PI3K inhibitor 3-MA promotes the antiproliferative activity of esomeprazole in gastric cancer cells by downregulating EGFR via the PI3K/FOXO3a pathway

ESL attenuates BLM-induced IPF in mice: Dual mediation of the TLR4/NF-κB and TGF-β1/PI3K/Akt/FOXO3a pathways

BACKGROUNDS

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a persistent and advanced pulmonary ailment. The roles of innate immunity and adaptive immunity are pivotal in the evolution of IPF. An ill-adjusted interaction between epithelial cells and immune cells is responsible for initiating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and sustaining chronic inflammation, thereby fostering fibrosis progression. The intricacy of IPF pathogenesis has hindered the availability of efficacious agents. Elephantopus scaber Linn. (ESL) is a canonical Chinese medicine with significant immunoregulatory effects, and its aqueous extract has been proven to attenuate IPF symptoms in bleomycin (BLM)-induced mice. However, the underlying mechanism through which ESL relieves IPF remains unclear.

AIM

To validate whether ESL reverses IPF by mediating the immune response and EMT.

METHODS

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) and UPLC were used to identify the components and determine the concentrations of the specific compounds in the ESL. Network pharmacology and molecular docking were applied to predict the potential mechanism underlying the anti-IPF effect of ESL. BLM-induced IPF mice were used to validate the anti-IPF effect of ESL, and lung tissue was collected to test putative pathways involved in inflammation and EMT via immunohistochemistry (ICH), real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting.

RESULTS

Sixty-one compounds were identified, and thirteen main ingredients were quantified in the ESL. In silico experiments predicted that the IPF-mediated reversal of adverse effects by ESL would be related to interruption of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-k-gene binding (NF-ĸB) inflammatory pathway and the transforming growth factor-beta l (TGF-β1)/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/forkhead box O3 (FOXO3a) fibrosis pathway. In vivo experiments showed that ESL alleviates BLM-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis by reducing neutrophil aggregation and fibroblast foci, similar to the effects of the positive control drug pirfenidone (PFD). ESL markedly inhibited the transcription of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, which are downstream genes of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, the protein levels of TLR4 and p-NF-κB were correspondingly inhibited in response to ESL treatment. Additionally, ESL reverses BLM-induced changes in the expression of EMT-related biological characteristic indicators (collagen I [COLIA1], E-cadherin, and alpha smooth muscle actin [α-SMA]) at the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) level and markedly inhibits the expression of EMT-related upstream proteins (TGF-β1, p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-FOXO3a).

CONCLUSION

Our research suggested that ESL attenuates BLM-induced IPF through mediating the EMT process via the TGF-β1/PI3K/Akt/FOXO3a signaling pathway and inhibiting inflammation through the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, highlighting that ESL can serve as an immunoregulator for relieving the abnormal immune response and reversing the EMT in IPF.

The essential roles of lncRNAs/PI3K/AKT axis in gastrointestinal tumors

The role of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in tumors, particularly in gastrointestinal tumors, has gained significant attention. Accumulating evidence underscores the interaction between various lncRNAs and diverse molecular pathways involved in cancer progression. One such pivotal pathway is the PI3K/AKT pathway, which serves as a crucial intracellular mechanism maintaining the balance among various cellular physiological processes for normal cell growth and survival. Frequent dysregulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in cancer, along with aberrant activation, plays a critical role in driving tumorigenesis. LncRNAs modulate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through diverse mechanisms, primarily by acting as competing endogenous RNA to regulate miRNA expression and associated genes. This interaction significantly influences fundamental biological behaviors such as cell proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance. Abnormal expression of numerous lncRNAs in gastrointestinal tumors often correlates with clinical outcomes and pathological features in patients with cancer. Additionally, these lncRNAs influence the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy in multiple types of gastrointestinal tumors through the abnormal activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying gastrointestinal tumors and potential therapeutic targets. However, gastrointestinal tumors remain a significant global health concern, with increasing incidence and mortality rates of gastrointestinal tumors over recent decades. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the latest research on the interactions of lncRNA and the PI3K/AKT pathway in gastrointestinal tumor development. Additionally, it focuses on the functions of lncRNAs and the PI3K/AKT pathway in carcinogenesis, exploring expression profiles, clinicopathological characteristics, interaction mechanisms with the PI3K/AKT pathway, and potential clinical applications.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate induces ferroptosis-dependent non-alcoholic steatohepatitis via autophagy-MCU-caused mitochondrial calcium overload and MCU-ACSL4 interaction

