scholarly journals Determining the Anticancer Activity of Sphingosine Kinase Inhibitors Containing Heteroatoms in Their Tail Structure

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Jitendra Shrestha ◽  
Seong Woong Kim ◽  
Su-Bin Kim ◽  
Yoon Sin Oh ◽  
Sung Hwan Ki ◽  
...  

Sphingosine kinase (SK) enzyme, a central player of sphingolipid rheostat, catalyzes the phosphorylation of sphingosine to the bioactive lipid mediator sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P), which regulates cancer cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and angiogenesis through its extracellular five G protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1PR1–5). Recently, several research studies on SK inhibitors have taken place in order use them for the development of novel anticancer-targeted therapy. In this study, we designed and synthesized analog derivatives of known SK1 inhibitors, namely RB005 and PF-543, by introducing heteroatoms at their tail structure, as well as investigated their anticancer activities and pharmacokinetic parameters in vitro. Compounds 1–20 of RB005 and PF-543 derivatives containing an aliphatic chain or a tail structure of benzenesulfonyl were synthesized. All compounds of set 1 (1–10) effectively reduced cell viability in both HT29 and HCT116 cells, whereas set 2 derivatives (11–20) showed poor anticancer effect. Compound 10, having the highest cytotoxic effect (48 h, HT29 IC50 = 6.223 µM, HCT116 IC50 = 8.694 µM), induced HT29 and HCT116 cell death in a concentration-dependent manner through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, which was demonstrated by increased annexin V-FITC level, and increased apoptotic marker cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. Compound 10 inhibited SK1 by 20%, and, thus, the S1P level decreased by 42%. Unlike the apoptosis efficacy, the SK1 inhibitory effect and selectivity of the PF-543 derivative were superior to that of the RB005 analog. As a result, compounds with an aliphatic chain tail exhibited stronger apoptotic effects. However, this ability was not proportional to the degree of SK inhibition. Compound 10 increased the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity (1.73 fold) similar to FTY720 (1.65 fold) and RB005 (1.59 fold), whereas compounds 11 and 13 had no effect on PP2A activation. Since the PP2A activity increased in compounds with an aliphatic chain tail, it can be suggested that PP2A activation has an important effect on anticancer and SK inhibitory activities.

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (17) ◽  
pp. 3531-3540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Weigert ◽  
Sarah Cremer ◽  
Martina Victoria Schmidt ◽  
Andreas von Knethen ◽  
Carlo Angioni ◽  
...  

Abstract Execution of physiologic cell death known as apoptosis is tightly regulated and transfers immunologically relevant information. This ensures efficient clearance of dying cells and shapes the phenotype of their “captors” toward anti-inflammatory. Here, we identify a mechanism of sphingosine-1-phosphate production by apoptotic cells. During cell death, sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2) is cleaved at its N-terminus in a caspase-1–dependent manner. Thereupon, a truncated but enzymatically active fragment of SphK2 is released from cells. This step is coupled to phosphatidylserine exposure, which is a hallmark of apoptosis and a crucial signal for phagocyte/apoptotic cell interaction. Our data link signaling events during apoptosis to the extracellular production of a lipid mediator that affects immune cell attraction and activation.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitendra Shrestha ◽  
Sung Ki ◽  
Sang Shin ◽  
Seon Kim ◽  
Joo-Youn Lee ◽  
...  

FTY720 inhibits various cancers through PP2A activation. The structure of FTY720 is also used as a basic structure for the design of sphingosine kinase (SK) inhibitors. We have synthesized derivatives using an amide chain in FTY720 with a phenyl backbone, and then compounds were screened by an MTT cell viability assay. The PP2A activity of compound 7 was examined. The phosphorylation levels of AKT and ERK, downstream targets of PP2A, in the presence of compound 7, were determined. Compound 7 may exhibit anticancer effects through PP2A activation rather than the mechanism by inhibition of SK1 in cancer cells. In the docking study of compound 7 and PP2A, the amide chain of compound 7 showed an interaction with Asn61 that was different from FTY720, which is expected to affect the activity of the compound.


Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (11) ◽  
pp. 5125-5134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Gratschev ◽  
Christoffer Löf ◽  
Jari Heikkilä ◽  
Anders Björkbom ◽  
Pramod Sukumaran ◽  
...  

Calcium entry is one of the main regulators of intracellular signaling. Here, we have described the importance of sphingosine, sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1), and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in regulating calcium entry in thyroid FRTL-5 cells. In cells incubated with the phosphatase inhibitor calyculin A, which evokes calcium entry without mobilizing sequestered intracellular calcium, sphingosine inhibited calcium entry in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, inhibiting SK1 or the ATP-binding cassette ABCC1 multidrug transporter attenuated calcium entry. The addition of exogenous S1P restored calcium entry. Neither sphingosine nor inhibition of SK1 attenuated thapsigargin-evoked calcium entry. Blocking S1P receptor 2 or phospholipase C attenuated calcium entry, whereas blocking S1P receptor 3 did not. Overexpression of wild-type SK1, but not SK2, enhanced calyculin-evoked calcium entry compared with mock-transfected cells, whereas calcium entry was decreased in cells transfected with the dominant-negative G82D SK1 mutant. Exogenous S1P restored calcium entry in G82D cells. Our results suggest that the calcium entry pathway is blocked by sphingosine and that activation of SK1 and the production of S1P, through an autocrine mechanism, facilitate calcium entry through activation of S1P receptor 2. This is a novel mechanism by which the sphingosine-S1P rheostat regulates cellular calcium homeostasis.


Author(s):  
Jiujiang Liao ◽  
Yangxi Zheng ◽  
Mingyu Hu ◽  
Ping Xu ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
...  

Incomplete spiral artery remodeling, caused by impaired extravillous trophoblast invasion, is a fundamental pathogenic process associated with malplacentation and the development of preeclampsia. Nevertheless, the mechanisms controlling this regulation of trophoblast invasion are largely unknown. We report that sphingosine-1-phosphate synthesis and expression is abundant in healthy trophoblast, whereas in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia the placentae are associated with reduced sphingosine-1-phosphate and lower SPHK1 (sphingosine kinase 1) expression and activity. In vivo inhibition of sphingosine kinase 1 activity during placentation in pregnant mice led to decreased placental sphingosine-1-phosphate production and defective placentation, resulting in a preeclampsia phenotype. Moreover, sphingosine-1-phosphate increased HTR8/SVneo (immortalized trophoblast cells) cell invasion in a Hippo-signaling–dependent transcriptional coactivator YAP (Yes-associated protein) dependent manner, which is activated by S1PR2 (sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-2) and downstream RhoA/ROCK induced actin polymerization. Mutation-based YAP-5SA demonstrated that sphingosine-1-phosphate activation of YAP could be either dependent or independent of Hippo signaling. Together, these findings suggest a novel pathogenic pathway of preeclampsia via disrupted sphingosine-1-phosphate metabolism and signaling-induced, interrupted actin dynamics and YAP deactivation; this may lead to potential novel intervention targets for the prevention and management of preeclampsia.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph B Mascarenhas ◽  
Ghassan Mouneimne ◽  
Carol C Gregorio ◽  
Mary E Brown ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
...  

