钠氢交换蛋白1与肿瘤耐药

化疗药物耐药逐渐成为肿瘤治疗的主要障碍。肿瘤耐药的发生机制主要包括药物的外排增加、DNA修复增强、凋亡受抑、上皮-间质转化以及肿瘤干细胞的存在。因此,迫切需要寻找新的生物标志物,通过逆转肿瘤的耐药性,从而增加化疗药物的疗效,以提高患者的总体生存率。钠氢交换蛋白(sodium-hydrogen exchanger 1, NHE1)在调控肿瘤细胞的增殖、凋亡和耐药中发挥重要作用,被认为是肿瘤治疗中调控耐药性的潜在靶标。本文简要介绍钠氢交换蛋白的结构和主要功能,重点阐述钠氢交换蛋白对肿瘤耐药的影响和调控机制,以及在肿瘤的发展、转移中的作用的研究进展。     

IAP家族分子与肿瘤靶向治疗

凋亡抑制因子(inhibitor of apoptosis proteins,IAPs)是一类高度保守的内源性抗细胞凋亡因子家族,主要通过抑制Caspase活性和参与调节核因子NF-κB的作用而抑制细胞凋亡。细胞抗凋亡机制在肿瘤发生、发展以及肿瘤耐药性形成中发挥重要作用。肿瘤细胞高表达IAPs是导致肿瘤细胞抵抗凋亡的关键。细胞凋亡调控异常与肿瘤细胞耐药密切相关,增强肿瘤细胞对化疗药物的敏感性成为近年来肿瘤治疗的重要策略之一。该文综述了IAP家族蛋白的结构、生物学特性及其作为肿瘤治疗靶点的研究进展。     

细胞自噬在肿瘤化疗耐药中的作用

肿瘤有多种机制产生化疗药物耐药性．自噬是一种在正常细胞和病理细胞中普遍存在的生理机制,调控自噬的分子和信号传导通路错综复杂．自噬与凋亡有着独特的交叉联系,使得自噬在肿瘤化疗耐药性中发挥着促进或抑制耐药的双重作用．自噬在肿瘤耐药中的这种截然相反的作用与化疗给药浓度、细胞类型、自噬强度等因素有关,但具体机制尚未完全明确．然而,将自噬途径作为治疗肿瘤、降低化疗药物耐药性的靶点有着广阔的应用前景．     

骨肉瘤化疗多药耐药的分子机制及其逆转

目的：总结国内外对骨肉瘤化疗多药耐药的分子机制及相应逆转措施的研究进展;方法：应用PubMed及CNKI期刊全文数据库检索系统,以＂骨肉瘤、化疗多药耐药、机制、逆转＂等为关键词,检索2000-2011年的相关文献。纳入标准：1）骨肉瘤耐药相关的蛋白质、酶类及相关基因;2）各因素发挥作用的机制;3）相关的逆转措施。结果：骨肉瘤多药耐药是当今骨肉瘤化疗治疗的一大难题,多药耐药性即肿瘤细胞对一种抗肿瘤药物产生耐药性的同时,对其他结构和作用机制不同的多种药物产生交叉耐药性。其作用的发生是多种因素共同作用的结果。结论：与骨肉瘤化疗多药耐药相关的主要有P-糖蛋白,多药耐药相关蛋白,肺耐药蛋白,谷胱甘肽,拓扑异构酶,蛋白激酶C以及DNA损伤修复和细胞凋亡抑制等相关机制。而逆转措施主要通过抑制剂和基因疗法。     

肿瘤多药耐药:机制及逆转剂

肿瘤细胞多药耐药性(multidrug resistance,MDR)的产生是临床上导致肿瘤化疗失败的主要原因之一,因此寻找高效低毒的MDR逆转剂已成为肿瘤药物开发领域的热点。MDR的作用机制主要包括P-糖蛋白、多药耐药相关蛋白、乳腺癌耐药蛋白、肺耐药相关蛋白等等。多药耐药逆转剂包括钙离子通道阻滞剂、维拉帕米及其衍生物等等。本文主要介绍了MDR的作用机制以及肿瘤多药耐药逆转剂的研究进展。     

