scholarly journals Novel Apoptotic Mediators Identified by Conservation of Vertebrate Caspase Targets

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 612
Author(s):  
Nina Gubina ◽  
Dominique Leboeuf ◽  
Konstantin Piatkov ◽  
Maxim Pyatkov
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Tumor Therapy ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Therapeutic Targets ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Cleavage Sites ◽  
Caspase Substrates ◽  
Novel Targets

Caspases are proteases conserved throughout Metazoans and responsible for initiating and executing the apoptotic program. Currently, there are over 1800 known apoptotic caspase substrates, many of them known regulators of cell proliferation and death, which makes them attractive therapeutic targets. However, most caspase substrates are by-standers, and identifying novel apoptotic mediators amongst all caspase substrates remains an unmet need. Here, we conducted an in silico search for significant apoptotic caspase targets across different species within the Vertebrata subphylum, using different criteria of conservation combined with structural features of cleavage sites. We observed that P1 aspartate is highly conserved while the cleavage sites are extensively variable and found that cleavage sites are located primarily in coiled regions composed of hydrophilic amino acids. Using the combination of these criteria, we determined the final list of the 107 most relevant caspase substrates including 30 novel targets previously unknown for their role in apoptosis and cancer. These newly identified substrates can be potential regulators of apoptosis and candidates for anti-tumor therapy.

CSIG-21. 5-ALA PDT AND TARGETING MEK/ERK SIGNALING ELICITS SYNERGISTIC ANTITUMOR EFFECTS IN DIFFUSE MIDLINE GLIOMA

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi37-vi37
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Price ◽  
Daniel Rivera ◽  
Alexandros Bouras ◽  
Constantinos Hadjipanayis
Keyword(s):  
Reactive Oxygen Species ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Aminolevulinic Acid ◽  
Tumor Therapy ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Reactive Oxygen ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Antitumor Effects ◽  
Genetically Engineered Mouse Model

Abstract Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) are highly invasive, unresectable tumors in children. To date, there is no effective treatment for DMGs. Fractionated radiotherapy (RT), currently the standard of care, has provided limited disease control. Current obstacles to treatment include the blood brain barrier (BBB) that limits systemic drug delivery, tumor therapy resistance, and brainstem infiltration. Given the unmet need for more effective DMG treatments, photodynamic therapy (PDT), with the precursor photosensitizing agent 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), is an oncologic treatment that holds promise. 5-ALA PDT of tumors occurs by targeting tumor cells that accumulate the 5-ALA metabolite, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), with 635 nm light to create deadly reactive oxygen species (ROS). We explore the synergism of 5-ALA PDT with the MEK inhibitor, trametinib, since the RAS/MEK signaling pathway regulates tumor cell proliferation and survival and has been shown to therapeutically enhance PDT in select tumor models. We demonstrated that sub-micromolar levels of 5-ALA PDT and nanomolar levels of trametinib successfully decrease cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in multiple DMG cell lines. Cell viability assays revealed that drug response differs based on the histone mutation (H3.1 or H3.3) of the line. Mechanisms of decreased cell survival involves the generation of reactive oxygen species that induces programmed cell death. Through the use of a DMG genetically engineered mouse model, we also found 5-ALA PDT to induce apoptosis in vivo. The synergistic effects of MEK inhibition and 5-ALA PDT in vitro and apoptotic effects of 5-ALA PDT in vivo, highlights the potential therapeutic efficacy of this treatment modality.

Role of 4-O Galloylchlorogenic Acid in Lung Cancer- An Insilico Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaynthy C. ◽  
N. Premjanu ◽  
Abhinav Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Regulation Mechanism ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Fruit Extract ◽  
In Vitro Techniques ◽  
Discovery Studio

