scholarly journals Hypoxia Enhanced Glioblastoma Resistance to Erastin-Induced Ferroptosis by Up-Regulating GPX4 via PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α Axis

Author(s):  
Shicheng Sun ◽  
Changfa Guo ◽  
Bo Pang ◽  
Taihong Gao ◽  
Xiangsheng Su ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Glioblastoma is the deadliest type of primary brain tumor with a high rate of recurrence and treatment resistance. Hypoxia contributed much to radiotherapy resistance and chemoresistance of cancer. Ferroptosis is a nonapoptotic, oxidative cell death and identified as a potential anticancer mechanism in recent years. Erastin acts as a ferroptosis activator and shows a potential role in tumor treatment but the relationship between hypoxia and erastin resistance in glioblastoma has not been explained. This study aimed to investigate the role and underlying mechanism of hypoxia in erastin-induced ferroptosis in glioblastoma. Methods Cell proliferation and viability were determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry, TUNEL assays, and clone formation assay. Lipid peroxides level was analyzed by Malondialdehyde (MDA) assay and flow cytometry using C11-BODIPY dye. The correlation between HIF-1α and GPX4 expression was detected in data from the TCGA database and was determined by ChIP-qPCR assay and luciferase reporter assay. Subcutaneous xenograft and orthotopic xenograft models were established to test our findings in vivo. Results Hypoxia for at least 16 hours significantly suppressed erastin-induced ferroptosis by up-regulating glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression in U87 and U251 cells. Hypoxia promotes GPX4 expression via enhancing the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α pathway. Mechanistically, HIF-1α directly bound to the GPX4 gene promoter region and promoted GPX4 transcription. AKT inhibitor MK-2206 and HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 could significantly reverse the effect. Besides, under normoxia, PX-478 could induce a higher lipid peroxidation level by decreasing GPX4 expression in U87 and U251 cells but cannot induced cell death directly, and it could significantly enhance the tumor cell killing effect of erastin. In vivo, combination of PX-478 and erastin had a coordinated intensification effect on anticancer activity uncovered by subcutaneous xenograft and orthotopic xenograft mouse models. Conclusions Hypoxia enhanced glioblastoma resistance to erastin-induced ferroptosis by activating PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α pathway and promoting GPX4 expression in a transcriptional regulation way. Combination therapy of PX-478 and erastin may be a potential strategy against glioblastoma.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuejie Gao ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Anqi Ye ◽  
Houcai Wang ◽  
Yongsheng Xie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Multiple myeloma (MM) is a highly aggressive and incurable clonal plasma cell disease with a high rate of recurrence. Thus, the development of new therapies is urgently needed. DCZ0805, a novel compound synthesized from osalmide and pterostilbene, has few observed side effects. In the current study, we intend to investigate the therapeutic effects of DCZ0805 in MM cells and elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying its anti-myeloma activity. Methods We used the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, immunofluorescence staining, cell cycle assessment, apoptosis assay, western blot analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assay and a tumor xenograft mouse model to investigate the effect of DCZ0805 treatment both in vivo and in vitro. Results The results showed that DCZ0805 treatment arrested the cell at the G0/G1 phase and suppressed MM cells survival by inducing apoptosis via extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. DCZ0805 suppressed the NF-κB signaling pathway activation, which may have contributed to the inhibition of cell proliferation. DCZ0805 treatment remarkably reduced the tumor burden in the immunocompromised xenograft mouse model, with no obvious toxicity observed. Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that DCZ0805 can serve as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of MM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xixi Li ◽  
Shengli Hu ◽  
Haitao Yin ◽  
Hongbo Zhang ◽  
Dan Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Culex pipiens (Cx. pipiens) complex, which acts as a vector of viruses and is widespread and abundant worldwide, including West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and Sindbis virus, can cause serious vector-borne diseases affecting human health. Unfortunately, mosquitoes have developed deltamethrin resistance because of its long-term overuse, representing a major challenge to mosquito control. Understanding the molecular regulatory mechanisms of resistance is vital to control mosquitoes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that have been demonstrated to be important regulators of gene expression across a wide variety of organisms, which might function in mosquito deltamethrin resistance. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory functions of miR-4448 and CYP4H31 in the formation of insecticidal resistance in mosquito Culex pipiens pallens. Methods We used quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR to measure miR-4448 and CYP4H31 (encoding a cytochrome P450) expression levels. The regulatory functions of miR-4448 and CYP4H31 were assessed using dual-luciferase reporter assays. Then, oral feeding, RNA interference, and the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle bioassay were used to determine miR-4448’s association with deltamethrin resistance by targeting CYP4H31in vivo. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was also used to detect the viability of pIB/V5-His-CYP4H31-transfected C6/36 cells after deltamethrin treatment in vitro. Results MiR-4448 was downregulated in the deltamethrin-resistant strain (DR strain), whereas CYP4H31 was downregulated in deltamethrin-susceptible strain. CYP4H31 expression was downregulated by miR-4448 recognizing and binding to its 3′ untranslated region. Functional verification experiments showed that miR-4448 overexpression resulted in lower expression of CYP4H31. The mortality of miR-4448 mimic-injected DR strain mosquitoes was higher than that of the controls. CCK-8 assays showed that CYP4H31 decreased cellular resistance to deltamethrin in vitro and the mortality of the DR strain increased when CYP4H31 was knocked down in vivo. Conclusions In mosquitoes, miR-4448 participates in deltamethrin resistance by targeting CYP4H31. The results of the present study increase our understanding of deltamethrin resistance mechanisms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 284-295
Author(s):  
Yongtian Zhang ◽  
Dandan Zhao ◽  
Shumei Li ◽  
Meng Xiao ◽  
Hongjing Zhou ◽  
...  

