scholarly journals Antiosteogenic effect of arsenic trioxide, cholecalciferol, lovastatin or their combination in vitro

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (9) ◽  
pp. 951-960
Author(s):  
Jelena Gvozdenovic-Jeremic ◽  
Ekaterina Vert-Wong ◽  
Ljiljana Mojovic

Pathological formation of bone in non-skeletal soft tissues or heterotopic ossification (HO), for which there is currently no effective treatment, is considered to be mediated by activation of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. Moreover, the biochemical mechanism of this pathological process is not fully understood. Here, we tested the efficacy of three chemical inhibitors of the Hh signaling pathway, arsenic trioxide (ATO), lovastatin (Lov) and cholecalciferol (Vitamin D) to hamper differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into osteoblasts or osteogenesis. Each of the three Hh inhibitors potently decreased alkaline phosphatase activity, suggesting effective suppression of osteogenic activity in Hh-impaired MSC. Gene expression analysis revealed a significant reduction in mRNA levels of chief Hh signaling marker, Gli1, following administration of Hh small molecule inhibitors. A functional link between Hedgehog and osteogenesis in native MSC cells is further established in studies involving the mix of three Hh inhibitors acting at different checkpoints of the Hh signaling pathway. Thus, a combination of small molecule inhibitors of the Hh pathway at their lower concentrations could be a novel approach for HO prophylaxis with increased efficacy and potentially reduced side effects.

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-551
Author(s):  
Gurubasavaraja Swamy Purawarga Matada ◽  
Arka Das ◽  
Prasad Sanjay Dhiwar ◽  
Abhishek Ghara

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjun Jiang ◽  
Yining Shi ◽  
Jiyu Cao ◽  
Youjin Lu ◽  
Gengyun Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study aimed to explore the effects of ceramide (Cer) on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and their underlying mechanisms. Methods Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in J774A.1 cells and THP-1 macrophages was used as an in vitro model of inflammation. Western blotting and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) were used to detect the protein and mRNA levels, respectively. IL-1β and IL-18 levels were measured by ELISA. ASM assay kit and immunofluorescence were used to detect ASM activity and Cer content. Results Imipramine, a well-known inhibitor of ASM, significantly inhibited LPS/ATP-induced activity of ASM and the consequent accumulation of Cer. Additionally, imipramine suppressed the LPS/ATP-induced expression of thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP), NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 at the protein and mRNA level. Interestingly verapamil, a TXNIP inhibitor, suppressed LPS/ATP-induced activation of TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome but did not affect LPS/ATP-induced ASM activation and Cer formation. TXNIP siRNA and verapamil inhibited C2-Cer-induced upregulation of TXNIP and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. In addition, the pretreatment of cells with sulfo-N-succinimidyl oleate (SSO), an irreversible inhibitor of the scavenger receptor CD36, blocked Cer-induced upregulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity, TXNIP expression, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Inhibition of NF-κB activation by SN50 prevented Cer-induced upregulation of TXNIP and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome but did not affect CD36 expression. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the ASM/Cer/TXNIP signaling pathway is involved in NLRP3 inflammasome activation. The results documented that the CD36-dependent NF-κB-TXNIP signaling pathway plays an essential role in the Cer-induced activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes in macrophages.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi170-vi170
Author(s):  
Erica Power ◽  
Juhee Oh ◽  
Jonghoon Choi ◽  
William Elmquist ◽  
David Daniels

Abstract BACKGROUND Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) harboring the H3K27M mutation are highly aggressive, fatal brainstem tumors that primarily occur in children. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents numerous drugs from reaching CNS tumors, like DMG, at cytotoxic concentrations. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) has emerged as a drug delivery technique that bypasses the BBB through a direct interstitial infusion under a pressure gradient. However, drug distribution and clearance from the brain following CED is poorly understood and has been cited as a potential reason for the lack of efficacy observed in prior clinical trials. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to understand how two small molecule inhibitors (alisertib, ponatinib) that inhibit cell growth and proliferation in DMG cells in vitro distribute and clear from the brain following CED to the brainstem. METHODS Sprague-dawley rats underwent a single 60mL CED infusion of drug to the brainstem (200mM alisertib, 10mM ponatinib) and were sacrificed 0.083, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours following the completion of the infusion. Brains were dissected and drug concentration was determined via HPLC analysis. RESULTS No rats showed any clinical or neurological signs of toxicity post-infusion. Both drugs showed significant differences in drug concentration based on anatomical brain region where higher concentrations were observed in the pons and cerebellum compared to the cortex. Drug half-life in the brain was ~0.5 hours for alisertib and ~1 hour for ponatinib, but this was not significantly increased following co-administration of elacridar, a BBB efflux pump inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that elimination of drugs from the brain in a complex, multifactorial mechanism that warrants further preclinical investigation prior to the initiation of a clinical trial.


2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2527-2530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward W. Brooke ◽  
Stephen G. Davies ◽  
Andrew W. Mulvaney ◽  
Minoru Okada ◽  
Frédérique Pompeo ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratap Kumar Parida ◽  
Dipak Paul ◽  
Debamitra Chakravorty

