The story of EGFR: from signaling pathways to a potent anticancer target

Engineering growth factor ligands and receptors for therapeutic innovation

Growth factors signal through engagement and activation of their respective cell surface receptors to choreograph an array of cellular functions, including proliferation, growth, repair, migration, differentiation, and survival. Because of their vital role in determining cell fate and maintaining homeostasis, dysregulation of growth factor pathways leads to the development and/or progression of disease, particularly in the context of cancer. Exciting advances in protein engineering technologies have enabled innovative strategies to redesign naturally occurring growth factor ligands and receptors as targeted therapeutics. We review growth factor protein engineering efforts, including affinity modulation, molecular fusion, the design of decoy receptors, dual specificity constructs, and vaccines. Collectively, these approaches are catapulting next-generation drugs to treat cancer and a host of other conditions.

In vitro evaluation of lipidic nanocarriers for mebendazole delivery to improve anticancer activity

OBJECTIVE

To enhance the anticancer activity of the repurposed drug mebendazole (MBZ) against A549 cell lines by developing nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs).

SIGNIFICANCE

MBZ, an anthelmintic drug, exhibits anticancer properties primarily through the inhibition of Ran GTPase and mitotic spindle assembly. Enhancing its delivery and efficacy via NLC could provide a novel and effective approach for lung cancer treatment.

METHODS

NLCs were prepared by mixing different ratios of solid lipid (stearic acid) and liquid lipid (oleic acid) with surfactants and emulsifiers. The NLCs were fully characterized to ensure stability, particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency (EE%). The stability of the NLCs was monitored over a 3-week period. The anticancer activity of MBZ-NLCs was evaluated using IC50 assays and in vitro scratch assays.

RESULTS

The NLCs exhibited an average particle size of 300 ± 10 nm and a zeta potential of -27 ± 0.5 mV, indicating good stability. EE% significantly improved from 40% in conventional liposome formulations to 90.7% in NLCs. The anticancer activity of MBZ-NLCs was markedly enhanced, with an IC50 of 62 nM compared to 581 nM for free MBZ, representing a 10-fold increase in potency. Additionally, in vitro scratch assays revealed that MBZ-NLCs effectively prevented cell-cell contact, further supporting their potential for improved therapeutic efficacy.

CONCLUSION

MBZ-NLCs exhibit significantly improved stability, EE%, and anticancer activity compared to free MBZ. These promising results suggest that MBZ-NLCs could be a potent therapeutic approach for lung cancer treatment, warranting further in vivo studies and exploration of different administration routes.

Investigation of the regulation of EGF signaling by miRNAs, delving into the underlying mechanism and signaling pathways in cancer

The EGF receptors (EGFRs) signaling pathway is essential for tumorigenesis and progression of cancer. Emerging evidence suggests that miRNAs are essential regulators of EGF signaling, influencing various pathway components and tumor behavior. This article discusses the underlying mechanisms and clinical implications of miRNA-mediated regulation of EGF signaling in cancer. miRNAs utilize multiple mechanisms to exert their regulatory effects on EGF signaling. They can target EGF ligands, including EGF and TGF-directly, inhibiting their expression and secretion. In addition, miRNAs can modulate EGF signaling indirectly by targeting EGF receptors, downstream signaling molecules, and transcription factors implicated in regulating the EGF pathway. These miRNAs can disrupt the delicate equilibrium of EGF signaling, resulting in aberrant activation and fostering tumor cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, and metastasis. The dysregulation of the expression of specific miRNAs has been linked to clinical outcomes in numerous types of cancer. Specific profiles of miRNA expression have been identified as prognostic markers, reflecting tumor characteristics, invasiveness, metastatic potential, and therapeutic response. These miRNAs can serve as potential therapeutic targets for interventions that modulate EGF signaling and improve patient outcomes. Understanding the intricate relationship between miRNAs and EGF signaling in cancer can transform cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The identification of specific miRNAs involved in the regulation of the EGF pathway opens the door to the development of targeted therapies and personalized medicine approaches. In addition, miRNA-based interventions promise to overcome therapeutic resistance and improve the efficacy of existing treatments. miRNAs are crucial regulators of EGF signaling in cancer, affecting tumor behavior and clinical outcomes. Further research is required to decipher the complex network of miRNA-mediated EGF signaling regulation and translate these findings into clinically applicable strategies for enhanced cancer treatment.

