S(+)-ibuprofen destabilizes MYC/MYCN and AKT, increases p53 expression, and induces unfolded protein response and favorable phenotype in neuroblastoma cell lines

Effective intracellular release of ibuprofen triggered by thermosensitive magnetic nanocarriers

Stimuli-responsive nanocarriers are being widely applied in the development of new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. An inherent difficulty in general drug therapy is the lack of precision with respect to a specific pathological site, which can lead to toxicity, excessive drug consumption, or premature degradation. In this work, the controlled drug delivery is achieved by using magnetite nanoparticles coated with mesoporous silica with core-shell structure (MMS) and grafted with the thermoresponsive polymer poly [N-isopropylacrylamide-co-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate] (MMS-P). The efficiency of MMS-P as a temperature-controlled drug delivery system was evaluated by in vitro release experiments using ibuprofen (IBU) in various mammalian cell models. Further, the effects of IBU as a photoprotectant in cells exposed to photodynamic therapy (PDT) in a carbaryl-induced neurodegenerative model were evaluated. The results showed that MMS-P nanocarriers do not exhibit cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells at high doses such as 7600 µg mL-1. Pre-incubation of MMS-P charged with IBU showed no effect on the PDT in N2A cells; however, it produced a further decrease in the viability of HepG2 cells, leading to a reduction to PDT resistance. On the other hand, a cytoprotective effect against carbaryl toxicity in N2A cells was observed in IBU administrated by MMS-P, which confirms the effective intracellular IBU uptake by means of MMS-P. These results encourage the potential application of MMS-P as a drug delivery system and confirm the effect of IBU as a cytoprotective agent in a neurodegenerative model.

Limitations of drug concentrations used in cell culture studies for understanding clinical responses of NSAIDs

In this review, the in vitro cellular effects of six nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), salicylate, ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, celecoxib and diclofenac, are examined. Inhibition of prostanoid synthesis in vitro generally occurs within the therapeutic range of plasma concentrations that are observed in vivo, consistent with the major action of NSAIDs being inhibition of prostanoid production. An additional probable cellular action of NSAIDs has been discovered recently, viz. decreased oxidation of the endocannabinoids, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol and arachidonyl ethanolamide. Many effects of NSAIDs, other than decreased oxidation of arachidonic acid and endocannabinoids, have been put forward but almost all of these additional processes are observed at supratherapeutic concentrations when the concentration of albumin, the major protein that binds NSAIDs, is taken into account. However, one exception is salicylate, a very potent inhibitor of the neutrophilic enzyme, myeloperoxidase, the inhibition of which leads to reduced production of the inflammatory mediator, hypochlorous acid, and inhibition of the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Ibuprofen-based advanced therapeutics: breaking the inflammatory link in cancer, neurodegeneration, and diseases

Ibuprofen is a classical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) highly prescribed to reduce acute pain and inflammation under an array of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, dysmenorrhea, and gout. Ibuprofen acts as a potential inhibitor for cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2). In the past few decades, research on this small molecule has led to identifying other possible therapeutic benefits. Anti-tumorigenic and neuroprotective functions of Ibuprofen are majorly recognized in recent literature and need further consideration. Additionally, several other roles of this anti-inflammatory molecule have been discovered and subjected to experimental assessment in various diseases. However, the major challenge faced by Ibuprofen and other drugs of similar classes is their side effects, and tendency to cause gastrointestinal injury, generate cardiovascular risks, modulate hepatic and acute kidney diseases. Future research should also be conducted to deduce new methods and approaches of suppressing the unwanted toxic changes mediated by these drugs and develop new therapeutic avenues so that these small molecules continue to serve the purposes. This article primarily aims to develop a comprehensive and better understanding of Ibuprofen, its pharmacological features, therapeutic benefits, and possible but less understood medicinal properties apart from major challenges in its future application.KEY POINTSIbuprofen, an NSAID, is a classical anti-inflammatory therapeutic agent.Pro-apoptotic roles of NSAIDs have been explored in detail in the past, holding the key in anti-cancer therapies.Excessive and continuous use of NSAIDs may have several side effects and multiple organ damage.Hyperactivated Inflammation initiates multifold detrimental changes in multiple pathological conditions.Targeting inflammatory pathways hold the key to several therapeutic strategies against many diseases, including cancer, microbial infections, multiple sclerosis, and many other brain diseases.

