Ephrin type-B receptor 4 affinity chromatography: An effective and rapid method studying the active compounds targeting Ephrin type-B receptor 4

Biological Significance of EphB4 Expression in Cancer

Eph receptors and their Eph receptor-interacting (ephrin) ligands comprise a vital cell communication system with several functions. In cancer cells, there was evidence of bilateral Eph receptor signaling with both tumor-suppressing and tumor-promoting actions. As a member of the Eph receptor family, EphB4 has been linked to tumor angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis, which makes it a viable and desirable target for drug development in therapeutic applications. Many investigations have been conducted over the last decade to elucidate the structure and function of EphB4 in association with its ligand ephrinB2 for its involvement in tumorigenesis. Although several EphB4-targeting drugs have been investigated, and some selective inhibitors have been evaluated in clinical trials. This article addresses the structure and function of the EphB4 receptor, analyses its possibility as an anticancer therapeutic target, and summarises knowledge of EphB4 kinase inhibitors. To summarise, EphB4 is a difficult but potential treatment option for cancers.

A novel mechanism of 6-methoxydihydroavicine in suppressing ovarian carcinoma by disrupting mitochondrial homeostasis and triggering ROS/ MAPK mediated apoptosis

Introduction: Alkaloids derived from M. cordata (Papaveraceae family), have been found to display antineoplastic activity in several types of cancer. However, the antitumor effects and mechanisms of a new alkaloid extracted from the fruits of M. cordata, named 6-Methoxydihydroavicine (6-ME), remains unclear in the case of ovarian cancer (OC). Methods: CCK-8 assay was employed to analyze the cell viabilities of OC cells. RTCA, and colony-formation assays were performed to measure OC cell growth. Alterations in apoptosis and ROS levels were detected by flow cytometry in accordance with the instructions of corresponding assay kits. A Seahorse XFe96 was executed conducted to confirm the effects of 6-ME on cellular bioenergetics. Western blot and q-RT-PCR were conducted to detect alterations in target proteins. The subcutaneous xenografted tumor model of OC was used to further validate the anti-tumor activity of 6-ME in vivo. Results: Here, we reported for the first time that 6-ME inhibits OC cells growth in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, we found that 6-ME showed great antineoplastic activities by disrupting mitochondria homeostasis and promoting apoptosis in OC cells. Further investigation of the upstream signaling of apoptosis revealed that 6-ME-triggered apoptosis was induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation and mitochondria dysfunction in OC cells. Furthermore, we found oxaloacetic acid (OAA), a crucial metabolite has been proved to be related to NADPH production, can block the cytotoxicity and accumulation of ROS caused by 6-ME in OC cells. Discussion: In summary, our data show that 6-ME exhibits cytotoxicity to OC cells in a ROS-dependent manner by interrupting mitochondrial respiration homeostasis and inducing MAPK-mediated apoptosis. This evidence suggests that 6-ME is a promising remedy for OC intervention.

Insights into the potential of Sanguinarine as a promising therapeutic option for breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in the progression and metastasis of BC. A significant proportion of BC is characterized by a hypoxic TME, which contributes to the development of drug resistance and cancer recurrence. Sanguinarine (SAN), an isoquinoline alkaloid found in Papaver plants, has shown promise as an anticancer agent. The present review focuses on exploring the molecular mechanisms of hypoxic TME in BC and the potential of SAN as a therapeutic option. The review presents the current understanding of the hypoxic TME, its signaling pathways, and its impact on the progression of BC. Additionally, the review elaborates on the mechanisms of action of SAN in BC, including its effects on vital cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, drug resistance, and tumor-induced immune suppression. The review highlights the importance of addressing hypoxic TME in treating BC and the potential of SAN as a promising therapeutic option.

6-methoxydihydroavicine, the alkaloid extracted from Macleaya cordata (Willd.) R. Br. (Papaveraceae), triggers RIPK1/Caspase-dependent cell death in pancreatic cancer cells through the disruption of oxaloacetic acid metabolism and accumulation of reactive oxygen species

BACKGROUND

Many extracts and purified alkaloids of M. cordata (Papaveraceae family) have been reported to display promising anti-tumor effects by inhibiting cancer cell growth and inducing apoptosis in many cancer types. However, no evidence currently exists for anti-pancreatic cancer activity of alkaloids extracted from M. cordata, including a novel alkaloid named 6‑methoxy dihydrosphingosine (6-Methoxydihydroavicine, 6-ME) derived from M. cordata fruits.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-tumor effects of 6-ME on PC cells and the underlying mechanism.

METHODS

CCK-8, RTCA, and colony-formation assays were used to analyze PC cell growth. Cell death ratios, changes in MMP and ROS levels were measured by flow cytometry within corresponding detection kits. A Seahorse XFe96 was employed to examine the effects of 6-ME on cellular bioenergetics. Western blot and q-RT-PCR were conducted to detect changes in target molecules.

RESULTS

6-ME effectively reduced the growth of PC cells and promoted PCD by activating RIPK1, caspases, and GSDME. Specifically, 6-ME treatment caused a disruption of OAA metabolism and increased ROS production, thereby affecting mitochondrial homeostasis and reducing aerobic glycolysis. These responses resulted in mitophagy and RIPK1-mediated cell death.

