Asiaticoside Suppresses Gastric Cancer Progression and Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress through the miR-635/HMGA1 Axis

Asiaticoside Inhibits Growth and Metastasis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Disrupting EMT via Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the primary inducer of cancer-related death worldwide. Asiaticoside (ATS) is a triterpenoid saponin that has been indicated to possess an antitumor activity in several malignancies. Nonetheless, its detailed functions in NSCLC remain unclarified. In this study, NSCLC cells were exposed to various doses of ATS. Functional experiments were employed to estimate the ATS effect on NSCLC cell behaviors. Western blotting was implemented for protein expression evaluation. A xenograft mouse model was established to assess the ATS effect on NSCLC in vivo. The results showed that ATS restrained NSCLC cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasiveness. ATS reversed TGF-β-induced promotion in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, ATS inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling in NSCLC. Upregulating β-catenin restored ATS-mediated suppression of NSCLC cell aggressiveness. Moreover, ATS administration repressed tumorigenesis in tumor-bearing mice. In conclusion, ATS represses growth and metastasis in NSCLC by blocking EMT via the inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Asiaticoside inhibits breast cancer progression and tumor angiogenesis via YAP1/VEGFA signal pathway

Objective

Breast cancer poses a major health risk to millions of females globally. Asiaticoside (AC) is a naturally occurring compound derived from Centella asiatica, a widely used medicinal plant in the oriental countries and has potential antitumor properties. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer effects of synthesized AC at the cellular level and assess its ability to inhibit tumor growth and angiogenesis in breast cancer.

Methods

The proliferative capacities of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were determined using CCK-8 assay. To analyze invasion and migration, Transwell assays were conducted on the same cell lines. Additionally, apoptosis was analyzed in vitro using flow cytometry. Real-time RT-PCR was used to examine mRNA expression, and Western-blotting assay was employed to examine protein expression. Subcutaneous injection of MDA-MB-231 cells into female BALB/c nude mice was followed by treatment with AC to study its anti-tumor effects in vivo.

Results

AC treatment reduced cell proliferation and triggered apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The invasive and pro-angiogenesis ability were also impaired upon AC treatment. AC administration also impeded the tumor growth and tumor-associated angiogenesis of MDA-MB-231 cells in nude mice, which was accompanied by the decreased levels of YAP1 and VEGFA.

Conclusion

Taken together, our results demonstrated the anti-cancer activity of AC in breast cancer. AC is able to suppress the malignancy of breast cancercells via YAP1/VEGFA signal pathway.

Asiaticoside protected brain injury in hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage via activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway

Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH) is a destructive disease with high mortality, incidence, and disability. Asiaticoside (AC) is a triterpenoid derivative that has demonstrated to exert a protective effect on neuron and blood vessel. To investigate the function and potential mechanism of AC on HICH. Human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) were treated with 20 U/mL thrombin for 24 h to establish the HICH model in vitro, and AC with the concentration of 1, 2 and 4 µM were used to incubate hBMECs. The effect and potential mechanism of AC on HICH were investigated by using cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, tube forming assays, vascular permeability experiments and western blot assays. In vivo, rats were injected with 20 µL hemoglobin with a concentration of 150 mg/mL, and then intragastrically administrated with 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg AC. Behavioral tests, brain water content measurement, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) nick end labeling assays, and western blot were used to assess the effect and potential mechanism of AC on HICH. AC (at 2 and 4 µM) improved the proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and vascular permeability in thrombin-induced hBMECs (p < 0.05). Besides, AC (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) ameliorated behavioral scores, brain water content, pathological lesion, apoptosis and the expression of vascular permeability-related proteins in rats with HICH (p < 0.05). In addition, AC elevated the expression of PI3K/AKT pathway after HICH both in cell and animal models (p < 0.05). Application of LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K/AKT pathway, reversed the ameliorative effect of AC on the proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and vascular permeability in thrombin-induced hBMECs (p < 0.05). AC reduced brain damage by increasing the expression of the PI3K/AKT pathway after HICH.

