scholarly journals Qingjie Fuzheng Granule Inhibits EMT and Induces Autophagy in Colorectal Cancer via mTOR Signaling Pathways

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Zhu ◽  
Yongan Chen ◽  
Minghe Lin ◽  
Bin Huang ◽  
Jiumao Lin

Qingjie Fuzheng granule (QFG) is a traditional Chinese medicinal formula used extensively as an alternative medicine for cancer treatment, including colorectal cancer (CRC). But its pathological mechanism in CRC is unclear. To study antitumor treatment effects and mechanisms of QFG, we established a CRC HCT-116 xenograft mouse model and assessed QFG on EMT and autophagy progression in vivo. The mice were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 10 each group) and treated with intragastric administration of 1 g/kg of QFG or saline 6 days a week for 28 days (4 weeks). Body weight was measured every other day with electronic balance. At the end of the treatment, the tumor weight was measured. Immunohistochemical (IHC) and western blot (WB) assay were used to detect the expression level of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and TWIST1 to evaluate the effect of QFG on tumor cell EMT progression. IHC and WB assay were also used to detect the expression level of beclin-1, LC3-II, and p62 to evaluate the effect of QFG on tumor cell autophagy progression. Furthermore, the expression level of relative proteins in mTOR pathway was detected by WB assay to investigate the mechanism of QFG effect on CRC. We discovered that QFG inhibited the rise of tumor weight while it had no effect on mice body weight, which proved that QFG could inhibit CRC growth progression without significant side effects in vivo. In addition, QFG treatment inhibited EMT and induced autophagy progression in CRC tumor cells, including that QFG upregulated the expression of E-cadherin, beclin-1, and LC3-II, but downregulated the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, TWIST1, and p62. And, QFG decreased the ratio of p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, and p-mTOR/mTOR, but increased the ratio of p-AMPK/AMPK. All findings from this research proved that QFG can induce autophagy and inhibit EMT progression in CRC via regulating the mTOR signaling pathway.

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 2045
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gornowicz ◽  
Anna Szymanowska ◽  
Mariusz Mojzych ◽  
Robert Czarnomysy ◽  
Krzysztof Bielawski ◽  
...  

Cancer therapy is one of the most important challenges of modern medical and chemical sciences. Among the many methods of combating cancer, chemotherapy plays a special role. Imperfect modern chemotherapy justifies continuing the search for new, more effective, and safe drugs. Sulfonamides are the classic group of chemotherapeutic drugs with a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity. Recent literature reports show that sulfonamide derivatives have anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. The aim of the study was to synthesize a novel 1,2,4-triazine sulfonamide derivative and check its anticancer potential in DLD-1 and HT-29 colon cancer cells. The biological studies included MTT assay, DNA biosynthesis, cell cycle analysis, Annexin V binding assay, ethidium bromide/acridine orange staining, and caspase-8, -9, and -3/7 activity. The concentrations of important molecules (sICAM-1, mTOR, Beclin-1, cathepsin B) involved in the pathogenesis and poor prognosis of colorectal cancer were also evaluated by ELISA. We demonstrated that the novel compound was able to induce apoptosis through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways and was capable of decreasing sICAM-1, mTOR, cathepsin B concentrations, whereas increased Beclin-1 concentration was detected in both colon cancer cell lines. The novel compound represents promising multi-targeted potential in colorectal cancer, but further in vivo examinations are needed to confirm the claim.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 1969-1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangyu Zhu ◽  
Si-ping Ma ◽  
Dongxiang Yang ◽  
Yanlong Liu ◽  
Yong-peng Wang ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been associated with a variety of cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we investigated anomalous miR-142-3p expression and its possible functional consequences in primary CRC samples. Methods: The expression of miR-142-3p was measured by quantitative RT-PCR in 116 primary CRC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues. The effect of miR-142-3p up- or down-regulation in CRC-derived cells was evaluated in vitro by cell viability and colony formation assays and in vivo by growth assays in xenografted nude mice. Results: Using quantitative RT-PCR, we found that miR-142-3p was down-regulated in 78.4 % (91/116) of the primary CRC tissues tested when compared to the adjacent non-tumor tissues. We also found that the miR-142-3p mimic reduced in vitro cell viability and colony formation by inducing cell cycle arrest in CRC-derived cells, and inhibited in vivo tumor cell growth in xenografted nude mice. Inversely, we found that the miR-142-3p inhibitor increased the viability and colony forming capacity of CRC-derived cells and tumor cell growth in xenografted nude mice. In addition, we identified CDK4 as a potential target of miR-142-3p by predictions and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Concordantly, we found that miR-142-3p mimics and inhibitors could decrease and increase CDK4 protein levels in CRC-derived cells, respectively. Conclusion: From our results we conclude that miR-142-3p may act as a tumor suppressor in CRC and may serve as a tool for miRNA-based CRC therapy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Soto ◽  
Masahiro Yanagisawa ◽  
Laura A. Marlow ◽  
John A. Copland ◽  
Edith A. Perez ◽  
...  

