Mechanistic added value of a trans-Sulfonamide-Platinum-Complex in human melanoma cell lines and synergism with cis-Platin

Metal Chelates of Sulfafurazole Azo Dye Derivative: Synthesis, Structure Affirmation, Antimicrobial, Antitumor, DNA Binding, and Molecular Docking Simulation

A series of divalent and one trivalent metal chelates of the azo ligand resulting from coupling of sulfafurazole diazonium chloride with resorcinol have been designed and synthesized. Structure investigation of the isolated chelates have been achieved by applying spectroscopic and analytical tools which collaborated to assure the formation of the metal chelates in the molar ratios of 1L: 1M for Ni(II), Co(II), and Fe(III) chelates, where Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes formed in the ratio 2L : 1M. The geometrical arrangement around the metal canters was concluded from UV-Vis spectra to be octahedral for all metal chelates. The attachment of the ligand to the metal ions took place through the azo group nitrogen and o-hydroxyl oxygen through proton displacement leading to the ligand being in monobasic bidentate binding mode. Antimicrobial and antitumor activities of the interested compounds have been evaluated against alternative microorganisms and cancer cells, respectively, in a trial to investigate their extent of activity in addition to docking studies. The mode of interaction of the compounds with SS-DNA has been examined by UV-Vis spectra and viscosity studies.

Immune-related lncRNA pairs as novel signature to predict prognosis and immune landscape in melanoma patients

To investigate immune-related long non-coding RNA (irlncRNA) signatures for predicting survival and the immune landscape in melanoma patients.We retrieved gene expression files from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Genotype-Tissue Expression database and extracted all the long non-coding RNAs from the original data. Then, we selected immune-related long non-coding RNAs (irlncRNAs) using co-expression networks and screened differentially expressed irlncRNAs (DEirlncRNAs) to form pairs. We also performed univariate analysis and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) penalized regression analysis to identify prognostic DEirlncRNA pairs, constructed receiver operating characteristic curves, compared the areas under the curves, and calculated the optimal cut-off point to divide patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. Finally, we performed multivariate Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival analysis, clinical correlation analysis, and investigated correlations with tumor-infiltrating immune cells, chemotherapeutic effectiveness, and immunogene biomarkers.A total of 297 DEirlncRNAs were identified, of which 16 DEirlncRNA pairs were associated with prognosis in melanoma. After grouping patients by the optimal cut-off value, we could better distinguish melanoma patients with different survival outcomes, clinical characteristics, tumor immune status changes, chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity, and specific immunogene biomarkers.The DEirlncRNA pairs showed potential as novel biomarkers to predict the prognosis of melanoma patients. Furthermore, these DEirlncRNA pairs could be used to evaluate treatment efficacy in the future.

Novel Biomarker Genes for Prognosis of Survival and Treatment of Glioma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive malignant primary central nervous system tumor. Although surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy treatments are available, the 5-year survival rate of GBM is only 5.8%. Therefore, it is imperative to find novel biomarker for the prognosis and treatment of GBM. In this study, a total of 141 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GBM were identified by analyzing the GSE12657, GSE90886, and GSE90598 datasets. After reducing the data dimensionality, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that expression of PTPRN and RIM-BP2 were downregulated in GBM tissues when compared with that of normal tissues and that the expression of these genes was a good prognostic biomarker for GBM (p<0.05). Then, the GSE46531 dataset and the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database were used to examine the relationship between sensitivity radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy for GBM and expression of PTPRN and RIM-BP2. The expression of PTPRN was significantly high in RT-resistant patients (p<0.05) but it was not related to temozolomide (TMZ) resistance. The expression level of RIM-BP2 was not associated with RT or TMZ treatment. Among the chemotherapeutic drugs, cisplatin and erlotinib had a significantly good treatment effect for glioma with expression of PTPRN or RIM-BP2 and in lower-grade glioma (LGG) with IDH mutation. (p < 0.05). The tumor mutational burden (TMB) score in the low PTPRN expression group was significantly higher than that in the high PTPRN expression group (p=0.013), with a large degree of tumor immune cell infiltration. In conclusion, these findings contributed to the discovery process of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for glioma patients.

Copper in tumors and the use of copper-based compounds in cancer treatment

Copper homeostasis is strictly regulated by protein transporters and chaperones, to allow its correct distribution and avoid uncontrolled redox reactions. Several studies address copper as involved in cancer development and spreading (epithelial to mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis). However, being endogenous and displaying a tremendous potential to generate free radicals, copper is a perfect candidate, once opportunely complexed, to be used as a drug in cancer therapy with low adverse effects. Copper ions can be modulated by the organic counterpart, after complexed to their metalcore, either in redox potential or geometry and consequently reactivity. During the last four decades, many copper complexes were studied regarding their reactivity toward cancer cells, and many of them could be a drug choice for phase II and III in cancer therapy. Also, there is promising evidence of using ⁶⁴Cu in nanoparticles as radiopharmaceuticals for both positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and treatment of hypoxic tumors. However, few compounds have gone beyond testing in animal models, and none of them got the status of a drug for cancer chemotherapy. The main challenge is their solubility in physiological buffers and their different and non-predictable mechanism of action. Moreover, it is difficult to rationalize a structure-based activity for drug design and delivery. In this review, we describe the role of copper in cancer, the effects of copper-complexes on tumor cell death mechanisms, and point to the new copper complexes applicable as drugs, suggesting that they may represent at least one component of a multi-action combination in cancer therapy.

