Chelidonine induces mitotic slippage and apoptotic-like death in SGC-7901 human gastric carcinoma cells

Alkaloids in Chelidonium majus L: a review of its phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology

Chelidonium majus L. (C. majus), commonly known as "Bai Qu Cai" in China, belongs to the genus Chelidonium of the Papaveraceae family. It has rich medicinal value, such as alleviating coughs, asthma, spasms and pain. Recent studies have demonstrated that C. majus is abundant in various alkaloids, which are the primary components of C. majus and have a range of pharmacological effects, including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-tumor effects. So far, 94 alkaloids have been isolated from C. majus, including benzophenanthridine, protoberberine, aporphine, protopine and other types of alkaloids. This paper aims to review the research progress in phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of C. majus alkaloids, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the application of C. majus in the field of medicinal chemistry and to afford reference for further research and development efforts.

Alkaloid profiling of the new species Corydalis huangshanensis and other 13 medicinal plants in genus Corydalis

INTRODUCTION

Corydalis DC., the largest genus of Papaveraceae, comprises numerous species known for their abundant alkaloid content and historical use in clinical medicine. Recently, a new species of genus Corydalis named Corydalis huangshanensis Lu Q. Huang & H. S. Peng was discovered in the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui Province, China.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the chemical characteristics of C. huangshanensis and other 13 Corydalis species, aiming to elucidate the potential medicinal value of this new species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The chemical constituents of C. huangshanensis and other 13 medicinal plants of genus Corydalis were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography Q-Exactive Plus hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (Q-Orbitrap) mass technology. The differences in the alkaloids in the 14 species were distinguished by chemometrics.

RESULTS

The mass spectrometry fragmentation information and relative content of 72 alkaloids were obtained. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and cluster heat mapping analysis showed that these 14 species were divided into two groups. The clustering relationship between C. huangshanensis and C. decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. was similar, exhibiting similar chemical compositions and characteristics. These results indicate the potential pharmacological effects of C. huangshanensis.

CONCLUSION

This study enhances our understanding of the chemical classification of Corydalis and provides a basis for speculations on the medicinal value of C. huangshanensis.

Natural products targeting signaling pathways associated with regulated cell death in gastric cancer: Recent advances and perspectives

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most serious gastrointestinal malignancies with high morbidity and mortality. The complexity of GC process lies in the multi-phenotypic linkage regulation, in which regulatory cell death (RCD) is the core link, which largely dominates the fate of GC cells and becomes a key determinant of GC development and prognosis. In recent years, increasing evidence has been reported that natural products can prevent and inhibit the development of GC by regulating RCDs, showing great therapeutic potential. In order to further clarify its key regulatory characteristics, this review focused on specific expressions of RCDs, combined with a variety of signaling pathways and their crosstalk characteristics, sorted out the key targets and action rules of natural products targeting RCD. It is highlighted that a variety of core biological pathways and core targets are involved in the decision of GC cell fate, including the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, MAPK-related signaling pathways, p53 signaling pathway, ER stress, Caspase-8, gasdermin D (GSDMD), and so on. Moreover, natural products target the crosstalk of different RCDs by modulating above signaling pathways. Taken together, these findings suggest that targeting various RCDs in GC with natural products is a promising strategy, providing a reference for further clarifying the molecular mechanism of natural products treating GC, which warrants further investigations in this area.

Tap the sap - investigation of latex-bearing plants in the search of potential anticancer biopharmaceuticals

