Induction of Anti-Proliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Sorafenib Using miR-27a Inhibitor in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the possible anti-tumor effect of miR-27a inhibitor in combination with Sorafenib (SOR) on cell proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.

METHODS

Transient transfection by oligo-miR27a inhibitor (miR-27ai) was used in this study for targeting the oncogenic miR-27a in HepG2 and Huh7 cells followed by SOR treatment. Cell viability was measured using SRB assay. The cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry assay. Moreover, the level of oncogenic miR-27a was evaluated in 19 tissues of primary HCC patients as well as cell lines using qRT-PCR assay. Finally, caspase-3 activity was determined using ELISA assay.

RESULTS

Significant up-regulation of miR-27a expression was reported in HCC patients confirming its oncogenic role. Treatment of cells with SOR following transfection with miR-27ai declined cell viability significantly compared with either control or single agent treatment (p≤0.05). Highly significant decreasing in the number of cell in S-phase associated with increasing in G0-phase was also observed. Furthermore, apoptotic rate was highly significantly increased for transfected/SOR treated cells (p≤0.01). Finally, combination treatment demonstrated a significant elevation of caspase-3 activity level in both cell lines examined.

CONCLUSION

The present data demonstrated targeting miR-27a enhances the anti-tumor effect of SOR in HCC cell lines considering as one of the promising therapeutic targets for advanced HCC management.

Chemical composition, cytotoxicity and molecular profiling of Cordia africana Lam. on human breast cancer cell line

Metabolic profiling of the hexane extract and essential oil of Cordia africana Lam., an economically important agroforestry species, was performed using GC-FID and GC-MS. Cytotoxicity was assessed in MCF-7 cancer cells using sulphorhodamine-B assay. Caspase-8, BcL-2 and Ki-67 levels were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Forty-one compounds were identified in the hexane extract, meanwhile, eighty compounds were annotated in the essential oil. n-Decane (9.52%), β-sitosterol (8.13%), undecane (6.32%) and palmitaldehyde (5.50 %) were the major compounds identified in the hexane extract, whereas, β-caryophyllene (32.0%), germacrene D (10.12%) and δ-cadinene (7.20%) predominated in the essential oil. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of the extract and oil were 4.55 µg/mL and 12.90 µg/mL, respectively. Caspase-8 activity increased significantly in hexane extract treated cells. Furthermore, BcL-2 and Ki-67 protein expression levels were significantly decreased. Cordia africana Lam exhibit potent cytotoxicity against breast cancer cell line, most likely through apoptosis regulation.

Chemical Composition of Aqueous Ethanol Extract of Luffa cylindrica Leaves and Its Effect on Representation of Caspase-8, Caspase-3, and the Proliferation Marker Ki67 in Intrinsic Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer in Vitro

Breast cancer constitutes the second most prevalent cancer in Egypt, the problem needs more trends in treatment and treatment development either by regimen modification or introducing new drugs, and the main objective of this study is to screen the effects of the aqueous ethanol herbal extract of Luffa cylindrica leaves on different types of breast cancer cell lines representing different molecular subtypes of the disease. The major active constituents of the extract were tentatively identified by LC/MS which revealed the presence of phenolic compound derivatives and saponin that may be responsible in part for the activity of the extract. The emphasis was laid on the main apoptotic pathways as well as the extract effect on the normal cell line. Results of phytochemical investigation, cell cycle analysis, and molecular analysis of apoptotic and proliferative markers have shown effective anticancer activity against MCF-7, BT-474, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines which represent three subtypes of breast cancer, luminal A, luminal B, and triple negative, respectively. On the other hand, the effects on normal lung fibroblast cell line are less prominent at the dose used for treating breast cancer cell lines.

