scholarly journals Oxidative Stress-Driven Autophagy acROSs Onset and Therapeutic Outcome in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Ciccarone ◽  
Serena Castelli ◽  
Maria Rosa Ciriolo

Reactive oxygen species- (ROS-) mediated autophagy physiologically contributes to management of cell homeostasis in response to mild oxidative stress. Cancer cells typically engage autophagy downstream of ROS signaling derived from hypoxia and starvation, which are harsh environmental conditions that need to be faced for cancer development and progression. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a solid tumor for which several environmental risk factors, particularly viral infections and alcohol abuse, have been shown to promote carcinogenesis via augmentation of oxidative stress. In addition, ROS burst in HCC cells frequently takes place after administration of therapeutic compounds that promote apoptotic cell death or even autophagic cell death. The interplay between ROS and autophagy (i) in the disposal of dysfunctional mitochondria via mitophagy, as a tumor suppressor mechanism, or (ii) in the cell survival adaptive response elicited by chemotherapeutic interventions, as a tumor-promoting event, will be depicted in this review in relation to HCC development and progression.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amnah M. Alshangiti ◽  
Eszter Tuboly ◽  
Shane V. Hegarty ◽  
Cathal M. McCarthy ◽  
Aideen M. Sullivan ◽  
...  

Neuroblastoma is an embryonal malignancy that arises from cells of sympathoadrenal lineage during the development of the nervous system. It is the most common pediatric extracranial solid tumor and is responsible for 15% of childhood deaths from cancer. Fifty percent of cases are diagnosed as high-risk metastatic disease with a low overall 5-year survival rate. More than half of patients experience disease recurrence that can be refractory to treatment. Amplification of the MYCN gene is an important prognostic indicator that is associated with rapid disease progression and a poor prognosis, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on identifying anticancer properties of naturally occurring chalcones, which are secondary metabolites with variable phenolic structures. Here, we report that 4-hydroxychalcone is a potent cytotoxin for MYCN-amplified IMR-32 and SK-N-BE (2) neuroblastoma cells, when compared to non-MYCN-amplified SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and to the non-neuroblastoma human embryonic kidney cell line, HEK293t. Moreover, 4-hydroxychalcone treatment significantly decreased cellular levels of the antioxidant glutathione and increased cellular reactive oxygen species. In addition, 4-hydroxychalcone treatment led to impairments in mitochondrial respiratory function, compared to controls. In support of this, the cytotoxic effect of 4-hydroxychalcone was prevented by co-treatment with either the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a pharmacological inhibitor of oxidative stress-induced cell death (IM-54) or the mitochondrial reactive oxygen species scavenger, Mito-TEMPO. When combined with the anticancer drugs cisplatin or doxorubicin, 4-hydroxychalcone led to greater reductions in cell viability than was induced by either anti-cancer agent alone. In summary, this study identifies a cytotoxic effect of 4-hydroxychalcone in MYCN-amplified human neuroblastoma cells, which rationalizes its further study in the development of new therapies for pediatric neuroblastoma.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1204
Author(s):  
Heike Wanka ◽  
Philipp Lutze ◽  
Alexander Albers ◽  
Janine Golchert ◽  
Doreen Staar ◽  
...  

A stimulated renin-angiotensin system is known to promote oxidative stress, apoptosis, necrosis and fibrosis. Renin transcripts (renin-b; renin-c) encoding a cytosolic renin isoform have been discovered that may in contrast to the commonly known secretory renin (renin-a) exert protective effects Here, we analyzed the effect of renin-a and renin-b overexpression in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts on apoptosis and necrosis as well as on potential mechanisms involved in cell death processes. To mimic ischemic conditions, cells were exposed to glucose starvation, anoxia or combined oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) for 24 h. Under OGD, control cells exhibited markedly increased necrotic and apoptotic cell death accompanied by enhanced ROS accumulation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased ATP levels. The effects of OGD on necrosis were exaggerated in renin-a cells, but markedly diminished in renin-b cells. However, with respect to apoptosis, the effects of OGD were almost completely abolished in renin-b cells but interestingly also moderately diminished in renin-a cells. Under glucose depletion we found opposing responses between renin-a and renin-b cells; while the rate of necrosis and apoptosis was aggravated in renin-a cells, it was attenuated in renin-b cells. Based on our results, strategies targeting the regulation of cytosolic renin-b as well as the identification of pathways involved in the protective effects of renin-b may be helpful to improve the treatment of ischemia-relevant diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Zhao ◽  
Tihua Zheng ◽  
Huining Yu ◽  
Bo Hua Hu ◽  
Bing Hu ◽  
...  

AbstractMacroautophagy/autophagy is a highly conserved self-digestion pathway that plays an important role in cytoprotection under stress conditions. Autophagy is involved in hepatotoxicity induced by acetaminophen (APAP) in experimental animals and in humans. APAP also causes ototoxicity. However, the role of autophagy in APAP-induced auditory hair cell damage is unclear. In the present study, we investigated autophagy mechanisms during APAP-induced cell death in a mouse auditory cell line (HEI-OC1) and mouse cochlear explant culture. We found that the expression of LC3-II protein and autophagic structures was increased in APAP-treated HEI-OC1 cells; however, the degradation of SQSTM1/p62 protein, the yellow puncta of mRFP-GFP-LC3 fluorescence, and the activity of lysosomal enzymes decreased in APAP-treated HEI-OC1 cells. The degradation of p62 protein and the expression of lysosomal enzymes also decreased in APAP-treated mouse cochlear explants. These data indicate that APAP treatment compromises autophagic degradation and causes lysosomal dysfunction. We suggest that lysosomal dysfunction may be directly responsible for APAP-induced autophagy impairment. Treatment with antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) partially alleviated APAP-induced autophagy impairment and apoptotic cell death, suggesting the involvement of oxidative stress in APAP-induced autophagy impairment. Inhibition of autophagy by knocking down of Atg5 and Atg7 aggravated APAP-induced ER and oxidative stress and increased apoptotic cell death. This study provides a better understanding of the mechanism responsible for APAP ototoxicity, which is important for future exploration of treatment strategies for the prevention of hearing loss caused by ototoxic medications.


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