scholarly journals Repurposing Niclosamide for Targeting Pancreatic Cancer by Inhibiting Hh/Gli Non-Canonical Axis of Gsk3β

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3105
Author(s):  
Jyoti B. Kaushal ◽  
Rakesh Bhatia ◽  
Ranjana K. Kanchan ◽  
Pratima Raut ◽  
Surya Mallapragada ◽  
...  

Niclosamide (Nic), an FDA-approved anthelmintic drug, is reported to have anti-cancer efficacy and is being assessed in clinical trials for various solid tumors. Based on its ability to target multiple signaling pathways, in the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of Nic on pancreatic cancer (PC) in vitro. We observed an anti-cancerous effect of this drug as shown by the G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, inhibition of PC cell viability, colony formation, and migration. Our results revealed the involvement of mitochondrial stress and mTORC1-dependent autophagy as the predominant players of Nic-induced PC cell death. Significant reduction of Nic-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death in the presence of a selective autophagy inhibitor spautin-1 demonstrated autophagy as a major contributor to Nic-mediated cell death. Mechanistically, Nic inhibited the interaction between BCL2 and Beclin-1 that supported the crosstalk of autophagy and apoptosis. Further, Nic treatment resulted in Gsk3β inactivation by phosphorylating its Ser-9 residue leading to upregulation of Sufu and Gli3, thereby negatively impacting hedgehog signaling and cell survival. Nic induced autophagic cell death, and p-Gsk3b mediated Sufu/Gli3 cascade was further confirmed by Gsk3β activator, LY-294002, by rescuing inactivation of Hh signaling upon Nic treatment. These results suggested the involvement of a non-canonical mechanism of Hh signaling, where p-Gsk3β acts as a negative regulator of Hh/Gli1 cascade and a positive regulator of autophagy-mediated cell death. Overall, this study established the therapeutic efficacy of Nic for PC by targeting p-Gsk3β mediated non-canonical Hh signaling and promoting mTORC1-dependent autophagy and cell death.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selvaraj Shyamsivappan ◽  
Raju Vivek ◽  
Thangaraj Suresh ◽  
Adhigaman Kaviyarasu ◽  
Sundarasamy Amsaveni ◽  
...  

Abstract A progression of novel thiadiazoline spiro quinoline derivatives were synthesized from potent thiadiazoline spiro quinoline derivatives . The synthesized compounds portrayed by different spectroscopic studies and single X-ray crystallographic studies. The compounds were assessed for in vitro anticancer properties towards MCF-7 and HeLa cells. The compounds showed superior inhibition action MCF-7 malignant growth cells. Amongst, the compound 4a showed significant inhibition activity, the cell death mechanism was evaluated by fluorescent staining, and flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and western blot analyses. The in vitro anticancer results revealed that the compound 4a induced apoptosis by inhibition of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. The binding affinity of the compounds with ERα and pharmacokinetic properties were confirmed by molecular docking studies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun R Abrams ◽  
Jeremy F Reiter

Craniofacial defects are among the most common phenotypes caused by ciliopathies, yet the developmental and molecular etiology of these defects is poorly understood. We investigated multiple mouse models of human ciliopathies (including Tctn2, Cc2d2a and Tmem231 mutants) and discovered that each displays hypotelorism, a narrowing of the midface. As early in development as the end of gastrulation, Tctn2 mutants displayed reduced activation of the Hedgehog (HH) pathway in the prechordal plate, the head organizer. This prechordal plate defect preceded a reduction of HH pathway activation and Shh expression in the adjacent neurectoderm. Concomitant with the reduction of HH pathway activity, Tctn2 mutants exhibited increased cell death in the neurectoderm and facial ectoderm, culminating in a collapse of the facial midline. Enhancing HH signaling by decreasing the gene dosage of a negative regulator of the pathway, Ptch1, decreased cell death and rescued the midface defect in both Tctn2 and Cc2d2a mutants. These results reveal that ciliary HH signaling mediates communication between the prechordal plate and the neurectoderm to provide cellular survival cues essential for development of the facial midline.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (13) ◽  
pp. 4136-4145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingli Yang ◽  
Song Wu ◽  
Xuekun Su ◽  
W. Stratford May

Abstract We previously identified JAZ as a novel zinc finger (ZF) protein by screening a murine interleukin-3 (IL-3)–dependent NFS/N1.H7 myeloid cell cDNA library. JAZ is a member of a new class of ZFPs that is evolutionarily conserved and preferentially binds to dsRNA, but its function was unknown. Now, we report that the stress of IL-3 growth factor withdrawal up-regulates JAZ expression in hematopoietic cells in association with p53 activation and induction of cell death. Biochemical analysis reveals that JAZ associates with p53 to stimulate its transcriptional activity in p53-expressing cells, but not in p53-null cells unless complemented with p53. JAZ functions to mediate G1 cell-cycle arrest followed by apoptosis in a p53-dependent mechanism that is associated with up-regulation of p21 and BAX, dephosphorylation of Rb, and repression of cyclin A. Of importance, siRNA “knockdown” of endogenous JAZ inhibits p53 transcriptional activity, decreases the G1/G0 population, and attenuates stress-induced cell death. While JAZ directly binds p53 in vitro in a mechanism requiring p53's C-terminal regulatory domain but independent of dsRNA, the dsRNA-binding ZF domains are required for JAZ's stimulatory role of p53 in vivo by dictating its nuclear localization. Thus, JAZ is a novel negative regulator of cell growth by positively regulating p53.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Abrams ◽  
Jeremy F Reiter

