scholarly journals Non-homogeneous dispersion of graphene in polyacrylonitrile substrates induces a migrastatic response and epithelial-like differentiation in MCF7 breast cancer cells

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazely Diban ◽  
Marián Mantecón-Oria ◽  
María T. Berciano ◽  
Alba Puente-Bedia ◽  
María J. Rivero ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent advances from studies of graphene and graphene-based derivatives have highlighted the great potential of these nanomaterials as migrastatic agents with the ability to modulate tumor microenvironments. Nevertheless, the administration of graphene nanomaterials in suspensions in vivo is controversial. As an alternative approach, herein, we report the immobilization of high concentrations of graphene nanoplatelets in polyacrylonitrile film substrates (named PAN/G10) and evaluate their potential use as migrastatic agents on cancer cells. Results Breast cancer MCF7 cells cultured on PAN/G10 substrates presented features resembling mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, e.g., (i) inhibition of migratory activity; (ii) activation of the expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18, ZO-1 and EpCAM, four key molecular markers of epithelial differentiation; (iii) formation of adherens junctions with clustering and adhesion of cancer cells in aggregates or islets, and (iv) reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton resulting in a polygonal cell shape. Remarkably, assessment with Raman spectroscopy revealed that the above-mentioned events were produced when MCF7 cells were preferentially located on top of graphene-rich regions of the PAN/G10 substrates. Conclusions The present data demonstrate the capacity of these composite substrates to induce an epithelial-like differentiation in MCF7 breast cancer cells, resulting in a migrastatic effect without any chemical agent-mediated signaling. Future works will aim to thoroughly evaluate the mechanisms of how PAN/G10 substrates trigger these responses in cancer cells and their potential use as antimetastatics for the treatment of solid cancers. Graphical Abstract

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Hühn ◽  
Pablo Martí-Rodrigo ◽  
Silvana Mouron ◽  
Catherine S. Hansel ◽  
Kirsten Tschapalda ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTEstrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast tumors are routinely treated with estrogen-depriving therapies. Despite their effectiveness, patients often progress into a more aggressive form of the disease. Through a chemical screen oriented to identify chemicals capable of inducing the expression of the immune-checkpoint ligand PD-L1, we found antiestrogens as hits. Subsequent validations confirmed that estrogen deprivation or ERα depletion induces PD-L1 expression in ER-positive breast cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Likewise, PD-L1 expression is increased in metastasis arising from breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant hormonal therapy for their local disease. Transcriptome analyses indicate that estrogen deprivation triggers a broad immunosuppressive program, not restricted to PD-L1. Accordingly, estrogen deprived MCF7 cells are resistant to T-cell mediated cell killing, in a manner that can be reverted by estradiol. Our study reveals that while antiestrogen therapies effectively limit tumor growth in ER-positive breast cancers, they also trigger a transcriptional program that favors immune evasion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Mawalizadeh ◽  
Ghorban Mohammadzadeh ◽  
azam khedri ◽  
mojtaba rashidi

Abstract Background: breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is one of the chemotherapy drugs to treat breast cancer, but it is associated with several side effects. Combination therapy is a way to increase the effectiveness of chemo drugs and decrease their usage dose. Quercetin (Quer) is one of the natural polyphenols with anti-cancer properties. This study investigated the apoptotic effect of 5-FU in combination with Quer compared with 5-FU alone on MCF7 breast cancer cells.Method and Results: Different single and combined concentrations of 5-FU and Quer were applied to MCF 7 cells for 48 hours. Cell viability, apoptosis, gene expression of Bax and Bcl2, and colony number were assessed using MTT assay, flow cytometry, quantitative real-time PCR, and Colony formation assay, respectively. The combination of 5-FU and Quer compared to 5-FU alone improved apoptosis by increasing and decreasing the gene expression of Bax and Bcl2, respectively, and decreased colony formation in MCF7 cells.Conclusion: Quer potentiates the sensitivity of breast cancer to 5-FU so that this combination may be proposed as a treatment for breast cancer. Therefore, this combination can be suggested for future in vivo studies.


Author(s):  
Philipp Maximov ◽  
Surojeet Sengupta ◽  
Joan S. Lewis-Wambi ◽  
Helen R. Kim ◽  
Ramona F. Curpan ◽  
...  

