The optimal dose of arsenic trioxide induced opposite efficacy in autophagy between K562 cells and their initiating cells to eradicate human myelogenous leukemia

Stimulating the Hematopoietic Effect of Simulated Digestive Product of Fucoidan from Sargassum fusiforme on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Hematopoietic Damage in Mice and Its Protective Mechanisms Based on Serum Lipidomics

Hematopoietic damage is a serious side effect of cytotoxic drugs, and agents promoting hematopoiesis are quite important for decreasing the death rate in cancer patients. In our previous work, we prepared the simulated digestive product of fucoidan from Sargassum fusiforme, DSFF, and found that DSFF could activate macrophages. However, more investigations are needed to further evaluate whether DSFF could promote hematopoiesis in the chemotherapy process. In this study, the protective effect of DSFF (1.8-7.2 mg/kg, i.p.) on cyclophosphamide-induced hematopoietic damage in mice and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Our results show that DSFF could restore the numbers of white blood cells, neutrophils, and platelets in the peripheral blood, and could also retard bone marrow cell decrease in mice with cyclophosphamide-induced hematopoietic damage. UPLC/Q-Extraction Orbitrap/MS/MS-based lipidomics results reveal 16 potential lipid biomarkers in a serum that responded to hematopoietic damage in mice. Among them, PC (20:1/14:0) and SM (18:0/22:0) were the key lipid molecules through which DSFF exerted protective actions. In a validation experiment, DSFF (6.25-100 μg/mL) could also promote K562 cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro. The current findings indicated that DSFF could affect the blood cells and bone marrow cells in vivo and thus showed good potential and application value in alleviating the hematopoietic damage caused by cyclophosphamide.

Research on Effect and Mechanism of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction on CHD Based on Meta-Analysis and Network Pharmacology

Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction (XFZY) is an ancient compound widely used in the treatment of coronary heart disease. However, its efficacy evaluation is not complete and its mechanism of action is not clear enough. In an attempt to address these problems, the efficacy was evaluated by meta-analysis and the mechanism was elucidated by the network pharmacology method. We systematically searched relevant studies in PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Cochrane Library, Wanfang Data, and other databases from 2007 to 2019. The association between XFZY treatment and CHD was estimated by risk ratio (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The compounds and the potential protein targets of XFZY were obtained from TCMSP, and active compounds were selected according to their oral bioavailability and drug similarity. The potential genes of coronary heart disease were obtained from TTD, OMIM, and GeneCards. The potential pathways related to genes were determined by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. The compound-target and compound-target-pathway networks were constructed. Molecular docking validates the component and the target. A total of 21 studies including 1844 patients were enrolled in the present meta-analysis, indicating that XFZY has a greater beneficial on total effect (fixed effect RR = 1.30; 95% Cl: 1.24-1.36; P=0.82; I ² = 0.0%) and electrocardiogram efficacy (fixed effect RR = 1.40; 95% Cl: 1.26-1.56; P=0.96; I ² = 0.0%) compared with the control group. A total of 1342 components in XFZY were obtained, among which, 241 were chosen as bioactive components. GO and KEGG analyses got top 10 significantly enriched terms and 10 enriched pathways. The C-T network included 192 compounds and 3085 targets, whereas the C-T-P network included 10 compounds, 109 targets, and 5 pathways. There was a good binding activity between the components and the targets. XFZY has the curative effect on coronary heart disease, and its mechanism is related to 10 compounds, 10 core targets, and 5 pathways.

A novel mechanism of inhibiting in-stent restenosis with arsenic trioxide drug-eluting stent: Enhancing contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells via YAP pathway

OBJECTIVE

Arsenic trioxide (ATO or As2O3) has beneficial effects on suppressing neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis, but the mechanism is still unclear. The goal of this study is to further understand the mechanism of ATO's inhibitory effect on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Through in vitro cell culture and in vivo stent implanting into the carotid arteries of rabbit, a synthetic-to-contractile phenotypic transition was induced and the proliferation of VSMCs was inhibited by ATO. F-actin filaments were clustered and the elasticity modulus was increased within the phenotypic modulation of VSMCs induced by ATO in vitro. Meanwhile, Yes-associated protein (YAP) nuclear translocation was inhibited by ATO both in vivo and in vitro. It was found that ROCK inhibitor or YAP inactivator could partially mask the phenotype modulation of ATO on VSMCs.

CONCLUSIONS

The interaction of YAP with the ROCK pathway through ATO seems to mediate the contractile phenotype of VSMCs. This provides an indication of the clinical therapeutic mechanism for the beneficial bioactive effect of ATO-drug eluting stent (AES) on in-stent restenosis (ISR).