Synthesis and biological research of new imidazolone-sulphonamide-pyrimidine hybrids as potential EGFR-TK inhibitors and apoptosis-inducing agents

Development of new effective EGFR-targeted antitumor agents is needed because of their clinical significance. A new series of imidazolone-sulphonamide-pyrimidine hybrids was designed and synthesized as modified analogs of some reported EGFR inhibitors. The cytotoxic activity of all the synthesized hybrids was investigated against the breast MCF-7 cancerous cell line using doxorubicin (Dox) as a positive control. 4-(Furan-2-ylmethylene)imidazolone-sulphonamide-pyrimidine 6b had the best potent activity against MCF-7 cells with IC50 result of 1.05 μM, which was better than Dox (IC50 = 1.91 μM). In addition, mechanistic studies revealed the ability of compounds 5g, 5h and 6b to inhibit EGFR kinase. Cell cycle analysis revealed that compound 6b can halt MCF-7 cells at the G1 phase with a concomitant decrease in cellular percentage at the S and G2/M phases. This compound produced a noticeable rise in the proportion of apoptotic cells with regard to the untreated control. Furthermore, the effects of hybrid 6b on the expression levels of pro-apoptotic Bax and pro-survival Bcl2 were assessed. The results showed that this compound upregulated the level of Bax expression as well as declined the expression value of Bcl-2 with regard to the untreated control.

Exploring the mechanism of Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) in treating lung cancer based on network pharmacology and experimental validation

This study aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which the effective components of Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) (SDW) treat lung cancer, using network pharmacology, in vitro cell experiments, and molecular docking methods. Network pharmacology techniques were employed to construct a network of SDW components, lung cancer targets, and signaling pathways. A proteinprotein interaction (P P I) network was built for target genes, identifying core gene targets. Signaling pathway and biological process analyses were conducted. MT T assays measured cell viability, and Western blot analysis assessed the impact of core protein targets and key pathway proteins on the stemness of three lung cancer cell lines. Molecular docking was performed to link SDW components with core proteins and key pathway targets related to lung cancer. SDW was found to target 88 genes and 5 active components (2-methoxy-3-methyl-9-10-anthraquinone, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, quercetin, and poriferasterol) relevant to lung cancer treatment. The P I3K/Akt and MEK/ERK pathways were identified as major signaling pathways. Extracts from SDW roots significantly inhibited the proliferation of three lung cancer cell lines (A549, HCC827, and NCIH-1395), primarily via P I3K/Akt and MEK/ERK pathways, significantly reducing the expression of p-Akt and p-Erk1/2 and slightly inhibiting caspase-9, p-P I3K, and EGFR expression. Molecular docking confirmed the strong binding activities of SDW components with lung cancer-related core proteins and key pathway targets. SDW may regulate apoptosis and proliferation in lung cancer treatment through P I3K-Akt and MAP K/ERK signaling pathways. The combination of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of SDW in lung cancer therapy.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Newly Synthesized Cinnamide-Fluorinated Containing Compounds as Bioactive Anticancer Agents

A new series of cinnamide-fluorinated derivatives has been synthesized and characterized by using different spectroscopic and elemental microanalyses methods. All of the prepared p-fluorocinnamide derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 liver cancerous cell line. The imidazolone derivative 6, which bears N-(N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzenesulphamoyl) moiety, displayed antiproliferative activity against HepG2 liver cancerous cells with an IC50 value of 4.23 μM as compared to staurosporin (STU) (IC50 = 5.59 μM). In addition, compound 6 experienced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitory activity comparable to palatinib. The cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry indicated that compound 6 arrested the cellular cycle of HepG2 cells at the G1 phase. Additionally, as demonstrated by the fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technique, compound 6 increased both early and late apoptotic ratios compared to control untreated HepG2 cells. Moreover, imidazolone compound 6 induced apoptosis via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by decreasing the level of mitochondrial membrane polarization (MMP) compared to untreated HepG2 cells. Therefore, the new N-(N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzenesulphamoyl)imidazolone derivative 6 could be considered a potential platform for further optimizing an antitumor agent against hepatocellular carcinoma.

