6-Azauridine Induces Autophagy-Mediated Cell Death via a p53- and AMPK-Dependent Pathway

Integrated network pharmacology and phosphoproteomic analyses of Baichanting in Parkinson's disease model mice

The incidence rate of Parkinson's disease (PD) is increasing yearly. Neuronal apoptosis caused by abnormal protein phosphorylation is closely related to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. At present, few PD-specific apoptosis pathways have been revealed. To investigate the effect of Baichanting (BCT) on apoptosis from the perspective of protein phosphorylation, α-syn transgenic mice were selected to observe the behavioral changes of the mice, and the apoptosis of substantia nigra cells were detected by the HE method and TUNEL method. Network pharmacology combined with phosphorylation proteomics was used to find relevant targets for BCT treatment of PD and was further verified by PRM and western blotting. BCT improved the morphology of neurons in the substantia nigra and reduced neuronal apoptosis. The main enriched pathways in the network pharmacology results were apoptosis, the p53 signaling pathway and autophagy. Western blot results showed that BCT significantly regulated the protein expression levels of BAX, Caspase-3, LC3B, P53 and mTOR and upregulated autophagy to alleviate apoptosis. Using phosphorylated proteomics and PRM validation, we found that Pak5, Grin2b, Scn1a, BcaN, L1cam and Braf are closely correlated with the targets of the web-based pharmacological screen and may be involved in p53/mTOR-mediated autophagy and apoptosis pathways. BCT can inhibit the activation of the p53/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby enhancing the autophagy function of cells, and reducing the apoptosis of neurons which is the main mechanism of its neuroprotective effect.

Targeting autophagy drug discovery: Targets, indications and development trends

Autophagy plays a vital role in sustaining cellular homeostasis and its alterations have been implicated in the etiology of many diseases. Drugs development targeting autophagy began decades ago and hundreds of agents were developed, some of which are licensed for the clinical usage. However, no existing intervention specifically aimed at modulating autophagy is available. The obstacles that prevent drug developments come from the complexity of the actual impact of autophagy regulators in disease scenarios. With the development and application of new technologies, several promising categories of compounds for autophagy-based therapy have emerged in recent years. In this paper, the autophagy-targeted drugs based on their targets at various hierarchical sites of the autophagic signaling network, e.g., the upstream and downstream of the autophagosome and the autophagic components with enzyme activities are reviewed and analyzed respectively, with special attention paid to those at preclinical or clinical trials. The drugs tailored to specific autophagy alone and combination with drugs/adjuvant therapies widely used in clinical for various diseases treatments are also emphasized. The emerging drug design and development targeting selective autophagy receptors (SARs) and their related proteins, which would be expected to arrest or reverse the progression of disease in various cancers, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disorders, are critically reviewed. And the challenges and perspective in clinically developing autophagy-targeted drugs and possible combinations with other medicine are considered in the review.

Apoptosis and Autophagy, Different Modes of Cell Death: How to Utilize Them to Fight Diseases?

A careful balance between cell death and survival is of key importance when it comes to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis [...].

BMAL1/p53 mediating bronchial epithelial cell autophagy contributes to PM2.5-aggravated asthma

BACKGROUND

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with increased incidence and severity of asthma. PM2.5 exposure disrupts airway epithelial cells, which elicits and sustains PM2.5-induced airway inflammation and remodeling. However, the mechanisms underlying development and exacerbation of PM2.5-induced asthma were still poorly understood. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like protein 1 (BMAL1) is a major circadian clock transcriptional activator that is also extensively expressed in peripheral tissues and plays a crucial role in organ and tissue metabolism.

RESULTS

In this study, we found PM2.5 aggravated airway remodeling in mouse chronic asthma, and exacerbated asthma manifestation in mouse acute asthma. Next, low BMAL1 expression was found to be crucial for airway remodeling in PM2.5-challenged asthmatic mice. Subsequently, we confirmed that BMAL1 could bind and promote ubiquitination of p53, which can regulate p53 degradation and block its increase under normal conditions. However, PM2.5-induced BMAL1 inhibition resulted in up-regulation of p53 protein in bronchial epithelial cells, then increased-p53 promoted autophagy. Autophagy in bronchial epithelial cells mediated collagen-I synthesis as well as airway remodeling in asthma.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our results suggest that BMAL1/p53-mediated bronchial epithelial cell autophagy contributes to PM2.5-aggravated asthma. This study highlights the functional importance of BMAL1-dependent p53 regulation during asthma, and provides a novel mechanistic insight into the therapeutic mechanisms of BMAL1. Video Abstract.

Larotrectinib induces autophagic cell death through AMPK/mTOR signalling in colon cancer

Larotrectinib (Lar) is a highly selective and potent small-molecule inhibitor used in patients with tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion-positive cancers, including colon cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms specifically in patients with colon cancer have not yet been explored. Our data showed that Lar significantly suppressed proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells. In addition, Lar suppressed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, as evidenced by elevation in E-cadherin (E-cad), and downregulation of vimentin and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2/9 expression. Furthermore, Lar was found to activate autophagic flux, in which Lar increased the ratio between LC3II/LC3I and decreased the expression of p62 in colon cancer cells. More importantly, Lar also increased AMPK phosphorylation and suppressed mTOR phosphorylation in colon cancer cells. However, when we silenced AMPK in colon cancer cells, Lar-induced accumulation of autolysomes as well as Lar-induced suppression of the EMT process were significantly diminished. An in vivo assay also confirmed that tumour volume and weight decreased in Lar-treated mice than in control mice. Taken together, this study suggests that Lar significantly suppresses colon cancer proliferation and migration by activating AMPK/mTOR-mediated autophagic cell death.

Regulated cell death (RCD) in cancer: key pathways and targeted therapies

Regulated cell death (RCD), also well-known as programmed cell death (PCD), refers to the form of cell death that can be regulated by a variety of biomacromolecules, which is distinctive from accidental cell death (ACD). Accumulating evidence has revealed that RCD subroutines are the key features of tumorigenesis, which may ultimately lead to the establishment of different potential therapeutic strategies. Hitherto, targeting the subroutines of RCD with pharmacological small-molecule compounds has been emerging as a promising therapeutic avenue, which has rapidly progressed in many types of human cancers. Thus, in this review, we focus on summarizing not only the key apoptotic and autophagy-dependent cell death signaling pathways, but the crucial pathways of other RCD subroutines, including necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, parthanatos, entosis, NETosis and lysosome-dependent cell death (LCD) in cancer. Moreover, we further discuss the current situation of several small-molecule compounds targeting the different RCD subroutines to improve cancer treatment, such as single-target, dual or multiple-target small-molecule compounds, drug combinations, and some new emerging therapeutic strategies that would together shed new light on future directions to attack cancer cell vulnerabilities with small-molecule drugs targeting RCD for therapeutic purposes.

An Update on the synthesis and pharmacological properties of pyrazoles obtained from Chalcone

Abstract:

A review concerning the synthesis and pharmacological properties of pyrazoles obtained from Chalcone described in the literature over the last 5 years (2016-2020) was presented and discussed. Among the synthetic approaches for pyrazoles described so far, the cyclization and acetylation method of α,β-unsaturated chalcones and substituted hydrazine was selected and analyzed. 105 pyrazole derivatives (3-107) were evaluated as well as their pharmacological activities, namely, antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antimycobacterial, antiplasmodial, Alzheimer's disease, enzymes inhibition (like acetylcholinesterase, carbonic anhydrase, and malonyl CoA decarboxylase), anticonvulsant, among others. Pyrazolic compounds are widely used in the new drugs design with a wide spectrum of pharmacological approaches, therefore, it is relevant to research the synthetic methods and therapeutic properties of different pyrazole derivatives.