Abstract: Estrogens are classified as type I (planar) and type II (angular) based on their structures. In this study, we used triphenylethylenes (TPEs) compounds related to 4-hydroxytamoxifen 4OHT to address the hypothesis that the conformation of the liganded estrogen receptor (ERα) can dictate the E2-induced apoptosis of the ER+ breast cancer cells.: ERα positive MCF7:5C cells were used to study apoptosis induced by E2, 4OHT and TPEs. Growth and apoptosis assays were used to evaluate apoptosis and the ability to reverse E2-induced apoptosis. ERα protein was measured by Western blotting to investigate the destruction of ERα by TPEs in MCF7 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were performed to study the in vivo recruitment of ERα and SRC3 at classical E2-responsive promoter TFF1 (PS2) by TPEs. Molecular modeling was used to predict the binding mode of the TPE to the ERα.: TPEs were not only unable to induce efficient apoptosis in MCF7:5C cells but also reversed the E2-induced apoptosis similar to 4OHT. Furthermore, the TPEs and 4OHT did not reduce the ERα protein levels unlike E2. ChIP assay confirmed very weak recruitment of SRC3 despite modest recruitment of ERα in the presence of TPEs. Mole-ular modeling suggests that TPE would bind in antagonistic mode with ERα.: Our results advances the hypothesis that the TPE liganded ERα complex structurally resembles the 4OHT bound ERα and cannot efficiently recruit co-activator SRC3. As a result, the TPE complex cannot induce apoptosis of ER+ breast cancer cells, although it can cause growth of the breast cancer cells. The conformation of the estrogen-ER complex differentially controls growth and apoptosis.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Ashraf N. Abdalla ◽  
Miriana Di Stefano ◽  
Giulio Poli ◽  
Tiziano Tuccinardi ◽  
Ammar Bader ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is a complex and multi-drug resistant (MDR) disease, which could result in the failure of many chemotherapeutic clinical agents. Discovering effective molecules from natural products or by derivatization from known compounds is the interest of many research studies. The first objective of the present study is to investigate the cytotoxic combinatorial, chemosensitizing, and apoptotic effects of an isatin derived compound (5,5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione conjugated with 5-substituted isatin, named HAA2021 in the present study) against breast cancer cells (MCF7) and breast cancer cells resistant to doxorubicin (MCF7/ADR) when combined with doxorubicin. The second objective is to investigate the binding mode of HAA2021 withP-glycoprotein (P-gp) and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), and to determine whether their co-inhibition by HAA2021 contribute to the increase of the chemosensitization of MCF7/ADR cells to doxorubicin. The combination of HAA2021, at non-toxic doses, with doxorubicin synergistically inhibited the proliferation while inducing significant apoptosis in MCF7 cells. Moreover, HAA2021 increased the chemosensitization of MCF7/ADR cells to doxorubicin, resulting in increased cytotoxicity/selectivity and apoptosis-inducing efficiency compared with the effect of doxorubicin or HAA2021 alone against MCF7/ADR cells. Molecular modeling showed that two molecules of HAA2021 bind to P-gp at the same time, causing P-gp inhibitory effect of the MDR efflux pump, and accumulation of Rhodamine-123 (Rho123) in MCF7/ADR cells. Furthermore, HAA2021 stably interacted with Hsp90α more efficiently compared with 17-N-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), which was confirmed with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and molecular modeling studies. Additionally, HAA2021 showed multi-target effects via the inhibition of Hsp90 and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-𝜅B) proteins in MCF7 and MCF7/ADR cells. Results of real time-PCR also confirmed the synergistic co-inhibition of P-gp/Hsp90α genes in MCF7/ADR cells. Further pharmacokinetic and in vivo studies are warranted for HAA2021 to confirm its anticancer capabilities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Han Zhao ◽  
Ping Zhao ◽  
Xingang Wang

