5-Acetyl goniothalamin suppresses proliferation of breast cancer cells via Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Biological functions and molecular interactions of Wnt/β-catenin in breast cancer: Revisiting signaling networks

Changes in lifestyle such as physical activity and eating habits have been one of the main reasons for development of various diseases in modern world, especially cancer. However, role of genetic factors in initiation of cancer cannot be ignored and Wnt/β-catenin signaling is such factor that can affect tumor progression. Breast tumor is the most malignant tumor in females and it causes high mortality and morbidity around the world. The survival and prognosis of patients are not still desirable, although there have been advances in introducing new kinds of therapies and diagnosis. The present review provides an update of Wnt/β-catenin function in breast cancer malignancy. The upregulation of Wnt is commonly observed during progression of breast tumor and confirms that tumor cells are dependent on this pathway Wnt/β-catenin induction prevents apoptosis that is of importance for mediating drug resistance. Furthermore, Wnt/β-catenin signaling induces DNA damage repair in ameliorating radio-resistance. Wnt/β-catenin enhances proliferation and metastasis of breast tumor. Wnt/β-catenin induces EMT and elevates MMP expression. Furthermore, Wnt/β-catenin participates in tumor microenvironment remodeling and due to its tumor-promoting factor, drugs for its suppression have been developed. Different kinds of upstream mediators Wnt/β-catenin signaling in breast cancer have been recognized that their targeting is a therapeutic approach. Finally, Wnt/β-catenin can be considered as a biomarker in clinical trials.

Combination of Goniothalamin and Sol-Gel-Derived Bioactive Glass 45S5 Enhances Growth Inhibitory Activity via Apoptosis Induction and Cell Cycle Arrest in Breast Cancer Cells MCF-7

Background

Combination of natural products with chemically synthesised biomaterials as cancer therapy has attracted great interest lately. Hence, this study is aimed at investigating the combined effects of goniothalamin and bioactive glass 45S5 (GTN-BG) and evaluating their anticancer properties on human breast cancer cells MCF-7.

Methods

The BG 45S5 was prepared using the sol-gel process followed by characterisation using PSA, BET, SEM/EDS, XRD, and FTIR. The effects of GTN-BG on the proliferation of MCF-7 were assessed by MTT, PrestoBlue, and scratch wound assays. The cell cycle analysis, Annexin-FITC assay, and activation of caspase-3/7, caspase-8, and caspase-9 assays were determined to further explore its mechanism of action.

Results

The synthesised BG 45S5 was classified as a fine powder, having a rough surface, and contains mesopores of 12.6 nm. EDS analysis revealed that silica and calcium elements are the primary components of BG powders. Both crystalline and amorphous structures were detected with 73% and 27% similarity to Na₂Ca₂(Si₂O₇) and hydroxyapatite, respectively. The combination of GTN-BG was more potent than GTN in inhibiting the proliferation of MCF-7 cells. G0/G1 and G2/M phases of the cell cycle were arrested by GTN and GTN-BG. The percentage of viable cells in GTN-BG treatment was significantly lower than that in GTN. In terms of activation of initiator caspases for both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, caspase-8 and caspase-9 were found more effective in response to GTN-BG than GTN.

Conclusion

The anticancer effect of GTN in MCF-7 cells was improved when combined with BG. The findings provide significant insight into the mechanism of GTN-BG against MCF-7 cells, which can potentially be used as a novel anticancer therapeutic approach.

Non-Polar Myxococcus fulvus KYC4048 Metabolites Exert Anti-Proliferative Effects via Inhibition of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is involved in breast cancer and Myxococcus fulvus KYC4048 is a myxobacterial strain that can produce a variety of bioactive secondary metabolites. Although a previous study revealed that KYC4048 metabolites exhibit anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer, the biochemical mechanism involved in their effects remains unclear. In the present study, KYC4048 metabolites were separated into polar and non-polar (ethyl acetate and n-hexane) fractions via liquid-liquid extraction. The effects of these polar and non-polar KYC4048 metabolites on the viability of breast cancer cells were then determined by MTT assay. Expression levels of Wnt/β-catenin pathway proteins were determined by Western blot analysis. Cell cycle and apoptosis were measured via fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The results revealed that non-polar KYC4048 metabolites induced cell death of breast cancer cells and decreased expression levels of WNT2B, β-catenin, and Wnt target genes (c-Myc and cyclin D1). Moreover, the n-hexane fraction of non-polar KYC4048 metabolites was found most effective in inducing apoptosis, necrosis, and cell cycle arrest, leading us to conclude that it can induce apoptosis of breast cancer cells through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These findings provide evidence that the n-hexane fraction of non-polar KYC4048 metabolites can be developed as a potential therapeutic agent for breast cancer via inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Food-derived natural compounds in the management of chronic diseases via Wnt signaling pathway

