A centrosomal protein STARD9 promotes microtubule stability and regulates spindle microtubule dynamics

CEP41, a ciliopathy-linked centrosomal protein, regulates microtubule assembly and cell proliferation

Centrosomal proteins play pivotal roles in orchestrating microtubule dynamics, and their dysregulation leads to disorders, including cancer and ciliopathies. Understanding the multifaceted roles of centrosomal proteins is vital to comprehend their involvement in disease development. Here, we report novel cellular functions of CEP41, a centrosomal and ciliary protein implicated in Joubert syndrome. We show that CEP41 is an essential microtubule-associated protein with microtubule-stabilizing activity. Purified CEP41 binds to preformed microtubules, promotes microtubule nucleation and suppresses microtubule disassembly. When overexpressed in cultured cells, CEP41 localizes to microtubules and promotes microtubule bundling. Conversely, shRNA-mediated knockdown of CEP41 disrupts the interphase microtubule network and delays microtubule reassembly, emphasizing its role in microtubule organization. Further, we demonstrate that the association of CEP41 with microtubules relies on its conserved rhodanese homology domain (RHOD) and the N-terminal region. Interestingly, a disease-causing mutation in the RHOD domain impairs CEP41-microtubule interaction. Moreover, depletion of CEP41 inhibits cell proliferation and disrupts cell cycle progression, suggesting its potential involvement in cell cycle regulation. These insights into the cellular functions of CEP41 hold promise for unraveling the impact of its mutations in ciliopathies.

Cell cycle-dependent centrosome clustering precedes proplatelet formation

Platelet-producing megakaryocytes (MKs) primarily reside in the bone marrow, where they duplicate their DNA content with each cell cycle resulting in polyploid cells with an intricate demarcation membrane system. While key elements of the cytoskeletal reorganizations during proplatelet formation have been identified, what initiates the release of platelets into vessel sinusoids remains largely elusive. Using a cell cycle indicator, we observed a unique phenomenon, during which amplified centrosomes in MKs underwent clustering following mitosis, closely followed by proplatelet formation, which exclusively occurred in G1 of interphase. Forced cell cycle arrest in G1 increased proplatelet formation not only in vitro but also in vivo following short-term starvation of mice. We identified that inhibition of the centrosomal protein kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) impaired clustering and subsequent proplatelet formation, while KIFC1-deficient mice exhibited reduced platelet counts. In summary, we identified KIFC1- and cell cycle-mediated centrosome clustering as an important initiator of proplatelet formation from MKs.

Stem cell index-based RiskScore model for predicting prognosis in thyroid cancer and experimental verification

Objective

An mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi) has been developed to characterize cancer stemness. However, the predictive value of mRNAsi-based signature in therapeutic resistance and immunotherapy in thyroid cancer (THCA) remains unclarified. This study evaluated and validated the role of mRNAsi in drug sensitivity, its relationship between mRNAsi and THCA clinical features and immunity based on bioinformatics.

Methods

Based on transcriptome data of THCA patients from the Tumor Genome Atlas Project (TCGA) database, and expression data of multifunctional stem cell samples from the Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium (PCBC) databases, mRNAsi was calculated by the " one class logistic regression (OCLR)" method, Molecular subtypes of TCGA-THCA samples were identified with mRNAsi-related genes using ConsensusClusterPlus method. The gene mutation, clinical characteristics, immune characteristics, TIDE and drug sensitivity were compared among molecular subtypes. A prognostic model was designed with Lasso cox method. Modulation of malignant phenotype of THCA cell lines by model characterization genes is validated by CCK-8, flow cytometry. DNA methylation disorder in promoter region was analyzed between risk groups. The model was validated for survival in the internal Test dataset, while TCGA pan-cancer and immunotherapy datasets were further employed to validate the performance of this model.

