Ceftriaxone, an FDA-approved cephalosporin antibiotic, suppresses lung cancer growth by targeting Aurora B

A review on hazards and treatment methods of released antibiotics in hospitals wastewater during the COVID-19 pandemic

Drugs and related goods are widely used in order to promote public health and the quality of life. One of the most serious environmental challenges affecting public health is the ongoing presence of antibiotics in the effluents generated by pharmaceutical industries and hospitals. Antibiotics cannot be entirely removed from wastewater using the traditional wastewater treatment methods. Unmetabolized antibiotics generated by humans can be found in urban and livestock effluent. The antibiotic present in effluent contributes to issues with resistance to antibiotics and the creation of superbugs. Over the recent 2 years, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has substantially boosted hospital waste volume. In this situation, a detailed literature review was conducted to highlight the harmful effects of untreated hospital waste and outline the best approaches to manage it. Approximately 50 to 70% of the emerging contaminants prevalent in the hospital wastewater can be removed using traditional treatment strategies. This paper emphasizes the numerous treatment approaches for effectively eliminating emerging contaminants and antibiotics from hospital wastewater and provides an overview of global hospital wastewater legislation and guidelines on hospital wastewater administration. Around 90% of ECs might be eliminated by biological or physical treatment techniques when used in conjunction with modern oxidation techniques. According to this research, hybrid methods are the best approach for removing antibiotics and ECs from hospital wastewater. The document outlines the many features of effective hospital waste management and might be helpful during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, when waste creation on all hospitals throughout the globe has considerably increased.

Ceftriaxone exerts antitumor effects in MYCN-driven retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma by targeting DDX3X for translation repression

MYCN proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor (MYCN) amplification is associated with aggressive retinoblastoma (RB) and neuroblastoma (NB) cancer recurrence that is resistant to chemotherapies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new therapeutic tools. This study aimed to evaluate the potential repurposing of ceftriaxone for the treatment of MYCN-amplified RB and NB, based on the clinical observations that the drug was serendipitously found to decrease the volume of the MYCN-driven RB subtype. Using patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor cell lines, we demonstrated that ceftriaxone is a potent and selective growth inhibitor targeting MYCN-driven RB and NB cells. Profiling of drug-induced transcriptomic changes, cell-cycle progression, and apoptotic death indicated cell-cycle arrest and death of drug-treated MYCN-amplified tumor cells. Drug target identification, using an affinity-based proteomic and molecular docking approach, and functional studies of the target proteins revealed that ceftriaxone targeted DEAD-box helicase 3 X-linked (DDX3X), thereby inhibiting translation in MYCN-amplified tumors but not in MYCN-nonamplified cells. The data suggest the feasibility of repurposing ceftriaxone as an anticancer drug and provide insights into the mechanism of drug action, highlighting DDX3X as a potential target for treating MYCN-driven tumors.

Environmentally azithromycin pharmaceutical wastewater management and synergetic biocompatible approaches of loaded azithromycin@hematite nanoparticles

Pharmaceutical wastewater contamination via azithromycin antibiotic and the continuous emergence of some strains of bacteria, cancer, and the Covid-19 virus. Azithromycin wastewater treatment using the biosynthesized Hematite nanoparticles (α-HNPs) and the biocompatible activities of the resulted nanosystem were reported. Biofabrication of α-HNPs using Echinacea purpurea liquid extract as a previously reported approach was implemented. An evaluation of the adsorption technique via the biofabricated α-HNPs for the removal of the Azr drug contaminant from the pharmaceutical wastewater was conducted. Adsorption isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic parameters of the Azr on the α-HNPs surface have been investigated as a batch mode of equilibrium experiments. Antibacterial, anticancer, and antiviral activities were conducted as Azr@α-HNPs. The optimum conditions for the adsorption study were conducted as solution pH = 10, 150 mg dose of α-HNPs, and Azr concentration 400 mg/L at 293 K. The most fitted isothermal model was described according to the Langmuir model at adsorption capacity 114.05 mg/g in a pseudo-second-order kinetic mechanistic at R2 0.9999. Thermodynamic study manifested that the adsorption behavior is a spontaneous endothermic chemisorption process. Subsequently, studying the biocompatible applications of the Azr@α-HNPs. Azr@α-HNPs antibacterial activity revealed a synergistic effect in the case of Gram-positive more than Gram-negative bacteria. IC50 of Azr@α-HNPs cytotoxicity against MCF7, HepG2, and HCT116 cell lines was investigated and it was found to be 78.1, 81.7, and 93.4 µg/mL respectively. As the first investigation of the antiviral use of Azr@α-HNPs against SARS-CoV-2, it was achieved a safety therapeutic index equal to 25.4 revealing a promising antiviral activity. An admirable impact of the use of the biosynthesized α-HNPs and its removal nanosystem product Azr@α-HNPs was manifested and it may be used soon as a platform of the drug delivery nanosystem for the biomedical applications.

