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Ahmad F, Ma L, Wei W, Liu Y, Hakim I, Daugherty A, Mujahid S, Radin AA, Chua MS, So S. Identification and validation of microtubule depolymerizing agent, CYT997, as a potential drug candidate for hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver Int 2023; 43:2794-2807. [PMID: 37833852 DOI: 10.1111/liv.15756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a typically fatal malignancy with limited treatment options and poor survival rates, despite recent FDA approvals of newer treatment options. We aim to address this unmet need by using a proprietary computational drug discovery platform that identifies drug candidates with the potential to advance rapidly and successfully through preclinical studies. METHODS We generated an in silico model of HCC biology to identify the top 10 small molecules with predicted efficacy. The most promising candidate, CYT997, was tested for its in vitro effects on cell viability and cell death, colony formation, cell cycle changes, and cell migration/invasion in HCC cells. We used an HCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model to assess its in vivo efficacy. RESULTS CYT997 was significantly more cytotoxic against HCC cells than against primary human hepatocytes, and sensitized HCC cells to sorafenib. It arrested cell cycle at the G2/M phase with associated up-regulations of p21, p-MEK1/2, p-ERK, and down-regulation of cyclin B1. Cell apoptosis and senescence-like morphology were also observed. CYT997 inhibited HCC cell migration and invasion, and down-regulated the expressions of acetylated tubulins, β-tubulin, glypican-3 (GPC3), β-catenin, and c-Myc. In vivo, CYT997 (20 mg/kg, three times weekly by oral gavage) significantly inhibited PDX growth, while being non-toxic to mice. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the down-regulation of GPC3, c-Myc, and Ki-67, supporting its anti-proliferative effect. CONCLUSION CYT997 is a potentially efficacious and non-toxic drug candidate for HCC therapy. Its ability to down-regulate GPC3, β-catenin, and c-Myc highlights a novel mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faiz Ahmad
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Li Ma
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Wei Wei
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Isaac Hakim
- Aria Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, California, USA
| | | | - Sana Mujahid
- Aria Pharmaceuticals, Palo Alto, California, USA
| | | | - Mei-Sze Chua
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Samuel So
- Asian Liver Center, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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Promising anti-leukemic effect of Zataria multiflora extract in combination with doxorubicin to combat acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells (Nalm-6) (in vitro and in silico). Sci Rep 2022; 12:12657. [PMID: 35879400 PMCID: PMC9314378 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16943-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the heterogeneous hematologic malignancies of the lymphocyte precursors is ALL. ALL has two incidence peaks that were determined in 2–5 years children and 60 years old adults. Cardiotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs is one of important side effects which may occur during or after chemotherapy period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ZME, Dox, and combinations on Nalm-6 cells. In this vein, the cell viability was assessed by Trypan blue and MTT assay. Evaluation of apoptosis was also analyzed by Annexin-V/PI staining. Moreover, the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, hTERT, c-Myc, P53, and P21 genes was detected by Real-Time PCR. Molecular docking as an in-silico method was performed for Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl proteins as well. Our achievements indicated that ZME had dose-dependent effect on Nalm-6 cells and ZME synergistically potentiated Dox effect. The expression of Bax, P53 and P21 genes increased although the expression of Bcl-2 genes decreased when cells treated with ZME/ Dox combination. Molecular docking showed the interactions of carvacrol and thymol in the active cavities of BCL2 and BCL-xl. Regarding to present study, ZME could be utilized as a combinatorial and potential drug for leukemic patients, which is under the treatment by Dox due to reducing the chemotherapy drug doses.
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Vrachatis DA, Papathanasiou KA, Giotaki SG, Raisakis K, Kossyvakis C, Kaoukis A, Kolokathis F, Deftereos G, Iliodromitis KE, Avramides D, Bogossian H, Siasos G, Giannopoulos G, Reimers B, Lansky A, Tardif JC, Deftereos S. Immunologic Dysregulation and Hypercoagulability as a Pathophysiologic Background in COVID-19 Infection and the Immunomodulating Role of Colchicine. J Clin Med 2021; 10:5128. [PMID: 34768648 PMCID: PMC8584586 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10215128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2020, SARS-COV-2 put health systems under unprecedented resource and manpower pressure leading to significant number of deaths. Expectedly, researchers sought to shed light on the pathophysiologic background of this novel disease (COVID-19) as well as to facilitate the design of effective therapeutic modalities. Indeed, early enough the pivotal role of inflammatory and thrombotic pathways in SARS-COV-2 infection has been illustrated. The purpose of this article is to briefly present the epidemiologic and clinical features of COVID-19, analyze the pathophysiologic importance of immunologic dysregulation and hypercoagulability in developing disease complications and finally to present an up-to-date systematic review of colchicine's immunomodulating capacity in view of hindering coronavirus complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios A. Vrachatis
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
| | - Konstantinos A. Papathanasiou
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
| | - Sotiria G. Giotaki
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
| | - Konstantinos Raisakis
- Department of Cardiology, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (K.R.); (C.K.); (A.K.); (G.D.); (D.A.)
