scholarly journals A redox-responsive dihydroartemisinin dimeric nanoprodrug for enhanced antitumor activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yawei Li ◽  
Qing Pei ◽  
Baiji Cui ◽  
Hongmei Zhang ◽  
Liu Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Heterogeneity ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Biological Method ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Tumor Treatment ◽  
Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Redox Responsive ◽  
Signal Path

AbstractRedox-responsive drug delivery system emerges as a hopeful platform for tumor treatment. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) has been investigated as an innovative tumor therapeutic agent. Herein, a DHA dimeric prodrug bridged with disulfide bond as linker (DHA2-SS) has been designed and synthesized. The prepared prodrugs could self-assemble into nanoparticles (SS NPs) with high DHA content (> 90%) and robust stability. These SS NPs display sensitive redox responsive capability and can release DHA under the tumor heterogeneity microenvironment. SS NPs possess preferable antitumor therapeutic activity in contrast with free DHA. Moreover, the possible anti-cancer mechanism of SS NPs was investigated through RNA-seq analysis, bioinformatics and molecular biological method. SS NPs could induce apoptosis via mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, as well as glycolysis inhibition associate with the regulation of PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signal path, which may offer an underlying therapeutic target for liver cancer. Our study highlights the potential of using redox responsive prodrug nanoparticles to treat cancer, meanwhile provides insights into the anti-cancer mechanism of DHA prodrug. Graphical Abstract

A Redox-Responsive Dihydroartemisinin Dimeric Nanoprodrug For Enhanced Antitumor Activity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yawei Li ◽  
Qing Pei ◽  
Baiji Cui ◽  
Hongmei Zhang ◽  
Liu Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Heterogeneity ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Biological Method ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Tumor Treatment ◽  
Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Redox Responsive ◽  
Signal Path

Abstract Redox-responsive drug delivery system emerges as a hopeful platform for tumor treatment. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) has been investigated as an innovative tumor therapeutic agent. Herein, a DHA dimeric prodrug bridged with disulfide bond as linker (DHA2-SS) has been designed and synthesized. The prepared prodrugs could self-assemble into nanoparticles (SS NPs) with high DHA content (>90%) and robust stability. These SS NPs display sensitive redox responsive capability and can release DHA under the tumor heterogeneity microenvironment. SS NPs possess preferable antitumor therapeutic activity in contrast with free DHA. Moreover, the possible anti-cancer mechanism of these nanoparticles was investigated through RNA-seq analysis, bioinformatics and molecular biological method. SS NPs could induce apoptosis via mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, as well as glycolysis inhibition associate with the regulation of PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α signal path, which may offer an underlying therapeutic target for liver cancer. Our study highlights the potential of using redox responsive prodrug nanoparticles to treat cancer, meanwhile provides insights into the anti-cancer mechanism of DHA prodrug.

scholarly journals Cephalotaxine Inhibits the Survival of Leukemia Cells by Activating Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway and Inhibiting Autophagy Flow

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2996
Author(s):  
Tingting Liu ◽  
Qiang Guo ◽  
Shuze Zheng ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Heng Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Leukemia Cells ◽  
Mitochondrial Apoptosis ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Change Mechanism ◽  
Function Change ◽  
Mechanism Research ◽  
Natural Alkaloid

Cephalotaxine (CET) is a natural alkaloid with potent antileukemia effects. However, its underlying molecular mechanism has not been well understood. In this study, we verified that CET significantly inhibited the viability of various leukemia cells, including HL-60, NB4, Jurkat, K562, Raji and MOLT-4. RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics analysis revealed that CET causes mitochondrial function change. Mechanism research indicated that CET activated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway by reducing the mitochondrial membrane potential, downregulating anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and upregulating pro-apoptotic Bak protein. In addition, the autophagy signaling pathway was highly enriched by RNA-seq analysis. Then, we found that CET blocked the fluorescence colocation of MitoTracker Green and LysoTracker Red and upregulated the level of LC3-II and p62, which indicated that autophagy flow was impaired. Further results demonstrated that CET could impair lysosomal acidification and block autophagy flow. Finally, inhibiting autophagy flow could aggravate apoptosis of HL-60 cells induced by CET. In summary, this study demonstrated that CET exerted antileukemia effects through activation of the mitochondria-dependent pathway and by impairing autophagy flow. Our research provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of CET in the treatment of leukemia.

Resveratrol: A new potential therapeutic agent for melanoma?

