scholarly journals Glucose-deprivation increases thyroid cancer cells sensitivity to metformin

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 919-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios Bikas ◽  
Kirk Jensen ◽  
Aneeta Patel ◽  
John Costello ◽  
Dennis McDaniel ◽  
...  

Metformin inhibits thyroid cancer cell growth. We sought to determine if variable glucose concentrations in medium alter the anti-cancer efficacy of metformin. Thyroid cancer cells (FTC133 and BCPAP) were cultured in high-glucose (20 mM) and low-glucose (5 mM) medium before treatment with metformin. Cell viability and apoptosis assays were performed. Expression of glycolytic genes was examined by real-time PCR, western blot, and immunostaining. Metformin inhibited cellular proliferation in high-glucose medium and induced cell death in low-glucose medium. In low-, but not in high-glucose medium, metformin induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, and oncosis. At micromolar concentrations, metformin induced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase and blocked p-pS6 in low-glucose medium. Metformin increased the rate of glucose consumption from the medium and prompted medium acidification. Medium supplementation with glucose reversed metformin-inducible morphological changes. Treatment with an inhibitor of glycolysis (2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG)) increased thyroid cancer cell sensitivity to metformin. The combination of 2-DG with metformin led to cell death. Thyroid cancer cell lines were characterized by over-expression of glycolytic genes, and metformin decreased the protein level of pyruvate kinase muscle 2 (PKM2). PKM2 expression was detected in recurrent thyroid cancer tissue samples. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the glucose concentration in the cellular milieu is a factor modulating metformin's anti-cancer activity. These data suggest that the combination of metformin with inhibitors of glycolysis could represent a new strategy for the treatment of thyroid cancer.

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 691-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette J. E. Sloot ◽  
Katrin Rabold ◽  
Thomas Ulas ◽  
Dennis M. De Graaf ◽  
Bas Heinhuis ◽  
...  

Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (9) ◽  
pp. 4352-4361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen-Xian Du ◽  
Hua-Qin Wang ◽  
Hai-Yan Zhang ◽  
Da-Xin Gao

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is cytotoxic to most thyroid cancer cell lines, including those originating from anaplastic carcinomas, implying TRAIL as a promising therapeutic agent against thyroid cancers. However, signal transduction in TRAIL-mediated apoptosis is not clearly understood. In addition to its well-known glycolytic functions, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a multifunctional protein, including its surprising role as a mediator for cell death. In this study we explored the involvement of GAPDH in TRAIL-mediated thyroid cancer cell death. In follicular undifferentiated thyroid cells, S-nitrosylation and nuclear translocation of GAPDH appear to mediate TRAIL-induced cell death at least partially, as evidenced by pretreatment with N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, a competitive nitric oxide synthase inhibitor that partially but significantly attenuated TRAIL-induced apoptosis through the reduction of S-nitrosylation and nuclear translocation of GAPDH. In addition, GAPDH small interfering RNA partially prevented the apoptotic effect of TRAIL, although TRAIL-induced nitric oxide synthase stimulation and production of nitric oxide were not attenuated. Furthermore, nuclear localization of GAPDH was observed in another thyroid cancer cell line, KTC2, which is also sensitive to TRAIL, but not in those TRAIL insensitive cell lines: ARO, KTC1, and KTC3. These data indicate that nitric oxide-mediated S-nitrosylation of GAPDH and subsequent nuclear translocation of GAPDH might function as a mediator of TRAIL-induced cell death in thyroid cancer cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Iitaka ◽  
S Kakinuma ◽  
S Fujimaki ◽  
I Oosuga ◽  
T Fujita ◽  
...  

Zinc at concentrations of 150, microM or higher induced necrosis as well as apoptosis in thyroid cancer cell lines. Necrosis was induced by zinc in a dose-dependent manner, whereas apoptosis did not increase at higher concentrations of zinc. The expression of the antiapoptotic protein phosphorylated Bad was markedly increased, whereas the expression of the proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bad decreased following Zn(2+) exposure. Zn(2+) induced rapid degradation of IkappaB, and an increase in the binding of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). These observations indicate that antiapoptotic pathways were activated in thyroid cancer cells following exposure to Zn(2+). This may be a self-defence mechanism against apoptosis and may underlie the general resistance of thyroid cancer cells to apoptotic stimuli. Zinc may be a potential cytotoxic agent for the treatment of thyroid cancer.


