Additive effect by combination of Akt inhibitor, MK-2206, and PDGFR inhibitor, tyrphostin AG 1296, in suppressing anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell viability and motility

Combinatorial Therapies in Thyroid Cancer: An Overview of Preclinical and Clinical Progresses

Accounting for about 2% of cancers diagnosed worldwide, thyroid cancer has caused about 41,000 deaths in 2018. Despite significant progresses made in recent decades in the treatment of thyroid cancer, many resistances to current monotherapies are observed. In our complete review, we report all treatments that were tested in combination against thyroid cancer. Many preclinical studies investigating the effects of inhibitors of the MAPK and PI3K pathways highlighted the importance of mutations in such signaling pathways and their impacts on the subsequent efficacy of targeted therapies, thus reinforcing the need of more personalized therapeutic strategies. Our review also points out the multiple possibilities of combinatory strategies, particularly using therapies targeting proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, and in combination with conventional treatments such as chemotherapies. In any case, resistances to anticancer therapies always develop through the activation of alternative signaling pathways. Combinatory treatments aim to blockade such mechanisms, which are gradually decrypted, thus offering new perspectives for the future. The preclinical and clinical aspects of our review allow us to have a global opinion of the different therapeutic options currently evaluated in combination and to be aware about new perspectives of treatment of thyroid cancer.

Divergence and Convergence of Cerebral Ischemia Pathways Profile Deciphers Differential Pure Additive and Synergistic Mechanisms

Aim

The variable mechanisms on additive and synergistic effects of jasminoidin (JA)-Baicalin (BA) combination and JA-ursodeoxycholic acid (UA) combination in treating cerebral ischemia are not completely understood. In this study, we explored the differential pure mechanisms of additive and synergistic effects based on pathway analysis that excluded ineffective interference.

Methods

The MCAO mice were divided into eight groups: sham, vehicle, BA, JA, UA, Concha Margaritifera (CM), BA-JA combination (BJ), and JA-UA combination (JU). The additive and synergistic effects of combination groups were identified by cerebral infarct volume calculation. The differentially expressed genes based on a microarray chip containing 16,463 oligoclones were uploaded to GeneGo MetaCore software for pathway analyses and function catalogue. The comparison of specific pathways and functions crosstalk between different groups were analyzed to reveal the underlying additive and synergistic pharmacological variations.

Results

Additive BJ and synergistic JU were more effective than monotherapies of BA, JA, and UA, while CM was ineffective. Compared with monotherapies, 43 pathways and six functions were found uniquely in BJ group, with 33 pathways and three functions in JU group. We found six overlapping pathways and six overlapping functions between BJ and JU groups, which mainly involved central nervous system development. Thirty-seven specific pathways and 10 functions were activated by additive BJ, which were mainly related to cell adhesion and G-protein signaling; and 27 specific pathways and three functions of synergistic JU were associated with regulation of metabolism, DNA damage, and translation. The overlapping and distinct pathways and functions may contribute to different additive and synergistic effects.

Conclusion

The divergence pathways of pure additive effect of BJ were mainly related to cell adhesion and G-protein signaling, while the pure synergistic mechanism of JU depended on metabolism, translation and DNA damage. Such a systematic analysis of pathways may provide an important paradigm to reveal the pharmacological mechanisms underlying drug combinations.

Sodium orthovanadate inhibits growth and triggers apoptosis of human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

Vanadium and its compounds exhibit concentration- and time-dependent anticancer effects on various types of tumor; however, the effects of sodium orthovanadate (SOV) on anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) have not yet been reported. In the present study, the anticancer effects of SOV on ATC were evaluated. In vitro experiments, including cell viability assays, plate colony formation assays, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis analysis were used to study the role of SOV in ATC. Using in vivo experiments, the effects of SOV on the growth and apoptosis of an ATC-xenograft tumor were studied by comparing the SOV-treatment with the control group. The results revealed that treatment of the human ATC cell line 8505C with SOV inhibited cell viability, induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, stimulated apoptosis and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings were confirmed in vivo in a nude mouse ATC xenograft model. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that SOV inhibited human ATC by regulating proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis, thus suggesting that SOV may be considered a novel option for the treatment of ATC.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor/platelet-derived growth factor (PDGFR/PDGF) system is a prognostic and treatment response biomarker with multifarious therapeutic targets in cancers

