scholarly journals Fangchinoline Inhibits Human Esophageal Cancer by Transactivating ATF4 to Trigger Both Noxa-Dependent Intrinsic and DR5-Dependent Extrinsic Apoptosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunjing Zhang ◽  
Shiwen Wang ◽  
Yukun Chen ◽  
Junqian Zhang ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
...  

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a recalcitrant cancer. The Chinese herbal monomer fangchinoline (FCL) has been reported to have anti-tumor activity in several human cancer cell types. However, the therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanism on ESCC remain to be elucidated. In the present study, for the first time, we demonstrated that FCL significantly suppressed the growth of ESCC both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies revealed that FCL-induced G1 phase cell-cycle arrest in ESCC which is dependent on p21 and p27. Moreover, we found that FCL coordinatively triggered Noxa-dependent intrinsic apoptosis and DR5-dependent extrinsic apoptosis by transactivating ATF4, which is a novel mechanism. Our findings elucidated the tumor-suppressive efficacy and mechanisms of FCL and demonstrated FCL is a potential anti-ESCC agent.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8372
Author(s):  
Ana María Zárate ◽  
Christian Espinosa-Bustos ◽  
Simón Guerrero ◽  
Angélica Fierro ◽  
Felipe Oyarzún-Ampuero ◽  
...  

The Smoothened (SMO) receptor is the most druggable target in the Hedgehog (HH) pathway for anticancer compounds. However, SMO antagonists such as vismodegib rapidly develop drug resistance. In this study, new SMO antagonists having the versatile purine ring as a scaffold were designed, synthesised, and biologically tested to provide an insight to their mechanism of action. Compound 4s was the most active and the best inhibitor of cell growth and selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells. 4s induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, a reduction in colony formation and downregulation of PTCH and GLI1 expression. BODIPY-cyclopamine displacement assays confirmed 4s is a SMO antagonist. In vivo, 4s strongly inhibited tumour relapse and metastasis of melanoma cells in mice. In vitro, 4s was more efficient than vismodegib to induce apoptosis in human cancer cells and that might be attributed to its dual ability to function as a SMO antagonist and apoptosis inducer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1407
Author(s):  
Hongxia Liu ◽  
Wang Zheng ◽  
Qianping Chen ◽  
Yuchuan Zhou ◽  
Yan Pan ◽  
...  

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most frequent head and neck malignant tumors and is majorly treated by radiotherapy. However, radiation resistance remains a serious obstacle to the successful treatment of NPC. The aim of this study was to discover the underlying mechanism of radioresistance and to elucidate novel genes that may play important roles in the regulation of NPC radiosensitivity. By using RNA-seq analysis of NPC cell line CNE2 and its radioresistant cell line CNE2R, lncRNA CASC19 was screened out as a candidate radioresistance marker. Both in vitro and in vivo data demonstrated that a high expression level of CASC19 was positively correlated with the radioresistance of NPC, and the radiosensitivity of NPC cells was considerably enhanced by knockdown of CASC19. The incidence of autophagy was enhanced in CNE2R in comparison with CNE2 and another NPC cell line HONE1, and silencing autophagy with LC3 siRNA (siLC3) sensitized NPC cells to irradiation. Furthermore, CASC19 siRNA (siCASC19) suppressed cellular autophagy by inhibiting the AMPK/mTOR pathway and promoted apoptosis through the PARP1 pathway. Our results revealed for the first time that lncRNA CASC19 contributed to the radioresistance of NPC by regulating autophagy. In significance, CASC19 might be a potential molecular biomarker and a new therapeutic target in NPC.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey A. Dyshlovoy ◽  
Darya Tarbeeva ◽  
Sergey Fedoreyev ◽  
Tobias Busenbender ◽  
Moritz Kaune ◽  
...  

From a root bark of Lespedeza bicolor Turch we isolated two new (7 and 8) and six previously known compounds (1–6) belonging to the group of prenylated polyphenols. Their structures were elucidated using mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism spectroscopy. These natural compounds selectively inhibited human drug-resistant prostate cancer in vitro. Prenylated pterocarpans 1–3 prevented the cell cycle progression of human cancer cells in S-phase. This was accompanied by a reduced expression of mRNA corresponding to several human cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). In contrast, compounds 4–8 induced a G1-phase cell cycle arrest without any pronounced effect on CDKs mRNA expression. Interestingly, a non-substituted hydroxy group at C-8 of ring D of the pterocarpan skeleton of compounds 1–3 seems to be important for the CDKs inhibitory activity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Torok ◽  
Martin JG Browne ◽  
Jordina C Vilar ◽  
Indu Patwal ◽  
Timothy Q DuBuc ◽  
...  