AbstractMultiple myeloma (MM) is a serious health issue in hematological malignancies. Long non-coding RNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) has been reported to be highly expressed in the plasma of MM patients. However, the functions of TUG1 in MM tumorigenesis along with related molecular basis are still undefined. In this study, increased TUG1 and decreased microRNA-34a-5p (miR-34a-5p) levels in MM tissues and cells were measured by the real-time quantitative polymerase reaction assay. The expression of relative proteins was determined by the Western blot assay. TUG1 knockdown suppressed cell viability, induced cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis in MM cells, as shown by Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry assays. Bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, and RNA pull-down assay indicated that miR-34a-5p was a target of TUG1 and directly bound to notch receptor 1 (NOTCH1), and TUG1 regulated the NOTCH1 expression by targeting miR-34a-5p. The functions of miR-34a-5p were abrogated by TUG1 upregulation. Moreover, TUG1 loss impeded MM xenograft tumor growth in vivo by upregulating miR-34a-5p and downregulating NOTCH1. Furthermore, TUG1 depletion inhibited the expression of Hes-1, Survivin, and Bcl-2 protein in MM cells and xenograft tumors. TUG1 knockdown inhibited MM tumorigenesis by regulating the miR-34a-5p/NOTCH1 signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo, deepening our understanding of the TUG1 function in MM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 871-883
Author(s):  
Jinshan Zhang ◽  
Dan Rao ◽  
Haibo Ma ◽  
Defeng Kong ◽  
Xiaoming Xu ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundOsteosarcoma is a common primary malignant bone cancer. Long noncoding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 15 (SNHG15) has been reported to play an oncogenic role in many cancers. Nevertheless, the role of SNHG15 in the doxorubicin (DXR) resistance of osteosarcoma cells has not been fully addressed.MethodsCell Counting Kit-8 assay was conducted to measure the half-maximal inhibitory concentration value of DXR in osteosarcoma cells. Western blotting was carried out to examine the levels of autophagy-related proteins and GDNF family receptor alpha-1 (GFRA1). Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the levels of SNHG15, miR-381-3p, and GFRA1. The proliferation of osteosarcoma cells was measured by MTT assay. The binding sites between miR-381-3p and SNHG15 or GFRA1 were predicted by Starbase bioinformatics software, and the interaction was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Murine xenograft model was established to validate the function of SNHG15 in vivo.ResultsAutophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine sensitized DXR-resistant osteosarcoma cell lines to DXR. SNHG15 was upregulated in DXR-resistant osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. SNHG15 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, DXR resistance, and autophagy of osteosarcoma cells. MiR-381-3p was a direct target of SNHG15, and GFRA1 bound to miR-381-3p in osteosarcoma cells. SNHG15 contributed to DXR resistance through the miR-381-3p/GFRA1 axis in vitro. SNHG15 depletion contributed to the inhibitory effect of DXR on osteosarcoma tumor growth through the miR-381-3p/GFRA1 axis in vivo.ConclusionsSNHG15 enhanced the DXR resistance of osteosarcoma cells through elevating the autophagy via targeting the miR-381-3p/GFRA1 axis. Restoration of miR-381-3p expression might be an underlying therapeutic strategy to overcome the DXR resistance of osteosarcoma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenguang Ding ◽  
Xiaoming Ding ◽  
Jin Zheng ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Renal tubular cell death is the key factor of the pathogenesis of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) kidney injury. Ferroptosis is a type of regulated cell death (RCD) found in various diseases. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms related to ferroptosis in renal I/R injury remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the regulatory role of microRNAs on ferroptosis in I/R-induced renal injury. We established the I/R-induced renal injury model in rats, and H/R induced HK-2 cells injury in vitro. CCK-8 was used to measure cell viability. Fe2+ and ROS levels were assayed to evaluate the activation of ferroptosis. We performed RNA sequencing to profile the miRNAs expression in H/R-induced injury and ferroptosis. Western blot analysis was used to detect the protein expression. qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA and miRNA levels in cells and tissues. We further used luciferase reporter assay to verify the direct targeting effect of miRNA. We found that ischemia/reperfusion-induced ferroptosis in rat’s kidney. We identified that miR-182-5p and miR-378a-3p were upregulated in the ferroptosis and H/R-induced injury, and correlates reversely with glutathione peroxidases 4 (GPX4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) expression in renal I/R injury tissues, respectively. In vitro studies showed that miR-182-5p and miR-378a-3p induced ferroptosis in cells. We further found that miR-182-5p and miR-378a-3p regulated the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 negatively by directly binding to the 3′UTR of GPX4 and SLC7A11 mRNA. In vivo study showed that silencing miR-182-5p and miR-378a-3p alleviated the I/R-induced renal injury in rats. In conclusion, we demonstrated that I/R induced upregulation of miR-182-5p and miR-378a-3p, leading to activation of ferroptosis in renal injury through downregulation of GPX4 and SLC7A11.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 302-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Brown ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Claire Hinterschied ◽  
Alexander Prouty ◽  
Shelby Sloan ◽  
...  