Results

We obtained a total of 78 stem cell samples, each containing the expression profile of 8087 mRNA genes. Based on mRNAsi, THCA was divided into 3 subtypes. Subtype C2 had the poorest prognosis and highest immune score, while subtype C3 had the best prognosis, lowest mRANsi and highest TIDE score. Patients in subtype C2 showed higher sensitivity to Cisplatin, Erlotinib, Paclitaxel, and Lapatinib. The prognostic signature was generated using 5 mRNAsi-related genes, which could predict prognosis for THCA. qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of 5 genes were various in Hth7 and KTC-1 cells, and inhibition CELSR3 expression increased percentage of apoptosis in Hth7 and KTC-1 cells. mRNAsi related DNA methylation sites were mainly enriched in tumor related pathways. Good performance of this model was validated in Test dataset, pan-cancer and immunotherapy datasets.

Conclusion

This study identified three subtypes for classification and developed a prognostic model with mRNAsi-related genes, which provided great potential for prognosis and immunotherapy prediction.

Exploring the genetic control of sweat gland characteristics in beef cattle for enhanced heat tolerance

BACKGROUND

Thermal stress in subtropical regions is a major limiting factor in beef cattle production systems with around $369 million being lost annually due to reduced performance. Heat stress causes numerous physiological and behavioral disturbances including reduced feed intake and decreased production levels. Cattle utilize various physiological mechanisms such as sweating to regulate internal heat. Variation in these traits can help identify genetic variants that control sweat gland properties and subsequently allow for genetic selection of cattle with greater thermotolerance.

METHODS

This study used 2,401 Brangus cattle from two commercial ranches in Florida. Precise phenotypes that contribute to an animal's ability to manage heat stress were calculated from skin biopsies and included sweat gland area, sweat gland depth, and sweat gland length. All animals were genotyped with the Bovine GGP F250K, and BLUPF90 software was used to estimate genetic parameters and for Genome Wide Association Study.

RESULTS

Sweat gland phenotypes heritability ranged from 0.17 to 0.42 indicating a moderate amount of the phenotypic variation is due to genetics, allowing producers the ability to select for favorable sweat gland properties. A weighted single-step GWAS using sliding 10 kb windows identified multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) explaining a significant amount of genetic variation. QTLs located on BTA7 and BTA12 explained over 1.0% of genetic variance and overlap the ADGRV1 and CCDC168 genes, respectively. The variants identified in this study are implicated in processes related to immune function and cellular proliferation which could be relevant to heat management. Breed of Origin Alleles (BOA) were predicted using local ancestry in admixed populations (LAMP-LD), allowing for identification of markers' origin from either Brahman or Angus ancestry. A BOA GWAS was performed to identify regions inherited from particular ancestral breeds that might have a significant impact on sweat gland phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the BOA GWAS indicate that both Brahman and Angus alleles contribute positively to sweat gland traits, as evidenced by favorable marker effects observed from both genetic backgrounds. Understanding and utilizing genetic traits that confer better heat tolerance is a proactive approach to managing the impacts of climate change on livestock farming.

Genome-wide association study for the primary feather color trait in a native Chinese duck

Background: To reveal candidate genes and the molecular genetic mechanism underlying primary feather color trait in ducks, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for the primary feather color trait was performed based on the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology for a native Chinese female duck, Longyan Shan-ma ducks. Methods: Blood genomic DNA from 314 female Longyan Shan-ma duck were genotyped using GBS technology. A GWAS for the primary feather color trait with genome variations was performed using an univariate linear mixed model based on all SNPs in autosomes. Results: Seven genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, Bonferroni-adjusted p-value <8.03 × 10^-7) within the introns of the genes STARD9, ZNF106, SLC7A5, and BANP genes were associated with the primary feather color trait. Twenty-two genome-wide suggestive SNPs (Bonferroni-adjusted p-value <1.61 × 10^-5) of 17 genes (besides ZNF106 and SLC7A5) were also identified. Seven SNPs were located at one 0.22 Mb region (38.65-38.87 Mb) on chromosome 5, and six SNPs were located at one 0.31 Mb region (19.53-19.84 Mb) on chromosome 11. The functions of STARD9, SLC7A5, BANP, LOC101798015, and IPMK were involved pigmentation and follicle development, especially, STARD9 upregulated expression in black feather (haplotype-CCCC) bulb tissue compared with in pockmarked feather (haplotype-TGTT) bulb tissue, implicating these genes as candidate genes for primary feather color trait. Conclusion: The preliminarily findings suggested candidate genes and regions, and the genetic basis of primary feather color trait in a female duck.