肿瘤微环境对胃癌化疗耐药的影响

胃癌是一种消化道高发恶性肿瘤，化疗耐药是其相关性死亡的主要原因之一。肿瘤微环境(tumor microenvironment,TME)通过各种途径与机制促进胃癌化疗耐药，因而TME可能是评估肿瘤发展方向和克服治疗耐药的关键。鉴于治疗胃癌化疗耐药缺乏有效的临床方案，本文综述了TME中的细胞成分、非细胞成分与胃癌细胞化疗耐药之间的联系，以及TME中主要成分与化疗耐药相关联的生物标志物和治疗靶点。此外，本文进一步讨论了TME中不同细胞促进胃癌化疗抵抗的机制，总结了潜在的调节因子与药物，旨在为临床解决胃癌化疗耐药性提供新的角度，并为胃癌防治提供新思路。     

介导多药耐药的ABC转运蛋白超家族与MTX耐药性的关系研究

细胞耐药性的产生是导致肿瘤化疗失败的重要因素, 尤其是多药耐药是目前研究的一个重点。ABC转运蛋白超家族成员介导药物的外排, 与多药耐药密切相关。为了解该家族成员与MTX耐药的相关性, 进一步探讨MTX的耐药机制, 应用SuperArray基因芯片对MTX耐药前后编码ABC转运蛋白超家族成员的mdr1、mrp1、mrp2、mrp3、mrp5、mrp6和abcg2 7个基因进行检测, 并对MRP1和MRP5蛋白表达进行了验证。结果显示, 与MTX耐药性相关的ABC转运蛋白超家族成员主要为多药耐药相关蛋白, 其中mrp1和mrp5呈现高表达, 并且, 在MTX抗性细胞中, MRP5在mRNA及蛋白水平的表达均明显增强, 提示其在MTX耐药机制中起重要作用, 可能为潜在的药物作用靶点。     

基因逆转肿瘤多药耐药的研究进展

化疗在恶性肿瘤的综合治疗中占有非常重要的地位,而耐药性是严重影响肿瘤病人化疗效果及生存的主要原因之一,其中多药耐药(multi-drug resistance,MDR)最具临床意义。多药耐药是指肿瘤细胞对某一化疗药物产生耐药性后,对其他化学结构及机理不同的化疗药物也产生交叉耐药性。研究表明MDR是一个多阶段发展、多因素参与的复杂事件。逆转肿瘤多药耐药是目前肿瘤化疗的研究热点之一。近年随着基础科学研究的不断深入,基因逆转肿瘤多药耐药的研究已从分子水平上,定点、多位点阻断多药耐药基因的表达,已取得一些显著的进展。本文对肿瘤多药耐药机制以及逆转肿瘤多药耐药性的相关基因做一简要综述。     

细胞凋亡抑制蛋白cIAP 与卵巢癌耐药性的研究进展

卵巢恶性肿瘤是女性生殖系统三大恶性肿瘤之一,其发病率在女性生殖系统肿瘤中占第三位,而死亡率却高居首位。目前对于晚期卵巢癌(Ⅲ或Ⅳ期)多倾向于用新辅助化疗+肿瘤细胞减灭术+术后周期性化疗的治疗方法。但是,尽管多数患者在最初对化疗药物较敏感,但仍有60%~80%最终死于卵巢癌,这些患者大部分都对化疗药物产生了耐药性,在更换新的化疗方案初期是有效的,但最终仍会耐药。近年来,有关细胞凋亡抑制蛋白(cIAP,cellular inhibitors of apoptosis proteins)在卵巢癌复发耐药中的作用机制的研究越来越受到重视。研究证实,cIAP在耐药肿瘤细胞中呈高表达,并与多种因子共同参与形成了上皮性卵巢癌的耐药机制,抑制了化疗药物引起的肿瘤细胞的凋亡。这些发现为攻克卵巢癌的耐药机制提供了重要线索,也为卵巢癌化疗药物的应用指出了新的方向。     