Parthenolide inhibits the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells via FAK/GSK3β pathway

PURPOSE

Cervical cancer (CC) ranks as the fourth most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide, necessitating effective therapeutic interventions to mitigate its detrimental impact on both physical and mental health. Parthenolide (PTL), a natural product of the sesquiterpene lactone derived from Feverfew leaves, has exhibited promising anti-tumor properties in previous studies; however, its precise effects and underlying molecular mechanisms in CC remain elusive.

METHODS

In this work, we investigated the effect of PTL on the proliferation and migration of CC cells. Western blot analysis and Reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR were used for mechanistic elucidation.

RESULTS

Our findings indicated that PTL substantially inhibited the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa CC cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, PTL significantly suppressed the migration of CC cells by down-regulating the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Mechanistically, PTL blocked the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Further investigations revealed that PTL suppressed the proliferation of CC cells by inhibiting the EGF-mediated phosphorylation of the FAK/GSK3β signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, the present in vitro results suggest that PTL may inhibit the proliferation and migration of CC cells through down-regulating the FAK/GSK3β signaling pathway, providing new insights for the application of PTL in the treatment of CC.

Antitumor Activity and Mechanism of Terpenoids in Seaweeds Based on Literature Review and Network Pharmacology

Seaweeds are a treasure trove of natural secondary metabolites. Terpenoids extracted from seaweeds are shown to possess a variety of antitumor cellular activities. However, due to the complex and diverse structures of terpenoids, their therapeutic targets and complex mechanisms of action have not been clarified. The present study summarises the research on terpenoids from seaweeds in oncological diseases over the last 20 years. Terpenoids show different degrees of inhibitory effects on different types of tumor cells, suggesting that terpenoids in seaweeds may have potential antitumor disease potential. Terpenoids with potential antitumor activity and their mechanism of action are investigated using network pharmacology. A total of 125 terpenoids and 286 targets are obtained. Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src(SRC), Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK3, MAPK1), Heat shock protein HSP 90-alpha (HSP90AA1), Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), and RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1) are defined as core targets. According to GO function and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) enrichment analysis, terpenoids may affect the Phoshatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling pathway, Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, Prostate cancer, MAPK signaling pathway, and Proteoglycans in cancer. In addition, the molecular docking results show that the selected terpenoids are all able to bind strongly to the active protein. Terpenoids may slow down the progression of cancer by controlling apoptosis, proliferation, and protein and enzyme binding.

Rhamnose modified antibodies show improved immune killing towards EGFR-positive solid tumor cells

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have shown clinical efficacy in colorectal cancer and other solid cancers. Enhancing the effector functions of these anti-EGFR mAbs is believed to be a valuable approach to achieve improved efficacy in clinical setting. Here, we report the development of an effector function-enhanced antibody by rhamnose (Rha) functionalization. Cetuximab, a human/mouse chimeric anti-EGFR mAb, was selected and site-specifically conjugated with Rha haptens. The obtained cetuximab-Rha conjugate was shown to be able to selectively redirect amounts of endogenous anti-Rha antibodies onto EGFR-positive solid tumor cells and thereby provide more Fc domains to achieve enhancement of effector functions including complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis (ADCP). Particularly, CDC, one powerful cell killing mechanism which is inactive in cetuximab, was dramatically improved. This study demonstrates the potential of rhamnose-modified antibody for EGFR-positive solid tumor immunotherapy.

Metastasis suppressor genes in clinical practice: are they druggable?