Cancer is a major disease with millions of patients diagnosed each year with high mortality around the world. Various studies are still going on to study the further mechanisms and pathways of the cancer cell proliferation. Fucosylation is one of the most important oligosaccharide modifications involved in cancer and inflammation. In cancer development increased core fucosylation by FUT8 play an important role in cell proliferation. Down regulation of FUT8 expression may help cure lung cancer. Therefore the computational study based on the down regulation mechanism of FUT8 was mechanised. Sapota fruit extract, containing 4-Ogalloylchlorogenic acid was used as the inhibitor against FUT-8 as target and docking was performed using in-silico tool, Accelrys Discovery Studio. There were several conformations of the docked result, and conformation 1 showed 80% dock score between the ligand and the target. Further the amino acids of the inhibitor involved in docking were studied using another tool, Ligplot. Thus, in-silico analysis based on drug designing parameters shows that the fruit extract can be studied further using in-vitro techniques to know its pharmacokinetics.

PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF POLYPEPTIDE AND AMINO ACIDS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS TISSUE CULTURE IN THE PRESENCE OF CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE

2017 ◽  
pp. 22-26
Author(s):  
V. B. Dolgo-Saburov ◽  
N. I. Chalisova ◽  
L. V. Lyanginen ◽  
E. S. Zalomaeva
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Protective Effect ◽  
Organotypic Culture ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Mustard Gas ◽  
Synthesis Inhibitor ◽  
Combined Administration ◽  
The Central Nervous System

In an organotypic culture, an investigation was conducted into combined effects of cyclophosphamide DNA as synthesis inhibitor used to model a resorptive action of mustard gas, and cortexin polypeptide or each of 20 encoded amino acids on the development of cell proliferation in cerebral cortex explants of the rat. The combined administration of cyclophosphamide together with cortexin or with each of the 20 encoded amino acids, except glycine, showed suppression of the cytostatic agent inhibitory effect. Thus, cortexin and amino acids have a protective effect on cell proliferation in the tissue culture of the central nervous system under the action of mustardlike substances.

Promising Anticancer Therapeutics From Mushrooms: Current Findings and Future Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mrunmaya Kumar Panda ◽  
Manish Paul ◽  
Sameer Kumar Singdevsachan ◽  
Kumananda Tayung ◽  
Swagat Kumar Das ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Cancer Cell Proliferation ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Medicinal Mushrooms ◽  
In Silico Studies ◽  
Anticancer Therapeutics ◽  
Ethnomedicinal Uses

Background: Nowadays medicines derived from natural sources have drawn much attention as potential therapeutic agents in the suppression and treatment of cancer because of their low toxicity and fewer side effects. Objective: The present review aims to assess the currently available knowledge on the ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacological activities of bioactive compounds obtained from medicinal mushrooms towards cancer treatment. Methods: Literature search has been conducted for the collection of research papers from universally accepted scientific databases. These research papers and published book chapters were scrutinized to retrieve information on ethnomedicinal uses of mushrooms, different factors involved in cancer cell proliferation, clinical and in silico pharmaceutical studies made for possible treatments of cancer using mushroom derived compounds. Overall 241 articles were retrieved and reviewed from the year of 1970 to 2020, out of which 98 relevant articles were finally considered for preparation of this review. Results: This review presents an update on the natural bioactive substances derived from medicinal mushrooms and their role in inhibiting the factors responsible for cancer cell proliferation. Along with it, the present review also provides information on the ethnomedicinal uses, solvents used for extraction of anticancer metabolites, clinical trials, and in silico studies that were undertaken towards anticancer drug development from medicinal mushrooms. Conclusion: The present review provides an extensive knowledge on various anticancer substances obtained from medicinal mushrooms, their biological actions and in silico drug designing approaches which could form a basis for the development of natural anticancer therapeutics.