p120 catenin regulates the activity of the Rho family guanosine triphosphatases (including RhoA and Rac1) in an adhesion-dependent manner. Through this action, p120 promotes a sessile cellular phenotype when associated with epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) or a motile phenotype when associated with mesenchymal cadherins. In this study, we show that p120 also exerts significant and diametrically opposing effects on tumor cell growth depending on E-cadherin expression. Endogenous p120 acts to stabilize E-cadherin complexes and to actively promote the tumor-suppressive function of E-cadherin, potently inhibiting Ras activation. Upon E-cadherin loss during tumor progression, the negative regulation of Ras is relieved; under these conditions, endogenous p120 promotes transformed cell growth both in vitro and in vivo by activating a Rac1–mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway normally activated by the adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix. These data indicate that both E-cadherin and p120 are important regulators of tumor cell growth and imply roles for both proteins in chemoresistance and targeted therapeutics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 709-709
Author(s):  
Shushan Rajesh Rana ◽  
Cristina Espinosa ◽  
Rebecca Ruhl ◽  
Latroy Robinson ◽  
Charles R. Thomas ◽  
...  

709 Background: Radiation dose escalation causes significant changes within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to enhance tumor cell death including altered microRNA (miR) levels. Among endothelial miRs, we identified miR-15a exhibits dose dependent differential regulation. miR-15a targets a key determinant of endothelial cell (EC) radiosensitivity, acid sphingomyelinase (SMPD1), an enzyme that drives rapid EC apoptosis via enhanced ceramide production. In colorectal cancer (CRC) (n = 182 patients), high miR-15a is associated with worse 5-year progression free and overall survival. miR-15a also affects immune function by promoting a pro-inflammatory TME milieu. We hypothesized miR-15a inhibition will increase tumor cell death through preservation of EC SMPD1, enhancing endothelial apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine upregulation. Methods: Using TaqMan Human miR panels, miRs were profiled in human umbilical vein ECs (HUVECs) after single 2 vs 20 Gy treatment. miR-target prediction programs identified miRs targeting SMPD1. In vitro gain and loss of function studies were performed with miR transfections in HUVECs and CT26 CRC cells. CXCL10 expression was measured by qRT-PCR. Caspase 1 activation was measured by a luminescence based assay. A CT26 syngeneic CRC flank murine model was used for in vivo miR-15a inhibitor assessment administered via tail vein injection unencapsulated or encapsulated in vascular-targeted 7C1 nanoparticles. Results: Among miRs targeting SMPD1, miR-15a exhibited the greatest differential change in HUVECs 6h post-IR between low and high dose radiation. Lower dose was associated with higher miR-15a and vice versa. Further, miR-15a levels inversely correlated with SMPD1. Exogenous miR-15a significantly decreased SMPD1 mRNA and protein. miR-15a inhibition decreased proliferation in both HUVECs and CT26 cells and increased apoptosis when combined with radiation. miR-15a inhibition increased endothelial CXCL10 expression and caspase-1 activation. Both systemic and vascular-targeted miR-15a inhibitor significantly diminished tumor growth in vivo. Conclusions: Our data suggests inhibition of vascular miR-15a is sufficient to decrease tumor growth likely due to rescue of endothelial SMPD1.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangdong Tian ◽  