β-II tubulin isotype directs stiffness and differentiation of neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells

β-tubulin isotypes regulate the structure and bundling of microtubule (MT) lattice, its dynamics, and resulting functions. They exhibit differential tissue expression, varying due to physical and biochemical cues. In this work, we investigated the effect of transient heat shock at 42 °C on the nuclear and cytoplasmic stiffness of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells through atomic force microscopy. Moreover, the variations in the expression of β-tubulin isotypes as a heat shock response were also monitored. The heat-exposed cells endured a recovery at 37 °C for 24 h and they manifested an increase of cytoplasmic stiffness by 130 ± 25% with respect to untreated controls. The expression of β-II tubulin isotype in heat-recovered cells is augmented by 51 ± 5% whereas the levels of total tubulin and β-III tubulin isotype remain unaltered. Upon depletion of β-II tubulin isotype using shRNA, the increase in cytoplasmic stiffness was dampened. However, it remained unaffected upon depletion with β-III tubulin isotype shRNA. This features the role of the β-II tubulin isotype in regulating cellular stiffness. In addition, neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells undergo differentiation by initiating neuritogenesis and prior evidence suggests the indispensable role of β-II tubulin isotype in this process. The heat-recovered cells which expressed higher levels of β-II tubulin isotype expedited the differentiation process in 3-day which was around 5-day for control cells, however, upon depletion of β-II tubulin isotype, the cells almost lost their differentiation potential. Altogether, this work highlights the role of β-II tubulin isotype as a biomarker for cellular stiffness.

DEPCOD: a tool to detect and visualize co-evolution of protein domains

Proteins with similar phylogenetic patterns of conservation or loss across evolutionary taxa are strong candidates to work in the same cellular pathways or engage in physical or functional interactions. Our previously published tools implemented our method of normalized phylogenetic sequence profiling to detect functional associations between non-homologous proteins. However, many proteins consist of multiple protein domains subjected to different selective pressures, so using protein domain as the unit of analysis improves the detection of similar phylogenetic patterns. Here we analyze sequence conservation patterns across the whole tree of life for every protein domain from a set of widely studied organisms. The resulting new interactive webserver, DEPCOD (DEtection of Phylogenetically COrrelated Domains), performs searches with either a selected pre-defined protein domain or a user-supplied sequence as a query to detect other domains from the same organism that have similar conservation patterns. Top similarities on two evolutionary scales (the whole tree of life or eukaryotic genomes) are displayed along with known protein interactions and shared complexes, pathway enrichment among the hits, and detailed visualization of sources of detected similarities. DEPCOD reveals functional relationships between often non-homologous domains that could not be detected using whole-protein sequences. The web server is accessible at http://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/DEPCOD.

MACF1 promotes osteoblastic cell migration by regulating MAP1B through the GSK3beta/TCF7 pathway

RATIONALE

The migration of osteoblastic cells to bone formation surface is an essential step for bone development and growth. However, whether the migration capacity of osteoblastic cells is compromised during osteoporosis occurrence and how it contributes to bone formation reduction remain unexplored so far. In this work, we found, as a positive regulator of cell migration, microtubule actin crosslinking factor 1 (MACF1) enhanced osteoblastic cells migration. We also examined whether MACF1 could facilitate osteoblastic cells' migration to bone formation surface to promote bone formation through another cytoskeleton protein, microtubule associated protein 1 (MAP1B).

METHODS

Preosteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 with different MACF1 level was used for in vitro and in vivo cell migration assay; Primary cortical bone derived mesenchymal stem cells (C-MSCs) from bone tissue of MACF1 conditional knock out (cKO) mice was used for in vitro cell migration assay. Cell migration ability in vitro was evaluated by wound healing assay and transwell assay and in vivo by bone marrow cavity injection. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used for knocking down Map1b in MC3T3-E1 cell. Lithium chloride (LiCl) and Wortmannin (Wort) were used for inhibiting/activating GSK3β pathway activity. Luciferase report assay was performed for detection of transcriptional activity of TCF7 for Map1b; Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was engaged for the binding of TCF7 to Map1b promoter region.

