MAPK4 silencing together with a PARP1 inhibitor as a combination therapy in triple‑negative breast cancer cells

Anti-liver cancer therapeutic targets and safety of usenamine A in experimental liver cancer

BACKGROUND

Liver cancer is highly heterogeneous with poor drug response. Usenamine A has anticancer activity. Usnic acid has hepatocytotoxicity.

OBJECTIVES

As a derivative of usnic acid, if usenamine A can be safely used in treatment for liver cancer is unknown.

METHODS

MTT and clone formation assays assessed cell viability and proliferation. Tumor growth was determined using a xenograft model. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle. mRNA transcriptome sequencing investigated differential gene expression. Safety was evaluated in mice.

KEY FINDINGS

Usenamine A inhibited proliferation and clone formation of HepG2 cells and xenograft tumor growth through cell cycle arrest at G0/G1. Usenamine A altered gene expression in a direction supporting anticancer activity. IL24, JUN, DUSP4, and DUSP5 were upregulated while PRKACA, PRKCB, TP53, WNT6, E2F3, LGR4, GPR78, and MAPK4 were downregulated. Ten of above genes overlapped in the KEGG enriched non-small cell lung cancer/glioma/cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction/Wnt/MAPK pathway network. Usenamine A has a strong binding affinity for PRKACA and PRKCB proteins. Usenamine A showed minimal toxicity in mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Usenamine A is a safe anticancer agent against hepatocellular carcinoma. Regulation of 12 cancer-associated genes and the correlated pathway network are its therapeutic targets.

Recent advancements in small interfering RNA based therapeutic approach on breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common and malignant tumor diagnosed in women, with 2.9 million cases in 2023 and the fifth highest cancer-causing mortality worldwide. Recent developments in targeted therapy options for BC have demonstrated the promising potential of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based cancer therapeutic approaches. As BC continues to be a global burden, siRNA therapy emerges as a potential treatment strategy to regulate disease-related genes in other types of cancers, including BC. siRNAs are tiny RNA molecules that, by preventing their expression, can specifically silence genes linked to the development of cancer. In order to increase the stability and effectiveness of siRNA delivery to BC cells, minimize off-target effects, and improve treatment efficacy, advanced delivery technologies such as lipid nanoparticles and nanocarriers have been created. Additionally, combination therapies, such as siRNAs that target multiple pathways are used in conjunction with conventional chemotherapy agents, have shown synergistic effects in various preclinical studies, opening up new treatment options for breast cancer that are personalized and precision medicine-oriented. Targeting important genes linked to BC growth, metastasis, and chemo-resistance has been reported in BC research using siRNA-based therapies. This study reviews recent reports on therapeutic approaches to siRNA for advanced treatment of BC. Furthermore, this review evaluates the role and mechanisms of siRNA in BC and demonstrates the potential of exploiting siRNA as a novel target for BC therapy.

Helicobacter pylori infection facilitates cell migration and potentially impact clinical outcomes in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is a significant health concern worldwide. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is associated with gastric cancer risk, but differences between HP-infected and HP-free gastric cancer have not been studied sufficiently. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of HP infection on the viability and migration of gastric cancer cells and identify potential underlying genetic mechanisms as well as their clinical relevance. Cell counting kit-8, lactate dehydrogenase, wound healing, and transwell assay were applied in the infection model of multiple clones of HP and multiple gastric cancer cell lines. Genes related to HP infection were identified using bioinformatics analysis and subsequently validated using real-time quantitative PCR. The association of these genes with immunity and drug sensitivity of gastric cancer was analyzed. Results showed that HP has no significant impact on viability but increases the migration of gastric cancer cells. We identified 1405 HP-upregulated genes, with their enriched terms relating to cell migration, drug, and immunity. Among these genes, the 82 genes associated with survival showed a significant impact on gastric cancer in consensus clustering and LASSO prognostic model. The top 10 hub HP-associated genes were further identified, and 7 of them were validated in HP-infected cells using real-time quantitative PCR, including ERBB4, DNER, BRINP2, KCTD16, MAPK4, THPO, and VSTM2L. The overexpression experiment showed that KCTD16 medicated the effect of HP on gastric cancer migration. Our findings suggest that HP infection may enhance the migratory potential of gastric cancer cells and these genes might be associated with immunity and drug sensitivity of gastric cancer. In human subjects with gastric cancer, HP presence in tumors may affect migration, immunity, and drug sensitivity.

