scholarly journals Unacylated ghrelin and AZP531 suppress the 3D growth of breast cancers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
CheukMan C. Au ◽  
John B. Furness ◽  
Kara Britt ◽  
Sofya Oshchepkova ◽  
Heta Ladumor ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBreast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women and notwithstanding important therapeutic advances, it remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the US. Despite extensive research relating to the hormone ghrelin, responsible for the stimulation of growth hormone release and appetite, little is known of the effects of its unacylated form, especially in cancer. One major area of research relates to its reported effects to increase insulin sensitivity in diabetics, this being the basis for the development of unacylated ghrelin analog, AZP531 or livoletide, now in clinical trials for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome. The mechanism of action of unacylated ghrelin is largely uncharacterized, in any system, because it does not bind to or activate the cognate ghrelin receptor, GHSR1a. The present study aimed to characterize effects of unacylated ghrelin on breast cancer cells, define its mechanism of action, and explore the therapeutic potential of unacylated ghrelin or analog AZP531. We report potent effects of unacylated ghrelin, at picomolar doses, on the growth of breast cancer cells, dependent on 3D culture and activation of Gαi. Suppression of MAPK signaling by unacylated ghrelin leads to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. AZP531 also suppresses the growth of breast cancer cells in vitro and in xenografts, and may be a novel approach for the safe and effective treatment of breast cancer.

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
CheukMan C Au ◽  
John B Furness ◽  
Kara Britt ◽  
Sofya Oshchepkova ◽  
Heta Ladumor ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women and notwithstanding important therapeutic advances, remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite extensive research relating to the hormone ghrelin, responsible for the stimulation of growth hormone release and appetite, little is known of the effects of its unacylated form, especially in cancer. The present study aimed to characterize effects of unacylated ghrelin on breast cancer cells, define its mechanism of action, and explore the therapeutic potential of unacylated ghrelin or analog AZP-531. We report potent anti-tumor effects of unacylated ghrelin, dependent on cells being cultured in 3D in a biologically-relevant extracellular matrix. The mechanism of unacylated ghrelin-mediated growth inhibition involves activation of Gαi and suppression of MAPK signaling. AZP-531 also suppresses the growth of breast cancer cells in vitro and in xenografts, and may be a novel approach for the safe and effective treatment of breast cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinxia Qiu ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Xinying Zhu ◽  
Chao Yang ◽  
Yaxing Wang ◽  
...  

Hyperoside (quercetin 3-o-β-d-galactopyranoside) is one of the flavonoid glycosides with anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and anti-cancer effects. But it remains unknown whether it had effects on breast cancer. Here, different concentrations of hyperoside were used to explore its therapeutic potential in both breast cancer cells and subcutaneous homotransplant mouse model. CCK-8 and wound healing assays showed that the viability and migration capability of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and 4T1 cells were inhibited by hyperoside, while the apoptosis of cells were increased. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis were used to detect mRNA and the protein level, respectively, which showed decreased levels of B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP), and increased levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. After exploration of the potential mechanism, we found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was reduced by the administration of hyperoside, which subsequently inhibited the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. Tumor volume was significantly decreased in subcutaneous homotransplant mouse model in hyperoside-treated group, which was consistent with our study in vitro. These results indicated that hyperoside acted as an anticancer drug through ROS-related apoptosis and its mechanism included activation of the Bax–caspase-3 axis and the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Davarnejad ◽  
Kiyana Layeghy ◽  
Meysam Soleymani ◽  
Arvin Ayazi

Abstract Quercetin, a natural polyphenolic compound, has attracted much attention due to its great therapeutic potential against various types of diseases. But clinical applications of quercetin are limited due to its poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of quercetin-loaded Pluronic F127 (PF127)/Tween 80 mixed nanomicelles as a passive targeted drug delivery system for breast cancer therapy. To this end, quercetin-loaded mixed nanomicelles with different mass ratios of drug:PF127:Tween 80 were prepared by the thin-film hydration method. The highest drug loading and entrapment efficiency were obtained to be 2.3% and 98.0%, respectively, for mixed micelles with drug:PF127:Tween 80 ratio of 1:40:15. The physical interactions of quercetin with PF127 and Tween 80 at optimized ratio was investigated by XRD and FTIR analyses. The mean hydrodynamic size and surface charge of prepared nanomicelles, measured by DLS and zeta potential analyses, were 22.1 nm and -7.63 mV, respectively. The results of in-vitro drug release experiments showed that, the mixed micellar system has a prolong and sustained release behavior compared to the solution of free quercetin. Moreover, the in-vitro cytotoxicity studies of quercetin-loaded mixed nanomicelles on breast cancer cells (MCF-7) revealed that, the encapsulated drug have a lower IC50 value (8.9 µg/mL) compared to the free drug (49.2 µg/mL). Our results suggest that, quercetin-loaded mixed nanomicelles can be considered as a promising drug delivery system with prolonged release and potentiated cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang-Yan Xie ◽  
Dingbo Shi ◽  
Fei Lin ◽  
Xiao-Yu Cheng ◽  
Tong-chao Cheng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2 (SHMT2) is a key enzyme in Serine/glycine metabolism. SHMT2 is very important for tumor cell growth and proliferation as well as metabolism. Here, we investigated the regulatory effects of SHMT2 on breast cancers growth and identified the underlying mechanisms of functions.Methods: We detected the expression of SHMT2 in breast cancer cells and tissues by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.We investigated the functional and molecular mechanisms by which SHMT2 downregulation or overexpression regulates the growth and apoptosis of breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. Results: We found SHMT2 was highly expressed in BRCA cell lines and tumor tissues. Strong SHMT2 expression showed a positive correlation with the poor prognoses of patients with breast cancers. SHMT2 knockdown by shRNA significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in vitro, and whereas SHMT2 overexpression promoted tumor growthin in subcutaneous xenograft model. RNA-seq revealed that high expression of SHMT2 not only promoted serine metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and proteasome independent degradation pathways. It also activated the cell survival signaling pathway and antagonized the apoptosis pathway. The observed molecular regulation of cell growth was accompanied by the activited of the MAPK, VEGF pathways and suppressed of the mitochondrial mediated apoptosis pathway that was mediated by the SHMT2 up-regulation. Conclusions: These results indicate that SHMT2 plays a critical role in regulating breast cancers growth and could serve as a therapeutic target for breast cancer therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisni Noraida Waruwu ◽  
Maria Bintang ◽  
Bambang Pontjo Priosoeryanto