Identification of a novel anticancer mechanism of Paeoniae Radix extracts based on systematic transcriptome analysis

Paeoniae Radix (PR) has a great therapeutic value in many clinical applications; however, the presence of various bioactive compounds and its complicated effects on human health makes its precise mechanisms of action unclear. This study investigated the effects of PR at the molecular pathway level by profiling genome-wide gene expression changes following dose-dependent treatment of human lung cancer cells (A549) with PR water extract (WPR), PR ethanol extracts (EPR), as well as their individual components. We found that PR exerts anticancer effects in A549 cells by regulating numerous pathways. Specifically, EPR and two compounds, namely, hederagenin (HG) and oleanolic acid (OA), significantly downregulate the Aurora B pathway. Furthermore, we generated an integrated PR extracts-compounds-target genes network in the Aurora B pathway to understand their interactions. Our findings reinforce that inhibiting Aurora kinase activity is a therapeutic target for treating cancers, providing the potential for novel mechanisms of action for PR and its components against lung cancer.

Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of isoniazid connected menthone derivatives and their investigation of clinical pathogens causing infectious disease

BACKGROUND

This work is development of new molecules of isoniazid derivatives as dealing with potential of antimicrobial activity against clinical pathogens causing infectious disease. Antimicrobial of novel Mannich base derivatives can be achieved via one-pot synthesis in green chemistry approach. This method offers efficient, mild reaction conditions and high yields. In this study, totally 12 compounds (1a-l) was prepared and screened for cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Newly synthesised compounds were conformed via FT- IR, ¹H, and ¹³C NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), and mass spectra analysis. All compounds were checked antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria of Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. All compounds were checked against antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus niger, and Microsporum audouinii. All compounds were screened for cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7) cancer cell line.

RESULT

The compound 1g was highly (MIC: 0.25 μg/mL) active against gram-negative bacterial of P. aeruginosa, whereas other compounds 1e and 1h were more active (MIC: 2 μg/mL) in K. pneumoniae and also 1g (MIC: 2 μg/mL) was more active in E. faecalis than standard ciprofloxacin. Antifungal screening, the compound 1b was highly active (MIC: 0.25 μg/mL) against C. albicance,1g (MIC: 2 μg/mL) and 1h (MIC: 4 μg/mL) was significant of active against A. fumigatus, and the compound 1c (MIC: 4 μg/mL) was extremely active in M. audouinii than clotrimazole. Compound 1g (GI₅₀ = 0.01 μM) exhibited high activity against the MCF-7 cell line, while 1b (GI₅₀ = 0.02 μM) was equipotent active compared with standard doxorubicin.

CONCLUSION

A novel set of isoniazid derivatives (1a-l) and 1h were synthesized and screened for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. We found some highly active molecules, which are evidencing to be a potential treatment of bacterial and fungal infection candidates.

Selective toxicity of antibacterial agents-still a valid concept or do we miss chances and ignore risks?

BACKGROUND

Selective toxicity antibacteribiotics is considered to be due to interactions with targets either being unique to bacteria or being characterized by a dichotomy between pro- and eukaryotic pathways with high affinities of agents to bacterial- rather than eukaryotic targets. However, the theory of selective toxicity oversimplifies the complex modes of action of antibiotics in pro- and eukaryotes.

METHODS AND OBJECTIVE

This review summarizes data describing multiple modes of action of antibiotics in eukaryotes.

RESULTS

Aminoglycosides, macrolides, oxazolidinones, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, tetracyclines, glycylcyclines, fluoroquinolones, rifampicin, bedaquillin, ß-lactams inhibited mitochondrial translation either due to binding to mitosomes, inhibition of mitochondrial RNA-polymerase-, topoisomerase 2ß-, ATP-synthesis, transporter activities. Oxazolidinones, tetracyclines, vancomycin, ß-lactams, bacitracin, isoniazid, nitroxoline inhibited matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP) due to chelation with zinc and calcium, whereas fluoroquinols fluoroquinolones and chloramphenicol chelated with these cations, too, but increased MMP activities. MMP-inhibition supported clinical efficacies of ß-lactams and daptomycin in skin-infections, and of macrolides, tetracyclines in respiratory-diseases. Chelation may have contributed to neuroprotection by ß-lactams and fluoroquinolones. Aminoglycosides, macrolides, chloramphenicol, oxazolidins oxazolidinones, tetracyclines caused read-through of premature stop codons. Several additional targets for antibiotics in human cells have been identified like interaction of fluoroquinolones with DNA damage repair in eukaryotes, or inhibition of mucin overproduction by oxazolidinones.

