抗肿瘤干细胞药物盐霉素对Wnt/β-catenin信号通路的抑制

肿瘤干细胞(cancer stem cells,CSCs)是一小群具有自我更新和分化潜力,并能产生异质性细胞的肿瘤细胞亚群,该群细胞在肿瘤的发生发展、复发、转移和耐药中起着十分重要的作用,因此通过研发针对CSCs的靶向药物,将为抗肿瘤药物的研究提供新的方向,并为未来根治肿瘤带来新的希望.近年来,大量实验研究证实了盐霉素...     

专性海洋放线菌盐孢菌的研究进展

盐孢菌属(Salinispora)作为首个被报道的专性海洋放线菌,主要分布于热带和亚热带海洋沉积环境中,在海绵、海鞘中也有发现。与其他大多数放线菌一样,盐孢菌属的菌株可以产生大量具有抗细菌、抗病毒、抗肿瘤细胞活性、结构新颖的次级代谢产物且表现出物种特异性。全基因组序列分析显示,盐孢菌属菌株基因组中超过10%的基因序列与次级代谢产物合成相关,但绝大多数生物合成基因簇编码的产物未被发现,表明盐孢菌属还存在巨大的生物合成潜能,有待深入发掘。目前新的培养方法、测序技术及生物信息学、基因组发掘技术、合成生物学技术的发展对提升盐孢菌属菌株新型药物的生产潜力发挥重要作用。本文对盐孢菌属的物种多样性、系统分类与化合物发现等方面的研究进行了系统综述。     

大环内酯类抗生素代谢工程的研究进展

14-16元环的大环内酯类抗生素(Macrolide antibiotics,MA)是临床上重要的抗感染药物。随着细菌耐药性的不断增加,迫切需要研发出新型MA来应对耐药菌。通过MA与核糖体靶点的相互作用可以指导MA的定向优化,结合快速发展的代谢工程方法可以高效获得所需的MA衍生物。近30年来,代谢工程在改造MA的生物合成获得新衍生物以及在提高其产量方面显示出巨大优势,这些代谢工程的方法包括改造聚酮合酶(Polyketide synthase,PKS)结构域和PKS后修饰酶以及组合生物合成等。另外,文中还对16元环大环内酯类新药可利霉素的研制过程、抗菌活性以及利用代谢工程优化其产生菌进行了详细介绍。     

基于力达霉素的靶向药物与肿瘤治疗

作为一种抗肿瘤抗生素,力达霉素(lidamycin, LDM)对人类癌细胞显示出很强的细胞毒性。LDM由一个载体蛋白(LDP)和一个具有肿瘤杀伤活性的烯二炔发色团(AE)以非共价键方式组合而成,这一特征使得LDM成为构建肿瘤靶向药物的良好材料。通过基因重组技术将具有肿瘤靶向能力的蛋白质和(或)多肽与LDP偶联,由此获得具有肿瘤靶向能力的融合蛋白,在此基础上,再将AE整合到融合蛋白的LDP中,最终得到既具有肿瘤靶向能力,又具有LDM杀伤活性的肿瘤靶向药物。随着研究的逐步深入,可望有一批基于LDM的靶向药物能用于肿瘤的临床治疗。     

外泌体载体治疗在中枢神经系统疾病中的研究进展

中枢神经系统疾病包括脑血管疾病、神经退行性疾病和脑肿瘤等。血脑屏障(blood-brain barrier,BBB)阻碍了大多数通过血液循环系统输送到大脑来治疗和预防中枢神经系统疾病的药物。外泌体在细胞间物质运输和信号交流中发挥重要作用,由于其具有较小的体积、高递送效率、低免疫原性和良好的生物相容性等特点,可以通过正常的内吞作用和转胞吞作用进入脑内皮细胞,进而穿过血脑屏障转运内容物。为提高外泌体靶向性,对其膜进行工程改造,从而产生具有靶向能力的囊泡是今后外泌体载体研究的重要方向。该文就外泌体的生物学特征、工程化修饰及其作为治疗载体在中枢神经系统疾病中的研究进行综述。     

