The antioxidant, aged garlic extract, exerts cytotoxic effects on wild-type and multidrug-resistant human cancer cells by altering mitochondrial permeability

Analysis of differential gene immune infiltration and clinical characteristics of skin cutaneous melanoma based on systems biology and drug repositioning methods to identify drug candidates for skin cutaneous melanoma

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) has a low early detection rate and a high mortality rate. There are many problems such as side effects and drug resistance in existing therapeutic drugs. Current studies have confirmed that SKCM pathogenesis-related genes promote the invasion and metastasis of cutaneous melanoma, but their roles in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear. Network pharmacology provides new opportunities for drug repurposing and repositioning, and is a fast, safe, and inexpensive drug discovery method to find new drugs for the treatment of SKCM. In this study, based on 3 databases (KEGG, OMIM, and Genotype) to obtain SKCM-related genes, and TCGA SKCM dataset, SKCM differential genes in GSE3189 and GSE46517 were intersected to identify SKCM pathogenesis-related differential genes, and the differential genes were immune infiltration and analysis, For survival analysis, a prognostic nomogram risk model was constructed based on the results of multivariate Cox regression analysis for risk stratification and prognosis prediction, then focused on the differential expression of ZC3H12A and its effect on TME. Finally, the protein interaction network method was used to quantify the similarity between 684 drug targets and skin melanoma, and to screen out drugs similar to skin melanoma. Based on 3 databases of KEGG, OMIM, and Genotype, 294 SKCM-related genes and 18 SKCM pathogenesis-related differential genes were obtained, and 18 SKCM pathogenesis-related differential genes were significantly correlated with TME. The constructed prognostic nomogram risk model predicted performance better and provided valuable information for immunotherapy. Multivariate Cox regression analysis and K-M analysis showed that ZC3H12A was a differentially expressed gene affecting the prognosis of SKCM and promoted the infiltration of anti-tumor immune cells CD8 + T cells, B cells, and DC cells. Based on the analysis of the protein interaction network method, 43 drugs were found to have high potential in the treatment of SKCM, and the literature search of these 43 drugs was carried out, and 21 drugs were found to have experimental verification for the treatment of SKCM. Taken together, the differential genes associated with the pathogenesis of SKCM have important roles in the tumor immune microenvironment, clinicopathological features, and prognosis, especially ZC3H12A has a potential role in identifying early SKCM patients. At the same time, it provides a new strategy for the drug development of SKCM and provides a basis for the reuse of SKCM drugs.

Traditional Chinese medicine reverses cancer multidrug resistance and its mechanism

Chemotherapy is one of the most commonly used clinical treatments among the currently available cancer therapies. However, the phenomenon of Multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a challenge in the treatment process, weakening the impact of chemotherapy. Extensive research on elucidating the development of cancer MDR has identified the following mechanisms that play a critical role in the development of several MDR reversal agents: abnormal expression of cell membrane transporters, adaptation of cancer cells to the microenvironment, regulation of hypoxia, repair of DNA damage and reduction of apoptosis, the enhancement of the EMT process, the existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), and the abnormal activation of key signaling pathways. However, they failed to demonstrate significant efficacy due to severe side effects during their clinical trials. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are known to play an important anti-cancer role since they have low toxicity, high efficacy, and safety and can reverse MDR. TCMs reversal agents can be divided into Chinese medicine monomers, synthetic monomers, analogs, or derivatives. Several studies have shown that TCMs can effectively overcome cancer MDR and can be effectively used for treating cancer patients.

Phytochemical Analysis and In Vitro Effects of Allium fistulosum L. and Allium sativum L. Extracts on Human Normal and Tumor Cell Lines: A Comparative Study

Allium sativum L. (garlic bulbs) and Allium fistulosum L. (Welsh onion leaves) showed quantitative differences of identified compounds: allicin and alliin (380 µg/mL and 1410 µg/mL in garlic; 20 µg/mL and 145 µg/mL in Welsh onion), and the phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, gentisic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, kaempferol, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, and rutin). The chemical composition determined the inhibitory activity of Allium extracts in a dose-dependent manner, on human normal cells (BJ-IC₅₀ 0.8841% garlic/0.2433% Welsh onion and HaCaT-IC₅₀ 1.086% garlic/0.6197% Welsh onion) and tumor cells (DLD-1-IC₅₀ 5.482%/2.124%; MDA-MB-231-IC₅₀ 6.375%/2.464%; MCF-7-IC₅₀ 6.131%/3.353%; and SK-MES-1-IC₅₀ 4.651%/5.819%). At high concentrations, the cytotoxic activity of each extract, on normal cells, was confirmed by: the 50% of the growth inhibition concentration (IC₅₀₎ value, the cell death induced by necrosis, and biochemical determination of LDH, catalase, and Caspase-3. The four tumor cell lines treated with high concentrations (10%, 5%, 2.5%, and 1.25%) of garlic extract showed different sensibility, appreciated on the base of IC₅₀ value for the most sensitive cell line (SK-MES-1), and the less sensitive (MDA-MB-231) cell line. The high concentrations of Welsh onion extract (5%, 2.5%, and 1.25%) induced pH changes in the culture medium and SK-MES-1 being the less sensitive cell line.

