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Bhat Y, Thrishna MR, Banerjee S. Molecular targets and therapeutic strategies for triple-negative breast cancer. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:10535-10577. [PMID: 37924450 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08868-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known for its heterogeneous complexity and is often difficult to treat. TNBC lacks the expression of major hormonal receptors like estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 and is further subdivided into androgen receptor (AR) positive and AR negative. In contrast, AR negative is also known as quadruple-negative breast cancer (QNBC). Compared to AR-positive TNBC, QNBC has a great scarcity of prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. QNBC shows excessive cellular growth and proliferation of tumor cells due to increased expression of growth factors like EGF and various surface proteins. This study briefly reviews the limited data available as protein biomarkers that can be used as molecular targets in treating TNBC as well as QNBC. Targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors have recently changed cancer treatment. Many studies in medicinal chemistry continue to focus on the synthesis of novel compounds to discover new antiproliferative medicines capable of treating TNBC despite the abundance of treatments currently on the market. Drug repurposing is one of the therapeutic methods for TNBC that has been examined. Moreover, some additional micronutrients, nutraceuticals, and functional foods may be able to lower cancer risk or slow the spread of malignant diseases that have already been diagnosed with cancer. Finally, nanomedicines, or applications of nanotechnology in medicine, introduce nanoparticles with variable chemistry and architecture for the treatment of cancer. This review emphasizes the most recent research on nutraceuticals, medication repositioning, and novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yashasvi Bhat
- School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India
| | - M R Thrishna
- School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India
| | - Satarupa Banerjee
- School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India.
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Jain P, Satija J, Sudandiradoss C. Discovery of andrographolide hit analog as a potent cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor through consensus MD-simulation, electrostatic potential energy simulation and ligand efficiency metrics. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8147. [PMID: 37208387 PMCID: PMC10199084 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35192-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is the key enzyme responsible for the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins that display pro-inflammatory properties and thus, it is a potential target protein to develop anti-inflammatory drugs. In this study, chemical and bio-informatics approaches have been employed to find a novel potent andrographolide (AGP) analog as a COX-2 inhibitor having better pharmacological properties than aspirin and rofecoxib (controls). The full amino acid sequenced human Alpha fold (AF) COX-2 protein (604AA) was selected and validated for its accuracy against the reported COX-2 protein structures (PDB ID: 5F19, 5KIR, 5F1A, 5IKQ and 1V0X) followed by multiple sequence alignment analysis to establish the sequence conservation. The systematic virtual screening of 237 AGP analogs against AF-COX-2 protein yielded 22 lead compounds based on the binding energy score (< - 8.0 kcal/mol). These were further screened out to 7 analogs by molecular docking analysis and investigated further for ADMET prediction, ligand efficiency metrics calculations, quantum mechanical analysis, MD simulation, electrostatic potential energy (EPE) docking simulation, and MM/GBSA. In-depth analysis revealed that AGP analog A3 (3-[2-[(1R,4aR,5R,6R,8aR)-6-hydroxy-5,6,8a-trimethyl-2-methylidene-3,4,4a,5,7,8-hexahydro-1H-naphthalen-1-yl]ethylidene]-4-hydroxyoxolan-2-one) forms the most stable complex with the AF-COX-2 showing the least RMSD value (0.37 ± 0.03 nm), a good number of hydrogen bonds (protein-ligand H-bond = 11, and protein H-bond = 525), minimum EPE score (- 53.81 kcal/mol), and lowest MM-GBSA before and after simulation (- 55.37 and - 56.25 kcal/mol, respectively) value compared to other analogs and controls. Thus, we suggest that the identified A3 AGP analog could be developed as a promising plant-based anti-inflammatory drug by inhibiting COX-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Jain
- School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India
| | - Jitendra Satija
- Centre for Nanobiotechnology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India
| | - C Sudandiradoss
- School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014, India.
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New Achievements for the Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12115554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a heterogeneous group of malignancies that are often aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis. The development of new TNBC treatment strategies has become an urgent clinical need. Diagnosis and subtyping of TNBC are essential to establish alternative treatments and targeted therapies for every TNBC patient. Chemotherapy, particularly with anthracycline and taxanes, remains the backbone for medical management for both early and metastatic TNBC. More recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy have revolutionized cancer treatment. Included in the different strategies studied for TNBC treatment is drug repurposing. Despite the numerous medications available, numerous studies in medicinal chemistry are still aimed at the synthesis of new compounds in order to find new antiproliferative agents capable of treating TNBC. Additionally, some supplemental micronutrients, nutraceuticals and functional foods can potentially reduce the risk of developing cancer or can retard the rate of growth and metastases of established malignant diseases. Finally, nanotechnology in medicine, termed nanomedicines, introduces nanoparticles of variable chemistry and architecture for cancer treatment. This review highlights the most recent studies in search of new therapies for the treatment of TNBC, along with nutraceuticals and repositioning of drugs.
