scholarly journals Liberation from fibrogenesis or tumorigenesis via cellular senescence by a noble small molecule

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung-Soo Youn ◽  
Moon Kee Meang ◽  
Saesbyeol Kim

Uncontrolled proliferative diseases such as fibrosis or cancers are fatal human disorders. Previously, we found that a chromone-scaffold derivative called ONG41008 had a strong anti-fibrotic effect on in vitro fibrogenesis as well as in a murine lung fibrosis model. It later occurred to our attention that while ONG41008 remarkably attenuated proliferation of diseased human lung myofibroblasts (DHLF), resulting in replicative senescence (RS) typified by cell flatness, normal human lung fibroblasts were not affected. Video demonstration revealed that RS was evident within 48hr after ONG41008 treatment. No ONG41008 affected activated caspase 3 and mitochondrial membrane potential in DHLF. An interactome study suggested that metabolic shift, chromatin remodeling, or cell cycle control may be required for the RS. This observation prompted us to be engaged in the cellular senescence of tumor cells. Clearly, senescent cells were conspicuously but temporarily observed in A549, adenocarcinomic human alveolar epithelial cells, giving us confidence that dysregulated cell proliferation could be a common underlying principle conserved in both DHLF and A549. An early phase of stimulation of A549 by ONG41008 led to RS followed by multinucleation (MNC), which has been known to be oncogene-induced senescence (OIS). MNC was immediately followed by apoptosis. Concomitant with massive upregulation of p16 and translocation to the nuclei, complete cell death of the remaining A549 occurred. Induction and nuclear translocation of p21was also noted in both A549 and DHLF stimulated with ONG41008. No induction of TP53 was seen but phosphorylation of TP53 was substantially increased in A549. Both immunocytochemistry and western blots corroborated these common senescent imaging features. With comparative analyses, it is clear that ONG41008 exhibited much lesser toxicity on normal human lung fibroblast than SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid) and Nintedanib. Taken together, all these studies strongly suggest that ONG41008 is a potent inducer of RS or OIS, presumably resulting in cessation of the cell cycle are at G1 or G2 stage and/or systemic cell death. To our best knowledge, the liberation of uncontrolled proliferative cells from fibrogenesis or tumorigenesis by a small molecule in vitro is an unprecedented case. ONG41008 could be a potential and safe drug for a broad range of fibrotic diseases or tumorigenic diseases.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 2668-2668
Author(s):  
Mark G. Frattini ◽  
David Shum ◽  
Kristen M O’Dwyer ◽  
Renier J. Brentjens ◽  
Ray Yeh ◽  
...  

Abstract Cdc7 is a heterodimeric serine/threonine protein kinase that is a key regulator in the process of initiation of DNA replication and the G1 to S phase transition. Both the kinase and its known substrates are over-expressed in the majority of human cancers. As a result of the recent progress in the areas of pharmacogenetics and high throughput screening technology, identifying specific small molecule inhibitors of cell cycle regulated protein kinases has provided a means not only to study these signal transduction pathways but also to identify potential novel therapeutic agents. To this end, we have developed an assay for Cdc7 kinase inhibitory activity using a highthroughput screening (HTS) approach, screening over 250,000 natural and synthetic small molecules. As a result, we have identified and confirmed seventeen compounds, representing nine different chemical scaffolds, with Cdc7 kinase inhibitory activity. Based on potency, we selected the lead compound (CKI-7) which was further characterized using kinase profiling, microarray experiments, and standard cell based cytotoxicity assays. These latter studies demonstrated that CKI-7 induced cytotoxicity of established leukemia and lymphoma cell lines in culture with inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) in the low nanomolar range. Significantly, CKI-7 likewise induced cytotoxicity of MDR1 overexpressing cell lines with similar IC50s, demonstrating that this novel compound can overcome a major mechanism of chemotherapy resistence in human tumor cells. We additonally demonstrate that CKI-7 induces cytotoxicity of patient-derived primary acute leukemia tumor cells (both chemotherapy naïve and relapsed/refractory samples) in vitro at similarly low nanomolar concentrations. In vivo dose-dependent anti-tumor activity of CKI-7 was subsequently demonstrated in a SCID-Beige mouse systemic tumor model utilzing a recently isolated Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (PhALL3.1). Standard cell cycle synchronization studies established that exposure to CKI-7 results in cell cycle dependent caspase 3 activation and apoptotic cell death. This cell death is the direct result of Cdc7 kinase inhibition by CKI-7 as demonstrated using a substrate biomarker assay. In conclusion, our data confirm that Cdc7 is a new promising target for cancer therapy, and that CKI-7, a selective small molecule inhibitor of this enzyme, is an equally promising novel cancer therapeutic agent.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2494
Author(s):  
Ji-Young Kim ◽  
Mi-Jin An ◽  
Geun-Seup Shin ◽  
Hyun-Min Lee ◽  
Mi Jin Kim ◽  
...  