Ena/VASP like protein, or EVL, is an actin-binding protein that regulates cancer cell lamellipodia protrusive activity and cell motility via an actomyosin contractility-dependent mechanism. The function of EVL in human lung endothelial cell (EC) barrier regulation, especially by the endogenous bioactive lipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), is largely unknown. In this current study, we demonstrated that EVL is an active component in S1P-mediated EC barrier enhancement and lamellipodia formation. Compared to other focal adhesion (FA) proteins such as paxillin, EVL protein expression is very low in human pulmonary endothelial cells (ECs). S1P (1 μM) challenge stimulates translocation of cytosolic EVL to FAs in ECs, which was attenuated by EVL knockdown (KD) by its selective siRNA. S1P also promoted significant EVL translocation to lamellipodia, further confirmed by tracking translocation of EVL-GFP fusion protein upon S1P stimulation in a time-dependent manner. In addition, S1P-mediated cortical actin filament formation is attenuated by EVL KD, further confirming the function of EVL in S1P-induced lamellipodia formation/cortical actin polymerization. S1P stimulates EVL phosphorylation by tyrosine kinase c-Abl which is attenuated by the c-Abl inhibitor, imatinib. Finally, EVL KD attenuated S1P-mediated EC barrier enhancement and paracellular gap resealing reflected by reduced transendothelial electrical resistance (TER) measurements. These findings confirm a novel role for EVL in human lung vascular barrier enhancement and cytoskeleton rearrangement by S1P.


2011 ◽  
Vol 109 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Honey B Golden ◽  
Linley E Watson ◽  
Donald M Foster ◽  
David E Dostal

We previously identified the JNK-B56α-PP2A signaling axis as a major target in anthrax lethal toxin (LT)-induced cardiac dysfunction. Thus, we further tested whether LT-mediated loss in cardiac function is a consequence of dysregulated calcium handling resulting from JNK inactivation. To biochemically recapitulate the signaling effects of LT, we infected NRVM with HA-B56α adenovirus and determined PP2A activity as well as Ca 2+ i measurements. Over-expression of HA-B56α in NRVM did not induce a significant increase in cellular PP2A activity, however, it did induce a significant increase (p<0.01) in Ca 2+ i compared to virus control. Furthermore, PLB, PP2Ac and Akt protein co-immunoprecipitated with HA-B56α, and immunostaining revealed colocalization of B56α with PLB at the SR. Since B56α over-expression alone was not sufficient to induce PP2A activity or PP2A-mediated Ca 2+ i dysregulation, we hypothesized that JNK may serve as a functional regulator of Ca 2+ i handling through PP2A activation as well as B56α protein levels. Adenoviral-mediated over-expression of MEK7 in NRVM resulted in a significant reduction in LT-mediated Ca 2+ i dysregulation compared to virus control (p<0.01). To further determine whether the protection of MEK7 is mediated by JNK1 or JNK2, gain-of-function/loss-of-function experiments were performed utilizing adenoviral constructs for CA-MEK7, DN-JNK1 and DN-JNK2. Results confirmed that the protective effect of active MEK7 over-expression on Ca 2+ i was significantly lost with knock-down of JNK1 compared to JNK2 (p<0.05), suggesting that JNK1 plays a more substantial role in regulating PP2A activity than JNK2. Furthermore, the selective knock-down of JNK1 also increased Ca 2+ i levels (p<0.001) compared to MEK7 during LT treatment, which reveals the importance of JNK1 in PP2A-mediated Ca 2+ i dysregulation. Interestingly, immunoblotting of PLB did not reveal a JNK-dependent difference in PLB phosphorylation at Ser 16 , however, loss of JNK2 almost completely inhibited p-PLB-Thr 17 . Thus, our results suggest that JNK1 and JNK2 may differentially regulate Ca 2+ i through PP2A activation and PLB-Thr 17 phosphorylation, respectively.


2004 ◽  
Vol 382 (2) ◽  
pp. 717-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshitada FUJITA ◽  
Taro OKADA ◽  
Shun HAYASHI ◽  
Saleem JAHANGEER ◽  
Noriko MIWA ◽  
...  

