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Bernardini G, Geminiani M, Gambassi S, Orlandini M, Petricci E, Marzocchi B, Laschi M, Taddei M, Manetti F, Santucci A. Novel smoothened antagonists as anti-neoplastic agents for the treatment of osteosarcoma. J Cell Physiol 2018; 233:4961-4971. [PMID: 29215700 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.26330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Osteosarcoma (OS) is an ultra-rare highly malignant tumor of the skeletal system affecting mainly children and young adults and it is characterized by an extremely aggressive clinical course. OS patients are currently treated with chemotherapy and complete surgical resection of cancer tissue. However, resistance to chemotherapy and the recurrence of disease, as pulmonary metastasis, remain the two greatest challenges in the management, and treatment of this tumor. For these reasons, it is of primary interest to find alternative therapeutic strategies for OS. Dysregulated Hedgehog signalling is involved in the development of various types of cancers including OS. It has also been implicated in tumor/stromal interaction and cancer stem cell biology, and therefore presents a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In our work, we tested the activity of five potent Smoothened (SMO) inhibitors, four acylguanidine and one acylthiourea derivatives, against an OS cell line. We found that almost all our compounds were able to inhibit OS cells proliferation and to reduce Gli1 protein levels. Our results also indicated that SMO inhibition in OS cells by such compounds, induces apoptosis with a nanomolar potency. These findings suggest that inactivation of SMO may be a useful approach to the treatment of patients with OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Bernardini
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Michela Geminiani
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Silvia Gambassi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Maurizio Orlandini
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Elena Petricci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Barbara Marzocchi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy.,UOC Patologia Clinica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy
| | - Marcella Laschi
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Maurizio Taddei
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Manetti
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Annalisa Santucci
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
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Abstract
Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is an important growth promoting protein that is involved in numerous cellular responses and multiple biological systems. Although the molecular structure, function and recombinant production of IGF-I in various hosts have been the subject of much researches over the recent past, methods to determine the bioactivity of this protein have not been fully explored. Several assays have traditionally been used to measure IGF-I bioactivity, but have not become a routine laboratory practice due to the high cost involved and technical problems. Thus, there is still a need for a rapid, technically simple and accurate assay to determine IGF-I bioactivity. This review highlights the various cell-based assays currently commercially available for measuring the bioactivity of IGF-I along with their limitations. This is aimed at presenting the modern-day IGF researcher with a holistic overview of the current trends and future prospects regarding IGF-I bioactivity determinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Ramadhin
- Discipline of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal , Durban , Republic of South Africa
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