Dongming Liu ◽  
Dejun Zhou ◽  
Lisha Qi ◽  
Zhiqiang Han ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Reactivation of dormant tumor cells is a critical step in the recurrence of many cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Polo-like kinases 4 (PLK4), a central regulator of the cell cycle and proliferation, is a validated oncogene in tumorigenesis. However, the roles of PLK4 in tumor cell dormancy and reactivation still need to be further explored.Methods: The expression level of PLK4 was determined by immunohistochemical staining, Western blotting (WB) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). PLK4-dependent clinicopathological risk factors and the prognosis of CRC were characterized with 122 clinical samples. The roles of PLK4 in tumor cell dormancy, cell cycle progression, proliferation and invasion were determined by molecular and cell biology methods in vitro and in vivo.Results: The expression of PLK4 was dramatically increased in CRCs and positively correlated with aggressive tumor behavior and clinicopathological risk factors. Downregulation of PLK4 expression contributed to restoring phenotypically aggressive tumor cells to a quiescent state, and this transformation was likely regulated by mesenchymal-to-epithelial transformation (MET) progression in vitro and in vivo.Conclusions: This study elucidates the mechanisms involving PLK4 depletion in the induction and maintenance of CRC dormancy, which are very important in terms of both clinical significance and application value.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Huimin Sun ◽  
Wanyuan Chen ◽  
Xianglei He

Abstract Background: Angiogenic factor with G-patch and FHA domains 1 (AGGF1) can promote angiogenesis and increasing evidence has highlighted the important roles of AGGF1 in tumorigenesis. However, the differential expression as well as the biological functions of AGGF1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain to be established. The purpose of the present study is therefore to identify the effect of AGGF1 on prognosis and metastasis in CRC patients. Methods: The expression level of AGGF1 in CRC was examined by qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray containing 236 CRC specimens and paired normal mucosae. And the effect of AGGF1 on CRC cell malignance was investigated in our established stable AGGF1 upregulated and knockdown CRC cell lines. Results: The expression level of AGGF1 in CRC tissue was not significantly different to that in adjacent normal mucosa at the mRNA level. However, at the protein level, AGGF1 expression in CRC tissues was significantly higher than in paired normal mucosa, which showed a clear association with TNM stage, AJCC stage, vascular invasion, and differentiation. Further, we revealed an apparent correlation between AGGF1 expression and poorer disease-free survival and overall survival of CRC patients. In addition, we discovered that AGGF1 significantly promoted CRC cell wound healing, migration, and invasion in vitro and distant metastasis in vivo. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the aberrant overexpression of AGGF1 in CRC and provides a basis on which to explore the application of AGGF1 as a potential therapeutic target for CRC patients, especially for CRC patients with distant metastasis.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5005
Author(s):  
Boris Jakopovic ◽  
Nada Oršolić ◽  
Sandra Kraljević Pavelić

