The novel arsenical Darinaparsin circumvents BRG1-dependent, HO-1-mediated cytoprotection in leukemic cells

Cytotoxic Effects of Darinaparsin, a Novel Organic Arsenical, against Human Leukemia Cells

To explore the molecular mechanisms of action underlying the antileukemia activities of darinaparsin, an organic arsenical approved for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma in Japan, cytotoxicity of darinaparsin was evaluated in leukemia cell lines NB4, U-937, MOLT-4 and HL-60. Darinaparsin was a more potent cytotoxic than sodium arsenite, and induced apoptosis/necrosis in NB4 and HL-60 cells. In NB4 cells exhibiting the highest susceptibility to darinaparsin, apoptosis induction was accompanied by the activation of caspase-8/-9/-3, a substantial decrease in Bid expression, and was suppressed by Boc-D-FMK, a pancaspase inhibitor, suggesting that darinaparsin triggered a convergence of the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis via Bid truncation. A dramatic increase in the expression level of γH2AX, a DNA damage marker, occurred in parallel with G₂/M arrest. Activation of p53 and the inhibition of cdc25C/cyclin B1/cdc2 were concomitantly observed in treated cells. Downregulation of c-Myc, along with inactivation of E2F1 associated with the activation of Rb, was observed, suggesting the critical roles of p53 and c-Myc in darinaparsin-mediated G₂/M arrest. Trolox, an antioxidative reagent, suppressed the apoptosis induction but failed to correct G₂/M arrest, suggesting that oxidative stress primarily contributed to apoptosis induction. Suppression of Notch1 signaling was also confirmed. Our findings provide novel insights into molecular mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of darinaparsin and strong rationale for its new clinical application for patients with different types of cancer.

The Role of BRG1 in Antioxidant and Redox Signaling

Redox homeostasis is regulated by critical molecules that modulate antioxidant and redox signaling (ARS) within the cell. Imbalances among these molecules can lead to oxidative stress and damage to cell functions, causing a variety of diseases. Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1), also known as SMARCA4, is the central ATPase catalytic subunit of the switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complex, which plays a core role in DNA replication, repair, recombination, and transcriptional regulation. Numerous recent studies show that BRG1 is involved in the regulation of various cellular processes associated with ARS. BRG1, as a major factor in chromatin remodeling, is essential for the repair of oxidative stress-induced DNA damage and the activation of antioxidant genes under oxidative stress. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of the roles of BRG1 in redox homeostasis is crucial to understand the normal functioning as well as pathological mechanisms. In this review, we summarized and discussed the role of BRG1 in the regulation of ARS.

Inhibition of microRNA-199a-5p ameliorates oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress in HT22 neurons by targeting Brg1 to activate Nrf2/HO-1 signalling

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of neuronal survival during cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Accumulating evidence has shown that miR-199a-5p plays a crucial role in regulating apoptosis and survival in various cell types. However, whether miR-199a is involved in regulating neuronal survival during cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the biological role of miR-199a-5p in regulating neuronal injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R), an in vitro cellular model of cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion injury. We found that miR-199a-5p expression was significantly altered in neurons in response to OGD/R treatment. Overexpression of miR-199a-5p facilitated OGD/R-induced apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, whereas miR-199a-5p inhibition alleviated OGD/R-induced apoptosis and ROS production. Notably, our results identified Brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1) as a target gene of miR-199a-5p. Moreover, inhibition of miR-199a-5p promoted the activation of nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor-2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signalling via targeting Brg1. However, silencing of Brg1 markedly reversed the miR-199a-5p inhibition-mediated neuroprotective effect. Taken together, our results suggest that downregulation of miR-199a-5p protects neurons from OGD/R-induced neuronal injury through upregulating Brg1 to activate Nrf2/HO-1 signalling. The miR-199a-5p/Brg1/Nrf2/HO-1 regulation axis may play an important role in regulating neuronal survival during cerebral ischaemic/reperfusion injury in vivo.