多肽表面修饰脂质体药物递送系统

本文通过查阅并归纳近几年相关文献,较为系统地概述了靶向活性多肽、细胞穿膜肽和靶向细胞穿膜肽等多肽表面修饰脂质体药物递送系统(drug delivery system, DDS)的研究进展。经不同活性多肽表面修饰,或可增强脂质体DDS的靶向性,或可提高药物的细胞摄取率和生物利用度。总之,多肽表面修饰的脂质体在新型DDS研究及应用中具有良好的前景。     

肿瘤靶向细菌Escherichia coli Nissle1917在癌症治疗中的研究进展

传统化疗、放疗等癌症治疗手段存在靶向性差、毒副作用大等问题。肿瘤靶向细菌可以特异性定殖于实体肿瘤微环境,通过基因工程改造可以使其在实体肿瘤内持续合成并释放抗癌药物,提高药物对肿瘤组织的选择性,避免化疗药物对正常组织的伤害,成为近年来癌症靶向治疗的研究热点。Escherichia coli Nissle 1917(EcN)作为一种被广泛研究和应用的益生菌,没有致病性,不产生免疫毒副作用,且具有高效的肿瘤靶向定殖能力,能在正常组织中迅速被清除,因此在癌症细菌疗法中备受关注。针对EcN在癌症靶向治疗研究方面的最新进展进行综述,介绍了通过基因工程提高其靶向性、可控性和安全性的方法,并介绍了EcN在辅助其他癌症治疗方面的应用。随着基因工程和合成生物学技术的进步,人们对细菌功能的设计合成能力不断增强,EcN作为可编程的活体药物,有希望发展成为对抗癌症的有力武器。     

抗肿瘤抗体-药物偶联物的临床研究进展

个体化靶向治疗已成为肿瘤临床治疗的新趋势.抗肿瘤靶向药物与传统的细胞毒性化疗药物相比具有特异性高、选择性强和非细胞毒性等优点,近年来发展迅速.抗体-药物偶联物(ADCs)属于抗肿瘤靶向药物,由抗体、“弹头”药物(细胞毒性药物)通过链分子连接而成.ADCs将抗体的靶向性与细胞毒性药物的抗肿瘤作用相结合,可以降低细胞毒性抗肿瘤药物的不良反应,提高肿瘤治疗的选择性,还能更好地应对靶向单抗的耐药性问题.目前,FDA已批准2种ADC药物上市,即Mylotarg和Adcetris,有多种ADCs处于Ⅰ～Ⅲ期临床试验阶段,取得了显著的临床效果.本文概述了以美登素,卡奇霉素、Auristantin等三种细胞毒性药物为“弹头”药物的ADCs药物的临床研究状况及临床试验结果,为ADCs的研究和应用提供参考.     

链霉菌CB02959中四霉素及四烯菌素的鉴定及培养基优化

【背景】四霉素(Tetramycin)和四烯菌素(Tetrin)是具有广谱抗真菌活性的四烯大环内酯类抗生素。链霉菌CB02959是一株雷纳霉素(Leinamycin)类化合物的潜在产生菌株,利用antiSMASH分析其基因组发现该菌株含有一个纳他霉素(Natamycin)类四烯大环内酯化合物的生物合成基因簇。【目的】对Streptomyces sp. CB02959中次级代谢产物进行研究,确定其是否可以产生四烯大环内酯化合物,对其发酵产物进行分离和结构鉴定,并进行初步的发酵优化以提高产量。【方法】基于生物信息学预测和高分辨质谱数据,推测CB02959中多烯化合物的结构;在不同发酵培养基中培养CB02959,确定适合大规模发酵的培养基;敲除tetrA基因以确定目标基因簇和四烯大环内酯化合物产生的相关性;分离和鉴定CB02959产生的主要代谢物的结构;通过改变培养基中葡萄糖、麦芽提取物和胰蛋白胨的含量,提高四烯大环内酯化合物的产量。【结果】通过对CB02959中纳他霉素类化合物生物合成基因簇的分析及16S rRNA基因序列的进化树分析,推测CB02959可能是一株新的四霉素和四烯菌素产生菌;在YEME发酵培养基中对CB02959进行大规模发酵,分离得到4个化合物,鉴定为四霉素A (1)、四霉素B (2)、四烯菌素A (3)、四烯菌素B (4);最后通过培养基的初步优化,将化合物1–4的产量分别提高至208.1、100.0、1 315.6、109.9 mg/L。【结论】通过基因组挖掘策略发现了一株新的四霉素和四烯菌素产生菌链霉菌CB02959,并通过培养基优化提升了其四烯大环内酯化合物的产量,此发现为这类抗真菌天然产物的后续开发奠定了基础。     

