Evaluation of the potential of a new ribavirin analog impairing the dissemination of ovarian cancer cells

Development of an Intranasal In Situ System for Ribavirin Delivery: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation

Recently, ribavirin has demonstrated effectiveness in treating glioblastoma through intranasal administration utilizing the nose-to-brain delivery route. Enhancing ribavirin's bioavailability can be achieved by utilizing intranasal stimuli-responsive systems that create a gel on the nasal mucosa. The research examined thermosensitive, pH-sensitive, and ion-selective polymers in various combinations and concentrations, chosen in line with the current Quality by Design (QbD) approach in pharmaceutical development. Following a thorough assessment of key parameters, the optimal composition of gellan gum at 0.5%, Poloxamer 124 at 2%, and purified water with ribavirin concentration at 100 mg/mL was formulated and subjected to in vivo testing. Through experiments on male rats, the nose-to-brain penetration mechanism of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was elucidated, showcasing drug accumulation in the olfactory bulbs and brain.

In Vitro Models of Ovarian Cancer: Bridging the Gap between Pathophysiology and Mechanistic Models

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a disease of major concern with a survival rate of about 40% at five years. This is attributed to the lack of visible and reliable symptoms during the onset of the disease, which leads over 80% of patients to be diagnosed at advanced stages. This implies that metastatic activity has advanced to the peritoneal cavity. It is associated with both genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity, which considerably increase the risks of relapse and reduce the survival rate. To understand ovarian cancer pathophysiology and strengthen the ability for drug screening, further development of relevant in vitro models that recapitulate the complexity of OC microenvironment and dynamics of OC cell population is required. In this line, the recent advances of tridimensional (3D) cell culture and microfluidics have allowed the development of highly innovative models that could bridge the gap between pathophysiology and mechanistic models for clinical research. This review first describes the pathophysiology of OC before detailing the engineering strategies developed to recapitulate those main biological features.

Synthetic 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamides Induce Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Leukemia Cells

BACKGROUND

A number of studies demonstrate the efficacy of ribavirin against various cancer types in in vitro and in vivo models. However, ribavirin induces the development of multiple side effects, suggesting a high demand for ribavirin analogues with improved therapeutic indexes.

OBJECTIVE

This study was focused on the analysis of ribavirin, its aglycon 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide, and several of its derivatives activities in blood cancer cells in vitro.

METHODS

Four 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized. Antiproliferative effects were evaluated in chronic myeloid leukemia cells К562 and acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells CCRF-SB as well as in the cells of whole blood mononuclear fraction of healthy volunteers by cell counting using the trypan blue exclusion method. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis under the influence of the compounds were analyzed by flow cytometry with PI staining, and then apoptosis data were confirmed by Western blot analysis for PARP1 and caspase-3 cleavage.

RESULTS

We demonstrated the significant antiproliferative effect of 5-(tetrahydropyran-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole-3- carboxamide and 1-(tetrahydropyran-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-3-carboxamide in leukemia cell lines in vitro in comparison to non-transformed monocytes, providing the rationale for further studies of 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide derivatives as anti-leukemia drugs.

CONCLUSION

These results implied that the 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide derivatives exhibited their antiproliferative activities by induction of cell cycle arrest. Consequently, 5-(tetrahydropyran-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide and 1-(tetrahydrofuran-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-3-carboxamide may present antimetabolites with potential anticancer efficacy.

RNA binding proteins (RBPs) and their role in DNA damage and radiation response in cancer

Traditionally majority of eukaryotic gene expression is influenced by transcriptional and post-transcriptional events. Alterations in the expression of proteins that act post-transcriptionally can affect cellular signaling and homeostasis. RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are a family of proteins that specifically bind to RNAs and are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and important cellular processes such as cell differentiation and metabolism. Deregulation of RNA-RBP interactions and any changes in RBP expression or function can lead to various diseases including cancer. In cancer cells, RBPs play an important role in regulating the expression of tumor suppressors and oncoproteins involved in various cell-signaling pathways. Several RBPs such as HuR, AUF1, RBM38, LIN28, RBM24, tristetrapolin family and Musashi play critical roles in various types of cancers and their aberrant expression in cancer cells makes them an attractive therapeutic target for cancer treatment. In this review we provide an overview of i). RBPs involved in cancer progression and their mechanism of action ii). the role of RBPs, including HuR, in breast cancer progression and DNA damage response and iii). explore RBPs with emphasis on HuR as therapeutic target for breast cancer therapy.