2013 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 2502-2512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Frasca ◽  
Veronica Vella ◽  
Maria Luisa Nicolosi ◽  
Rosa Linda Messina ◽  
Fiorenza Gianì ◽  
...  

Context: Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas are refractory to common anticancer therapies, and novel inhibitors are being tested in these deadly malignancies. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase represents an attractive target for treatment because it is up-regulated in thyroid cancer and plays a role in cancer progression. However, EGFR inhibitors have provided poor results in thyroid carcinomas. Objective: We evaluated the possible mechanism underlying the resistance of thyroid cancer cells to EGFR inhibitors. Design: We tested the effect of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib in a panel of thyroid cancer cell lines. Results: We found that in most of the cell lines, although gefitinib inhibited EGFR phosphorylation, it was poorly effective in reducing cell viability. gefitinib, however, was able to inhibit epidermal growth factor-induced cell migration and matrix invasion. In most thyroid cancer cell lines, gefitinib significantly inhibited Akt phosphorylation by inhibiting EGFR activation, but it had limited or no effect on ERK phosphorylation. The poor cell response to gefitinib was associated with genetic alterations, leading to constitutive activation of the ERK pathway, including BRAF(V600E) and HRASG12A/Q61R mutations and RET/PTC1 rearrangement. When BRAF(V600E)-positive thyroid cancer cells were incubated with the specific BRAF inhibitor PLX4032, sensitivity to gefitinib was restored. Similar results were obtained with rat sarcoma and RET/papillary thyroid cancer inhibitors. Conclusions: These results indicate that thyroid cancer resistance to gefitinib is due to the constitutive activation of the mitogenic pathway by either signals downstream of EGFR or other tyrosine kinase receptors. This resistance can be overcome by the combined use of selective inhibitors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 2077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Wächter ◽  
Annette Wunderlich ◽  
Brandon Greene ◽  
Silvia Roth ◽  
Moritz Elxnat ◽  
...  

Background: The MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)–inhibitor selumetinib led to increased radioiodine uptake and retention in a subgroup of patients suffering from radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC). We aimed to analyse the effect of selumetinib on the expression of sodium iodide symporter (NIS; SLC5A5) and associated miRNAs in thyroid cancer cells. Methods: Cytotoxicity was assessed by viability assay in TPC1, BCPAP, C643 and 8505C thyroid cancer cell lines. NIS, hsa-let-7f-5p, hsa-miR-146b-5p, and hsa-miR-146b-3p expression was determined by quantitative RT-PCR. NIS protein was detected by Western blot. Radioiodine uptake was performed with a Gamma counter. Results: Selumetinib caused a significant reduction of cell viability in all thyroid cancer cell lines. NIS transcript was restored by selumetinib in all cell lines. Its protein level was found up-regulated in TPC1 and BCPAP cells and down-regulated in C643 and 8505C cells after treatment with selumetinib. Treatment with selumetinib caused a down-regulation of hsa-let-7f-5p, hsa-miR-146b-5p and hsa-miR-146b-3p in TPC1 and BCPAP cells. In 8505C cells, a stable or down-regulated hsa-miR-146b-5p was detected after 1h and 48h of treatment. C643 cells showed stable or up-regulated hsa-let-7f-5p, hsa-miR-146b-5p and hsa-miR-146b-3p. Selumetinib treatment caused an increase of radioiodine uptake, which was significant in TPC1 cells. Conclusions: The study shows for the first time that selumetinib restores NIS by the inhibition of its related targeting miRNAs. Further studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanism activated by hsa-miR-146b-5p, hsa-miR-146b-3p and hsa-let7f-5p to stabilise NIS. Restoration of NIS could represent a milestone for the treatment of advanced RR-DTC.


