Cationicity and hydrophobicity enhance the cytotoxic potency of Phoratoxin C anticancer peptide analogues against triple negative breast cancer cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu Xin Ng ◽  
Cheng Foh Le ◽  
Sau Har Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vero Cells ◽  
Anticancer Peptides ◽  
Α Helix ◽  
Peptide Analogues

Background: Anticancer peptides (ACPs) have received increasing attention as a promising class of novel anticancer agents owing to its potent and rapid cytotoxic properties. In this study, we aim to investigate the effects of cationicity and hydrophobicity in modulating the cytotoxicity of PtxC, a class of ACP from the leafy mistletoe Phoradendron tomentosum against the MDA-MB-231 and Vero cells. Method: We designed a series of four PtxC analogues (PA1 – PA4) by residual substitutions with specific amino acids to introduce the specific charge and hydrophobicity alterations to the analogues. The cytotoxicity strength of the PtxC analogues on MDA-MB-231 and Vero cells were tested by using MTT assay at 24 hours post treatment. Results: PA1, PA2 and PA4 displayed marked increases in cytotoxicity against both MDA-MB-231 and Vero cells and can be ranked in the order of PA2 > PA4 > PA1 > PtxC > PA3. Sequence-activity relationship analyses of the designed analogues showed that an increase in the level of cationicity and hydrophobicity correlated well with the enhanced cytotoxic activity of PtxC analogues. This was observed with PA1 (netC +8) and PA2 (netC +10) in comparison to PtxC (netC +7). Similar finding was observed for PA4 (GRAVY +0.070) in contrast to PtxC (GRAVY -0.339). Three-dimensional modelling predicted a double α-helix structure in PtxC class of ACP. The larger first helix in PA2 and PA4 was suggested to be responsible for the enhanced cytotoxicity observed. Conclusion: The critical role of cationicity and hydrophobicity in enhancing cytotoxicity of PtxC class of ACPs were clearly demonstrated in our study. The current findings could be extrapolated to benefit peptide design strategy in other classes of ACPs toward the discovery of highly potent ACPs against cancer cells as potential novel therapeutic agents.

Aromatase (CYP19) inhibition by biflavonoids obtained from the branches of Garcinia gardneriana (Clusiaceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 279-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Maria Recalde-Gil ◽  
Luiz Klein-Júnior ◽  
Juliana Salton ◽  
Sérgio Bordignon ◽  
Valdir Cechinel-Filho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Aromatase Inhibitors ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
In Vitro Assay ◽  
Aromatase Activity ◽  
Vitro Assay

Abstract Overexpression of aromatase in breast cancer cells may substantially influence its progression and maintenance. In this sense, the inhibition of aromatase is a key target for the treatment of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Although several flavonoids had already demonstrated the capacity of inhibiting aromatase activity, the role of biflavonoids as aromatase inhibitors is poorly studied. In this work, the biflavonoids isolated from Garcinia gardneriana, morelloflavone (1), Gb-2a (2) and Gb-2a-7-O-glucose (3) were submitted to in vitro assay to evaluate the aromatase modulatory effect. As results, it was demonstrated that all biflavonoids were able to inhibit the enzyme, with IC50 values ranging from 1.35 to 7.67 μM. This demonstrates that biflavonoids are an important source of scaffolds for the development of new aromatase inhibitors, focusing on the development of new anticancer agents.

scholarly journals LncRNA CBR3-AS1 regulates of breast cancer drug sensitivity as a competing endogenous RNA through the JNK1/MEK4-mediated MAPK signal pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Longyang Jiang ◽  
Xinyue Song ◽  
Ang Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Cancer Drug ◽  
Cancer Resistance ◽  
Clinical Prognosis

Abstract Background Adriamycin (ADR) resistance is one of the main obstacles to improving the clinical prognosis of breast cancer patients. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate cell behavior, but the role of these RNAs in the anti-ADR activity of breast cancer remains unclear. Here, we aim to investigate the imbalance of a particular long noncoding RNA, lncRNA CBR3 antisense RNA 1 (CBR3-AS1), and its role in ADR resistance. Methods Microarray analysis of ADR-resistant breast cancer cells was performed to identify CBR3-AS1. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were used to detect the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to ADR. Dual-luciferase reporter, RNA pulldown, IHC and western blot analyses were used to verify the relationship between the expression of CBR3-AS1, miRNA and target genes. For in vivo experiments, the effect of CBR3-AS1 on breast cancer resistance was observed in a xenograft tumor model. The role of CBR3-AS1 in influencing ADR sensitivity was verified by clinical breast cancer specimens from the TCGA, CCLE, and GDSC databases. Results We found that CBR3-AS1 expression was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues and was closely correlated with poor prognosis. CBR3-AS1 overexpression promoted ADR resistance in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified that CBR3-AS1 functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA by sponging miR-25-3p. MEK4 and JNK1 of the MAPK pathway were determined to be direct downstream proteins of the CBR3-AS1/miR-25-3p axis in breast cancer cells. Conclusions In summary, our findings demonstrate that CBR3-AS1 plays a critical role in the chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer by mediating the miR-25-3p and MEK4/JNK1 regulatory axes. The potential of CBR3-AS1 as a targetable oncogene and therapeutic biomarker of breast cancer was identified.

