Sea Cucumber (Stichopus japonicas) F2 Enhanced TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis via XIAP Ubiquitination and ER Stress in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Significance of TRAIL/Apo-2 ligand and its death receptors in apoptosis and necroptosis signalling: Implications for cancer-targeted therapeutics

The human immune defensesystem routinely expresses the tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), which is the most prevalent element for antitumor immunity. TRAIL associates with its death receptors (DRs), DR4 (TRAIL-R1), and DR5 (TRAIL-R2), in cancer cells to initiate the intracellular apoptosis cascade. Accordingly, numerous academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies havetried to exploreTRAIL's capacity to kill tumourcells by producing recombinant versions of it (rhTRAIL) or TRAIL receptor agonists (TRAs) [monoclonal antibody (mAb), synthetic and natural compounds, etc.] and molecules that sensitize TRAIL signalling pathway for therapeutic applications. Recently, several microRNAs (miRs) have been found to activate or inhibit death receptor signalling. Therefore, pharmacological regulation of these miRs may activate or resensitize the TRAIL DRs signal, and this is a novel approach for developing anticancer therapeutics. In this article, we will discuss TRAIL and its receptors and molecular pathways by which it induces various cell death events. We will unravel potential innovative applications of TRAIL-based therapeutics, and other investigated therapeutics targeting TRAIL-DRs and summarize the current preclinical pharmacological studies and clinical trials. Moreover, we will also emphasizea few situations where future efforts may be addressed to modulate the TRAIL signalling pathway.

Chemical substances and their activities in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus: A review

Apostichopus japonicus, also known as Stichopus japonicus, with medicinal and food homologous figures, is a globally recognized precious ingredient with extremely high nutritional value. There is no relevant review available through literature search, so this article selects the research articles through the keywords "sea cucumber" and "Apostichopus japonicus (Stichopus japonicus)" in six professional databases, such as Wiley, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ACS, Springer, and Web of Science, from 2000 to the present, summarizing the extraction, isolation, and purification methods for the four major categories (polysaccharides, proteins and peptides, saponins, and other components) of the A. japonicus chemical substances and 10 effective biological activities of A. japonicus. Included are anticoagulation, anticancer/antitumor activities, hematopoiesis, regulation of gut microbiota, and immune regulatory activities that correspond to traditional efficacy. Literature support is provided for the development of medicines and functional foods and related aspects that play a leading role in future directions.

Saponins of North Atlantic Sea Cucumber: Chemistry, Health Benefits, and Future Prospectives

Frondosides are the major saponins (triterpene glycosides) of the North Atlantic sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa). Frondosides possess amphiphilic characteristics due to the presence of various hydrophilic sugar moieties and hydrophobic genin (sapogenin). Saponins are abundant in holothurians, including in sea cucumbers that are widely distributed across the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Over 300 triterpene glycosides have been isolated, identified, and categorized from many species of sea cucumbers. Furthermore, specific saponins from sea cucumbers are broadly classified on the basis of the fron-dosides that have been widely studied. Recent studies have shown that frondoside-containing extracts from C. frondosa exhibit anticancer, anti-obesity, anti-hyperuricemic, anticoagulant, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiangiogenic, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and immunomodulatory activities. However, the exact mechanism(s) of action of biological activities of frondosides is not clearly understood. The function of some frondosides as chemical defense molecules need to be understood. Therefore, this review discusses the different frondosides of C. frondosa and their potential therapeutic activities in relation to the postulated mechanism(s) of action. In addition, recent advances in emerging extraction techniques of frondosides and other saponins and future perspectives are discussed.

Role of phloretin as a sensitizer to TRAIL‑induced apoptosis in colon cancer

Phloretin is one of the apple polyphenols with anticancer activities. Since tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) serves important roles in inducing apoptosis, the present study examined the effect of phloretin on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Treatment with both phloretin and TRAIL markedly suppressed the survival of cancer cells from several colon cancer cell lines compared with that of cells treated with either TRAIL or phloretin. Additionally, decreased numbers of colonies were observed following addition of phloretin and TRAIL. Furthermore, TRAIL- and phloretin-treated HT-29-Luc cells exhibited decreased luciferase activity. Increased apoptosis was observed in phloretin- and TRAIL-treated HT-29-Luc colon cancer cells, accompanying elevated levels of cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase-3, −8 and −9. The expression levels of MCL1 apoptosis regulator BCL2 family member (Mcl-1) were decreased following addition of phloretin in colon cancer cells. In addition, overexpression of Mcl-1 in phloretin- and TRAIL-treated HT-29-Luc cells resulted in increased cell survival. Treatment of HT-29-Luc cells with a combination of cycloheximide (CHX) and phloretin led to a more prominent decrease in Mcl-1 expression compared with that in cells treated with CHX alone, while Mcl-1 expression was recovered by treatment with MG132. Binding of ubiquitin with Mcl-1 was verified using immunoprecipitation. Intraperitoneal injection of both TRAIL and phloretin into tumor xenografts was associated with a decreased tumor volume compared with that following injection with either TRAIL or phloretin. Overall, the present results suggest a synergistic effect of phloretin on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells.

