Identification of key genes of hesperidin in inhibition of breast cancer stem cells by functional network analysis

Breast cancer therapy with classical chemotherapy is unable to eradicate breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Loss of p53 function causes growth and differentiation in cancer stem cells (CSCs); therefore, p53-targeted compounds can be developed for BCSCs-targeted drugs. Previously, hesperidin (HES), a citrus flavonoid, showed anticancer activities and increased efficacy of chemotherapy in several types of cancer in vitro and in vivo. This study was aimed to explore the key protein and molecular mechanism of hesperidin in the inhibition of BCSCs using bioinformatics and in vitro study. Bioinformatics analysis revealed about 75 potential therapeutic target proteins of HES in BCSCs (TH), in which TP53 was the only direct target protein (DTP) with a high degree score. Furthermore, the results of GO enrichment analysis showed that TH was taken part in the biological process of regulation of apoptosis and cell cycle. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis also showed that TH is involved in several pathways, including cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway. In vitro experiment results showed that HES inhibited cell proliferation, mammosphere, and a colony formation, and migration in on MCF-7 3D cells (mammospheres). HES induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells 3D. In addition, HES treatment reduced the mRNA level of p21 but increased the mRNA level of cyclin D1 and p53 in the mammosphere. HES inhibits BCSCs in mammospheres. More importantly, this study highlighted p53 as a key protein in inhibition of BCSCs by HES. Future studies on the molecular mechanism are needed to validate the results of this study.     

Exploring the mechanism of Cremastra Appendiculata (SUANPANQI) against breast cancer by network pharmacology and molecular docking

BackgroundSUANPANQI, the pseudo phosphorous stem of Cremastra appendiculata, is one of the most well-known traditional Chinese medicine, which has been shown to inhibit tumorigenesis in various human cancers. However, the underlying mechanism of SUANPANQI treatment against breast cancer (BRCA) remains unclear. In this study. we aim to investigate the bioactive compounds and mechanisms of SUANPANQI in the treatment of BRCA based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.MethodsThe compounds were collected from previous research. SwissADME was used to screen bioactive compounds. The targets corresponding to SUANPANQI and BRCA were obtained using MalaCards and SwissTargetPrediction. SUANPANQI-related and BRCA-related targets were found and then overlapped to get intersections, which represented potential anti-BRCA targets of SUANPANQI. The Cytoscape software was used to construct bioactive compounds targeting the BRCA network. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of the targets was extracted from the metascape database, then conducted using the Cluster Profiler package in R software. Protein-Protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING online database and analyzed using Cytoscape software. Pivotal genes were screened using the topological analysis, survival analysis, and pathological stage analysis. Molecular docking analysis was used to verify whether the bioactive compounds had a definite affinity with the pivotal targets.ResultsSixty-five bioactive compounds of SUANPANQI were involved with 225 predicted BRCA targets. Then, a compound-target network and a PPI network were constructed. The GO analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that SUANPANQI worked against BRCA via PI3K-Akt, Ras, FoxO, Rap1, and ErbB signaling pathways, etc. After topological analysis, survival analysis, and pathological stage analysis of the SUANPANQI potential targets against BRCA, 6 pivotal target genes (AR, HSP90AA1, MMP9, PGR, PTGS2, TNF) that were highly responsible for the therapeutic effects of SUANPANQI against BRCA were obtained. Molecular docking results showed that 6 bioactive compounds of SUANPANQI had strong binding efficiency with the 6 pivotal genes.ConclusionsThe present study clarifies the mechanism of SUANPANQI against BRCA through multiple targets and pathways, and provides evidence to support its clinical use.     

Exploring Charged Polymeric Cyclodextrins for Biomedical Applications

Over the years, cyclodextrin uses have been widely reviewed and their proprieties provide a very attractive approach in different biomedical applications. Cyclodextrins, due to their characteristics, are used to transport drugs and have also been studied as molecular chaperones with potential application in protein misfolding diseases. In this study, we designed cyclodextrin polymers containing different contents of β- or γ-cyclodextrin, and a different number of guanidinium positive charges. This allowed exploration of the influence of the charge in delivering a drug and the effect in the protein anti-aggregant ability. The polymers inhibit Amiloid β peptide aggregation; such an ability is modulated by both the type of CyD cavity and the number of charges. We also explored the effect of the new polymers as drug carriers. We tested the Doxorubicin toxicity in different cell lines, A2780, A549, MDA-MB-231 in the presence of the polymers. Data show that the polymers based on γ-cyclodextrin modified the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in the A2780 cell line.     