Arsenic trioxide induces autophagic degradation of the FLT3-ITD mutated protein in FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leukemia cells

The prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) mutations is poor. Some studies, including our previous study, have indicated that arsenic trioxide (ATO) exhibited significant anti-carcinogenic activity in FLT3-ITD AML cells and explored the possibility of targeting the FLT3-ITD protein for degradation as a therapy. Autophagy is a critical mechanism of the anti-leukemic effects of ATO. In this study, we explored the therapeutic efficacy of ATO treatment in a mouse model bearing FLT3-ITD AML and found that ATO significantly reduced the leukemic burden in bone marrow and spleen. We also found that autophagy was responsible for, at least in part, the degradation of the FLT3-ITD protein by ATO. After ATO treatment, MV4-11 cells showed complete autophagic flux. The autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A or down-regulation of the key autophagy genes Atg5 and Atg7 reversed the FLT3 degradation induced by ATO. We also found that p62/SQSTM1 delivered FLT3-ITD proteins to the lysosome, where they were subsequently degraded. These results indicate that ATO can induce autophagic degradation of the FLT3-ITD mutated protein in FLT3-ITD AML.

Dual oligopeptides modification mediates arsenic trioxide containing nanoparticles to eliminate primitive chronic myeloid leukemia cells inside bone marrow niches

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is one type of hematopoietic stem cell diseases. Although BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors are remarkably effective in inducing remission in chronic phase patients, they are not curative in a majority of patients due to their failure to eradicate residual CML stem/progenitor cells, which reside in bone marrow niches. Here, we presented novel dual oligopeptides-conjugated nanoparticles and demonstrated their effective delivery of arsenic trioxide in bone marrow niches for the elimination of primitive CML cells. We encapsulated As-Ni transitional metal compounds into polymeric nanoparticles based on the reverse micelle rationale. The loading density and stability of arsenic trioxide in nanoparticles were improved. In vitro experiments demonstrated that dual oligopeptides conjugated nanoparticles could deliver arsenic trioxide into bone marrow niches including endosteal niches and vascular niches. The colony-forming activity of CML cells was remarkably restrained in the presence of metaphyseal bone fragments pre-incubated with bone marrow niche targeted arsenic nanoparticles. The in vitro vascular niche model suggested that CML cell proliferation was also successfully inhibited through a tight contact with HUVECs, which were pre-treated using niche-targeted arsenic nanoparticles. This bone marrow niche targeted delivery strategy has a potential usage for the treatment of CML and other malignant hematologic disorders originated from the bone marrow.

Berberine Maintains the Neutrophil N1 Phenotype to Reverse Cancer Cell Resistance to Doxorubicin

This study explores the contributions of neutrophils to chemotherapeutic resistance and berberine-regulated cancer cell sensitivity to doxorubicin (DOX). In vitro experiments, continuous DOX treatment led to the shift of HL-60 cells to N2 neutrophils and thus induced chemotherapeutic resistance. The combination treatment with DOX and 2 µM berberine resulted in the differentiation of HL-60 cells toward N1 and therefore stimulated HL-60 cell immune clearance. Berberine increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased autophagy and therefore induced apoptosis in HL-60-N2 cells with morphological changes, but had no effect on cell viability in HL-60-N1 cells. The neutrophil-regulating efficacy of berberine was confirmed in the urethane-induced lung carcinogenic model and H22 liver cancer allograft model. Furthermore, we found that DOX-derived neutrophils had high levels of CD133 and CD309 surface expression, which prevented both chemotherapeutic sensitivity and immune rejection by self-expression of PD-L1 and surface expression of PD-1 receptor on T cells, whereas berberine could downregulate CD133 and CD309 surface expression. Finally, berberine-relevant targets and pathways were evaluated. This study first suggests an important role of berberine in regulating neutrophil phenotypes to maintain cancer cell sensitivity to DOX.

