scholarly journals Mathematical model of hypoxia and tumor signaling interplay reveals the importance of hypoxia and cell-to-cell variability in tumor growth inhibition

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile P. Chen ◽  
Roy S. Song ◽  
Xueer Chen

Abstract Background Human tumor is a complex tissue with multiple heterogeneous hypoxic regions and significant cell-to-cell variability. Due to the complexity of the disease, the explanation of why anticancer therapies fail cannot be attributed to intrinsic or acquired drug resistance alone. Furthermore, there are inconsistent reports of hypoxia-induced kinase activities in different cancer cell-lines, where increase, decreases, or no change has been observed. Thus, we asked, why are there widely contrasting results in kinase activity under hypoxia in different cancer cell-lines and how does hypoxia play a role in anti-cancer drug sensitivity? Results We took a modeling approach to address these questions by analyzing the model simulation to explain why hypoxia driven signals can have dissimilar impact on tumor growth and alter the efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. Repeated simulations with varying concentrations of biomolecules followed by decision tree analysis reveal that the highly differential effects among heterogeneous subpopulation of tumor cells could be governed by varying concentrations of just a few key biomolecules. These biomolecules include activated serine/threonine-specific protein kinases (pRAF), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (pMEK), protein kinase B (pAkt), or phosphoinositide-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (pPI3K). Additionally, the ratio of activated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (pERK) or pAkt to its respective total was a key factor in determining the sensitivity of pERK or pAkt to hypoxia. Conclusion This work offers a mechanistic insight into how hypoxia can affect the efficacy of anti-cancer drug that targets tumor signaling and provides a framework to identify the types of tumor cells that are either sensitive or resistant to anti-cancer therapy.

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Bashir Lawal ◽  
Yen-Lin Liu ◽  
Ntlotlang Mokgautsi ◽  
Harshita Khedkar ◽  
Maryam Rachmawati Sumitra ◽  
...  

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcriptional regulator of a number of biological processes including cell differentiation, proliferation, survival, and angiogenesis, while cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are a critical regulator of cell cycle progression. These proteins appear to play central roles in angiogenesis and cell survival and are widely implicated in tumor progression. In this study, we used the well-characterized US National Cancer Institute 60 (NCI60) human tumor cell lines to screen the in vitro anti-cancer activities of our novel small molecule derivatives (NSC765690 and NSC765599) of salicylanilide. Furthermore, we used the DTP-COMPARE algorithm and in silico drug target prediction to identify the potential molecular targets, and finally, we used molecular docking to assess the interaction between the compounds and prominent potential targets. We found that NSC765690 and NSC765599 exhibited an anti-proliferative effect against the 60 panels of NCI human cancer cell lines, and dose-dependent cytotoxic preference for NSCLC, melanoma, renal, and breast cancer cell lines. Protein–ligand interactions studies revealed that NSC765690 and NSC765599 were favored ligands for STAT3/CDK2/4/6. Moreover, cyclization of the salicylanilide core scaffold of NSC765690 mediated its higher anti-cancer activities and had greater potential to interact with STAT3/CDK2/4/6 than did NSC765599 with an open-ring structure. NSC765690 and NSC765599 met the required safety and criteria of a good drug candidate, and are thus worthy of further in-vitro and in-vivo investigations in tumor-bearing mice to assess their full therapeutic efficacy.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Jin ◽  
Meng-Ling Wang ◽  
Yao Lv ◽  
Xue-Yi Zeng ◽  
Chao Chen ◽  
...  

Flavonoids are well-characterized polyphenolic compounds with pharmacological and therapeutic activities. However, most flavonoids have not been developed into clinical drugs, due to poor bioavailability. Herein, we report a strategy to increase the drugability of flavonoids by constructing C(sp2)-O bonds and stereo- as well as regioselective alkenylation of hydroxyl groups of flavonoids with ethyl-2,3-butadienoate allenes. Twenty-three modified flavonoid derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their anti-cancer activities. The results showed that compounds 4b, 4c, 4e, 5e, and 6b exhibited better in vitro inhibitory activity against several cancer cell lines than their precursors. Preliminary structure–activity relationship studies indicated that, in most of the cancer cell lines evaluated, the substitution on position 7 was essential for increasing cytotoxicity. The results of this study might facilitate the preparation or late-stage modification of complex flavonoids as anti-cancer drug candidates.


2011 ◽  
Vol 108 (46) ◽  
pp. 18708-18713 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Gillet ◽  
A. M. Calcagno ◽  
S. Varma ◽  
M. Marino ◽  
L. J. Green ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. C125-C136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Wu ◽  
Andy Neilson ◽  
Amy L. Swift ◽  
Rebecca Moran ◽  
James Tamagnine ◽  
...  

Increased conversion of glucose to lactic acid associated with decreased mitochondrial respiration is a unique feature of tumors first described by Otto Warburg in the 1920s. Recent evidence suggests that the Warburg effect is caused by oncogenes and is an underlying mechanism of malignant transformation. Using a novel approach to measure cellular metabolic rates in vitro, the bioenergetic basis of this increased glycolysis and reduced mitochondrial respiration was investigated in two human cancer cell lines, H460 and A549. The bioenergetic phenotype was analyzed by measuring cellular respiration, glycolysis rate, and ATP turnover of the cells in response to various pharmacological modulators. H460 and A549 cells displayed a dependency on glycolysis and an ability to significantly upregulate this pathway when their respiration was inhibited. The converse, however, was not true. The cell lines were attenuated in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity and were unable to sufficiently upregulate mitochondrial OXPHOS when glycolysis was disabled. This observed mitochondrial impairment was intimately linked to the increased dependency on glycolysis. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that H460 cells were more glycolytic, having a greater impairment of mitochondrial respiration, compared with A549 cells. Finally, the upregulation of glycolysis in response to mitochondrial ATP synthesis inhibition was dependent on AMP-activated protein kinase activity. In summary, our results demonstrate a bioenergetic phenotype of these two cancer cell lines characterized by increased rate of glycolysis and a linked attenuation in their OXPHOS capacity. These metabolic alterations provide a mechanistic explanation for the growth advantage and apoptotic resistance of tumor cells.