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable B cell malignancy, defined by the t(11;14) translocation and comprises 3-6% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas diagnosed annually. MCL is associated with a poor prognosis due to emergence of resistance to immuno-chemotherapy and targeted agents. Due to the late median age of diagnosis, aggressive chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are often not realistic options. The average overall survival of patients with MCL is 5 years and for the majority of patients who progress on targeted agents like ibrutinib, survival remains at a dismal 3-8 months. There is a major unmet need to identify new therapeutic approaches that are well tolerated by elderly patients to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life. Our group has identified the type II protein arginine methyltransferase enzyme, PRMT5, to be dysregulated in MCL and to promote growth and survival by supporting the cell cycle, PRC2 activity, and signaling via the BCR and PI3K/AKT pathways. We have developed first-in-class selective inhibitors of PRMT5 and, in collaboration with Prelude Therapeutics, we have demonstrated that novel SAM-competitive PRMT5 inhibitors provide potent anti-tumor activity in aggressive preclinical models of human MCL. Selective inhibition of PRMT5 in these models and MCL cell lines leads to disruption of constitutive PI3K/AKT signaling, dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of FOXO1, and enhanced recruitment of this tumor suppressor protein to chromatin. We identified 136 newly emerged FOXO1-bound genomic loci following 48 hours of PRMT5 inhibition in the CCMCL1 MCL line by performing chromatin immunoprecipitation-seq analysis. These genes were markedly upregulated in CCMCL1 cells treated with the PRMT5 inhibitor PRT382 as determined by RNA-seq analysis. Among those genes, we identified and confirmed FOXO1 recruitment to the promoter of BAX, a pro-apoptotic member of the BCL2 family of proteins. Treatment of MCL cell lines (Granta-519, CCMCL1, Z-138, and SEFA) with the selective PRMT5 inhibitor PRT382 (10, 100nM) led to upregulation of BAX protein levels and induction of programmed cell death as measured by annexin V/PI staining and flow cytometry. We hypothesized that induction of BAX would trigger a therapeutic vulnerability to the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax, and that combination PRMT5/BCL2 inhibitor therapy would drive synergistic cell death in MCL. Single agent and combination treatment with venetoclax and PRT382 was performed in eight MCL lines including a new cell line generated from our ibrutinib-refractory PDX model (SEFA) and IC50 and synergy scores were calculated. The Z-138 line was most sensitive to venetoclax (IC50<10nM) while CCMCL-1, SP53, JeKo-1, and Granta-519 demonstrated relative resistance (IC50>1uM). All lines reached an IC50 <1uM when co-treated with PRT382, with IC50 values ranging from 20 - 500nM. Combination treatments showed high levels of synergy (scores > 20) in 4 lines and moderate synergy (scores 10-20) in 2 lines. The two lines with the highest levels of synergy, Z-138 and SEFA, express high levels of BCL-2 and are Ibrutinib resistant. Overall there was a strong positive correlation between BCL2 expression and synergy score (r=0.707), and no correlation between PRMT5 expression and synergy score (r=0.084). In vivo evaluation in two preclinical MCL models (Granta-519 NSG mouse flank and an ibrutinib-resistant MCL PDX) showed therapeutic synergy with combination venetoclax/PRT382 treatment. In both models, mice were treated with sub-therapeutic doses of venetoclax and/or PRT543 (Granta) or PRT382 (IR-MCL PDX) and tumor burden assessed weekly via flank mass measurement (Granta) or flow cytometry (IR-MCL-PDX). Combination treatment with well-tolerated doses of venetoclax and PRMT5 inhibitors in both MCL in vivo models showed synergistic anti-tumor activity without evidence of toxicity. This preclinical data provides mechanistic rationale while demonstrating therapeutic synergy and lack of toxicity in this preclinical study and justifies further consideration of this combination strategy targeting PRMT5 and BCL2 in MCL in the clinical setting. PRT543, a selective PRMT5 inhibitor, has been advanced into clinical studies for the treatment of patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, including MCL (NCT03886831). Disclosures Zhang: Prelude Therapeutics: Employment. Vaddi:Prelude Therapeutics: Employment. Scherle:Prelude Therapeutics: Employment. Baiocchi:Prelude: Consultancy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunxin Zhang ◽  
Kexin Shen ◽  
Hanyi Zha ◽  
Wentao Zhang ◽  
Haishan Zhang