Discovery of Novel Sultone Fused Berberine Derivatives as Promising Tdp1 Inhibitors

A new type of berberine derivatives was obtained by the reaction of berberrubine with aliphatic sulfonyl chlorides. The new polycyclic compounds have a sultone ring condensed to C and D rings of a protoberberine core. The reaction conditions were developed to facilitate the formation of sultones with high yields without by-product formation. Thus, it was shown that the order of addition of reagents affects the composition of the reaction products: when sulfochlorides are added to berberrubine, their corresponding 9-O-sulfonates are predominantly formed; when berberrubine is added to pre-generated sulfenes, sultones are the only products. The reaction was shown to proceed stereo-selectively and the cycle configuration was confirmed by 2D NMR spectroscopy. The inhibitory activity of the synthesized sultones and their 12-brominated analogs against the DNA-repair enzyme tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (Tdp1), an important target for a potential antitumor therapy, was studied. All derivatives were active in the micromolar and submicromolar range, in contrast to the acyclic analogs and 9-O-sulfonates, which were inactive. The significance of the sultone cycle and bromine substituent in binding with the enzyme was confirmed using molecular modeling. The active inhibitors are mostly non-toxic to the HeLa cancer cell line, and several ligands show synergy with topotecan, a topoisomerase 1 poison in clinical use. Thus, novel berberine derivatives can be considered as candidates for adjuvant therapy against cancer.     

Recent Advancements on Immunomodulatory Mechanisms of Resveratrol in Tumor Microenvironment

Immunomodulation of the tumor microenvironment is emerging as an important area of research for the treatment of cancer patients. Several synthetic and natural agents are being investigated for their ability to enhance the immunogenic responses of immune cells present in the tumor microenvironment to impede tumor cell growth and dissemination. Among them, resveratrol, a stilbenoid found in red grapes and many other natural sources, has been studied extensively. Importantly, resveratrol has been shown to possess activity against various human diseases, including cancer. Mechanistically, resveratrol has been shown to regulate an array of signaling pathways and processes involving oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and several anticancer effects. Furthermore, recent research suggests that resveratrol can regulate various cellular signaling events including immune cell regulation, cytokines/chemokines secretion, and the expression of several other immune-related genes. In this review, we have summarized recent findings on resveratrol’s effects on immune regulatory cells and associated signaling in various cancer types. Numerous immunomodulatory effects of resveratrol suggest it may be useful in combination with other cancer therapies including immunotherapy for effective cancer management.     

Heavy Metals in Acrylic Color Paints Intended for the School Children Use: A Potential Threat to the Children of Early Age

Heavy metals are the harmful elements, regarded as carcinogens. Nevertheless, owing to their physical and chemical properties, they are still used in the production of several commercial products. Utilization of such products increases the chance for the exposure of heavy metals, some of them are categorized as probable human carcinogens (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Exposure of heavy metals to school children at early age can result severe life time health issues and high chance of emerging cancer. Thus, we have performed study relating to the presence of heavy metals in acrylic color paints commonly used by the school children. Acrylic paints of different colors were assayed for seven potential heavy metals manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) using microwave digestion and iCAPQ inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system. The optimized method including paints digestion reagents nitric acid (HNO₃, 65%, 5 mL) and hydrofluoric acid (HF, 40%, 2 mL) have offered excellent method performance with recovery values ranged between 99.33% and 105.67%. The elements were identified in all of the analyzed samples with concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 372.59 µg/g. Cd constitutes the lower percentage (0.05%), whereas Zn constitutes high ratio contribution which was tremendously high (68.33%). Besides, the paints contamination was also color specific, with considerably total heavy metal concentrations found in brunt umber (526.57 µg/g) while scarlet color (12.62 µg/g) contained lower amounts. The outcomes of our investigation highlight the necessity for guidelines addressing the heavy metals in acrylic color paints intended for the school children usage.     

