scholarly journals The Disulfiram/Copper Complex Induces Autophagic Cell Death in Colorectal Cancer by Targeting ULK1

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeting Hu ◽  
Yucheng Qian ◽  
Jingsun Wei ◽  
Tian Jin ◽  
Xiangxing Kong ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is highly prevalent worldwide, but there has been limited development of efficient and affordable treatment. Induced autophagy has recently been recognized as a novel therapeutic strategy in cancer treatment, and disulfiram (DSF), a well-known antialcohol drug, is also found to inhibit tumor growth in various malignancies. Recently, DSF has been reported to induce excessive autophagy in oral squamous cells; however, little is known about whether it can induce autophagy and suppress proliferation in CRC. In this study, we investigate the effect of DSF with copper (DSF/Cu) on CRC both in vitro and in vivo and find that the combination significantly inhibits CRC cell viability and mainly induces autophagy instead of apoptosis. Furthermore, we use whole genome CRISPR library screening and identify a new mechanism by which DSF triggers autophagy by ULK1. Overall, these findings provide a potential CRC treatment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Jin ◽  
Yunhe Chen ◽  
Dan Cheng ◽  
Zhikai He ◽  
Xinyi Shi ◽  
...  

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers. The role of autophagy in the pathobiology of CRC is intricate, with opposing functions manifested in different cellular contexts. The Yes-associated protein (YAP), a transcriptional coactivator inactivated by the Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway, functions as an oncoprotein in a variety of cancers. In this study, we found that YAP could negatively regulate autophagy in CRC cells, and consequently, promote tumor progression of CRC in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, YAP interacts with TEAD forming a complex to upregulate the transcription of the apoptosis-inhibitory protein Bcl-2, which may subsequently facilitate cell survival by suppressing autophagy-related cell death; silencing Bcl-2 expression could alleviate YAP-induced autophagy inhibition without affecting YAP expression. Collectively, our data provide evidence for YAP/Bcl-2 as a potential therapeutic target for drug exploration against CRC.


Oncogene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Chen ◽  
Risi Na ◽  
Chao Xiao ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Yupeng Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy is the first-line treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) but is hampered by chemoresistance. Despite its impact on patient survival, the mechanism underlying chemoresistance against 5-FU remains poorly understood. Here, we identified serine hydroxymethyltransferase-2 (SHMT2) as a critical regulator of 5-FU chemoresistance in CRC. SHMT2 inhibits autophagy by binding cytosolic p53 instead of metabolism. SHMT2 prevents cytosolic p53 degradation by inhibiting the binding of p53 and HDM2. Under 5-FU treatment, SHMT2 depletion promotes autophagy and inhibits apoptosis. Autophagy inhibitors decrease low SHMT2-induced 5-FU resistance in vitro and in vivo. Finally, the lethality of 5-FU treatment to CRC cells was enhanced by treatment with the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine in patient-derived and CRC cell xenograft models. Taken together, our findings indicate that autophagy induced by low SHMT2 levels mediates 5-FU resistance in CRC. These results reveal the SHMT2–p53 interaction as a novel therapeutic target and provide a potential opportunity to reduce chemoresistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (5) ◽  
pp. H1296-H1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos J. Munoz ◽  
Ivan S. Pires ◽  
Jin Hyen Baek ◽  
Paul W. Buehler ◽  
Andre F. Palmer ◽  
...  

This study highlights the apoHb-Hp complex as a novel therapeutic strategy to attenuate the adverse systemic and microvascular responses to intravascular Hb and heme exposure. In vitro and in vivo Hb exchange and heme transfer experiments demonstrated proof-of-concept Hb/heme ligand transfer to apoHb-Hp. The apoHb-Hp complex reverses Hb- and heme-induced systemic hypertension and microvascular vasoconstriction, preserves microvascular blood flow, and functional capillary density. In summary, the unique properties of the apoHb-Hp complex prevent adverse systemic and microvascular responses to Hb and heme-albumin exposure and introduce a novel therapeutic approach to facilitate simultaneous removal of extracellular Hb and heme.


RMD Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. e000744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Klein

The reading of acetylation marks on histones by bromodomain (BRD) proteins is a key event in transcriptional activation. Small molecule inhibitors targeting bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins compete for binding to acetylated histones. They have strong anti-inflammatory properties and exhibit encouraging effects in different cell types in vitro and in animal models resembling rheumatic diseases in vivo. Furthermore, recent studies that focus on BRD proteins beyond BET family members are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi6-vi6
Author(s):  
Takashi Fujii ◽  
Shun Yamamuro ◽  
Masamichi Takahashi ◽  
Akihide Kondo ◽  
Yoshitaka Narita ◽  
...  

