Discovery of inner centromere protein-derived small peptides for cancer imaging and treatment targeting survivin

Perovskite Probe-Based Machine Learning Imaging Model for Rapid Pathologic Diagnosis of Cancers

Accurately distinguishing tumor cells from normal cells is a key issue in tumor diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. Fluorescence-based immunohistochemistry as the standard method faces the inherent challenges of the heterogeneity of tumor cells and the lack of big data analysis of probing images. Here, we have demonstrated a machine learning-driven imaging method for rapid pathological diagnosis of five types of cancers (breast, colon, liver, lung, and stomach) using a perovskite nanocrystal probe. After conducting the bioanalysis of survivin expression in five different cancers, high-efficiency perovskite nanocrystal probes modified with the survivin antibody can recognize the cancer tissue section at the single cell level. The tumor to normal (T/N) ratio is 10.3-fold higher than that of a conventional fluorescent probe, which can successfully differentiate between tumors and adjacent normal tissues within 10 min. The features of the fluorescence intensity and pathological texture morphology have been extracted and analyzed from 1000 fluorescence images by machine learning. The final integrated decision model makes the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve) value of machine learning classification of breast, colon, liver, lung, and stomach above 90% while predicting the tumor organ of 92% of positive patients. This method demonstrates a high T/N ratio probe in the precise diagnosis of multiple cancers, which will be good for improving the accuracy of surgical resection and reducing cancer mortality.

Toxicity of Glycyl-l-Prolyl-l-Glutamate Pseudotripeptides: Cytotoxic, Oxidative, Genotoxic, and Embryotoxic Perspectives

The tripeptide H-Gly-Pro-Glu-OH (GPE) and its analogs began to take much interest from scientists for developing effective novel molecules in the treatment of several disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. The peptidomimetics of GPEs exerted significant biological properties involving anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and anticancer properties. The assessments of their hematological toxicity potentials are critically required for their possible usage in further preclinical and clinical trials against a wide range of pathological conditions. However, there is so limited information on the safety profiling of GPE and its analogs on human blood tissue from cytotoxic, oxidative, and genotoxic perspectives. And, their embryotoxicity potentials were not investigated yet. Therefore, in this study, measurements of mitochondrial viability (using MTT assay) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release as well as total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assays were performed on cultured human whole blood cells after treatment with GPE and its three novel peptidomimetics for 72 h. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE), micronucleus (MN), and 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) assays were performed for determining the genotoxic damage potentials. In addition, the nuclear division index (NDI) was figured out for revealing their cytostatic potentials. Embryotoxicity assessments were performed on cultured human pluripotent NT2 embryonal carcinoma cells by MTT and LDH assays. The present results from cytotoxicity, oxidative, genotoxicity, and embryotoxicity testing clearly propounded that GPEs had good biosafety profiles and were trouble-free from the toxicological point of view. Noncytotoxic, antioxidative, nongenotoxic, noncytostatic, and nonembryotoxic features of GPE analogs are worthwhile exploring further and may exert high potentials for improving the development of novel disease-modifying agents.

KNTC1 as a putative tumor oncogene in pancreatic cancer

Purpose

Recent studies have demonstrated that kinetochore-associated protein 1 (KNTC1) plays a significant role in the carcinogenesis of numerous types of cancer. This study aimed to explore the role and possible mechanisms of KNTC1 in the development of pancreatic cancer.

Methods and results

We analyzed differentially expressed genes by RNA sequencing in three paired pancreatic cancer and para-cancerous tissue samples and found that the expression of KNTC1 was significantly upregulated in pancreatic cancer. A Cancer and Tumor Gene Map pan-analysis showed that high expression of KNTC1 was related to poor prognosis in 9499 tumor samples. With immunohistochemical staining, we found that the high expression of KNTC1 in pancreatic cancer was related to pathological grade and clinical prognosis. Similarly, RT-PCR results indicated that the expression of KNTC1 was higher in three groups of pancreatic cancer cell lines (BxPC-3, PANC-1, and SW1990) than in normal pancreatic ductal cells. We introduced lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting KNTC1 into PANC-1 and SW1990 cells and found that KNTC1 knockdown significantly decreased cell growth and increased cell apoptosis compared to the control group cells. Bioinformatic analysis of the cell expression profile revealed that differential genes were mainly enriched in the cell cycle, mitosis, and STAT3 signaling pathways, and co-immunoprecipitation confirmed an interaction between KNTC1 and cell division cycle associated 8.

Conclusions

KNTC1 could be linked to the pathophysiology of pancreatic cancer and may be an early diagnostic marker of cervical precancerous lesions.

The Combination of Zerumbone with 5-Fluorouracil for Sensitizing Colorectal Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts to Treatment

The present study aimed to evaluate the synergic effects of combination therapy on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance-cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to treatment. Chemotherapy resistance is an important challenge in colorectal cancer (CRC) eradication attention to the tumor microenvironment (TME) is very important. CAFs in the TME play an essential role in cancer chemoresistance and relapse. Additionally, many patients with advanced CRC show resistance to 5-FU therapy. Anti-tumorigenic activities of ZER, a chemopreventive compound derived from the rhizomes of the wild ginger, have been demonstrated. Synergistic and potentiating effects of combination therapy, using herbal and chemical drugs, can improve patients’ response. At the first, CAFs were isolated from a CRC patient and sorted by fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS), then, confirmed by flow cytometry, and immunocytochemistry (ICC). The effect of 5-FU and ZER on the cell viability was investigated by MTT assay in a dose and time-dependent manner, after that, the expression of vimentin, β-catenin, and survivin was quantified. Apoptosis, cell cycle, and invasion were analyzed by flow cytometry and scratch test, respectively. ZER could significantly sensitize CAFs cells to 5-FU. A combination of 5-FU + ZER revealed a marked decrease in the marker of interest in both mRNA and protein levels compared to control groups, including 5-FU, ZER treated, and untreated cells. Functional evaluation of cells in different groups presented significant suppression in migration of CAFs and an apparent increase in cell arrest and apoptosis by 5-FU + ZER treatment.

Cell-penetrating peptides in protein mimicry and cancer therapeutics

Extensive research has been undertaken in the pursuit of anticancer therapeutics. Many anticancer drugs require specificity of delivery to cancer cells, whilst sparing healthy tissue. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), now well established as facilitators of intracellular delivery, have in recent years advanced to incorporate target specificity and thus possess great potential for the targeted delivery of anticancer cargoes. Though none have yet been approved for clinical use, this novel technology has already entered clinical trials. In this review we present CPPs, discuss their classification, mechanisms of cargo internalization and highlight strategies for conjugation to anticancer moieties including their incorporation into therapeutic proteins. As the mainstay of this review, strategies to build specificity into tumor targeting CPP constructs through exploitation of the tumor microenvironment and the use of tumor homing peptides are discussed, whilst acknowledging the extensive contribution made by CPP constructs to target specific protein-protein interactions integral to intracellular signaling pathways associated with tumor cell survival and progression. Finally, antibody/antigen CPP conjugates and their potential roles in cancer immunotherapy and diagnostics are considered. In summary, this review aims to harness the potential of CPP-aided drug delivery for future cancer therapies and diagnostics whilst highlighting some of the most recent achievements in selective delivery of anticancer drugs, including cytostatic drugs, to a range of tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Discovery of inner centromere protein-derived small peptides for cancer imaging and treatment targeting survivin

Survivin belongs to the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, which is consistently overexpressed in most cancer cells but rarely expressed in normal adult tissues. Therefore, the detection and inhibition of survivin are regarded as attractive strategies for cancer‐specific treatment. In this study, we designed and synthesized 7‐19 residues of inner centromere protein (INCENP)‐derived small peptides (INC peptides) as novel survivin‐targeting agents. The INC peptides showed binding affinity for the human survivin protein (K_d = 91.4‐255 nmol L⁻¹); INC_16‐22, which contains residues 16‐22 of INCENP, showed the highest affinity (91.4 nmol L⁻¹). Confocal fluorescence imaging showed consistent colocalization of FITC‐INC_16‐22 and survivin in cell lines. Nona‐arginine‐linked INC_16‐22 (r9‐INC_16‐22) rendered INC_16‐22 cells penetrable and strongly inhibited cell growth of MIA PaCa‐2 cells (52% inhibition at 1.0 µmol L⁻¹) and MDA‐MB‐231 cells (60% inhibition at 10 µmol L⁻¹) as determined by MTT assays. The exposure of MIA PaCa‐2 cells to 40 µmol L⁻¹ r9‐INC_16‐22 apparently reduced the intracellular protein expression levels of survivin. However, cleaved caspase‐3 was significantly increased in cells treated with r9‐INC_16‐22, even at 10 µmol L⁻¹, compared to untreated cells. Flow cytometry revealed that r9‐INC_16‐22 strongly induced apoptosis in MIA PaCa‐2 cells. These results indicate that the cytotoxic effects of r9‐INC_16‐22 could be mediated mainly through the disruption of survivin‐dependent antiapoptotic functions and partly because of the direct degradation of the survivin protein. Our findings suggest that INC peptides can act as useful scaffolds for novel cancer imaging and anticancer agents.