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of traditional plants that have the potential as an anticancer. The sample used in this research commercial green tea extract. The purpose of this study was to test the antiproliferation activity of green tea extract on breast cancer cell MCM-B2 in vitro. Green tea extract fractionated using three solvents, ie water, ethanol 70%, and n-hexane. Extract and fraction of green tea water have value Lethality Concentration 50 (LC50) more than 1000 ppm. The fraction of ethanol 70% and n-hexane had an LC50 value of 883.48 ppm and 600.56 ppm, respectively. The results of the phytochemical screening of green tea extract are flavonoids, tannins, and saponins, while the phytochemical screening results of n-hexane fraction are flavonoids and tannins. Antiproliferation activity was tested on breast cancer cells MCM-B2 and normal cells Vero by trypan blue staining method. The highest MCM-B2 cell inhibitory activity was achieved at a concentration of 13000 ppm green tea extract and 1000 ppm of n-hexane fraction, 59% and 59%, respectively. The extract and n-hexane fraction of green tea are not toxic to normal Vero cells characterized by not inhibiting normal cell proliferation. Keywords: antiproliferative, cancer cell MCM-B2, commercial green tea, cytotoxicity


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 1528-1538
Author(s):  
Sarah Albogami ◽  
Hadeer Darwish ◽  
Hala M. Abdelmigid ◽  
Saqer Alotaibi ◽  
Ahmed Nour El-Deen ◽  
...  

Background: In Saudi Arabia, the incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer are high. Although current treatments are effective, breast cancer cells develop resistance to these treatments. Numerous studies have demonstrated that active compounds in plant extracts, such as the phenolic compound Rosmarinic Acid (RA), exert anti-cancer effects. Objective: We investigated the anticancer properties of methanolic crude extracts of seedlings and calli of Rosmarinus officinalis and Coleus hybridus, two Lamiaceae species. Methods: MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were treated with methanolic crude extracts obtained from plant calli and seedlings generated in vitro, and cell proliferation was evaluated. Transcriptional profiling of the seedling and callus tissues was also conducted. Results: The mRNA expression levels of RA genes were higher in C. hybridus seedlings than in R. officinalis seedlings, as well as in C. hybridus calli than in R. officinalis calli, except for TAT and C4H. In addition, seedling and callus extracts of both R. officinalis and C. hybridus showed anti-proliferative effects against MCF-7 cells after 24 or 48 h of treatment. Discussion: At a low concentration of 10 μg/mL, C. hybridus calli and seedling extracts showed the most significant anti-proliferative effects after 24 and 48 h of exposure (p < 0.01); controls (doxorubicin) also showed significant inhibition, but lesser than that observed with C. hybridus (p < 0.05). Results with R. officinalis callus and seedling extracts did not significantly differ from those with untreated cells. Conclusion: Methanolic extracts of R. officinalis and C. hybridus are potentially valuable options for breast cancer treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
Paula Sofia Coutinho Medeiros ◽  
Ana Lúcia Marques Batista de Carvalho ◽  
Cristina Ruano ◽  
Juan Carlos Otero ◽  
Maria Paula Matos Marques

Background: The impact of the ubiquitous dietary phenolic compound p-coumaric acid on human breast cancer cells was assessed, through a multidisciplinary approach: Combined biological assays for cytotoxicity evaluation and biochemical profiling by Raman microspectroscopic analysis in cells. </P><P> Methods: Para-coumaric acid was shown to exert in vitro chemoprotective and antitumor activities, depending on the concentration and cell line probed: a significant anti-invasive ability was detected for the triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cells, while a high pro-oxidant effect was found for the estrogen- dependent MCF-7 cells. A striking cell selectivity was obtained, with a more noticeable outcome on the triple-negative MDA-MB-231 cell line. Results: The main impact on the cellular biochemical profile was verified to be on proteins and lipids, thus justifying the compound´s anti-invasive effect and chemoprotective ability. Conclusion: p-Coumaric acid was thus shown to be a promising chemoprotective/chemotherapeutic agent, particularly against the low prognosis triple-negative human breast adenocarcinoma.


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