Sulfasalazine induces apoptosis of HBx-expressing cells in an NF-kappaB-independent manner

Anti-Cancer Effects of Sulfasalazine and Vitamin E Succinate in MDA-MB 231 Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Aim: Sulfasalazine (SSZ) displayed anti-cancer activities. Vitamin E succinate (VES) could inhibit cell growth in various cancer cells. However, chemical therapies were often not useful for triple-negative breast cancer cells (TNBCs) treatment. Here, this study investigated the anti-cancer effects and the mechanisms on TNBCs under combination treatment with SSZ and VES. Methods: Cell viability was analyzed by using the MTT assay. The H₂O₂ levels were determined by using lucigenin-amplified chemiluminescence method. In addition, caspase and MAPs signals were studied by using western blotting. Results: Low-dose VES antagonized the SSZ-induced cytotoxicity effects while high-dose VES promoted the SSZ-induced cytotoxicity effects on TNBCs. In addition, SSZ alone treatment activated both caspase-3 and ERK signals, however, VES alone treatment only activated JNK signals. On the other hand, activation of caspase-3, JNK, and ERK were found in SSZ plus VES-treated cells. Conclusion: Combined SSZ and VES has synergistic or antagonistic cytotoxic effects depending on VES concentration. In addition, different cytotoxic signals are induced on SSZ-treated, VES-treated and SSZ plus VES-treated cells.

Treatment of rheumatic diseases and hepatitis B virus coinfection

We often encounter rheumatological patients coinfected with hepatitis B in daily practice. In this paper, we will discuss the basic characteristics of the virus of hepatitis B, course of infection, the safety of rituximab, tocilizumab, abatacept treatment and therapeutic recommendations in management of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Hepatitis B virus X protein drives multiple cross-talk cascade loops involving NF-κB, 5-LOX, OPN and Capn4 to promote cell migration

Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) plays an important role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism remains unclear. Recently, we have reported that HBx promotes hepatoma cell migration through the upregulation of calpain small subunit 1 (Capn4). In addition, several reports have revealed that osteopontin (OPN) plays important roles in tumor cell migration. In this study, we investigated the signaling pathways involving the promotion of cell migration mediated by HBx. We report that HBx stimulates several factors in a network manner to promote hepatoma cell migration. We showed that HBx was able to upregulate the expression of osteopontin (OPN) through 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) in HepG2-X/H7402-X (stable HBx-transfected cells) cells. Furthermore, we identified that HBx could increase the expression of 5-LOX through nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). We also found that OPN could upregulate Capn4 through NF-κB. Interestingly, we showed that Capn4 was able to upregulate OPN through NF-κB in a positive feedback manner, suggesting that the OPN and Capn4 proteins involving cell migration affect each other in a network through NF-κB. Importantly, NF-κB plays a crucial role in the regulation of 5-LOX, OPN and Capn4. Thus, we conclude that HBx drives multiple cross-talk cascade loops involving NF-κB, 5-LOX, OPN and Capn4 to promote cell migration. This finding provides new insight into the mechanism involving the promotion of cell migration by HBx.