Analysis of metabolome changes in the HepG2 cells of apatinib treatment by using the NMR-based metabolomics

The Expectation and Reality of the HepG2 Core Metabolic Profile

To represent the composition of small molecules circulating in HepG2 cells and the formation of the "core" of characteristic metabolites that often attract researchers' attention, we conducted a meta-analysis of 56 datasets obtained through metabolomic profiling via mass spectrometry and NMR. We highlighted the 288 most commonly studied compounds of diverse chemical nature and analyzed metabolic processes involving these small molecules. Building a complete map of the metabolome of a cell, which encompasses the diversity of possible impacts on it, is a severe challenge for the scientific community, which is faced not only with natural limitations of experimental technologies, but also with the absence of transparent and widely accepted standards for processing and presenting the obtained metabolomic data. Formulating our research design, we aimed to reveal metabolites crucial to the Hepg2 cell line, regardless of all chemical and/or physical impact factors. Unfortunately, the existing paradigm of data policy leads to a streetlight effect. When analyzing and reporting only target metabolites of interest, the community ignores the changes in the metabolomic landscape that hide many molecular secrets.

NMR-Based Metabolomics to Analyze the Effects of a Series of Monoamine Oxidases-B Inhibitors on U251 Cells

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a typical progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and with multiple possible pathogenesis. Among them, coumarin derivatives could be used as potential drugs as monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) inhibitors. Our lab has designed and synthesized coumarin derivatives based on MAO-B. In this study, we used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to accelerate the pharmacodynamic evaluation of candidate drugs for coumarin derivative research and development. We detailed alterations in the metabolic profiles of nerve cells with various coumarin derivatives. In total, we identified 58 metabolites and calculated their relative concentrations in U251 cells. In the meantime, the outcomes of multivariate statistical analysis showed that when twelve coumarin compounds were treated with U251cells, the metabolic phenotypes were distinct. In the treatment of different coumarin derivatives, there several metabolic pathways changed, including aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism and valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis. Our work documented how our coumarin derivatives affected the metabolic phenotype of nerve cells in vitro. We believe that these NMR-based metabolomics might accelerate the process of drug research in vitro and in vivo.

Activated amino acid response pathway generates apatinib resistance by reprograming glutamine metabolism in non-small-cell lung cancer

The efficacy of apatinib has been confirmed in the treatment of solid tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the direct functional mechanisms of tumor lethality mediated by apatinib and the precise mechanisms of drug resistance are largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that apatinib could reprogram glutamine metabolism in human NSCLC via a mechanism involved in amino acid metabolic imbalances. Apatinib repressed the expression of GLS1, the initial and rate-limiting enzyme of glutamine catabolism. However, the broken metabolic balance led to the activation of the amino acid response (AAR) pathway, known as the GCN2/eIF2α/ATF4 pathway. Moreover, activation of ATF4 was responsible for the induction of SLC1A5 and ASNS, which promoted the consumption and metabolization of glutamine. Interestingly, the combination of apatinib and ATF4 silencing abolished glutamine metabolism in NSCLC cells. Moreover, knockdown of ATF4 enhanced the antitumor effect of apatinib both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, this study showed that apatinib could reprogram glutamine metabolism through the activation of the AAR pathway in human NSCLC cells and indicated that targeting ATF4 is a potential therapeutic strategy for relieving apatinib resistance.

NMR-based Metabolomic Techniques Identify the Anticancer Effects of Three Polyphyllins in HepG2 Cells

Background:

Rhizoma Paridis (RP) is a traditional Chinese herb used for the treatment of tumors, detoxification and hemostasia. Studies show the main components of RP are Polyphyllin I (PPI), polyphyllin VI (PPVI), and polyphyllin VII (PPVII). However, the pharmaco-mechanisms of these compounds are not clear.

Objective:

By used 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H-NMR) based metabolomics approach to identify the Anticancer effects of PPI, PPVI and PPVII in HepG2 cells. Methods 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H-NMR) based metabolomics approach was applied to investigate the toxicological effect of PPI, PPVI, PPVII on HepG2 cells. Multivariate statistical analysis was employed to examine the metabolic changes and abnormal metabolic pathways, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal PLS-DA (OPLS-DA).

Results:

The results showed that the effects of metabolic phenotypes were affected separately by PPI, PPVI, and PPVII. The metabolic phenotypes were also changed over time. The characteristic metabolites were varied by affecting different polyphylins, which were identified by the reconstructed OPLSDA loading plots. According to the characteristic metabolites, the mainly disturbed metabolic pathways were found, such as alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism.

Conclusion:

The current work could allow us to understand the therapeutic effect of RP in metabolism. It also indicated that RP would be a promising candidate for liver cancer treatment.

Apatinib-Induced Hand-Foot Skin Reaction in Chinese Patients With Liver Cancer

Apatinib, an anti-tumor drug selectively targeting VEGFR2 (Vascular Endothelia Growth Factor Recpetor-2), has been proven effective in Chinese patients with liver cancer. Generally, treatment with apatinib achieves 16.1% of the overall objective remission rate (ORR) and 55.83% of the disease control rate (DCR) in Chinese patients with liver cancer. However, the prevalence of apatinib-induced hand–foot skin reaction (AI-HFSR) is noticeably high. The incidence of AI-HFSR is about 50.5%, of which Grades 1/2 and 3 are 38.8 and 11.6%, respectively. In addition, potential molecular mechanisms underlying the development of AI-HFSR are poorly understood and urgently needed to be investigated histologically. In this review, we summarize and review the current efficacy of apatinib and the prevalence of AI-HFSR in Chinese patients with liver cancer. Besides, we postulate the potential mechanisms underlying the development of AI-HFSR and discuss the optimal clinical management for this unwanted cutaneous side effect.