Abstract BackgroundCircular RNA-BTG3 associated nuclear protein (circ-BANP) was identifified to involve in cell proliferation of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aerobic glycolysis is a key metabolism mediating cancer progression. However, the role of circ-BANP on aerobic glycolysis in CRC remains unknown. MethodsThe expression of circ-BANP, microRNA (miR)-874-3p, and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) mNRA was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell viability and invasion were measured by cell counting kit-8 assay or transwell assay. Glucose consumption and lactate production were assessed by a glucose and lactate assay kit. XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer was used to determine extracellular acidifification rate (ECAR). Western blot was used to analyze the levels of hexokinase-2 (HK2), pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), MAPK1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Cyclin D1, N-cadherin, E-cadherin, hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), glucose transport protein 1(GLUT1), and c-Myc. The interaction between miR-874-3p and circ-BANP or MAPK1 was confifirmed by dual luciferase reporter assay. In vivo experiments were conducted through the murine xenograft model. ResultsCirc-BANP was up-regulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. Circ-BANP knockdown suppressed CRC cell proliferation, invasion and aerobic glycolysis in vitro as well as inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Circ-BANP was a sponge of miR-874-3p and performed anti-tumor effffects by binding to miR-874-3p in CRC cells. Subsequently, we confifirmed MAPK1 was a target of miR-874-3p and circ-BANP indirectly regulated MAPK1 expression by sponging miR-874-3p. After that, we found MAPK1 overexpression partially reversed circ-BANP deletion-mediated inhibition on cell carcinogenesis and aerobic glycolysis in CRC. ConclusionCirc-BANP accelerated cell carcinogenesis and aerobic glycolysis by regulating MAPK1 through miR- 874-3p in CRC, suggesting a promising therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment.


Author(s):  
Xinping Chen ◽  
Weihua Xu ◽  
Zhichao Ma ◽  
Juan Zhu ◽  
Junjie Hu ◽  
...  