CONCLUSION

6-ME exhibited specific anti-tumor effects through interrupting OAA metabolic homeostasis to trigger ROS/RIPK1-dependent cell death and mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting that 6-ME could be considered as a highly promising compound for PC intervention.

Vandetanib drives growth arrest and promotes sensitivity to imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia by targeting ephrin type-B receptor 4

The oncogenic role of ephrin type‐B receptor 4 (EPHB4) has been reported in many types of tumors, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Here, we found that CML patients have a higher EPHB4 expression level than healthy subjects. EPHB4 knockdown inhibited growth of K562 cells (a human immortalized myelogenous leukemia cell line). In addition, transient transfection of EPHB4 siRNA led to sensitization to imatinib. These growth defects could be fully rescued by EPHB4 transfection. To identify an EPHB4‐specific inhibitor with the potential of rapid translation into the clinic, a pool of clinical compounds was screened and vandetanib was found to be most sensitive to K562 cells, which express a high level of EPHB4. Vandetanib mainly acts on the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain and interacts stably with a hydrophobic pocket. Furthermore, vandetanib downregulated EPHB4 protein via the ubiquitin‐proteasome pathway and inhibited PI3K/AKT and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways in K562 cells. Vandetanib alone significantly inhibited tumor growth in a K562 xenograft model. Furthermore, the combination of vandetanib and imatinib exhibited enhanced and synergistic growth inhibition against imatinib‐resistant K562 cells in vitro and in vivo. These findings suggest that vandetanib drives growth arrest and overcomes the resistance to imatinib in CML via targeting EPHB4.

Recent advances on discovery of enzyme inhibitors from natural products using bioactivity screening

The essence of enzymes is to keep the homeostasis and balance of human by catalyzing metabolic responses and modulating cell. Suppression of enzyme slows the progress of some diseases, making it a therapeutic target. Therefore, it is important to develop enzyme inhibitors by proper bioactivity screening strategies for the future treatment of some major diseases. In this review, we summarized the recent (2015-2020) applications of several screening strategies (electrophoretically mediated microanalysis, enzyme immobilization, affinity chromatography, and affinity ultrafiltration) in finding enzyme inhibitors from certain species of bioactive natural compounds of plant origin (flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic acids, saponins, anthraquinones, coumarins). At the same time, the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy were also discussed, and the future possible development direction in enzyme inhibitor screening has prospected. To sum up, it is expected to help readers select suitable screening strategies for enzyme inhibitors and provide useful information for the study of the biological of specific kinds of natural products. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Current Advances in Coptidis Rhizoma for Gastrointestinal and Other Cancers

Cancer is a serious disease with an increasing number of reported cases and high mortality worldwide. Gastrointestinal cancer defines a group of cancers in the digestive system, e.g., liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and gastric cancer. Coptidis Rhizoma (C. Rhizoma; Huanglian, in Chinese) is a classical Chinese medicinal botanical drug for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders and has been shown to have a wide variety of pharmacological activity, including antifungal, antivirus, anticancer, antidiabetic, hypoglycemic, and cardioprotective effects. Recent studies on C. Rhizoma present significant progress on its anticancer effects and the corresponding mechanisms as well as its clinical applications. Herein, keywords related to C. Rhizoma, cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, and omics were searched in PubMed and the Web of Science databases, and more than three hundred recent publications were reviewed and discussed. C. Rhizoma extract along with its main components, berberine, palmatine, coptisine, magnoflorine, jatrorrhizine, epiberberine, oxyepiberberine, oxyberberine, dihydroberberine, columbamine, limonin, and derivatives, are reviewed. We describe novel and classic anticancer mechanisms from various perspectives of pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmaceutics. Researchers have transformed the chemical structures and drug delivery systems of these components to obtain better efficacy and bioavailability of C. Rhizoma. Furthermore, C. Rhizoma in combination with other drugs and their clinical application are also summarized. Taken together, C. Rhizoma has broad prospects as a potential adjuvant candidate against cancers, making it reasonable to conduct additional preclinical studies and clinical trials in gastrointestinal cancer in the future.

[Advances in chromatography in the study of drug-plasma protein interactions]

