Study of RNA Interference Targeting NET-1 Combination with Sorafenib for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapy In Vitro and In Vivo

Evaluation of therapeutic effect of targeting nanobubbles conjugated with NET-1 siRNA by shear wave elastography: an in vivo study of hepatocellular carcinoma bearing mice model

This study aimed at investigating the tumor stiffness of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bearing mice model in vivo to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of targeting nanobubbles (TNBS) conjugated with NET-1 siRNA (NET-1 siRNA-TNBS). Also tested whether shear wave elastography (SWE) could demonstrate the pathological tumor changes and used to monitor therapeutic efficacy as a noninvasive method. The HCC bearing mice model was established by injecting human HCC cell line (HepG2). The mice were then divided into three groups randomly, and were treated with TNBS conjugated with NET-1 siRNA, TNBS conjugated with negative control gene, and saline as control. US-SWE was performed for three times. SWE values of all the tumors in three groups were increased with tumor growth. Emax was correlated with tumor size (p < .05). NET-1 gene (treatment group) significantly delayed the growth of tumor size compared to other two groups (p < .0001), showing a significantly increased Emax (p < .05). Immunohistochemical results showed that the NET-1 protein expression was significantly lower than the negative control and blank groups. In conclusion, TNBS conjugated with NET-1 siRNA inhibited tumor growth and prolonged the life of experimental animals. SWE provided a noninvasive and real time imaging method to detect the changes in tumor development.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Etiology and Current and Future Drugs

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is swiftly increasing in prevalence globally with a high mortality rate. The progression of HCC in patients is induced with advanced fibrosis, mainly cirrhosis, and hepatitis. The absence of proper preventive or curative treatment methods encouraged extensive research against HCC to develop new therapeutic strategies. The Food and Drug Administration-approved Nexavar (sorafenib) is used in the treatment of patients with unresectable HCC. In 2017, Stivarga (regorafenib) and Opdivo (nivolumab) got approved for patients with HCC after being treated with sorafenib, and in 2018, Lenvima (lenvatinib) got approved for patients with unresectable HCC. But, owing to the rapid drug resistance development and toxicities, these treatment options are not completely satisfactory. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new systemic combination therapies that target different signaling mechanisms, thereby decreasing the prospect of cancer cells developing resistance to treatment. In this review, HCC etiology and new therapeutic strategies that include currently approved drugs and other potential candidates of HCC such as Milciclib, palbociclib, galunisertib, ipafricept, and ramucirumab are evaluated.

Interleukin-7 improves in vitro maturation of ovine cumulus-oocyte complexes in a dose dependent manner

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) mediated signals are linked to development, proliferation, survival and differentiation of cells. Recent evidences indicate its role in oocyte maturation process as well. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms of IL-7 involvement in oocyte maturation are not well characterized. In addition, currently no information is available on the effect of exogenous IL-7 on oocyte maturation in ovine or any other species. In this study, the effect of IL-7 supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the maturation rate, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and gene expression of ovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) was assessed. IL-7 (0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10 ng/ml) was supplemented in IVM medium at the beginning (0 h) and maturation rate of COC was assessed at the completion of IVM (24 h). The maturation rate (%) was found significantly (P = 0.000) greater with the 1 ng/ml of IL-7 supplementation (69.5) than control (60.0). In contrast, the maturation rate was reduced significantly (P = 0.000) with the 2 (47.1), 5 (39.2) and 10 ng/ml (39.1) of IL-7 as compared to the control. The level of intracellular ROS in the matured COC was found considerably higher with the 5 ng/ml of IL-7 followed by 1 ng/ml of IL-7 and control. It was evident that in the presence of superoxide dismutase-inhibitor, 1 ng/ml of IL-7 did not stimulate oocyte maturation. In contrast, oocyte maturation was improved with 5 ng/ml of IL-7 supplementation in the presence of NADPH-oxidase-inhibitor. IL-7 supplementation influenced gene expression in COC in a dose and time dependant manner. The expression of genes related to ROS production and apoptosis were upregulated and the genes associated with antioxidant mechanisms were downregulated noticeably with the supplementation of 5 ng/ml of IL-7. In conclusion, IL-7 at low concentration was beneficial for oocyte maturation, which was likely mediated through the favourable level of intracellular ROS and antioxidant mechanisms. In contrast, the detrimental effects of greater IL-7 concentrations on oocyte maturation were possibly arbitrated through the ROS-mediated oxidative stress, compromised antioxidant mechanism and stimulated apoptotic signalling.