Latex-bearing plants have been in the research spotlight for the past couple of decades. Since ancient times their extracts have been used in folk medicine to treat various illnesses. Currently they serve as promising candidates for cancer treatment. Up to date there have been several in vitro and in vivo studies related to the topic of cytotoxicity and anticancer activity of extracts from latex-bearing plants towards various cell types. The number of clinical studies still remains scarce, however, over the years the number is systematically increasing. To the best of our knowledge, the scientific community is still lacking in a recent review summarizing the research on the topic of cytotoxicity and anticancer activity of latex-bearing plant extracts. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge on in vitro and in vivo studies, which focus on the cytotoxicity and anticancer activities of latex-bearing plants. The vast majority of the studies are in vitro, however, the interest in this topic has resulted in the substantial growth of the number of in vivo studies, leading to a promising number of plant species whose latex can potentially be tested in clinical trials. The paper is divided into sections, each of them focuses on specific latex-bearing plant family representatives and their potential anticancer activity, which in some instances is comparable to that induced by commonly used therapeutics currently available on the market. The cytotoxic effect of the plant's crude latex, its fractions or isolated compounds, is analyzed, along with a study of cell apoptosis, chromatin condensation, DNA damage, changes in gene regulation and morphology changes, which can be observed in cell post plant extract addition. The in vivo studies go beyond the molecular level by showing significant reduction of the tumor growth and volume in animal models. Additionally, we present data regarding plant-mediated biosynthesis of nanoparticles, which is regarded as a new branch in plant latex research. It is solely based on the green-synthesis approach, which presents an interesting alternative to chemical-based nanoparticle synthesis. We have analyzed the cytotoxic effect of these particles on cells. Data regarding the cytotoxicity of such particles raises their potential to be involved in the design of novel cancer therapies, which further underlines the significance of latex-bearing plants in biotechnology. Throughout the course of this review, we concluded that plant latex is a rich source of many compounds, which can be further investigated and applied in the design of anticancer pharmaceuticals. The molecules, to which this cytotoxic effect can be attributed, include alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, proteases, nucleases and many novel compounds, which still remain to be characterized. They have been studied extensively in both in vitro and in vivo studies, which provide an excellent starting point for their rapid transfer to clinical studies in the near future. The comprehensive study of molecules from latex-bearing plants can result in finding a promising alternative to several pharmaceuticals on the market and help unravel the molecular mode of action of latex-based preparations.

Opposing Effects of Chelidonine on Tyrosine and Serine Phosphorylation of STAT3 in Human Uveal Melanoma Cells

STAT3 is a transcription factor that regulates various cellular processes with oncogenic potential, thereby promoting tumorigenesis when activated uncontrolled. STAT3 activation is mediated by its tyrosine phosphorylation, triggering dimerization and nuclear translocation. STAT3 also contains a serine phosphorylation site, with a postulated regulatory role in STAT3 activation and G2/M transition. Interleukin-6, a major activator of STAT3, is present in elevated concentrations in uveal melanomas, suggesting contribution of dysregulated STAT3 activation to their pathogenesis. Here, we studied the impact of chelidonine on STAT3 signaling in human uveal melanoma cells. Chelidonine, an alkaloid isolated from Chelidonium majus, disrupts microtubules, causes mitotic arrest and provokes cell death in numerous tumor cells. According to our flow cytometry and confocal microscopy data, chelidonine abrogated IL-6-induced activation and nuclear translocation, but amplified constitutive serine phosphorylation of STAT3. Both effects were restricted to a fraction of cells only, in an all-or-none fashion. A partial overlap could be observed between the affected subpopulations; however, no direct connection could be proven. This study is the first proof on a cell-by-cell basis for the opposing effects of a microtubule-targeting agent on the two types of STAT3 phosphorylation.

Phytochemistry and pharmacology of alkaloids from Glaucium spp

Glaucium Mill. comprising 28 species with 78 synonyms, 3 subspecies, and 3 varieties worldwide belongs to the Papaveraceae family. The plants are well known for their different types of alkaloids. In the present study, we attempted to review the chemistry and pharmacology of the alkaloids from the genus Glaucium. For this purpose, the relevant data were collected from different scientific databases including, "Google Scholar", "ISI Web of Knowledge", "PubMed", "Scopus", and available books and e-books. Our results showed that aporphine alkaloids are dominated in the species; however, other types of alkaloids including protopines, benzophenanthridines, benzylisoquinolines, protoberberines, and morphinanes have also been reported from the genus. The pharmacological studies have shown that the alkaloids from Glaucium species have several biological activities of which anti-cancer and anti-cholinesterase effects have been highly reported. Besides, the data indicated that most of the species have been investigated neither phytochemically nor pharmacologically. Glaucium flavum, known as yellow horn poppy, is the most studied species. According to the reports, the plants from this genus have anti-cancer and anti-cholinesterase potentials and can be used as a source for aporphine alkaloids.