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Shah D, Challagundla N, Dave V, Patidar A, Saha B, Nivsarkar M, Trivedi VB, Agrawal-Rajput R. Berberine mediates tumor cell death by skewing tumor-associated immunosuppressive macrophages to inflammatory macrophages. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2022; 99:153904. [PMID: 35231825 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Berberine is a plant-derived alkaloid with potent anti-cancer activities. Berberine may redirect the tumor-promoting immunosuppressive M2 macrophages, to tumoricidal activated M1 macrophages. But such an anti-tumor function remains to be demonstrated. HYPOTHESIS Polarization of macrophages to an immunosuppressive phenotype within the tumor microenvironment promotes tumor growth and contributes to resistance to chemotherapy. We examined if berberine would target macrophage polarization to reinstate anti-tumor immune response. STUDY DESIGN Using a B16F10 mouse melanoma model, we assessed berberine-induced re-polarization of immunosuppressive M2 macrophages to anti-tumor M1 macrophages and subsequent T-cell activation within the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. METHODS The B16F10 culture supernatant along with tumor antigen was used as tumor mimicking conditioned medium (CM). The bone marrow-derived macrophages were cultured in CM for 5 days. The CM-induced skewing of macrophages to M2-like phenotype was confirmed by flow cytometry and ELISA. The T-cells were co-cultured with macrophages to decipher the effect of berberine on T-cell differentiation. In vivo efficacy of berberine was analyzed using melanoma model of solid tumor. RESULTS Berberine inhibited rIL-6-induced STAT-3 phosphorylation and IL-10 release from B16F10 cells. It enhanced tumor antigen-induced IL-1β, IL-12 and TNFα, but suppressed IL-6 and TGF-β release. Berberine significantly prevented the tumor antigen-mediated IL-10-enhanced IL-6 and TGF-β expression. The CM skewed the bone marrow-derived macrophages to CD206-high but MHC-II-low M2-like tumor-associated macrophages. Berberine partially prevented the generation of these macrophages and was associated with reduced C/EBPβ and Egr2 mRNA expression and lowered IL-10 and TGF-β production. Berberine significantly reduced Arginase-1 expression in CM-treated M1 and M2-like macrophages. Berberine increased MHC-II and CD40 expression on the macrophages augmenting the CTL activity and the number of IFNγ-producing CD4+ T-cells. Berberine significantly lowered tumor volume, weight and enhanced the frequency of M1-like macrophages in mice. CONCLUSION These data indicate that berberine interferes with pro-tumor macrophage polarization and IL-10 and TGF-β release but restores Tcell anti-tumor cytotoxicity in the tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhruvi Shah
- Immunology Lab, Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 426, India
| | - Naveen Challagundla
- Immunology Lab, Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 426, India
| | - Vaidehi Dave
- Immunology Lab, Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 426, India
| | - Ashok Patidar
- National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune 411 007, India
| | - Bhaskar Saha
- National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune 411 007, India
| | - Manish Nivsarkar
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, B.V. Patel PERD Centre, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 054, India
| | - Varsha B Trivedi
- Department of Pathology, Laboratory Medicine, Transfusion Services and Immuno haematology, IKDRC-ITS, Ahmedabad 380 016, India
| | - Reena Agrawal-Rajput
- Immunology Lab, Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 426, India.
