scholarly journals Dihydroartemisinin and Curcumin Synergistically Induce Apoptosis in SKOV3 Cells Via Upregulation of MiR-124 Targeting Midkine

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaojiao Zhao ◽  
Yuchen Pan ◽  
Xiujun Li ◽  
Xuefang Zhang ◽  
Yaxian Xue ◽  
...  

Background/Aim: Women with advanced ovarian carcinoma are less likely to receive platinum-based chemotherapy and surgery due to a greater risk of cytotoxicity and poorer outcomes. We attempted to improve a promising therapy against ovarian cancer by using a combination of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and curcumin (Cur). Methods: Human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells were treated with DHA, Cur alone, or a combination of both. The viability of SKOV3 cells was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and a colony formation assay. The cell cycle and apoptosis of SKOV3 cells were monitored by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression levels of target genes were respectively examined by qRT-PCR and western blot. The biological effects of miR-124 on midkine (MK) were verified by a luciferase activity analysis. Results: Combined treatment of DHA and Cur synergistically decreased cell viability, arrested cell cycle, and promoted apoptosis in SKOV3 cells. Moreover, it significantly attenuated the expression of oncogene MK and synergistically upregulated the expression of miR-124. Furthermore, miR-124 was verified to bind directly to the 3ʹ-untranslated region of MK mRNA, resulting in mRNA degradation and reduced MK protein levels. The combination of DHA with Cur significantly inhibited tumor growth in xenograft nude mice without obvious toxicity. Conclusion: Co-treatment with DHA and Cur exhibited a synergistic anti-tumor effect on SKOV3 cells both in vitro and in vivo.

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 2489-2504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Chen ◽  
Ying Yao ◽  
Lijuan Sun ◽  
Jiajia Zhou ◽  
Minmin Miao ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Our study aims to investigate the role, effect and mechanisms of ESRP1 (epithelial splicing regulatory protein 1) in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods: Microarray and immunohistochemical analysis of ESRP1 expression were performed in EOC cases. The correlations between ESRP1 expression and clinical factors on EOC were assessed. Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference and EGFP vector which contains ESRP1 gene were used to down-regulate and up-regulate ESRP1 expression in human EOC cell lines. Roles of ESRP1 in cell growth, migration and invasion of EOC cells were also measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell systems in vitro and by a nude mice intraperitoneal transplantation model in vivo. Results: By the analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (p<0.05) and our own microarray data (p<0.001), ESRP1 expression in EOC was significantly different from normal ovarian tissue. It was abundant in the nuclei of cancer cells and in malignant lesions. However, it was weakly expressed or negative in both normal and benign lesions. High ESRP1 expression in EOC was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Decreased ESRP1 expression significantly increased cell migration and invasion both in vivo and in vitro. Snail strongly repressed ESRP1 transcription through binding to the ESRP1 promoter in EOC cells. Furthermore, ESRP1 regulated the expression of CD44s. Down-regulated ESRP1 resulted in an isoform switching from CD44v to CD44s, which modulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program in EOC. Up-regulatin of ESRP1 was detected in mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) in vivo. Conclusions: ESRP1 regulates CD44 alternative splicing during the EMT process which plays an important role in EOC carcinogenesis. In addition, ESRP1 is associated with disease prognosis in EOC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (8) ◽  
pp. 2961-2966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Wu ◽  
Qingyu Luo ◽  
Pengfei Zhao ◽  
Wan Chang ◽  
Yating Wang ◽  
...  

