Methyl-Cantharidimide (MCA) Has Anticancer Efficacy in ABCB1- and ABCG2-Overexpressing and Cisplatin Resistant Cancer Cells

Animal-derived natural products for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy: current evidence and future perspectives

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high morbidity and mortality rate, and the survival rate of HCC patients remains low. Animal medicines have been used as potential therapeutic tools throughout the long history due to their different structures of biologically active substances with high affinity to the human body. Here, we focus on the effects and the mechanism of action of animal-derived natural products against HCC, which were searched in databases encompassing Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, Springer Link, and EBSCO. A total of 24 natural products from 12 animals were summarized. Our study found that these natural products have potent anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effects. The mechanism of action involving apoptosis induction, autophagy induction, anti-proliferation, anti-migration, and anti-drug resistance via phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Ras/extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Wnt/β-catenin, and Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathways. Huachansu injection and sodium cantharidate have been used in clinical applications with good efficacy. We review the potential of animal-derived natural products and their derivatives in the treatment of HCC to date and summarize their application prospect and toxic side effects, hoping to provide a reference for drug development for HCC.

Natural products for combating multidrug resistance in cancer

Cancer cells frequently develop resistance to chemotherapeutic therapies and targeted drugs, which has been a significant challenge in cancer management. With the growing advances in technologies in isolation and identification of natural products, the potential of natural products in combating cancer multidrug resistance has received substantial attention. Importantly, natural products can impact multiple targets, which can be valuable in overcoming drug resistance from different perspectives. In the current review, we will describe the well-established mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance, and introduce natural products that could target these multidrug resistant mechanisms. Specifically, we will discuss natural compounds such as curcumin, resveratrol, baicalein, chrysin and more, and their potential roles in combating multidrug resistance. This review article aims to provide a systematic summary of recent advances of natural products in combating cancer drug resistance, and will provide rationales for novel drug discovery.

Epoxide of Diosgenin Acetate Synthesis: DoE for Diastereoselective Yield Optimization, Antimicroibial, antioxidant and antiproliferative effects

Diosgenin and its derivatives have proved a huge importance in diverse biological activities. The optimized production of the diastereoisomers of the epoxide of diosgenin acetate by means of mCPBA is reported herein. This transformation had a previous design of experiments using the application of a statistical factorial DoE of 4 parameters (n^k), where one variable is varied at a time, while others stay constant. The temperature showed the greatest effect on the reaction yield; so, at 298 K the diastereomeric ratio 3:1 of α and β-epoxides, normally found, was raised to 1:1. Time was the second significant variable, but due to its high correlation with temperature, 30 minutes were required for a global 90% conversion at least. These diastereoisomers were characterized both isolated and in the mixtures obtained, to determine their antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative activity, finding a low antioxidant capacity by DPPH, but antimicrobial activity at the level of penicillin in gram negative bacteria by 1β better to 1α. The antiproliferative capacity was higher for diastereoisomer β, agreeing with the proportion of the mixture obtained by different conditions, increasing this in relation to the amount of this diastereoisomer present in hormone-dependent cancer cell lines such as Hela, PC-3 and MCF-7, with 10.0 µM obtained values of viability at 21.8 %, 35.8 % and 12.3 % respectively. DoE optimization allows to manipulate the ratio between diastereoisomers with the minimum number of experiments, extending the analysis of the effect of the ratio between diastereoisomers and the in silico potential as well as the biological activity.

Cantharidin suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma development by regulating EZH2/H3K27me3-dependent cell cycle progression and antitumour immune response

BACKGROUND

Cantharidin (CTD) is a major ingredient of cantharis (Mylabris phalerata Pallas) and has been used extensively in traditional Chinese medicines. It has been shown to exhibit anticancer activity in multiple types of cancer, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, there is no systematic study on the relationships among the regulatory networks of its targets in HCC therapy. We focused on histone epigenetic regulation and the influence of CTD on the immune response in HCC.

METHODS

We performed a comprehensive analysis of novel CTD targets in HCC based on network pharmacology and RNA-seq approaches. The mRNA levels of target genes were analyzed by qRT-PCR, and the corresponding protein levels were confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemical staining (IHC). ChIP-seq data were visualized by IGV software. The associations of gene transcript levels with the cancer immune score and infiltration level were investigated using TIMER. In vivo, the H22 mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma was established by treatment with CTD and 5-Fu. The immune cell proportions in the blood were elevated in model mice, as shown by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

We identified 58 targets of CTD, which were involved in various pathways in cancer, including apoptosis, the cell cycle, EMT and immune pathways. Moreover, we found that 100 EMT-related genes were differentially expressed after CTD treatment in HCC cells. Interestingly, our results confirmed that the EZH2/H3K27me3 -related cell cycle pathway is a therapeutic target of CTD in antitumour. In addition, we evaluated the influence of CTD on the immune response. Our data showed that the significantly enriched gene sets were positively correlated with the chemokine biosynthetic and chemokine metabolic modules. The proportions of CD4+/CD8 + T cells and B cells were increased, but the proportion of Tregs was decreased after treatment with CTD in vivo. Moreover, we found that the expression of the inflammatory factor and immune checkpoint genes PD-1/PD-L1 was significantly reduced in the mouse model.