New benzenesulfonamide scaffold-based cytotoxic agents: Design, synthesis, cell viability, apoptotic activity and radioactive tracing studies

A new series of thiazolidinone (5a-g), thiazinone (9a-g) and dithiazepinone (9a-g) heterocycles bearing a benzenesulfonamide scaffold was synthesized. Cytotoxicity of these derivatives was assessed against MCF-7, HepG2, HCT-116 and A549 cancer cell lines and activity was compared to the known cytotoxic agents doxorubicin and 5-FU where the most active compounds displayed better to nearly similar IC50 values to the reference compounds. For assessing selectivity, the most active derivatives against MCF-7, 5b, 5c and 5e, were also assessed against the normal breast cell line MCF-10 A where they demonstrated high selective cytotoxicity to cancerous cells over that to normal cells. Further, the effect of the most active compounds 5b-e on MCF-7 and HepG2 cell cycle phase distribution was assessed and the tested sulfonamide derivatives were found to induce accumulation of cells in the <2n phase. To further confirm apoptosis induction, caspase 8 and 9 levels in MCF-7 and HepG2 were evaluated before and after treatment with compounds 5b-e and were found to be significantly higher after exposure to the test agents. Since 5c was the most active, its effect on the cell cycle regulation was confirmed where it showed inhibition of the CDK2/cyclin E1. Finally, in vivo biodistribution study using radioiodinated-5c revealed a significant uptake and targeting ability into solid tumor in a xenograft mouse model.

Induction of ROS‑mediated cell death and activation of the JNK pathway by a sulfonamide derivative

The emergence of colorectal cancer in developed nations can be attributed to dietary habits, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Several treatment regimens are available for primary and metastatic colorectal cancer; however, these treatment options have had limited impact on cure and disease‑free survival, and novel agents need to be developed for treating colorectal cancer. Thus, the objective of this study was to explore the anticancer mechanism of a benzo(1,3)dioxol‑based derivative of sulfonamide. The compound's inhibitory effect on cell proliferation was determined using the MTT assay and the xCelligence RTDP machine. Alternations in the expression of Bcl‑2 and inhibitor of apoptosis protein families were detected by western blotting. Apoptotic marker protein expression, including cytochrome c and cleaved poly(ADP‑ribose)polymerase was measured in the cytosolic extract of cells. Apoptosis and necrosis were detected by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), and activation of caspase‑3 and caspase‑7 were measured using flow cytometry. Activation of the JNK pathway was detected by western blotting. We investigated the molecular mechanism of action of the sulfonamide derivative on colorectal cancer cells and found that the compound possesses a potent anticancer effect, which is primarily exerted by inducing apoptosis and necrosis. Interestingly, this compound exhibited little antiproliferative effect against the normal colonic epithelial cell line FHC. Furthermore, our results showed that the compound could significantly increase ROS production. Apoptosis induction could be attenuated by the free oxygen radical scavenger N‑acetyl cysteine (NAC), indicating that the antiproliferative effect of this compound on colorectal cancer cells is at least partially dependent on the redox balance. In addition, JNK signaling was activated by treatment with this derivative, which led to the induction of apoptosis. On the contrary, a JNK inhibitor could suppress the cell death induced by this compound. Our findings thus suggested a novel anticancer mechanism of a benzo(1,3)dioxol‑based derivative of sulfonamide for colorectal cancer cells and may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of colorectal cancer; however, further investigation is required.

Long noncoding RNA DANCR mediates cisplatin resistance in glioma cells via activating AXL/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway

Malignant glioma is an aggressive type of brain tumor with poor prognosis and mostly incurable. Although cisplatin is used for adjuvant chemotherapy against glioma, intrinsic and acquired resistance restricts the application of cisplatin. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) DANCR is reported to regulate the differentiation and progression of several cancers. However, whether DANCR participates in cisplatin resistance of glioma is still unknown. In this study, we found that DANCR expression was negatively correlated with cisplatin sensitivity in glioma cells. Gain-of and loss-of function assays revealed that DNACR attenuated cisplatin-induced cell proliferation inhibition in vitro and xenograft growth suppression in vivo. Furthermore, DNACR also attenuated cisplatin-induced cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we found that DANCR upregulated AXL via competitively binding miR-33a-5p, miR-33b-5p, miR-1-3p, miR-206, and miR-613. Through upregulating AXL, DANCR activated PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway in glioma cells. Inhibiting AXL/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway reversed the effects of DANCR on cisplatin resistance. In conclusion, we identified a cisplatin-resistance associated lncRNA DANCR. DANCR promotes cisplatin resistance via activating AXL/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway in glioma. Our data suggested that DANCR would be a potential biomarker for predicting cisplatin sensitivity and a therapeutic target for enhancing cisplatin efficacy in glioma.