scholarly journals Development of Novel antimiRzymes for Targeted Inhibition of miR-21 Expression in Solid Cancer Cells

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (13) ◽  
pp. 2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon M. Larcher ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Rakesh N. Veedu

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of gene expression. Previous reports showed an over-expression of miRNA-21 (miR-21) in various cancer cells, and its up-regulation is closely related to cancer initiation, proliferation and metastasis. In this work, we envisioned the development of novel antimiRzymes (anti-miRNA-DNAzyme) that are capable of selectively targeting and cleaving miR-21 and inhibit its expression in cancer cells using the DNAzyme technique. For this purpose, we have designed different antimiRzyme candidates by systematically targeting different regions of miR-21. Our results demonstrated that RNV541, a potential arm-loop-arm type antimiRzyme, was very efficient (90%) to suppress miR-21 expression in U87MG malignant glioblastoma cell line at 200 nM concentration. In addition, RNV541 also inhibited miR-21 expression (50%) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. For targeted delivery, we conjugated RNV541 with a transferrin receptor (TfR) targeting aptamer for TfR-mediated cancer cell delivery. As expected, the developed chimeric structure efficiently delivered the antimiRzyme RNV541 into TfR positive glioblastoma cells. TfR aptamer-RNV541 chimeric construct showed 52% inhibition of miR-21 expression in U87MG glioblastoma cells at 2000 nM concentration, without using any transfection reagents, making it a highly desirable strategy to tackle miR-21 over-expressed malignant cancers. Although these are in vitro based observations, based on our results, we firmly believe that our findings could be beneficial towards the development of targeted cancer therapeutics where conventional therapies face several challenges.

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 1483-1493
Author(s):  
Ricardo Imbroisi Filho ◽  
Daniel T.G. Gonzaga ◽  
Thainá M. Demaria ◽  
João G.B. Leandro ◽  
Dora C.S. Costa ◽  
...  

Background: Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide, despite many different drugs available to treat the disease. This high mortality rate is largely due to the complexity of the disease, which results from several genetic and epigenetic changes. Therefore, researchers are constantly searching for novel drugs that can target different and multiple aspects of cancer. Experimental: After a screening, we selected one novel molecule, out of ninety-four triazole derivatives, that strongly affects the viability and proliferation of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, with minimal effects on non-cancer cells. The drug, named DAN94, induced a dose-dependent decrease in MCF-7 cells viability, with an IC50 of 3.2 ± 0.2 µM. Additionally, DAN94 interfered with mitochondria metabolism promoting reactive oxygen species production, triggering apoptosis and arresting the cancer cells on G1/G0 phase of cell cycle, inhibiting cell proliferation. These effects are not observed when the drug was tested in the non-cancer cell line MCF10A. Using a mouse model with xenograft tumor implants, the drug preventing tumor growth presented no toxicity for the animal and without altering biochemical markers of hepatic function. Results and Conclusion: The novel drug DAN94 is selective for cancer cells, targeting the mitochondrial metabolism, which culminates in the cancer cell death. In the end, DAN94 has been shown to be a promising drug for controlling breast cancer with minimal undesirable effects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (22) ◽  
pp. 3733-3746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Lahdaoui ◽  
Mathieu Messager ◽  
Audrey Vincent ◽  
Flora Hec ◽  
Anne Gandon ◽  
...  