Dysregulation of Sqstm1, mitophagy, and apoptotic genes in chronic exposure to arsenic and high-fat diet (HFD)

Arsenic (As) is a toxic and hazardous metalloid. Unfortunately, its presence in drinking water together with wrong nutritional patterns is associated with an increase in the occurrence of metabolic disorders in young people. Degradation of mitochondria is presented by a specific form of autophagy called mitophagy which is an important landmark leading to apoptosis during lipotoxicity. Lipotoxicity and cellular toxicity due to arsenic intake can lead to changes in mitophagy and apoptosis. The protein derived from SQSTM1 gene, also called p62, plays an important role in energy homeostasis in the liver, and it can contribute to the regulation of autophagic responses given its effect on signaling of mTOR, MAPK, and NF-KB. Consequently, changes in Sqstm1, mitophagy (BNIP3), and apoptotic (caspase 3) genes in the livers of NMRI mice were examined with the use of real-time RT-PCR Array followed by exposure to an environmentally relevant and negligible cytotoxic concentration of arsenite (50 ppm) in drinking water while being fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) or low-fat diet (LFD) for 20 weeks (LFD-As and HFD-As groups). While LFD-As and HFD groups showed a decrease in BNIP3 expression, a significant increase was observed in the HFD-As group. P62 gene showed downregulation in LFD-As and HFD groups, and upregeneration was observed in the HFD-As group. Caspase 3 showed increased expression as the key factor associated with apoptotic liver cell death in the three groups, with the highest value in HFD-As group. Overall, the changes observed in the expression of Sqstm1, BNIP3, and caspase 3 in this study can be related to the level of liver damage caused by exposure to arsenic and HFD and probably, BNIP3 pro-apoptotic protein is associated with an increased cell death due to HFD and As.

Arsenic Trioxide-Coated Stent Is an Endothelium-Friendly Drug Eluting Stent

An ideal vascular stent would both inhibit in-stent restenosis (ISR) and promote rapid re-endothelialization. In the current study, the performance of arsenic trioxide (ATO)-drug eluting stent (AES) is compared with the bare metal stent, poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid-coating metal stent, and rapamycin-drug eluting stent (RES). In vivo AES is shown to prevent neointimal hyperplasia more efficiently than the others when implanted into the carotid arteries of rabbits. Moreover, AES promotes endothelial cells proliferation and re-endothelialization more quickly than RES. In vitro ATO exposure significantly increases the viability, proliferation, adhesion, and spreading of primary porcine coronary artery endothelial cells (PCAECs), which are critical for endothelialization. However, ATO exposure reduces the viability of porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells (PCASMCs). The evaluation of mitochondrial morphology, membrane potential, and function demonstrates that ATO at 2 µmol L^-1 causes enlargement of the mitochondrion, enhancement of mitochondrial membrane potential, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in PCAECs but not in PCASMCs. Thus, both in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that AES is an effective strategy for rapid re-endothelialization and inhibition of ISR.

Personalizing Chinese medicine by integrating molecular features of diseases and herb ingredient information: application to acute myeloid leukemia

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used as a complementary medicine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) treatment. In this study, we proposed a new classification of Chinese Medicines (CMs) by integrating the latest discoveries in disease molecular mechanisms and traditional medicine theory. We screened out a set of chemical compounds on basis of AML differential expression genes and chemical-protein interactions and then mapped them to Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database. 415 CMs contain those compounds and they were categorized into 8 groups according to the Traditional Chinese Pharmacology. Pathway analysis and synthetic lethality gene pairs were applied to analyze the dissimilarity, generality and intergroup relations of different groups. We defined hub CM pairs and alternative CM groups based on the analysis result and finally proposed a formula to form an effective anti-AML prescription which combined the hub CM pairs with alternative CMs according to patients’ molecular features. Our method of formulating CMs based on patients’ stratification provides novel insights into the new usage of conventional CMs and will promote TCM modernization.

Autophagy Flux Contributes to Regulation of Components of Eclipta prostrata L. on Cigarette Smoking-Induced Injury of Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Excessive autophagy plays a crucial role in cigarette smoking extract (CSE)-induced inflammation response and oxidative damage of respiratory epithelial cells. The components from Eclipta prostrata L. (CCE) have been shown to be beneficial for CSE-induced epithelial cells injury. However, whether its protection on CSE-stress injury is related to its regulation on autophagy remains still unclear. In this study, CCE, containing mainly wedelolactone of 45.88% and demethylwedelolactone of 23.74%, could improve significantly 10%CSE-induced cell viability of normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells using CCK-8 kit. We revealed that CCE could remarkably increase autophagic factors Beclin-1, Atg5, ATF4 proteins expression levels and the transformation of LC3-I to LC3-II. Additionally, CCE up-regulated significantly p-p16 and p-p21 phosphorylation levels whereas down-regulated p-p53 in NHBE cells. The changes of typical autolysosom and representative autophagosome in the presence of CCE or/and autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) were also observed by transmission electron microscopy. These data demonstrated that CCE reduced CSE-induced autophagy flux activation in NHBE cells. The blockade of CCE on autophagy flux contributes to its protection against CSE-induced NHBE cells damage, and CCE is promising to be combination therapeutic molecules to excessive autophagic damage in respiratory diseases.