Craniofacial defects are among the most common phenotypes caused by ciliopathies, yet the developmental and molecular etiology of these defects is poorly understood. We investigated multiple mouse models of human ciliopathies (including Tctn2, Cc2d2a and Tmem231 mutants) and discovered that each displays hypotelorism, a narrowing of the midface. As early in development as the end of gastrulation, Tctn2 mutants displayed reduced activation of the Hedgehog (HH) pathway in the prechordal plate, the head organizer. This prechordal plate defect preceded a reduction of HH pathway activation and Shh expression in the adjacent neurectoderm. Concomitant with the reduction of HH pathway activity, Tctn2 mutants exhibited increased cell death in the neurectoderm and facial ectoderm, culminating in a collapse of the facial midline. Enhancing HH signaling by decreasing the gene dosage of a negative regulator of the pathway, Ptch1, decreased cell death and rescued the midface defect in both Tctn2 and Cc2d2a mutants. These results reveal that ciliary HH signaling mediates communication between the prechordal plate and the neurectoderm to provide cellular survival cues essential for development of the facial midline.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumihiko Matsuzawa ◽  
Hirofumi Kamachi ◽  
Tatsuzo Mizukami ◽  
Takahiro Einama ◽  
Futoshi Kawamata ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Mesothelin is a 40-kDa glycoprotein that is highly overexpressed in various types of cancers, however molecular mechanism of mesothelin has not been well-known. Amatuximab is a chimeric monoclonal IgG1/k antibody targeting mesothelin. We recently demonstrated that the combine therapy of Amatuximab and gemcitabine was effective for peritonitis of pancreatic cancer in mouse model. Methods We discover the role and potential mechanism of mesothelin blockage by Amatuximab in human pancreatic cells both expressing high or low level of mesothelin in vitro experiment and peritonitis mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Results Mesothelin blockage by Amatuximab lead to suppression of invasiveness and migration capacity in AsPC-1 and Capan-2 (high mesothelin expression) and reduce levels of pMET expression. The combination of Amatuximab and gemcitabine suppressed proliferation of AsPC-1 and Capan-2 more strongly than gemcitabine alone. These phenomena were not observed in Panc-1 and MIA Paca-2 (Mesothelin low expression). We previously demonstrated that Amatuximab reduced the peritoneal mass in mouse AsPC-1 peritonitis model and induced sherbet-like cancer cell aggregates, which were vanished by gemcitabine. In this study, we showed that the cancer stem cell related molecule such as ALDH1, CD44, c-MET, as well as proliferation related molecules, were suppressed in sherbet-like aggregates, but once sherbet-like aggregates attached to peritoneum, they expressed these molecules strongly without the morphological changes. Conclusions Our work suggested that Amatuximab inhibits the adhesion of cancer cells to peritoneum and suppresses the stemness and viability of those, that lead to enhance the sensitivity for gemcitabine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Guo ◽  
Yingke Zhou ◽  
Hui Guo ◽  
Dianyun Ren ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
...  

AbstractNR5A2 is a transcription factor regulating the expression of various oncogenes. However, the role of NR5A2 and the specific regulatory mechanism of NR5A2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are not thoroughly studied. In our study, Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to assess the expression levels of different molecules. Wound-healing, MTS, colony formation, and transwell assays were employed to evaluate the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer cells. We demonstrated that NR5A2 acted as a negative prognostic biomarker in PDAC. NR5A2 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. While NR5A2 overexpression markedly promoted both events in vitro. We further identified that NR5A2 was transcriptionally upregulated by BRD4 in pancreatic cancer cells and this was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-qPCR. Besides, transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to explore the cancer-promoting effects of NR5A2, we found that GDF15 is a component of multiple down-regulated tumor-promoting gene sets after NR5A2 was silenced. Next, we showed that NR5A2 enhanced the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing the transcription of GDF15. Collectively, our findings suggest that NR5A2 expression is induced by BRD4. In turn, NR5A2 activates the transcription of GDF15, promoting pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, NR5A2 and GDF15 could be promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.


2004 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Gronich ◽  
Liat Drucker ◽  
Hava Shapiro ◽  
Judith Radnay ◽  
Shai Yarkoni ◽  
...  