<p><a>The over expression of Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) has been implicated in a variety of disease and is classified as a therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases (Crohn disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis).Commercially available therapeutics are biologics which are associated with several risks and limitations. Small molecule inhibitors and natural compounds (saponins) were identified by researchers as lead molecules against TNFα, however, </a>they were often associated with high IC50 values which can lead to their failure in clinical trials. This warrants research related to identification of better small molecule inhibitors by screening of large compound libraries. Recent developments have demonstrated power of natural compounds as safe therapeutics, hence, in this work, we have identified TNFα phytochemical inhibitors using high throughput <i>in silico </i>screening approaches of 6000 phytochemicals followed by 200 ns molecular dynamics simulations and relative binding free energy calculations. The work yielded potent hits that bind to TNFα at its dimer interface. The mechanism targeted was inhibition of oligomerization of TNFα upon phytochemical binding to restrict its interaction with TNF-R1 receptor. MD simulation analysis resulted in identification of two phytochemicals that showed stable protein-ligand conformations over time. The two compounds were triterpenoids: Momordicilin and Nimbolin A with relative binding energy- calculated by MM/PBSA to be -190.5 kJ/Mol and -188.03 kJ/Mol respectively. Therefore, through this work it is being suggested that these phytochemicals can be used for further <i>in vitro</i> analysis to confirm their inhibitory action against TNFα or can be used as scaffolds to arrive at better drug candidates.</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Barbieri ◽  
Xinkang Wang ◽  
Xueping Zhou ◽  
Aimie M Ogawa ◽  
Kim O'Neil ◽  
...  

FXII is an emerging target for thrombosis, yet several questions remain to be addressed. Firstly, from drug discovery perspective, level of enzyme occupancy needed for efficacy (which largely dictates potency and selectivity requirement for small molecule inhibitors) is unclear, as most reported active site inhibitors have some level of off-target activities. Secondly, from disease treatment perspective, it is unclear whether FXIIa inhibition will be a safe strategy for stroke treatment or prevention, as it was recently reported that FXIIa inhibition destabilized the subocclusive thrombi in a plaque rupture model. In this presentation, we set out to address these questions using a previously described molecule, Inf4mut15. We generated the human albumin (HA)-Inf4mut15 fusion protein (Mut-inf) for our studies. In vitro Mut-inf displayed comparable potency as the widely used wild-type HA-Infestin4 (WT-inf) (human FXIIa Ki = 73 and 120 pM, respectively). Both infs acted as competitive reversible active site inhibitors of FXIIa, with no binding to FXII zymogen, hence same mode of action as certain small molecule inhibitors. Mut-inf, however, was much more selective against plasmin compared to WT-inf (20,000- and 75-fold Ki separation, respectively), consistent with results from the functional tPA-induced TEG assay, where Ly60 was reduced dose-dependently by WT- but not Mut-inf. Mut-inf aPTT doubling concentration was 15 uM and FXIIa Ki in 30% plasma was 3.5 nM. Calculated enzyme occupancy for Mut-inf for doubling human aPTT is thus 99.9%. In the rabbit model of cerebral microembolic signals (MES) induced by FeCl 3 injury of the carotid artery, treatment with vehicle (n=7), WT-, and Mut-inf (1mg/kg and n=5 each) produced arterial thrombus of 6.0±0.4, 1.9±0.6, and 0.2±0.1 mg, respectively; incidence of MES detected in the middle cerebral artery was 4.1±1.3, 1.8±0.6, and 0.0±0.0, respectively. In summary, our studies demonstrated that very high enzyme occupancy will be required for achieving a putative aPTT doubling target in human for FXIIa active site inhibitors, highlighting the challenge with the small molecule modality. Our MES studies suggest that targeting FXII may offer a safe strategy for stroke prevention and/or other thromboembolic disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 5787-5801
Author(s):  
Yun Xiao ◽  
Zhiwei Zhang ◽  
Yingyu Fu ◽  
Huizhi Shan ◽  
Sini Cui ◽  
...  

Objective To evaluate the effect of GSTA3 within the PI3K–Keap1/Nrf2 pathway in renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF). Methods An in vitro RIF model with TGF-β1 stimulation in NRK-52E cells was established to identify potential signaling pathways that modulate GSTA3. Changes in GSTA3 expression were observed in the RIF model after silencing or enhancing Nrf2 expression. Changes in GSTA3, Keap1, and Nrf2 expression were detected after blocking the upstream of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway (including MAPK and PI3K/Akt). The effect of Nrf2 on GSTA3 expression was evaluated by overexpressing Nrf2. Results Protein and mRNA levels of GSTA3, FN, Nrf2, and Keap1 were significantly increased after TGF-β1 stimulation. GSTA3 was also upregulated following overexpression of Nrf2. TGF-β1 activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, leading to RIF. After blocking this pathway, the production of superoxide dismutase, reactive oxygen species, and fibronectin were reduced. The MAPK pathway was not involved in the development of RIF via regulating GSTA3 expression. Conclusions The PI3K–KEAP1/Nrf2–GSTA3 signaling pathway is a possible mechanism of resisting external stimulation of renal fibrosis factors, regulating oxidative stress, and preventing RIF.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Wu ◽  
Jing Pan ◽  
Vala Thoroddsen ◽  
Deborah R. Wysong ◽  
Ronald K. Blackman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A genetic approach utilizing the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used to identify the target of antifungal compounds. This analysis led to the identification of small molecule inhibitors of RNA polymerase (Pol) III from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three lines of evidence show that UK-118005 inhibits cell growth by targeting RNA Pol III in yeast. First, a dominant mutation in the g domain of Rpo31p, the largest subunit of RNA Pol III, confers resistance to the compound. Second, UK-118005 rapidly inhibits tRNA synthesis in wild-type cells but not in UK-118005 resistant mutants. Third, in biochemical assays, UK-118005 inhibits tRNA gene transcription in vitro by the wild-type but not the mutant Pol III enzyme. By testing analogs of UK-118005 in a template-specific RNA Pol III transcription assay, an inhibitor with significantly higher potency, ML-60218, was identified. Further examination showed that both compounds are broad-spectrum inhibitors, displaying activity against RNA Pol III transcription systems derived from Candida albicans and human cells. The identification of these inhibitors demonstrates that RNA Pol III can be targeted by small synthetic molecules.


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