The Heme Oxygenase System in Hematological Malignancies

SIGNIFICANCE

Several lines of evidence suggest that hematological malignancies exhibit an altered redox balance homeostasis that can lead to the activation of various survival pathways that, in turn, lead to the progression of disease and chemoresistance. Among these pathways, the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway is likely to play a major role. HO catalyzes the enzymatic degradation of heme with the simultaneous release of carbon monoxide (CO), ferrous iron (Fe²⁺), and biliverdin. This review focuses on the role of HO-1 in various hematological malignancies and the possibility of exploiting such targets to improve the outcome of well-established chemotherapeutic regimens. Recent Advances and Critical Issues: Interestingly, the inhibition of the expression of HO-1 (e.g., with siRNA) or HO activity (with competitive inhibitors) contributes to the increased efficacy of chemotherapy and improves the outcome in animal models. Furthermore, some hematological malignancies (e.g., chronic myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma) have served to explore the non-canonical functions of HO-1, such as the association between nuclear compartmentalization and genetic instability and/or chemoresistance.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The HO system may serve as an important tool in the field of hematological malignancies because it can be exploited to counteract chemoresistance and to monitor the outcome of bone marrow transplants and may be an additional target for combined therapies. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 363-377.

Thiolated arsenicals in arsenic metabolism: Occurrence, formation, and biological implications

Arsenic (As) is a notoriously toxic pollutant of health concern worldwide with potential risk of cancer induction, but meanwhile it is used as medicines for the treatment of different conditions including hematological cancers. Arsenic can undergo extensive metabolism in biological systems, and both toxicological and therapeutic effects of arsenic compounds are closely related to their metabolism. Recent studies have identified methylated thioarsenicals as a new class of arsenic metabolites in biological systems after exposure of inorganic and organic arsenicals, including arsenite, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA^V), dimethylarsinous glutathione (DMA^IIIGS), and arsenosugars. The increasing detection of thiolated arsenicals, including monomethylmonothioarsonic acid (MMMTA^V), dimethylmonothioarsinic acid (DMMTA^V) and its glutathione conjugate (DMMTA^VGS), and dimethyldithioarsinic acid (DMDTA^V) suggests that thioarsenicals may be important metabolites and play important roles in arsenic toxicity and therapeutic effects. Here we summarized the reported occurrence of thioarsenicals in biological systems, the possible formation pathways of thioarsenicals, and their toxicity, and discussed the biological implications of thioarsenicals on arsenic metabolism, toxicity, and therapeutic effects.

Nuclear translocation and activation of YAP by hypoxia contributes to the chemoresistance of SN38 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Although hypoxia is a prominent feature contributing to the therapeutic resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC) against chemotherapeutic agents, including the Topoisomerase I inhibitor SN38, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood and its understanding remains a major clinical challenge. In the present study, we found that hypoxia-induced nuclear translocation and accumulation of YAP acted as a survival input to promote resistance to SN38 in HCC. The induction of YAP by hypoxia was not mediated by HIF-1α because manipulating the abundance of HIF-1α with CoCl2, exogenous expression, and RNA interference had no effect on the phosphorylation or total levels of YAP. The mevalonate-HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) pathway may modulate the YAP activation under hypoxia. Combined YAP inhibition using either siRNA or the HMGCR inhibitor statins together with SN38 treatment produced improved anti-cancer effects in HCC cells. The increased anti-cancer effect of the combined treatment with statins and irinotecan (the prodrug of SN-38) was further validated in a human HepG2 xenograft model of HCC in nude mice. Taken together, our findings identify YAP as a novel mediator of hypoxic-resistance to SN38. These results suggest that the administration of SN28 together with the suppression of YAP using statins is a promising strategy for enhancing the treatment response in HCC patients, particularly in advanced stage HCC cases presenting hypoxic resistance.

Disrupting Acetyl-Lysine Recognition: Progress in the Development of Bromodomain Inhibitors

Bromodomains, small protein modules that recognize acetylated lysine on histones, play a significant role in the epigenome, where they function as "readers" that ultimately determine the functional outcome of the post-translational modification. Because the initial discovery of selective BET inhibitors have helped define the role of that protein family in oncology and inflammation, BET bromodomains have continued to garner the most attention of any other bromodomain. More recently, non-BET bromodomain inhibitors that are potent and selective have been disclosed for ATAD2, CBP, BRD7/9, BRPF, BRPF/TRIM24, CECR2, SMARCA4, and BAZ2A/B. Such novel inhibitors can be used to probe the physiological function of these non-BET bromodomains and further understanding of their role in certain disease states. Here, we provide an update to the progress in identifying selective bromodomain inhibitors and their use as biological tools, as well as our perspective on the field.

