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Cheng W, Mi W, Wang S, Wang X, Jiang H, Chen J, Yang K, Jiang W, Ye J, Guo B, Zhang Y. Dissection of triple-negative breast cancer microenvironment and identification of potential therapeutic drugs using single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. J Pharm Anal 2024; 14:100975. [PMID: 39263352 PMCID: PMC11388705 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2024.100975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer remains a leading cause of mortality in women worldwide. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype characterized by rapid progression, poor prognosis, and lack of clear therapeutic targets. In the clinic, delineation of tumor heterogeneity and development of effective drugs continue to pose considerable challenges. Within the scope of our study, high heterogeneity inherent to breast cancer was uncovered based on the landscape constructed from both tumor and healthy breast tissue samples. Notably, TNBC exhibited significant specificity regarding cell proliferation, differentiation, and disease progression. Significant associations between tumor grade, prognosis, and TNBC oncogenes were established via pseudotime trajectory analysis. Consequently, we further performed comprehensive characterization of the TNBC microenvironment. A crucial epithelial subcluster, E8, was identified as highly malignant and strongly associated with tumor cell proliferation in TNBC. Additionally, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated fibroblast and M2 macrophage subclusters exerted an influence on E8 through cellular interactions, contributing to tumor growth. Characteristic genes in these three cluster cells could therefore serve as potential therapeutic targets for TNBC. The collective findings provided valuable insights that assisted in the screening of a series of therapeutic drugs, such as pelitinib. We further confirmed the anti-cancer effect of pelitinib in an orthotopic 4T1 tumor-bearing mouse model. Overall, our study sheds light on the unique characteristics of TNBC at single-cell resolution and the crucial cell types associated with tumor cell proliferation that may serve as potent tools in the development of effective anti-cancer drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weilun Cheng
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Wanqi Mi
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Shiyuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Xinran Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Hui Jiang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Jing Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Kaiyue Yang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Wenqi Jiang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Jun Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Baoliang Guo
- Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Yunpeng Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
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Xian F, Zhao C, Huang C, Bie J, Xu G. The potential role of CDC20 in tumorigenesis, cancer progression and therapy: A narrative review. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023; 102:e35038. [PMID: 37682144 PMCID: PMC10489547 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000035038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The cell division cycle 20 homologue (CDC20) is known to regulate the cell cycle. Many studies have suggested that dysregulation of CDC20 is associated with various pathological processes in malignant solid tumors, including tumorigenesis, progression, chemoradiotherapy resistance, and poor prognosis, providing a biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Some researchers have demonstrated that CDC20 also regulates apoptosis, immune microenvironment, and tumor angiogenesis. In this review, we have systematically summarized the biological functions of CDC20 in solid cancers. Furthermore, we briefly synthesized multiple medicines that inhibited CDC20. We anticipate that CDC20 will be a promising and effective biomarker and therapeutic target for the treatment of human cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Xian
- School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Department of Oncology, Nanchong Central Hospital, The Second Clinical College of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Caixia Zhao
- Department of Oncology, Nanchong Central Hospital, The Second Clinical College of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Chun Huang
- School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jun Bie
- Department of Oncology, Nanchong Central Hospital, The Second Clinical College of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Guohui Xu
