scholarly journals Combinatorial Effect of DCA and Let-7a on Triple-Negative MDA-MB-231 Cells: A Metabolic Approach of Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 153473542091143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Praveen Sharma ◽  
Sandeep Singh

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is a metabolic modulator that inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and promotes the influx of pyruvate into the tricarboxylic acid cycle for complete oxidation of glucose. DCA stimulates oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) more than glycolysis by altering the morphology of the mitochondria and supports mitochondrial apoptosis. As a consequence, DCA induces apoptosis in cancer cells and inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells. Recently, the role of miRNAs has been reported in regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level and also in reprogramming energy metabolism. In this article, we indicate that DCA treatment leads to the upregulation of let-7a expression, but DCA-induced cancer cell death is independent of let-7a. We observed that the combined effect of DCA and let-7a induces apoptosis, reduces reactive oxygen species generation and autophagy, and stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis. This was later accompanied by stimulation of OXPHOS in combined treatment and was thus involved in metabolic reprogramming of MDA-MB-231 cells.

Author(s):  
Quynh Hoa Tran ◽  
Dang Hieu Hoang ◽  
Minhyeok Song ◽  
Wonchae Choe ◽  
Insug Kang ◽  
...  

AbstractDoxorubicin is one of the most effective agents used to treat various cancers, including breast cancer, but its usage is limited by the risk of adverse effects, including cardiotoxicity. Melatonin, a natural hormone that functions as a major regulator of circadian rhythms, has been considered a supplemental component for doxorubicin due to its potential to improve its effectiveness. However, the mechanisms and biological targets of the combination of melatonin and doxorubicin with respect to cancer cell death are not well understood. In the present study, we found that melatonin synergized with doxorubicin to induce apoptosis of breast cancer cells by decreasing the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase α1 (AMPK α1), which acts as a critical survival factor for cancer cells. This cotreatment-induced reduction in AMPKα1 expression occurred at the transcriptional level via an autophagy-dependent mechanism. The synergistic effects of the combined treatment were evident in many other cancer cell lines, and melatonin was also highly effective in inducing cancer death when combined with other cancer drugs, including cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and sorafenib. AMPKα1 expression was decreased in all of these cases, suggesting that reducing AMPKα1 can be considered an effective method to increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to doxorubicin treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 1003-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiyu Zhu ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Wei Song ◽  
Yumei Xu ◽  
Fang Yang ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Androgen receptor (AR), a steroid hormone receptor, has recently emerged as prognostic and treatment-predictive marker in breast cancer. Previous studies have shown that AR is widely expressed in up to one-third of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the role of AR in TNBC is still not fully understood, especially in mesenchymal stem-like (MSL) TNBC cells. Methods: MSL TNBC MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T breast cancer cells were exposed to various concentration of agonist 5-α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or nonsteroidal antagonist bicalutamide or untreated. The effects of AR on cell viability and apoptosis were determined by MTT assay, cell counting, flow cytometry analysis and protein expression of p53, p73, p21 and Cyclin D1 were analyzed by western blotting. The bindings of AR to p73 and p21 promoter were detected by ChIP assay. MDA-MB-231 cells were transplanted into nude mice and the tumor growth curves were determined and expression of AR, p73 and p21 were detected by Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining after treatment of DHT or bicalutamide. Results: We demonstrate that AR agonist DHT induces MSL TNBC breast cancer cells proliferation and inhibits apoptosis in vitro. Similarly, activated AR significantly increases viability of MDA-MB-231 xenografts in vivo. On the contrary, AR antagonist, bicalutamide, causes apoptosis and exerts inhibitory effects on the growth of breast cancer. Moreover, DHT-dependent activation of AR involves regulation in the cell cycle related genes, including p73, p21 and Cyclin D1. Further investigations indicate the modulation of AR on p73 and p21 mediated by direct binding of AR to their promoters, and DHT could make these binding more effectively. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the tumorigenesis role of AR and the inhibitory effect of bicalutamide in AR-positive MSL TNBC both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that AR inhibition could be a potential therapeutic approach for AR-positive TNBC patients.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3357
Author(s):  
Hongmei Zheng ◽  
Sumit Siddharth ◽  
Sheetal Parida ◽  
Xinhong Wu ◽  
Dipali Sharma