BACKGROUND: Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was overexpressed in many cancers, and high PKM2 expression was related with poor prognosis and chemoresistance. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the expression of PKM2 in breast cancer and analyzed the relation of PKM2 expression with chemotherapy resistance to the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We also investigated whether PKM2 could reverse chemoresistance in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed in 130 surgical resected breast cancer tissues. 78 core needle biopsies were collected from breast cancer patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The relation of PKM2 expression and multi-drug resistance to NAC was compared. The effect of PKM2 silencing or overexpression on Doxorubicin (DOX) sensitivity in the MCF-7 cells in vitro and in vivo was compared. RESULTS: PKM2 was intensively expressed in breast cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. In addition, high expression of PKM2 was associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. The NAC patients with high PKM2 expression had short survival. PKM2 was an independent prognostic predictor for surgical resected breast cancer and NAC patients. High PKM2 expression was correlated with neoadjuvant treatment resistance. High PKM2 expression significantly distinguished chemoresistant patients from chemosensitive patients. In vitro and in vivo knockdown of PKM2 expression decreases the resistance to DOX in breast cancer cells in vitro and tumors in vivo. CONCLUSION: PKM2 expression was associated with chemoresistance of breast cancers, and could be used to predict the chemosensitivity. Furthermore, targeting PKM2 could reverse chemoresistance, which provides an effective treatment methods for patients with breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153303382110278
Author(s):  
Yayan Yang ◽  
Qian Feng ◽  
Chuanfeng Ding ◽  
Wei Kang ◽  
Xiufeng Xiao ◽  
...  

Although Epirubicin (EPI) is a commonly used anthracycline for the treatment of breast cancer in clinic, the serious side effects limit its long-term administration including myelosuppression and cardiomyopathy. Nanomedicines have been widely utilized as drug delivery vehicles to achieve precise targeting of breast cancer cells. Herein, we prepared a DSPE-PEG nanocarrier conjugated a peptide, which targeted the breast cancer overexpression protein Na+/K+ ATPase α1 (NKA-α1). The nanocarrier encapsulated the EPI and grafted with the NKA-α1 targeting peptide through the click reaction between maleimide and thiol groups. The EPI was slowly released from the nanocarrier after entering the breast cancer cells with the guidance of the targeting NKA-α1 peptide. The precise and controllable delivery and release of the EPI into the breast cancer cells dramatically inhibited the cells proliferation and migration in vitro and suppressed the tumor volume in vivo. These results demonstrate significant prospects for this nanocarrier as a promising platform for numerous chemotherapy drugs.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Rakshitha Pandulal Miskin ◽  
Janine S. A. Warren ◽  
Abibatou Ndoye ◽  
Lei Wu ◽  
John M. Lamar ◽  
...  

In the current study, we demonstrate that integrin α3β1 promotes invasive and metastatic traits of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells through induction of the transcription factor, Brain-2 (Brn-2). We show that RNAi-mediated suppression of α3β1 in MDA-MB-231 cells caused reduced expression of Brn-2 mRNA and protein and reduced activity of the BRN2 gene promoter. In addition, RNAi-targeting of Brn-2 in MDA-MB-231 cells decreased invasion in vitro and lung colonization in vivo, and exogenous Brn-2 expression partially restored invasion to cells in which α3β1 was suppressed. α3β1 promoted phosphorylation of Akt in MDA-MB-231 cells, and treatment of these cells with a pharmacological Akt inhibitor (MK-2206) reduced both Brn-2 expression and cell invasion, indicating that α3β1-Akt signaling contributes to Brn-2 induction. Analysis of RNAseq data from patients with invasive breast carcinoma revealed that high BRN2 expression correlates with poor survival. Moreover, high BRN2 expression positively correlates with high ITGA3 expression in basal-like breast cancer, which is consistent with our experimental findings that α3β1 induces Brn-2 in TNBC cells. Together, our study demonstrates a pro-invasive/pro-metastatic role for Brn-2 in breast cancer cells and identifies a role for integrin α3β1 in regulating Brn-2 expression, thereby revealing a novel mechanism of integrin-dependent breast cancer cell invasion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A799-A799
Author(s):  
Dhiraj Kumar ◽  
Sreeharsha Gurrapu ◽  
Hyunho Han ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Seongyeon Bae ◽  
...  