Since the identification of NM23 (now called NME1) as the first metastasis suppressor gene (MSG), a small number of other gene products and non-coding RNAs have been identified that suppress specific parameters of the metastatic cascade, yet which have little or no ability to regulate primary tumor initiation or maintenance. MSG can regulate various pathways or cell biological functions such as those controlling mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway mediators, cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix protein adhesion, cytoskeletal architecture, G-protein-coupled receptors, apoptosis, and transcriptional complexes. One defining facet of this gene class is that their expression is typically downregulated, not mutated, in metastasis, such that any effective therapeutic intervention would involve their re-expression. This review will address the therapeutic targeting of MSG, once thought to be a daunting task only facilitated by ectopically re-expressing MSG in metastatic cells in vivo. Examples will be cited of attempts to identify actionable oncogenic pathways that might suppress the formation or progression of metastases through the re-expression of specific metastasis suppressors.

Machine Learning-Based Approach to Developing Potent EGFR Inhibitors for Breast Cancer-Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Evaluation

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is vital for regulating cellular functions, including cell division, migration, survival, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and cancer. EGFR overexpression is an ideal target for anticancer drug development as it is absent from normal tissues, marking it as tumor-specific. Unfortunately, the development of medication resistance limits the therapeutic efficacy of the currently approved EGFR inhibitors, indicating the need for further development. Herein, a machine learning-based application that predicts the bioactivity of novel EGFR inhibitors is presented. Clustering of the EGFR small-molecule inhibitor (∼9000 compounds) library showed that N-substituted quinazolin-4-amine-based compounds made up the largest cluster of EGFR inhibitors (∼2500 compounds). Taking advantage of this finding, rational drug design was used to design a novel series of 4-anilinoquinazoline-based EGFR inhibitors, which were first tested by the developed artificial intelligence application, and only the compounds which were predicted to be active were then chosen to be synthesized. This led to the synthesis of 18 novel compounds, which were subsequently evaluated for cytotoxicity and EGFR inhibitory activity. Among the tested compounds, compound 9 demonstrated the most potent antiproliferative activity, with 2.50 and 1.96 μM activity over MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines, respectively. Moreover, compound 9 displayed an EGFR inhibitory activity of 2.53 nM and promising apoptotic results, marking it a potential candidate for breast cancer therapy.

Design, synthesis, graph theoretical analysis and molecular modelling studies of novel substituted quinoline analogues as promising anti-breast cancer agents

The most promising class of heterocyclic compounds in medicinal chemistry are those with the quinolin-2-one nucleus. It is a versatile heterocyclic molecule that has been put together with numerous pharmaceutical substances and is crucial in the creation of anticancer medications. In this view, the present research work deals with design, synthesis, and characterization of various analogous of quinolin-2-one nucleus and evaluation of their anticancer activity against MCF-7 cells (adenoma breast cancer cell line). Fourteen new compounds have been synthesised using suitable synthetic route and are characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectral data. Molecular docking studies of the title compounds were carried out using PyRx 0.8 tool in AutoDock Vina program. All the synthesised compounds were exhibited well conserved hydrogen bonding with one or more amino acid residues in the active pocket of EGFR tyrosine kinase (PDB ID: 1m17). The docking score of the derivatives ranged from - 6.7 to - 9.5 kcal mol-1, standard drug Imatinib with - 9.6 kcal mol-1 and standard active ligand 4-anilinoquinazoline with - 7.7 kcal mol-1. The designed compound IV-A1 showed least binding energy (- 9.5 kcal mol-1) against EGFR tyrosine kinase receptor. Further, top scored compound, IV-A1 found to be most significant against MCF-7 cells with IC50 value of 0.0870 µM mL-1, TGI of 0.0958 µM mL-1, GI50 of 0.00499 µM mL-1, LC50 of 1.670 µM mL-1.