Clinical Perspectives of Theranostics

Theranostics is a precision medicine which integrates diagnostic nuclear medicine and radionuclide therapy for various cancers throughout body using suitable tracers and treatment that target specific biological pathways or receptors. This review covers traditional theranostics for thyroid cancer and pheochromocytoma with radioiodine compounds. In addition, recent theranostics of radioimmunotherapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and treatment of bone metastasis using bone seeking radiopharmaceuticals are described. Furthermore, new radiopharmaceuticals for prostatic cancer and pancreatic cancer have been added. Of particular, F-18 Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is often used for treatment monitoring and estimating patient outcome. A recent clinical study highlighted the ability of alpha-radiotherapy with high linear energy transfer (LET) to overcome treatment resistance to beta--particle therapy. Theranostics will become an ever-increasing part of clinical nuclear medicine.     

Betulinic Acid Affects the Energy-Related Proteomic Profiling in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cells

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with a 5-year survival rate of <8%. Therefore, finding new treatment strategies against PDAC cells is an imperative issue. Betulinic acid (BA), a plant-derived natural compound, has shown great potential to combat cancer owing to its versatile physiological functions. In this study, we observed the impacts of BA on the cell viability and migratory ability of PDAC cell lines, and screened differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) by an LC-MS/MS-based proteomics analysis. Our results showed that BA significantly inhibited the viability and migratory ability of PDAC cells under a relatively low dosage without affecting normal pancreatic cells. Moreover, a functional analysis revealed that BA-induced downregulation of protein clusters that participate in mitochondrial complex 1 activity and oxidative phosphorylation, which was related to decreased expressions of RNA polymerase mitochondrial (POLRMT) and translational activator of cytochrome c oxidase (TACO1), suggesting that the influence on mitochondrial function explains the effect of BA on PDAC cell growth and migration. In addition, BA also dramatically increased Apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) expression and decreased NLR family CARD domain-containing protein 4 (NLRC4) expression, which may be involved in the dampening of PDAC migration. Notably, altered expression patterns of APOA1 and NLRC4 indicated a favorable clinical prognosis of PDAC. Based on these findings, we identified potential proteins and pathways regulated by BA from a proteomics perspective, which provides a therapeutic window for PDAC.     

Cannabis-Derived Compounds Cannabichromene and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Interact and Exhibit Cytotoxic Activity against Urothelial Cell Carcinoma Correlated with Inhibition of Cell Migration and Cytoskeleton Organization

Cannabis sativa contains more than 500 constituents, yet the anticancer properties of the vast majority of cannabis compounds remains unknown. We aimed to identify cannabis compounds and their combinations presenting cytotoxicity against bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC), the most common urinary system cancer. An XTT assay was used to determine cytotoxic activity of C. sativa extracts on T24 and HBT-9 cell lines. Extract chemical content was identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to determine apoptosis and cell cycle, using stained F-actin and nuclei. Scratch and transwell assays were used to determine cell migration and invasion, respectively. Gene expression was determined by quantitative Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The most active decarboxylated extract fraction (F7) of high-cannabidiol (CBD) C. sativa was found to contain cannabichromene (CBC) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Synergistic interaction was demonstrated between CBC + THC whereas cannabinoid receptor (CB) type 1 and type 2 inverse agonists reduced cytotoxic activity. Treatments with CBC + THC or CBD led to cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. CBC + THC or CBD treatments inhibited cell migration and affected F-actin integrity. Identification of active plant ingredients (API) from cannabis that induce apoptosis and affect cell migration in UC cell lines forms a basis for pre-clinical trials for UC treatment.     

α-Trifluoromethyl Chalcones as Potent Anticancer Agents for Androgen Receptor-Independent Prostate Cancer

α-Trifluoromethyl chalcones were prepared and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines as well as five additional types of human tumor cell lines. The most potent chalcone 5 showed superior antitumor activity in vivo with both oral and intraperitoneal administration at 3 mg/kg. Cell-based mechanism of action studies demonstrated that 5 induced cell accumulation at sub-G1 and G2/M phases without interfering with microtubule polymerization. Furthermore, several cancer cell growth-related proteins were identified by using chalcone 5 as a bait for the affinity purification of binding proteins.