RESULTS

We found MACF1 enhanced MC3T3-E1 cell and C-MSCs migration in vitro through promoting microtubule (MT) stability and dynamics, and increased the injected MC3T3-E1 cell number on bone formation surface, which indicated a promoted bone formation. We further authenticated that MAP1B had a similar function to MACF1 and was regulated by MACF1 in osteogenic cell, and silencing map1b repressed MC3T3-E1 cell migration in vitro. Mechanistically, by adopting MC3T3-E1 cell with different MACF1 level or treated with LiCl/Wort, we discovered that MACF1 decreased the levels of 1265 threonine phosphorylated MAP1B (p[T1265] MAP1B) through inhibiting GSK3β activity. Additionally, total MAP1B mRNA expression level was upregulated by MACF1 through strengthening the binding of TCF7 to the map1b promoter sequence.

CONCLUSION

Our study uncovered a novel role of MACF1 in bone formation and MAP1B regulation, which suggested that MACF1 could be a potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis.

Monitoring the Disruptive Effects of Tubulin-Binding Agents on Cellular Microtubules

Tubulin-binding agents are an important class of chemotherapeutic agents. This chapter describes detailed protocols to examine the effects of tubulin-binding agents on cellular microtubules. The methods can be utilized for the screening of novel chemotherapeutic agents targeting microtubules. These assays can also be extended to study the effects of various proteins on the stability of microtubules. We have described five assays, which together provides qualitative and quantitative information about the effects of tubulin-binding agents on microtubule stability and dynamics. The key steps and crucial information regarding different steps have been included along with the theory of each of the assays.

Mutation of the EPHA2 Tyrosine-Kinase Domain Dysregulates Cell Pattern Formation and Cytoskeletal Gene Expression in the Lens

Genetic variations in ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EPHA2) have been associated with inherited and age-related forms of cataract in humans. Here, we have characterized the eye lens phenotype and transcript profile of germline Epha2 knock-in mutant mice homozygous for either a missense variant associated with age-related cataract in humans (Epha2-Q722) or a novel insertion-deletion mutation (Epha2-indel722) that were both located within the tyrosine-kinase domain of EPHA2. Confocal imaging of ex vivo lenses from Epha2-indel722 mice on a fluorescent reporter background revealed misalignment of epithelial-to-fiber cell meridional-rows at the lens equator and severe disturbance of Y-suture formation at the lens poles, whereas Epha2-Q722 lenses displayed mild disturbance of posterior sutures. Immunofluorescent labeling showed that EPHA2 was localized to radial columns of hexagonal fiber cell membranes in Epha2-Q722 lenses, whereas Epha2-indel722 lenses displayed disorganized radial cell columns and cytoplasmic retention of EPHA2. Immunoprecipitation/blotting studies indicated that EPHA2 formed strong complexes with Src kinase and was mostly serine phosphorylated in the lens. RNA sequencing analysis revealed differential expression of several cytoskeleton-associated genes in Epha2-mutant and Epha2-null lenses including shared downregulation of Lgsn and Clic5. Collectively, our data suggest that mutations within the tyrosine-kinase domain of EPHA2 result in lens cell patterning defects and dysregulated expression of several cytoskeleton-associated proteins.

STARD3: A Prospective Target for Cancer Therapy

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in developed countries and current therapies are based on surgery, chemotherapeutic agents, and radiation. To overcome side effects induced by chemo- and radiotherapy, in recent decades, targeted therapies have been proposed in second and even first lines. Targeted drugs act on the essential pathways involved in tumor induction, progression, and metastasis, basically all the hallmark of cancers. Among emerging pathways, the cholesterol metabolic pathway is a strong candidate for this purpose. Cancer cells have an accelerated metabolic rate and require a continuous supply of cholesterol for cell division and membrane renewal. Steroidogenic acute regulatory related lipid transfer (START) proteins are a family of proteins involved in the transfer of lipids and some of them are important in non-vesicular cholesterol transportation within the cell. The alteration of their expression levels is implicated in several diseases, including cancers. In this review, we report the latest discoveries on StAR-related lipid transfer protein domain 3 (STARD3), a member of the START family, which has a potential role in cancer, focusing on the structural and biochemical characteristics and mechanisms that regulate its activity. The role of the STARD3 protein as a molecular target for the development of cancer therapies is also discussed. As STARD3 is a key protein in the cholesterol movement in cancer cells, it is of interest to identify inhibitors able to block its activity.