Due to frequent drug resistance and/or unwanted side-effects during conventional and targeted cancer treatments, development of multi-target therapies is an important research field. Medicinal mushrooms’ isolated specific compounds and mushroom extracts have been already proven as non-toxic multi-target inhibitors of specific oncogenic pathways, as well as potent immunomodulators. However, research on antitumor effects of multiple-species extract mixtures was limited so far. The aim of this study was therefore, a study of medicinal mushroom preparations AGARIKON.1 and AGARIKON PLUS on colorectal cell lines in vitro and colorectal mice model in vivo. We found a significant antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effect of tested medicinal mushroom preparations on colorectal (HCT-116, SW620) tumor cell lines, while the effect on human fibroblast cell line (WI-38) was proliferative emphasizing a specificity towards tumor cell lines. We further investigated the effect of the medicinal mushroom preparations AGARIKON.1 and AGARIKON PLUS in various combinations with conventional cytostatic drug 5-fluorouracil in the advanced metastatic colorectal cancer mouse model CT26.WT. AGARIKON.1 and AGARIKON PLUS exhibited immunostimulatory and antiangiogenic properties in vivo which resulted in significantly increased survival and reduction in tumor volume. The antitumor effects of AGARIKON.1 and AGARIKON PLUS, with or without 5-fluorouracil, are based on M1 macrophage polarization enhancement, inhibition of M2 and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) polarization, effects on T helper cell Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine profiles, direct inhibition of CT26.WT tumor growth, inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) and metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP-2 and MMP-9) modulation. The administration of AGARIKON.1 and AGARIKON PLUS did not show genotoxic effect. This data provides good basis for an expanded translational study.


Author(s):  
Lin Chen ◽  
Azeem Alam ◽  
Aurelie Pac-Soo ◽  
Qian Chen ◽  
You Shang ◽  
...  

AbstractEpithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. This study aims to investigate the effects of valproic acid (VPA) on EMT in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, EMT was induced by the administration of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in a human alveolar epithelial cell line (A549). The dose effects of VPA (0.1–3 mM) on EMT were subsequently evaluated at different timepoints. VPA (1 mM) was applied prior to the administration of TGF-β1 and the expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, p-Smad2/3 and p-Akt was assessed. In addition, the effects of a TGF-β type I receptor inhibitor (A8301) and PI3K-Akt inhibitor (LY294002) on EMT were evaluated. In vivo, the effects of VPA on bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis were evaluated by assessing variables such as survival rate, body weight and histopathological changes, whilst the expression of E-cadherin and vimentin in lung tissue was also evaluated. A8301 and LY294002 were used to ascertain the cellular signaling pathways involved in this model. The administration of VPA prior to TGF-β1 in A549 cells prevented EMT in both a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment with VPA downregulated the expression of both p-Smad2/3 and p-Akt. A8301 administration increased the expression of E-cadherin and reduced the expression of vimentin. LY294002 inhibited Akt phosphorylation induced by TGF-β1 but failed to prevent EMT. Pretreatment with VPA both increased the survival rate and prevented the loss of body weight in mice with pulmonary fibrosis. Interestingly, both VPA and A8301 prevented EMT and facilitated an improvement in lung structure. Overall, pretreatment with VPA attenuated the development of pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting EMT in mice, which was associated with Smad2/3 deactivation but without Akt cellular signal involvement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongzhen Bai ◽  
Jianwei Wang ◽  
Chi Uyen Phan ◽  
Qi Chen ◽  
Xiurong Hu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe malignancy of colorectal cancer (CRC) is connected with inflammation and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), but effective therapeutics for CRC are limited. To integrate therapeutic targeting with tumor microenvironment (TME) reprogramming, here we develop biocompatible, non-covalent channel-type nanoparticles (CNPs) that are fabricated through host-guest complexation and self-assemble of mannose-modified γ-cyclodextrin (M-γ-CD) with Regorafenib (RG), RG@M-γ-CD CNPs. In addition to its carrier role, M-γ-CD serves as a targeting device and participates in TME regulation. RG@M-γ-CD CNPs attenuate inflammation and inhibit TAM activation by targeting macrophages. They also improve RG’s anti-tumor effect by potentiating kinase suppression. In vivo application shows that the channel-type formulation optimizes the pharmacokinetics and bio-distribution of RG. In colitis-associated cancer and CT26 mouse models, RG@M-γ-CD is proven to be a targeted, safe and effective anti-tumor nanomedicine that suppresses tumor cell proliferation, lesions neovascularization, and remodels TME. These findings indicate RG@M-γ-CD CNPs as a potential strategy for CRC treatment.


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