scholarly journals Dextran-Curcumin Nanosystems Inhibit Cell Growth and Migration Regulating the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Prostate Cancer Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7013
Author(s):  
Emilia Bevacqua ◽  
Manuela Curcio ◽  
Federica Saletta ◽  
Orazio Vittorio ◽  
Giuseppe Cirillo ◽  
...  

Functional nanocarriers which are able to simultaneously vectorize drugs to the site of interest and exert their own cytotoxic activity represent a significant breakthrough in the search for effective anticancer strategies with fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapeutics. Here, we propose previously developed, self-assembling dextran-curcumin nanoparticles for the treatment of prostate cancer in combination therapy with Doxorubicin (DOXO). Biological effectiveness was investigated by evaluating the cell viability in either cancer and normal cells, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptotic effect, interference with the cell cycle, and the ability to inhibit cell migration and reverse the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). The results proved a significant enhancement of curcumin efficiency upon immobilization in nanoparticles: IC50 reduced by a half, induction of apoptotic effect, and improved ROS production (from 67 to 134%) at low concentrations. Nanoparticles guaranteed a pH-dependent DOXO release, with a more efficient release in acidic environments. Finally, a synergistic effect between nanoparticles and Doxorubicin was demonstrated, with the free curcumin showing additive activity. Although in vivo studies are required to support the findings of this study, these preliminary in vitro data can be considered a proof of principle for the design of an effective therapy for prostate cancer treatment.

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1135-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Du ◽  
Xiu-heng Liu ◽  
Heng-cheng Zhu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Jin-zhuo Ning ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) have emerged as important post-transcriptional regulators in various cancers. miR-543 has been reported to play critical roles in hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer, however, the role of miR-543 in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer has not been fully understood. Methods: Expression of miR-543 and Raf Kinase Inhibitory Protein (RKIP) in clinical prostate cancer specimens, two prostate cancer cell lines, namely LNCAP and C4-2B, were determined. The effects of miR-543 on proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells were also investigated with both in vitro and in vivo studies. Results: miR-543 was found to be negatively correlated with RKIP expression in clinical tumor samples and was significantly upregulated in metastatic prostate cancer cell line C4-2B compared with parental LNCAP cells. Further studies identified RKIP as a direct target of miR-543. Overexpression of miR-543 downregulated RKIP expression and promoted the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells, whereas knockdown of miR-543 increased expression of RKIP and suppressed the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that miR-543 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of prostate cancer via targeting RKIP.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2947
Author(s):  
Fanny Bery ◽  
Mathilde Cancel ◽  
Maxime Guéguinou ◽  
Marie Potier-Cartereau ◽  
Christophe Vandier ◽  
...  

Therapeutic strategies for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer aim to target androgen receptor signaling. Despite initial survival benefits, treatment resistance invariably occurs, leading to lethal disease. Therapies targeting the androgen receptor can induce the emergence of a neuroendocrine phenotype and reactivate embryonic programs associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition. We recently reported that dysregulation of the calcium signal can induce the transcription factor Zeb1, a key determinant of cell plasticity during tumor progression. The aim of this study was to determine whether the androgen receptor-targeted treatment Enzalutamide could induce dysregulation of the calcium signal involved in the progression toward epithelial to mesenchymal transition and neuroendocrine differentiation, contributing to therapeutic escape. Our results show that Zeb1 and the SK3 potassium channel are overexpressed in vivo in neuroendocrine castration-resistant prostate cancer and in vitro in LNCaP cells neurodifferentiated after Enzalutamide treatment. Moreover, the neuroendocrine phenotype is associated with a deregulation of the expression of Orai calcium channels. We showed that Zeb1 and SK3 are critical drivers of neuroendocrine differentiation. Interestingly, Ohmline, an SK3 inhibitor, can prevent the expression of Zeb1 and neuroendocrine markers induced by Enzalutamide. This study offers new perspectives to increase hormone therapy efficacy and improve clinical outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianna Maria Santos ◽  
Fazle Hussain