BackgroundAccumulating reports indicate that statins widely prescribed for hypercholesteromia have antineoplastic activity. We hypothesized that because statins inhibit farnesylation of Ras that is often mutated in multiple myeloma (MM), as well as the production of interleukin (IL)-6, a key cytokine in MM, they may have antiproliferative and/or proapoptotic effects in this malignancy.MethodsU266, RPMI 8226, and ARH77 were treated with simvastatin (0-30 μM) for 5 days. The following aspects were evaluated: viability (IC50), cell cycle, cell death, cytoplasmic calcium ion levels, supernatant IL-6 levels, and tyrosine kinase activity.ResultsExposure of all cell lines to simvastatin resulted in reduced viability with IC50s of 4.5 μM for ARH77, 8 μM for RPMI 8226, and 13 μM for U266. The decreased viability is attributed to cell-cycle arrest (U266, G1; RPMI 8226, G2M) and cell death. ARH77 underwent apoptosis, whereas U266 and RPMI 8226 displayed a more necrotic form of death. Cytoplasmic calcium levels decreased significantly in all treated cell lines. IL-6 secretion from U266 cells was abrogated on treatment with simvastatin, whereas total tyrosine phosphorylation was unaffected.ConclusionsSimvastatin displays significant antimyeloma activity in vitro. Further research is warranted for elucidation of the modulated molecular pathways and clinical relevance.


Reproduction ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
JongYeob Choi ◽  
MinWha Jo ◽  
EunYoung Lee ◽  
DooSeok Choi

In this study, we examined whether granulosa cell autophagy during follicular development and atresia was regulated by the class I phosphoinositide-3 kinase/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway, which is known to control the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a major negative regulator of autophagy. Ovaries and granulosa cells were obtained using an established gonadotropin-primed immature rat model that induces follicular development and atresia. Autophagy was evaluated by measuring the expression level of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-II (LC3-II) using western blots and immunohistochemistry. The activity of AKT and mTOR was also examined by observing the phosphorylation of AKT and ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) respectively. After gonadotropin injection, LC3-II expression was suppressed and phosphorylation of AKT and S6K increased in rat granulosa cells. By contrast, gonadotropin withdrawal by metabolic clearance promoted LC3-II expression and decreased phosphorylation of AKT and S6K. In addition,in-vitroFSH treatment of rat granulosa cells also indicated inhibition of LC3-II expression accompanied by a marked increase in phosphorylation of AKT and S6K. Inhibition of AKT phosphorylation using AKT inhibitor VIII suppressed FSH-mediated phosphorylation of S6K, followed by an increase in LC3-II expression. Furthermore, co-treatment with FSH and AKT inhibitor increased the levels of apoptosis and cell death of granulosa cells compared with the single treatment with FSH. Taken together, our findings indicated that AKT-mediated activation of mTOR suppresses granulosa cell autophagy during follicular development and is involved in the regulation of apoptotic cell death.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selvaraj Shyamsivappan ◽  
Raju Vivek ◽  
Thangaraj Suresh ◽  
Palanivel Naveen ◽  
Kaviyarasu Adhigaman ◽  
...  

A progression of new N-(3'-acetyl-8-nitro-2,3-dihydro-1H,3'H-spiro[quinoline-4,2'-[1,3,4]thiadiazol]-5'-yl) acetamide derivatives were synthesized from potent 8-nitro quinoline-thiosemicarbazones. The synthesized compounds were characterized by different spectroscopic studies and single X-ray crystallographic studies. The compounds were...


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Lo ◽  
Amnon Sharir ◽  
Michael D Paul ◽  
Hayarpi Torosyan ◽  
Christopher Agnew ◽  
...  

The Hedgehog (HH) pathway is critical for development and adult tissue homeostasis. Aberrant HH signaling can cause congenital malformations, such as digit anomalies and holoprosencephaly, and other diseases, including cancer. Signal transduction is initiated by HH ligand binding to the Patched 1 (PTCH1) receptor on primary cilia, thereby releasing inhibition of Smoothened (SMO), a HH pathway activator. Although cholesterol and several oxysterol lipids, which are enriched in the ciliary membrane, play a crucial role in HH activation, the molecular mechanisms governing the regulation of these lipid molecules remain unresolved. Here, we identify Canopy 4 (CNPY4), a Saposin-like protein, as a regulator of the HH pathway that controls membrane sterol lipid levels. Cnpy4—/— embryos exhibit multiple defects consistent with HH signaling perturbations, most notably changes in digit number. Knockdown of Cnpy4 hyperactivates the HH pathway at the level of SMO in vitro, and elevates membrane levels of accessible sterol lipids such as cholesterol, an endogenous ligand involved in SMO activation. Thus, our data demonstrate that CNPY4 is a negative regulator that fine-tunes the initial steps of HH signal transduction, revealing a previously undescribed facet of HH pathway regulation that operates through control of membrane composition.


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