Progress in cancer biology has led to an increasing discovery of oncogenic alterations of the platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) in cancers. In addition, their overexpression in numerous cancers invariably makes PDGFRs and platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) prognostic and treatment markers in some cancers. The oncologic alterations of the PDGFR/PDGF system affect the extracellular, transmembrane and tyrosine kinase domains as well as the juxtamembrane segment of the receptor. The receptor is also involved in fusions with intracellular proteins and receptor tyrosine kinase. These discoveries undoubtedly make the system an attractive oncologic therapeutic target. This review covers elementary biology of PDGFR/PDGF system and its role as a prognostic and treatment marker in cancers. In addition, the multifarious therapeutic targets of PDGFR/PDGF system are discussed. Great potential exists in the role of PDGFR/PDGF system as a prognostic and treatment marker and for further exploration of its multifarious therapeutic targets in safe and efficacious management of cancer treatments.

Tyrphostin AG 1296 induces glioblastoma cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo

Glioblastoma is the most common type of malignant human brain tumor. Currently available chemotherapies for glioblastoma focus on targeting tyrosine kinases. However, the existing inhibitors of tyrosine kinases have not produced the therapeutic outcomes that were anticipated. In order to investigate the viability alternative chemotherapeutic agents in this disease, the present study examined the anticancer effects of tyrphostin AG 1296, focusing on its involvement in apoptosis in glioblastoma cells. The study aimed to identify whether tyrphostin AG 1296 affects glioblastoma cell growth by inducing cell apoptosis. To achieve this, cell viability, propidium iodide analysis and cell invasion assay were used to measure cell growth, cell apoptosis and cell migration of human glioblastoma cells. The results showed that tyrphostin AG 1296 treatment reduced cell viability and suppressed migration of human glioblastoma cells. It was also demonstrated that tyrphostin AG 1296 induced cell apoptosis in vitro. Finally, tyrphostin AG 1296 was also shown to significantly inhibit the growth of glioblastoma cells and to increase tumor cell apoptosis in vivo. These findings suggest that tyrphostin AG 1296 induces apoptosis, thereby reducing cell viability and capacity for migration of glioblastoma cells.

Genome-wide expression analysis suggests a crucial role of dysregulation of matrix metalloproteinases pathway in undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma

Background

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common malignant cancer of the Endocrine System. Histologically, there are three main subtypes of TC: follicular, papillary and anaplastic. Diagnosing a thyroid tumor subtype with a high level of accuracy and confidence is still a difficult task because genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the transition from differentiated to undifferentiated thyroid tumors are not well understood.

A genome-wide analysis of these three subtypes of thyroid carcinoma was carried out in order to identify significant differences in expression levels as well as enriched pathways for non-shared molecular and cellular features between subtypes.

Results

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases pathway is a major event involved in thyroid cancer progression and its dysregulation may result crucial for invasiveness, migration and metastasis. This pathway is drastically altered in ATC while in FTC and PTC, the most important pathways are related to DNA-repair activation or cell to cell signaling events.

Conclusion

A progression from FTC to PTC and then to ATC was detected and validated on two independent datasets. Moreover, PTX3, COLEC12 and PDGFRA genes were found as possible candidates for biomarkers of ATC while GPR110 could be tested to distinguish PTC over other tumor subtypes. The genome-wide analysis emphasizes the preponderance of pathway-dysregulation mechanisms over simple gene-malfunction as the main mechanism involved in the development of a cancer phenotype.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1372-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.