Effects of DNMT and HDAC Inhibitors (RG108 and Trichostatin A) on NGF-induced Neurite Outgrowth and Cellular Migration

The investigation of cytotoxic and apoptotic activity of Cl-amidine on the human U-87 MG glioma cell line

BACKGROUND

Peptidyl (protein) arginine deiminases (PADs) provide the transformation of peptidyl arginine to peptidyl citrulline in the presence of calcium with posttranslational modification. The dysregulated PAD activity plays an important role on too many diseases including also the cancer. In this study, it has been aimed to determine the potential cytotoxic and apoptotic activity of chlorine-amidine (Cl-amidine) which is a PAD inhibitor and whose effectiveness has been shown in vitro and in vivo studies recently on human glioblastoma cell line Uppsala 87 malignant glioma (U-87 MG) forming an in vitro model for the glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) which is the most aggressive and has the highest mortality among the brain tumors.

METHODS

In the study, the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of Cl-amidine on GBM cancer model were investigated. The antiproliferative effects of Cl-amidine on U-87 MG cells were determined by 4-[3-(4-iodophenyl)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-5-tetrazolio]-1,3-benzene disulfonate method at the 24th and 48th hours. The apoptotic effects were analyzed by Annexin V and Propidium iodide staining, caspase-3 activation, and mitochondrial membrane polarization (5,5', 6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1', 3,3' tetraethyl benzimidazolyl carbocyanine iodide) methods in the flow cytometry.

RESULTS

It has been determined that Cl-amidine exhibits notable antiproliferative properties on U-87 MG cell line in a time and concentration-dependent manner, as determined through the 4-[3-(4-iodophenyl)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-5-tetrazolio]-1,3-benzene disulfonate assay. Assessment of apoptotic effects via Annexin V and Propidium iodide staining and 5,5', 6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1', 3,3' tetraethyl benzimidazolyl carbocyanine iodide methods has revealed significant efficacy, particularly following a 24-hour exposure period. It has been observed that Cl-amidine induces apoptosis in cells by enhancing mitochondrial depolarization, independently of caspase-3 activation. Furthermore, regarding its impact on healthy cells, it has been demonstrated that Cl-amidine shows lower cytotoxic effects when compared to carmustine, an important therapeutic agent for glioblastoma.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study have shown that Cl-amidine exhibits significant potential as an anticancer agent in the treatment of GBM. This conclusion is based on its noteworthy antiproliferative and apoptotic effects observed in U-87 MG cells, as well as its reduced cytotoxicity toward healthy cells in comparison to existing treatments. We propose that the antineoplastic properties of Cl-amidine should be further investigated through a broader spectrum of cancer cell types. Moreover, we believe that investigating the synergistic interactions of Cl-amidine with single or combination therapies holds promise for the discovery of novel anticancer agents.

Evaluation of Cell Proliferation and Wound Healing Effects of Vitamin A Palmitate-Loaded PLGA/Chitosan-Coated PLGA Nanoparticles: Preparation, Characterization, Release, and Release Kinetics

In this study, vitamin A palmitate (VAP)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/chitosan-coated PLGA nanoparticle (NP) systems were prepared by the nanoprecipitation technique. The prepared systems were characterized by parameters such as particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), ζ-potential, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro dissolution, and release kinetic study. Then, the cytotoxicity and wound healing profiles of the designed NP formulations in HaCaT (human keratinocyte skin cell lines) were determined. The particle size of VAP-loaded NPs was obtained between 196.33 ± 0.65 and 669.23 ± 5.49 nm. PDI data proved that all NPs were prepared as high quality and monodisperse. While negative ζ-potential values of Blank-NP-1 and NP-1 encoded PLGA NP formulations were obtained, positive ζ-potential was obtained in chitosan-coated NPs. In vitro release studies of NPs observed rapid dissolution in the first 1-6 h, but prolonged dissolution of VAP after rapid dissolution. As a result of cell culture studies and wound healing activity studies, it was determined that NP-7 was the most effective. It was thought that the reason for this was that the NP-7 coded formulation was a chitosan-coated PLGA nanoparticle with the smallest particle size, and it was concluded that the efficiency of VAP was increased with its nanoparticle structure. This study demonstrated the similar wound healing effects of VAP-loaded nanoparticle systems, in particular NP-7, which increases keratinocyte cell proliferation at lower concentrations (10 μg·mL^-1) than vitamin A alone (100 μg·mL^-1). VAP-loaded nanocarriers that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry have been successfully produced and the results obtained have been evaluated as promising for this industry.