Endocrine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changxin Jing ◽  
Yanyan Li ◽  
Zhifei Gao ◽  
Rong Wang

Abstract Purpose Koningic acid (KA), a sesquiterpene lactone, has been identified as an antimicrobial agent. Recent studies have revealed KA’s antitumor activities in colorectal cancer, leukemia, and lung cancer. However, its antitumor effect in thyroid cancer remains largely unknown. Methods The effects of KA on proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis in thyroid cancer cells were assessed by MTT assay and flow cytometry. After KA treatment, the glycolysis ability of thyroid cancer cells was detected by ECAR, and the glycolytic products and relative ATP levels were measured by ELISA. The underlying mechanisms of antineoplastic activity of KA in thyroid cancer were detected by Western blot. Finally, the antineoplastic activity in vivo was observed in Xenograft mouse models. Results KA inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and increased cell apoptosis in thyroid cancer cell lines in a dose and time-dependent manner. We verified that the glycolysis ability, ATP production, and lactic acid level in thyroid cancer cells had experienced an extensive decrease after KA treatment. In addition, lactic acid, the metabolite of glycolysis, could weaken the effect of KA on its colony formation ability in C643 thyroid cancer cell line. Our data also showed that KA kills thyroid cancer cells by inhibiting the MAPK/ERK pathway and decreasing Bcl-2 level. By contrast with the control group, the growth of xenograft tumor was dramatically inhibited by KA without obvious drug side effects. Conclusion Our data demonstrate that KA kills thyroid cancer cell lines by inhibiting their glycolysis ability, the MAPK/ERK pathway and the Bcl-2 level and suggest that KA has potential clinical value in thyroid cancer therapy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changxin Jing ◽  
Yanyan Li ◽  
Zhifei Gao ◽  
Peng Hou ◽  
Rong Wang

Abstract Purpose: Koningic acid (KA), a sesquiterpene lactone, has been identified as an antimicrobial agent. Recent studies have revealed KA’s antitumor activities in colorectal cancer, leukemia, and lung cancer. However, its antitumor effect in thyroid cancer remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is to test the therapeutic potential of KA in thyroid cancer and explore the mechanisms underlying antitumor effects.Methods: We examined the effects of KA on proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis, ATP deprivation, and xenograft tumor growth in thyroid cancer cells.Results: KA inhibited thyroid cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, and induced cell apoptosis in a dose and time-dependent manner. Our data also showed that KA caused a rapid, extensive decrease of ATP levels in thyroid cancer cells. Growth of xenograft tumor derived from the thyroid cancer cell line C643 in nude mice was significantly inhibited by KA. Importantly, KA treatment did not cause significant liver and kidney damage in mice compared with the control group.Conclusion: KA may be used as an effective and safe agent for thyroid cancer treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Zhongqin Gong ◽  
Lingbin Xue ◽  
Minghui Wei ◽  
Zhimin Liu ◽  
Alexander C. Vlantis ◽  
...  

