1
|
Fan X, Meng M, Li B, Chen H, Tan J, Xu K, Xiao S, Kwan HY, Liu Z, Su T. Brevilin A is a potent anti-metastatic CRC agent that targets the VEGF-IL6-STAT3 axis in the HSCs-CRC interplay. J Transl Med 2023; 21:260. [PMID: 37062842 PMCID: PMC10105967 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04087-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND More than half of the colorectal cancer (CRC) patients will develop liver metastasis that underlies the cancer mortality. In the hepatic tumor microenvironment, the interplay between CRC cells and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and the activation of HSCs to become carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) will further promote the cancer development. Nevertheless, the critical signaling molecule that involved in these processes remains unknown, which hinders the development of effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of metastatic CRC (mCRC). METHODS Conditioned medium system and co-cultured system were used to examine the interplay between CRC cells and HSCs. Luminex liquid suspension chip detection and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to screen for the mediators in the conditioned medium that facilitated the CRC-HSCs interplay and HSCs-to-CAFs differentiation. Cell and animal models were used to examine whether brevilin A inhibited CRC liver metastasis via the VEGF-IL6-STAT3 axis. RESULTS In the CRC-HSCs interplay, CRC promoted HSCs-to-CAFs differentiation by releasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); and HSCs released interleukin 6 (IL6) that activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in the CRC and hence increased the cancer metastatic potential. The functions of the VEGF-IL6-STAT3 axis in the HSCs-CRC interplay were further validated by VEGF recombinant protein and IL6 neutralizing antibody. More importantly, brevilin A, an active compound isolated from Centipeda minima (L.) A. Br. et Aschers, targeted the VEGF-IL6-STAT3 axis in the CRC-HSCs interplay, hence significantly inhibited colorectal liver metastasis and cancer growth both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS We are the first to demonstrate brevilin A possesses potent anti-mCRC effect by targeting the VEGF-IL6-STAT3 axis in the CRC-HSCs interplay. Our findings not only support the development of brevilin A as a novel therapeutic agent for mCRC treatment, but also pave the path for the development of other VEGF-IL6-STAT3 targeting therapeutic strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xueying Fan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Mingjing Meng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Baoting Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Hui Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Jincheng Tan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Keyang Xu
- Centre for Cancer & Inflammation Research, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shilin Xiao
- Centre for Cancer & Inflammation Research, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hiu-Yee Kwan
- Centre for Cancer & Inflammation Research, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Zhongqiu Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao, China.
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Lab on Chinese Medicine and Immune Disease Research, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
| | - Tao Su
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, Joint International Research Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research of Chinese Medicines, International Institute for Translational Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao, China.
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Lab on Chinese Medicine and Immune Disease Research, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lo KM, Sun D, Chen SC, Leung WW, Wong C, Mak T, Ng S, Futaba K, Gregersen H. Defecatory Function Studies Using the Fecobionics Device Are Repeatable. Dig Dis Sci 2023; 68:2501-2507. [PMID: 36879178 DOI: 10.1007/s10620-023-07889-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Only limited data exist on repeatability of anorectal studies with the established physiological and clinical technologies for assessment of anorectal function. Fecobionics is a new multi-sensor simulated feces that provide data by integrating elements from current tests. AIMS To study repeatability of anorectal data obtained with the Fecobionics device. METHODS We assessed the database of Fecobionics studies to determine how many repeated studies were done. From a total of 260 Fecobionics studies, 19 subjects with repeated studies using approximately the same protocol and prototype were identified. Key pressure and bending parameters were assessed and the repeatability analyzed using Bland Altman plots. Furthermore, the inter- and intra-individual coefficient of variation (CV) were computed. RESULTS Fifteen subjects (5F/10 M) with repeated studies were normal subjects, three were patients with fecal incontinence and one subject suffered from chronic constipation. The main analysis was conducted on the cohort of normal subjects. The bias for 11 parameters were within the confidence interval, whereas two were slightly outside. The interindividual CV was lowest for the bend angle (10.1-10.7) and between 16.3 and 51.6 for the pressure parameters. The intra-individual CVs were approximately half of the inter-individual CVs, spanning from 9.7 to 27.6. CONCLUSION All data from normal subjects were within previously defined normality. The Fecobionics data showed acceptable repeatability with bias within the confidence limits for almost all parameters. The intra-individual CV was much lower than the inter-individual CV. Dedicated large-scale studies are warranted to evaluate the influence of age, sex, and disease on repeatability as well as comparing between technologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kar Man Lo
- California Medical Innovations Institute, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Daming Sun
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center of Medical Electronics and Information Technology, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China
| | - Ssu-Chi Chen
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Wing Wa Leung
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Cherry Wong
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Tony Mak
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Simon Ng
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Kaori Futaba
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Hans Gregersen
- California Medical Innovations Institute, San Diego, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chu H, Shuai H, Hou Y, Zhang X, Wen L, Huang X, Hu B, Yang D, Wang Y, Yoon C, Wong BHY, Li C, Zhao X, Poon VKM, Cai JP, Wong KKY, Yeung ML, Zhou J, Au-Yeung RKH, Yuan S, Jin DY, Kok KH, Perlman S, Chan JFW, Yuen KY. Targeting highly pathogenic coronavirus-induced apoptosis reduces viral pathogenesis and disease severity. Sci Adv 2021; 7:7/25/eabf8577. [PMID: 34134991 PMCID: PMC8208716 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf8577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Infection by highly pathogenic coronaviruses results in substantial apoptosis. However, the physiological relevance of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of coronavirus infections is unknown. Here, with a combination of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models, we demonstrated that protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) signaling mediated the proapoptotic signals in Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, which converged in the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Inhibiting PERK signaling or intrinsic apoptosis both alleviated MERS pathogenesis in vivo. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and SARS-CoV induced apoptosis through distinct mechanisms but inhibition of intrinsic apoptosis similarly limited SARS-CoV-2- and SARS-CoV-induced apoptosis in vitro and markedly ameliorated the lung damage of SARS-CoV-2-inoculated human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) mice. Collectively, our study provides the first evidence that virus-induced apoptosis is an important disease determinant of highly pathogenic coronaviruses and demonstrates that this process can be targeted to attenuate disease severity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Huiping Shuai
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yuxin Hou
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Lei Wen
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Xiner Huang
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Bingjie Hu
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Dong Yang
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Yixin Wang
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Chaemin Yoon
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Bosco Ho-Yin Wong
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Cun Li
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhao
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Vincent Kwok-Man Poon
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jian-Piao Cai
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Kenneth Kak-Yuen Wong
- Department of Surgery, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Man-Lung Yeung
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Jie Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Rex Kwok-Him Au-Yeung
- Department of Pathology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Shuofeng Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Dong-Yan Jin
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Kin-Hang Kok
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Stanley Perlman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
- Hainan Medical University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Tropical Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Kwok-Yung Yuen
- State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
- Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control, The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
- Hainan Medical University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Tropical Infectious Diseases, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| |
Collapse
|