scholarly journals Oligonucleotides Targeting Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer

Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Schrank ◽  
Nabiha Khan ◽  
Chike Osude ◽  
Sanjana Singh ◽  
Rachel Miller ◽  
...  

Telomeres and telomerase have become attractive targets for the development of anticancer therapeutics due to their involvement in cancer cell immortality. Currently, several therapeutics have been developed that directly target telomerase and telomeres, such as telomerase inhibitors and G-quadruplex stabilizing ligands. Telomere-specific oligonucleotides that reduce telomerase activity and disrupt telomere architecture are also in development as novel anticancer therapeutics. Specifically, GRN163L and T-oligos have demonstrated promising anticancer activity in multiple cancers types via induction of potent DNA damage responses. Currently, several miRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of telomerase activity and may prove to be valuable targets in the development of novel therapies by reducing expression of telomerase subunits. Targeting miRNAs that are known to increase expression of telomerase subunits may be another strategy to reduce carcinogenesis. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of current oligonucleotide-based anticancer therapies that target telomeres and telomerase. These studies may help design novel therapeutic approaches to overcome the challenges of oligonucleotide therapy in a clinical setting.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (08n11) ◽  
pp. 1041-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiya Ikawa ◽  
Sho Katsumata ◽  
Ryuichi Sakashita ◽  
Shinobu Sato ◽  
Shigeori Takenaka ◽  
...  

Water-soluble derivatives of three kinds of expanded porphyrins (N-fused pentaphyrin, hexaphyrin, and heptaphyrin) were synthesized and their binding ability to G-quadruplex (G4-) DNA was evaluated. The inhibitory effects on enzymatic telomere extension were also investigated together with other tetrapyrrolic porphyrinoids. While expanded porphyrins increased the melting temperature of G4-DNA more effectively than the regular porphyrins, a porphyrin isomer (N-confused porphyrin) showed the highest inhibitory effect on telomerase activity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 614-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eglantina Idrizaj ◽  
Rachele Garella ◽  
Roberta Squecco ◽  
Maria Caterina Baccari

The present review focuses on adipocytes-released peptides known to be involved in the control of gastrointestinal motility, acting both centrally and peripherally. Thus, four peptides have been taken into account: leptin, adiponectin, nesfatin-1, and apelin. The discussion of the related physiological or pathophysiological roles, based on the most recent findings, is intended to underlie the close interactions among adipose tissue, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. The better understanding of this complex network, as gastrointestinal motor responses represent peripheral signals involved in the regulation of food intake through the gut-brain axis, may also furnish a cue for the development of either novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of obesity and eating disorders or potential diagnostic tools.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3402
Author(s):  
Eun Kyung Ko ◽  
Brian C. Capell

Recent evidence suggests that the disruption of gene expression by alterations in DNA, RNA, and histone methylation may be critical contributors to the pathogenesis of keratinocyte cancers (KCs), made up of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), which collectively outnumber all other human cancers combined. While it is clear that methylation modifiers are frequently dysregulated in KCs, the underlying molecular and mechanistic changes are only beginning to be understood. Intriguingly, it has recently emerged that there is extensive cross-talk amongst these distinct methylation processes. Here, we summarize and synthesize the latest findings in this space and highlight how these discoveries may uncover novel therapeutic approaches for these ubiquitous cancers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britt Delnoy ◽  
Ana I. Coelho ◽  
Maria Estela Rubio-Gozalbo

Type I (classic) galactosemia, galactose 1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT)-deficiency is a hereditary disorder of galactose metabolism. The current therapeutic standard of care, a galactose-restricted diet, is effective in treating neonatal complications but is inadequate in preventing burdensome complications. The development of several animal models of classic galactosemia that (partly) mimic the biochemical and clinical phenotypes and the resolution of the crystal structure of GALT have provided important insights; however, precise pathophysiology remains to be elucidated. Novel therapeutic approaches currently being explored focus on several of the pathogenic factors that have been described, aiming to (i) restore GALT activity, (ii) influence the cascade of events and (iii) address the clinical picture. This review attempts to provide an overview on the latest advancements in therapy approaches.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii406-iii406
Author(s):  
Kübra Taban ◽  
David Pauck ◽  
Mara Maue ◽  
Viktoria Marquardt ◽  
Hua Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant brain tumor in children and is frequently metastatic at diagnosis. Treatment with surgery, radiation and multi-agent chemotherapy may leave survivors of these brain tumors with long-term deficits as a consequence. One of the four consensus molecular subgroups of MB is the MYC-driven group 3 MB, which is the most malignant type and has a poor prognosis under current therapy. Thus, it is important to discover more effective targeted therapeutic approaches. We conducted a high-throughput drug screening to identify novel compounds showing efficiency in group 3 MB using both clinically established inhibitors (n=196) and clinically-applicable compounds (n=464). More than 20 compounds demonstrated a significantly higher anti-tumoral effect in MYChigh (n=7) compared to MYClow (n=4) MB cell models. Among these compounds, Navitoclax and Clofarabine showed the strongest effect in inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MYChigh MB models. Furthermore, we show that Navitoclax, an orally bioavailable and blood-brain barrier passing anti-cancer drug, inhibits specifically Bcl-xL proteins. In line, we found a significant correlation between BCL-xL and MYC mRNA levels in 763 primary MB patient samples (Data source: “R2 https://hgserver1.amc.nl”). In addition, Navitoclax and Clofarabine have been tested in cells obtained from MB patient-derived-xenografts, which confirmed their specific efficacy in MYChigh versus MYClow MB. In summary, our approach has identified promising new drugs that significantly reduce cell viability in MYChigh compared to MYClow MB cell models. Our findings point to novel therapeutic vulnerabilities for MB that need to be further validated in vitro and in vivo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Rodriguez ◽  
Jessica Yang ◽  
Michael A. Durante ◽  
Alexander N. Shoushtari ◽  
Stergios J. Moschos ◽  
...  

AbstractUveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults and leads to deadly metastases for which there is no approved treatment. Genetic events driving early tumor development are well-described, but those occurring later during metastatic progression remain poorly understood. We performed multiregional genomic sequencing on 22 tumors collected from two patients with widely metastatic UM who underwent rapid autopsy. We observed multiple seeding events from the primary tumors, metastasis-to-metastasis seeding, polyclonal seeding, and late driver variants in ATM, KRAS, and other genes previously unreported in UM. These findings reveal previously unrecognized temporal and anatomic complexity in the genetic evolution of metastatic uveal melanoma, and they highlight the distinction between early and late phases of UM genetic evolution with implications for novel therapeutic approaches.


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