达托霉素耐药分子机制研究进展

环脂肽抗生素达托霉素抗菌活性强,致病菌不容易产生耐药性,已成为治疗革兰氏阳性菌特别是耐药菌感染的一线药物。但由于广泛使用,仍然出现了达托霉素耐药菌。细胞膜磷脂代谢和细胞壁结构动态与致病菌达托霉素耐药密切相关。文中综述了达托霉素作用机制和耐药机制,以期对药物研发和临床用药有所裨益。     

Sequential Salinomycin Treatment Results in Resistance Formation through Clonal Selection of Epithelial-Like Tumor Cells

Acquiring therapy resistance is one of the major obstacles in the treatment of patients with cancer. The discovery of the cancer stem cell (CSC)–specific drug salinomycin raised hope for improved treatment options by targeting therapy-refractory CSCs and mesenchymal cancer cells. However, the occurrence of an acquired salinomycin resistance in tumor cells remains elusive. To study the formation of salinomycin resistance, mesenchymal breast cancer cells were sequentially treated with salinomycin in an in vitro cell culture assay, and the resulting differences in gene expression and salinomycin susceptibility were analyzed. We demonstrated that long-term salinomycin treatment of mesenchymal cancer cells resulted in salinomycin-resistant cells with elevated levels of epithelial markers, such as E-cadherin and miR-200c, a decreased migratory capability, and a higher susceptibility to the classic chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. The formation of salinomycin resistance through the acquisition of epithelial traits was further validated by inducing mesenchymal-epithelial transition through an overexpression of miR-200c. The transition from a mesenchymal to a more epithelial-like phenotype of salinomycin-treated tumor cells was moreover confirmed in vivo, using syngeneic and, for the first time, transgenic mouse tumor models. These results suggest that the acquisition of salinomycin resistance through the clonal selection of epithelial-like cancer cells could become exploited for improved cancer therapies by antagonizing the tumor-progressive effects of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.     

Semi-synthetic salinomycin analogs exert cytotoxic activity against human colorectal cancer stem cells

Salinomycin, a polyether antibiotic, is a well-known inhibitor of human cancer stem cells. Chemical modification of the allylic C20 hydroxyl of salinomycin has enabled access to synthetic analogs that display increased cytotoxic activity compared to the native structure. The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of a cohort of C20-O-acyl analogs of salinomycin on human colorectal cancer cell lines in vitro. Two human colorectal cancer cell lines (SW480 and SW620) were exposed to three C20-O-acylated analogs and salinomycin. The impact of salinomycin and its analogs on tumor cell number, migration, cell death, and cancer stem cell specifity was analyzed. Exposure of human colorectal cancer cells to the C20-O-acylated analogs of salinomycin resulted in reduced tumor cell number and impaired tumor cell migration at lower concentrations than salinomycin. When used at higher (micromolar) concentrations, these effects were accompanied by induction of apoptotic cell death. Salinomycin analogs further expose improved activity against cancer stem cells compared to salinomycin.     

Salinomycin induces apoptosis and overcomes apoptosis resistance in human cancer cells

Salinomycin is a polyether antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces albus that acts in different biological membranes as a ionophore with a preference for potassium. It is widely used as an anticoccidial drug in poultry and is fed to ruminants to improve nutrient absorption and feed efficiency. Salinomycin has recently been shown to selectively deplete human breast cancer stem cells from tumorspheres and to inhibit breast cancer growth and metastasis in mice. We show here that salinomycin induces massive apoptosis in human cancer cells of different origin, but not in normal cells such as human T lymphocytes. Moreover, salinomycin is able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells that exhibit resistance to apoptosis and anticancer agents by overexpression of Bcl-2, P-glycoprotein or 26S proteasomes with enhanced proteolytic activity. Salinomycin activates a distinct apoptotic pathway that is not accompanied by cell cycle arrest and that is independent of tumor suppressor protein p53, caspase activation, the CD95/CD95L system and the proteasome. Thus, salinomycin should be considered as a novel and effective anticancer agent that overcomes multiple mechanisms of apoptosis resistance in human cancer cells.     