Characterization of YY1 OPB Peptide for its Anticancer Activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 504-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yige Qi ◽  
Ting Yan ◽  
Lu Chen ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
Weishu Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell ◽  
Expression Vectors ◽  
Cancer Cell Proliferation ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation ◽  
Oncogene Products ◽  
And Migration

Background:The oncoprotein binding (OPB) domain of Yin Yang 1 (YY1) consists of 26 amino acids between G201 and S226, and is involved in YY1 interaction with multiple oncogene products, including MDM2, AKT, EZH2 and E1A. Through the OPB domain, YY1 promotes the oncogenic or proliferative regulation of these oncoproteins in cancer cells. We previously demonstrated that a peptide with the OPB sequence blocked YY1-AKT interaction and inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation.Objective:In the current study, we characterized the OPB domain and determined a minimal region for peptide design to suppress cancer cellMethods:Using alanine-scan method, we identified that the amino acids at OPB C-terminal are essential to YY1 binding to AKT. Further studies suggested that serine and threonine residues, but not lysines, in OPB play a key role in YY1-AKT interaction. We generated GFP fusion expression vectors to express OPB peptides with serially deleted N-terminal and found that OPB1 (i.e. G201-S226) is cytoplasmic, but OPB2 (i.e. E206-S226), OPB3 (i.e. E206-S226) and control peptide were both nuclear and cytoplasmic.Results:Both OPB1 and 2 inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation and migration, but OPB3 exhibited similar effects to control. OPB1 and 2 caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, increased p53 and p21 expression, and reduced AKT(S473) phosphorylation in MCF-7 cells, but not in MDA-MB-231 cells.Conclusion:: Overall, the serines and threonines of OPB are essential to YY1 binding to oncoproteins, and OPB peptide can be minimized to E206-S226 that maintain inhibitory activity to YY1- promoted cell proliferation.

Therapeutic Targets for the Treatment of Comorbidities Associated with Epilepsy

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-93
Author(s):  
Kinjal Gangar ◽  
Lokesh Kumar Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Therapeutic Targets ◽  
Therapeutic Failure ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Novel Targets ◽  
New Therapeutic Targets ◽  
Dual Mechanism ◽  
Seizure Suppression

One of the most common neurological disorders, which occurs among 1% of the population worldwide, is epilepsy. Therapeutic failure is common with epilepsy and nearly about 30% of patients fall in this category. Seizure suppression should not be the only goal while treating epilepsy but associated comorbidities, which can further worsen the condition, should also be considered. Treatment of such comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, cognition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and, various other disorders which co-exist with epilepsy or are caused due to epilepsy should also be treated. Novel targets or the existing targets are needed to be explored for the dual mechanism which can suppress both the disease and the comorbidity. New therapeutic targets such as IDO, nNOS, PAR1, NF-κb are being explored for their role in epilepsy and various comorbidities. This review explores recent therapeutic targets for the treatment of comorbidities associated with epilepsy.

Branched chain amino acids improve mesenchymal stem cell proliferation, reducing nuclear factor kappa B expression and modulating some inflammatory properties

Nutrition ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 110935
Author(s):  
Talita Sartori ◽  
Andressa Cristina Antunes Santos ◽  
Renaira Oliveira da Silva ◽  
Gabriela Kodja ◽  
Marcelo Macedo Rogero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽  
Nuclear Factor Kappa B ◽  
Branched Chain Amino Acids ◽  
Nuclear Factor ◽  
Stem Cell Proliferation ◽  
Nuclear Factor Kappa ◽  
Branched Chain

scholarly journals Diaphanous related formin 3 knockdown suppresses cell proliferation and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zehua Zhang ◽  
Fei Dai ◽  
Fei Luo ◽  
Wenjie Wu ◽  
Shuai Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Tumor Therapy ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
Tumor Stage ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Osteosarcoma Cell ◽  
Proliferation And Metastasis ◽  
New Biomarkers

AbstractOsteosarcoma is a malignant osteoblastic tumor that can gravely endanger the lives and health of children and adolescents. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore new biomarkers for osteosarcoma and determine new targeted therapies to improve the efficacy of osteosarcoma treatment. Diaphanous related formin 3 (DIAPH3) promotes tumorigenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma and lung adenocarcinoma, suggesting that DIAPH3 may be a target for tumor therapy. To date, there have been no reports on the function of DIAPH3 in osteosarcoma. DIAPH3 protein expression in osteosarcoma tissues and healthy bone tissues adjacent to cancer cells was examined by immunohistochemical staining. DIAPH3 mRNA expression correlates with overall survival and reduced disease-free survival. DIAPH3 protein is upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues, and its expression is significantly associated with tumor size, tumor stage, node metastasis, and distant metastasis. Functional in vitro experiments revealed that DIAPH3 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation and suppressed cell migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cell lines MG-63 and HOS. Functional experiments demonstrated that DIAPH3 knockdown inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. In conclusion, DIAPH3 expression can predict the clinical outcome of osteosarcoma. In addition, DIAPH3 is involved in the proliferation and metastasis of osteosarcoma, and as such, DIAPH3 may be a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.