Anti-HCV and Zika activities of ribavirin C-nucleosides analogues

Ribavirin is an unnatural nucleoside exhibiting broad spectrum of antiviral and antitumor activities, still very widely studied particularly in a repositioning approach. C-triazolyl nucleoside analogues of ribavirin have been synthesized, as well as prodrugs and glycosylated or peptide conjugates to allow a better activity by vectorization into the liver or by facilitating uptake into the cells. The antiviral properties of all synthesized compounds have been evaluated in vitro against two important human viral pathogens belonging to the Flaviviridae family: hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Zika virus (ZIKV). There are no therapeutic options for Zika virus, whereas those available for HCV can be still improved. Our results indicated that compound 2 carrying an N-hydroxy carboxamide function exhibits the most inhibitory activities against both viruses. This compound moderately inhibited the propagation of HCV with an IC₅₀ value of 49.1 μM and Zika virus with an IC₅₀ of 33.2 μM comparable to ribavirin in the Vero cell line. The results suggest that compound 2 and its new derivatives may be candidates for further development of new anti-HCV and anti-ZIKV antiviral drugs.

Synthesis of ribavirin 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazolyl analogs with changes at the amide and cytotoxicity in breast cancer cell lines

We report the synthesis and cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells of novel 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazolyl analogs of ribavirin. We modified ribavirin's carboxamide moiety to test the effects of lipophilic groups. 1-β-D-Ribofuranosyl-1H-1,2,3-triazoles were prepared using Click Chemistry, whereas an unprecedented application of a prior 1,2,4-triazole ring synthesis was used for 1-β-D-ribofuranosyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole analogs. Though cytotoxicity was mediocre and there was no correlation with lipophilicity, we discovered that a structurally similar concentrative nucleoside transporter 2 (CNT2) inhibitor was modestly cytotoxic (MCF-7 IC₅₀ of 42 µM). These syntheses could be used to efficiently investigate variation in the nucleobase.

Host gut microbiome and potential therapeutics in Gulf War Illness: A short review

AIMS

Since our troops had returned from the first Persian Gulf War in 1990-91, the veterans have reported chronic multisymptomatic illness widely referred to as Gulf War Illness (GWI). We aim to review the current directions of GWI pathology research in the context of chronic multisymptomatic illness and its possible gut microbiome targeted therapies. The veterans of Gulf War show symptoms of chronic fatigue, cognitive deficits, and a subsection report of gastrointestinal complications.

METHOD

Efforts of finding a suitable treatment regimen and clinical management remain a challenge. More recently, we have shown that the pathology is connected to alterations in the gut microbiome, and efforts of finding a suitable regimen for gut-directed therapeutics are underway. We discuss the various clinical interventions and summarize the possible effectiveness of gut-directed therapies such as the use of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), phenolic compounds, and their metabolites, use of probiotics, and fecal microbiota transfer.

SIGNIFICANCE

The short review will be helpful to GWI researchers to expand their studies to the gut and find an effective treatment strategy for chronic multisymptomatic illness.

Sanjie Yiliu Formula Inhibits Colorectal Cancer Growth by Suppression of Proliferation and Induction of Apoptosis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. As current therapies toward CRC, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, pose limitations, such as multidrug resistance (MDR) as well as the intrinsic and potential cytotoxic effects, necessitating to find more effective treatment options with fewer side effects, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has an advantage in complementary therapies. In the present study, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiozol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT assays), trypan blue staining, colony formation, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride (DAPI) staining, cell cycle determination, and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were used to examine the efficacy of Sanjie Yiliu Formula (SJYLF) against CRC proliferation and to investigate its underlying molecular mechanisms through protein expression of various proapoptotic factors by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and Western blotting. This four-herb-TCM SJYLF can be suggested as one of the decoctions clinically effective in late-stage cancer treatment. Our results suggest that SJYLF robustly decreased the viability of only CRC cell lines (HCT-8, SW-480, HT-29, and DLD-1) and not the normal human kidney cells (HK-2). Moreover, SJYLF significantly suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in HCT-8 and downregulated cyclin D1, CDK4, and BCL-2, while Bax expression was upregulated at both mRNA and protein expression levels.