CONCLUSION

The effects of antibiotics on eukaryotes are due to identical mechanisms as their antibacterial activities because of structural and functional homologies of pro- and eukaryotic targets, so that the effects of antibiotics on mammals are integral parts of their overall mechanisms of action.

Loss of histone lysine methyltransferase EZH2 confers resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment is the first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) caused by activating mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI occurs almost inevitably. Aberrant activation of proto-oncogene MET has been known to confer EGFR-TKI resistance; however, the mechanisms involved remains unclear. Recent evidence implicates epigenetic heterogeneity as playing roles in cancer drug resistance, whereas links involving epigenetic heterogeneity and MET in NSCLC remain poorly understood. We found that expression of EZH2, a histone methyltransferase, was negatively correlated with MET activation and EGFR-TKI resistance in NSCLC cells and clinical samples, suggesting the potential for EZH2 to be used as a biomarker for EGFR-TKI sensitivity. Knockdown or inhibition of EZH2 up-regulated MET expression and phosphorylation, and elevated proliferation and EGFR-TKI resistance of cells in vitro. Meanwhile, inhibition of MET or PI3K/AKT enhanced EZH2 levels and restored sensitivity to EGFR-TKI. These findings indicate a "MET-AKT-EZH2" feedback loop regulating EGFR-TKI-resistance. Furthermore, combination therapy of PI3K/AKT inhibition and EGFR-TKI, which interrupts the loop, enhanced tumor-suppressive effects in an EGFR-TKI-resistant xenograft model, indicating a potential approach against drug resistance in NSCLC.

Promising Therapy in Lung Cancer: Spotlight on Aurora Kinases

Simple Summary

Lung cancer has remained one of the major causes of death worldwide. Thus, a more effective treatment approach is essential, such as the inhibition of specific cancer-promoting molecules. Aurora kinases regulate the process of mitosis—a process of cell division that is necessary for normal cell proliferation. Dysfunction of these kinases can contribute to cancer formation. In this review, we present studies indicating the implication of Aurora kinases in tumor formation, drug resistance, and disease prognosis. The effectivity of using Aurora kinase inhibitors in the pre-clinical and clinical investigations has proven their therapeutic potential in the setting of lung cancer. This work may provide further information to broaden the development of anticancer drugs and, thus, improve the conventional lung cancer management.

Abstract

Despite tremendous efforts to improve the treatment of lung cancer, prognosis still remains poor; hence, the search for efficacious therapeutic option remains a prime concern in lung cancer research. Cell cycle regulation including mitosis has emerged as an important target for cancer management. Novel pharmacological agents blocking the activities of regulatory molecules that control the functional aspects of mitosis such as Aurora kinases are now being investigated. The Aurora kinases, Aurora-A (AURKA), and Aurora B (AURKB) are overexpressed in many tumor entities such as lung cancer that correlate with poor survival, whereby their inhibition, in most cases, enhances the efficacy of chemo-and radiotherapies, indicating their implication in cancer therapy. The current knowledge on Aurora kinase inhibitors has increasingly shown high potential in ensuing targeted therapies in lung malignancies. In this review, we will briefly describe the biology of Aurora kinases, highlight their oncogenic roles in the pre-clinical and clinical studies in lung cancer and, finally, address the challenges and potentials of Aurora kinases to improve the therapy of this malignancy.

Cephalosporin Conjugated Sulfonamides: Synthesis, Characterization and Anticancer Activities

Background:

In the present study, eight new cephalosporin conjugated sulfonamides were synthesized to investigate the anticancer activity.

Methods:

All the compounds were characterized on the basis of FTIR, 1HNMR, MS and elemental analysis (CHN). The new compounds were evaluated against the Vero and Hep G2 cancer cell lines for their anticancer activities. Cytotoxicity of all the compounds was determined against brine shrimp at 20 μg concentration.