scholarly journals ESM-1 Overexpression is Involved in Increased Tumorigenesis of Radiotherapy-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Jin ◽  
Trojan Rugira ◽  
Young Shin Ko ◽  
Sang Won Park ◽  
Seung Pil Yun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Expression Array ◽  
4T1 Cells

The key barrier to the effectiveness of radiotherapy remains the radioresistance of breast cancer cells, resulting in increased tumor recurrence and metastasis. Thus, in this study, we aimed to clarify the difference between radiotherapy-resistant (RT-R) breast cancer (BC) and BC, and accordingly, analyzed gene expression levels between radiotherapy-resistant (RT-R) MDA-MB-231 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells. Gene expression array showed that ESM-1 was the most upregulated in RT-R-MDA-MB-231 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 cells. Then, we aimed to investigate the role of ESM-1 in the increased tumorigenesis of RT-R-BC cells. RT-R-MDA-MB-231, which showed an increased expression level of ESM1, exhibited significantly enhanced proliferation, colony forming ability, migration, and invasion compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, and ESM-1 knockdown effectively reversed these effects. In addition, compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, RT-R-MDA-MB-231 cells displayed improved adhesion to endothelial cells (ECs) due to the induction of adhesion molecules and increased MMP-9 activity and VEGF-A production, which were decreased by ESM-1 knockdown. Moreover, the expression of HIF-1α and activation of NF-κB and STAT-3 were increased in RT-R-MDA-MB-231 cells compared to MDA-MB-231 cells, and these effects were abolished by the knockdown of ESM-1. Finally, we confirmed the role of ESM-1 in tumorigenesis in an in vivo mouse model. Tumor volume, lung metastasis, and tumorigenic molecules (VEGF-A, HIF-1α, MMP-9, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and phospho-NF-κB and phospho-STAT-3) were significantly induced in mice injected with ESM-1-overexpressing 4T1 cells and greatly enhanced in those injected with ESM-1-overexpressing RT-R-4T1 cells. Taken together, these results suggest for the first time that ESM-1 plays a critical role in tumorigenesis of breast cancer cells, especially RT-R-breast cancer cells, through the induction of cell proliferation and invasion.

scholarly journals LncRNA CBR3-AS1 regulates of breast cancer drug sensitivity as a competing endogenous RNA through the JNK1/MEK4‑mediated MAPK signal pathway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Longyang Jiang ◽  
Xinyue Song ◽  
Ang Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Luciferase Reporter ◽  
Cancer Drug ◽  
Cancer Resistance ◽  
Clinical Prognosis

Abstract Background: Adriamycin (ADR) resistance is one of the main obstacles to improving the clinical prognosis of breast cancer patients. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate cell behavior, but the role of these RNAs in the anti-ADR activity of breast cancer remains unclear. Here, we aim to investigate the imbalance of a particular long noncoding RNA, lncRNA CBR3 antisense RNA 1 (CBR3-AS1), and its role in ADR resistance.Methods: Microarray analysis of ADR-resistant breast cancer cells was performed to identify CBR3-AS1. CCK-8 and colony formation assays were used to detect the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to ADR. Dual-luciferase reporter, RNA pulldown, IHC and western blot analyses were used to verify the relationship between the expression of CBR3-AS1, miRNA and target genes. For in vivo experiments, the effect of CBR3-AS1 on breast cancer resistance was observed in a xenograft tumor model. The role of CBR3-AS1 in influencing ADR sensitivity was verified by clinical breast cancer specimens from the TCGA, CCLE, and GDSC databases.Results: We found that CBR3-AS1 expression was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues and was closely correlated with poor prognosis. CBR3-AS1 overexpression promoted ADR resistance in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified that CBR3-AS1 functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA by sponging miR-25-3p. MEK4 and JNK1 of the MAPK pathway were determined to be direct downstream proteins of the CBR3-AS1/miR-25-3p axis in breast cancer cells.Conclusions: In summary, our findings demonstrate that CBR3-AS1 plays a critical role in the chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer by mediating the miR-25-3p and MEK4/JNK1 regulatory axes. The potential of CBR3-AS1 as a targetable oncogene and therapeutic biomarker of breast cancer was identified.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document