Wnt signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that control embryonic development, adult tissue homeostasis, and pathological processes of organisms throughout life. However, dysregulation of the Wnt signaling is associated with the occurrence of chronic diseases. In comparison with the application of chemical drugs as traditional treatment for chronic diseases, dietary agents have unique advantages, such as less side effects, multiple targets, convenience in accessibility and higher acceptability in long-term intervention. In this review, we summarized current progress in manipulating the Wnt signaling using food components and its benefits in managing chronic diseases. The underlying mechanisms of bioactive food components in the management of the disease progression via the Wnt signaling was illustrated. Then, the review focused on the function of dietary pattern (which might act via combination of foods with multiple nutrients or food ingredients) on targeting Wnt signaling at multiple level. The potential caveats and challenges in developing new strategy via modulating Wnt-associated diseases with food-based agents and appropriate dietary pattern are also discussed in detail. This review shed light on the understanding of the regulatory effect of food bioactive components on chronic diseases management through the Wnt signaling, which can be expanded to other specific signaling pathway associated with disease.

Integrated Batch and Continuous Flow Process for the Synthesis of Goniothalamin

An integrated batch and continuous flow process has been developed for the gram-scale synthesis of goniothalamin. The synthetic route hinges upon a telescoped continuous flow Grignard addition followed by an acylation reaction capable of delivering a racemic goniothalamin precursor (16) (20.9 g prepared over 3 h), with a productivity of 7 g·h^-1. An asymmetric Brown allylation protocol was also evaluated under continuous flow conditions. This approach employing (-)-Ipc₂B(allyl) provided an (S)-goniothalamin intermediate in 98% yield and 91.5% enantiomeric excess (ee) with a productivity of 1.8 g·h^-1. For the final step, a ring-closing metathesis reaction was explored under several conditions in both batch and flow regimes. In a batch operation, the Grubbs second-generation was shown to be effective and highly selective for the desired ring closure product over those arising from other modes of reactivity, and the reaction was complete in 1.5 h. In a flow operation, reactivity and selectivity were attenuated relative to the batch mode; however, after further optimization, the residence time could be reduced to 16 min with good selectivity and good yield of the target product. A tube-in-tube reactor was investigated for in-situ ethylene removal to favor ring-closing over cross-metathesis, in this context. These results provide further evidence of the utility of flow chemistry for organometallic processing and reaction telescoping. Using the developed integrated batch and flow methods, a total of 7.75 g of goniothalamin (1) was synthesized.

Aberrant canonical Wnt signaling: Phytochemical based modulation

BACKGROUND

Wnt signaling pathway plays a major role during development like gastrulation, axis formation, organ development and organization of body plan development. Wnt signaling aberration has been linked with various disease conditions like osteoporosis, colon cancer, hair follicle tumor, Leukemia, and Alzheimer's disease. Phytochemicals like flavonoid, glycosides, polyphenols, have been reported to directly target the markers of Wnt signaling in different disease models.

PURPOSE

The study deals in detail about the different phytochemical targeting key players of Wnt signaling pathway in diseases like Cancer, Osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease. We have focused on the Pharmacological basis of disease alleviation by phytochemical specifically targeting the Wnt signaling markers in this study.

METHODS

The study focused on the published articles from the preclinical rodent and invitro cell line studies related to Wnt signaling and Phytochemicals related to Cancer, Alzheimer's and Osteoporosis. The electronic databases Scopus, Web of Science and Pubmed database were used for the systematic search of literatures from 2005 up to 2019 using keywords Canonical Wnt signaling pathway, Cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Osteoporosis, Phytochemicals. The focus was to identify the target specific modulation of Wnt signaling mediated by phytochemicals.

