Interaction between Platinum Complexes and the C-Terminal Motif of Human Copper Transporter 1

Beta-elemene: A phytochemical with promise as a drug candidate for tumor therapy and adjuvant tumor therapy

BACKGROUND

β-Elemene (IUPAC name: (1 S,2 S,4 R)-1-ethenyl-1-methyl-2,4-bis(prop-1-en-2-yl) cyclohexane), is a natural compound found in turmeric root. Studies have demonstrated its diverse biological functions, including its anti-tumor properties, which have been extensively investigated. However, these have not yet been reviewed. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive summary of β-elemene research, with respect to disease treatment.

METHODS

β-Elemene-related articles were found in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases to systematically summarize its structure, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and pharmacological activity. We also searched the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database for therapeutic targets of β-elemene. We further combined these targets with the relevant literature for KEGG and GO analyses.

RESULTS

Studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying β-elemene activity indicate that it regulates multiple pathways, including STAT3, MAPKs, Cyclin-dependent kinase 1/cyclin B, Notch, PI3K/AKT, reactive oxygen species, METTL3, PTEN, p53, FAK, MMP, TGF-β/Smad signaling. Through these molecular pathways, β-elemene has been implicated in tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion and improving the immune microenvironment. Additionally, β-elemene increases chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity and reverses resistance by inhibiting DNA damage repair and regulating pathways including CTR1, pak1, ERK1/2, ABC transporter protein, Prx-1 and ERCC-1. Nonetheless, owing to its lipophilicity and low bioavailability, additional structural modifications could improve the efficacy of this drug.

CONCLUSION

β-Elemene exhibits low toxicity with good safety, inhibiting various tumor types via diverse mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. When combined with chemotherapeutic drugs, it enhances efficacy, reduces toxicity, and improves tumor killing. Thus, β-elemene has vast potential for research and development.

Intramolecular platinum migration on a peptide in gas phase during collision-induced dissociation

We report the migration of platinum ligand unit {Pt(en)}₂ (en = ethylenediamine) on a short peptide during collision-induced dissociation fragmentation combined with the characterization of the same species by 2D [¹H,¹⁵N] HSQC (Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence) NMR spectroscopy. The NMR spectrum showed that the cysteine is platinated while the MS/MS (Tandem mass spectrometry) showed the platination at glutamic acid. Our results provide the first experimental evidence of platinum migration on peptide during collision-induced dissociation.

Selective Targeting of the Zinc Finger Domain of HIV Nucleocapsid Protein NCp7 with Ruthenium Complexes

Nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7) is an attractive target for anti-HIV drug development. Here we found that ruthenium complexes are reactive to NCp7 and various Ru-agents exhibit significantly different reactivity. Interestingly, the zinc-finger domains of NCp7 also demonstrate different affinity to Ru-complexes; the C-terminal domain is much more reactive than the N-terminal domain. Each zinc-finger domain of NCp7 binds up to three Ru-motifs, and the ruthenium binding causes zinc-ejection from NCp7 and disrupts the protein folding. Therefore, ruthenium complexes interfere with the DNA binding of NCp7 and interrupt the protein function. The different reactivity of Ru-agents suggests a feasible strategy for improving the targeting of NCp7 by ligand design. This work provides an insight into the mechanism of ruthenium complex with NCp7, and suggests more potential application of ruthenium drugs.

Platinum transfer from hCTR1 to Atox1 is dependent on the type of platinum complex

In spite of their wide application, the cellular uptake of platinum based anticancer drugs is still unclear. The copper transport protein, hCTR1, is proposed to facilitate the cellular uptake of cisplatin, whereas organic cation transport (OCT) is more important for oxaliplatin. It has been reported that both N-terminal and C-terminal metal binding motifs of hCTR1 are highly reactive to cisplatin, which is the initial step of protein assisted cellular uptake of cisplatin. It is still unknown how the platinum drugs in hCTR1 transfer to cytoplasmic media, and whether various platinum complexes possess different activities in this process. Herein, we investigated the reaction of the platinated C-terminal metal binding motif of hCTR1 (C8) with the down-stream protein Atox1. Results show that Atox1 is highly reactive to the platinated C8 adducts of cisplatin and transplatin, whereas the oxaliplatin/C8 adduct is much less reactive. The platinum transfer from C8 to Atox1 occurs in the reaction, which results in the protein unfolding of Atox1. These results demonstrated that the platinated intracellular-domain of hCTR1 is reactive to Atox1, and the reactivity is dependent on the ligand and the coordination structure of platinum complexes. The different reactivity is consistent with the hypothesis that hCTR1 is more significant in the transport of cisplatin than that of oxaliplatin.

Probing the structural flexibility of the human copper metallochaperone Atox1 dimer and its interaction with the CTR1 c-terminal domain

Both the essentiality and the toxicity of copper in human, yeast, and bacteria cells require precise mechanisms for acquisition, intimately linked to controlled distribution, which have yet to be fully understood. This work explores one aspect in the copper cycle, by probing the interaction between the human copper chaperone Atox1 and the c-terminal domain of the copper transporter, CTR1, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD). The data collected here shows that the Atox1 keeps its dimer nature also in the presence of the CTR1 c-terminal domain; however, two geometrical states are assumed by the Atox1. One is similar to the geometrical state reported by the crystal structure, while the latter has not yet been constructed. In the presence of the CTR1 c-terminal domain, both states are assumed; however, the structure of Atox1 is more restricted in the presence of the CTR1 c-terminal domain. This study also shows that the last three amino acids of the CTR1 c-terminal domain, HCH, are important for maintaining the crystal structure of the Atox1, allowing less structural flexibility and improved thermal stability of Atox1.