Results and Conclusion:

The results revealed that ceftriaxone conjugated sulfonamide was the most potent and showed cytotoxicity (86.4 %) comparable to the standard reference drug actinomycin D (90.0 %). The compounds with lower cLogP value showed more antiproliferative effect due to their higher cell permeability. Ceftriaxone conjugated with 4-acetamido benzene sulfonyl was the most active compound against both cell lines with IC50 3.95 μM (Vero) and 5.11 μM (Hep G2) values whereas its activity was comparable with 5-fluorouracil used as reference drug (IC50 = 2.84 μM).

Studies on Isoniazid Derivatives through a Medicinal Chemistry Approach for the Identification of New Inhibitors of Urease and Inflammatory Markers

A library of thiosemicarbazide derivatives of isoniazid 3-27, was synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and urease inhibition activities, by using in vitro bioassays. Among these compounds 9, 10, 12, 21, and 26 were identified as new derivatives. Prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and infections caused by Helicobacter pylori (ureolytic bacteria), are the two most significant causes of gastric and peptic ulcers. We focused on the identification of the dual inhibitors of inflammation and urease enzyme. Compound 23 was identified as the best dual inhibitor of inflammation (ROS; IC50 = 12.3 µg/mL), and urease enzyme inhibition activity (IC50 = 22.4 µM). Many of these compounds showed comparable activities to the standard anti-inflammatory drug (ibuprofen, IC50 = 11.2 µg/mL) and urease inhibitor (thiourea/acetohydraoxamic acid, IC50 = 21.1/20.3 µM). Compound 12 was found to be the most potent urease inhibitor (IC50 = 12.3 µM) and good inhibitor of inflammation (IC50 = 27.7 µg/mL). Compounds 19, 11, 13, 9, 17, 10, and 16, were also found to be potent inhibitors of urease. Cytotoxicity was also evaluated and all the compounds were found to be non-cytotoxic, except compound 18 and the parent drug isoniazid (IC50 = 29.5 and 28.5 µM, respectively).

Coordination and redox interactions of β-lactam antibiotics with Cu2+ in physiological settings and the impact on antibacterial activity

An increase in the copper pool in body fluids has been related to a number of pathological conditions, including infections. Copper ions may affect antibiotics via the formation of coordination bonds and/or redox reactions. Herein, we analyzed the interactions of Cu²⁺ with eight β-lactam antibiotics using UV-Vis spectrophotometry, EPR spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. Penicillin G did not show any detectable interactions with Cu²⁺. Ampicillin, amoxicillin and cephalexin formed stable colored complexes with octahedral coordination environment of Cu²⁺ with tetragonal distortion, and primary amine group as the site of coordinate bond formation. These β-lactams increased the solubility of Cu²⁺ in the phosphate buffer. Ceftazidime and Cu²⁺ formed a complex with a similar geometry and gave rise to an organic radical. Ceftriaxone-Cu²⁺ complex appears to exhibit different geometry. All complexes showed 1:1 stoichiometry. Cefaclor reduced Cu²⁺ to Cu¹⁺ that further reacted with molecular oxygen to produce hydrogen peroxide. Finally, meropenem underwent degradation in the presence of copper. The analysis of activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed that the effects of meropenem, amoxicillin, ampicillin, and ceftriaxone were significantly hindered in the presence of copper ions. The interactions with copper ions should be taken into account regarding the problem of antibiotic resistance and in the selection of the most efficient antimicrobial therapy for patients with altered copper homeostasis.

Comparison of the effects of cefazolin and ceftriaxone on canine chondrocyte culture

Cephalosporins (CEFs) are antibiotics frequently used to treat bone infections and septic arthritis. The effects of CEFs on chondrocytes have not been studied until now. Cefazolin (cef1) and ceftriaxone (cef3), first-and third-generation CEFs, were selected to investigate their direct effects on normal and osteoarthritic (OA) primary canine chondrocytes, which were either nonstimulated or stimulated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. In our results, treatment with CEFs increased the negative effects on both conditioned normal and OA chondrocytes, especially when applied to IL-1β-stimulated cells (inflammatory stimulus). CEFs significantly decreased cell viability and induced apoptotic cell death in both normal and OA chondrocytes; moreover, treatment with cef1 caused necrotic cell death in OA chondrocytes. Cef3 treatment could increase s-GAG synthesis in normal cells preincubated with IL-1β, while cef1 had no significant effect. The expression of TNF was clearly downregulated after cef3 treatments, whereas it was upregulated after cef1 treatments. However, cef3 induced stronger downregulation of TIMP1 and the extracellular matrix component genes COL2A1 and ACAN. In conclusion, these results suggest both the cytotoxic effects of CEFs and their adverse effects on chondrogenic marker genes at the transcriptional level, which provide additional insight into the clinical application of cef1 and cef3.