Health Benefits of Plant-Derived Sulfur Compounds, Glucosinolates, and Organosulfur Compounds

The broad spectrum of the mechanism of action of immune-boosting natural compounds as well as the complex nature of the food matrices make researching the health benefits of various food products a complicated task. Moreover, many routes are involved in the action of most natural compounds that lead to the inhibition of chronic inflammation, which results in a decrease in the ability to remove a pathogen asymptomatically and is connected to various pathological events, such as cancer. A number of cancers have been associated with inflammatory processes. The current review strives to answer the question of whether plant-derived sulfur compounds could be beneficial in cancer prevention and therapy. This review focuses on the two main sources of natural sulfur compounds: alliaceous and cruciferous vegetables. Through the presentation of scientific data which deal with the study of the chosen compounds in cancer (cell lines, animal models, and human studies), the discussion of food processing’s influence on immune-boosting food content is presented. Additionally, it is demonstrated that there is still a need to precisely demonstrate the bioavailability of sulfur-containing compounds from various types of functional food, since the inappropriate preparation of vegetables can significantly reduce the content of beneficial sulfur compounds. Additionally, there is an urgent need to carry out more epidemiological studies to reveal the benefits of several natural compounds in cancer prevention and therapy.

Aged garlic extract and its constituent, S-allyl-L-cysteine, induce the apoptosis of neuroblastoma cancer cells due to mitochondrial membrane depolarization

Aged garlic extract (AGE) has been demonstrated to have therapeutic properties in tumors; however its mechanisms of action have not yet been fully elucidated. A previous study revealed that AGE exerts an anti-proliferative effect on a panel of both sensitive [wild-type (WT)] and multidrug-resistant (MDR) human cancer cells. Following treatment of the cells with AGE, cytofluorimetric analysis revealed the occurrence of dose-dependent mitochondrial membrane depolarization (MMD). In this study, in order to further clarify the mechanisms of action of AGE, the effects of AGE on mitochondria isolated from rat liver mitochondria (RLM) were also examined. AGE induced an effect on the components of the electrochemical gradient (Δµ_H⁺), mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m) and mitochondrial electrochemical gradient (ΔpH_m). The mitochondrial membrane dysfunctions of RLM induced by AGE, namely the decrease in both membrane potential and chemical gradient were associated with a higher oxidation of both the endogenous glutathione and pyridine nucleotide content. To confirm the anti-proliferative effects of AGE, experiments were performed on the human neuroblastoma (NB) cancer cells, SJ-N-KP and the MYCN-amplified IMR5 cells, using its derivative S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC), with the aim of providing evidence of the anticancer activity of this compound and its possible molecular mechanism as regards the induction of cytotoxicity. Following treatment of the cells with SAC at 20 mM, cell viability was determined by MTT assay and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, using Annexin V-FITC labeling. The percentages of cells undergoing apoptosis was found to be 48.0% in the SJ-N-KP and 50.1% in the IMR5 cells. By cytofluorimetric analysis, it was suggested that the target of SAC are the mitochondria. Mitochondrial activity was examined by labeling the cells with the probe, 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylimidacarbocyanine iodide (JC-1). Following treatment with SAC at 50 mM, both NB cell lines exhibited a marked increase in MMD. On the whole, the findings of this study indicate that both natural products, AGE and SAC, cause cytotoxicity to tumor cells via the induction of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT).

Allium vegetable consumption and health: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes

Previously, our meta-analysis and other studies have suggested that allium vegetable consumption is beneficial for health, but no umbrella review has been conducted to assess the evidence of the various health benefits of allium vegetable consumption. Therefore, we conducted this umbrella review on this topic. This umbrella review included a total of 16 meta-analyses with 50 unique outcomes. The most beneficial cancer-related outcome was shown for gastric cancer (risk ratio 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67-0.91). In addition, only 8 weeks of garlic consumption significantly decreased serum total cholesterol (weighted mean differences -17.20 mg/dl; 95% CI -23.10 to -11.30), and patients with dyslipidemia who consumed garlic experienced more benefits than the whole population. Diabetic patients with longer durations of garlic intake experienced more benefits in terms of fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, and serum fructosamine than healthy participants, and garlic intake was associated with blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients but not in normotensive participants. Limited side effects of garlic, such as garlic odor and gastrointestinal complaints, were reported among the included meta-analyses. Our results suggested that allium vegetables might be beneficial for cancer prevention. In particular, garlic was comparatively safe and is recommended as a long-term dietary component for patients with dyslipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension.

Tackling tumor heterogeneity and phenotypic plasticity in cancer precision medicine: our experience and a literature review

The predominant cause of cancer mortality is metastasis. The major impediment to cancer cure is the intrinsic or acquired resistance to currently available therapies. Cancer is heterogeneous at the genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic levels. And, while a molecular-targeted drug may be pathway-precise, it can still fail to achieve wholesome cancer-precise toxicity. In the current review, we discuss the strategic differences between targeting the strengths of cancer cells in phenotypic plasticity and heterogeneity and targeting shared vulnerabilities of cancer cells such as the compromised integrity of membranous organelles. To better recapitulate subpopulations of cancer cells in different phenotypic and functional states, we developed a schematic combination of 2-dimensional culture (2D), 3-dimmensional culture in collagen I (3D), and mammosphere culture for stem cells (mammosphere), designated as Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere. We investigated how the tumor suppressor maspin may limit carcinoma cell plasticity and affect their context-dependent response to drugs of different mechanisms including docetaxel, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor MS-275, and ionophore antibiotic salinomycin. We showed that tumor cell phenotypic plasticity is not an exclusive attribute to cancer stem cells. Nonetheless, three subpopulations of prostate cancer cells, enriched through Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere, show qualitatively different drug responses. Interestingly, salinomycin was the only drug that effectively killed all three cancer cell subpopulations, irrespective of their capacity of stemness. Further, Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere may be a useful model to accelerate the screening for curative cancer drugs while avoiding costly characterization of compounds that may have only selective toxicity to some, but not all, cancer cell subpopulations.