Chelidonine Induces Apoptosis via GADD45a-p53 Regulation in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Chelidonium majus has been used as a traditional medicine in China and western countries for various diseases, including inflammation and cancer. However, the anti-cancer effect of chelidonine, a major compound of C. majus extracts, on pancreatic cancer remains poorly understood. In this study, we found that treatment with chelidonine inhibited proliferation of BxPC-3 and MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells. Annexin-V/propidium iodide staining assay showed that this growth inhibitory effect of chelidonine was induced through apoptosis. We found that chelidonine treatment upregulated mRNA levels and transcription factor activity in both cell lines. Increases in protein expression levels of p53, GADD45A, p21 and cleaved caspase-3 were also observed, with more distinct changes in MIA PaCa-2 cells compared to the BxPC-3 cells. These results suggest that chelidonine induces pancreatic cancer apoptosis through the p53 and GADD45A pathways. Our findings provide new insights into the use of chelidonine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

[BUB1 gene is highly expressed in gastric cancer:analysis based on Oncomine database and bioinformatics]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression of BUB1 gene in gastric cancer.

METHODS

Oncomine, GEPIA, BioGPS and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases were used to analyze the difference of BUB1 gene expression between gastric cancer tissue and normal gastric tissue. The association of BUB1 expression level with the prognosis of gastric cancer patients was also analyzed. The Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) was explored to analyze the expression of BUB1 in T cells and B cells in gastric cancer patients, and the String database was used to generate the network map of BUB1-related proteins and functional annotation of gene ontology (GO). The related pathways of KEGG were analyzed. Tumor immune assessment resource (TIMER) database was used to analyze the expression of BUB1 in immune infiltration and its effect on prognosis of gastric cancer patients. To further verify the results of gene chip analysis in Oncomine database, we collected 30 pairs of surgical specimens of gastric adenocarcinoma and adjacent tissues from patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College from March, 2018 to July, 2019. The results of BUB1 gene expression in Oncomine database were verified by PCR and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Oncomine, GEPIA and BioGPS analyses showed that BUB1 was highly expressed in gastric cancer compared with normal gastric tissue. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the progression-free survival time (HR=0.52, 95% CI:0.41-0.67, P < 0.05) and the overall survival time (HR=0.67, 95% CI:0.55-0.82, P < 0.05) were prolonged in gastric cancer patients with a high expression of BUB1. Through String data collection, BUB1-related proteins were mainly enriched in 13 cellular components, 4 molecular functions and 12 biological processes, involving 4 signal pathways. TIMER database analysis showed that CD4⁺ T cells and macrophages with high expressions of BUB1 mRNA in the immune microenvironment were associated with a favorable 5-year survival outcome of patients with gastric cancer. In the surgical specimens, real-time quantitative PCR showed that the expression level of BUB1 mRNA was significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in the adjacent gastric mucosa tissues, and immunohistochemical results demonstrated positive BUB1 staining in the gastric cancer tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

BUB1 gene is highly expressed in gastric cancer. BUB1 may reduce tumor immunosuppression and helps to evaluate the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.

Chelidonine selectively inhibits the growth of gefitinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells through the EGFR-AMPK pathway

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been widely used for the clinical treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring mutations in the EGFR. Unfortunately, due to the secondary mutation in EGFR, eventual drug-resistance is inevitable. Therefore, to overcome the resistance, new agent is urgently required. Chelidonine, extracted from the roots of Chelidonium majus, was proved to effectively suppress the growth of NSCLC cells with EGFR double mutation. Proteomics analysis indicated that mitochondrial respiratory chain was significantly inhibited by chelidonine, and inhibitor of AMPK effectively blocked the apoptosis induced by chelidonine. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that chelidonine could directly bind to EGFR and showed a much higher binding affinity to EGFR^L858R/T790M than EGFR^WT, which demonstrated that chelidonine could selectively inhibit the phosphorylation of EGFR in cells with EGFR double-mutation. In vivo study revealed that chelidonine has a similar inhibitory effect like second generation TKI Afatinib. In conclusion, targeting EGFR and inhibition of mitochondrial function is a promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategy for inhibiting NSCLC with EGFR mutation and TKI resistance.

Targeting NRAS-Mutant Cancers with the Selective STK19 Kinase Inhibitor Chelidonine

PURPOSE

Oncogenic mutations in NRAS promote tumorigenesis. Although novel anti-NRAS inhibitors are urgently needed for the treatment of cancer, the protein is generally considered "undruggable" and no effective therapies have yet reached the clinic. STK19 kinase was recently reported to be a novel activator of NRAS and a potential therapeutic target for NRAS-mutant melanomas. Here, we describe a new pharmacologic inhibitor of STK19 kinase for the treatment of NRAS-mutant cancers.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

The STK19 kinase inhibitor was identified from a natural compound library using a luminescent phosphorylation assay as the primary screen followed by verification with an in vitro kinase assay and immunoblotting of treated cell extracts. The antitumor potency of chelidonine was investigated in vitro and in vivo using a panel of NRAS-mutant and NRAS wild-type cancer cells.