Background: Increasing circular RNAs (circRNAs) are reported to participate in cancer progression. Nonetheless, the role of circRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been fully clarified. This work is aimed to probe the role of circ_0000215 in NPC.Methods: Circ_0000215 expression in NPC tissues and cell lines was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assay, scratch healing assay and Transwell experiment were executed to investigate the regulatory function of circ_0000215 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of NPC cells. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), pull-down and dual-luciferase reporter experiments were utilized to determine the binding relationship between circ_0000215 and miR-512-5p, and between miR-512-5p and phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 1 (PIK3R1) 3′UTR. The effects of circ_0000215 on NPC growth and metastasis in vivo were examined with nude mice model. Western blot was applied to detect the regulatory effects of circ_0000215 and miR-512-5p on PIK3R1 expression.Results: Circ_0000215 was overexpressed in NPC tissues and cell lines. The functional experiments confirmed that knockdown of circ_0000215 impeded the growth and metastasis of NPC cells in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, circ_0000215 could also work as a molecular sponge to repress miR-512-5p expression. PIK3R1 was validated as a target gene of miR-512-5p, and circ_0000215 could increase the expression level of PIK3R1 in NPC cells via suppressing miR-512-5p.Conclusion: Circ_0000215 is overexpressed in NPC and exerts oncogenic effects in NPC through regulating miR-512-5p/PIK3R1 axis.


Antibodies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Linden ◽  
Kiel Telesford ◽  
Samantha Shetty ◽  
Paige Winokour ◽  
Sylvia Haigh ◽  
...  

The pore-forming epsilon toxin (ETX) produced by Clostridium perfringens is among the most lethal bacterial toxins known. Sensitive antibody-based reagents are needed to detect toxin, distinguish mechanisms of cell death, and prevent ETX toxicity. Using B-cell immuno-panning and cloning techniques, seven ETX-specific monoclonal antibodies were generated from immunized rabbits. ETX specificity and sensitivity were evaluated via western blot, ELISA, immunocytochemistry (ICC), and flow cytometry. ETX-neutralizing function was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. All antibodies recognized both purified ETX and epsilon protoxin via western blot with two capable of detecting the ETX-oligomer complex. Four antibodies detected ETX via ELISA and three detected ETX bound to cells via ICC or flow cytometry. Several antibodies prevented ETX-induced cell death by either preventing ETX binding or by blocking ETX oligomerization. Antibodies that blocked ETX oligomerization inhibited ETX endocytosis and cellular vacuolation. Importantly, one of the oligomerization-blocking antibodies was able to protect against ETX-induced death post-ETX exposure in vitro and in vivo. Here we describe the production of a panel of rabbit monoclonal anti-ETX antibodies and their use in various biological assays. Antibodies possessing differential specificity to ETX in particular conformations will aid in the mechanistic studies of ETX cytotoxicity, while those with ETX-neutralizing function may be useful in preventing ETX-mediated mortality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Wang ◽  
Jia-Xing He ◽  
Guo-Zhan Jia ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Shuai Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies suggest that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in tumorigenesis. As a newly identified lncRNA, the role of XIST in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been established. Here, we sought to characterize the role of XIST and its associated regulatory network in CRC cells. Methods Expression of XIST mRNA, miR-497-5p, and forkhead box k1 (FOXK1) in CRC cells and tissues were detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Proliferation and apoptosis of CRC cells were determined using the CCK-8 cell counting assay and flow cytometry. The rate of cell migration and invasion was determined using a transwell assay. The relationships between XIST, miR-497-5p, and FOXK1 were predicted and confirmed using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Expression of FOXK1 protein was quantified by Western blot. Results XIST and FOXK1 expression were significantly upregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines, while miR-497-5p expression was downregulated. XIST knockdown significantly suppressed CRC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Silencing of XIST also reversed the downregulation of miR-497-5p and upregulation of FOXK1. Moreover, blocking XIST expression was shown to inhibit CRC tumor growth in vivo and the effects were antagonized by the loss of miR-497-5p. miR-497-5p was shown to act as a sponge of XIST and also targeted FOXK1 in CRC cells. Conclusions XIST was shown to promote the malignancy of CRC cells by competitively binding to miR-497-5p, resulting in an increase in FOXK1 expression. These results suggest that targeting of XIST may represent a possible treatment for CRC.


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