CONCLUSION

We performed a novel integrated analysis of the potential role of CTD in HCC treatment. Our results provide innovative insight into the mechanism by which cantharidin exerts antitumour effects by regulating target genes expression to mediate apoptosis, EMT, cell cycle progression and the immune response in HCC. Based on the effect of CTD on the immune response, it can be used as a potential effective drug to activate antitumour immunity for the treatment of liver cancer.

Bixin and Fuxoxanthin Alone and in Combination with Cisplatin Regulate ABCC1 and ABCC2 Transcription in A549 Lung Cancer Cells

Background

The ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter has long been studied to confer drug resistance in human tumors and play important role in metabolic processes and cellular signaling. The overexpression of ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCC2, ABCC3, and ABCG2 leads to decreased sensitivity of lung cancer to cisplatin. At the transcription level, the expression of ABC transporters is highly regulated and requires the complex interplay of factors involved in differentiation and development, cell survival and apoptosis upon intrinsic and environmental stress. The p53 regulation of drug-resistance genes is also complex yet not well understood. Previously, we demonstrated the synergistic interaction between bixin or fucoxanthin with cisplatin in A549 lung cancer cells.

Objectives

Current study aims to identify whether carotenoids enhancing therapeutic effect of Cisplatin due to the ability to reverse drug resistance associated proteins, such as ABC transporter and regulating the tumor suppressor corresponding gene, p53.

Methods

Real-Time Quantitative-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to estimate the expression level of ABCC1 and ABCC2, and p53 of A549 cell lines in response to carotenoids alone and in combination with cisplatin.

Results and Conclusion

The administration of bixin or fucoxanthin decreases the expression of ABCC1 and ABCC2. Both carotenoids, either alone or in combination with cisplatin, upregulated p53 gene expression indicating the mechanism of proliferation inhibition and apoptosis occurs via the p53 caspase-independent pathway.

Review targeted drug delivery systems for norcantharidin in cancer therapy

Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a demethylated derivative of cantharidin (CTD), the main anticancer active ingredient isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Mylabris. NCTD has been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of various solid tumors, especially liver cancer. Although NCTD greatly reduces the toxicity of CTD, there is still a certain degree of urinary toxicity and organ toxicity, and the poor solubility, short half-life, fast metabolism, as well as high venous irritation and weak tumor targeting ability limit its widespread application in the clinic. To reduce its toxicity and improve its efficacy, design of targeted drug delivery systems based on biomaterials and nanomaterials is one of the most feasible strategies. Therefore, this review focused on the studies of targeted drug delivery systems combined with NCTD in recent years, including passive and active targeted drug delivery systems, and physicochemical targeted drug delivery systems for improving drug bioavailability and enhancing its efficacy, as well as increasing drug targeting ability and reducing its adverse effects.

Graphical Abstract

Norbornene and Related Structures as Scaffolds in the Search for New Cancer Treatments

The norbornene scaffold has arisen as a promising structure in medicinal chemistry due to its possible therapeutic application in cancer treatment. The development of norbornene-based derivatives as potential chemotherapeutic agents is attracting significant attention. Here, we report an unprecedented review on the recent advances of investigations into the antitumoral efficacy of different compounds, including the abovementioned bicyclic scaffold in their structure, in combination with chemotherapeutic agents or forming metal complexes. The impact that structural modifications to these bicyclic compounds have on the antitumoral properties and the mechanisms by which these norbornene derivatives act are discussed in this review. In addition, the use of norbornene, and its related compounds, encapsulation in nanosystems for its use in cancer therapies is here detailed.