- Department of Interventional Radiology, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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Das A, Sharma HK, Lather V, Pandita D, Agarwal P. Structure-based virtual screening for identification of potential CDC20 inhibitors and their therapeutic evaluation in breast cancer. 3 Biotech 2023; 13:141. [PMID: 37124982 PMCID: PMC10133423 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-023-03554-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell division cycle 20 (CDC20), a critical partner of anaphase promoting complex (APC/C), is indispensably required for metaphase-to-anaphase transition. CDC20 overexpression in TNBC breast cancer patients has been found to be correlated with poor prognosis, hence, we aimed to target CDC20 for TNBC therapeutics. In silico molecular docking of large-scale chemical libraries (phytochemicals/synthetic drugs) against CDC20 protein structure identified five synthetic drugs and four phytochemicals as potential hits interacting with CDC20 active site. The molecular selection was done based on docking scores, binding interactions, binding energies and MM/GBSA scores. Further, we analysed ADME profiles for all the hits and identified lidocaine, an aminoamide anaesthetic group of synthetic drug, with high drug-likeness properties. We explored the anti-tumorigenic effects of lidocaine on MDA-MB-231 TNBC breast cancer cells, which resulted in increased growth inhibition in dose-dependent manner. The molecular mechanism behind the cell viability defect mediated by lidocaine was found to be induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest and cellular apoptosis. Notably, lidocaine treatment of TNBC cells also resulted in downregulation of CDC20 gene expression. Thus, this study identifies lidocaine as a potential anti-neoplastic agent for TNBC cells emphasizing CDC20 as a suitable therapeutic target for breast cancer. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03554-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amiya Das
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector 125, Noida, 201313 India
| | - Hitesh Kumar Sharma
- Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector 125, Noida, 201313 India
| | - Viney Lather
- Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector 125, Noida, 201313 India
| | - Deepti Pandita
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research (DIPSAR) Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, Pushp Vihar, Government of NCT of Delhi, New Delhi, 110017 India
- Centre for Advanced Formulation Technology (CAFT), Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University, Pushp Vihar, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, New Delhi, 110017 India
| | - Pallavi Agarwal
- Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine and Stem Cell Research, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector 125, Noida, 201313 India
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Ni K, Hong L. Current Progress and Perspectives of CDC20 in Female Reproductive Cancers. Curr Mol Med 2023; 23:193-199. [PMID: 35319365 DOI: 10.2174/1573405618666220321130102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The cancers of the cervix, endometrium, ovary, and breast are great threats to women's health. Cancer is characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of cells and deregulated cell cycle progression is one of the main causes of malignancy. Agents targeting cell cycle regulators may have potential anti-tumor effects. CDC20 (cell division cycle 20 homologue) is a co-activator of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and thus acts as a mitotic regulator. In addition, CDC20 serves as a subunit of the mitotic checkpoint complex (MCC) whose function is to inhibit APC/C. Recently, higher expression of CDC20 has been reported in these cancers and was closely associated with their clinicopathological parameters, indicating CDC20 a potential target for cancer treatment that is worth further study. In the present review, we summarized current progress and put forward perspectives of CDC20 in female reproductive cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Ni
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China
| | - Li Hong
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China
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Inhibition of Necroptosis in Acute Pancreatitis: Screening for RIPK1 Inhibitors. Processes (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/pr10112260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
This work utilizes the anthraquinone (AQ) database to identify potential inhibitors of the RIPK1 protein for developing medicines targeting AP-associated necroptosis. Screening for necroptosis-related genes that play a crucial role in AP is based on the GEO and GSEA databases. An optimum AQ for receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) inhibition was virtually screened using the Discovery Studio 2019 tool, with a previously described RIPK1 inhibitor (necrostatin-1) as a reference ligand. Using LibDock and CDOCKER molecular docking, an AQ that robustly binds to RIPK1 was identified. The DOCKTHOR web server was used to calculate the ligand–receptor binding energy. The pharmacological properties and toxicity of potential AQ were evaluated using the ADME module and ProTox-II web server. The stability of ligand–receptor complexes was examined using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. All 12 AQs showed solid binding activity to RIPK1, 5 of which were superior to necrostatin-1. Rheochrysin and Aloe-Emodin-8-O-Beta-D-Glucopyranoside (A8G) were safe RIPK1 inhibitors based on pharmacological characterization and toxicity studies. Additionally, the potential energy of the candidate AQs with RIPK1 was greater than that of the reference ligand, necrostatin-1. MD simulations also showed that the candidate AQs could bind stably to RIPK1 in the natural environment. Rheochrysin and A8G are safe and effective anthraquinones that inhibit the RIPK1 protein. This research takes a first step toward developing RIPK1 inhibitors by screening AQs that have the potential to be more effective than the reference ligand necrostatin-1.
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