Ethyl Acetate Fraction from Hedyotis diffusa plus Scutellaria barbata Suppresses Migration of Bone-Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells via OPN-FAK/ERK/NF-κB Axis

Scutellaria barbata D.Don extract regulates Ezrin-mediated triple negative breast cancer progress via suppressing the RhoA /ROCK1 signaling

Background

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks effective therapeutic targets. Scutellaria barbata D.Don (SB) has been revealed to have anti-breast cancer (BC) effect, but the effect of SB extract in TNBC is still unclear. Herein, this research delves into the underlying mechanism.

Methods

SB was extracted by solvent extraction, and the main components were identified using an Agilent 6,520 HPLC-Chip/Q-TOF (Chip/Q-TOF) MS system. In vitro cell experiments were conducted. The effects of SB extract alone, SB extract plus EGF, GSK alone, GSK plus Ezrin overexpression, or SB extract plus Ezrin overexpression on cell viability, invasion, migration, and apoptosis were examined by cell function experiments. The apoptosis- and RhoA/ROCK1 pathway-related protein levels were analyzed by western blot assay.

Results

Mass spectrometry analysis exhibited that SB extract mainly contains long-chain fatty acids and ursolic acid. SB extract mitigated TNBC cell biological phenotypes, apoptosis- and RhoA/ROCK1 pathway-related marker expressions, which were reversed by EGF. The further results found that GSK obviously weakens TNBC cell biological behaviors, apoptosis- and RhoA/ROCK1 signaling-related protein levels, while oe-Ezrin treatment reverses the effect of GSK on TNBC cells. Moreover, SB extract regulated Ezrin-mediated function of TNBC cells by impeding the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated that SB extract regulated Ezrin-mediated proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of TNBC cells via suppressing the RhoA /ROCK1 signaling. Our results offer the experimental foundation for further investigation of the anti-cancer role of SB in TNBC cells.

Highlights

SB extract inhibits the biological phenotypes of TNBC cells.SB extract inhibits the biological behaviors of TNBC cells through the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway.SB extract modulates Ezrin-mediated TNBC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis via restraining the RhoA/ROCK1 signaling.

Ethyl Acetate Fraction from Hedyotis Diffusa Plus Scutellaria Barbata Inhibits the Progression of Breast Cancer via Targeting LMO1 and AKT/Mtor Signaling Pathway

BACKGROUND

Traditional Chinese medicines are widely used in cancer treatment. Scutellaria barbata and Hedyotis diffusa herb pair (SH) has an anticancer effects in various tumors. However, the specific mechanism of SH in breast cancer remains unclear.

METHODS

In the present research, we investigated the effect and regulatory network of SH in in breast cancer. CCK8, colony formation, transwell, wound healing and flow cytometry analysis were used for the detection of cell function.

RESULTS

Ethyl acetate fraction from SH at an equal weight ratio (EA11) could inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. It also induced apoptosis in these two cell lines by downregulating Bcl2 and upregulating Bax and Cleaved-Caspase3. SH reduced the activation of the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and the expression of p70S6K. Sequencing results showed that LMO1 was significantly downregulated in SH-treated cells compared with control cells. Importantly, overexpression of LMO1 attenuated the inhibitory effect of SH on cell proliferation and invasion and induced inflammatory tumor microenvironment.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the SH herb pair inhibited the proliferation and metastasis through downregulating LMO1 expression and reducing the activation of the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. LMO1 has the potential as a new target in the treatment of breast cancer.

microRNA-944 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation and promotes cell apoptosis by reducing SPP1 through inactivating the PI3K/Akt pathway

Breast cancer is a common malignancy in women with poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of microRNA-944 (miR-944) mediated secreted phosphoprotein-1 (SPP1) in breast cancer progression and its regulatory effect on the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Differential gene analysis was performed to identify key genes associated with breast cancer development by screening breast cancer-related microarray data. The expression of miR-944 and SPP1 and their relationship were determined in clinical samples and cells. sh-SPP1, oe-SPP1, LY294002 or miR-944 mimic were transfected into MCF-7 cells to investigate the role of miR-944 mediated SPP1 in breast cancer development and its regulatory effect on the PI3K/Akt pathway. Finally, the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells was observed in nude mice. Through bioinformatics analysis, we identified SPP1 as a key gene in breast cancer, and miR-944 as an upstream miRNA of SPP1. In breast cancer tissues and cells, the expression of miR-944 was decreased while that of SPP1 was increased. miR-944 negatively regulated the expression of SPP1. In breast cancer cells, SPP1 activated the PI3K/Akt pathway to promote cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis. In vitro cell experiments showed that the downregulation of miR-944 promoted the high expression of SPP1, which then activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, promoting breast cancer cell proliferation. In vivo experiments further confirmed the anti-cancer role of miR-944 mediated SPP1 in breast cancer. Our study highlights the role of miR-944 mediated SPP1 in inhibiting breast cancer progression by blocking the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Hedyotis diffusa-Sculellaria barbata (HD-SB) suppresses the progression of colorectal cancer cells via the hsa_circ_0039933/hsa-miR-204-5p/wnt11 axis