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease and is highly related to immunomodulation. As we know, the most effective approach to treat TNBC so far is still chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can induce immunogenic cell death, release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling; therefore, it will be interesting to investigate the relationship between chemotherapy-induced TME changes and TNBC immunomodulation. In this review, we focus on the immunosuppressive and immunoreactive role of TME in TNBC immunomodulation and the contribution of TME constituents to TNBC subtype classification. Further, we also discuss the role of chemotherapy-induced TME remodeling in modulating TNBC immune response and tumor progression with emphasis on DAMPs-associated molecules including high mobility group box1 (HMGB1), exosomes, and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1), which may provide us with new clues to explore effective combined treatment options for TNBC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 815-827
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Solaini ◽  
Gianluca Sgarbi ◽  
Alessandra Baracca

In the last two decades, IF1, the endogenous inhibitor of the mitochondrial F1Fo-ATPase (ATP synthase) has assumed greater and ever greater interest since it has been found to be overexpressed in many cancers. At present, several findings indicate that IF1 is capable of playing a central role in cancer cells by promoting metabolic reprogramming, proliferation and resistance to cell death. However, the mechanism(s) at the basis of this pro-oncogenic action of IF1 remains elusive. Here, we recall the main features of the mechanism of the action of IF1 when the ATP synthase works in reverse, and discuss the experimental evidence that support its relevance in cancer cells. In particular, a clear pro-oncogenic action of IF1 is to avoid wasting of ATP when cancer cells are exposed to anoxia or near anoxia conditions, therefore favoring cell survival and tumor growth. However, more recently, various papers have described IF1 as an inhibitor of the ATP synthase when it is working physiologically (i.e. synthethizing ATP), and therefore reprogramming cell metabolism to aerobic glycolysis. In contrast, other studies excluded IF1 as an inhibitor of ATP synthase under normoxia, providing the basis for a hot debate. This review focuses on the role of IF1 as a modulator of the ATP synthase in normoxic cancer cells with the awareness that the knowledge of the molecular action of IF1 on the ATP synthase is crucial in unravelling the molecular mechanism(s) responsible for the pro-oncogenic role of IF1 in cancer and in developing related anticancer strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianxue Wu ◽  
Xin Tang ◽  
Wenming Zhu ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Xiang Zhang ◽  
...  

BackgroundPatients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have poor overall survival. The present study aimed to investigate the potential prognostics of TNBC by analyzing breast cancer proteomic and transcriptomic datasets.MethodsCandidate proteins selected from CPTAC (the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium) were validated using datasets from METABRIC (Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium). Kaplan-Meier analysis and ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve analysis were performed to explore the prognosis of candidate genes. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) enrichment analysis were performed on the suspected candidate genes. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data from GSE118389 were used to analyze the cell clusters in which OBFC2A (Oligosaccharide-Binding Fold-Containing Protein 2A) was mainly distributed. TIMER (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource) was used to verify the correlation between OBFC2A expression and immune infiltration. Clone formation assays and wound healing assays were used to detect the role of OBFC2A expression on the proliferation, invasion, and migration of breast cancer cells. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the effects of silencing OBFC2A on breast cancer cell cycle and apoptosis.ResultsSix candidate proteins were found to be differentially expressed in non-TNBC and TNBC groups from CPTAC. However, only OBFC2A was identified as an independently poor prognostic gene marker in METABRIC (HR=3.658, 1.881-7.114). And OBFC2A was associated with immune functions in breast cancer. Biological functional experiments showed that OBFC2A might promote the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. The inhibition of OBFC2A expression blocked the cell cycle in G1 phase and inhibited the transformation from G1 phase to S phase. Finally, downregulation of OBFC2A also increased the total apoptosis rate of cells.ConclusionOn this basis, OBFC2A may be a potential prognostic biomarker for TNBC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 153303382092701
Author(s):  
Guochen Zhang ◽  
Junlan Wang ◽  
Ruilin Zheng ◽  
Beibei Song ◽  
Li Huang ◽  
...  