Heavy metals are important for various biological systems, but, in excess, they pose a serious risk to human health. Heavy metals are commonly used in consumer and industrial products. Despite the increasing evidence on the adverse effects of heavy metals, the detailed mechanisms underlying their action on lung cancer progression are still poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated whether heavy metals (mercury chloride and lead acetate) affect cell viability, cell cycle, and apoptotic cell death in human lung fibroblast MRC5 cells. The results showed that mercury chloride arrested the sub-G1 and G2/M phases by inducing cyclin B1 expression. In addition, the exposure to mercury chloride increased apoptosis through the activation of caspase-3. However, lead had no cytotoxic effects on human lung fibroblast MRC5 cells at low concentration. These findings demonstrated that mercury chloride affects the cytotoxicity of MRC5 cells by increasing cell cycle progression and apoptotic cell death.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 932
Author(s):  
Julia Brockhaus ◽  
Rogerio B. Craveiro ◽  
Irma Azraq ◽  
Christian Niederau ◽  
Sarah K. Schröder ◽  
...  

Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts (hPDLF), as part of the periodontal apparatus, modulate inflammation, regeneration and bone remodeling. Interferences are clinically manifested as attachment loss, tooth loosening and root resorption. During orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), remodeling and adaptation of the periodontium is required in order to enable tooth movement. hPDLF involvement in the early phase-OTM compression side was investigated for a 72-h period through a well-studied in vitro model. Changes in the morphology, cell proliferation and cell death were analyzed. Specific markers of the cell cycle were investigated by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The study showed that the morphology of hPDLF changes towards more unstructured, unsorted filaments under mechanical compression. The total cell numbers were significantly reduced with a higher cell death rate over the whole observation period. hPDLF started to recover to pretreatment conditions after 48 h. Furthermore, key molecules involved in the cell cycle were significantly reduced under compressive force at the gene expression and protein levels. These findings revealed important information for a better understanding of the preservation and remodeling processes within the periodontium through Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts during orthodontic tooth movement. OTM initially decelerates the hPDLF cell cycle and proliferation. After adapting to environmental changes, human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts can regain homeostasis of the periodontium, affecting its reorganization.


2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Gronich ◽  
Liat Drucker ◽  
Hava Shapiro ◽  
Judith Radnay ◽  
Shai Yarkoni ◽  
...  

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.


1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (1) ◽  
pp. L159-L163 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Thomassen ◽  
J. M. Antal ◽  
B. P. Barna ◽  
L. T. Divis ◽  
D. P. Meeker ◽  
...  

The initial inflammatory event in the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is followed by fibroproliferation and a cascade of fibroblast-derived mediators. Because lung fibroblasts may be exposed to surfactant as well as inflammatory cytokines during ARDS, we hypothesized that surfactant might modulate fibroblast activity. We previously demonstrated that surfactant inhibited production of inflammatory cytokines from endotoxin-stimulated human alveolar macrophages. In the current study the effects of surfactant on normal human lung fibroblast proliferative capacity and mediator production were examined. Both synthetic (Exosurf) and natural (Survanta) surfactant inhibited fibroblast [3H]thymidine incorporation. Examination of pre-S-phase events indicated stimulation of the immediate response gene, c-fos, and no effect on the G1/S cyclin, cyclin D1, suggesting that the surfactant block occurred elsewhere before S phase. The antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), like surfactant, inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation. Furthermore, menadione, a generator of intracellular H2O2, stimulated fibroblast [3H]thymidine incorporation, and this was inhibited by surfactant. Interleukin-1 (IL-1)-stimulated secretion of the inflammatory mediators, IL-6 and prostaglandin E2, was also inhibited by surfactant. These data suggest that surfactant may modify lung fibroblast participation in ARDS sequelae by downregulating DNA synthesis and secondary inflammatory mediator production.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Peter Barwell