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Ramesh P, Veerappapillai S. Designing Novel Compounds for the Treatment and Management of RET-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer-Fragment Based Drug Design Strategy. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27051590. [PMID: 35268691 PMCID: PMC8911629 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27051590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Rearranged during transfection (RET) is an oncogenic driver receptor that is overexpressed in several cancer types, including non-small cell lung cancer. To date, only multiple kinase inhibitors are widely used to treat RET-positive cancer patients. These inhibitors exhibit high toxicity, less efficacy, and specificity against RET. The development of drug-resistant mutations in RET protein further deteriorates this situation. Hence, in the present study, we aimed to design novel drug-like compounds using a fragment-based drug designing strategy to overcome these issues. About 18 known inhibitors from diverse chemical classes were fragmented and bred to form novel compounds against RET proteins. The inhibitory activity of the resultant 115 hybrid molecules was evaluated using molecular docking and RF-Score analysis. The binding free energy and chemical reactivity of the compounds were computed using MM-GBSA and density functional theory analysis, respectively. The results from our study revealed that the developed hybrid molecules except for LF21 and LF27 showed higher reactivity and stability than Pralsetinib. Ultimately, the process resulted in three hybrid molecules namely LF1, LF2, and LF88 having potent inhibitory activity against RET proteins. The scrutinized molecules were then subjected to molecular dynamics simulation for 200 ns and MM-PBSA analysis to eliminate a false positive design. The results from our analysis hypothesized that the designed compounds exhibited significant inhibitory activity against multiple RET variants. Thus, these could be considered as potential leads for further experimental studies.
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Ávalos-Moreno M, López-Tejada A, Blaya-Cánovas JL, Cara-Lupiañez FE, González-González A, Lorente JA, Sánchez-Rovira P, Granados-Principal S. Drug Repurposing for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. J Pers Med 2020; 10:E200. [PMID: 33138097 PMCID: PMC7711505 DOI: 10.3390/jpm10040200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive type of breast cancer which presents a high rate of relapse, metastasis, and mortality. Nowadays, the absence of approved specific targeted therapies to eradicate TNBC remains one of the main challenges in clinical practice. Drug discovery is a long and costly process that can be dramatically improved by drug repurposing, which identifies new uses for existing drugs, both approved and investigational. Drug repositioning benefits from improvements in computational methods related to chemoinformatics, genomics, and systems biology. To the best of our knowledge, we propose a novel and inclusive classification of those approaches whereby drug repurposing can be achieved in silico: structure-based, transcriptional signatures-based, biological networks-based, and data-mining-based drug repositioning. This review specially emphasizes the most relevant research, both at preclinical and clinical settings, aimed at repurposing pre-existing drugs to treat TNBC on the basis of molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways such as androgen receptor, adrenergic receptor, STAT3, nitric oxide synthase, or AXL. Finally, because of the ability and relevance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) to drive tumor aggressiveness and poor clinical outcome, we also focus on those molecules repurposed to specifically target this cell population to tackle recurrence and metastases associated with the progression of TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Ávalos-Moreno
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
| | - Araceli López-Tejada
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- UGC de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, 23007 Jaén, Spain;
| | - Jose L. Blaya-Cánovas
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- UGC de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, 23007 Jaén, Spain;
| | - Francisca E. Cara-Lupiañez
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- UGC de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, 23007 Jaén, Spain;
| | - Adrián González-González
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- UGC de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, 23007 Jaén, Spain;
| | - Jose A. Lorente
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- Department of Legal Medicine, School of Medicine—PTS—University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
| | | | - Sergio Granados-Principal
- GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, PTS Granada, Avenida de la Ilustración, 18016 Granada, Spain; (M.Á.-M.); (A.L.-T.); (J.L.B.-C.); (F.E.C.-L.); (A.G.-G.); (J.A.L.)
- UGC de Oncología Médica, Complejo Hospitalario de Jaén, 23007 Jaén, Spain;
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Abstract
Breast cancer has grown to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Only a few treatment options are available for breast cancer due to the widespread occurrence of chemoresistance, which emphasizes the need to discover and develop new methods to treat this disease. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is an early tumor diagnostic marker and is known to promote breast cancer malignancy. Recent clinical and preclinical data indicate the involvement of overexpressed and constitutively activated STAT3 in the progression, proliferation, metastasis and chemoresistance of breast cancer. Moreover, new pathways comprised of upstream regulators and downstream targets of STAT3 have been discovered. In addition, small molecule inhibitors targeting STAT3 activation have been found to be efficient for therapeutic treatment of breast cancer. This systematic review discusses the advances in the discovery of the STAT3 pathways and drugs targeting STAT3 in breast cancer. Video abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-hui Ma
- Marine College, Shandong University, Wenhua West Rd. 180, Weihai, Shandong 264209 P.R. China
| | - Li Qin
- Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Sino-US Diagnostics Co., Ltd., Tianjin, PR China
| | - Xia Li
- Marine College, Shandong University, Wenhua West Rd. 180, Weihai, Shandong 264209 P.R. China
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012 China
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