Chemoresistance is a severe outcome among patients with ovarian cancer that leads to a poor prognosis. MCL1 is an antiapoptotic member of the BCL-2 family that has been found to play an essential role in advancing chemoresistance and could be a promising target for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Here, we found that deubiquitinating enzyme 3 (DUB3) interacts with and deubiquitinates MCL1 in the cytoplasm of ovarian cancer cells, which protects MCL1 from degradation. Furthermore, we identified that O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a key activator of DUB3 transcription, and that the MGMT inhibitor PaTrin-2 effectively suppresses ovarian cancer cells with elevated MGMT-DUB3-MCL1 expression both in vitro and in vivo. Most interestingly, we found that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) could significantly activate MGMT/DUB3 expression; the combined administration of HDACis and PaTrin-2 led to the ideal therapeutic effect. Altogether, our results revealed the essential role of the MGMT-DUB3-MCL1 axis in the chemoresistance of ovarian cancer and identified that a combined treatment with HDACis and PaTrin-2 is an effective method for overcoming chemoresistance in ovarian cancer.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (24) ◽  
pp. 9375-9388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie J. McConnell ◽  
Nathalie Chevallier ◽  
Windy Berkofsky-Fessler ◽  
Jena M. Giltnane ◽  
Rupal B. Malani ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The transcriptional repressor PLZF was identified by its translocation with retinoic acid receptor alpha in t(11;17) acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Ectopic expression of PLZF leads to cell cycle arrest and growth suppression, while disruption of normal PLZF function is implicated in the development of APL. To clarify the function of PLZF in cell growth and survival, we used an inducible PLZF cell line in a microarray analysis to identify the target genes repressed by PLZF. One prominent gene identified was c-myc. The array analysis demonstrated that repression of c-myc by PLZF led to a reduction in c-myc-activated transcripts and an increase in c-myc-repressed transcripts. Regulation of c-myc by PLZF was shown to be both direct and reversible. An interaction between PLZF and the c-myc promoter could be detected both in vitro and in vivo. PLZF repressed the wild-type c-myc promoter in a reporter assay, dependent on the integrity of the binding site identified in vitro. PLZF binding in vivo was coincident with a decrease in RNA polymerase occupation of the c-myc promoter, indicating that repression occurred via a reduction in the initiation of transcription. Finally, expression of c-myc reversed the cell cycle arrest induced by PLZF. These data suggest that PLZF expression maintains a cell in a quiescent state by repressing c-myc expression and preventing cell cycle progression. Loss of this repression through the translocation that occurs in t(11;17) would have serious consequences for cell growth control.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 918-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Li ◽  
Zhaoning Duan ◽  
Jihui Yu ◽  
Hong-Xing Dang

Chemotherapy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian-Mei Zhang

Objective: To investigate whether TRIAP1inhibition affects the ovarian cancer cell resistance to cisplatin (DDP) via the Cyt c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Methods: CCK8 assay was performed to find out how treatment with both TRIAP1 siRNA and DDP affects the cell viability of SKOV3 cells and DDP-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3/DDP. SKOV3/DDP cells were transfected with control siRNA or TRIAP1 siRNA before 24 h of treatment with DDP (5 μg/mL). Flow cytometry was employed to detect cell apoptosis and Western blot to examine the expressions of Cyt c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway-related proteins. SKOV3/DDP cells transfected with control siRNA or TRIAP1 siRNA were subcutaneously injected into BALB/c-nu/nu nude mice followed by the intraperitoneal injection of DDP (4 mg/kg). Cyt c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway in transplanted tumors was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: TRIAP1 expression declined in SKOV3 cells when compared with SKOV3/DDP cells. The proliferation rate was lower in SKOV3/DDP cells transfected with TRIAP1 siRNA combined with treatment of DDP (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32 μg/mL) than in those transfected with control siRNA. Moreover, the TRIAP1 siRNA group had an increased SKOV3/DDP cell apoptosis rate with the activation of the Cyt c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway. During DDP treatment, nude mice in TRIAP1 siRNA group had slower growth and smaller size of transplanted tumor than those in control siRNA group, with increased expression of Cyt c, Apaf-1, and caspase-9. Conclusion: TRIAP1 inhibition may enhance the sensitivity of SKOV3/DDP cells to cisplatin via activation of the Cyt c/Apaf-1/caspase-9 pathway.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 776-776
Author(s):  
Zhongfa Yang ◽  
Alan G. Rosmarin

