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Trochopoulos AGX, Ilieva Y, Kroumov AD, Dimitrova LL, Pencheva-El Tibi I, Philipov S, Berger MR, Najdenski HM, Yoncheva K, Konstantinov SM, Zaharieva MM. Micellar Curcumin Substantially Increases the Antineoplastic Activity of the Alkylphosphocholine Erufosine against TWIST1 Positive Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma Cell Lines. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14. [PMID: 36559182 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14122688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare form of cancer with local as well as systemic manifestations. Concomitant bacterial infections increase morbidity and mortality rates due to impaired skin barrier and immune deficiency. In the current study, we demonstrated that the in vitro anti-lymphoma potential of erufosine is diminished by TWIST1 expression and micellar curcumin substantially increases its antineoplastic activity. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the micellar curcumin (MCRM) used in our study was characterized by low zeta potential, slow release of curcumin, and fast cell membrane penetration. The combination ratio 1:4 [erufosine:MCRM] achieved strong synergism by inhibiting cell proliferation and clonogenicity. The combined antiproliferative effects were calculated using the symbolic mathematical software MAPLE 15. The synergistic combination strongly decreased the expression of TWIST1 and protein kinase B/Akt as proven by western blotting. Significant reductions in NF-κB activation, induction of apoptosis, and altered glutathione levels were demonstrated by corresponding assays. In addition, the synergistic combination enhanced the anti-staphylococcal activity and prevented biofilm formation, as shown by crystal violet staining. Taken together, the above results show that the development of nanotechnological treatment modalities for CTCL, based on rational drug combinations exhibiting parallel antineoplastic and antibacterial effects, may prove efficacious.
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Gaillard B, Remy JS, Pons F, Lebeau L. Dual Gene Delivery Reagents From Antiproliferative Alkylphospholipids for Combined Antitumor Therapy. Front Chem 2020; 8:581260. [PMID: 33134279 PMCID: PMC7566913 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.581260] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alkylphospholipids (APLs) have elicited great interest as antitumor agents due to their unique mode of action on cell membranes. However, their clinical applications have been limited so far by high hemolytic activity. Recently, cationic prodrugs of erufosine, a most promising APL, have been shown to mediate efficient intracellular gene delivery, while preserving the antiproliferative properties of the parent APL. Here, cationic prodrugs of the two APLs that are currently used in the clinic, miltefosine, and perifosine, are investigated and compared to the erufosine prodrugs. Their synthesis, stability, gene delivery and self-assembly properties, and hemolytic activity are discussed in detail. Finally, the potential of the pro-miltefosine and pro-perifosine compounds ME12 and PE12 in combined antitumor therapy is demonstrated using pUNO1-hTRAIL, a plasmid DNA encoding TRAIL, a member of the TNF superfamily. With these pro-APL compounds, we provide a proof of concept for a new promising strategy for cancer therapy combining gene therapy and APL-based chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France
| | - Jean-Serge Remy
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France
| | - Françoise Pons
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France
| | - Luc Lebeau
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, Illkirch, France
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Abstract
PURPOSE Hemolysis is a serious side effect of antitumor alkylphospholipids (APLs) that limits dose levels and is a constraint in their use in therapeutic regimen. Nine prodrugs of promising APLs (miltefosine, perifosine, and erufosine) were synthesized so as to decrease their membrane activity and improve their toxicity profile while preserving their antineoplastic potency. METHODS The synthesis of the pro-APLs was straightforwardly achieved in one step starting from the parent APLs. The critical aggregation concentration of the prodrugs, their hydrolytic stability under various pH conditions, their blood compatibility and cytotoxicity in three different cell lines were determined and compared to those of the parent antitumor lipids. RESULTS The APL prodrugs display antitumor activity which is similar to that of the parent alkylphospholipids but without associated hemolytic toxicity. CONCLUSION The pro-APL compounds may be considered as intravenously injectable derivatives of APLs. They could thus address one of the major issues met in cancer therapies involving antitumor lipids and restricting their utilization to oral and topical administration because of limited maximum tolerated dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin - BP 60024, 67401, Illkirch, France
| | - Jean-Serge Remy
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin - BP 60024, 67401, Illkirch, France
| | - Françoise Pons
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin - BP 60024, 67401, Illkirch, France
| | - Luc Lebeau
- Laboratoire de Conception et Application de Molécules Bioactives, UMR 7199 CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Pharmacie, 74 route du Rhin - BP 60024, 67401, Illkirch, France.
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Kovacheva M, Zepp M, Schraad M, Berger S, Berger MR. Conditional Knockdown of Osteopontin Inhibits Breast Cancer Skeletal Metastasis. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20194918. [PMID: 31590218 PMCID: PMC6801824 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20194918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
High osteopontin (OPN) expression is linked to breast cancer bone metastasis. In this study we modulated osteopontin levels conditionally and investigated any related antineoplastic effects. Therefore, we established cell clones from human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells, in which the expression of OPN is regulated by the Tet-Off tet-off system. These cells, which conditionally express a specific miRNA targeting OPN, were used for in vitro studies as well as for a bone metastasis model in nude rats. Changes in whole-genome expression elicited by conditional OPN knockdown and vesicle formation were also analyzed. The alkylphosphocholine erufosine was used for combination therapy. Conditional OPN knockdown caused mild anti-proliferative, but more intensive anti-migratory and anti clonogenic effects, as well as partial and complete remissions of soft tissue and osteolytic lesions. These effects were associated with specific gene and protein expression modulations following miRNA-mediated OPN knockdown. Furthermore, high levels of OPN were detected in vesicles derived from rats harboring breast cancer skeletal metastases. Finally, the combination of OPN inhibition and erufosine treatment caused an additive reduction of OPN levels in the investigated breast cancer cells. Thus, knockdown of OPN alone or in combination with erufosine is a promising strategy in breast cancer skeletal metastasis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marineta Kovacheva
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Michael Zepp
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Muriel Schraad
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Stefan Berger
- Central Institute of Mental Health, Department of Molecular Biology, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Martin R Berger
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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Ansari SS, Sharma AK, Zepp M, Ivanova E, Bergmann F, König R, Berger MR. Upregulation of cell cycle genes in head and neck cancer patients may be antagonized by erufosine's down regulation of cell cycle processes in OSCC cells. Oncotarget 2017; 9:5797-5810. [PMID: 29464035 PMCID: PMC5814175 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.23537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The TCGA database was analyzed to identify deregulation of cell cycle genes across 24 cancer types and ensuing effects on patient survival. Pan-cancer analysis showed that head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) ranks amongst the top four cancers showing deregulated cell cycle genes. Also, the median gene expression of all CDKs and cyclins in HNSCC patient samples was higher than that of the global gene expression. This was verified by IHC staining of CCND1 from HNSCC patients. When evaluating the quartiles with highest and lowest expression, increased CCND1/CDK6 levels had negative implication on patient survival. In search for a drug, which may antagonize this tumor profile, the potential of the alkylphosphocholine erufosine was evaluated against cell lines of the HNSCC subtype, oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using in-vitro and in-vivo assays. Erufosine inhibited growth of OSCC cell lines concentration dependently. Initial microarray findings revealed that cyclins and CDKs were down-regulated concentration dependently upon exposure to erufosine and participated in negative enrichment of cell cycle processes. These findings, indicating a pan-cdk/cyclin inhibition by erufosine, were verified at both, mRNA and protein levels. Erufosine caused a G2/M block and inhibition of colony formation. Significant tumor growth retardation was seen upon treatment with erufosine in a xenograft model. For the decreased cyclin D1 and CDK 4/6 levels found in tumor tissue, these proteins can serve as biomarker for erufosine intervention. The findings demonstrate the potential of erufosine as cell cycle inhibitor in HNSCC treatment, alone or in combination with current therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shariq S Ansari
- Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ashwini K Sharma
- Institute for Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB) and BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Zepp
- Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Elizabet Ivanova
- Laboratory for Experimental Chemotherapy, Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Frank Bergmann
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rainer König
- Integrated Research and Treatment Center Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.,Network Modeling, Leibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knöll-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin R Berger
- Toxicology and Chemotherapy Unit, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
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