RESULTS

Chelidonine was identified as a potent and selective inhibitor of STK19 kinase activity. In vitro, chelidonine treatment inhibited NRAS signaling, leading to reduced cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in a panel of NRAS-mutant cancer cell lines, including melanoma, liver, lung, and gastric cancer. In vivo, chelidonine suppressed the growth of NRAS-driven tumor cells in nude mice while exhibiting minimal toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Chelidonine suppresses NRAS-mutant cancer cell growth and could have utility as a new treatment for such malignancies.

Chelidonine enhances the antitumor effect of lenvatinib on hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Background

Lenvatinib is a newly approved molecular targeted drug for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the high cost associated with this treatment poses a huge financial burden on patients and the entire public health system. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel strategies that enhance the antitumor effect of lenvatinib.

Methods

The antitumor effects of chelidonine or/and lenvatinib on HCC cell lines MHCC97-H and LM-3 were examined using the 3-[4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl]-2,5-diphenyl-2- H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. For the in-vivo investigation, the effect on subcutaneous or intrahepatic tumor growth in nude mice was also determined. The mRNA levels of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related factors were examined through quantitative polymerase chain reaction or Western blot.

Results

In the present study, we found that treatment with chelidonine enhanced the apoptotic effect of lenvatinib on HCC cells and the in-vivo growth of HCC tumors in nude mice. Mechanistically, treatment with chelidonine increased the expression of epithelial indicator E-cadherin, whereas it decreased the expression of mesenchymal indicators N-cadherin and Vimentin. These findings suggest that chelidonine restricted the EMT in HCC cells.

Conclusion

Chelidonine inhibits the process of EMT and enhances the antitumor effect of lenvatinib on HCC cells.

SNORA42 enhances prostate cancer cell viability, migration and EMT and is correlated with prostate cancer poor prognosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common invasive cancers and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in male worldwide, reflecting the needs of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PCa. Emerging evidence has revealed small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) playing a significant role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, there are few reports about snoRNAs in PCa. Here, we found SNORA42 rather than its host gene (KIAA0907) was up-regulated in PCa cell lines. Meanwhile, an obvious up-regulation of SNORA42 was observed in cancer tissues compared to their adjacent normal tissues. SNORA42 could be induced by DHT stimulation. Over-expression of SNORA42 increased prostate cancer cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis. Importantly, SNORA42 increased prostate cancer cell migration and invasion. Higher SNORA42 expression level was found to be correlated with shorter survival in metastatic PCa tissues by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, but this effect was not found in primary PCa tissues. In conclusion, over-expression of SNORA42 could have an oncogenic effect on the progression of PCa. SNORA42 might serve as a prognostic biomarker in PCa.

Greater Celandine's Ups and Downs-21 Centuries of Medicinal Uses of Chelidonium majus From the Viewpoint of Today's Pharmacology

As antique as Dioscorides era are the first records on using Chelidonium as a remedy to several sicknesses. Inspired by the "signatura rerum" principle and an apparent ancient folk tradition, various indications were given, such as anti-jaundice and cholagogue, pain-relieving, and quite often mentioned-ophthalmological problems. Central and Eastern European folk medicine has always been using this herb extensively. In this region, the plant is known under many unique vernacular names, especially in Slavonic languages, associated or not with old Greek relation to "chelidon"-the swallow. Typically for Papaveroidae subfamily, yellow-colored latex is produced in abundance and leaks intensely upon injury. Major pharmacologically relevant components, most of which were first isolated over a century ago, are isoquinoline alkaloids-berberine, chelerythrine, chelidonine, coptisine, sanguinarine. Modern pharmacology took interest in this herb but it has not ended up in gaining an officially approved and evidence-based herbal medicine status. On the contrary, the number of relevant studies and publications tended to drop. Recently, some controversial reports and sometimes insufficiently proven studies appeared, suggesting anticancer properties. Anticancer potential was in line with anecdotical knowledge spread in East European countries, however, in the absence of directly-acting cytostatic compounds, some other mechanisms might be involved. Other properties that could boost the interest in this herb are antimicrobial and antiviral activities. Being a common synanthropic weed or ruderal plant, C. majus spreads in all temperate Eurasia and acclimates well to North America. Little is known about the natural variation of bioactive metabolites, including several aforementioned isoquinoline alkaloids. In this review, we put together older and recent literature data on phytochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical studies on C. majus aiming at a critical evaluation of state-of-the-art from the viewpoint of historical and folk indications. The controversies around this herb, the safety and drug quality issues and a prospective role in phytotherapy are discussed as well.

