Positional isomers of aspirin are equally potent in inhibiting colon cancer cell growth: differences in mode of cyclooxygenase inhibition

Aspirin promotes apoptosis and inhibits proliferation by blocking G0/G1 into S phase in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes via downregulation of JAK/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathway

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a commonly occurring autoimmune disease. Its defining pathological characteristic is the excessive proliferation of fibroblast‑like synoviocytes (FLS), which is similar to tumor cells and results in a range of clinical problems. As a commonly used antipyretic, analgesic and anti‑inflammatory drug, aspirin is the first‑line treatment for RA. However, its mechanism of action has not been well explained. The goal is to investigate the biological effects of aspirin on primary RA‑FLS and its underlying mechanisms. In this experiment we treated cells with various concentrations of aspirin (0, DMSO, 1, 2, 5, 10 mM). Cell proliferation activity was detected with CCK‑8 assays. Apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were detected via flow cytometry. Apoptosis and cell cycle‑associated proteins (Bcl‑2, Bax, PRAP1, Cyclin D1, P21), as well as the key proteins and their phosphorylation levels of the NF‑κB and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways, were detected via western blot analysis. Bioinformatics prediction revealed that aspirin was closely associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis, including the p53 and NF‑κB signaling pathways. By stimulating with aspirin, cell viability decreased, while the proportion of apoptotic cells increased, and the number of cells arrested in the G0/G1 phase increased in a dose‑dependent manner. The expression of Bax increased with aspirin stimulation, while the levels of Bcl‑2, PRAP1, Cyclin D1 and P21 decreased; p‑STAT3, p‑P65 and p‑50 levels also decreased while STAT3, P65, P50, p‑P105 and P105 remained unchanged. From our data, it can be concluded that aspirin is able to promote apoptosis and inhibit the proliferation of RA‑FLS through blocking the JAK/STAT3 and NF‑κB signaling pathways.

Aspirin is Involved in the Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis, Cell Migration, and Invasion of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. In China, its 5-year survival rate is roughly 50%, owing to acquired chemotherapeutic resistance and metastasis of the disease. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that aspirin (ASA) acts as a preventive or therapeutic agent in multiple cancers; however, anti-tumor activities induced by aspirin are unclear in OSCC. To investigate the possible role of aspirin in OSCC development, we first employed bioinformatics to analyze the anti-OSCC effects of aspirin. We performed a genetic oncology (GO) enrichment analysis using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), and the protein⁻protein interaction (PPI) network analysis by Cytoscape for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We also evaluated the potential effects of aspirin on cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis in two well-characterized OSCC cell lines (TCA8113 and CAL27). The bioinformatic results revealed that aspirin could inhibit proliferation by blocking the cell cycle, and could reduce migration and invasion via the PI3K-Akt and focal adhesion pathways. We found that ASA could downregulate the OSCC cell proliferation colony formation, invasion, and migration, as well as upregulate apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that ASA suppressed the activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the phosphorylation of Akt, NF-κB, and STAT3. Overall, our data suggested that ASA may be developed as a chemopreventive agent to effectively treat OSCC.

Gastrointestinal safety, chemotherapeutic potential, and classic pharmacological profile of NOSH-naproxen (AVT-219) a dual NO- and H2S-releasing hybrid

Naproxen (NAP) is a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with a favorable cardiovascular profile. However, its long-term use may lead to serious gastrointestinal and renal side effects. NOSH- (nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide) releasing naproxen (NOSH-NAP, AVT-219) belongs to a new class of anti-inflammatory agents designed to overcome these limitations. We compared the gastrointestinal safety, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, and antiplatelet properties of AVT-219 to that of NAP in preclinical animal models. We also evaluated its anticancer effects in 11 human cancer cell (HCC) lines of six different tissue origins and in a chemotherapeutic xenograft mouse model of colon cancer. AVT-219: (1) was orders of magnitude more potent than NAP in inhibiting the growth of cultured HCC; (2) was safe to the stomach, whereas NAP caused significant ulceration; (3) showed strong anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, and antiplatelet properties comparable to NAP; and (4) NAP caused a significant rise in plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), whereas in the AVT-219-treated rats this rise was significantly less. Mechanistically, AVT-219 was a strong antioxidant, inhibited cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and -2, thus reducing prostaglandin (PG) E2. In xenografts, AVT-219 significantly reduced tumor growth and tumor mass with no sign of GI toxicity, whereas NAP-treated mice died due to GI bleeding. AVT-219 displayed considerable safety and potency in inhibiting HCC growth; was an effective analgesic, antipyretic, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory; and was significantly more efficacious than NAP in reducing the growth of established tumors in a xenograft mouse model.