Author(s):  
Guoyi Yan ◽  
Jiang Luo ◽  
Xuan Han ◽  
Wenjuan Zhang ◽  
Chunlan Pu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: : Coumarin structures were widely employed in anti-cancer drug design. Herein we focused on the modifications of C4 and C6 positions on coumarin scaffold to get novel anti-cancer agents. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current work was the synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of 4, 6-coumarin derivatives to get novel anticancer agents. METHODS: Thirty-seven coumarin derivatives were designed and synthesized, the antiproliferative activity of the compounds were evaluated against human cancer cell lines and non-cancerous cells by MTT assay. The bioactivities and underling mechanisms of active molecules were studied and the ADMET characters were predicted. RESULTS: Among the compounds, 4-phydroxy phenol-6-pinacol borane coumarin (25) exhibited a promising anti-cancer activity to cancer cell lines in dose-dependent manner and the toxicity to normal cells was low. The mechanism of action was observed through inducing G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis which was further confirmed via western blot. In silico ADMET prediction revealed that compound 25 is a drug-like small molecule with a favorable safety profile. CONCLUSION: The findings in this work may give vital information for further development of 6-pinacol borane coumarin derivatives as novel anti-cancer agents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanele Mngadi ◽  
Moganavelli Singh ◽  
Seipati Mokhosi

Abstract The use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has transformed both diagnostics and therapeutic approaches in cancer treatment. Along with developing novel anti-cancer drugs with high therapeutic potential, researchers are exploring innovative strategies for more targeted delivery in order to alleviate the associated potent side effects. In this study, we describe the synthesis of Mg0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles, their functionalisation with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and encapsulation of the anti-cancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Functionalised nanoparticles viz. PVA-Mg0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 -5-FU displayed desirable physiochemical properties with regards to the spherical shape, hydrodynamic sizes of <120 nm and relative colloidal stability of up to <−33 mV. The drug encapsulating efficiency was found to be 68%. In vitro cytotoxicity profiles were determined using the MTT and SRB assays, with >65% cell death recorded in MCF-7 and HeLa cancer cell lines. Overall, the nanocomposites exhibited excellent physiochemical elements, high specificity towards cancerous cells and displayed pH-sensitive drug release in a simulated acidic tumour micro-environment. The encapsulation of 5-FU improved bioavailability of the drug in cancer cell lines for a prolonged duration, with the promise to enhance its therapeutic effect, biocompatibility and safety. These MNPs present as promising in vitro delivery systems that can further developed for therapeutic applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 992-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Jun Yu ◽  
Sen Yao ◽  
Ting-Ting Li ◽  
Rui Yang ◽  
Ri-Sheng Yao

Background: Cancer patients treated with targeted anti-cancer drug suffer from itch or pruritus. Itch or pruritus is an unpleasant sensation that brings about a negative impact on quality of life, and serious itch may lead to dose reduction and even discontinuation. Gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) plays a critical role in itch, inflammation and cancer, and GRPR antagonist has obvious effect on cancer, inflammation and itch. The aim of this paper is to develop a new agent with anti-cancer and anti-itch activity. Methods: A series of GRPR antagonist PD176252 analogues (3a-3l) were designed and synthesized. Both anticancer and anti-itch activities were evaluated. Anti-cancer activity was evaluated in three human cancer cell lines in vitro, the anti-itch activity in evaluated with Kunming mice by intrathecal injection of chloroquine phosphate as a modeling medium. And the cytotoxicity on normal cells was evaluated. Results: Of the tested compounds, compound 3i showed potently anti-cancer activity to all cancer cell lines tested with IC50 values of 10.5µM (lung), 11.6µM (breast) and 12.8µM (liver) respectively and it also showed significant inhibition of the scratching behavior. Comparing with PD17625, compound 3i and 3g gave better inhibition activities against all cancer cell lines, compound 3b, 3c and 3i showed better anti-itch activity. The compound 3i is safe for normal breast and liver normal cells, but it has high cytotoxicity on normal lung cell. Conclusion: The synthesized compounds have dual anti-cancer and anti-itch activity, so the development of drug with dual anti-tumor and anti-itch property is possible.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Cokelaer ◽  
Elisabeth Chen ◽  
Francesco Iorio ◽  
Michael P. Menden ◽  
Howard Lightfoot ◽  
...  

AbstractMotivationLarge pharmacogenomic screenings integrate heterogeneous cancer genomic data sets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on thousand human cancer cell lines. Mining this data to identify new therapies for cancer sub-populations would benefit from common data structures, modular computational biology tools and user-friendly interfaces.ResultsWe have developed GDSCTools: a software aimed at the identification of clinically relevant genomic markers of drug response. The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database (www.cancerRxgene.org) integrates heterogeneous cancer genomic data sets as well as anti-cancer drug responses on a thousand cancer cell lines. Including statistical tools (ANOVA) and predictive methods (Elastic Net), as well as common data structures, GDSCTools allows users to reproduce published results from GDSC, to analyse their own drug responses or genomic datasets, and to implement new analytical [email protected]


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