Our previous study confirmed that the combination of Hedyotis diffusa (HD) and Scutellaria barbata (SB) significantly inhibited colorectal cancer cell proliferation and the WNT signaling pathway. However, the exact molecular modulation remains unclear. In this study, colorectal cancer cells (SW620) were treated with 1 mg/mL HD-SB for 24 h, and high-throughput sequencing of circRNAs was performed. The level of hsa_circ_0039933 in three colorectal cancer cell lines (HT-29, SW620, and HCT116) was verified by qPCR. After transfection of hsa_circ_0039933 overexpression plasmids or small interfering RNAs, CCK8, apoptosis, cell migration, and cell invasion were utilized to evaluate the function of hsa_circ_0039933 in the progression of colorectal cancer cells. We identified hsa_circ_0039933, which was downregulated in HD-SB-induced colorectal cancer cells and positively related to colorectal cancer progression. In SW620 cells with relatively high expression of hsa_circ_0039933, interfering with the expression of hsa_circ_0039933 inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of SW620 cells. In HCT116 cells with relatively low expression of hsa_circ_0039933, overexpression of hsa_circ_0039933 promoted the proliferation and invasion and migration ability of HCT116. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0039933 targeted hsa-miR-204-5p to increase the expression of wnt11, leading to the activation of the Wnt pathway, thereby promoting the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. This work revealed the potential molecular mechanism of HD-SB for the treatment of colorectal cancer, which was to inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway through the hsa_circ_0039933/hsa-miR-204-5p/wnt11 axis, then suppressing proliferation, migration, and invasion in the colorectal cancer cell.

Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Interaction of Base-Line Chemotherapy and Shiyiwei Shenqi Tablets in Breast Cancer Treatment

Shiyiwei Shenqi Tablet (SSTs) has been widely used for treatment of different types of cancer including breast cancer. SST has drawn more and more interest due to the low rate of side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolites in serums of breast cancer patients who received base-line chemotherapy only or combination treatment with SST. An untargeted metabolomics method was developed to investigate the alteration of metabolism in patients’ serums using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/Q-exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The patients were separated based on the metabolomics data, and further analyses showed that SST treatment can affect the metabolism of glucose, fatty acid, bile acid and amino acid. In particular, SST treatment significantly reduced some short peptides which are potential tumor neoantigens. This study may provide novel insights into the mechanism underlying interaction between SST and base-line chemotherapy in terms of affecting metabolic pathways and thereby changing metabolic products, which might shed new light for clinical medication.

Combination of HDE and BIIB021 efficiently inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis via downregulating hTERT in myelodysplastic syndromes

Treatment for higher-risk patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) should aim to modify the disease course by avoiding progression to acute myeloid leukemia and improving survival. When a patient is not eligible for intensive chemotherapy and lacks a donor hematopoietic cell source, or for a patient in a poor economic situation, consideration can be given to the use of Chinese herbal medicine. Numerous plant extracts, such as camptothecin, vinblastine and paclitaxel, have been reported to display antitumor effects, serving as potential therapeutic strategies for cancer. In the present study, the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system (Waters Corporation) was used to detect the main chemical components of HDE, CCK-8 assay to detect the effects of HDE and BIIB021 on the proliferation of SKM-1 cells; and designed hTERT-small interfering (si)RNAs to detect the effects of HDE and BIIB021 on SKM-1 cell apoptosis after HTERT gene knockdown. The present study investigated a newly extracted coumarin HDE, the active component in Oldenlandia diffusa Willd, which efficiently inhibited SKM-1 (MDS cell line) proliferation and induced apoptosis, as determined by performing Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry assays, respectively. The effect of HDE was associated with decreased telomerase activity. Moreover, heat shock protein 90 inhibitor BIIB021 significantly enhanced the antitumor effects of HDE on SKM-1 cells. In addition, SKM-1 cell apoptosis was increased in human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)-knockdown cells compared with the negative control group. Cell apoptosis in hTERT-knockdown SKM-1 cells was further enhanced following HDE, BIIB021 or combination treatment, as evidenced by increased levels of cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 8 and cleaved poly ADP ribose polymerase. Collectively, the results indicated synergistic antitumor effects of HDE and BIIB021, providing a novel therapeutic combination for higher-risk MDS.