Quercetin suppresses lung cancer growth by targeting Aurora B kinase

aurora B kinase is highly expressed in several cancer cells and promotes tumorigenesis and progression, and therefore, it is an important target for drug to treat tumors. Quercetin was identified to be an antitumor agent. Herein, we report for the first time that quercetin inhibited aurora B activities by directly binding with aurora B in vitro and in vivo. Ex vivo studies showed that quercetin inhibited aurora B activities in JB6 Cl41 cells and A549 lung cancer cells. Moreover, knockdown of aurora B in A549 cells decreased their sensitivities to quercetin. In vivo study demonstrated that injection of quercetin in A549 tumor‐bearing mice effectively suppressed cancer growth. The phosphorylation of histone 3 in tumor tissues was also decreased after quercetin treatment. In short, quercetin can suppress growth of lung cancer cells as an aurora B inhibitor both in vitro and in vivo.

Identification of drugs that restore primary cilium expression in cancer cells

The development of cancer is often accompanied by a loss of the primary cilium, a microtubule-based cellular protrusion that functions as a cellular antenna and that puts a break on cell proliferation. Hence, restoration of the primary cilium in cancer cells may represent a novel promising approach to attenuate tumor growth. Using a high content analysis-based approach we screened a library of clinically evaluated compounds and marketed drugs for their ability to restore primary cilium expression in pancreatic ductal cancer cells. A diverse set of 118 compounds stimulating cilium expression was identified. These included glucocorticoids, fibrates and other nuclear receptor modulators, neurotransmitter regulators, ion channel modulators, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, DNA gyrase/topoisomerase inhibitors, antibacterial compounds, protein inhibitors, microtubule modulators, and COX inhibitors. Certain compounds also dramatically affected the length of the cilium. For a selection of compounds (Clofibrate, Gefitinib, Sirolimus, Imexon and Dexamethasone) their ability to restore ciliogenesis was confirmed in a panel of human cancer cell line models representing different cancer types (pancreas, lung, kidney, breast). Most compounds attenuated cell proliferation, at least in part through induction of the primary cilium, as demonstrated by cilium removal using chloral hydrate. These findings reveal that several commonly used drugs restore ciliogenesis in cancer cells, and warrant further investigation of their antineoplastic properties.

3,6,2',4',5'-Pentahydroxyflavone, an orally bioavailable multiple protein kinase inhibitor, overcomes gefitinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most lethal cancer, causing more than 150,000 deaths in the United States in 2013. The receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as gefitinib are not perfect clinical therapeutic agents for NSCLC treatment due to primary or acquired tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance. Herein, 3,6,2',4',5'-pentahydroxyflavone (36245-PHF) was identified as a multiple kinase inhibitor for NSCLC treatment based on the computational screening of a natural products database. 36245-PHF was shown to inhibit PI3K and Aurora A and B kinases and overcome gefitinib-resistant NSCLC growth. Our data clearly showed that 36245-PHF markedly inhibited anchorage-independent growth of gefitinib-resistant NSCLC cell lines and exerted a substantial chemotherapeutic effect following oral administration in a gefitinib-resistant NSCLC xenograft model. The evidence from three different subsequent methodological approaches, in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo, all confirmed that 36245-PHF as a multiple protein kinase inhibitor. Overall, we identified 36245-PHF as a multiple protein kinase inhibitor and as a novel therapeutic agent to overcome gefitinib-resistant NSCLC growth, which could provide a new option for clinical NSCLC oral treatment.

Inhibition of proliferation of cervical and leukemic cancer cells by penicillin G

Cancer, despite all the efforts, still causes one in five deaths worldwide. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy provide inadequate protection and instead affect normal cells along with cancer cells. The search for cancer cures from natural products (plants and animals) has been practice for over a decade and the use of purified chemical to treat cancer still continues. Several studies have been undertaken during last three decades to find the anti-cancerous property of various plant extract and toxins secreted by animals and micro-organism. These lead to the discovery of several promising molecule having anticancer activity, some of which are in clinical trial and may emerged to be a potential future drug in cancer therapy. In this study we have used penicillin to evaluate its anti-cancer activity. It shown significant effects at cellular and molecular levels against growth of HeLa and K562 cell lines.