| | - Charalampos Kossyvakis
- Department of Cardiology, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (K.R.); (C.K.); (A.K.); (G.D.); (D.A.)
| | - Andreas Kaoukis
- Department of Cardiology, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (K.R.); (C.K.); (A.K.); (G.D.); (D.A.)
| | - Fotis Kolokathis
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
| | - Gerasimos Deftereos
- Department of Cardiology, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (K.R.); (C.K.); (A.K.); (G.D.); (D.A.)
| | - Konstantinos E. Iliodromitis
- Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hagen-Haspe, Clinic for Cardiology and Electrophysiology, 58135 Hagen, Germany; (K.E.I.); (H.B.)
- Department of Cardiology, University of Witten/Herdecke, 58455 Witten, Germany
| | - Dimitrios Avramides
- Department of Cardiology, “G. Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (K.R.); (C.K.); (A.K.); (G.D.); (D.A.)
| | - Harilaos Bogossian
- Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hagen-Haspe, Clinic for Cardiology and Electrophysiology, 58135 Hagen, Germany; (K.E.I.); (H.B.)
- Department of Cardiology, University of Witten/Herdecke, 58455 Witten, Germany
| | - Gerasimos Siasos
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
| | - George Giannopoulos
- Medical School, Artistotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | | | - Alexandra Lansky
- Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA;
| | - Jean-Claude Tardif
- Montreal Heart Institute, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H1T 1C8, Canada;
| | - Spyridon Deftereos
- Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece; (D.A.V.); (K.A.P.); (S.G.G.); (F.K.); (G.S.)
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Repurposing colchicine's journey in view of drug-to-drug interactions. A review. Toxicol Rep 2021; 8:1389-1393. [PMID: 34285885 PMCID: PMC8280530 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Colchicine's medical evolution is historically bound to the Mediterranean basin, since remarkable researchers from this region underscored its valuable properties. With the passing of years colchicine became an essential pharmaceutical substance for the treatment of rheumatologic and cardiovascular diseases. In light of recent findings, the therapeutic value of colchicine has grown. In clinical practice, colchicine remains underutilized in view of its proven efficacy and safety. Its complex pharmacokinetics and multifaceted anti-inflammatory role remain under investigation. The current review addresses the safe administration of colchicine in view of key drug to drug interactions. Finally, we are briefly presenting colchicine's future potential applications.
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Covell DG. Bioinformatic analysis linking genomic defects to chemosensitivity and mechanism of action. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0243336. [PMID: 33909629 PMCID: PMC8081165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A joint analysis of the NCI60 small molecule screening data, their genetically defective genes, and mechanisms of action (MOA) of FDA approved cancer drugs screened in the NCI60 is proposed for identifying links between chemosensitivity, genomic defects and MOA. Self-Organizing-Maps (SOMs) are used to organize the chemosensitivity data. Student's t-tests are used to identify SOM clusters with enhanced chemosensitivity for tumor cell lines with versus without genetically defective genes. Fisher's exact and chi-square tests are used to reveal instances where defective gene to chemosensitivity associations have enriched MOAs. The results of this analysis find a relatively small set of defective genes, inclusive of ABL1, AXL, BRAF, CDC25A, CDKN2A, IGF1R, KRAS, MECOM, MMP1, MYC, NOTCH1, NRAS, PIK3CG, PTK2, RPTOR, SPTBN1, STAT2, TNKS and ZHX2, as possible candidates for roles in chemosensitivity for compound MOAs that target primarily, but not exclusively, kinases, nucleic acid synthesis, protein synthesis, apoptosis and tubulin. These results find exploitable instances of enhanced chemosensitivity of compound MOA's for selected defective genes. Collectively these findings will advance the interpretation of pre-clinical screening data as well as contribute towards the goals of cancer drug discovery, development decision making, and explanation of drug mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G. Covell
- Information Technologies Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States of America
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Nurieva EV, Zefirov NA, Temnyakova NS, Kuznetsov SA, Zefirova ON. C(7)-Derivatives of colchicine with guanosine and biphenyl moieties: molecular modeling, synthesis, and tubulin clustering effect in cancer cells. Russ Chem Bull 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11172-020-3025-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Škubník J, Jurášek M, Ruml T, Rimpelová S. Mitotic Poisons in Research and Medicine. Molecules 2020; 25:E4632. [PMID: 33053667 PMCID: PMC7587177 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25204632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is one of the greatest challenges of the modern medicine. Although much effort has been made in the development of novel cancer therapeutics, it still remains one of the most common causes of human death in the world, mainly in low and middle-income countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer treatment services are not available in more then 70% of low-income countries (90% of high-income countries have them available), and also approximately 70% of cancer deaths are reported in low-income countries. Various approaches on how to combat cancer diseases have since been described, targeting cell division being among them. The so-called mitotic poisons are one of the cornerstones in cancer therapies. The idea that cancer cells usually divide almost uncontrolled and far more rapidly than normal cells have led us to think about such compounds that would take advantage of this difference and target the division of such cells. Many groups of such compounds with different modes of action have been reported so far. In this review article, the main approaches on how to target cancer cell mitosis are described, involving microtubule inhibition, targeting aurora and polo-like kinases and kinesins inhibition. The main representatives of all groups of compounds are discussed and attention has also been paid to the presence and future of the clinical use of these compounds as well as their novel derivatives, reviewing the finished and ongoing clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Škubník
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Technická 3, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic; (J.Š.); (T.R.)