Sphingosine kinase (SPHK) is a key enzyme catalysing the formation of sphingosine 1-phosphate (SPP), a lipid messenger that is implicated in the regulation of a wide variety of important cellular events acting through intracellular, as well as extracellular, mechanisms. However, the molecular mechanism of intracellular actions of SPP remains unclear. Here, we have identified δ-catenin/NPRAP (neural plakophilin-related armadillo repeat protein) as a potential binding partner for SPHK1 by yeast two-hybrid screening. From co-immunoprecipitation analyses, the C-terminal portion of δ-catenin/NPRAP containing the seventh to tenth armadillo repeats was found to be required for interaction with SPHK1. Endogenous δ-catenin/NPRAP was co-localized with endogenous SPHK1 and transfected δ-catenin/NPRAP was co-localized with transfected SPHK1 in dissociated rat hippocampal neurons. MDCK (Madin–Darby canine kidney) cells stably expressing δ-catenin/NPRAP contained elevated levels of intracellular SPP. In a purified system δ-catenin/NPRAP stimulated SPHK1 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, δ-catenin/NPRAP-induced increased cell motility in MDCK cells was completely inhibited by dimethylsphingosine, a specific inhibitor of SPHK1. These results strongly suggest that at least some of δ-catenin/NPRAP functions, including increased cell motility, are mediated by an SPHK–SPP signalling pathway.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1664-1676
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Opydo-Chanek ◽  
Iwona Cichoń ◽  
Agnieszka Rak ◽  
Elżbieta Kołaczkowska ◽  
Lidia Mazur

Summary One of the key features of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the arrest of differentiation at the early progenitor stage of myelopoiesis. Therefore, the identification of new agents that could overcome this differentiation block and force leukemic cells to enter the apoptotic pathway is essential for the development of new treatment strategies in AML. Regarding this, herein we report the pro-differentiation activity of the pan-Bcl-2 inhibitor, obatoclax. Obatoclax promoted differentiation of human AML HL-60 cells and triggered their apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Importantly, obatoclax-induced apoptosis was associated with leukemic cell differentiation. Moreover, decreased expression of Bcl-2 protein was observed in obatoclax-treated HL-60 cells. Furthermore, differentiation of these cells was accompanied by the loss of their proliferative capacity, as shown by G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. Taken together, these findings indicate that the anti-AML effects of obatoclax involve not only the induction of apoptosis but also differentiation of leukemic cells. Therefore, obatoclax represents a promising treatment for AML that warrants further exploration.


Biomedicines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanze Buhrmann ◽  
Parviz Shayan ◽  
Kishore Banik ◽  
Ajaikumar B. Kunnumakkara ◽  
Peter Kubatka ◽  
...  

Increasing lines of evidence suggest that chronic inflammation mediates most chronic diseases, including cancer. The transcription factor, NF-κB, has been shown to be a major regulator of inflammation and metastasis in tumor cells. Therefore, compounds or any natural agents that can inhibit NF-κB activation have the potential to prevent and treat cancer. However, the mechanism by which Calebin A, a component of turmeric, regulates inflammation and disrupts the interaction between HCT116 colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and multicellular tumor microenvironment (TME) is still poorly understood. The 3D-alginate HCT116 cell cultures in TME were treated with Calebin A, BMS-345541, and dithiothreitol (DTT) and examined for invasiveness, proliferation, and apoptosis. The mechanism of TME-induced malignancy of cancer cells was confirmed by phase contrast, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and DNA-binding assay. We found through DNA binding assay, that Calebin A inhibited TME-induced NF-κB activation in a dose-dependent manner. As a result of this inhibition, NF-κB phosphorylation and NF-κB nuclear translocation were down-modulated. Calebin A, or IκB-kinase (IKK) inhibitor (BMS-345541) significantly inhibited the direct interaction of nuclear p65 to DNA, and interestingly this interaction was reversed by DTT. Calebin A also suppressed the expression of NF-κB-promoted anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin), proliferation (Cyclin D1), invasion (MMP-9), metastasis (CXCR4), and down-regulated apoptosis (Caspase-3) gene biomarkers, leading to apoptosis in HCT116 cells. These results suggest that Calebin A can suppress multicellular TME-promoted CRC cell invasion and malignancy by inhibiting the NF-κB-promoting inflammatory pathway associated with carcinogenesis, underlining the potential of Calebin A for CRC treatment.


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