Many animals achieve sperm chromatin compaction and stabilisation during spermatogenesis by replacing canonical histones with sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs) such as protamines. A number of animals including hydrozoan cnidarians and echinoid sea urchins lack protamines and have instead evolved a distinctive family of sperm-specific histone H2Bs (spH2Bs) with extended N-termini rich in SPKK-related motifs. Sperm packaging in echinoids such as sea urchins is regulated by spH2Bs and their sperm is negatively buoyant for fertilization on the sea floor. Hydroid cnidarians also package sperm with spH2Bs but undertake broadcast spawning and their sperm properties are poorly characterised. We show that sperm chromatin from the hydroid Hydractinia possesses higher stability than its somatic equivalent, with reduced accessibility of sperm chromatin to transposase Tn5 integration in vivo and to endonucleases in vitro. However, nuclear dimensions are only moderately reduced in mature Hydractinia sperm compared to other cell types. Ectopic expression of spH2B in the background of H2B knockdown resulted in downregulation of global transcription and cell cycle arrest in embryos without altering their nuclear density. Taken together, spH2B variants containing SPKK-related motifs act to stabilise chromatin and silence transcription in Hydractinia sperm without significant chromatin compaction. This is consistent with a contribution of spH2B to sperm buoyancy as a reproductive adaptation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Pan ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Benseng Tang ◽  
Li Jing ◽  
Bing Qiu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recently, it has been demonstrated that circular RNA (circRNA) contributes to the production and progression in human cancer. However, the specific function and underlying mechanism of circ_0028171 in osteosarcoma (OS) still remain largely unclear and require to be investigated. Methods In our study, we confirmed differentially expressed circRNAs by microarray analysis in normal bone cells vs. OS cell lines. The expression of circ-0028171 in OS was measured by qRT-PCR. Nuclear-cytoplasmic fractionation was employed to identify the localization of circ-0028171, and RNase R and actinomycin D treatment were used to prove its circular characteristic. In vitro experiments, such as CCK-8 method, cell count, cell colony formation, transwell migration and invasion assays, and in vivo tumor models were adopted to evaluate the effect of circ_0028171. Further, luciferase reporter, RIP and RNA pull-down assays were conducted to confirm the binding sites of circ_0028171 with miR-218-5p. Results We found that circ_0028171 displayed a remarkably higher expression in both OS tissues and cell lines. Circ_0028171 mainly located in the cytoplasm as a stable cyclic transcript. Knockdown of circ_0028171 suppressed OS tumor growth in vitro and in vivo, while up-regulated circ_0028171 remarkably enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in OS. Several mechanistic experiments revealed that circ_0028171 served as a sponge of miR-218-5p to increase IKBKB expression. Conclusions our research reveals that circ_0028171 might promote the malignant behavior of OS tissues through miR-218-5p/IKBKB axis, which could be a potential novel marker for early diagnosis of OS.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1770-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey I. Shapiro

Cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) are critical regulators of cell cycle progression and RNA transcription. A variety of genetic and epigenetic events cause universal overactivity of the cell cycle cdks in human cancer, and their inhibition can lead to both cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. However, built-in redundancy may limit the effects of highly selective cdk inhibition. Cdk4/6 inhibition has been shown to induce potent G1 arrest in vitro and tumor regression in vivo; cdk2/1 inhibition has the most potent effects during the S and G2 phases and induces E2F transcription factor–dependent cell death. Modulation of cdk2 and cdk1 activities also affects survival checkpoint responses after exposure to DNA-damaging and microtubule-stabilizing agents. The transcriptional cdks phosphorylate the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II, facilitating efficient transcriptional initiation and elongation. Inhibition of these cdks primarily affects the accumulation of transcripts with short half-lives, including those encoding antiapoptosis family members, cell cycle regulators, as well as p53 and nuclear factor-kappa B–responsive gene targets. These effects may account for apoptosis induced by cdk9 inhibitors, especially in malignant hematopoietic cells, and may also potentiate cytotoxicity mediated by disruption of a variety of pathways in many transformed cell types. Current work is focusing on overcoming pharmacokinetic barriers that hindered development of flavopiridol, a pan-cdk inhibitor, as well as assessing novel classes of compounds potently targeting groups of cell cycle cdks (cdk4/6 or cdk2/1) with variable effects on the transcriptional cdks 7 and 9. These efforts will establish whether the strategy of cdk inhibition is able to produce therapeutic benefit in the majority of human tumors.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Jun-Hui Song ◽  
Juhee Park ◽  
Sung Lyea Park ◽  
Byungdoo Hwang ◽  
Wun-Jae Kim ◽  
...  