STAT3与在肿瘤耐药中的研究进展

STAT3是信号转导与转录活化蛋白(STATs)家族的重要一员,是一种存在于胞浆并在激活后能够转入核内与DNA结合的蛋白家族,具有信号转导和转录调控双重功能。STAT3在多种肿瘤组织与细胞系中异常表达,并与肿瘤的增殖分化、细胞凋亡密切相关。肿瘤耐药是其治疗失败的重要原因,STAT3能够通过多种途径介导肿瘤耐药。因而,STAT3在近年的抗肿瘤研究中备受关注,成为肿瘤治疗的良好靶点,由传统药物与STAT3抑制剂组成的新型治疗方案使得肿瘤患者大大受益。然而,STAT3介导肿瘤耐药的机制还不是很明确,需要进一步研究。本文就近年来一些化疗药物和靶向药物耐药的发生,对STAT3介导耐药的作用进行综述。     

MicroRNA-125b Confers the Resistance of Breast Cancer Cells to Paclitaxel through Suppression of Pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 Antagonist Killer 1 (Bak1) Expression

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of cancer patients. Despite impressive initial clinical responses, the majority of patients eventually develop some degree of resistance to Taxol-based therapy. The mechanisms underlying cancer cells resistance to Taxol are not fully understood. MicroRNA (miRNA) has emerged to play important roles in tumorigenesis and drug resistance. However, the interaction between the development of Taxol resistance and miRNA has not been previously explored. In this study we utilized a miRNA array to compare the differentially expressed miRNAs in Taxol-resistant and their Taxol-sensitive parental cells. We verified that miR-125b, miR-221, miR-222, and miR-923 were up-regulated in Taxol-resistant cancer cells by real-time PCR. We further investigated the role and mechanisms of miR-125b in Taxol resistance. We found that miR-125b was up-regulated in Taxol-resistant cells, causing a marked inhibition of Taxol-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis and a subsequent increase in the resistance to Taxol in cancer cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 antagonist killer 1 (Bak1) is a direct target of miR-125b. Down-regulation of Bak1 suppressed Taxol-induced apoptosis and led to an increased resistance to Taxol. Restoring Bak1 expression by either miR-125b inhibitor or re-expression of Bak1 in miR-125b-overexpressing cells recovered Taxol sensitivity, overcoming miR-125-mediated Taxol resistance. Taken together, our data strongly support a central role for miR-125b in conferring Taxol resistance through the suppression of Bak1 expression. This finding has important implications in the development of targeted therapeutics for overcoming Taxol resistance in a number of different tumor histologies.     

Knockdown of EpCAM Enhances the Chemosensitivity of Breast Cancer Cells to 5-fluorouracil by Downregulating the Antiapoptotic Factor Bcl-2

Resistance to fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy is the main reason for the failure of cancer treatment, and drug resistance is associated with an inability of tumor cells to undergo apoptosis in response to treatment. Alterations in the expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) affect the sensitivity or resistance of tumor cells to anticancer treatment and the activity of intracellular signaling pathways. However, the role of EpCAM in the induction of apoptosis in breast cancer cells remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of EpCAM gene knockdown on chemosensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in MCF-7 cells and explored the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that knockdown of EpCAM promoted apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation and caused cell-cycle arrest. EpCAM knockdown enhanced the cytotoxic effect of 5-FU, promoting apoptosis by downregulating the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and upregulating the expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, and caspase3 via the ERK1/2 and JNK MAPK signaling pathways in MCF-7 cells. These results indicate that knockdown of EpCAM may have a tumor suppressor effect and suggest EpCAM as a potential target for the treatment of breast cancer.     

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST): Facing cell death between autophagy and apoptosis

Autophagy and apoptosis are 2 fundamental biological mechanisms that may cooperate or be antagonistic, although both are involved in deciding the fate of cells in physiological or pathological conditions. These 2 mechanisms coexist simultaneously in cells and share common upstream signals and stimuli. Autophagy and apoptosis play pivotal roles in cancer development. Autophagy plays a key function in maintaining tumor cell survival by providing energy during unfavorable metabolic conditions through its recycling mechanism, and supporting the high energy requirement for metabolism and growth. This review focuses on gastrointestinal stromal tumors and cell death through autophagy and apoptosis, taking into account the involvement of both of these processes in tumor development and growth and as mechanisms of drug resistance. We also focus on the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis as an emerging field with major implications for the development of novel therapeutic options.     