Abstract The therapeutic outcome of glioblastomas (GBMs) is still very poor. Therefore, invention of novel therapeutic methods against GBM cases is considered urgent. The antitumor effects of naturally-derived compounds are attracting attention recently, and therapeutic efficacy of curcumin, a plant-derived compound previously used for multiple purpose, has been indicated in many cancer systems; however, clinical application of curcumin is considered difficult because of its poor bioavailability (under 1 %). Curcumin monoglucuronide (CMG), a water-soluble prodrug of curcumin recently developed for overcoming this weakness, has been demonstrated excellent antitumor effects for several malignancies in vitro and in vivo; therefore, we investigated the effects of CMG against GBM cells. CMG induced cell death of human GBM cells lines (T98G, U251MG, and U87MG) by dose dependent manner by triggering multiple forms of cell death such as apoptosis and perthanatos. Immunoblotting of CMG-treated GBM cell lysates demonstrated activation of multiple cell death signaling. Furthermore, immunodeficiency mice harboring intracerebral U87MG cell xenografts systemically treated by CMG showed significantly prolonged survival compared with control mice. These results suggest CMG would be a novel therapeutic agent against GBM cases.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Fu ◽  
Qianqian Gu ◽  
Li Luo ◽  
Jiecheng Xu ◽  
Yuping Luo ◽  
...  

Autophagy inhibition has been proposed to be a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer, however, few autophagy inhibitors have been developed. Recent studies have indicated that lysosome and autophagy related 4B cysteine peptidase (ATG4B) are two promising targets in autophagy for cancer therapy. Although some inhibitors of either lysosome or ATG4B were reported, there are limitations in the use of these single target compounds. Considering multi-functional drugs have advantages, such as high efficacy and low toxicity, we first screened and validated a batch of compounds designed and synthesized in our laboratory by combining the screening method of ATG4B inhibitors and the identification method of lysosome inhibitors. ATG4B activity was effectively inhibited in vitro. Moreover, 163N inhibited autophagic flux and caused the accumulation of autolysosomes. Further studies demonstrated that 163N could not affect the autophagosome-lysosome fusion but could cause lysosome dysfunction. In addition, 163N diminished tumor cell viability and impaired the development of colorectal cancer in vivo. The current study findings indicate that the dual effect inhibitor 163N offers an attractive new anti-cancer drug and compounds having a combination of lysosome inhibition and ATG4B inhibition are a promising therapeutic strategy for colorectal cancer therapy.


Tumor Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 101042831769226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Nedaeinia ◽  
Mohammadreza Sharifi ◽  
Amir Avan ◽  
Mohammad Kazemi ◽  
Abdolreza Nabinejad ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer is among the most lethal of malignancies, due to its propensity to metastatic spread and multifactorial-chemoresistance. The latter property supports the need to identify novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of colorectal cancer. MicroRNAs are endogenous non-coding small RNA molecules that function as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Recently, programmed cell death 4 has been identified as a protein that increases during apoptosis. This gene is among the potential targets of miR-21 (OncomiR). Locked nucleic acid–modified oligonucleotides have recently emerged as a potential therapeutic option for targeting microRNAs. The aim of this study was to explore the functional role of locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 in the LS174T cell line in vitro and in vivo models. LS174T cells were treated with locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 for 24, 48, and 72 h in vitro. The expression of miR-21 and PDCD4 at messenger RNA (mRNA) level was evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, while the protein level of PDCD4 was determined by Western blotting. Cell migratory behavior and the cluster-forming ability of cells were assessed before and after therapy. The disseminated tumor cells were assessed in the chick chorioallantoic membrane model by Alu quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 was transfected successfully into the LS174T cells and inhibited the expression of miR-21. Locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 inhibited the migration and the number of cells forming clusters. Moreover, we found that locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 transfection was associated with a significant reduction in metastatic properties as assessed by the in ovo model. Our findings demonstrated the novel therapeutic potential of locked nucleic acid-anti-miR-21 in colon adenocarcinoma with high miR-21 expression.


2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (9) ◽  
pp. 7134-7142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long-Bin Jeng ◽  
Bharath Kumar Velmurugan ◽  
Ming-Cheng Chen ◽  
Hsi-Hsien Hsu ◽  
Tsung-Jung Ho ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 506-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigina De Leo ◽  
Annalisa Marcuzzi ◽  
Giuliana Decorti ◽  
Alberto Tommasini ◽  
Sergio Crovella ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hatakeyama ◽  
Masato Kanazawa ◽  
Itaru Ninomiya ◽  
Kaoru Omae ◽  
Yasuko Kimura ◽  
...  

AbstractCell therapies that invoke pleiotropic mechanisms may facilitate functional recovery in patients with stroke. Based on previous experiments using microglia preconditioned by oxygen-glucose deprivation, we hypothesized that the administration of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) preconditioned by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD-PBMCs) to be a therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke. Here, OGD-PBMCs were identified to secrete remodelling factors, including the vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor-β in vitro, while intra-arterial administration of OGD-PBMCs at 7 days after focal cerebral ischemia prompted expression of such factors in the brain parenchyma at 28 days following focal cerebral ischemia in vivo. Furthermore, administration of OGD-PBMCs induced an increasing number of stage-specific embryonic antigen-3-positive cells both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, it was found to prompt angiogenesis and axonal outgrowth, and functional recovery after cerebral ischemia. In conclusion, the administration of OGD-PBMCs might be a novel therapeutic strategy against ischemic stroke.


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