NOSH-aspirin (NBS-1120), a novel nitric oxide- and hydrogen sulfide-releasing hybrid has enhanced chemo-preventive properties compared to aspirin, is gastrointestinal safe with all the classic therapeutic indications

Aspirin is chemopreventive; however, side effects preclude its long-term use. NOSH-aspirin (NBS-1120), a novel hybrid that releases nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide, was designed to be a safer alternative. Here we compare the gastrointestinal safety, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-platelet, and chemopreventive properties of aspirin and NBS-1120 administered orally to rats at equimolar doses. Gastrointestinal safety: 6h post-administration, the number and size of hemorrhagic lesions in stomachs were counted; tissue samples were frozen for PGE2, SOD, and MDA determination. Anti-inflammatory: 1h after drug administration, the volume of carrageenan-induced rat paw edemas was measured for 5h. Anti-pyretic: fever was induced by LPS (ip) an hour before administration of the test drugs, core body temperature was measured hourly for 5h. Analgesic: time-dependent analgesic effects were evaluated by carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia. Antiplatelet: anti-aggregatory effects were studied on collagen-induced platelet aggregation of human platelet-rich plasma. Chemoprevention: nude mice were gavaged daily for 25 days with vehicle, aspirin or NBS-1120. After one week, each mouse was inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Both agents reduced PGE2 levels in stomach tissue; however, NBS-1120 did not cause any stomach ulcers, whereas aspirin caused significant bleeding. Lipid peroxidation induced by aspirin was higher than that exerted by NBS-1120. SOD activity was significantly inhibited by aspirin but increased by NBS-1120. Both agents showed similar anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, and anti-platelet activities. Aspirin increased plasma TNFα more than NBS-1120-treated animals. NBS-1120 was better than aspirin as a chemopreventive agent; it dose-dependently inhibited tumor growth and tumor mass.

Positional isomerism markedly affects the growth inhibition of colon cancer cells by NOSH-aspirin: COX inhibition and modeling

We recently reported the synthesis of NOSH-aspirin, a novel hybrid that releases both nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). In NOSH-aspirin, the two moieties that release NO and H₂S are covalently linked at the 1, 2 positions of acetyl salicylic acid, i.e. ortho-NOSH-aspirin (o-NOSH-aspirin). In the present study, we compared the effects of the positional isomers of NOSH-ASA (o-NOSH-aspirin, m-NOSH-aspirin and p-NOSH-aspirin) to that of aspirin on growth of HT-29 and HCT 15 colon cancer cells, belonging to the same histological subtype, but with different expression of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes; HT-29 express both COX-1 and COX-2, whereas HCT 15 is COX-null. We also analyzed the effect of these compounds on proliferation and apoptosis in HT-29 cells. Since the parent compound aspirin, inhibits both COX-1 and COX-2, we also evaluated the effects of these compounds on COX-1 and COX-2 enzyme activities and also performed modeling of the interactions between the positional isomers of NOSH-aspirin and COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. We observed that the three positional isomers of NOSH aspirin inhibited the growth of both colon cancer cell lines with IC₅₀s in the nano-molar range. In particular in HT-29 cells the IC₅₀s for growth inhibition were: o-NOSH-ASA, 0.04±0.011 µM; m-NOSH-ASA, 0.24±0.11 µM; p-NOSH-ASA, 0.46±0.17 µM; and in HCT 15 cells the IC₅₀s for o-NOSH-ASA, m-NOSH-ASA, and p-NOSH-ASA were 0.062 ±0.006 µM, 0.092±0.004 µM, and 0.37±0.04 µM, respectively. The IC₅₀ for aspirin in both cell lines was >5 mM at 24 h. The reduction of cell growth appeared to be mediated through inhibition of proliferation, and induction of apoptosis. All 3 positional isomers of NOSH-aspirin preferentially inhibited COX-1 over COX-2. These results suggest that the three positional isomers of NOSH-aspirin have the same biological actions, but that o-NOSH-ASA displayed the strongest anti-neoplastic potential.

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NOSH-aspirin is a hybrid compound, releasing nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide.

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Positional isomers of NOSH-aspirin effectively inhibit colon cancer cell growth.

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In colon cancer cells, NOSH-aspirin inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis.

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NOSH-aspirin preferentially inhibits COX-1 enzyme activity over COX-2.

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Potency order is o-NOSH-aspirin>m-NOSH-aspirin>p-NOSH-aspirin.

Enhanced anti-tumor efficacy of aspirin combined with triptolide in cervical cancer cells

BACKGROUND

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase enzymes. Recent studies have shown that aspirin could be used as an anti-tumor drug. Triptolide, the major compound extracted from the Chinese herb Tripteryglum wilfordii Hook.f, has now been shown that it can inhibit tumor growth. The aim of this study was to analyze the anti-tumor efficiency of aspirin and triptolide in cervical cancer cells.

METHODS

Viability of cervical cancer cell lines was assessed by the MTT method at various concentrations of aspirin and triptolide. Siha and HeLa cell apoptotic analysis was performed by flow cytometry. Real time-PCR and Western Blotting were used to analyze the expression of Bcl-2/Bax, Cyclin D1 and p16.

RESULTS

Viability in the combination group was significantly decreased as compared with either drug used alone. Expression change of Bcl-2/Bax, CyclinD1 and p16 appeared to play an important role in the synergistic killing effect on cervical cancer cell apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

Aspirin and triptolide combination treatment may have synergistic anti-tumor effects on cervical cancer cells.