2,3,5,6-Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) down-regulated arsenic-induced heme oxygenase-1 and ARS2 expression by inhibiting Nrf2, NF-κB, AP-1 and MAPK pathways in human proximal tubular cells

Our recent study demonstrated that sodium arsenite at a clinically relevant dose induced nephrotoxicity in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2, which could be inhibited by natural product 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) with antioxidant activity. The present study demonstrated that arsenic exposure resulted in protein and enzymatic induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in dose- and time-dependent manners in HK-2 cells. Blocking HO-1 enzymatic activity by zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) augmented arsenic-induced apoptosis, ROS production and mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting a critical role for HO-1 as a renal protectant in this procession. On the other hand, TMP, upstream of HO-1, inhibited arsenic-induced ROS production and ROS-dependent HO-1 expression. TMP also prevented mitochondria dysfunction and suppressed activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in HK-2 cells. Our results revealed that the regulation of arsenic-induced HO-1 expression was performed through multiple ROS-dependent signal pathways and the corresponding transcription factors, including p38 MAPK and JNK (but not ERK), AP-1, Nrf2 and NF-κB. TMP inhibited arsenic-induced activations of JNK, p38 MAPK, ERK, AP-1 and Nrf2 and block HO-1 protein expression. The present study, furthermore, demonstrated arsenic-induced expression of arsenic response protein 2 (ARS2) that was regulated by p38 MAPK, ERK and NF-κB. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that ARS2 involved in arsenic-induced nephrotoxicity, while TMP pretreatment prevented such an up-regulation of ARS2 in HK-2 cells. Given ARS2 and HO-1 sharing the similar regulation mechanism, we speculated that ARS2 might also mediate cell survival in this procession. In summary, our study highlighted a role of HO-1 in the protection against arsenic-induced cytotoxicity downstream from the primary targets of TMP and further indicated that TMP may be used as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of arsenic-induced nephrotoxicity.

Pharmacological GLI2 inhibition prevents myofibroblast cell-cycle progression and reduces kidney fibrosis

Chronic kidney disease is characterized by interstitial fibrosis and proliferation of scar-secreting myofibroblasts, ultimately leading to end-stage renal disease. The hedgehog (Hh) pathway transcriptional effectors GLI1 and GLI2 are expressed in myofibroblast progenitors; however, the role of these effectors during fibrogenesis is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated that GLI2, but not GLI1, drives myofibroblast cell-cycle progression in cultured mesenchymal stem cell-like progenitors. In animals exposed to unilateral ureteral obstruction, Hh pathway suppression by expression of the GLI3 repressor in GLI1+ myofibroblast progenitors limited kidney fibrosis. Myofibroblast-specific deletion of Gli2, but not Gli1, also limited kidney fibrosis, and induction of myofibroblast-specific cell-cycle arrest mediated this inhibition. Pharmacologic targeting of this pathway with darinaparsin, an arsenical in clinical trials, reduced fibrosis through reduction of GLI2 protein levels and subsequent cell-cycle arrest in myofibroblasts. GLI2 overexpression rescued the cell-cycle effect of darinaparsin in vitro. While darinaparsin ameliorated fibrosis in WT and Gli1-KO mice, it was not effective in conditional Gli2-KO mice, supporting GLI2 as a direct darinaparsin target. The GLI inhibitor GANT61 also reduced fibrosis in mice. Finally, GLI1 and GLI2 were upregulated in the kidneys of patients with high-grade fibrosis. Together, these data indicate that GLI inhibition has potential as a therapeutic strategy to limit myofibroblast proliferation in kidney fibrosis.