LHPP suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic cancer by inhibiting EGFR signaling pathway

Phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) has been reported to be a new tumor suppressor with a significant inhibitory effect in various cancers. Although LHPP has been repeatedly shown to inhibit the progression of various tumors by inhibiting the phosphorylation of AKT, up to now, the studies on the function and mechanism of LHPP in tumors are insufficient. In this study, LHPP expression was found to be downregulated in both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pancreatic cancer (PC). Here, we found that LHPP could bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and inhibit its phosphorylation, which thereby inhibited the activation of EGFR downstream pathways ERK, AKT, and STAT3, and then weakening the ability to proliferate, invade, and migrate in HCC and PC. This paper showed a new physiological function of LHPP in inhibiting phosphorylation of EGFR and its potential anti-tumor mechanism and indicated that LHPP was a potential therapeutic target for HCC and PC.

PROTACs: Novel tools for improving immunotherapy in cancer

Posttranslational modifications (PTMs), such as phosphorylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and acetylation, are important in governing protein expression levels. Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are novel structures designed to target a protein of interest (POI) for ubiquitination and degradation, leading to the selective reduction in the expression levels of the POI. PROTACs have exhibited great promise due to their ability to target undruggable proteins, including several transcription factors. Recently, PROTACs have been characterized to improve anticancer immunotherapy via the regulation of specific proteins. In this review, we describe how the PROTACs target several molecules, including HDAC6, IDO1, EGFR, FoxM1, PD-L1, SHP2, HPK1, BCL-xL, BET proteins, NAMPT, and COX-1/2, to regulate immunotherapy in human cancers. PROTACs may provide potential treatment benefits by enhancing immunotherapy in cancer patients.

A Closer Look at EGFR Inhibitor Resistance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer through the Lens of Precision Medicine

The development of EGFR small-molecule inhibitors has provided significant benefit for the affected patient population. Unfortunately, current inhibitors are no curative therapy, and their development has been driven by on-target mutations that interfere with binding and thus inhibitory activity. Genomic studies have revealed that, in addition to these on-target mutations, there are also multiple off-target mechanisms of EGFR inhibitor resistance and novel therapeutics that can overcome these challenges are sought. Resistance to competitive 1st-generation and covalent 2nd- and 3rd-generation EGFR inhibitors is overall more complex than initially thought, and novel 4th-generation allosteric inhibitors are expected to suffer from a similar fate. Additional nongenetic mechanisms of resistance are significant and can include up to 50% of the escape pathways. These potential targets have gained recent interest and are usually not part of cancer panels that look for alterations in resistant patient specimen. We discuss the duality between genetic and nongenetic EGFR inhibitor drug resistance and summarize current team medicine approaches, wherein clinical developments, hand in hand with drug development research, drive potential opportunities for combination therapy.

miRNA-150_R-1 mediates the HIF-1/ErbB signaling pathway to regulate the adhesion of endometrial epithelial cells in cows experiencing retained placenta

Retained placenta (RP) refers to reproductive disorders caused by the failure of fetal membranes to be expelled 12 h after delivery in dairy cows. Postpartum adhesion of the fetal membranes to the uterus causes diseases such as mastitis or endometritis, which threatening the profitability of the dairy industry. Emerging evidence suggests that micro RNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles in various processes, such as the occurrence and progression of fetal membranes discharge. However, the molecular mechanisms of miRNAs in RP remain unknown. In this study, we performed RNA-sequencing to characterize the expression profiles of mRNAs and miRNAs in caudal vein blood samples of postpartum Holstein cows whose fetal membranes were discharged normally or retained to identify RP-related genes and evaluate their molecular mechanisms. We identified 44 differentially expressed miRNAs (19 upregulated and 25 downregulated) and 706 differentially expressed mRNAs (325 upregulated and 381 downregulated) in the RP group compared to the normal fetal membranes discharge group. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly enriched in the extracellular matrix, cell adhesion, and autoimmunity-related biological processes or pathways. Further analyses using RNA-sequencing, a dual luciferase reporter system, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, immunofluorescence, and western blotting verified that endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) is regulated by miR-150_R-1 in endometrial epithelial cells. We demonstrated the relationship between EPAS1 and RP and confirmed that EPAS1 is upregulated in the blood and placenta of cows that experience RP. Further, we proposed a model of the miRNA-mRNA negative regulatory network mediated by the HIF-1/ErbB signaling pathway to show its regulatory role in RP.