Secreted mucins are large O-glycosylated proteins that participate in the protection/defence of underlying mucosae in normal adults. Alteration of their expression is a hallmark of numerous epithelial cancers and has often been correlated to bad prognosis of the tumour. The secreted mucin MUC5B is overexpressed in certain subtypes of gastric and intestinal cancers, but the consequences of this altered expression on the cancer cell behaviour are not known. To investigate the role of MUC5B in carcinogenesis, its expression was knocked-down in the human gastric cancer cell line KATO-III and in the colonic cancer cell line LS174T by using transient and stable approaches. Consequences of MUC5B knocking-down on cancer cells were studied with respect to in vitro proliferation, migration and invasion, and in vivo on tumour growth using a mouse subcutaneous xenograft model. Western blotting, luciferase assay and qRT–PCR were used to identify proteins and signalling pathways involved. In vitro MUC5B down-regulation leads to a decrease in proliferation, migration and invasion properties in both cell lines. Molecular mechanisms involved the alteration of β-catenin expression, localization and activity and decreased expression of several of its target genes. In vivo xenografts of MUC5B-deficient cells induced a decrease in tumour growth when compared with MUC5B-expressing Mock cells. Altogether, the present study shows that down-regulation of MUC5B profoundly alters proliferation, migration and invasion of human gastrointestinal cancer cells and that these alterations may be, in part, mediated by the Wnt/β-catenin pathway emphasizing the potential of MUC5B as an actor of gastrointestinal carcinogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2463
Author(s):  
Silpa Narayanan ◽  
Nehaben A. Gujarati ◽  
Jing-Quan Wang ◽  
Zhuo-Xun Wu ◽  
Jagadish Koya ◽  
...  

The overexpression of ATP-binding cassette transporter, ABCG2, plays an important role in mediating multidrug resistance (MDR) in certain types of cancer cells. ABCG2-mediated MDR can significantly attenuate or abrogate the efficacy of anticancer drugs by increasing their efflux from cancer cells. In this study, we determined the efficacy of the novel benzamide derivative, VKNG-2, to overcome MDR due to the overexpression of the ABCG2 transporter in the colon cancer cell line, S1-M1-80. In vitro, 5 μM of VKNG-2 reversed the resistance of S1-M1-80 cell line to mitoxantrone (70-fold increase in efficacy) or SN-38 (112-fold increase in efficacy). In contrast, in vitro, 5 μM of VKNG-2 did not significantly alter either the expression of ABCG2, AKT, and PI3K p110β protein or the subcellular localization of the ABCG2 protein compared to colon cancer cells incubated with the vehicle. Molecular docking data indicated that VKNG-2 had a high docking score (-10.2 kcal/mol) for the ABCG2 transporter substrate-drug binding site whereas it had a low affinity on ABCB1 and ABCC1 transporters. Finally, VKNG-2 produced a significant concentration-dependent increase in ATPase activity (EC50 = 2.3 µM). In conclusion, our study suggests that in vitro, VKNG-2 reverses the resistance of S1-M1-80, a cancer cell line resistant to mitoxantrone and SN-38, by inhibiting the efflux function of the ABCG2 transporter.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Suciati ◽  
Lusiana Arifianti

Marine sponges have been known as the source of natural products. Various metabolites with potent bioactivities have been reported from this organism. The current study aims to investigate the anticancer potency of three marine sponges namely Diacarnus debeauforti, Haliclona amboinensis and Agelas cavernosa collected from Barrang Lompo Island, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The ethyl acetate extracts of the sponges were screened against T47D breast cancer cells and HeLa cervical cancer cells by using the MTT method. The results showed that these sponges demonstrated anticancer activity against both cancer cell lines. The lowest IC50 of 18.2 μg/ml was given by the extract of A. cavernosa against T47D cell line, while in the screening against HeLa cancer cell line, the extract of D. debeauforti revealed the highest potency with IC50 of 15.7 μg/ml. Our results suggested that the marine sponges namely D. debeauforti, H. amboinensis and A. cavernosa can be good candidates for the development of anticancer agents. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 19(1): 25-28, 2020 (June)


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 1505-1515
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Januszyk ◽  
Piotr Januszyk ◽  
Beniamin O. Grabarek ◽  
Dariusz Boroñ ◽  
Marcin Oplawski

