhibitors (CKIs) (CYC065 and THZ1) in a heterogeneous panel of GBM patient-derived cell lines (PDCLs) cultured as gliomaspheres, as preclinically relevant models. CYC065 and THZ1 treatments suppressed invasion and induced viability loss in the majority of gliomaspheres, irrespective of the mutational background of the GBM cases, but spared primary cortical neurons. Viability loss arose from G2/M cell cycle arrest following treatment and subsequent induction of apoptotic cell death. Treatment efficacies and treatment durations required to induce cell death were associated with proliferation velocities, and apoptosis induction correlated with complete abolishment of Mcl-1 expression, a cell cycle-regulated antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family member. GBM models generally appeared highly dependent on Mcl-1 expression for cell survival, as demonstrated by pharmacological Mcl-1 inhibition or depletion of Mcl-1 expression. Further analyses identified CKI-induced Mcl-1 loss as a prerequisite to establish conditions at which the BH3-only protein Bim can efficiently induce apoptosis, with cellular Bim amounts strongly correlating with treatment efficacy. CKIs reduced proliferation and promoted apoptosis also in chick embryo xenograft models of primary and recurrent GBM. Collectively, these studies highlight the potential of these novel CKIs to suppress growth and induce cell death of patient-derived GBM cultures in vitro and in vivo, warranting further clinical investigation.

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Selective Inhibition of Aurora Kinase A by AK-01/LY3295668 Attenuates MCC Tumor Growth by Inducing MCC Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13153708 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3708

Author(s):

Bhaba K. Das ◽

Aarthi Kannan ◽

Quy Nguyen ◽

Jyoti Gogoi ◽

Haibo Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Cycle Arrest ◽

Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Standard Of Care ◽

Aurora Kinase ◽

Selective Inhibition ◽

Potential Candidate ◽

Cycle Arrest

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an often-lethal skin cancer with increasing incidence and limited treatment options. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have become the standard of care in advanced MCC, 50% of all MCC patients are ineligible for ICIs, and amongst those treated, many patients develop resistance. There is no therapeutic alternative for these patients, highlighting the urgent clinical need for alternative therapeutic strategies. Using patient-derived genetic insights and data generated in our lab, we identified aurora kinase as a promising therapeutic target for MCC. In this study, we examined the efficacy of the recently developed and highly selective AURKA inhibitor, AK-01 (LY3295668), in six patient-derived MCC cell lines and two MCC cell-line-derived xenograft mouse models. We found that AK-01 potently suppresses MCC survival through apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, particularly in MCPyV-negative MCC cells without RB expression. Despite the challenge posed by its short in vivo durability upon discontinuation, the swift and substantial tumor suppression with low toxicity makes AK-01 a strong potential candidate for MCC management, particularly in combination with existing regimens.

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Transcriptional network constituted of CBP, Ku70, NOX2, and BAX prevents the cell death of necrosis, paraptosis, and apoptosis in human melanoma

Cell Death Discovery ◽

10.1038/s41420-021-00417-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Liang Ding ◽

Yalei Wen ◽

Xin Zhang ◽

Fang Zhao ◽

Kenao Lv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Death ◽

Apoptotic Cell ◽

Human Melanoma ◽

Transcriptional Network ◽

Multiple Roles ◽

Creb Binding Protein ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Intracellular Ros ◽

High Level

AbstractCREB-binding protein (CBP) is an acetyltransferase known to play multiple roles in the transcriptions of genes involving oxidative metabolism, cell cycle, DNA damage checkpoints, and cell death. In this study, CBP was found to positively regulate the expression of Ku70, and both CBP and Ku70 were found to negatively regulate the expression of NOX2, therefore, mitigating the intracellular ROS in human melanoma. Knocking down CBP or Ku70 induced necrotic and paraptotic cell death as indicated by high-level intracellular ROS, cytoplasmic vacuolization, and cell cycle arrest in the S phase. In addition, chromosomal condensations were also observed in the cells proceeding necrotic and paraptotic cell death, which was found to be related to the BAX-associated intrinsic pathway of apoptotic cell death, when Ku70 was decreased either by CBP depletion or by Ku70 depletion directly. Our results, therefore, supported the idea that CBP, Ku70, BAX, and NOX2 have formed a transcriptional network in the prevention of cell death of necrosis, paraptosis, and apoptosis in human melanoma.

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Differential Mechanisms of Cell Death Induced by HDAC Inhibitor SAHA and MDM2 Inhibitor RG7388 in MCF-7 Cells

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells8010008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Umamaheswari Natarajan ◽

Thiagarajan Venkatesan ◽

Vijayaraghavan Radhakrishnan ◽

Shila Samuel ◽

Appu Rathinavelu

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Death ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Hdac Inhibitor ◽

The Other ◽

Combination Treatments ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Anti Cancer ◽