Long non-coding RNA PXN-AS1 promotes glutamine synthetase-mediated chronic myeloid leukemia BCR::ABL1-independent resistance to Imatinib via cell cycle signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a common hematological malignancy, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) represent the primary therapeutic approach for CML. Activation of metabolism signaling pathway has been connected with BCR::ABL1-independent TKIs resistance in CML cells. However, the specific mechanism by which metabolism signaling mediates this drug resistance remains unclear. Here, we identified one relationship between glutamine synthetase (GS) and BCR::ABL1-independent Imatinib resistance in CML cells.

METHODS

GS and PXN-AS1 in bone marrow samples of CML patients with Imatinib resistance (IR) were screened and detected by whole transcriptome sequencing. GS expression was upregulated using LVs and blocked using shRNAs respectively, then GS expression, Gln content, and cell cycle progression were respectively tested. The CML IR mice model were established by tail vein injection, prognosis of CML IR mice model were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, the ratio of spleen/body weight, HE staining, and IHC. PXN-AS1 level was blocked using shRNAs, and the effects of PXN-AS1 on CML IR cells in vitro and in vivo were tested the same as GS. Several RNA-RNA tools were used to predict the potential target microRNAs binding to both GS and PXN-AS1. RNA mimics and RNA inhibitors were used to explore the mechanism through which PXN-AS1 regulates miR-635 or miR-635 regulates GS.

RESULTS

GS was highly expressed in the bone marrow samples of CML patients with Imatinib resistance. In addition, the lncRNA PXN-AS1 was found to mediate GS expression and disorder cell cycle in CML IR cells via mTOR signaling pathway. PXN-AS1 regulated GS expression by binding to miR-635. Additionally, knockdown of PXN-AS1 attenuated BCR::ABL1-independent Imatinib resistance in CML cells via PXN-AS1/miR-635/GS/Gln/mTOR signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, PXN-AS1 promotes GS-mediated BCR::ABL1-independent Imatinib resistance in CML cells via cell cycle signaling pathway.

Asiaticoside Down-Regulates HIF-1α to Inhibit Proliferation, Migration, and Angiogenesis in Thyroid Cancer Cells

Background

Thyroid cancer (TC), the most prevalent endocrine malignancy, has been subjected to various treatment methods. However, the efficacy of asiaticoside (AC) for treating TC remains uncertain.

Aims

To explore the impact of AC on TC and determine its potential mechanisms of action.

Study Design

In vitro and in vivo cell line study.

Methods

We evaluated the effects of AC on human TC cell lines, namely TPC-1 and FTC-133. Both in vitro and in vivo experimental validations were conducted.

Results

AC significantly diminished the viability and proliferation of TC cells based on the CCK-8 assay and Edu staining findings. Migration and invasion assays revealed that AC effectively curtailed the migration and invasiveness of TC cells. The tube formation assay demonstrated that AC substantially impeded TC cell-induced angiogenesis. Western blot assay revealed that AC significantly reduced the expression levels of TRAF6, HIF-1α, and VEGFA, indicating that AC could potentially exert its anticancer effect by inhibiting the TRAF6/HIF1α pathway. Our in vivo experiments, which involved administering AC to BALB/c nude mice injected with TPC-1 cells, demonstrated significant inhibition of tumor growth and reduction in the expression of Ki-67, TRAF6, HIF-1α, and VEGFA.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the significant inhibitory effect of AC on TC, offering fresh insights and potential drug candidates for TC treatment.

LINC01614 Promotes Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth and Migration by Regulating miR-217-5p/HMGA1 Axis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) substantially contributes to cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recently, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), LINC01614, has emerged as a vital gene regulator in cancer progression. Yet, how LINC01614 affects CRC progression remains enigmatic. Here, we defined LINC01614 expression in CRC, investigated the performance of CRC cells lacking LINC01614, and elucidated the underpinning mechanism. We observed that LINC01614 was upregulated in both CRC tissues and cell lines. LINC01614 knockdown repressed the proliferation and metastasis capacity of CRC cell lines. Consistently, an in vivo LINC01614 deficiency model exhibited slow tumor growth rate. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay, RNA pull-down, and immunoprecipitation confirmed that LINC01614 targeted miR-217-5p. LINC01614 knockdown reduced the expression of HMGA1 and N-cadherin, while increasing that of E-cadherin, resulting in decreased viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of CRC cells. Our results demonstrate that LINC01614 regulates CRC progression by modulating the miR-217-5p/HMGA1 axis, thus holding great potential as a prognostic biomarker for CRC diagnosis and treatment.