BackgroundLong non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in various biological processes and diseases. Malat1 (metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1), also known as Neat2, is one of the most abundant and highly conserved nuclear lncRNAs. Several studies have shown that the expression of lncRNA Malat1 is associated with metastasis and serving as a predictive marker for various tumor progression. Metastatic relapse often develops years after primary tumor removal as a result of disseminated tumor cells undergoing a period of latency in the target organ.1–4 However, the correlation of tumor intrinsic lncRNA in regulation of tumor dormancy and immune evasion is largely unknown.MethodsUsing an in vivo screening platform for the isolation of genetic entities involved in either dormancy or reactivation of breast cancer tumor cells, we have identified Malat1 as a positive mediator of metastatic reactivation. To functionally uncover the role of Malat1 in metastatic reactivation, we have developed a knock out (KO) model by using paired gRNA CRISPR-Cas9 deletion approach in metastatic breast and other cancer types, including lung, colon and melanoma. As proof of concept we also used inducible knockdown system under in vivo models. To delineate the immune micro-environment, we have used 10X genomics single cell RNA-seq, ChIRP-seq, multi-color flowcytometry, RNA-FISH and immunofluorescence.ResultsOur results reveal that the deletion of Malat1 abrogates the tumorigenic and metastatic potential of these tumors and supports long-term survival without affecting their ploidy, proliferation, and nuclear speckles formation. In contrast, overexpression of Malat1 leads to metastatic reactivation of dormant breast cancer cells. Moreover, the loss of Malat1 in metastatic cells induces dormancy features and inhibits cancer stemness. Our RNA-seq and ChIRP-seq data indicate that Malat1 KO downregulates several immune evasion and stemness associated genes. Strikingly, Malat1 KO cells exhibit metastatic outgrowth when injected in T cells defective mice. Our single-cell RNA-seq cluster analysis and multi-color flow cytometry data show a greater proportion of T cells and reduce Neutrophils infiltration in KO mice which indicate that the immune microenvironment playing an important role in Malat1-dependent immune evasion. Mechanistically, loss of Malat1 is associated with reduced expression of Serpinb6b, which protects the tumor cells from cytotoxic killing by the T cells. Indeed, overexpression of Serpinb6b rescued the metastatic potential of Malat1 KO cells by protecting against cytotoxic T cells.ConclusionsCollectively, our data indicate that targeting this novel cancer-cell-initiated domino effect within the immune system represents a new strategy to inhibit tumor metastatic reactivation.Trial RegistrationN/AEthics ApprovalFor all the animal studies in the present study, the study protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee(IACUC) of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.ConsentN/AReferencesArun G, Diermeier S, Akerman M, et al., Differentiation of mammary tumors and reduction in metastasis upon Malat1 lncRNA loss. Genes Dev 2016 Jan 1;30(1):34–51.Filippo G. Giancotti, mechanisms governing metastatic dormancy and reactivation. Cell 2013 Nov 7;155(4):750–764.Gao H, Chakraborty G, Lee-Lim AP, et al., The BMP inhibitor Coco reactivates breast cancer cells at lung metastatic sites. Cell 2012b;150:764–779.Gao H, Chakraborty G, Lee-Lim AP, et al., Forward genetic screens in mice uncover mediators and suppressors of metastatic reactivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014 Nov 18; 111(46): 16532–16537.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096032712199945
Author(s):  
AT Aliyev ◽  
S Ozcan-Sezer ◽  
A Akdemir ◽  
H Gurer-Orhan

Apigenin, a flavonoid, is reported to act as an estrogen receptor (ER) agonist and inhibit aromatase enzyme. However, amentoflavone, a biflavonoid bearing two apigenin molecules, has not been evaluated for its endocrine modulatory effects. Besides, it is highly consumed by young people to build muscles, enhance mood and lose weight. In the present study, apigenin was used as a reference molecule and ER mediated as well as ER-independent estrogenic/antiestrogenic activity of amentoflavone was investigated. Antitumor activity of amentoflavone was also investigated in both ER positive (MCF-7 BUS) and triple-negative (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cells and its cytotoxicity was evaluated in human breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A). Our data confirmed ER agonist, aromatase inhibitory and cytotoxic effects of apigenin in breast cancer cells, where no ER mediated estrogenic effect and physiologically irrelevant, slight, aromatase inhibition was found for amentoflavone. Although selective cytotoxicity of amentoflavone was found in MCF-7 BUS cells, it does not seem to be an alternative to the present cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, neither an adverse effect, mediated by an estrogenic/antiestrogenic effect of amentoflavone nor a therapeutical benefit would be expected from amentoflavone. Further studies could be performed to investigate its in vivo effects.


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