The incidence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is related with perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), yet the mechanism remains ill-defined. Mounting evidence suggests that ferroptosis plays a crucial role in the initiation of NASH. In this study, we used mice and human hepatocytes L-02 to investigate the role of ferroptosis in PFOS-induced NASH and the effect and molecular mechanism of PFOS on liver ferroptosis. We found here that PFOS caused NASH in mice, and lipid accumulation and inflammatory response in the L-02 cells. PFOS induced hepatic ferroptosis in vivo and in vitro, as evidenced by the decrease in glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and the increases in cytosolic iron, acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) and lipid peroxidation. In the PFOS-treated cells, the increases in the inflammatory factors and lipid contents were reversed by ferroptosis inhibitor. PFOS-induced ferroptosis was relieved by autophagy inhibitor. The expression of mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) was accelerated by PFOS, leading to subsequent mitochondrial calcium accumulation, and inhibiting autophagy reversed the increase in MCU. Inhibiting mitochondrial calcium reversed the variations in GPX4 and cytosolic iron, without influencing the change in ACSL4, induced by PFOS. MCU interacted with ACSL4 and the siRNA against MCU reversed the changes in ACSL4，GPX4 and cytosolic iron systemically. This study put forward the involvement of hepatic ferroptosis in PFOS-induced NASH and identified MCU as the mediator of the autophagy-dependent ferroptosis.

EGFR-T790M Mutation-Derived Interactome Rerouted EGFR Translocation Contributing to Gefitinib Resistance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Secondary mutation, T790M, conferring tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) resistance beyond oncogenic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations presents a challenging unmet need. Although TKI-resistant mechanisms are intensively investigated, the underlying responses of cancer cells adapting drug perturbation are largely unknown. To illuminate the molecular basis linking acquired mutation to TKI resistance, affinity purification coupled mass spectrometry was adopted to dissect EGFR interactome in TKI-sensitive and TKI-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells. The analysis revealed TKI-resistant EGFR-mutant interactome allocated in diverse subcellular distribution and enriched in endocytic trafficking, in which gefitinib intervention activated autophagy-mediated EGFR degradation and thus autophagy inhibition elevated gefitinib susceptibility. Alternatively, gefitinib prompted TKI-sensitive EGFR translocating toward cell periphery through Rab7 ubiquitination which may favor efficacy to TKIs suppression. This study revealed that T790M mutation rewired EGFR interactome that guided EGFR to autophagy-mediated degradation to escape treatment, suggesting that combination therapy with TKI and autophagy inhibitor may overcome acquired resistance in non-small cell lung cancer.

Esomeprazole Alleviates Cisplatin Resistance by Inhibiting the AKT/mTOR Pathway in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Purpose

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal malignancy in gynecology. Due to limited treatment strategies and platinum resistance, newer drugs and therapeutic options are needed. Esomeprazole (ESO) has been reported to have multiple anticancer activities in preclinical and clinical research. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the anticancer effects of esomeprazole on ovarian cancer and its underlying molecular mechanisms.

Methods

CCK-8 and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays were used to detect cell viability and proliferation. The Transwell assay was used to evaluate cell migration and invasion capacity. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect protein expression.