Background: Apoptosis could take place in the pathway dependent on death receptors or pathways dependent on mitochondria. In both, a key role is played by enzymes with protease activity, known as caspases. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the variances in the expression pattern of caspase-dependent signaling pathways in the endometrial cancer cell line when treated with salinomycin. Additionally, the changes in the level of miRNA that potentially regulate these mRNAs were evaluated. Materials and Methods: Endometrial cancer cells were treated with 1 μM of salinomycin for 12, 24 and 48 hours. Untreated cells made up the control culture. The molecular analysis consisted of screening mRNA and miRNA microarray expression profiles of caspases, and the evaluation of the expression of caspases 3,8 and 9 by RTqPCR, also on the protein level. Results and Discussion: It was observed that 5 of the 14 differentiating mRNAs were commonly found for all incubation times of the cells and they corresponded with CASP3, CASP8, and CASP9 genes. The highest impact probability was determined between CASP3(up-regulated) and hsa- miR- 30d (FC -2.01), CASP8 (down-regulated) and hsa-miR-21 (FC +1.39) and between CASP9 (upregulated) and hsa-miR-1271 (FC +1.71). Conclusion: Salinomycin induces the apoptosis of endometrial cancer cells. The largest increase in activity was noted for caspases 3 and 9, while the expression of caspase 8 was decreased. Salinomycin causes a regulatory effect on the transcriptomes of mRNA and miRNA in in vitro endometrial cancer cells.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. AYDIN AKBUDAK ◽  
Tevhide SUT ◽  
Nuraniye ERUYGUR ◽  
Ersin AKINCI

The Epilobium species are rich in various active phytochemicals and have seen wide use in folk medicine to treat several diseases, including benign prostatic hyperplasia. Although their benefits have been demonstrated on certain types of cancer cells, such as prostate cancer cells, their potential antiproliferative effects on colorectal adenocarcinoma cells have yet to be studied. The present study exhibited the antiproliferative activity of aqueous and ethanolic Epilobium parviflorum extracts in a colon cancer cell line, HT-29 cells in vitro. Both types of extracts reduced the cell viability of HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent manner. A gene expression analysis of the HT-29 cells demonstrated an increase in apoptotic genes, Caspase-3 and Caspase-8. Nuclear fragmentation of the apoptotic cells was also demonstrated through TUNEL assay and immunostaining experiments. On the other hand, the same lethal concentrations of the E. parviflorum extracts did not significantly affect a non-cancerous human fibroblast cell line, BJ cells. Our results confirmed that aqueous and ethanolic Epilobium parviflorum extracts can eliminate proliferation of human colorectal carcinoma cells in vitro. E. parviflorum may have the potential to become a therapeutic agent against colon cancers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 571-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivera Milosevic-Djordjevic ◽  
Darko Grujicic ◽  
Marina Radovic ◽  
Nenad Vukovic ◽  
Jovana Zizic ◽  
...  

Propolis has been used in folk medicine for centuries due to its healing properties. Ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) are rich sources of phenolic acid and flavonoids. Natural phenolic compounds may exert chemoprotective activity in cancer cells due to their ability to scavenge free radicals. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the genotoxic and anti-mutagenic effects of the EEP on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and their cytotoxic potential on the human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231 cells). Both cell cultures were treated with six concentrations (1, 10, 50, 100, 250 and 500 ?g/ml) of EEP1 and EEP2, separately and in combination with mitomycin C (MMC). Our results show that the EEP1 and EEP2 samples of propolis after separate and combined treatments with MMC did not influence the nuclear division index (NDI). In the combined treatment, both tested EEPs significantly reduced MMC-induced micronuclei (MN) in PBLs. At 48 h after exposure of the MDA-MB-231 cell line to a combined treatment of EEP samples with MMC, the IC50 values were significantly reduced (23.79 and 19.13 ?g/ml, for EEP1+MMC and EEP2+MMC, respectively, in comparison to the single treatment. In conclusion, the tested ethanolic extracts of propolis exhibited a certain level of in vitro antimutagenic activity in PBLs from healthy subjects, and anticancer activity in breast cancer cell line. The presented findings suggest that the ethanolic extracts of propolis show potential in anticancer therapeutic strategy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 611-623
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Soliman ◽  
Fawzy A. Attaby ◽  
Othman I. Alajrawy ◽  
Azza A.A. Abou-hussein ◽  
Wolfgang Linert