<p>The cell kinetics and morphological changes during late ventral body wall development of the embryonic chick were studied, particularly midline degeneration and the medial migration of lateral tissues. An histological examination of these events was undertaken, along with autoradiography to determine the duration of the cell cycle, followed by teratological studies involving the prevention of differentiative events in the cell death pathway, using BrDU and Janus B Green as agents. The effects of cell cycle blockade on rates of cell death were also examined, as was the tissues ability to express differentiative features in vitro. Ventral body wall (VBW) cell death was classified as apoptosis, and was involved in two distinct events. Medial migration of lateral tissues began at day 5 of development, with widespread VBW apoptosis being seen by day 6, limited to the original mesoderm of the region. A later precise line of apoptosis (the VBL), involving both ectodermal cells of the midline ectodermal ruffle and the underlying mesodermal cells, was observed at day 7, spreading in a rostral to caudal fashion down the embryo, appearing as the migratory lateral tissues fused in the midline body wall. Increases in the amount of cell death are matched by decreases in the MI, such that at its peak (day 7.5 of development) the cell death rate is sufficiently greater than both the cell proliferation and immigration rates that a state of negative tissue growth ensues. The histological half-life of the apoptotic bodies approximates 3.8 hours. The ability to undergo apoptosis at day 7 is dependent upon a differentiative event around day 4 of incubation, and involves signal mechanisms intrinsic to the VBW tissues. BrDU application was found to inhibit apoptotic differentiation, in contrast to Janus B Green, which had a more generalised teratogenic effect on the region as a whole. Tissue culturing experiments revealed that an ectodermal-mesodermal interaction is important in regulating the extent of mesodermal apoptosis, the ectoderm playing a maintenance role for the mesoderm. Dead cells derive from the cycling cell population, as shown by the occurrence of labelled dead cells after autoradiography, and by the prevention of apoptosis by a cell cycle blockade, and by the production of a semi-synchronised wave of apoptoses after release of this blockade. These cell blockading results further suggest that entry into the apoptotic death program requires cells to be in a particular cell cycle stage, and it seems most likely that the decision to die was made in early G1. Tissue and cell growth rates, cell loss and death rates, cell birth rates and cell immigration rates were all determined for the VBW region throughout the time period studied.</p>


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1449-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Maria Fimia ◽  
Vanesa Gottifredi ◽  
Barbara Bellei ◽  
Maria Rosaria Ricciardi ◽  
Agostino Tafuri ◽  
...  

It is commonly accepted that pathways that regulate proliferation/differentiation processes, if altered in their normal interplay, can lead to the induction of programmed cell death. In a previous work we reported that Polyoma virus Large Tumor antigen (PyLT) interferes with in vitro terminal differentiation of skeletal myoblasts by binding and inactivating the retinoblastoma antioncogene product. This inhibition occurs after the activation of some early steps of the myogenic program. In the present work we report that myoblasts expressing wild-type PyLT, when subjected to differentiation stimuli, undergo cell death and that this cell death can be defined as apoptosis. Apoptosis in PyLT-expressing myoblasts starts after growth factors removal, is promoted by cell confluence, and is temporally correlated with the expression of early markers of myogenic differentiation. The block of the initial events of myogenesis by transforming growth factor β or basic fibroblast growth factor prevents PyLT-induced apoptosis, while the acceleration of this process by the overexpression of the muscle-regulatory factor MyoD further increases cell death in this system. MyoD can induce PyLT-expressing myoblasts to accumulate RB, p21, and muscle- specific genes but is unable to induce G00arrest. Several markers of different phases of the cell cycle, such as cyclin A, cdk-2, and cdc-2, fail to be down-regulated, indicating the occurrence of cell cycle progression. It has been frequently suggested that apoptosis can result from an unbalanced cell cycle progression in the presence of a contrasting signal, such as growth factor deprivation. Our data involve differentiation pathways, as a further contrasting signal, in the generation of this conflict during myoblast cell apoptosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 293 (41) ◽  
pp. 15815-15826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ah-Mee Park ◽  
Ikuo Tsunoda ◽  
Osamu Yoshie

Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) protects cells under stress. Here, we demonstrate that HSP27 also promotes cell cycle progression of MRC-5 human lung fibroblast cells. Serum starvation for 24 h induced G1 arrest in these cells, and upon serum refeeding, the cells initiated cell cycle progression accompanied by an increase in HSP27 protein levels. HSP27 levels peaked at 12 h, and transcriptional up-regulation of six G2/M-related genes (CCNA2, CCNB1, CCNB2, CDC25C, CDCA3, and CDK1) peaked at 24–48 h. siRNA-mediated HSP27 silencing in proliferating MRC-5 cells induced G2 arrest coinciding with down-regulation of these six genes. Of note, the promoters of all of these genes have the cell cycle–dependent element and/or the cell cycle gene-homology region. These promoter regions are known to be bound by the E2F family proteins (E2F-1 to E2F-8) and retinoblastoma (RB) family proteins (RB1, p107, and p130), among which E2F-4 and p130 were strongly up-regulated in HSP27-knockdown cells. E2F-4 or p130 knockdown concomitant with the HSP27 knockdown rescued MRC-5 cells from G2 arrest and up-regulated the six cell cycle genes. Moreover, we observed cellular senescence in MRC-5 cells on day 3 after the HSP27 knockdown, as evidenced by increased senescence-associated β-gal activity and up-regulated inflammatory cytokines. The cellular senescence was also suppressed by the concomitant knockdown of E2F-4/HSP27 or p130/HSP27. Our findings indicate that HSP27 promotes cell cycle progression of MRC-5 cells by suppressing expression of the transcriptional repressors E2F-4 and p130.


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