Triple-negative breast cancer shows worse outcome compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. The discovery of dysregulated microRNAs and their roles in the progression of triple-negative breast cancer provide novel strategies for the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer. In this study, we identified the significant reduction of miR-133 in triple-negative breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Ectopic overexpression of miR-133 suppressed the proliferation, colony formation, and upregulated the apoptosis of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Mechanism study revealed that the YES Proto-Oncogene 1 was a target of miR-133. miR-133 bound the 3′-untranslated region of YES Proto-Oncogene 1 and decreased the level of YES Proto-Oncogene 1 in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Consistent with miR-133 downregulation, YES1 was significantly increased in triple-negative breast cancer, which was inversely correlated with the level of miR-133. Restoration of YES Proto-Oncogene 1 attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-133 on the proliferation and colony formation of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Consistent with the decreased expression of YES Proto-Oncogene 1, overexpression of miR-133 suppressed the phosphorylation of YAP1 in triple-negative breast cancer cells. Our results provided novel evidence for the role of miR-133/YES1 axis in the development of triple-negative breast cancer, which indicated miR-133 might be a potential therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolien Vanhove ◽  
Elien Derveaux ◽  
Geert-Jan Graulus ◽  
Liesbet Mesotten ◽  
Michiel Thomeer ◽  
...  

Lung cancer cells are well-documented to rewire their metabolism and energy production networks to support rapid survival and proliferation. This metabolic reorganization has been recognized as a hallmark of cancer. The increased uptake of glucose and the increased activity of the glycolytic pathway have been extensively described. However, over the past years, increasing evidence has shown that lung cancer cells also require glutamine to fulfill their metabolic needs. As a nitrogen source, glutamine contributes directly (or indirectly upon conversion to glutamate) to many anabolic processes in cancer, such as the biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleobases, and hexosamines. It plays also an important role in the redox homeostasis, and last but not least, upon conversion to α-ketoglutarate, glutamine is an energy and anaplerotic carbon source that replenishes tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. The latter is generally indicated as glutaminolysis. In this review, we explore the role of glutamine metabolism in lung cancer. Because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death with limited curative treatment options, we focus on the potential therapeutic approaches targeting the glutamine metabolism in cancer.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara El-Sahli ◽  
Ying Xie ◽  
Lisheng Wang ◽  
Sheng Liu

The Wingless (Wnt)/β-catenin pathway has long been associated with tumorigenesis, tumor plasticity, and tumor-initiating cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs). Wnt signaling has recently been implicated in the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells. Aberrant Wnt signaling is considered to be a driver of metabolic alterations of glycolysis, glutaminolysis, and lipogenesis, processes essential to the survival of bulk and CSC populations. Over the past decade, the Wnt pathway has also been shown to regulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) and anti-cancer immunity. Wnt ligands released by tumor cells in the TME facilitate the immune evasion of cancer cells and hamper immunotherapy. In this review, we illustrate the role of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cancer metabolism and immunity to explore the potential therapeutic approach of targeting Wnt signaling from a metabolic and immunological perspective.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
Barbara Guerra ◽  
Olaf-Georg Issinger

Uncontrolled proliferation is a feature defining cancer and it is linked to the ability of cancer cells to effectively adapt their metabolic needs in response to a harsh tumor environment. Metabolic reprogramming is considered a hallmark of cancer and includes increased glucose uptake and processing, and increased glutamine utilization, but also the deregulation of lipid and cholesterol-associated signal transduction, as highlighted in recent years. In the first part of the review, we will (i) provide an overview of the major types of lipids found in eukaryotic cells and their importance as mediators of intracellular signaling pathways (ii) analyze the main metabolic changes occurring in cancer development and the role of oncogenic signaling in supporting aberrant lipid metabolism and (iii) discuss combination strategies as powerful new approaches to cancer treatment. The second part of the review will address the emerging role of CK2, a conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, in lipid homeostasis with an emphasis regarding its function in lipogenesis and adipogenesis. Evidence will be provided that CK2 regulates these processes at multiple levels. This suggests that its pharmacological inhibition combined with dietary restrictions and/or inhibitors of metabolic targets could represent an effective way to undermine the dependency of cancer cells on lipids to interfere with tumor progression.


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