scholarly journals Formaldehyde and De/Methylation in Age-Related Cognitive Impairment

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 913
Author(s):  
Ting Li ◽  
Yan Wei ◽  
Meihua Qu ◽  
Lixian Mou ◽  
Junye Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Memory Formation ◽  
Epigenetic Alterations ◽  
Diagnostic Biomarker ◽  
Reactive Substance ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

Formaldehyde (FA) is a highly reactive substance that is ubiquitous in the environment and is usually considered as a pollutant. In the human body, FA is a product of various metabolic pathways and participates in one-carbon cycle, which provides carbon for the synthesis and modification of bio-compounds, such as DNA, RNA, and amino acids. Endogenous FA plays a role in epigenetic regulation, especially in the methylation and demethylation of DNA, histones, and RNA. Recently, epigenetic alterations associated with FA dysmetabolism have been considered as one of the important features in age-related cognitive impairment (ARCI), suggesting the potential of using FA as a diagnostic biomarker of ARCI. Notably, FA plays multifaceted roles, and, at certain concentrations, it promotes cell proliferation, enhances memory formation, and elongates life span, effects that could also be involved in the aetiology of ARCI. Further investigation of and the regulation of the epigenetics landscape may provide new insights about the aetiology of ARCI and provide novel therapeutic targets.

scholarly journals Loss of 5′-Methylthioadenosine Phosphorylase (MTAP) is Frequent in High-Grade Gliomas; Nevertheless, it is Not Associated with Higher Tumor Aggressiveness

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weder Pereira de Menezes ◽  
Viviane Aline Oliveira Silva ◽  
Izabela Natália Faria Gomes ◽  
Marcela Nunes Rosa ◽  
Maria Luisa Corcoll Spina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Glioma Cell ◽  
Clinicopathological Features ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Methylthioadenosine Phosphorylase ◽  
Frequent Event ◽  
High Grade Gliomas

The 5’-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene is located in the chromosomal region 9p21. MTAP deletion is a frequent event in a wide variety of human cancers; however, its biological role in tumorigenesis remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to characterize the MTAP expression profile in a series of gliomas and to associate it with patients’ clinicopathological features. Moreover, we sought to evaluate, through glioma gene-edited cell lines, the biological impact of MTAP in gliomas. MTAP expression was evaluated in 507 glioma patients by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the expression levels were associated with patients’ clinicopathological features. Furthermore, an in silico study was undertaken using genomic databases totalizing 350 samples. In glioma cell lines, MTAP was edited, and following MTAP overexpression and knockout (KO), a transcriptome analysis was performed by NanoString Pan-Cancer Pathways panel. Moreover, MTAP’s role in glioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was evaluated. Homozygous deletion of 9p21 locus was associated with a reduction of MTAP mRNA expression in the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) - glioblastoma dataset (p < 0.01). In addition, the loss of MTAP expression was markedly high in high-grade gliomas (46.6% of cases) determined by IHC and Western blotting (40% of evaluated cell lines). Reduced MTAP expression was associated with a better prognostic in the adult glioblastoma dataset (p < 0.001). Nine genes associated with five pathways were differentially expressed in MTAP-knockout (KO) cells, with six upregulated and three downregulated in MTAP. Analysis of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion did not show any significant differences between MTAP gene-edited and control cells. Our results integrating data from patients as well as in silico and in vitro models provide evidence towards the lack of strong biological importance of MTAP in gliomas. Despite the frequent loss of MTAP, it seems not to have a clinical impact in survival and does not act as a canonic tumor suppressor gene in gliomas.

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