Background: Reduced levels of magnesium can cause several diseases and increase cancer risk. Motivated by magnesium chloride’s (MgCl2) non-toxicity, physiological importance, and beneficial clinical applications, we studied its action mechanism and possible mechanical, molecular, and physiological effects in prostate cancer with different metastatic potentials.Methods: We examined the effects of MgCl2, after 24 and 48 hours, on apoptosis, cell migration, expression of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and V-H+-ATPase, myosin II (NMII) and the transcription factor NF Kappa B (NFkB) expressions.Results: MgCl2 induces apoptosis, and significantly decreases migration speed in cancer cells with different metastatic potentials.  MgCl2 reduces the expression of V-H+-ATPase and myosin II that facilitates invasion and metastasis, suppresses the expression of vimentin and increases expression of E-cadherin, suggesting a role of MgCl2 in reversing the EMT. MgCl2 also significantly increases the chromatin condensation and decreases NFkB expression.Conclusions: These results suggest a promising preventive and therapeutic role of MgCl2 for prostate cancer. Further studies should explore extending MgCl2 therapy to in vivo studies and other cancer types.Keywords: Magnesium chloride, prostate cancer, migration speed, V-H+-ATPase, and EMT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Tian ◽  
Bo Tang ◽  
Chengye Wang ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Jiakai Mao ◽  
...  

AbstractOncogenic ubiquitin-specific protease 22 (USP22) is implicated in a variety of tumours; however, evidence of its role and underlying molecular mechanisms in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development remains unknown. We collected paired tumour and adjacent non-tumour tissues from 57 intrahepatic CCA (iCCA) patients and evaluated levels of the USP22 gene and protein by qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Both the mRNA and protein were significantly upregulated, correlated with the malignant invasion and worse OS of iCCA. In cell cultures, USP22 overexpression increased CCA cell proliferation and mobility, and induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Upon an interaction, USP22 deubiquitinated and stabilized sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), in conjunction with Akt/ERK activation. In implantation xenografts, USP22 overexpression stimulated tumour growth and metastasis to the lungs of mice. Conversely, the knockdown by USP22 shRNA attenuated the tumour growth and invasiveness in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, SIRT1 overexpression reversed the USP22 functional deficiency, while the knockdown acetylated TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and Akt. Our present study defines USP22 as a poor prognostic predictor in iCCA that cooperates with SIRT1 and facilitates tumour development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5194
Author(s):  
Paola Pontrelli ◽  
Francesca Conserva ◽  
Rossella Menghini ◽  
Michele Rossini ◽  
Alessandra Stasi ◽  
...  

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease. Tubulointerstitial accumulation of lysine 63 (K63)-ubiquitinated (Ub) proteins is involved in the progression of DN fibrosis and correlates with urinary miR-27b-3p downregulation. We explored the renoprotective effect of an inhibitor of K63-Ub (NSC697923), alone or in combination with the ACE-inhibitor ramipril, in vitro and in vivo. Proximal tubular epithelial cells and diabetic DBA/2J mice were treated with NSC697923 and/or ramipril. K63-Ub protein accumulation along with α-SMA, collagen I and III, FSP-1, vimentin, p16INK4A expression, SA-α Gal staining, Sirius Red, and PAS staining were measured. Finally, we measured the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (uACR), and urinary miR-27b-3p expression in mice. NSC697923, both alone and in association with ramipril, in vitro and in vivo inhibited hyperglycemia-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition by significantly reducing K63-Ub proteins, α-SMA, collagen I, vimentin, FSP-1 expression, and collagen III along with tubulointerstitial and glomerular fibrosis. Treated mice also showed recovery of urinary miR-27b-3p and restored expression of p16INK4A. Moreover, NSC697923 in combination with ramipril demonstrated a trend in the reduction of uACR. In conclusion, we suggest that selective inhibition of K63-Ub, when combined with the conventional treatment with ACE inhibitors, might represent a novel treatment strategy to prevent the progression of fibrosis and proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy and we propose miR-27b-3p as a biomarker of treatment efficacy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Ping Xu ◽  
Xiao Mo ◽  
Ruixue Xia ◽  
Long Jiang ◽  
Chengfei Zhang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Potassium channels, encoded by more than seventy genes, are cell excitability transmembrane proteins and become evident to play essential roles in tumor biology. OBJECTIVE: The deregulation of potassium channel genes has been related to cancer development and patient prognosis. The objective of this study is to understand the role of potassium channels in lung cancer. METHODS: We examined all potassium channel genes and identified that KCNN4 is the most significantly overexpressed one in lung adenocarcinoma. The role and mechanism of KCNN4 in lung adenocarcinoma were further investigated by in vitro cell and molecular assay and in vivo mouse xenograft models. RESULTS: We revealed that the silencing of KCNN4 significantly inhibits cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity of lung adenocarcinoma. Further studies showed that knockdown of KCNN4 promotes cell apoptosis, induces cell cycle arrested in the S phase, and is associated with the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Most importantly, we demonstrated that KCNN4 regulates the progression of lung adenocarcinoma through P13K/AKT and MEK/ERK signaling pathways. The use of inhibitors that targeted AKT and ERK also significantly inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study investigated the function and mechanism of KCNN4 in lung adenocarcinoma. On this basis, this means that KCNN4 can be used as a tumor marker for lung adenocarcinoma and is expected to become an important target for a potential drug.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Damerell ◽  
Michael S. Pepper ◽  
Sharon Prince