The Na+/H+ exchanger controls deoxycholic acid-induced apoptosis by a H+-activated, Na+-dependent ionic shift in esophageal cells

Apoptosis resistance is a hallmark of cancer cells. Typically, bile acids induce apoptosis. However during gastrointestinal (GI) tumorigenesis the cancer cells develop resistance to bile acid-induced cell death. To understand how bile acids induce apoptosis resistance we first need to identify the molecular pathways that initiate apoptosis in response to bile acid exposure. In this study we examined the mechanism of deoxycholic acid (DCA)-induced apoptosis, specifically the role of Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) and Na(+) influx in esophageal cells. In vitro studies revealed that the exposure of esophageal cells (JH-EsoAd1, CP-A) to DCA (0.2 mM-0.5 mM) caused lysosomal membrane perturbation and transient cytoplasmic acidification. Fluorescence microscopy in conjunction with atomic absorption spectrophotometry demonstrated that this effect on lysosomes correlated with influx of Na(+), subsequent loss of intracellular K(+), an increase of Ca(2+) and apoptosis. However, ethylisopropyl-amiloride (EIPA), a selective inhibitor of NHE, prevented Na(+), K(+) and Ca(2+) changes and caspase 3/7 activation induced by DCA. Ouabain and amphotericin B, two drugs that increase intracellular Na(+) levels, induced similar changes as DCA (ion imbalance, caspase3/7 activation). On the contrary, DCA-induced cell death was inhibited by medium with low a Na(+) concentrations. In the same experiments, we exposed rat ileum ex-vivo to DCA with or without EIPA. Severe tissue damage and caspase-3 activation was observed after DCA treatment, but EIPA almost fully prevented this response. In summary, NHE-mediated Na(+) influx is a critical step leading to DCA-induced apoptosis. Cells tolerate acidification but evade DCA-induced apoptosis if NHE is inhibited. Our data suggests that suppression of NHE by endogenous or exogenous inhibitors may lead to apoptosis resistance during GI tumorigenesis.     

X连锁凋亡抑制蛋白的功能及其在肿瘤中的作用

X连锁凋亡抑制蛋白(X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis,XIAP)是目前发现的最具特征性与作用最强的内源性凋亡抑制蛋白质.XIAP特征性结构是其BIR结构域和RING结构域,它们都是XIAP发挥抗凋亡作用的重要结构.多种内源性抑制蛋白质(XAF1、Smac和Omi)能通过不同的方式抑制XIA...     

Upregulation of Fas in epithelial ovarian cancer reverses the development of resistance to Cisplatin

This study was to investigate the role of Fas in the development of Cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer. On the cellular level, Fas expression was significantly reduced in Cisplatin resistant A2780 (A2780/CP) cells compared with A2780 cells. Fas silence with siRNA would promote tumor cell lines proliferation, facilitate tumor cell cycle transition of G1/S, prevent cell apoptosis, and promote cell migration. Expression of drug resistance gene was negatively correlated to Fas. In nude mice metastasis model of human ovarian carcinoma by subcutaneous transplantation, after Ad-Fas injected intratumorly, we found that upregulation of Fas could inhibit transplantation tumor tissue growth and reduce the expression of drug resistance gene. Our results indicated that upregulation of Fas in epithelial ovarian cancer reversed the development of resistance to Cisplatin. In conclusion, our findings suggested that Fas might act as a promising therapeutic target for improvement of the sensibility to Cisplatin in ovarian cancer. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(1): 30-35]     

Molecular mechanisms of drug resistance and its reversal in cancer

Chemotherapy is the main strategy for the treatment of cancer. However, the main problem limiting the success of chemotherapy is the development of multidrug resistance. The resistance can be intrinsic or acquired. The resistance phenotype is associated with the tumor cells that gain a cross-resistance to a large range of drugs that are structurally and functionally different. Multidrug resistance arises via many unrelated mechanisms, such as overexpression of energy-dependent efflux proteins, decrease in uptake of the agents, increase or alteration in drug targets, modification of cell cycle checkpoints, inactivation of the agents, compartmentalization of the agents, inhibition of apoptosis and aberrant bioactive sphingolipid metabolism. Exact elucidation of resistance mechanisms and molecular and biochemical approaches to overcome multidrug resistance have been a major goal in cancer research. This review comprises the mechanisms guiding multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy and also touches on approaches for reversing the resistance.