Mcf 7

Gene expression is often altered by epigenetic modifications that can significantly influence the growth ability and progression of cancers. SAHA (Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, also known as Vorinostat), a well-known Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, can stop cancer growth and metastatic processes through epigenetic alterations. On the other hand, Letrozole is an aromatase inhibitor that can elicit strong anti-cancer effects on breast cancer through direct and indirect mechanisms. A newly developed inhibitor, RG7388 specific for an oncogene-derived protein called MDM2, is in clinical trials for the treatment of various cancers. In this paper, we performed assays to measure the effects of cell cycle arrest resulting from individual drug treatments or combination treatments with SAHA + letrozole and SAHA + RG7388, using the MCF-7 breast cancer cells. When SAHA was used individually, or in combination treatments with RG7388, a significant increase in the cytotoxic effect was obtained. Induction of cell cycle arrest by SAHA in cancer cells was evidenced by elevated p21 protein levels. In addition, SAHA treatment in MCF-7 cells showed significant up-regulation in phospho-RIP3 and MLKL levels. Our results confirmed that cell death caused by SAHA treatment was primarily through the induction of necroptosis. On the other hand, the RG7388 treatment was able to induce apoptosis by elevating BAX levels. It appears that, during combination treatments, with SAHA and RG7388, two parallel pathways might be induced simultaneously, that could lead to increased cancer cell death. SAHA appears to induce cell necroptosis in a p21-dependent manner, and RG7388 seems to induce apoptosis in a p21-independent manner, outlining differential mechanisms of cell death induction. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the intracellular mechanisms that are triggered by these two anti-cancer agents.

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Simvastatin Induces Death of Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines

Journal of Investigative Medicine ◽

10.1136/jim-52-05-34 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 52 (5) ◽

pp. 335-344 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Naomi Gronich ◽

Liat Drucker ◽

Hava Shapiro ◽

Judith Radnay ◽

Shai Yarkoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Multiple Myeloma ◽

Cell Death ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Myeloma Cell ◽

Cytoplasmic Calcium ◽

Multiple Myeloma Cell ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Rpmi 8226

BackgroundAccumulating reports indicate that statins widely prescribed for hypercholesteromia have antineoplastic activity. We hypothesized that because statins inhibit farnesylation of Ras that is often mutated in multiple myeloma (MM), as well as the production of interleukin (IL)-6, a key cytokine in MM, they may have antiproliferative and/or proapoptotic effects in this malignancy.MethodsU266, RPMI 8226, and ARH77 were treated with simvastatin (0-30 μM) for 5 days. The following aspects were evaluated: viability (IC50), cell cycle, cell death, cytoplasmic calcium ion levels, supernatant IL-6 levels, and tyrosine kinase activity.ResultsExposure of all cell lines to simvastatin resulted in reduced viability with IC50s of 4.5 μM for ARH77, 8 μM for RPMI 8226, and 13 μM for U266. The decreased viability is attributed to cell-cycle arrest (U266, G1; RPMI 8226, G2M) and cell death. ARH77 underwent apoptosis, whereas U266 and RPMI 8226 displayed a more necrotic form of death. Cytoplasmic calcium levels decreased significantly in all treated cell lines. IL-6 secretion from U266 cells was abrogated on treatment with simvastatin, whereas total tyrosine phosphorylation was unaffected.ConclusionsSimvastatin displays significant antimyeloma activity in vitro. Further research is warranted for elucidation of the modulated molecular pathways and clinical relevance.

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N-(3'-acetyl-8-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1H,3'H-spiro[quinoline-4,2'-[1,3,4]thiadiazol]-5'-yl) acetamides Induced Cell death in MCF-7 cells via G2/M Phase Cell Cycle Arrest

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/d1nj02550c ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Selvaraj Shyamsivappan ◽

Raju Vivek ◽

Thangaraj Suresh ◽

Palanivel Naveen ◽

Kaviyarasu Adhigaman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Death ◽

Cell Cycle Arrest ◽

Spectroscopic Studies ◽

Phase Cell ◽

X Ray ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

M Phase ◽

Mcf 7

A progression of new N-(3'-acetyl-8-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1H,3'H-spiro[quinoline-4,2'-[1,3,4]thiadiazol]-5'-yl) acetamide derivatives were synthesized from potent 8-nitro quinoline-thiosemicarbazones. The synthesized compounds were characterized by different spectroscopic studies and single X-ray crystallographic studies. The compounds were...

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Deficiency of VCP-Interacting Membrane Selenoprotein (VIMP) Leads to G1 Cell Cycle Arrest and Cell Death in MIN6 Insulinoma Cells

Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry ◽

10.1159/000495865 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (5) ◽

pp. 2185-2197 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lili Men ◽

Juan Sun ◽

Decheng Ren

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Cell Death ◽

Insulin Secretion ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Β Cells ◽

Β Cell ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

G1 Cell Cycle Arrest ◽

Insulinoma Cells

Background/Aims: VCP-interacting membrane selenoprotein (VIMP), an ER resident selenoprotein, is highly expressed in β-cells, however, the role of VIMP in β-cells has not been characterized. In this study, we studied the relationship between VIMP deficiency and β-cell survival in MIN6 insulinoma cells. Methods: To determine the role of VIMP in β-cells, lentiviral VIMP shRNAs were used to knock down (KD) expression of VIMP in MIN6 cells. Cell death was quantified by propidium iodide (PI) staining followed by flow cytometric analyses using a FACS Caliber and FlowJo software. Cell apoptosis and proliferation were determined by TUNEL assay and Ki67 staining, respectively. Cell cycle was analyzed after PI staining. Results: The results show that 1) VIMP suppression induces β-cell apoptosis, which is associated with a decrease in Bcl-xL, and the β-cell apoptosis induced by VIMP suppression can be inhibited by overexpression of Bcl-xL; 2) VIMP knockdown (KD) decreases cell proliferation and G1 cell cycle arrest by accumulating p27 and decreasing E2F1; 3) VIMP KD suppresses unfolded protein response (UPR) activation by regulating the IRE1α and PERK pathways; 4) VIMP KD increases insulin secretion. Conclusion: These results suggest that VIMP may function as a novel regulator to modulate β-cell survival, proliferation, cell cycle, UPR and insulin secretion in MIN6 cells.

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