RESULTS

Approximately 30 phytochemicals of different class have been identified to modulate Wnt signaling pathway acting through Axin, β-catenin translocation, GSK-3β, AKT, Wif-1 in various experimental studies. The down regulation of Wnt signaling is observed in Cancer mostly colorectal cancer, breast cancer mediated through mutations in APC and Axin genes. Different class of Phytochemicals such as flavonoid, glycosides, polyphenol, alkaloids etc. have been found to target Wnt signaling markers and alleviate Cancer. Similarly, Up regulation of Wnt signaling has been reported in Osteoporosis and neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's disease.

CONCLUSION

This review highlights the possibility of the Phytochemicals to target Wnt markers and its potential to either activate or deactivate the Wnt signaling pathway. It also describes the challenges in proper targeting of Wnt signaling and the potential risk and consequences of either up regulation or down regulation of the signaling pathway. This article highlights the possibility of Wnt signaling pathway as a therapeutic option in different diseases.

Monomer gypenoside LI from Gynostemma pentaphyllum inhibits cell proliferation and upregulates expression of miR-128-3p in melanoma cells

Gypenosides have anticancer activity against many cancers. Gypenoside LI is a gypenoside monomer from Gynostemma pentaphyllum, its pharmacological functions in melanoma have not been reported. In this study, we found that gypenoside LI had a potent cytotoxic effect on melanoma cells. Gypenoside LI can induce intrinsic apoptosis along with S phase arrest. Furthermore, gypenoside LI inhibited the colony formation ability of melanoma through inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Interestingly, we also found that gypenoside LI can induce the upregulation of the tumor suppressor miR-128-3p during melanoma apoptosis. In contrast, gypenoside LI induced apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which were abolished by overexpression of the miR-128-3p inhibitor in A375 cells. Taken together, these results showed that gypenoside LI could inhibit human melanoma cells through inducing apoptosis, arresting cell cycle at the S phase and suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in a miR-128-3p dependent manner.

SIRT1 in the Development and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Current treatment options for inoperable HCCs have decreased therapeutic efficacy and are associated with systemic toxicity and chemoresistance. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide–dependent enzyme that is frequently overexpressed in HCC, where it promotes tumorigenicity, metastasis, and chemoresistance. SIRT1 also maintains the tumorigenic and self-renewal proprieties of liver cancer stem cells. Multiple tumor-suppressive microRNAs (miRNAs) are downregulated in HCC and, as a consequence, permit SIRT1-induced tumorigenicity. However, either directly targeting SIRT1, combining conventional chemotherapy with SIRT1 inhibitors, or upregulating tumor-suppressive miRNAs may improve therapeutic efficacy and patient outcomes. Here, we present the interaction between SIRT1, miRNAs, and liver cancer stem cells and discuss the consequences of their interplay for the development and treatment of HCC.

Licochalcone A Inhibits Cellular Motility by Suppressing E-cadherin and MAPK Signaling in Breast Cancer

A compound isolated from Glycyrrhiza uralensis, licochalcone A (LA) exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties in various cell lines. LA has been found to promote autophagy and suppress specificity protein 1, inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cells. However, the regulation of breast cancer cell invasion and migration by LA is elusive. Thus, the present study investigated whether LA induces apoptosis and cellular motility in MDA-MB-231 breast cells, and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. MDA-MB-231 cells treated with LA and cell viability measured by cell counting kit-8 assay. Apoptotic signal proteins checked by flow cytometry, fluorescent staining, and Western blot. LA effectively suppressed cell migration, and modulated E-cadherin and vimentin expression by blocking MAPK and AKT signaling. LA inhibited cell proliferation and cell cycle, modulated mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA damage, and reduced oxidative stress in MDA-MB-231 cells. LA also activated cleaved-caspase 3 and 9, significantly decreased Bcl-2 expression, ultimately causing the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm. Overall, our findings suggest that LA decreases cell proliferation and increases reactive oxygen species production for induced apoptosis, and regulates E-cadherin and vimentin by reducing MAPK and AKT signaling, resulting in suppressed MDA-MB-231 cell migration and invasion.