The Resistance of Cancer Cells to Palbociclib, a Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibitor, is Mediated by the ABCB1 Transporter

Palbociclib was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use, in combination with letrozole, as a first-line treatment for estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (ER+/HER2-) postmenopausal metastatic breast cancer. However, recent studies show that palbociclib may be an inhibitor of the ABCB1 transporter, although this remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we conducted experiments to determine the interaction of palbociclib with the ABCB1 transporter. Our in vitro results indicated that the efficacy of palbociclib was significantly decreased in the ABCB1-overexpressing cell lines. Furthermore, the resistance of ABCB1-overexpressing cells to palbociclib was reversed by 3 μM of the ABCB1 inhibitor, verapamil. Moreover, the incubation of ABCB1-overexpressing KB-C2 and SW620/Ad300 cells with up to 5 μM of palbociclib for 72 h, significantly upregulated the protein expression of ABCB1. The incubation with 3 µM of palbociclib for 2h significantly increased the intracellular accumulation of [³H]-paclitaxel, a substrate of ABCB1, in ABCB1 overexpressing KB-C2 cells but not in the corresponding non-resistant parental KB-3-1 cell line. However, the incubation of KB-C2 cells with 3 μM of palbociclib for 72 h decreased the intracellular accumulation of [³H]-paclitaxel due to an increase in the expression of the ABCB1 protein. Palbociclib produced a concentration-dependent increase in the basal ATPase activity of the ABCB1 transporter (EC₅₀ = 4.73 μM). Molecular docking data indicated that palbociclib had a high binding affinity for the ABCB1 transporter at the substrate binding site, suggesting that palbociclib may compete with other ABCB1 substrates for the substrate binding site of the ABCB1. Overall, our results indicate that palbociclib is a substrate for the ABCB1 transporter and that its in vitro anticancer efficacy is significantly decreased in cancer cells overexpressing the ABCB1.

Curcumin and its derivatives in cancer therapy: Potentiating antitumor activity of cisplatin and reducing side effects

Curcumin is a phytochemical isolated from Curcuma longa with potent tumor-suppressor activity, which has shown significant efficacy in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Curcumin stimulates cell death, triggers cycle arrest, and suppresses oncogenic pathways, thereby suppressing cancer progression. Cisplatin (CP) stimulates DNA damage and apoptosis in cancer chemotherapy. However, CP has adverse effects on several organs of the body, and drug resistance is frequently observed. The purpose of the present review is to show the function of curcumin in decreasing CP's adverse impacts and improving its antitumor activity. Curcumin administration reduces ROS levels to prevent apoptosis in normal cells. Furthermore, curcumin can inhibit inflammation via down-regulation of NF-κB to maintain the normal function of organs. Curcumin and its nanoformulations can reduce the hepatoxicity, neurotoxicity, renal toxicity, ototoxicity, and cardiotoxicity caused by CP. Notably, curcumin potentiates CP cytotoxicity via mediating cell death and cycle arrest. Besides, curcumin suppresses the STAT3 and NF-ĸB as tumor-promoting pathways, to enhance CP sensitivity and prevent drug resistance. The targeted delivery of curcumin and CP to tumor cells can be mediated nanostructures. In addition, curcumin derivatives are also able to reduce CP-mediated side effects, and increase CP cytotoxicity against various cancer types.

Functionalized Selenium Nanotherapeutics Synergizes With Zoledronic Acid to Suppress Prostate Cancer Cell Growth Through Induction of Mitochondria-Mediated Apoptosis and Cell Cycle S Phase Arrest

The use of established drugs in new therapeutic applications has great potential for the treatment of cancers. Nanomedicine has the advantages of efficient cellular uptake and specific cell targeting. In this study, we investigate using lentinan-functionalized selenium nanoparticles (LET-SeNPs) for the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). We used assays to demonstrate that a combination of LET-SeNPs and zoledronic acid (ZOL) can reduce PCa cell viability in vitro. Stability and hemocompatibility assays were used to determine the safety of the combination of LET-SeNPs and ZOL. The localization of LET-SeNPs was confirmed using fluorescence microscopy. JC-1 was used to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential, while the cellular uptake, cell cycle and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry. Finally, cell migration and invasion assays were used to evaluate the effects of the combination treatment on cell migration and invasion. Under optimized conditions, we found that LET-SeNPs has good stability. The combination of LET-SeNPs and ZOL can effectively inhibit metastatic PCa cells in a concentration-dependent manner, as evidenced by cytotoxicity testing, flow cytometric analysis, and mitochondria functional test. The enhanced anti-cancer effect of LET-SeNPs and ZOL may be related to the regulation of BCL2 family proteins that could result in the release of cytochrome C from the inner membranes of mitochondria into the cytosol, accompanied by induction of cell cycle arrest at the S phase, leading to irreversible DNA damage and killing of PCa cells. Collectively, the results of this study suggest that the combination of SeNPs and ZOL can successfully inhibit the growth of PCa cells.