Salinomycin induces cell death with autophagy through activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in human cancer cells

Salinomycin is perhaps the first promising compound that was discovered through high throughput screening in cancer stem cells. This novel agent can selectively eliminate breast and other cancer stem cells, though the mechanism of action remains unclear. In this study, we found that salinomycin induced autophagy in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that salinomycin stimulated endoplasmic reticulum stress and mediated autophagy via the ATF4-DDIT3/CHOP-TRIB3-AKT1-MTOR axis. Moreover, we found that the autophagy induced by salinomycin played a prosurvival role in human NSCLC cells and attenuated the apoptotic cascade. We also showed that salinomycin triggered more apoptosis and less autophagy in A549 cells in which CDH1 expression was inhibited, suggesting that the inhibition of autophagy might represent a promising strategy to target cancer stem cells. In conclusion, these findings provide evidence that combination treatment with salinomycin and pharmacological autophagy inhibitors will be an effective therapeutic strategy for eliminating cancer cells as well as cancer stem cells.     

Salinomycin-induced apoptosis of human prostate cancer cells due to accumulated reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane depolarization

The anticancer activity of salinomycin has evoked excitement due to its recent identification as a selective inhibitor of breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) and its ability to reduce tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. In prostate cancer, similar to other cancer types, CSCs and/or progenitor cancer cells are believed to drive tumor recurrence and tumor growth. Thus salinomycin can potentially interfere with the end-stage progression of hormone-indifferent and chemotherapy-resistant prostate cancer. Androgen-responsive (LNCaP) and androgen-refractive (PC-3, DU-145) human prostate cancer cells showed dose- and time-dependent reduced viability upon salinomycin treatment; non-malignant RWPE-1 prostate cells were relatively less sensitive to drug-induced lethality. Salinomycin triggered apoptosis of PC-3 cells by elevating the intracellular ROS level, which was accompanied by decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, translocation of Bax protein to mitochondria, cytochrome c release to the cytoplasm, activation of the caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP-1, a caspase-3 substrate. Expression of the survival protein Bcl-2 declined. Pretreatment of PC-3 cells with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine prevented escalation of oxidative stress, dissipation of the membrane polarity of mitochondria and changes in downstream molecular events. These results are the first to link elevated oxidative stress and mitochondrial membrane depolarization to salinomycin-mediated apoptosis of prostate cancer cells.     

Salinomycin Promotes Anoikis and Decreases the CD44+/CD24- Stem-Like Population via Inhibition of STAT3 Activation in MDA-MB-231 Cells

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive tumor subtype with an enriched CD44⁺/CD24^- stem-like population. Salinomycin is an antibiotic that has been shown to target cancer stem cells (CSC); however, the mechanisms of action involved have not been well characterized. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of salinomycin on cell death, migration, and invasion, as well as CSC-like properties in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Salinomycin significantly induced anoikis-sensitivity, accompanied by caspase-3 and caspase-8 activation and PARP cleavage, during anchorage-independent growth. Salinomycin treatment also caused a marked suppression of cell migration and invasion with concomitant downregulation of MMP-9 and MMP-2 mRNA levels. Notably, salinomycin inhibited the formation of mammospheres and effectively reduced the CD44⁺/CD24^- stem-like population during anchorage-independent growth. These observations were associated with the inhibition of STAT3 phosphorylation (Tyr705). Furthermore, interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced STAT3 activation was strongly suppressed by salinomycin challenge. These findings support the notion that salinomycin may be potentially efficacious for targeting breast cancer stem-like cells through the inhibition of STAT3 activation.     