Aim and Objective: Platinum (II) and platinum (IV) of pyrophosphate complexes have been prepared and characterized to discover their potential as antitumor drugs. This study was conducted to prepare and characterize new ternary platinum (II) complexes with formamidine and pyrophosphate as an antitumor candidate. Materials and Methods: The complexes have been characterized by mass, infrared, UV-Vis. spectroscopy, elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, thermal analyses, and theoretical calculations. They have been tested for their cytotoxicity, which was carried out using the fastcolorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival against MCF-7 (breast cancer cell line), HCT- 116 (colon carcinoma cell line), and HepG-2 (hepatocellular cancer cell line). Results: All complexes are diamagnetic, and the electronic spectral data displayed the bands due to square planar Pt(II) complexes. The optimized complexes structures (1-4) indicated a distorted square planar geometry where O-Pt-O and N-Pt-N bond angles were 82.04°-96.44°, respectively. Conclusion: The complexes showed noticeable cytotoxicity and are considered as promising antitumor candidates for further applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-159
Author(s):  
Tran Nguyen Minh An ◽  
Pham Thai Phuong ◽  
Nguyen Minh Quang ◽  
Nguyen Van Son ◽  
Nguyen Van Cuong ◽  
...  

: A series of novel 1,3-thiazole derivatives (5a-i) with a modified phenothiazine moiety were synthesized and tested against cancer cell line MCF-7 for their cytotoxicity. Most of them (5a-i) were less cytotoxic or had no activity against MCF-7 cancer cell line. Material and Methods: The IC50 value of compound (4) was 33.84 μM. The compounds (5a-i) were also evaluated for antimicrobial activities, but no significant activity was observed. The antioxidant activity was conducted for target compounds (5a-i). The IC50 value of compound (5b) was 0.151mM. Results: The total amount of energy, ACE (atomic contact energy), energy of receptor (PDB: 5G5J), and ligand interaction of structure (4) were found to be 22.448 Kcal.mol-1 , -247.68, and -91.91 Kcal.mol-1, respectively. The structure (4) is well binded with the receptor because the values of binding energy, steric energy, and the number of hydrogen bondings are -91.91, 22.448 kcal.mol-1, and 2, respectively. It shows that structure (4) has good cytotoxicity with MCF-7 in vitro. Conclusion: The increasing of docking ability of structures (5a-i) with the receptor is presented in increasing order as (5f)>(5e)>(5g)>(5a)>(5b)>(5d)>(5c)>(5i)>(5h). The structure bearing substitution as thiosemicarbazone (4), nitrogen heterocyclic (5f), halogen (5e), and azide (5g) showed good cytotoxicity activity in vitro.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-60
Author(s):  
Farah Nawaz ◽  
Ozair Alam ◽  
Ahmad Perwez ◽  
Moshahid A. Rizvi ◽  
Mohd. Javed Naim ◽  
...  

Background: The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (known as EGFR) induces cell differentiation and proliferation upon activation through the binding of its ligands. Since EGFR is thought to be involved in the development of cancer, the identification of new target inhibitors is the most viable approach, which recently gained momentum as a potential anticancer therapy. Objective: To assess various pyrazole linked pyrazoline derivatives with carbothioamide for EGFR kinase inhibitory as well as anti-proliferative activity against human cancer cell lines viz. A549 (non-small cell lung tumor), MCF-7 (breast cancer cell line), SiHa (cancerous tissues of the cervix uteri), and HCT-116 (colon cancer cell line). Methods: In vitro EGFR kinase assay, in vitro MTT assay, Lactate dehydrogenase release, nuclear staining (DAPI), and flow cytometry cell analysis. Results: Compounds 6h and 6j inhibited EGFR kinase at concentrations of 1.66μM and 1.9μM, respectively. Furthermore, compounds 6h and 6j showed the most potent anti-proliferative results against the A549 KRAS mutation cell line (IC50 = 9.3 & 10.2μM). Through DAPI staining and phase contrast microscopy, it was established that compounds 6h and 6j also induced apoptotic activity in A549 cells. This activity was further confirmed by FACS using Annexin-V-FITC and Propidium Iodide (PI) labeling. Molecular docking studies performed on 6h and 6j suggested that the compounds can bind to the hinge region of ATP binding site of EGFR tyrosine kinase in a similar pose as that of the standard drug gefitinib. Conclusion: The potential anticancer activity of compounds 6h and 6j was confirmed and need further exploration in cancer cell lines of different tissue origin and signaling pathways, as well as in animal models of cancer development.


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