TRIM66 confers tumorigenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating GSK-3β-dependent Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Tripartite motif 66 (TRIM66) protein, a member of the tripartite motif (TRIM) protein superfamily, has emerged as an oncogenic protein that is closely related to carcinogenesis in multiple cancers. However, whether TRIM66 plays a role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. This study was aimed to investigate TRIM66 expression and its potential biological function in HCC cell lines. Here we showed that TRIM66 expression was significantly upregulated in HCC cell lines compared with normal control cells. Loss-of-function experiments by RNA interfering knockdown of TRIM66 showed that TRIM66 inhibition significantly reduced the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of HCC cells, whereas gain-of-function by overexpression of TRIM66 exhibited the opposite effect. Further investigation showed that TRIM66 was involved in regulating glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) phosphorylation and β-catenin expression. Knockdown of TRIM66 impeded the activation of Wnt signaling, while overexpression of TRIM66 promoted Wnt signaling activation. Moreover, inhibition of GSK-3β by specific inhibitor partially reversed TRIM66 inhibition-mediated antitumor effect, while knockdown of β-catenin blocked the oncogenic effect of TRIM66 overexpression in HCC cells. Additionally, in vivo experiments using a xenograft tumor model showed that TRIM66 knockdown blunted the tumorigenicity of HCC cells associated with downregulation of β-catenin expression. Overall, our results showed that TRIM66 functioned as an oncogenic protein in HCC by promoting the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Our study suggests that TRIM66 is a potential target for HCC treatment.

Goniothalamin-Related Styryl Lactones: Isolation, Synthesis, Biological Activity and Mode of Action

This review covers the chemistry and biological aspects of goniothalamin-related styryl lactones isolated from natural sources. This family of secondary metabolites has been reported to display diverse uses in folk medicine, but only a limited number of these compounds have been throughly investigated regarding their biological profile. Herein, we cover the goniothalamin-related styryl lactones having a C6-C3-C4 framework which appeared in the literature for the first time in the period 2000-2017, and the reports on the synthesis, biological activity and mechanism of action which were published from 2007-2017.

N-peptide of vMIP-Ⅱ reverses paclitaxel-resistance by regulating miRNA-335 in breast cancer

Acquisition of resistance to paclitaxel is one of the most important problems in treatment of breast cancer patients, but the molecular mechanisms underlying sensitivity to paclitaxel remains elusive. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in regulation of cell growth, migration and invasion through inhibiting the expression of its target genes. In our previous studies, we have shown that microRNA-335 (miR‑335) decreased obviously between paclitaxel-resistant (PR) and parental breast cancer cells through miRNA microarray. However, the roles of miR‑335 in breast cancer progression and metastasis are still largely unknown. NT21MP was designed and synthesized as an antagonist with CXCR4 to inhibit cellular proliferation and induce apoptosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the underlying mechanism of miR‑335 and NT21MP in reverse PR in breast cancer cells. In this study, we found that miR‑335 expression is significantly lower in PR MCF‑7 and SKBR-3 cells (MCF‑7/PR and SKBR-3/PR) compared with their parental MCF‑7 and SKBR-3 cells. Functional experiments showed that overexpression of miR‑335 and NT21MP increased the number of apoptosis cells, arrested cells in G0/G1 phase transition, and suppressed cell migration and invasion in vitro. Dual luciferase assays revealed that SETD8 is a direct target gene of miR‑335. Furthermore, miR‑335 markedly inhibited expression of SETD8 via Wnt/β‑catenin signaling and subsequently inhibited the expression of its downstream genes cyclin D1, and c‑Myc. Additionally, ectopic expression of miR‑335 or depletion of its target gene SETD8 could enhance the sensitivity of PR cells to paclitaxel. Taken together, these date elucidated that NT21MP and miR‑335 mediated PR of breast cancer cells partly through regulation of Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway. Activation of miR‑335 or inactivation of SETD8 could be a novel approach for the treatment of breast cancer.

Synthesis and cytotoxic activities of goniothalamins and derivatives

Substituted goniothalamins containing cyclopropane-groups were efficiently prepared in high yields and good selectivity. Antiproliferative activity was measured on three human cancer cell lines (A549, MCF-7, HBL-100), to show which of the structural elements of goniothalamins is mandatory for cytotoxicity. We found that the configuration of the stereogenic centre of the δ-lactone plays an important role for cytotoxicity. In our studies only (R)-configured goniothalamins showed antiproliferative activity, whereby (R)-configuration accords to natural goniothalamin (R)-1. Additionally, the δ-lactone needs to be unsaturated whereas our results show that the vinylic double bond is not mandatory for cytotoxicity. Furthermore, with a two-fold in vitro and in vivo strategy, we determined the inhibitory effect of the compounds to the yeast protein Pdr5. Here, we clearly demonstrate that the configuration seems to be of minor influence, only, while the nature of the substituent of the phenyl ring is of prime importance.