Autophagy-mediated metabolic effects of aspirin

Salicylate, the active derivative of aspirin (acetylsalicylate), recapitulates the mode of action of caloric restriction inasmuch as it stimulates autophagy through the inhibition of the acetyltransferase activity of EP300. Here, we directly compared the metabolic effects of aspirin medication with those elicited by 48 h fasting in mice, revealing convergent alterations in the plasma and the heart metabolome. Aspirin caused a transient reduction of general protein acetylation in blood leukocytes, accompanied by the induction of autophagy. However, these effects on global protein acetylation could not be attributed to the mere inhibition of EP300, as determined by epistatic experiments and exploration of the acetyl-proteome from salicylate-treated EP300-deficient cells. Aspirin reduced high-fat diet-induced obesity, diabetes, and hepatosteatosis. These aspirin effects were observed in autophagy-competent mice but not in two different models of genetic (Atg4b^−/− or Bcln1^+/−) autophagy-deficiency. Aspirin also improved tumor control by immunogenic chemotherapeutics, and this effect was lost in T cell-deficient mice, as well as upon knockdown of an essential autophagy gene (Atg5) in cancer cells. Hence, the health-improving effects of aspirin depend on autophagy.

Bioinformatics analysis of the biological changes involved in the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

The mechanisms underlying the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) remain unclear. In the present study, we aimed to identify the key biological processes during osteogenic differentiation. To this end, we downloaded three microarray data sets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database: GSE12266, GSE18043 and GSE37558. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened using the limma package, and enrichment analysis was performed. Protein-protein interaction network (PPI) analysis and visualization analysis were performed with STRING and Cytoscape. A total of 240 DEGs were identified, including 147 up-regulated genes and 93 down-regulated genes. Functional enrichment and pathways of the present DEGs include extracellular matrix organization, ossification, cell division, spindle and microtubule. Functional enrichment analysis of 10 hub genes showed that these genes are mainly enriched in microtubule-related biological changes, that is sister chromatid segregation, microtubule cytoskeleton organization involved in mitosis, and spindle microtubule. Moreover, immunofluorescence and Western blotting revealed dramatic quantitative and morphological changes in the microtubules during the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells. In summary, the present results provide novel insights into the microtubule- and cytoskeleton-related biological process changes, identifying candidates for the further study of osteogenic differentiation of the mesenchymal stem cells.

The START-domain proteins in intracellular lipid transport and beyond

The Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein-related Lipid Transfer (START) domain is a ~210 amino acid sequence that folds into an α/β helix-grip structure forming a hydrophobic pocket for lipid binding. The helix-grip fold structure defines a large superfamily of proteins, and this review focuses on the mammalian START domain family members that include single START domain proteins with identified ligands, and larger multi-domain proteins that may have novel roles in metabolism. Much of our understanding of the mammalian START domain proteins in lipid transport and changes in metabolism has advanced through studies using knockout mouse models, although for some of these proteins the identity and/or physiological role of ligand binding remains unknown. The findings that helped define START domain lipid-binding specificity, lipid transport, and changes in metabolism are presented to highlight that fundamental questions remain regarding the biological function(s) for START domain-containing proteins.

