bims-istrec 2021-12-26 papers

Issue of 2021‒12‒26
four papers selected by
Vincenzo Ciminale’s Lab
Istituto Oncologico Veneto

Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Nov 25. pii: 1881. [Epub ahead of print]10(12):

The Herbal Formula JI017 Induces ER Stress via Nox4 in Breast Cancer Cells.

Chemotherapy is a powerful anti-tumor therapeutic strategy; however, resistance to treatment remains a serious concern. To overcome chemoresistance, combination therapy with anticancer drugs is a potential strategy. We developed a novel herbal extract, JI017, with lower toxicity and lesser side effects. JI017 induced programmed cell death and excessive unfolded protein response through the release of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and calcium in breast cancer cells. JI017 treatment increased the expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, including p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF4, and CHOP, via the activation of both exosomal GRP78 and cell lysate GRP78. The ROS inhibitors diphenyleneiodonium and N-acetyl cysteine suppressed apoptosis and excessive ER stress by inhibiting Nox4 in JI017-treated breast cancer cells. Furthermore, in paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7R and MDA-MB-231R, a combination of JI017 and paclitaxel overcame paclitaxel resistance by blocking epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes, such as the downregulation of E-cadherin expression and the upregulation of HIF-1α, vimentin, Snail, and Slug expression. These findings suggested that JI017 exerts a powerful anti-cancer effect in breast cancer and a combination therapy of JI017 and paclitaxel may be a potential cancer therapy for paclitaxel resistant breast cancer.

Keywords: ER stress; JI017; Nox4; ROS; exosome

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10121881

Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Dec 15. pii: 13455. [Epub ahead of print]22(24):

Apigenin Induces Autophagy and Cell Death by Targeting EZH2 under Hypoxia Conditions in Gastric Cancer Cells.

Tae Woo Kim, Hee Gu Lee.

Hypoxia is a major obstacle to gastric cancer (GC) therapy and leads to chemoresistance as GC cells are frequently exposed to the hypoxia environment. Apigenin, a flavonoid found in traditional medicine, fruits, and vegetables and an HDAC inhibitor, is a powerful anti-cancer agent against various cancer cell lines. However, detailed mechanisms involved in the treatment of GC using APG are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the biological activity of and molecular mechanisms involved in APG-mediated treatment of GC under hypoxia. APG promoted autophagic cell death by increasing ATG5, LC3-II, and phosphorylation of AMPK and ULK1 and down-regulating p-mTOR and p62 in GC. Furthermore, our results show that APG induces autophagic cell death via the activation of the PERK signaling, indicating an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. The inhibition of ER stress suppressed APG-induced autophagy and conferred prolonged cell survival, indicating autophagic cell death. We further show that APG induces ER stress- and autophagy-related cell death through the inhibition of HIF-1α and Ezh2 under normoxia and hypoxia. Taken together, our findings indicate that APG activates autophagic cell death by inhibiting HIF-1α and Ezh2 under hypoxia conditions in GC cells.

Keywords: ER stress; apigenin; autophagy; hypoxia; resistance

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413455

Biomedicines. 2021 Dec 09. pii: 1869. [Epub ahead of print]9(12):

Deciphering the Role of Pyrvinium Pamoate in the Generation of Integrated Stress Response and Modulation of Mitochondrial Function in Myeloid Leukemia Cells through Transcriptome Analysis.

Yu-Hsuan Fu, Chi-Yang Tseng, Jeng-Wei Lu, Wen-Hui Lu, Pei-Qi Lan, Chien-Yuan Chen, Da-Liang Ou, Liang-In Lin.

Pyrvinium pamoate, a widely-used anthelmintic agent, reportedly exhibits significant anti-tumor effects in several cancers. However, the efficacy and mechanisms of pyrvinium against myeloid leukemia remain unclear. The growth inhibitory effects of pyrvinium were tested in human AML cell lines. Transcriptome analysis of Molm13 myeloid leukemia cells suggested that pyrvinium pamoate could trigger an unfolded protein response (UPR)-like pathway, including responses to extracellular stimulus [p-value = 2.78 × 10-6] and to endoplasmic reticulum stress [p-value = 8.67 × 10-7], as well as elicit metabolic reprogramming, including sulfur compound catabolic processes [p-value = 2.58 × 10-8], and responses to a redox state [p-value = 5.80 × 10-5]; on the other hand, it could elicit a pyrvinium blunted protein folding function, including protein folding [p-value = 2.10 × 10-8] and an ATP metabolic process [p-value = 3.95 × 10-4]. Subsequently, pyrvinium was verified to induce an integrated stress response (ISR), demonstrated by activation of the eIF2α-ATF4 pathway and inhibition of mTORC1 signaling, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Additionally, pyrvinium could co-localize with mitochondria and then decrease the mitochondrial basal oxidative consumption rate, ultimately dysregulating the mitochondrial function. Similar effects were observed in cabozantinib-resistant Molm13-XR cell lines. Furthermore, pyrvinium treatment retarded Molm13 and Molm13-XR xenograft tumor growth. Thus, we concluded that pyrvinium exerts anti-tumor activity, at least, via the modulation of the mitochondrial function and by triggering ISR.

Keywords: FLT3-ITD; acute myeloid leukemia; integrated stress response; pyrvinium pamoate

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9121869

Acta Biochim Pol. 2021 Dec 21.

CRABP2 involvement in a mechanism of Golgi stress and tumor dry matter in non-small cell lung cancer cells via ER dependent Hippo pathway.

Jian-Feng Meng, Ming-Jie Luo.

OBJECTIVE: The paper aimed to explore the mechanism of cellular retinoic acid binding protein 2 (CRABP2) involvement in Golgi stress and tumor dryness in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells through the estrogen receptor (ER) dependent Hippo pathway.METHODS: Human NSCLC cell line A549 was purchased from ATCC andcultured in RPMI-1640 with 10% FBS. Attractene reagent was used for plasmid transfection. ER (sh) RNA was designed using RNAi Designer. Seventy-six hours after infection, stable cells were obtained after treated with puromycin for 3 weeks. ER silencing cells (with inhibited ER expression) were compared to the control cells (normal cultured NSCLC cell line A549, CRABP2 normal expression). CRABP2 and ER expression levels were detected by RT-PCR. MTT assay was used to detect cell proliferation, and the cell localization of ER and Golgi was observed by confocal microscopy. The invasion and metastasis of cells were analyzed by Boden chamber invasion and migration assays. Western blotting assays was used for detecting the protein expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, ZO-1 protein and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related factors.
RESULTS: The lower expression level of mRNA was detected in the ER-silencing group compared to the control group (P<0.05). We also found a higher proliferation level of cells, the number of invading and metastatic cells, the expression of vimentin, p-Lats1T1079, Lats1 and p-YAPS127 mRNA in the control group compared to the ER silencing group (P<0.05). And the expression level of protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), phosphorylate eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (p-eIF2 alpha), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) in the control group was higher than that in the ER silencing group (P<0.05). Adversely, a lower expression level of E-cadherin and ZO-1 protein was found in the control group compared to the ER silencing group (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The expression of CRABP2 in NSCLC cells was regulated by ER, and cell proliferation and invasion were regulated by the Hippo pathway. At the same time, it was found that decreased expression of CRABP2 enhanced endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi stress response.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18388/abp.2020_5543