Investigation of the neuroprotective and neuritogenic effects of halotolerant Penicillium flavigenum-derived sorbicillin-like compounds on PC-12 Adh cells

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative condition caused by oxidative stress and mitochondrial malfunction. In this study, the neuroprotective and neuritogenic activity of water fraction (Sw-fr) containing sorbicillin-like active metabolites of halotolerant P. flavigenum isolated from Salt Lake in Konya, Turkey were investigated on a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced PD in vitro PC-12 Adh cell model. Firstly, Sw-fr containing sorbicillin-like active metabolites were extracted from P. flavigenum and was compared with a sorbicillin standard by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Then, the effects of non-cytotoxic concentrations of Sw-fr on the 6-OHDA-induced PD cell model were investigated via real-time cell proliferation analysis using the RTCA DP instrument. The effects of these concentrations on mitochondrial membrane integrity, caspase-3 were investigated by flow cytometry. Neurite outgrowth analysis and immunofluorescence staining were used to explore the neuritogenic effects of neuroprotective doses. By improving PC-12 Adh cell viability, decreasing reactive oxygen species production, and reducing apoptotic cell death, 1 and 10 μg/mL Sw-fr and sorbicillin standard proved neuroprotective against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, 1 and 10 µg/mL Sw-fr significantly induced neurite outgrowth. As a result, sorbicillin-like active metabolites containing Sw-fr were found to have neuroprotective and neuritogenic effects. Sorbicillin-like metabolites obtained from fungi may be novel natural medicines for neurodegenerative diseases.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10616-021-00498-9.

Anticancer and antimetastatic activity of Hypomyces chrysospermus, a cosmopolitan parasite in different human cancer cells

The importance of microbial natural compounds in drug research is increasing every year and they are used to prevent or treat a variety of diseases. Hypomyces chrysospermus is a cosmopolitan parasite of many Boletaceae members. Since not much work has been conducted to date, this study is undertaken to explore the anticancer effect, including the antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity of Hypomyces chrysospermus. The aim of this study is to determine the antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity of Hypomyces chrysospermus ethyl acetate extract, having antioxidant activity, against A549, Caco2, MCF-7 human cancer and CCD-19 Lu and CCD 841 CoN healthy human cell lines. Firstly, cytotoxic activity was determined by the WST-1 assay. After cell proliferations and anti-metastatic effects were investigated by a real-time cell analysis system (RTCA-DP) and IC₅₀ concentrations were calculated for each cell line. In addition, the expression levels of Apaf-1, TNF and NF-kB mRNA in cancer cells were investigated with RealTime-PCR. The ethyl acetate extract of Hypomyces chrysospermus presented anticancer activities including antiproliferative and antimetastatic effects. Hypomyces chrysospermus as a source of biologically active metabolites can be used as an important resource in the development of new anticancer effective agents.

The role of chalcones: helichrysetin, xanthohumol, and flavokawin-C in promoting neurite outgrowth in PC12 Adh cells

Chalcones are a group of compounds widely distributed in plant kingdom. The aim of this study was to assess the neurite outgrowth stimulatory activity of selected chalcones, namely helichrysetin, xanthohumol and flavokawin-C. Using adherent rat pheochromocytoma (PC12 Adh) cells, the chalcones were subjected to neurite outgrowth assay and the extracellular nerve growth factor (NGF) levels were determined. Xanthohumol (10 μg/mL) displayed the highest (p < 0.05) percentage of neurite-bearing PC12 Adh cells and the highest (p < 0.05) NGF level in the culture medium of xanthohumol-treated cells. While, helichrysetin induced a moderately high numbers of neurite-bearing cells, flavokawin-C did not stimulate neurite outgrowth. This work supports the potential use of xanthohumol as a potential neuroactive compound to stimulate neurite outgrowth.