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Gonçalves J, Pinto S, Carmo F, Silva C, Andrade N, Martel F. Additive Cytotoxic and Colony-Formation Inhibitory Effects of Aspirin and Metformin on PI3KCA-Mutant Colorectal Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5381. [PMID: 38791419 PMCID: PMC11121714 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25105381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Human malignancies are one of the major health-related issues throughout the world and are anticipated to rise in the future. Despite huge investments made in anticancer drug development, limited success has been obtained and the average number of FDA approvals per year is declining. So, an increasing interest in drug repurposing exists. Metformin (MET) and aspirin (ASP) possess anticancer properties. This work aims to test the effect of these two drugs in combination on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro. The effects of MET and/or ASP on cell proliferation, viability, migratory ability, anchorage-independent growth ability (colony formation), and nutrient uptake were determined in two (HT-29 and Caco-2) human CRC cell lines. Individually, MET and ASP possessed antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and antimigratory effects and reduced colony formation in HT-29 cells (BRAF- and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α (PI3KCA)-mutant), although MET did not affect either 3H-deoxy-D-glucose or 14C-butyrate uptake and lactate production, and ASP caused only a small decrease in 14C-butyrate uptake. Moreover, in these cells, the combination of MET and ASP resulted in a tendency to an increase in the cytotoxic effect and in a potentiation of the inhibitory effect on colony formation, although no additive antiproliferative and antimigratory effects, and no effect on nutrient uptake and lactate production were observed. In contrast, MET and ASP, both individually and in combination, were almost devoid of effects on Caco-2 cells (BRAF- and PI3KCA-wild type). We suggest that inhibition of PI3K is the common mechanism involved in the anti-CRC effect of both MET, ASP and their combination and, therefore, that the combination of MET + ASP may especially benefit PI3KCA-mutant CRC cases, which currently have a poor prognostic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Gonçalves
- Unit of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; (J.G.); (S.P.); (F.C.); (N.A.)
| | - Sara Pinto
- Unit of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; (J.G.); (S.P.); (F.C.); (N.A.)
| | - Francisca Carmo
- Unit of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; (J.G.); (S.P.); (F.C.); (N.A.)
| | - Cláudia Silva
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-453 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Nelson Andrade
- Unit of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; (J.G.); (S.P.); (F.C.); (N.A.)
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-453 Porto, Portugal;
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Fátima Martel
- Unit of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal; (J.G.); (S.P.); (F.C.); (N.A.)
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
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Standardization of esophageal adenocarcinoma in vitro model and its applicability for model drug testing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6664. [PMID: 33758229 PMCID: PMC7988140 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85530-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
FLO-1 cell line represents an important tool in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) research as a verified and authentic cell line to study the disease pathophysiology and antitumor drug screenings. Since in vitro characteristics of cells depend on the microenvironment and culturing conditions, we performed a thorough characterization of the FLO-1 cell line under different culturing conditions with the aim of (1) examining the effect of serum-free growth medium and air–liquid interface (A–L) culturing, which better reflect physiological conditions in vivo and (2) investigating the differentiation potential of FLO-1 cells to mimic the properties of the in vivo esophageal epithelium. Our study shows that the composition of the media influenced the morphological, ultrastructural and molecular characteristics of FLO-1 cells, such as the expression of junctional proteins. Importantly, FLO-1 cells formed spheres at the A–L interface, recapitulating key elements of tumors in the esophageal tube, i.e., direct contact with the gas phase and three-dimensional architecture. On the other hand, FLO-1 models exhibited high permeability to model drugs and zero permeability markers, and low transepithelial resistance, and therefore poorly mimicked normal esophageal epithelium. In conclusion, the identified effect of culture conditions on the characteristics of FLO-1 cells should be considered for standardization, data reproducibility and validity of the in vitro EAC model. Moreover, the sphere-forming ability of FLO-1 cells at the A–L interface should be considered in EAC tumor biology and anticancer drug studies as a reliable and straightforward model with the potential to increase the predictive efficiency of the current in vitro approaches.
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Jiang W, Yan Y, Chen M, Luo G, Hao J, Pan J, Hu S, Guo P, Li W, Wang R, Zuo Y, Sun Y, Sui S, Yu W, Pan Z, Zou K, Zheng Z, Deng W, Wu X, Guo W. Aspirin enhances the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to cisplatin by abrogating the binding of NF-κB to the COX-2 promoter. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 12:611-627. [PMID: 31905343 PMCID: PMC6977689 DOI: 10.18632/aging.102644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cisplatin is one of the most potent chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of colon cancer. Nevertheless, the unavoidability of the notable toxicity and the development of the acquired resistance severely restricted its clinical application. Aspirin and some other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been used to prevent colon tumorigenesis as chemopreventive agents. Here, we explored the possibility of aspirin as an adjuvant drug to boost the anti-cancer effect of cisplatin for colon cancer. We found that aspirin significantly enhanced the cisplatin-mediated inhibitions of cell proliferation, migration and invasion and the induction of apoptosis in colon cancer cells. The combined treatment of aspirin and cisplatin suppressed the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and the EMT-related proteins, up-regulated the levels of the cleaved PARP and Bax, and blocked the PI3K/AKT and RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway. In addition, we demonstrated that the enhanced effect of aspirin on the cisplatin-induced inhibition of tumor cell growth was also mediated through the suppression of the binding activity of NF-κB to the COX-2 promoter. The combination of aspirin and cisplatin effectively attenuated the translocation of NF-κB p65/p50 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, and abrogated the binding of NF-κB p65/p50 to the COX-2 promoter, thereby down-regulating COX-2 expression and PGE2 synthesis. Moreover, the in vivo study also verified the enhanced anti-tumor activity of such combined therapy in colon cancer by targeting the NF-κB/COX-2 signaling. Our results provided new insights into understanding the molecular mechanisms of aspirin in sensitizing cisplatin-mediated chemotherapeutic effect in colon cancer and indicated a great potential of this combined therapy for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Jiang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Yue Yan
- Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Manyu Chen
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Guangyu Luo
- Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiaojiao Hao
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Jinjin Pan
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Sheng Hu
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Ping Guo
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Wenyang Li
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Ruozu Wang
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Yan Zuo
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Yao Sun
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Silei Sui
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Wendan Yu
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zhe Pan
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Kun Zou
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Zongheng Zheng
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wuguo Deng
- Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaojun Wu
- Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wei Guo
- Institute of Cancer Stem Cells and The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
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