Results

ESO effectively inhibited the cell viability, proliferation, invasion, migration, and induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment with ESO decreased the expression of c-MYC, SKP2, E2F1, N-cadherin, vimentin, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), while it increased E-cadherin, caspase3, p53, BAX, and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) expression, and downregulated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, ESO combined with cisplatin showed synergistic effects in inhibiting proliferation, invasion, and migration of cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells. The mechanism may be related to the increased inhibition of c-MYC, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and enhanced the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic protein BAX and cleaved PARP levels. Moreover, ESO combined with cisplatin synergistically upregulated the expression of the DNA damage marker γH2A.X.

Conclusion

ESO exerts multiple anticancer activities and has a synergistic effect in combination with cisplatin on cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells. This study provides a promising strategy to improve chemosensitivity and overcome resistance to cisplatin in ovarian cancer.

Combined Epimedii Folium and Ligustri Lucidi Fructus with dexamethasone alleviate the proliferation of airway smooth muscle cells by regulating apoptosis/autophagy

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory believes kidney deficiency is the root cause of chronic refractory asthma with pathological changes of airway remodeling. Our previous experiments confirmed that the combination of Epimedii Folium and Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (ELL) with the effect of nourishing Yin and Yang of the kidney could improve the pathological changes of airway remodeling in asthmatic rats, but the specific mechanism remains unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This research was designed to reveal the synergy of ELL and dexamethasone (Dex) in the proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Primary cultures of ASMCs from rats were prepared and induced with histamine (Hist), Z-DEVD-FMK (ZDF), rapamycin (Rap), or 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) at generation 3-7 for 24 or 48 h. Subsequently, the cells were treated with Dex, ELL, and ELL&Dex for 24 or 48 h. The effect of various concentrations of inducers and drugs on cell viability was detected by Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium (MTT) assay, cell proliferation was tested using immunocytochemistry (ICC) by detecting Ki67 protein, cell apoptosis was measured by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay and Hoechst nuclear staining, cell ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and immunofluorescence (IF), western blot (WB) combined with quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were used for measuring autophagy and apoptosis-related genes including protein 53 (P53), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase (Caspase)-3, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), Beclin-1, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and p-mTOR.

RESULTS

In ASMCs, Hist and ZDF promoted cell proliferation, significantly decreased Caspase-3 protein expression, and up-regulated Beclin-1 levels; Dex alone and in combination with ELL promoted Beclin-1, Caspase-3, and P53 expression, enhancing autophagy activity and apoptosis in Hist and ZDF-induced AMSCs. In contrast, Rap inhibited cell viability, increased Caspase-3, P53, Beclin-1, and LC3-II/I and decreased the levels of mTOR and p-mTOR with promoting apoptosis and autophagy; ELL or ELL&Dex reduced P53, Beclin-1, and LC3-II/I to down-regulate apoptosis and the excessive autophagic state of ASMCs induced by Rap. In the 3-MA model, cell viability and autophagy were reduced; ELL&Dex significantly upgraded the expression of Beclin-1, P53, and Caspase-3 and promoted apoptosis and autophagy of ASMCs.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that ELL combined with Dex may regulate the proliferation of ASMCs by promoting apoptosis and autophagy and be a potential medicine for the treatment of asthma.

Recent Update and Drug Target in Molecular and Pharmacological Insights into Autophagy Modulation in Cancer Treatment and Future Progress

Recent evidence suggests that autophagy is a governed catabolic framework enabling the recycling of nutrients from injured organelles and other cellular constituents via a lysosomal breakdown. This mechanism has been associated with the development of various pathologic conditions, including cancer and neurological disorders; however, recently updated studies have indicated that autophagy plays a dual role in cancer, acting as a cytoprotective or cytotoxic mechanism. Numerous preclinical and clinical investigations have shown that inhibiting autophagy enhances an anticancer medicine's effectiveness in various malignancies. Autophagy antagonists, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, have previously been authorized in clinical trials, encouraging the development of medication-combination therapies targeting the autophagic processes for cancer. In this review, we provide an update on the recent research examining the anticancer efficacy of combining drugs that activate cytoprotective autophagy with autophagy inhibitors. Additionally, we highlight the difficulties and progress toward using cytoprotective autophagy targeting as a cancer treatment strategy. Importantly, we must enable the use of suitable autophagy inhibitors and coadministration delivery systems in conjunction with anticancer agents. Therefore, this review briefly summarizes the general molecular process behind autophagy and its bifunctional role that is important in cancer suppression and in encouraging tumor growth and resistance to chemotherapy and metastasis regulation. We then emphasize how autophagy and cancer cells interacting with one another is a promising therapeutic target in cancer treatment.