Morphologic and Immunohistochemical Appraisal of Primary Gastric Carcinomas

Gastric carcinoma management requires adjustments answering their genetic and morphologic heterogeneity. We aim to assess the expression and significance of a myriad of biomarkers (p53, MLH1, MSH2, PMS2, MSH6, Epstein-Barr encoding region-RNA, c-erbB2, E-cadherin, CEA, chromogranin, Ki-67, CDX2, presenilin-1, cathepsin E, MUC5AC, cyclin-dependent kinase 1) in 117 gastric carcinomas, which we have morphologically subclassified with a simple algorithm. Immunohistochemical stains were applied to 3 tissue microarrays of primary gastric carcinomas (n=117) obtained from resection specimens of untreated patients. These cases represented the morphologic subgroups that emerged from a reclassification attempt carried out according to the predominant (>50%) morphologic component they contained (adenocarcinoma, diffuse infiltrative carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma) and "mixed" carcinoma if none predominated. Cases with unusual morphology were assigned to a "special subtypes" group ("rare" tumors). Correlation of overall survival and staining patterns was carried out. Adenocarcinomas comprised 43.6% (n=51), diffuse infiltrative carcinomas 28.2% (n=33), mucinous carcinomas 6% (n=7), mixed carcinomas 6%, and "rare/other" carcinomas 16.2% (n=19) of the 117 muscle-invasive carcinoma cases. High tumor stage was associated with worse overall survival at multivariate analysis (P=0.000, log-rank). Higher cathepsin E and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 expression was associated with worse overall survival on univariate analysis (log-rank; P=0.050 and 0.001, respectively). Mismatch repair defects were seen in adenocarcinomas and "rare" tumors with MLH1 silencing. These above-mentioned points can lead to the differentiation of metabolic and phenotypic features per gastric carcinoma subtype and may help design targeted approaches.

miR-409-3b inhibits invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer by downregulating EGFL7 protein expression

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effect of miR-409-3b on the invasion and migration of gastric adenocarcinoma and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODS: MicroRNA array was used to screen miRNAs which were significantly differentially expressed between gastric cancer and paracancerous tissue. Bioinformatics was employed to predict the miRNAs related to the regulation of epidermal growth factor-like domain-containing protein 7 (EGFL7). Gastric cancer cells were infected with lentiviral vectors or transfected with miR-409-3b mimics to overexpress miR-409-3b. Western blot was used to detect the changes of EGFL7 in gastric cancer cells. Transwell invasion assay was accomplished to analyze cell invasion ability. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was adopted to detect the expression of miR-409-3b in 80 pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues. The relationship between clinical pathological data and EGFL7 expression was analyzed.

RESULTS: MicroRNA array and bioinformatics prediction results supported that miR-409-3b was lowly expressed in gastric carcinoma, and regulated EGFL7. Dual luciferase assay confirmed that miR-409-3b binds to EGFL7. Western blot analysis suggested that EGFL7 was downregulated after miR-409-3b overexpression. qRT-PCR suggested that the relative expression of miR-409-3b in gastric cancer tissues was lower than that in the adjacent noncancerous tissues. Transwell invasion experiments showed that miR-409-3b infection could significantly reduce the invasion ability of gastric cancer cells in vitro. The migration ability of miR-409-3b LV-cells was significantly higher than that of BGC-823 cells. The expression of miR-409-3b was closely related with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The expression ratio of miR-409-3b in gastric cancer tissues to adjacent noncancerous tissues was significantly lower in tissues collected from patients with distant metastasis than in those from patients without distant metastasis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: miR-409-3b regulates EGFL7 expression at the post-transcriptional level, and then suppresses the invasion and metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma.