The Comparative Effect of Nisin and Thioridazine as Potential Anticancer Agents on Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Glycated nisin enhances nisin's cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells

Antimicrobial peptides, such as nisin, are proposed as promising agents for cancer treatment. While glycation has been recognized as an effective method for enhancing various physicochemical properties of nisin, its anticancer effects remain unexplored. Therefore, we aimed to assess the anticancer potential of glycated nisin against MDA-MB-231 cells. The MDA-MB cells were treated with increasing concentrations of nisin and glycated nisin for 24, 48, and 72 h. The IC50 values for nisin were higher than those for glycated nisin. Glycated nisin at concentrations of 20 and 40 µg/mL decreased cell viability more than nisin at the same concentrations. The rate of apoptosis in the group treated with 20 µg/mL of nisin was lower compared to other treatment groups, and no significant difference in apoptosis rates was observed at different time points (p > 0.05). However, in the glycated nisin groups with concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 µg/mL, the level of apoptosis was very high after 24 h (73-81% of cells undergoing apoptosis). Overall, our study suggests that glycated nisin exhibits stronger cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB-231 cells, primarily involving the induction of apoptosis. This indicates its potential utilization as an alternative approach to address the issue of drug resistance in cancer cells.

Bacteriocins in Cancer Treatment: Mechanisms and Clinical Potentials

Cancer poses a severe threat to human health. Although conventional chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of cancer treatment, its significant side effects and the growing issue of drug resistance necessitate the urgent search for more efficient and less toxic anticancer drugs. In recent years, bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides of microbial origin, have garnered significant attention due to their targeted antitumor activity. This unique activity is mainly attributed to their cationic and amphiphilic nature, which enables bacteriocins to specifically kill tumor cells without harming normal cells. When involving non-membrane-disrupting mechanisms, such as apoptosis induction, cell cycle blockade, and metastasis inhibition, the core mechanism of action is achieved by disrupting cell membranes, which endows bacteriocins with low drug resistance and high selectivity. However, the susceptibility of bacteriocins to hydrolysis and hemolysis in vivo limits their clinical application. To overcome these challenges, structural optimization of bacteriocins or their combination with nanotechnology is proposed for future development. This review aims to study the mechanism of action and current research status of bacteriocins as anticancer treatments, thus providing new insights for their clinical development and application.

Phyto- and biochemical study on cape gooseberry (physalis peruviana L.) extract incorporated with metal nanoparticles against hepatic injury induced in rats

The study aimed to investigate the role of metal nanoparticles (M-NPs) in improving the efficiency of Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry) juice, which is rich in numerous important therapeutic phytochemicals. Therefore, it was subsequently studied against chemically-induced toxicity in rats. The present study demonstrated that C. gooseberry juice was used for the biosynthesis of silver (Ag-NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). The ZnO-C. gooseberry nano-extract exhibited higher in vitro biological activities compared to the other extracts. It was also found to be safer when administered orally. Moreover, it demonstrated a greater ameliorative effect against hepatotoxicity induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats. It restored the integrity of the liver tissue by increasing levels of antioxidant enzymes and reducing the inflammatory markers significantly (p ≤ 0.05). The study found that the ZnO-C. gooseberry nano-extract demonstrated greater efficacy in combating CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity compared to the other extracts.

Phenothiazines: Nrf2 activation and antioxidant effects

Phenothiazines (PTZs) are an emerging group of molecules showing effectiveness toward redox signaling and reduction of oxidative injury to cells, via the activation on Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Although several electrophilic and indirect Nrf2 activators have been reported, the risk of "off-target" effect due to the complexity of their molecular mechanisms of action, has aroused research interest toward non-electrophilic and direct modulators of Nrf2 pathway, such as PTZs. This review represents the first overview on the roles of PTZs as non-electrophilic Nrf2 activator and free radical scavengers, as well as on their potential therapeutic effects in oxidative stress-mediated diseases. Here, we provide a collective and comprehensive information on the PTZs ability to scavenge free radicals and activate the Nrf2 signaling pathway, with the aim to broaden the knowledge of their therapeutic potentials and to stimulate innovative research ideas.

Repurposing Antidepressants and Phenothiazine Antipsychotics as Efflux Pump Inhibitors in Cancer and Infectious Diseases

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle in the therapy of infectious diseases and cancer. One of the major mechanisms of MDR is the overexpression of efflux pumps (EPs) that are responsible for extruding antimicrobial and anticancer agents. EPs have additional roles of detoxification that may aid the development of bacterial infection and the progression of cancer. Therefore, targeting EPs may be an attractive strategy to treat bacterial infections and cancer. The development and discovery of a new drug require a long timeline and may come with high development costs. A potential alternative to reduce the time and costs of drug development is to repurpose already existing drugs. Antidepressants and antipsychotic agents are widely used in clinical practice in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and some somatic diseases. Antidepressants and antipsychotics have demonstrated various beneficial activities that may be utilized in the treatment of infections and cancer. This review aims to provide a brief overview of antibacterial and anticancer effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and phenothiazine antipsychotics, while focusing on EPs. However, it should be noted that the antimicrobial activity of a traditionally non-antibiotic drug may have clinical implications regarding dysbiosis and bacterial MDR.

Discovery of the Potentiator of the Pore-Forming Ability of Lantibiotic Nisin: Perspectives for Anticancer Therapy

This study was focused on the action of lantibiotic nisin on the phospholipid membranes. Nisin did not produce ion-permeable pores in the membranes composed of DOPC or DOPE. The introduction of DOPS into bilayer lipid composition led to a decrease in the threshold detergent concentration of nisin. An addition of nisin to DOPG- and TOCL-enriched bilayers caused the formation of well-defined ion pores of various conductances. The transmembrane macroscopic current increased with the second power of the lantibiotic aqueous concentration, suggesting that the dimer of nisin was at least involved in the formation of conductive subunit. The pore-forming ability of lantibiotic decreased in the series: DOPC/TOCL ≈ DOPE/TOCL >> DOPC/DOPG ≥ DOPE/DOPG. The preferential interaction of nisin to cardiolipin-enriched bilayers might explain its antitumor activity by pore-formation in mitochondrial membranes. Small natural molecules, phloretin and capsaicin, were found to potentiate the membrane activity of nisin in the TOCL-containing membranes. The effect was referred to as changes in the membrane boundary potential at the adsorption of small molecules. We concluded that the compounds diminishing the membrane boundary potential should be considered as the potentiator of the nisin pore-forming ability that can be used to develop innovative formulations for anticancer therapy.

Organogel mediated co-delivery of nisin and 5-fluorouracil: a synergistic approach against skin cancer

AIM

The present study aimed to develop topical combinatorial therapy of nisin and 5-fluorouracil in a single nanosized formulation against skin cancer.

METHODS

Nisin and 5-fluorouracil were encapsulated in an organogel system (NF-OG) and investigated for morphology, physicochemical properties, cytotoxicity, encapsulation and release. NF-OG was evaluated against DMBA/TPA murine skin cancer in terms of tumour statistics, histoarchitecture, TUNEL and M1/M2 macrophages.

RESULTS

The optimised NF-OG formulation exhibited particle size of 185.1 ± 11.24 nm, zeta potential of -7.93 ± 0.60 mV, offered substantial drug loading and temporal release. NF-OG therapy led to improved cytotoxicity of nisin and 5-FU against B16-F10 cells, significant decrease in tumour volume (84.983 mm³) in treated group as compared to untreated group (490.482 mm³) accompanied by restoration of histoarchitecture and repolarization of macrophages.

CONCLUSION

The study yielded a promising delivery system exhibiting potent anticancer activity and forms the bases for further applications in clinical settings.

An investigation of bacteriocin nisin anti-cancer effects and FZD7 protein interactions in liver cancer cells

The bacteriocin, nisin, produced by Lactococcus and Streptococcus species during fermentation, is widely used for bio preservatives in a wide variety of foods. Liver cancer has a high mortality rate and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recently, researchers have shown the anti-cancer effects of nisin through in vitro and in vivo studies. This study aimed to investigate the effect of nisin on liver cancer cell lines, which represented two subgroups of the disease model. Nisin exhibited significant growth inhibition and apoptosis in both cell lines, HuH-7, and SNU182. Drug resistance is the main problem in liver cancer and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition has a role in the development of drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma. The expression of EMT transcription factors ZEB1, SNAI1, and TWIST1 were analyzed depending on nisin treatment, TWIST1 expression was down-regulated after nisin treatment compared to the untreated SNU182 and HuH-7 cell lines. Besides, due to the reported correlation between the overexpression of Frizzled (FZD) proteins, specifically FZD7, in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), molecular docking was assessed for Nisin A in the binding site of FZD7. Results confirmed that Nisin A was able to form important hydrogen bonding with key residues. This research not only determined the role of nisin in different liver cancer cell models but it also provided the first result of FZD7 and nisin interaction.

In Vitro Differential Sensitivity of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma to Cisplatin, Silver Nanoparticles, and Photodynamic Therapy

BACKGROUND

The clinical effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be correlated with the degree of dysplasia of cancer tissues. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cisplatin, silver nanoparticles (AgNps), and photodynamic therapy (PDT) using methylene blue (MB) photosensitizer on Head and Neck squamous cell carcinoma - cell line (HNSCC), Hep-2, through genes expression.

METHODS

Hep-2 cells were divided into four groups: group I as control and without any treatment, group II and III were treated by cisplatin and AgNps, respectively, and group IV were incubated with MB for four minutes followed by PDT using laser irradiation at 650 nm for 8 minutes. The resulting toxicity was assessed in cell lines using MTT cytotoxicity assay. Further, apoptosis and the response to treatment was examined via RT-qPCR.

RESULTS

MB-PDT inhibited the proliferation of Hep-2 cells. Following PDT, compared with AgNps cells and via MTT assay, a highly significant decrease was observed in cell proliferation in Cancer cells treated with AgNps and MB- PDT groups compared to cancer group cells and cancer cells treated with Cisplatin (p value< 0.001). Mechanistically, both the mRNA and protein expression levels of Bcl-2, Caspase-3, Cyclin-D, HIF-1, IL-8, MAPK-38, and ROS were found to be down regulated in Hep-2 cell line after MB-PDT.

DISCUSSION

MB-PDT effectively killed Hep-2 cells in vitro, however, under the same conditions, the susceptibilities of the cell line to cisplatin, AgNps, and MB-PDT were different. Further studies are necessary to confirm whether this difference is present in clinical oral cancer lesions.

Nisin Variants Generated by Protein Engineering and Their Properties

Nisin, a typical lantibiotic, has robust antimicrobial activity combined with limited cytotoxicity, and the development of resistance to it is slow. These properties make nisin a promising antimicrobial agent to control pathogenic microorganisms in dairy foods. However, its low solubility, poor stability and short half-life at neutral pH limit its application within the dairy industry. Protein engineering technology has revealed the potential of modifying nisin to improve its properties, and many valuable variants have emerged. This review summarizes progress in the generation of nisin variants for the dairy industry and for other purposes. These nisin variants with additional modification have improved properties and can even expand the inhibition spectrum range of nisin. Nisin, as the most thoroughly studied lantibiotic, and its variants can also guide the modification of other lantibiotics.

Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges as Perse Antimicrobial Agents Increase the Activity of Natural Antimicrobial Peptide Nisin

At present, antibiotic resistance is considered a real problem. Therefore, for decades scientists have been looking for novel strategies to treat bacterial infections. Nisin Z, an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), can be considered an option, but its usage is mainly limited by the poor stability and short duration of its antimicrobial activity. In this context, cyclodextrin (CD)-based nanosponges (NSs), synthesized using carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), were chosen for nisin Z loading. To determine the minimum inhibitory of nisin Z loaded on CD-NS formulations, agar well diffusion plates were used. Then, the bactericide concentrations of nisin Z loaded on CD-NS formulations were determined against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and -negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria, using microdilution brain heart infusion (BHI) and tetrazolium salt 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT). The minimum and bactericide inhibitory values of the nisin complex with NSs were potentially decreased against both bacteria, compared with the nisin-free sample, while the nisin complex with β-CD showed lower antibacterial activity. The antimicrobial effect was also demonstrated by free NSs. Furthermore, the total viable counts (TVCs) antibacterial experiment indicated that the combination of nisin Z in both PMDA and CDI β-CD-based NSs, especially CDI, can provide a better conservative effect on cooked chicken meat. Generally, the present study outcomes suggest that the cross-linked β-CD-based NSs can present their own antimicrobial potency or serve as promising carriers to deliver and enhance the antibacterial action of nisin Z.

Immune-related lincRNA pairs predict prognosis and therapeutic response in hepatocellular carcinoma

Growing evidence has demonstrated the functional relevance of long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) to tumorigenesis and immune response. However, immune-related lincRNAs and their value in predicting the clinical outcomes of patients with liver cancer remain largely unexplored. Herein, we utilized the strategy of iterative gene pairing to construct a tumor-specific immune-related lincRNA pairs signature (IRLPS), which did not require specific expression levels, as an indicator of patient outcomes. The 18-IRLPS we developed was associated with overall survival, tumor progression, and recurrence in liver cancer patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk model was an independent predictive factor. A high IRLPS risk was correlated suppressive immune microenvironment, and IRLPS-high patients might benefit more from CD276 blockade or TMIGD2 agonist. Patients in the high-risk group were associated with elevated tumor mutation, increased sensitivity to dopamine receptor antagonists, cisplatin, doxorubicin, and mitomycin but more resistance to vinblastine. Mechanistically, IRLPS high scores might lead to poor prognosis by promoting cell proliferation and metabolic reprogramming. The prognostic significance of the 18-IRLPS was confirmed in independent cancer datasets. These findings highlighted the robust predictive performances of the 18-IRLPS for prognosis and personalized treatment.

Stabilization and Anticancer Enhancing Activity of the Peptide Nisin by Cyclodextrin-Based Nanosponges against Colon and Breast Cancer Cells

The great variability of cancer types demands novel drugs with broad spectrum, this is the case of Nisin, a polycyclic antibacterial peptide that recently has been considered for prevention of cancer cells growth. As an accepted food additive, this drug would be very useful for intestinal cancers, but the peptide nature would make easier its degradation by digestion procedures. For that reason, the aim of present study to investigate the protective effect of two different β-cyclodextrin-based nanosponges (carbonyl diimidazole and pyromellitic dianhydride) and their anti-cancer enhancement effect of Nisin-Z encapsulated with against colon cancer cells (HT-29). To extend its possible use, a comparison with breast (MCF-7) cancer cell was carried out. The physicochemical properties, loading efficiency, and release kinetics of Nisin complex with nanosponges were studied. Then, tricin-SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was used to understand the effect of NSs on stability of Nisin-Z in the presence of gastric peptidase pepsin. In addition, the cytotoxicity and cell membrane damage of Nisin Z were evaluated by using the MTT and LDH assay, which was complemented via Annexin-V/ Propidium Iodide (PI) by using flowcytometry. CD-NS are able to complex Nisin-Z with an encapsulation efficiency around 90%. A protective effect of Nisin-Z complexed with CD-NSs was observed in presence of pepsin. An increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells was observed when the cancer cells were exposed to Nisin Z complexed with nanosponges. Interestingly, Nisin Z free and loaded on PMDA/CDI-NSs is more selectively toxic towards HT-29 cells than MCF-7 cancer cells. These results indicated that nanosponges might be good candidates to protect peptides and deliver drugs against intestinal cancers.

The Impacts of Prepared Plasma-Activated Medium (PAM) Combined with Doxorubicin on the Viability of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells: A New Cancer Treatment Strategy

BACKGROUND

For many years, the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) has been used to treat various cancers; however, DOX initiates several critical adverse effects. Many studies have reported that non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma can provide novel, but challenging, treatment strategies for cancer patients. To date, tissues and cells have been treated with plasma-activated medium (PAM) as a practical therapy. Consequently, due to the harmful adverse effects of DOX, we were motivated to elucidate the impact of PAM in the presence of DOX on MCF-7 cell proliferation.

METHODS

MTT assay, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) assay, and flow cytometry analysis were utilized in this research.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that 0.45 µM DOX combined with 3-min PAM significantly induced apoptosis (p< 0.01) through intracellular ROS generation in MCF-7 when compared with 0.45 µM DOX alone or 3-min PAM alone. In contrast, after treatment with 0.45 µM DOX plus 4-min PAM, cell necrosis was increased. Hence, DOX combined with 4-min PAM has cytotoxic effects with different mechanisms than 4-min PAM alone, in which the number of apoptotic cells increases.

CONCLUSION

Although further investigations are crucial, low doses of DOX plus 3-min PAM could be a promising strategy for cancer therapy. The findings from this research may offer advantageous and innovative clinical strategies for cancer therapy using PAM.

Association Between NOX4 And Nrf2 Genes in Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: A Case-Control Study

Background

Epithelial malignancy in lung cancer, which is initiated with myofibroblast differentiation and remodeling, promotes hypoxia and intracellular ROS generation most affected by the prototypical enzyme, NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4). In addition, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) acts as a critical transcription factor by stimulating antioxidant proteins as redox homeostasis regulators. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible correlation between lung tissue NOX4 and Nrf2 genes (NOX4 and Nrf2) mRNA expression and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein expression in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients.

Methods

Samples from 25 patients with various NSCLC types and stages and 20 healthy controls were collected. NOX4 and Nrf2 mRNA were measured by qRT-PCR, and protein by western blot analysis.

Results

NOX4 mRNA and protein expression was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC patients' lung tissues and BALFs (p= 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). In addition, by adjusting for age, sex, and NSCLC types and stages, a significant and positive correlation was observed between NOX4 and Nrf2 mRNA expression (r= 0.927, p= 0.001). This was also true when not adjusted as above (r= 0.944, p< 0.001).

Conclusion

NOX4 mRNA and protein expression is significantly up-regulated in NSCLC patients' lung tissues and BALFs, and NOX4 and Nrf2 mRNA expression is positively correlated in NSCLC tissues.