Methanolic Extract from Sea Cucumber, Holothuria scabra, Induces Apoptosis and Suppresses Metastasis of PC3 Prostate Cancer Cells Modulated by MAPK Signaling Pathway

Sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, is a well-known traditional Asian medicine that has been used for suppressing inflammation, promoting wound healing, and improving immunity. Moreover, previous studies demonstrated that the extract from H. scabra contains many bioactive compounds with potent inhibitory effect on tumor cell survival and progression. However, the effect of the methanolic extract from the body wall of H. scabra (BWMT) on human prostate cancer cells has not yet been investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects and underlying mechanism of BWMT on prostate cancer cell viability and metastasis. BWMT was obtained by maceration with methanol. The effect of BWMT on cell viability was assessed by MTT and colony formation assays. The intracellular ROS accumulation was evaluated using a DCFH-DA fluorescence probe. Hoechst 33342 staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were used to examine the apoptotic-inducing effect of the extract. A transwell migration assay was performed to determine the anti-metastasis effect. BWMT significantly reduced cell viability and triggered cellular apoptosis by accumulating intracellular ROS resulting in the upregulation of JNK and p38 signaling pathways. In addition, BWMT also inhibited the invasion of PC3 cells by downregulating MMP-2/-9 expression via the ERK pathway. Consequently, our study provides BWMT from H. scabra as a putative therapeutic agent that could be applicable against prostate cancer progression.

Novel Marine Organism-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Control of Anti-Inflammation

BACKGROUND

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) exhibit potential as functional biomolecules for tissue regeneration and immunomodulation as they play important roles in the physiological communication between cells. EV internal cargo contains miRNAs, proteins, lipids, and so on. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease causing disability owing to impaired joint function and pain. EVs originating from animal cells and tissue matrices are also being considered for OA, in addition to research involving non-steroidal therapeutic agents. However, there are no studies on EVs from marine organisms. Hence, we focused on sea cucumber-derived EVs and conducted experiments to set up an extraction protocol and to demonstrate their efficacy to modulate the inflammatory environment.

METHODS

Sea cucumber extracellular matrices (SECMs) were prepared by a decellularization process. Lyophilized SECMs were treated with collagenase and filtered to isolate sea cucumber extracellular vesicles (SEVs). After isolation, we conducted physical characterization and cell activation studies including cytotoxicity, proliferation, and anti-inflammation effect assays.

RESULTS

The physical characterization results showed circular SEVs in the size range of 66-480 nm. These SEVs contained large amounts of protein cargo, infiltrated the synoviocyte membrane without damage, and had a suppressive effect on inflammatory cytokines.

CONCLUSION

This study established an extraction process for EVs from sea cucumber and reported the anti-inflammatory ability of SEVs. Isolated SEVs can be further utilized for tissue regeneration studies and can be compared to various marine or animal-derived EVs.

Sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa fucoidan inhibits osteosarcoma adhesion and migration by regulating cytoskeleton remodeling

Osteosarcoma (OS) has been demonstrated to be difficult to cure due to its potently malignant metastasis. Therefore, new therapeutic approaches blocking the metastatic potential of OS are urgently required to improve the outcomes for OS patients. In the present study, the anti-metastatic capacity of sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) fucoidan (Cf-Fuc) was evaluated on osteosarcoma cells by cell adhesion assay, Transwell assay and U2OS cell migration assay. The underlying mechanism on the dynamic remodeling of the cytoskeleton was also explored. The present data indicated that Cf-Fuc could block the U2OS osteosarcoma cell adhesion to fibronectin and significantly inhibit U2OS cell migration. Cf-Fuc greatly impaired the migration capacity of U2OS cells, and the migrated distance and velocity of Cf-Fuc-treated cells were markedly reduced. Also, Cf-Fuc could impair the dynamic remodeling of the cytoskeleton possibly by suppressing the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin, as well as the activation of the Rac1/PAK1/LIMK1/cofilin signaling axis. Collectively, the present findings provide a novel therapeutic potential of C. frondosa fucoidan for osteosarcoma metastasis.

Inhibition of cyclinB1 Suppressed the Proliferation, Invasion, and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells and Enhanced the Sensitivity to TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis

Background

CyclinB1 is highly expressed in various tumor tissues and plays an important role in tumor progression. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the role of cyclinB1 in the development and progression of HCC.

Methods

The expression of cyclinB1 was analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, and detected in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. CyclinB1-short hairpin RNA (Sh-cyclinB1) was transfected into HCC cells to knockdown cyclinB1, and the effect of cyclinB1 knockdown on HCC was examined via the MTT assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, scratch assay, cell cycle analysis in vitro, and xenograft model in nude mice. In addition, the role of cyclinB1 on tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry and Western blotting.

Results

The GEPIA database analysis showed that cyclinB1 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. The results of qRT-PCR and Western blotting proved that the expression of cyclinB1 was significantly increased in HCC tissues and cell lines. The data of the MTT assay, colony formation assay, and cell cycle analysis indicated that cyclinB1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation of HCC cells. In addition, cell migration, invasion, and epithelial mesenchymal transition were also impaired by cyclinB1 knockdown. Furthermore, the xenograft model in nude mice demonstrated that inhibition of cyclinB1 suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Finally, the results of flow cytometry and Western blotting indicated that inhibition of cyclinB1 enhanced the sensitivity of HCC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Conclusion

Overall, these data provide reasonable evidence that cyclinB1 may serve as a proto-oncogene during the progression of HCC.