Glutathione S-conjugates as prodrugs to target drug-resistant tumors

Living organisms are continuously exposed to xenobiotics. The major phase of enzymatic detoxification in many species is the conjugation of activated xenobiotics to reduced glutathione (GSH) catalyzed by the glutathione-S-transferase (GST). It has been reported that some compounds, once transformed into glutathione S-conjugates, enter the mercapturic acid pathway whose end products are highly reactive and toxic for the cell responsible for their production. The cytotoxicity of these GSH conjugates depends essentially on GST and gamma-glutamyl transferases (γGT), the enzymes which initiate the mercapturic acid synthesis pathway. Numerous studies support the view that the expression of GST and γGT in cancer cells represents an important factor in the appearance of a more aggressive and resistant phenotype. High levels of tumor GST and γGT expression were employed to selectively target tumor with GST- or γGT-activated drugs. This strategy, explored over the last two decades, has recently been successful using GST-activated nitrogen mustard (TLK286) and γGT-activated arsenic-based (GSAO and Darinaparsin) prodrugs confirming the potential of GSH-conjugates as anticancer drugs.

Triple A therapy: the molecular underpinnings of the unique sensitivity of leukemic promyelocytes to anthracyclines, all-trans-retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide

If looking for a mnemonic to remember the relevant facts about acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), one just has to remember that APL is a disease of A's. It is acute and it is highly sensitive to treatment with anthracyclines, all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO). The presence of fusions involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) is without question the central player driving APL and dictating the response of this disease to these therapeutic agents. However, beyond this knowledge, the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the complicated pathogenesis and the response to treatment of APL are not completely defined. As more is understood about this hematological malignancy, there are more opportunities to refine and improve treatment based on this knowledge. In this review article, we discuss the response of APL to these "A" therapies.

Simultaneous NF-κB inhibition and E-cadherin upregulation mediate mutually synergistic anticancer activity of celastrol and SAHA in vitro and in vivo

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is a promising histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and whose clinical application for solid tumours is partially limited by decreased susceptibility in cancer cells due to nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation. As an NF-κB inhibitor, celastrol exhibits potent anticancer effects but has failed to enter clinical trials due to its toxicity. In this report, we demonstrated that the combination of celastrol and SAHA exerted substantial synergistic efficacy against human cancer cells in vitro and in vivo accompanied by enhanced caspase-mediated apoptosis. This drug combination inhibited the activation of NF-κB caused by SAHA monotherapy and consequently led to increased apoptosis in cancer cells. Interestingly, E-cadherin was dramatically downregulated in celastrol-resistant cancer cells, and E-cadherin expression was closely related to decreased sensitivity to celastrol. However, our combination treatment significantly augmented the expression of E-cadherin, suggesting that mutual mechanisms contributed to the synergistic anticancer activity. Furthermore, the enhanced anticancer efficacy of celastrol combined with SAHA was validated in a human lung cancer 95-D xenograft model without increased toxicity. Taken together, our data demonstrated the synergistic anticancer effects of celastrol and SAHA due to their reciprocal sensitisation, which was simultaneously regulated by NF-κB and E-cadherin; thus, the combination of celastrol and SAHA was superior to other combination regimens that rely on a single mechanism. Our findings not only open new opportunities for the clinical development of SAHA but should also motivate the clinical investigation of celastrol, which has been hampered by its toxicity.

The novel arsenical darinaparsin is transported by cystine importing systems

Darinaparsin (Dar; ZIO-101; S-dimethylarsino-glutathione) is a promising novel organic arsenical currently undergoing clinical studies in various malignancies. Dar consists of dimethylarsenic conjugated to glutathione (GSH). Dar induces more intracellular arsenic accumulation and more cell death than the FDA-approved arsenic trioxide (ATO) in vitro, but exhibits less systemic toxicity. Here, we propose a mechanism for Dar import that might explain these characteristics. Structural analysis of Dar suggests a putative breakdown product: dimethylarsino-cysteine (DMAC). We show that DMAC is very similar to Dar in terms of intracellular accumulation of arsenic, cell cycle arrest, and cell death. We found that inhibition of γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase (γ-GT) protects human acute promyelocytic leukemia cells (NB4) from Dar, but not from DMAC, suggesting a role for γ-GT in the processing of Dar. Overall, our data support a model where Dar, a GSH S-conjugate, is processed at the cell surface by γ-GT, leading to formation of DMAC, which is imported via xCT, xAG, or potentially other cystine/cysteine importing systems. Further, we propose that Dar induces its own import via increased xCT expression. These mechanisms may explain the enhanced toxicity of Dar toward cancer cells compared with ATO.