A review of non-classical MAPK family member, MAPK4: A pivotal player in cancer development and therapeutic intervention

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) are serine/threonine protein kinases that play a crucial role in transmitting extracellular signals to the intracellular environment, influencing a wide range of cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, metabolic activities, immune function and stress response. MAPK4, a non-classical MAPK, is frequently overexpressed in various malignancies, including prostate, breast, cervix, thyroid, and gliomas. It orchestrates cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis via the AKT/mTOR and/or PDK1 signaling pathways, thus facilitating tumor cell growth. Furthermore, MAPK4 expression is closely associated with the effectiveness of specific inhibitors like PI3K and PARP1, and also correlate with the survival rates of cancer patients. Increasing evidence highlights MAPK4's involvement in the tumor microenvironment, modulating immune response and inflammation-related diseases. This review comprehensively explores the structure, function, and oncogenic role of MAPK4, providing a deeper understanding of its activation and mechanisms of action in tumorigenesis, which might be helpful for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies for cancer management.

Non-coding RNAs and exosomal ncRNAs in multiple myeloma: An emphasis on molecular pathways

One of the most common hematological malignancies is multiple myeloma (MM) that its mortality and morbidity have increased. The incidence rate of MM is suggested to be higher in Europe and various kinds of therapeutic strategies including stem cell transplantation. However, MM treatment is still challenging and gene therapy has been shown to be promising. The non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) including miRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs are considered as key players in initiation, development and progression of MM. In the present review, the role of ncRNAs in MM progression and drug resistance is highlighted to provide new insights for future experiments for their targeting and treatment of MM. The miRNAs affect proliferation and invasion of MM cells, and targeting tumor-promoting miRNAs can induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and reduces proliferation of MM cells. Furthermore, miRNA regulation is of importance for modulating metastasis and chemotherapy response of tumor cells. The lncRNAs exert the same function and determine proliferation, migration and therapy response of MM cells. Notably, lncRNAs mainly target miRNAs in regulating MM progression. The circRNAs also target different molecular pathways in regulating MM malignancy that miRNAs are the most well-known ones. Furthermore, clinical application of ncRNAs in MM is discussed.

On the Therapeutic Potential of ERK4 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

ERK3 and ERK4 define a distinct and understudied subfamily of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Little is known about the physiological roles of these atypical MAPKs and their association with human diseases. Interestingly, accumulating evidence points towards a role for ERK3 and ERK4 signaling in the initiation and progression of various types of cancer. Notably, a recent study reported that ERK4 is expressed in a subset of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines and that this expression is critical for AKT activation and for sustaining TNBC cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in mice. The authors also showed that depletion of ERK4 sensitizes TNBC cells to phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors. They concluded that ERK4 is a promising therapeutic target for TNBC and has potential for combination therapy with PI3K inhibitors. Here, we raise concerns about the cellular models and experimental approaches used in this study, which compromise the conclusions on the oncogenic role of ERK4 in TNBC.

Development of 1-(4-(Substituted)piperazin-1-yl)-2-((2-((4-methoxybenzyl)thio)pyrimidin-4-yl)oxy)ethanones That Target Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase in Human Breast Cancer Cells

A number of uracil amides cleave poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and therefore novel thiouracil amide compounds were synthesized and screened for the loss of cell viability in a human-estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cell line. The synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to significant efficacy against human breast cancer cells, where the compound 5e IC₅₀ value was found to be 18 μM. Thouracil amide compounds 5a and 5e inhibited the catalytical activity of PARP1, enhanced cleavage of PARP1, enhanced phosphorylation of H2AX, and increased CASPASE 3/7 activity. Finally, in silico analysis demonstrated that compound 5e interacted with PARP1. Hence, specific thiouracil amides may serve as new drug-seeds for the development of PARP inhibitors for use in oncology.