Ibuprofen reduces cell proliferation through inhibiting Wnt/β catenin signaling pathway in gastric cancer stem cells

Nowadays, most studies focused on cancer stem cells (CSCs) through their abilities to cause tumorigenicity, drug resistance, and cancer recurrence. On the other side, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been taken into consideration because of cheapness and availability. For the reasons mentioned above, we have studied the effect of ibuprofen as an NSAID on CSCs derived from AGS and MKN-45 gastric cancer cell lines to perform effective cancer therapy. We evaluated cell viability, spheroid body formation, monolayer, and soft agar colony formation to express the anti-cancer effect of ibuprofen on CSCs. Also, real-time RT-PCR data of stemness markers and genes affected on, or downstream of Wnt signaling pathway were evaluated. Our findings suggest that ibuprofen at 1,000 μM for 48 h can reduce cell proliferation, stemness features in CSCs by changing the expression level of CD44, OCT3/4, SOX2, Nanog, and KLF4 as stemness markers. Furthermore, ibuprofen can have an inhibitory role in Wnt signaling pathway by changing the expression level of some genes, including CTNNB1, CTNNBIP1, SMARCD1, PYGO2, SUFU, CASK, and KREMEN1. According to our study, ibuprofen has an anti-proliferative effect on CSCs derived from AGS and MKN-45 cells.

MYC-family protein overexpression and prominent nucleolar formation represent prognostic indicators and potential therapeutic targets for aggressive high-MKI neuroblastomas: a report from the children's oncology group

Neuroblastomas with a high mitosis-karyorrhexis index (High-MKI) are often associated with MYCN amplification, MYCN protein overexpression and adverse clinical outcome. However, the prognostic effect of MYC-family protein expression on these neuroblastomas is less understood, especially when MYCN is not amplified. To address this, MYCN and MYC protein expression in High-MKI cases (120 MYCN amplified and 121 non-MYCN amplified) was examined by immunohistochemistry. The majority (101) of MYCN-amplified High-MKI tumors were MYCN(+), leaving one MYC(+), 2 both(+), and 16 both(−)/(+/−), whereas non-MYCN-amplified cases appeared heterogeneous, including 7 MYCN(+), 36 MYC(+), 3 both(+), and 75 both(−)/(+/−) tumors. These MYC-family proteins(+), or MYC-family driven tumors, were most likely to have prominent nucleolar (PN) formation (indicative of augmented rRNA synthesis). High-MKI neuroblastoma patients showed a poor survival irrespective of MYCN amplification. However, patients with MYC-family driven High-MKI neuroblastomas had significantly lower survival than those with non-MYC-family driven tumors. MYCN(+), MYC-family protein(+), PN(+), and clinical stage independently predicted poor survival. Specific inhibition of hyperactive rRNA synthesis and protein translation was shown to be an effective way to suppress MYC/MYCN protein expression and neuroblastoma growth. Together, MYC-family protein overexpression and PN formation should be included in new neuroblastoma risk stratification and considered for potential therapeutic targets.

Ibuprofen and diclofenac treatments reduce proliferation of pancreatic acinar cells upon inflammatory injury and mitogenic stimulation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are administered to manage the pain typically found in patients suffering from pancreatitis. NSAIDs also display anti-proliferative activity against cancer cells; however, their effects on normal, untransformed cells are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated whether NSAIDs inhibit the proliferation of pancreatic acinar cells during the development of acute pancreatitis.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The NSAIDs ibuprofen and diclofenac were administered to C57BL/6 mice after induction of pancreatitis with serial injections of cerulein. In addition, ibuprofen was administered concomitantly with 3,5,3-L-tri-iodothyronine (T3), which induces acinar cell proliferation in the absence of tissue inflammation. The development of pancreatic inflammation, acinar de-differentiation into metaplastic lesions and acinar proliferation were quantified by histochemical, biochemical and RT-PCR approaches.

KEY RESULTS

Therapeutic ibuprofen treatment selectively reduced pancreatic infiltration of activated macrophages in vivo, and M1 macrophage polarization and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression both in vivo and in vitro. Reduced macrophage activation was accompanied by reduced acinar de-differentiation into acinar-to-ductal metaplasia. Acinar proliferation was significantly impaired in the presence of ibuprofen and diclofenac, as demonstrated at both the level of proliferation markers and expression of cell cycle regulators. Ibuprofen also reduced acinar cell proliferation induced by mitogenic stimulation with T3, a treatment that does not elicit pancreatic inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Our study provides evidence that the NSAIDs ibuprofen and diclofenac inhibit pancreatic acinar cell division. This suggests that prolonged treatment with these NSAIDs may negatively affect the regeneration of the pancreas and further studies are needed to confirm these findings in a clinical setting.

LINKED ARTICLES

This article is part of a themed section on Inventing New Therapies Without Reinventing the Wheel: The Power of Drug Repurposing. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.2/issuetoc.

Stem Cell Markers in Neuroblastoma-An Emerging Role for LGR5

The prognostic value of cancer stem cell markers in various cancer subtypes is a well documented research area. Our findings show that the stem cell marker Lgr5 is associated with an aggressive phenotype in neuroblastoma. Here, we discuss these findings within the context of recent studies in several cancers such as lung, colorectal and intestinal cancer, glioblastoma and ewing's sarcoma. Neuroblastoma continues to be an elusive disease, due to its heterogeneous presentation ranging from spontaneous regression to aggressive metastatic disease and intertwined genetic variability. Currently, the most significant prognostic marker of high risk disease and poor prognosis is amplification of the MYCN oncogene, which is found in approximately 25% of cases (Huang and Weiss, 2013). With this in mind, there is still much to learn about the driving mechanisms of this aggressive pediatric tumor. Neuroblastoma development is thought to be the result of aberrant differentiation of the cell of origin, embryonic neural crest cells which then migrate and invade during the developmental stage (Joshi et al., 2007). Aberrant cells are those which would, under normal conditions form the mature tissues of the sympathetic ganglia and adrenal medulla. Tumors are known to develop indiscriminately along the radius of the sympathetic ganglia, although it is well established that the adrenal glands are fundamentally the most common primary site (Jessen and Mirsky, 2005).

Endoplasmic reticulum stress response in the roadway for the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Over the past decade, a handful of evidence has been provided that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) display effects on the homeostasis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Their uptake into cells will eventually lead to activation or inhibition of key molecules that mediate ER stress responses, raising not only a growing interest for a pharmacological target in ER stress responses but also important questions how the ER-stress mediated effects induced by NSAIDs could be therapeutically advantageous or not. We review here the toxicity effects and therapeutic applications of NSAIDs involving the three majors ER stress arms namely PERK, IRE1, and ATF6. First, we provide brief introduction on the well-established and characterized downstream events mediated by these ER stress players, followed by presentation of the NSAIDs compounds and mode of action, and finally their effects on ER stress response. NSAIDs present promising drug agents targeting the components of ER stress in different aspects of cancer and other diseases, but a better comprehension of the mechanisms underlying their benefits and harms will certainly pave the road for several diseases’ therapy.

Prostaglandin E2 promotes MYCN non-amplified neuroblastoma cell survival via β-catenin stabilization

Amplification of MYCN is the most well-known prognostic marker of neuroblastoma risk classification, but still is only observed in 25% of cases. Recent evidence points to the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) elevating ligand prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) and β-catenin as two novel players in neuroblastoma. Here, we aimed to define the potential role of PGE2 and cAMP and its potential interplay with β-catenin, both of which may converge on neuroblastoma cell behaviour. Gain and loss of β-catenin function, PGE2 , the adenylyl cyclase activator forskolin and pharmacological inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were studied in two human neuroblastoma cell lines without MYCN amplification. Our findings show that PGE2 enhanced cell viability through the EP4 receptor and cAMP elevation, whereas COX-2 inhibitors attenuated cell viability. Interestingly, PGE2 and forskolin promoted glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibition, β-catenin phosphorylation at the protein kinase A target residue ser675, β-catenin nuclear translocation and TCF-dependent gene transcription. Ectopic expression of a degradation-resistant β-catenin mutant enhances neuroblastoma cell viability and inhibition of β-catenin with XAV939 prevented PGE2 -induced cell viability. Finally, we show increased β-catenin expression in human high-risk neuroblastoma tissue without MYCN amplification. Our data indicate that PGE2 enhances neuroblastoma cell viability, a process which may involve cAMP-mediated β-catenin stabilization, and suggest that this pathway is of relevance to high-risk neuroblastoma without MYCN amplification.