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对多种类型的肿瘤干细胞具有明显的杀伤作用,这些肿瘤包括肝癌、乳腺癌、胃癌、结直肠癌、前列腺癌和骨肉瘤等.盐霉素可以抑制肿瘤干细胞的增殖、分化及转移,并诱导其凋亡. Wnt/β-catenin信号通路是一种在生物进化过程中高度保守的信号系统,与组织的发育和器官形成等生物学过程密切相关,该通路的异常活化在肿瘤及肿瘤干细胞的发生发展中起关键作用.通过靶向阻断异常活化的Wnt信号通路,可以抑制肿瘤细胞和肿瘤干细胞的增殖并诱导其凋亡,因此该通路已经成为抗肿瘤药物领域的研究热点. Wnt/β-catenin信号通路在盐霉素抗肿瘤干细胞过程中起重要作用,本文综述了盐霉素通过调节Wnt/β-catenin信号通路抑制肿瘤干细胞的研究进展.     

盐霉素产量提高及其活性优化

盐霉素(salinomycin)是由白色链霉菌(Streptomyces albus)产生的一元羧酸聚醚类抗生素,具有较强的抗革兰氏阳性菌和杀灭球虫的作用,而且对环境污染也较低;此外,还能特异性地抑制多种肿瘤细胞及肿瘤干细胞的生长,具有多重作用靶点,有望成为抗肿瘤的特效药。为提高盐霉素的产量,人们采用传统诱变技术和现代分子遗传学手段,对盐霉素产生菌进行了改造,获得了高产菌株;同时,通过对盐霉素化学结构进行修饰或者通过药物载体和联合用药等,增强了其活性和靶向性、减少了毒副作用。本文对盐霉素产生菌的改造策略、药物靶向性提高和活性优化等研究进展进行综述,并对今后的研究热点进行展望。     

肿瘤干细胞的光动力治疗研究进展

肿瘤干细胞(cancerstem cells,CSCs)是在肿瘤组织中具有干细胞特性的细胞亚群,它具有正常干细胞的多向分化潜能,能够无限增值和自主分化为各种具有异质性的肿瘤细胞。CSCs在肿瘤的发生、生长、转移中起着重要作用。同时,CSCs对目前大多数治疗如化疗、放疗不敏感,甚至具有耐药性,这也就导致了恶性肿瘤在治疗后容易复发。鉴于此,针对肿瘤干细胞的治疗日益受到关注,光动力疗法(photodynamictherapy,PDT)由于其微创性,不良反应少,靶向性强等特点在肿瘤的治疗研究中不断得到发展。本文将从CSCs的特性入手,结合PDT治疗的最新进展,探讨PDT治疗在肿瘤干细胞治疗中的应用。     

肿瘤相关间充质干细胞及其靶向治疗的研究进展

间充质干细胞（MSCs）存在于许多组织中,在组织出现损伤时会迁移到受伤部位进行修复。而癌症可以被看作是"永远不会愈合的伤口",在肿瘤微环境中MSCs会被持续募集成为肿瘤微环境的一部分。最近出现了一种肿瘤相关间充质干细胞（TA-MSCs）,它可以激活肿瘤的发生,促进肿瘤的发展与转移。本文讨论了MSCs与TA-MSCs之间的关系;探讨对TA-MSCs的最新认识及其调节癌细胞生存、增殖、迁移与耐药能力。而且,讨论了把TA-MSCs作为癌症治疗上游或者下游的靶点或者用MSCs做载体来传递癌症因子将会发展为癌症治疗的新手段。     