Autophagy in gastrointestinal cancers

Gastrointestinal cancers are a group of cancers occurred in gastrointestinal tissues with high morbidity and mortality rate. Although numerous studies were conducted on the investigation of gastrointestinal cancers, the real mechanisms haven’t been discovered, and no effective methods of prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers have been developed. Autophagy, a vital catabolic process in organisms, have been proven to participate in various mechanisms and signaling pathways, thus producing a regulatory effect on various diseases. The role of autophagy in gastrointestinal cancers remains unclear due to its high complexity. In this review, firstly, the biological features of autophagy will be introduced. Secondly, the role of autophagy in three popular gastrointestinal cancers, namely esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer will be described and discussed by reviewing the related literature. We aimed to bring novel insights in exploring the real mechanisms for gastrointestinal cancers and developing effective and efficient therapeutic methods to treat gastrointestinal cancers.

APY0201 Represses Tumor Growth through Inhibiting Autophagy in Gastric Cancer Cells

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers globally. There are currently few effective chemotherapeutic drugs available for GC patients. The inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol kinase containing an FYVE finger structure (PIKfyve) have shown significant anticancer effects in several types of cancers, but their effectiveness in GC remains unknown. In this study, we investigate the effect of APY0201, an inhibitor of PIKfyve, on GC tumor growth and its mechanism of action. It was found that APY0201 inhibited GC cell proliferation in in vitro GC cell model, organoid model, and in vivo xenograft tumor model. Through analyzing cell autophagy, we found that APY0201 might block autophagic flux by impairing lysosome degradation function of GC cells, inducing the accumulation of autophagosomes, thus causing the inhibition of GC cell proliferation. We also found that APY0201 induced G1/S phase arrest in GC cells. Importantly, APY0201 was also effective in inducing repression of autophagy and cell cycle arrest in the mouse tumor xenograft. Our results suggest that APY0201 could be a new promising therapeutic option for GC.

Long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 847 promotes laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma progression through the microRNA-181a-5p/zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 axis

The present study is targeted at investigating the effects of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 847 (LINC00847) on the malignant biological behaviors of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cells, and the mechanisms. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were conducted for detecting the expressions of LINC00847, microRNA-181a-5p (miR-181a-5p) and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) in LSCC cell lines and tissue samples. BrdU, cell counting kit-8, scratch wound healing, Transwell and flow cytometry assays were utilized for detecting cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle progression. Dual-luciferase reporter gene, RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP), and RNA pull-down assays were utilized to investigate the interaction among LINC00847, miR-181a-5p, and ZEB2. The subcellular location of LINC00847 was determined by RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (RNA-FISH) assay. Tumor growth was evaluated using a xenograft model of nude mice. It was revealed that LINC00847 expression was increased in LSCC tissues, and its high expression was associated with lymph node metastasis and poor differentiation. LINC00847 was mainly located in the cytoplasm of LSCC cells, and LINC00847 overexpression promoted LSCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and accelerated the cell cycle progression while knocking down LINC00847 had the opposite effects in vitro and inhibited the tumor growth in vivo. LINC00847 directly targeted miR-181a-5p and negatively modulated miR-181a-5p expression. ZEB2 was a target gene of miR-181a-5p, and was positively and indirectly modulated by LINC00847. Our data suggest that LINC00847 promotes LSCC progression by regulating the miR-181a-5p/ZEB2 axis.