VTIQ evaluates antitumor effects of NET-1 siRNA by UTMD in HCC xenograft models

The present study used a virtual touch tissue imaging and quantification (VTIQ) method to investigate the change in elasticity in xenograft tumor tissue models following silencing of the neuroepithelial-transforming protein 1 (NET-1) gene by ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD). A total of 24 xenograft models were established by subcutaneous injection of human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells in BALB/c female nude mice. Then, NET-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA)-conjugated nanobubbles and a glypican-3 antibody were synthesized. The mean and maximum shear wave speed (SWS_mean and SWS_max) in the tumor tissue were measured prior to, during, and following therapy using VTIQ. The growth of the tumor size and survival time were recorded. The levels of NET-1 protein were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. In addition, tumor, liver and kidney tissues of the nude mice were collected to confirm whether gene transfection treatment was toxic in vivo. In the UTMD delivery gene group, SWS_mean was correlated with the maximum diameter of the tumor (r=0.9806, P=0.0194). The immunohistochemical staining data indicated that the level of NET-1 protein in the treated groups was significantly decreased compared with those in the control groups. Additionally, no structural damage was observed in the nude mice liver and kidney tissues following treatment. Therefore, VTIQ measurement identified potential changes in the elastic properties of the tumors, which in turn may be associated with the stages of tumor development. The delivery method, UTMD, improves the antitumor effects of NET-1 siRNA and supports gene transfection as a promising therapeutic strategy.

Expression and function of tetraspanin 1 in esophageal carcinoma

The present study explored the expression of tetraspanin 1 (TSPAN1) in esophageal carcinoma (EC) and its association with clinicopathological factors. TSPAN1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) was designed to target the TSPAN1 gene in Eca-109 cells in order to explore the biological function of TSPAN1 in the proliferation and apoptosis of EC. The results demonstrated that the level of TSPAN1 expression in EC tissue was significantly increased compared with that in adjacent normal tissue (P<0.001). TSPAN1 expression was also associated with histological differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05) and Ki-67 (P<0.01). However, no association was observed between TSPAN expression and gender, age or location (P>0.05). In addition, silencing TSPAN1 markedly inhibited proliferation while increasing the apoptosis rate of Eca-109 cells, which was demonstrated by detecting the expression of the cell proliferation-associated gene Ki-67 and the apoptotic gene caspase-3 (P<0.05). Taken together, these results indicated that TSPAN1 functions as a tumor-associated gene in EC through promoting cell proliferation and suppressing apoptosis, and siRNA technology may provide an advanced alternative in the development of therapeutics for EC.

Curcumin enhances the antitumor effect of ABT-737 via activation of the ROS-ASK1-JNK pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

At present, the therapeutic treatment strategies for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unsatisfactory, and novel methods are urgently required to treat this disease. Members of the B cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2 family are anti‑apoptotic proteins, which are commonly expressed at high levels in certain HCC tissues and positively correlate with the treatment resistance of patients with HCC. ABT-737, an inhibitor of Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic proteins, has been demonstrated to exhibit potent antitumor effects in several types of tumor, including HCC. However, treatment with ABT-737 alone also activates certain pro-survival signaling pathways, which attenuate the antitumor validity of ABT-737. Curcumin, which is obtained from Curcuma longa, is also an antitumor potentiator in multiple types of cancer. In the present study, the synergistic effect of curcumin and ABT-737 on HCC cells was investigated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. It was found that curcumin markedly enhanced the antitumor effects of ABT-737 on HepG2 cells, which was partially dependent on the induction of apoptosis, according to western blot analysis and flow cytometric apoptosis analysis. In addition, the sustained activation of the ROS-ASK1-c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway may be an important mediator of the synergistic effect of curcumin and ABT-737. Collectively, these results indicated that the combination of curcumin and ABT-737 can efficaciously induce the death of HCC cells, and may offer a potential treatment strategy for patients with HCC.

Hepatoprotective and anti-tumor effects of targeting MMP-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its relation to vascular invasion markers

The current study aims to evaluate the hepatoprotective and antitumor efficacy of doxycycline, as an matrix metalloproteases-9 (MMP-9) inhibitor, in an in vivo model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC was induced experimentally by thiocetamide (200 mg/kg) in rats that were treated with doxycycline (5 mg/kg for 16 weeks). Tumor severity was evaluated by measuring α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, histopathologically by investigating liver sections stained with hematoxylin/eosin and assessing the survival rate. Liver homogenates were used for the measurements of MMP-9, fascin and hepatic heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) levels. Oxidative stress markers [malonaldehyde (MDA) and glutathione] as well as fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) gene expression were also among the assessed indicators. HCC in human and animal samples showed significant elevation in the levels of MMP-9 (231.7, 90 %), fascin (33.17, 140 %), as well as FGF-2 gene expression (342 % in animal samples; all respectively), associated with a significant decrease in hepatic HSPG level. Treatment of rats with doxycycline increased the animal survival rate (90 %) and decreased serum AFP level. Moreover, doxycycline ameliorated fibrosis and the induced massive hepatic tissue breakdown. It also restored the integrity of hepatic HSPGs and showed a magnificent inhibitory effect of tumor invasion cascade by significantly reducing the activities of MMP-9 (42 %) and fascin (50 %), as well as reducing the gene expression of FGF-2 (85.7 %). Furthermore, the antioxidant impact of doxycycline was evidenced by the significant elevation in glutathione level and depressing MDA level. To this end, doxycycline, proved promising hepatoprotective and antitumor activity and opens, thereby, a new horizon against vascular migration ability of the tumor cells.