Here, we explored the anti-tumor efficacy of a cyclic pentadepsipeptide, N-methylsansalvamide (MSSV), in bladder cancer. MSSV inhibited the proliferation of both bladder cancer 5637 and T24 cells, which was attributed to the G1-phase cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, and alteration of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and protein kinase b (AKT) signaling pathways. Additionally, the treatment of bladder cancer cells with MSSV suppressed migratory and invasive potential via the transcription factor-mediated expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). MSSV abrogated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenic responses in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, our result showed the potent anti-tumor efficacy of MSSV in a xenograft mouse model implanted with bladder cancer 5637 cells. Finally, acute toxicity test data obtained from blood biochemical test and liver staining indicated that the oral administration of MSSV at 2000 mg/kg caused no adverse cytotoxic effects. Our preclinical data described the potent anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor efficacy of MSSV and showed no signs of acute toxicity, thereby suggesting the putative potential of oral MSSV as a novel anti-tumor agent in bladder cancer treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Qian-Yun He ◽  
Guang-Chao Wang ◽  
Da-Ke Tong ◽  
Ren-Kai Wang ◽  
...  

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. However, the underlying mechanism of osteosarcoma carcinogenesis and progression remains unknown. In the present study, we evaluated the expression profile of miRNAs in osteosarcoma tissues and the adjacent normal tissues. We found that the expression of miR-422a was down-regulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. In addition, we observed significantly elevated levels of repressive H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 and decreased active H3K4me3 on the promote region of miR-422a in osteosarcoma cells and clinical samples. Furthermore, up-regulation of miR-422a exhibited both in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor effects by inhibiting osteosarcoma cell growth and inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. We also found that miR-422a targeted BCL2L2 and KRAS and negatively regulated their protein expression. Furthermore, restoration of miR-422a and knockdown of BCL2L2 and KRAS promoted apoptosis and induce cell cycle arrest in osteosarcoma cells. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that miR-422a may serve as a tumor suppressor in osteosarcoma via inhibiting BCL2L2 and KRAS translation both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, miR-422a could be developed as a novel therapeutic target in osteosarcoma.


2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (6) ◽  
pp. C1378-C1388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Amos ◽  
Carolyn L. Mulvey ◽  
Scott A. Seaman ◽  
Joseph Walpole ◽  
Katherine E. Degen ◽  
...  

Previous studies have shown that exposure to a hypoxic in vitro environment increases the secretion of pro-angiogenic growth factors by human adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) [Cao Y, et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 332: 370–379, 2005; Kokai LE, et al., Plast Reconstr Surg 116: 1453–1460, 2005; Park BS, et al., Biomed Res (Tokyo) 31: 27–34, 2010; Rasmussen JG, et al., Cytotherapy 13: 318–328, 2010; Rehman J, et al., Circulation 109: 1292–1298, 2004]. Previously, it has been demonstrated that hASCs can differentiate into pericytes and promote microvascular stability and maintenance during angiogenesis in vivo (Amos PJ, et al., Stem Cells 26: 2682–2690, 2008; Traktuev DO, et al., Circ Res 102: 77–85, 2008). In this study, we tested the hypotheses that angiogenic induction can be increased and pericyte differentiation decreased by pretreatment of hASCs with hypoxic culture and that hASCs are similar to human bone marrow-derived stromal cells (hBMSCs) in these regards. Our data confirms previous studies showing that hASCs: 1) secrete pro-angiogenic proteins, which are upregulated following culture in hypoxia, and 2) migrate up gradients of PDGF-BB in vitro, while showing for the first time that a rat mesenteric model of angiogenesis induced by 48/80 increases the propensity of both hASCs and hBMSCs to assume perivascular phenotypes following injection. Moreover, culture of both cell types in hypoxia before injection results in a biphasic vascular length density response in this model of inflammation-induced angiogenesis. The effects of hypoxia and inflammation on the phenotype of adult progenitor cells impacts both the therapeutic and the basic science applications of the cell types, as hypoxia and inflammation are common features of natural and pathological vascular compartments in vivo.


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