After entering human blood circulation, small-molecule drugs interact extensively with various plasma proteins, such as human serum albumin and α1-acid glycoprotein. These interactions profoundly affect the distribution of drugs in vivo and the binding of drugs to targets, thus affecting the efficacy of drugs. In-depth investigation of drug-plasma protein interactions is of great significance for the optimization of drug properties, the development of new drugs, risk assessment, and combination therapy of drugs. Therefore, it is essential to develop highly efficient, sensitive, and accurate methods for elucidating drug-plasma protein interactions. Chromatography is a powerful tool with high throughput, high separation performance, and high sensitivity in the characterization of drug-protein interactions. High-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) have been widely utilized in this field. These methods include the determination of the effects of the posttranslational modification of proteins on binding and the competitive binding of multiple drugs. In addition, various chromatographic methods are used to obtain interaction information such as the binding constant, binding-site number, and dissociation rate constant. In this review, the common strategies and recent advances in HPAC and CE in the study of drug-plasma protein interactions are briefly reviewed. The immobilization methods of proteins, the principles and applications of frontal analysis, zonal elution, ultrafast affinity extraction, peak profiling, and peak decay analysis are discussed for HPAC and affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) and capillary electrophoresis frontal analysis (CE-FA) for CE. HPAC relies on the fixation of proteins on the surfaces of chromatographic stationary phases by covalent linking or physical adsorption, followed by obtaining the drug-protein interaction information through a variety of chromatographic methods. In the frontal chromatography analysis, mobile phases with different concentrations of drugs are passed through the HPAC column to obtain different breakthrough times. The process can determine the number of drug binding sites and the binding constant of each site in the affinity protein with high accuracy. The zonal elution method can detect the drug binding sites on proteins using site-specific probes to determine whether there is competition between drugs and probes. The sample consumption and analysis time of the zonal elution method are much less than those in frontal chromatography analysis. The ultrafast affinity extraction method can inject complex samples, such as serum, into affinity columns to determine the free drug components. It can measure the combination and dissociation constants of drug-protein interactions by changing the chromatography flow rate. Peak profiling and peak decay analyses are both effective methods for investigating the dissociation of drugs and proteins. In CE analysis, the drug and protein samples are dissolved in an electrophoresis buffer, and their interactions are measured during electrophoresis with high accuracy and low sample consumption. However, the adsorption of proteins on the capillary wall can compromise CE performance. Common CE methods in drug-protein interaction analysis are ACE and CE-FA. ACE is usually performed by changing the effective mobility of drugs via the addition of different concentrations of proteins. This method has been widely used, and several variant techniques have been developed recently. CE-FA involves the sampling of a drug premixed at a known concentration with a target protein. Compared with other CE methods, CE-FA exhibits the unique advantages of high throughput, automatic online analysis, and the ability to determine high-order drug-protein interactions. Finally, the shortcomings of current chromatography methods are summarized, and the application prospects and development direction of chromatography technology in the field of drug-plasma protein interaction research are discussed.

β2-adrenergic receptor affinity chromatography with an interaction force analysis model: A method for analysis of active compounds targeting β2-adrenergic receptor

Asthma is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, and β₂-adrenergic receptor (β₂AR) agonists have been reported to be highly effective bronchodilators against this disease. In this study, we successfully constructed a novel CHO-β₂AR affinity chromatography (CHO-β₂AR/AC), which was evaluated by infrared spectroscopic and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. In addition, CHO-β₂AR/AC model exhibited good selectivity and reliability with the relative standard deviation smaller than 5.6% after 30 days. Furthermore, an interaction force analysis model was developed based on CHO-β₂AR/AC. The results showed that the interaction force analysis model (Φ•E•pKa) exhibited a strong correlation with equilibrium dissociation constant (K_D) (r²=0.9284, p=0.002) and a good correlation with logarithm of half-maximum effective concentration (pEC₅₀) values (r²=0.7135, p=0.034). In addition, a pool of clinically approved drugs was screened by this CHO-β₂AR/AC model. Codeine wasfound to bind to and activate β₂AR with K_D value of 4.10 × 10^-7 M, leading to increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production with EC₅₀ of 6.49 × 10^-7 M and reduction of intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, which in turn relaxes bronchial contraction with EC₅₀ of 2.62 × 10^-6 M. Furthermore, the K_D value and pEC₅₀ of codeine were within the 95% prediction range of the interaction force analysis model. The results indicate that the CHO-β₂AR/AC with interaction force analysis model constructed in this study can be used to effectively and rapidly screen active compounds targeting β₂AR.

Sanguinarine combats hypoxia-induced activation of EphB4 and HIF-1α pathways in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide. Large hypoxic area is one of the features of tumor microenvironment. Highly activated hypoxia-induced pathways positively correlate with poor clinical response to chemo- and radiotherapy and high mortality in breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE

We explore the effect of sanguinarine on hypoxia-induced activation of Ephrin type-B receptor 4 (EphB4) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) pathways in breast cancer.

RESULTS

Hypoxia-induced expression of a receptor tyrosine kinase EphB4 was observed in hypoxic breast cancer cell models. Sanguinarine, a natural alkaloid, could effectively combat hypoxia-induced EphB4 and HIF-1α expression. Sanguinarine inhibited the activation of downstream protein signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3), thereby blocking hypoxia-induced HIF-1α/STAT3 interaction and downregulating the mRNA levels of their target genes. Mechanically, sanguinarine attenuated HIF-1α protein levels via inhibition of MAPK/ERK pathways and promotion of HIF-1α proteasome degradation. Sanguinarine inhibited STAT3 activation through targeting its upstream EphB4 and accelerating STAT3 dephosphorylation. Correspondingly, xenograft models confirmed that sanguinarine treatment disrupted hypoxia-induced pathways and inhibited tumor growth in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results may bring insights to the hypoxia-induced pathways in breast cancers, and suggest sanguinarine as a promising candidate for EphB4 and HIF-1α-targeted inhibition.