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Hossein Pourhanifeh ◽  
Kazem Abbaszadeh-Goudarzi ◽  
Mohammad Goodarzi ◽  
Sara G.M. Piccirillo ◽  
Alimohammad Shafiee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Treatment Resistance ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Apoptosis Inducer ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
First Time

: Melanoma is the most life-threatening and aggressive class of skin malignancies. The incidence of melanoma has steadily increased. Metastatic melanoma is greatly resistant to standard anti-melanomatreatments such as chemotherapy, and 5-year survival rate of cases with melanoma who have metastatic form of disease is less than 10%. The contributing role of apoptosis, angiogenesis and autophagy in the pathophysiology of melanoma has been previously demonstrated. Thus, it is extremely urgent to search for complementary therapeutic approachesthat couldenhance the quality of life of subjects and reduce treatment resistance and adverse effects. Resveratrol, known as a polyphenol component present in grapes and some plants, has anti-cancer properties due to its function as an apoptosis inducer in tumor cells, and anti-angiogenic agent to prevent metastasis. However, more clinical trials should be conducted to prove resveratrol efficacy. : Herein, for first time, we summarize current knowledge of anti-cancerous activities of resveratrol in melanoma.

scholarly journals ROS-Mediated Anti-Tumor Effect of Coptidis Rhizoma against Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Hep3B Cells and Xenografts

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4797
Author(s):  
So Young Kim ◽  
Cheol Park ◽  
Min Yeong Kim ◽  
Seon Yeong Ji ◽  
Hyun Hwangbo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Ethanol Extract ◽  
Pharmacological Intervention ◽  
Ros Generation ◽  
Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Invasion And Migration ◽  
Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathway ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Coptidis Rhizoma ◽  
Hep3b Cells

Coptidis Rhizoma is the dried rhizome from the Coptis chinensis Franch. that has been shown to have a number of beneficial pharmacological properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. However, the anti-cancer effects of Coptidis Rhizoma on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer properties of Coptidis Rhizoma ethanol extract (CR) in HCC Hep3B cells and in a xenograft mouse model. Our results showed that the CR significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in Hep3B cells through increased expression of Bcl-2 associated x-protein (Bax) and cleavage of poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP), reduced expression of Bcl-2, and activated caspases. CR also increased the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which caused a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ΔΨm) and activation of the mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Moreover, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a ROS inhibitor, markedly blocked the effects of CR on apoptotic pathways. CR also induced the expression of light chain 3 (LC3)-I/II, a key autophagy regulator, whereas CR-mediated autophagy was significantly suppressed by NAC. In addition, pre-treatment with NAC perfectly attenuated the inhibition of cell invasion and migration of CR-stimulated Hep3B cells. Furthermore, oral administration of CR suppressed Hep3B tumor growth in xenograft mice without toxicity, alterations to body weight, or changes in hematological and biochemical profiles. Taken together, our findings suggest that CR has anti-tumor effects that result from ROS generation, and may be a potential pharmacological intervention for HCC.

scholarly journals The HGR motif is the antiangiogenic determinant of vasoinhibin: implications for a therapeutic orally active oligopeptide

Angiogenesis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Robles ◽  
Magdalena Zamora ◽  
Lourdes Siqueiros-Marquez ◽  
Elva Adan-Castro ◽  
Gabriela Ramirez-Hernandez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Clinical Evidence ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Peripartum Cardiomyopathy ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Functional Determinant ◽  
Melanoma Tumor ◽  
Linear Motif ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Orally Active

AbstractThe hormone prolactin acquires antiangiogenic and antivasopermeability properties after undergoing proteolytic cleavage to vasoinhibin, an endogenous prolactin fragment of 123 or more amino acids that inhibits the action of multiple proangiogenic factors. Preclinical and clinical evidence supports the therapeutic potential of vasoinhibin against angiogenesis-related diseases including diabetic retinopathy, peripartum cardiomyopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. However, the use of vasoinhibin in the clinic has been limited by difficulties in its production. Here, we removed this barrier to using vasoinhibin as a therapeutic agent by showing that a short linear motif of just three residues (His46-Gly47-Arg48) (HGR) is the functional determinant of vasoinhibin. The HGR motif is conserved throughout evolution, its mutation led to vasoinhibin loss of function, and oligopeptides containing this sequence inhibited angiogenesis and vasopermeability with the same potency as whole vasoinhibin. Furthermore, the oral administration of an optimized cyclic retro-inverse vasoinhibin heptapeptide containing HGR inhibited melanoma tumor growth and vascularization in mice and exhibited equal or higher antiangiogenic potency than other antiangiogenic molecules currently used as anti-cancer drugs in the clinic. Finally, by unveiling the mechanism that obscures the HGR motif in prolactin, we anticipate the development of vasoinhibin-specific antibodies to solve the on-going challenge of measuring endogenous vasoinhibin levels for diagnostic and interventional purposes, the design of vasoinhibin antagonists for managing insufficient angiogenesis, and the identification of putative therapeutic proteins containing HGR.

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