Abstract GABP is an ets transcription factor that regulates transcription of key myeloid genes, including CD18 (beta2 leukocyte integrin), neutrophil elastase, lysozyme, and other key mediators of the inflammatory response; it is also known to regulate important cell cycle control genes. GABP consists of two distinct and unrelated proteins that, together, form a functional transcription factor complex. GABPalpha (GABPa) is an ets protein that binds to DNA; it forms a tetrameric complex by recruiting its partner, GABPbeta (GABPb), which contains the transactivation domain. GABPa is a single copy gene in both the human and murine genomes and it is the only protein that can recruit GABPb to DNA. We cloned GABPa from a murine genomic BAC library and prepared a targeting vector in which exon 9 (which encodes the GABPa ets domain) was flanked by loxP (floxed) recombination sites. The targeting construct was electroporated into embryonic stem cells, homologous recombinants were implanted into pseudopregnant mice, heterozygous floxed GABPa mice were identified, and intercrossing yielded expected Mendelian ratios of wild type, heterozygous, and homozygous floxed GABPa mice. Breeding of heterozygous floxed GABPa mice to CMV-Cre mice (which express Cre recombinase in all tissues) yielded expected numbers of hemizygous mice (only one intact GABPa allele), but no nullizygous (GABPa−/−) mice among 64 pups; we conclude that homozygous deletion of GABPa causes an embryonic lethal defect. To determine the effect of GABPa deletion on myeloid cell development, we bred heterozygous and homozygous floxed mice to LysMCre mice, which express Cre only in myeloid cells. These mice had a normal complement of myeloid cells but, unexpectedly, PCR indicated that their Gr1+ myeloid cells retained an intact (undeleted) floxed GABPa allele. We detected similar numbers of in vitro myeloid colonies from bone marrow of wild type, heterozygous floxed, and homozygous floxed progeny of LysMCre matings. However, PCR of twenty individual in vitro colonies from homozygous floxed mice indicated that they all retained an intact floxed allele. Breeding of floxed GABPa/LysMCre mice with hemizygous mice indicated that retention of a floxed allele was not due to incomplete deletion by LysMCre; rather, it appears that only myeloid cells that retain an intact GABPa allele can survive to mature in vitro or in vivo. We prepared murine embryonic fibroblasts from homozygous floxed mice and efficiently deleted GABPa in vitro. We found striking abnormalities in proliferation and G1/S phase arrest. We used quantitative RT-PCR to identify mechanisms that account for the altered growth of GABPa null cells. We found dramatically reduced expression of known GABP target genes that regulate DNA synthesis and cell cycle that appear to account for the proliferative defect. We conclude that GABPa is required for growth and maturation of myeloid cells and we identified downstream targets that may account for their failure to proliferate and mature in vitro and in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Zou ◽  
Jin Bai ◽  
Enting Lu ◽  
Chunjiao Yang ◽  
Jiaqing Liu ◽  
...  

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has a poor prognosis and high mortality rate; patients are easy to relapse with standard therapies. So, there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs. In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of EOC were identified in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Enrichment and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analyses were performed. The drug candidate which has the possibility to treat EOC was predicted by Connectivity Map (CMAP) databases. Moreover, molecular docking was selected to calculate the binding affinity between drug candidate and hub genes. The cytotoxicity of drug candidates was assessed by MTT and colony formation analysis, the proteins coded by hub genes were detected by Western blots, and apoptosis analysis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Finally, 296 overlapping DEGs (|log 2 fold change|&gt;1; q-value &lt;0.05), which were principally involved in the cell cycle (p &lt; 0.05), and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) were screened as the significant hub gene from the PPI network. Furthermore, the 21 drugs were extracted from CMAPs; among them, piperlongumine (PL) showed a lower CMAP score (-0.80, -62.92) and was regarded as the drug candidate. Furthermore, molecular docking results between PL and CDK1 with a docking score of –8.121 kcal/mol were close to the known CDK1 inhibitor (–8.24 kcal/mol). Additionally, in vitro experiments showed that PL inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis via targeting CDK1 in EOC SKOV3 cells. Our results reveal that PL may be a novel drug candidate for EOC by inhibiting cell cycle.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liya Liu ◽  
Youqin Chen ◽  
Xiaoying Lin ◽  
Meizhu Wu ◽  
Jiapeng Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most highly malignant tumors and has a complicated pathogenesis. A preliminary study identified syntrophin beta 1 (SNTB1) as a potential oncogene in CRC. However, the clinical significance, biological function, and underlying mechanisms of SNTB1 in CRC are unknown. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the function of SNTB1 in CRC.Methods: The expression profile of SNTB1 in CRC samples was evaluated by database analysis, cDNA array, tissue microarray, Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), and immunohistochemistry. SNTB1 expression in human CRC cells was silenced using short hairpin RNAs and its mRNA and protein levels were assessed by qPCR and western blotting, respectively. Cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle and apoptosis were determined by the cell counting, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays, respectively. A xenograft nude mouse model of CRC was established for validating the roles of SNTB1 in vivo. Immunohistochemistry was used to score the expression of SNTB1 in tissue samples. The isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) was used to analyze the differentially expressed proteins after knockdown of SNTB1 in CRC cells.Results: SNTB1 expression was increased in CRC tissue compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues and the increased expression was associated with shorter overall survival of CRC patients. Silencing of SNTB1 suppressed cell viability and survival, induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro, and inhibited the growth of CRC cells in vivo. Further elucidation of the regulation of STNB on CRC growth by iTRAQ analysis identified 210 up-regulated and 55 down-regulated proteins in CRC cells after SNTB knockdown. A PPI network analysis identified protein kinase N2 (PKN2) as a hub protein and was up-regulated in CRC cells after SNTB1 knockdown. Western-blot analysis further confirmed that SNTB1 knockdown significantly up-regulated PKN2 protein expression in CRC cells and decreased the phosphorylation of both ERK1/2 and AKT. Conclusion: These findings indicate that SNTB1 is overexpressed in CRC. Elevated SNTB1 levels are correlated with shorter patient survival. Importantly, SNTB1 promoted tumor growth and progression of CRC, possibly by reducing the expression of PKN2 and activating the ERK and AKT signaling pathway. Our study highlights the potential of SNTB1 as a new prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for CRC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixia Cao ◽  
Shaorong Zhao ◽  
Qianxi Yang ◽  
Zhendong Shi ◽  
Jingjing Liu ◽  
...  

The multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype is usually accompanied by an abnormal expression of histone deacetylase (HDAC). Given that HDAC is vital in chromatin remodeling and epigenetics, inhibiting the role of HDAC has become an important approach for tumor treatment. However, the effect of HDAC inhibitors on MDR breast cancer has not been elucidated. This study aim to demonstrate the potential of chidamide (CHI) combined with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (DOX) to overcome chemotherapeutic resistance of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo, laying the experimental foundation for the next clinical application. The results showed that, CHI combined with DOX showed significant cytotoxicity to MDR breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo compared with the CHI monotherapy. The cell cycle distribution results showed that CHI caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibited cell growth regardless of the addition of DOX. At the same time, annexin V staining and TUNEL staining results showed that CHI enhanced the number of cell apoptosis in drug-resistant cells. The western blot analysis found that p53 was activated in the CHI-treated group and combined treatment group, and then the activated p53 up-regulated p21, apoptosis regulator recombinant protein (Puma), and pro-apoptotic protein Bax, down-regulated the apoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Bcl-2, and activated the caspase cascade to induce apoptosis.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Xin Wei ◽  
Lanyan Hu ◽  
Lingling Zhuang ◽  
Hong Zhang ◽  
...  

BackgroundCisplatin (DDP) resistance remains a key challenge in improving the clinical outcome of patients with ovarian cancer (OC). Gli2 overexpression can lead to DDP resistance in OC cells, but the specific underlying regulatory mechanism remains unclear. The membrane transporter encoding gene MDR1 positively regulates chemotherapy resistance in various cancer types. We evaluated MDR1 as a potential Gli2 downstream target and the contribution of the Gli2/MDR1 axis in promoting DDP resistance in OC cells.MethodsTo generate drug-resistant SKOV3/DDP cells, SKOV3 cells were grown for six months under continuous induction wherein the DDP concentration was steadily increased. Gli2 expression in OC cells with varying DDP sensitivities was detected using western blot. Cell counting kit-8 assays were used to assess the DDP sensitivity of SKOV3, SKOV3/DDP, A2780, and A2780/DDP cells and reversal of DDP resistance in SKOV3/DDP and A2780/DDP cells. Cell proliferation was analyzed using 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation assays. The transcriptional regulation of MDR1 by Gli2 was determined using luciferase reporter assays. Finally, xenograft OC tumors were generated in nude mice, which were then treated with intraperitoneal DDP or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injections to investigate if Gli2 affected DDP resistance in OC in vivo.ResultsDDP-resistant SKOV3/DDP and A2780/DDP cells showed higher expression of Gli2 and MDR1 as compared with that in DDP-sensitive OC cells. Gli2 knockdown in SKOV3/DDP cells significantly reduced MDR1 expression, whereas it increased DNA damage, thereby sensitizing OC cells to DDP. Similar results were obtained after targeting Gli2 expression with the Gli-antagonist 61 inhibitor (GANT61) in SKOV3/DDP and A2780/DDP cells. In cells stably overexpressing Gli2, treatment with gradient concentrations of verapamil, an MDR1 inhibitor, significantly inhibited MDR1 expression. Our findings indicate that downregulation of MDR1 expression may reverse OC cell resistance to DDP. Moreover, dual-luciferase reporter gene assays confirmed that MDR1 is a direct downstream target of Gli2, with Gli2 positively regulating MDR1 expression. Finally, subcutaneous xenotransplantation in nude mice demonstrated that Gli2 plays a key role in regulating OC drug resistance.ConclusionsWe identified a mechanism by which Hedgehog-Gli signaling regulates OC chemoresistance by modulating MDR1 expression. Hence, Gli2 and MDR1 are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in patients with chemoresistant OC.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document