Papillary thyroid cancer can dedifferentiate into a much more aggressive form of thyroid cancer, namely into anaplastic thyroid cancer. Nrf2 is commonly activated in papillary thyroid cancer, whereas its role in anaplastic thyroid cancer has not been fully explored. In this study, we used two cell lines and an animal model to examine the function of Nrf2 in anaplastic thyroid cancer. The role of Nrf2 in anaplastic thyroid cancer was investigated by a series of functional studies in two anaplastic thyroid cancer cell lines, FRO and KAT-18, and further confirmed with an in vivo study. The impact of Nrf2 on the sensitivity of anaplastic thyroid cancer cells to lenvatinib was also investigated to evaluate its potential clinical implication. We found that the expression of Nrf2 was significantly higher in anaplastic thyroid cancer cell line cells than in papillary thyroid cancer cells or normal control cells. Knockdown of Nrf2 in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells inhibited their viability and clonogenicity, reduced their migration and invasion ability in vitro, and suppressed their tumorigenicity in vivo. Mechanistically, knockdown of Nrf2 decreased the expression of Notch1. Lastly, knockdown of Nrf2 increased the sensitivity of anaplastic thyroid cancer cells to lenvatinib. As knockdown of Nrf2 reduced the metastatic and invasive ability of anaplastic thyroid cancer cells by inhibiting the Notch 1 signaling pathway and increased the cancer cell sensitivity to lenvatinib, Nrf2 could be a promising therapeutic target for patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 2047-2059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Yan ◽  
Haiying Su ◽  
Xiyuan Song ◽  
Huiling Cao ◽  
Lingling Kong ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy in human endocrine system. Smad ubiquitination regulatory factor 1 (Smurf1) is an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase in ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Smurf1 on thyroid cancer proliferation and metastasis, as well as underlying potential mechanism. Methods: The expression levels of Smurf1 in thyroid tumor tissues and thyroid cancer cells were detected by western blotting and qRT-PCR. Then, the effects of up-regulation or down-regulation of Smurf1 on thyroid cancer cell viability, migration, invasion, proliferation and apoptosis were measured using trypan blue exclusion assay, two-chamber migration (invasion) assay, cell colony formation assay and Guava Nexin assay, respectively. The ubiquitination of kisspeptin-1 (KISS-1) was assessed by protein ubiquitination assay. Finally, the effects of KISS-1 overexpression on activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway, as well as thyroid cancer cell viability, migration, invasion, proliferation and apoptosis were also detected, respectively. Results: Smurf1 was highly expressed in thyroid tumor tissues and thyroid cancer cells. Up-regulation of Smurf1 promoted the viability, migration, invasion and proliferation of thyroid cancer cells. Knockdown of Smurf1 had opposite effects. Moreover, smurf1 promoted the ubiquitination of KISS-1. Overexpression of KISS-1 inactivated NF-κB pathway, suppressed thyroid cancer cell viability, migration, invasion and proliferation, and induced cell apoptosis. Conclusion: Up-regulation of Smurf1 exerted important roles in thyroid cancer formation and development by promoting thyroid cancer proliferation and metastasis. The ubiquitin-dependent degradation of KISS-1 induced by Smurf1 and the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway might be involved in this process. Smurf1 could be an effective therapy target and biomarker for thyroid cancer treatment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Husref Rizvanovic ◽  
A Daniel Pinheiro ◽  
Kyoungtae Kim ◽  
Johnson Thomas

AbstractBackgroundAlthough differentiated thyroid cancer has good prognosis, radioactive iodine (RAI) resistant thyroid cancer is difficult to treat. Current therapies for progressive RAI resistant thyroid cancer are not very effective. There is an unmet need for better therapeutic agents in this scenario. Studies have shown that aggressive thyroid cancers express matrix metalloproteinase −2 (MMP-2). Chlorotoxin is a selective MMP-2 agonist. Given that Saporin is a well-known ribosome-inactivating protein used for anti-cancer treatment, we hypothesized that Chlorotoxin-conjugated Saporin (CTX-SAP) would inhibit the growth of aggressive thyroid cancer cell lines expressing MMP-2.MethodsThe ML-1 thyroid cancer cell line was used for this study because it is known to express MMP-2. ML-1 cells were treated with a toxin consisting of biotinylated Chlorotoxin bonded with a secondary conjugate of Streptavidin-ZAP containing Saporin (CTX-SAP) from 0 to 600 nM for 72 hours. Then, cell viability was measured via XTT assay at an absorbance of A450-630. Control experiments were set up using Chlorotoxin and Saporin individually at the same varying concentrations.ResultsAfter 7 hours of incubation, there was a statistically significant reduction in cell viability with increasing concentrations of the CTX-SAP conjugate (F=4.286, p=0.0057). In particular, the cell viability of ML-1 cells was decreased by 49.77% with the treatment of 600 nM of CTX-SAP (F=44.24), and the reduction in cell viability was statistically significant (Dunnett’s test p<0.0001). In contrast, individual Chlorotoxin or Saporin in increasing concentrations had no significant effect on cell viability using similar assay.ConclusionThis in vitro study demonstrated the efficacy of a CTX-SAP conjugate in reducing the viability of ML-1 thyroid cancer cells in a dose dependent manner. Further studies are needed to delineate the effectiveness of CTX-SAP in the treatment of aggressive thyroid cancer. Our study points towards MMP-2 as a potential target for RAI-resistant thyroid cancer.


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