Design, synthesis and screening of 1, 2, 4-triazinone derivatives as potential antitumor agents with apoptosis inducing activity on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line

Some triazinone derivatives are designed and synthesized as potential antitumor agents. Triazinone derivatives 4c, 5e and 7c show potent anticancer activity over MCF-7 breast cancer cells higher than podophyllotoxin (podo) by approximate 6-fold. DNA flow cytometry analysis for the compounds 3c, 4c, 5e, 6c and 7c show a potent inhibitory activity of cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest at G₂/M phase. Compounds 4c, 5e and 7c exhibit low to moderate β-tubulin polymerization inhibition percentage. Meanwhile, compound 6c displayed excellent β-tubulin percentage of polymerization inhibition equivalent to that exhibited by podo. In addition, compounds 4c, 5e and 7c show strong topoisomerase (topo) II inhibitory activity in nano-molar concentration, compared to known topo inhibitor as etoposide. Finally, apoptotic inducing activity over MCF-7 of compounds 4c, 5e, 6c and 7c is due to up-regulation of p53, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase3/7 levels 2-fold higher than podo.

Combinatorial synthesis, in silico, molecular and biochemical studies of tetrazole-derived organic selenides with increased selectivity against hepatocellular carcinoma

Novel tetrazole-based diselenides and selenoquinones were synthesized via azido-Ugi and sequential nucleophilic substitution (SN) strategy. Molecular docking study into mammalian TrxR1 was used to predict the anticancer potential of the newly synthesized compounds. The cytotoxic activity of the compounds was evaluated using hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cancer cells and compared with their cytotoxicity in normal fibroblast (WI-38) cells. The corresponding redox properties of the synthesized compounds were assessed employing 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like activity and bleomycin dependent DNA damage. In general, diselenides showed preferential cytotoxicity to HepG2 compared to MCF-7 cells. These compounds exhibited also good GPx catalytic activity compared to ebselen (up to 5 fold). Selenoquinones 18, 21, 22 and 23 were selected to monitor the expression levels of caspase-8, Bcl-2 and Ki-67 molecular biomarkers. Interestingly, these compounds downregulated the Bcl-2 and Ki-67 expression levels and activated the expression of caspase-8 in HepG2 cells compared to untreated cells. These results indicate that some of the newly synthesized compounds possess anti-HepG2 activity.

Transforming growth factor-β, insulin-like growth factor I/insulin-like growth factor I receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor-A: prognostic and predictive markers in triple-negative and non-triple-negative breast cancer

In the current study, the prognostic and predictive values of serum transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)/IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) were evaluated in triple-negative and non-triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC and non-TNBC). The aim was to identify a group of serological biomarkers and to identify possible candidates for targeted therapy in patients with TNBC and non-TNBC. Protein levels of TGF-β1, IGF-I/IGF-IR and VEGF-A in the serum were measured in 43 TNBC, 53 non-TNBC and 20 normal control participants using quantitative ELISA assays. Results were correlated against standard prognostic factors, response to treatment and survival. TNBC was identified to be associated with poor prognosis and serum levels of VEGF-A and IGF/IGF-IR were significantly higher in the TNBC group compared with the non-TNBC group. IGF-IR and VEGF-A overexpression was observed to be correlated with TGF-β1 expression and all of the markers investigated were associated with metastasis and disease progression. In the multivariate analysis, VEGF-A, IGF-I and IGF-IR were observed to be independent predictors for overall survival, whereas TGF-β1 and lymph node status were identified as independent predictors for disease-free survival. The overall response rate was significantly lower in patients with TNBC and those with high levels of TGF-β1, IGF-I/IGF-IR and VEGF-A. In view of the present results, it was concluded that TGF-β1, IGF-I/IGF-IR and VEGF-A overexpression is associated with the presence of aggressive tumors, which exhibit an increased probability of metastasis, a poor response to treatment and reduced survival rate. This indicates that VEGF-A, IGF-IR and IGF-I have the potential to be used as surrogate biomarkers and are promising candidates for targeted therapy, particularly in patients with TNBC.