Role of Bcl-2 on drug resistance in breast cancer polyploidy-induced spindle poisons

Spindle poisons are chemotherapeutic drugs used in the treatment of malignant tumors; however, numerous patients develop resistance following chemotherapy. The present study aimed to induce polyploidy in breast cancer cells using the spindle poison nocodazole to investigate the mechanism of polyploid-induced tumor resistance. It was revealed that the spindle poison nocodazole induced apoptosis in HCC1806 cells but also induced polyploidy in MDA-MB-231 cells. The drug sensitivities of the polyploid MDA-MB-231 cells to paclitaxel, docetaxel, epirubicin, 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin were lower than those of the original tumor cells; however, the polyploid MDA-MB-231 cells were more sensitive to etoposide than the original tumor cells. The expression of F-box and WD repeat domain containing 7 (FBW7) was decreased, while the expression of MCL1 apoptosis regulator BCL2 family member (MCL-1) and Bcl-2 was increased, and caspase-3/9 and Bax were not expressed in MDA-MB-231 cells. The resistance to docetaxel and etoposide was reversed, but the sensitivity of paclitaxel was not changed following Bcl-2 silencing. The formation of polyploidy in tumors may be one of the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor resistance to spindle poisons. Expression of the Bcl-2 family members, for example FBW7 and MCL-1, plays a key role in apoptosis and the cell escape process that forms polyploid cells. However, Bcl-2 silencing has different reversal effects on different anti-tumor drugs, which requires further investigation.

Trophinin-associated protein expression is an independent prognostic biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma

Background

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) representing the most common subtype. Trophinin-associated protein (TROAP) is a cytoplasmic protein first identified to mediate the process of embryo transplantation, which has been recently found to be involved in microtubule regulation. However, limited information about the role of TROAP in LAC is available.

Methods

We evaluated the relationship of TROAP expression in LAC tissues with clinical pathologic parameters and the survival time in LAC patients based on a statistical analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) lung cancer data (N=528). Differences in survival between high and low expression groups (median expression cutoff) from the Cox univariate/multivariate regression analysis were then compared.

Results

According to the Chi-square tests, we found high TROAP expression correlated with younger age (≤60) (P=0.047), male sex (P<0.005), an earlier T-stage (P=0.011), N-stage (P=0.017), M-stage (P=0.022), TNM (P=0.007), and a longer smoking history (>30 pack-year) (P<0.001). A Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that high TROAP expression may correspond with poor overall survival of LAC patients in T3 stage (P=0.0013), N0 stage (P=0.014), and M0 stage (P=0.0023). Multivariate analysis confirmed that TROAP expression was related to overall survival in LAC patients independently [hazard ratio (HR): 1.784, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.072-2.968, P=0.026].

Conclusions

Our results suggested that TROAP is an independent prognostic biomarker of poor survival in LAC.

Crocin, a carotenoid, suppresses spindle microtubule dynamics and activates the mitotic checkpoint by binding to tubulin

Crocin, a constituent of the saffron spice, exhibits promising antitumor activity in animal models and also inhibits the proliferation of several types of cancer cells in culture. Recently, we have shown that crocin binds to purified tubulin at the vinblastine site, depolymerizes microtubules and induces a mitotic block in cultured cells. Here, we extend our previous suggestion and explore the cellular effects of crocin to further understand its mechanism of action. In a kinetic study, we observed that the crocin-induced depolymerization of microtubules preceded both DNA damage and reactive oxygen species generation indicating that depolymerizing microtubules is the primary action of crocin. Crocin also inhibited the growth of cold-depolymerized microtubules in HeLa cells indicating that it can inhibit microtubule dynamics. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, crocin was found to suppress the spindle microtubule dynamics in live HeLa cells. Further, crocin treatment resulted in activation of spindle assembly checkpoint proteins, BubR1 and Mad2. Similar to other microtubule-targeting agents, crocin also perturbed the localization of end-binding protein EB1 from the growing microtubule ends and enhanced the acetylation of remaining microtubules. Further, crocin was found to bind to purified tubulin with a dissociation constant of 12 ± 1.5 μM. The results suggested that crocin exerted its antiproliferative effect primarily by inhibiting the assembly and dynamics of microtubules. Importantly, the combination of crocin with known anticancer agents like combretastatin A-4, cisplatin, doxorubicin or sorafenib, exerted a strong synergistic cytotoxic effect in HeLa cells indicating that crocin may enhance the effectiveness of other anticancer agents.