AbstractSarcomas are complex mesenchymal neoplasms with a poor prognosis. Their clinical management is highly challenging due to their heterogeneity and insensitivity to current treatments. Although there have been advances in understanding specific genomic alterations and genetic mutations driving sarcomagenesis, the underlying molecular mechanisms, which are likely to be unique for each sarcoma subtype, are not fully understood. This is in part due to a lack of consensus on the cells of origin, but there is now mounting evidence that they originate from mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs). To identify novel treatment strategies for sarcomas, research in recent years has adopted a mechanism-based search for molecular markers for targeted therapy which has included recapitulating sarcomagenesis using in vitro and in vivo MSC models. This review provides a comprehensive up to date overview of the molecular mechanisms that underpin sarcomagenesis, the contribution of MSCs to modelling sarcomagenesis in vivo, as well as novel topics such as the role of epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition (EMT)/mesenchymal-to-epithelial-transition (MET) plasticity, exosomes, and microRNAs in sarcomagenesis. It also reviews current therapeutic options including ongoing pre-clinical and clinical studies for targeted sarcoma therapy and discusses new therapeutic avenues such as targeting recently identified molecular pathways and key transcription factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii9-ii9
Author(s):  
Tamara Lah Turnsek ◽  
Barbara Breznik ◽  
Bernarda Majc ◽  
Metka Novak ◽  
Andrej Porčnik ◽  
...  

Abstract Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an essential molecular and cellular process in physiologic processes and invasion of various types of carcinoma and glioblastoma (GBM) cells. EMT is activated and regulated by specific endogenous triggers in complex network of intercellular interactions and signaling pathways. The hallmark of cancer-linked EMT are intermediate states that show notable cell plasticity, characteristic of cancer stem cells (CSCs), including glioblastoma stem cells – GSCs. GSCs resistance to irradiation (IR) and temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy is responsible for early relapses, even at distant brain sites. As GSCs are mostly homing to their “niches” as slowly-dividing GSC-subtype, mimicking a proneural-like non- invasive phenotype PN-genotype, we assume that this, by undergoing an EMT-like transition, GSCs are-reprogrammed to an invasive mesenchymal (MES) GBs/GSCs phenotype in a processes, called PMT (1). However, it is not known, if and by which environmental cues within the niche, this transition of GSCs is induced in vivo. In this work, we are presenting the transriptome data obtained when we exposed GSC spheroids to irradiation alone, TMZ alone and to the combined treatment in vitro and compared their differential genetic fingerprints related to EMT/PMT transition to the GSCs PMT transition, when embedded in their natural microenvironment in the GBM organoid model. The differential gene expression upon GSCs therapeutic perturbation (when alone and vs in the tumoroid microenvironment) will reveal the effects of the major candidate genes, associated with micronevironmendt stromal cells and matrix are contributing their observed EMT/PMT transition of GSCs in vivo. •1. Majc, B., Sever, T., Zarić, M, Breznik, B., Turk, B, Lah Turnšek, T. Epithelial- to-mesenchymal transition as the driver of changing carcinoma and glioblastoma microenvironment. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2020.118782


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