Salinomycin overcomes ABC transporter-mediated multidrug and apoptosis resistance in human leukemia stem cell-like KG-1a cells

Leukemia stem cells are known to exhibit multidrug resistance by expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters which constitute transmembrane proteins capable of exporting a wide variety of chemotherapeutic drugs from the cytosol. We show here that human promyeloblastic leukemia KG-1a cells exposed to the histone deacetylase inhibitor phenylbutyrate resemble many characteristics of leukemia stem cells, including expression of functional ABC transporters such as P-glycoprotein, BCRP and MRP8. Consequently, KG-1a cells display resistance to the induction of apoptosis by various chemotherapeutic drugs. Resistance to apoptosis induction by chemotherapeutic drugs can be reversed by cyclosporine A, which effectively inhibits the activity of P-glycoprotein and BCRP, thus demonstrating ABC transporter-mediated drug resistance in KG-1a cells. However, KG-1a are highly sensitive to apoptosis induction by salinomycin, a polyether ionophore antibiotic that has recently been shown to kill human breast cancer stem cell-like cells and to induce apoptosis in human cancer cells displaying multiple mechanisms of drug and apoptosis resistance. Whereas KG-1a cells can be adapted to proliferate in the presence of apoptosis-inducing concentrations of bortezomib and doxorubicin, salinomycin does not permit long-term adaptation of the cells to apoptosis-inducing concentrations. Thus, salinomycin should be regarded as a novel and effective agent for the elimination of leukemia stem cells and other tumor cells exhibiting ABC transporter-mediated multidrug resistance.     

Salinomycin Potentiates the Cytotoxic Effects of TRAIL on Glioblastoma Cell Lines

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been reported to exhibit therapeutic activity in cancer. However, many tumors remain resistant to treatment with TRAIL. Therefore, small molecules that potentiate the cytotoxic effects of TRAIL could be used for combinatorial therapy. Here we found that the ionophore antibiotic salinomycin acts in synergism with TRAIL, enhancing TRAIL-induced apoptosis in glioma cells. Treatment with low doses of salinomycin in combination with TRAIL augmented the activation of caspase-3 and increased TRAIL-R2 cell surface expression. TRAIL-R2 upmodulation was required for mediating the stimulatory effect of salinomycin on TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, since it was abrogated by siRNA-mediated TRAIL-R2 knockdown. Salinomycin in synergism with TRAIL exerts a marked anti-tumor effect in nude mice xenografted with human glioblastoma cells. Our results suggest that the combination of TRAIL and salinomycin may be a useful tool to overcome TRAIL resistance in glioma cells and may represent a potential drug for treatment of these tumors. Importantly, salinomycin+TRAIL were able to induce cell death of well-defined glioblastoma stem-like lines.     

Synthesis,antiproliferative and antibacterial activity of new amides of salinomycin

A series of 11 novel amides of salinomycin were synthesized for the first time. All the obtained compounds were found to show potent antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines including the drug-resistant cancer cells. Four new salinomycin derivatives revealed good antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE).     

Selectivity of cation transport across lipid membranes by the antibiotic salinomycin

The ionophoric antibiotic salinomycin is in the phase of preclinical tests against several types of malignant tumors including breast cancer. Notwithstanding, the data on its ion selectivity, although being critical for its therapeutic activity, are rather scarce. In the present work, we studied the ability of salinomycin to exert cation/H⁺-exchange across artificial bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) by measuring electrical potential on planar BLM in the presence of a protonophore and fluorescence responses of the pH-sensitive dye pyranine entrapped in liposomes. The following order of ion selectivity was obtained by these two methods: K⁺ > Na⁺ > Rb⁺ > Cs⁺ > Li⁺. Measurements of the monovalent cation-induced quenching of fluorescence of thallium ions in methanol showed that salinomycin effectively binds potassium and calcium but poorly binds sodium and lithium ions. At high concentrations, salinomycin transports Ca²⁺ through membranes of liposomes and mitochondria, as measured by using the calcium-sensitive dye Fluo-5 N. The data obtained can be used in the mechanistic studies of the anti-tumor activity of salinomycin and its selective cytotoxicity towards cancer stem cells.