| | - Michal Jurášek
- Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Technická 3, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic;
| | - Tomáš Ruml
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Technická 3, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic; (J.Š.); (T.R.)
| | - Silvie Rimpelová
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Technická 3, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic; (J.Š.); (T.R.)
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Krzywik J, Aminpour M, Maj E, Mozga W, Wietrzyk J, Tuszyński JA, Huczyński A. New Series of Double-Modified Colchicine Derivatives: Synthesis, Cytotoxic Effect and Molecular Docking. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25153540. [PMID: 32748887 PMCID: PMC7435877 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25153540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Colchicine is a well-known anticancer compound showing antimitotic effect on cells. Its high cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines has been demonstrated many times. In this paper we report the syntheses and spectroscopic analyses of novel colchicine derivatives obtained by structural modifications at C7 (carbon-nitrogen single bond) and C10 (methylamino group) positions. All the obtained compounds have been tested in vitro to determine their cytotoxicity toward A549, MCF-7, LoVo, LoVo/DX, and BALB/3T3 cell lines. The majority of obtained derivatives exhibited higher cytotoxicity than colchicine, doxorubicin and cisplatin against the tested cancerous cell lines. Additionally, most of the presented derivatives were able to overcome the resistance of LoVo/DX cells. Additionally, their mode of binding to β-tubulin was evaluated in silico. Molecular docking studies showed that apart from the initial amides 1 and 2, compound 14, which had the best antiproliferative activity (IC50 = 0.1–1.6 nM), stood out also in terms of its predicted binding energy and probably binds best into the active site of βI-tubulin isotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Krzywik
- Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, 61-614 Poznań, Poland;
- TriMen Chemicals, Piłsudskiego 141, 92-318 Łódź, Poland;
| | - Maral Aminpour
- Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada; (M.A.); (J.A.T.)
| | - Ewa Maj
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (E.M.); (J.W.)
| | - Witold Mozga
- TriMen Chemicals, Piłsudskiego 141, 92-318 Łódź, Poland;
| | - Joanna Wietrzyk
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (E.M.); (J.W.)
| | - Jack A. Tuszyński
- Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada; (M.A.); (J.A.T.)
- DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
| | - Adam Huczyński
- Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 8, 61-614 Poznań, Poland;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-61-8291673
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Synthesis, Antiproliferative Activity and Molecular Docking Studies of Novel Doubly Modified Colchicine Amides and Sulfonamides as Anticancer Agents. Molecules 2020; 25:molecules25081789. [PMID: 32295119 PMCID: PMC7221574 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25081789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Colchicine is a well-known compound with strong antiproliferative activity that has had limited use in chemotherapy because of its toxicity. In order to create more potent anticancer agents, a series of novel colchicine derivatives have been obtained by simultaneous modification at C7 (amides and sulfonamides) and at C10 (methylamino group) positions and characterized by spectroscopic methods. All the synthesized compounds have been tested in vitro to evaluate their cytotoxicity toward A549, MCF-7, LoVo, LoVo/DX and BALB/3T3 cell lines. Additionally, the activity of the studied compounds was investigated using computational methods involving molecular docking of the colchicine derivatives to β-tubulin. The majority of the obtained derivatives exhibited higher cytotoxicity than colchicine, doxorubicin or cisplatin against tested cancer cell lines. Furthermore, molecular modeling studies of the obtained compounds revealed their possible binding modes into the colchicine binding site of tubulin.
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