光免疫治疗的抗肿瘤研究进展

光免疫治疗是一种新兴的肿瘤靶向光疗手段,它将单克隆抗体的肿瘤特异性与光吸收剂的光毒性相结合,可以快速且极具免疫原选择性地诱导靶肿瘤细胞的死亡。由于靶向性强,光免疫治疗的副作用小。而且因为该疗法诱导的免疫原性死亡会引起垂死肿瘤细胞周围未成熟树突状细胞的快速成熟,继而将肿瘤抗原提呈给CD8+T细胞,导致治疗后CD8+T细胞的激活和增殖,增强宿主抗肿瘤免疫反应。不仅如此,光免疫治疗还能通过增强纳米药物的肿瘤组织穿透性而提高疗效。鉴于光免疫治疗的优良应用前景,文中从其免疫激活机制、超级高渗透长滞留效应、新进展与联合治疗等方面进行综述,旨在为其深入研究和临床转化提供参考。     

肿瘤干细胞靶向治疗研究进展

肿瘤干细胞是存在于肿瘤组织中的一小部分具有自我更新、多向分化和无限增殖能力的细胞,其控制着肿瘤的生长、分化,并且与 肿瘤的耐药性、转移以及复发密切相关。简述近年来国内外学者针对肿瘤干细胞的靶向治疗产品,包括抗体、多肽以及靶向药物的研究进展。 肿瘤干细胞的靶向治疗为临床肿瘤治疗提供了新的希望。     

LGR5在结直肠癌中的作用机制及靶向治疗研究进展

LGR5是7次跨膜G蛋白偶联受体(G protein-coupled receptor,GPCR)超家族成员,在结直肠癌中高表达.研究发现,LGR5是结直肠癌干细胞的标志物,其异常表达能够促进结直肠癌的进展和转移,被认为是重要的结直肠癌预后不良分子.LGR5主要通过Wnt/β-catenin通路参与结直肠癌的发生发展,...     

黑色素瘤免疫治疗作用机制研究进展

皮肤癌是临床中皮肤科常见的恶性肿瘤,以皮肤恶性黑色素瘤（cutaneous malignant melanoma, CM）侵袭性最强。随着人们生活习惯的改变,黑色素瘤的发病率逐渐升高,其发病主要与紫外线辐射引起黑色素细胞突变有关,具有极强的免疫原性,研究CM的发生发展机制对于疾病的治疗至关重要。对皮肤恶性黑色素瘤的免疫治疗及其相关作用机制的研究进行了综述,以期为黑色素瘤的治疗提供新的思路。     

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 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.     

Cancer stem cell impact on clinical oncology

Cancer is a widespread worldwide chronic disease. In most cases, the high mortality rate from cancer correlates with a lack of clear symptoms, which results in late diagnosis for patients, and consequently, advanced tumor disease with poor probabilities for cure, since many patients will show chemo-and radio-resistance. Several mechanisms have been studied to explain chemo-and radio-resistance to anti-tumor therapies, including cell signaling pathways, anti-apoptotic mechanisms, stemness, metabolism, and cellular phenotypes. Interestingly, the presence of cancer stem cells(CSCs), which are a subset of cells within the tumors, has been related to therapy resistance. In this review, we focus on evaluating the presence of CSCs in different tumors such as breast cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, and hematological neoplasias, highlighting studies where CSCs were identified in patient samples. It is evident that there has been a great drive to identify the cell surface phenotypes of CSCs so that they can be used as a tool for anti-tumor therapy treatment design. We also review the potential effect of nanoparticles, drugs, natural compounds, aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitors, cell signaling inhibitors, and antibodies to treat CSCs from specific tumors. Taken together, we present an overview of the role of CSCs in tumorigenesis and how research is advancing to target these highly tumorigenic cells to improve oncology patient outcomes.     

双硫仑抗癌作用研究进展

双硫仑作为一种治疗慢性酒精中毒的药物在临床中广泛使用。近几十年研究发现它除了戒酒作用还在治疗癌症中具有巨大潜力,针对它在体外和体内模型的研究结论已有部分在临床治疗中得到证实。双硫仑通过其代谢产物抑制乙醛脱氢酶活性导致体内乙醛含量积累,增加细胞毒性从而抑制肿瘤干细胞增殖分化;提高细胞内活性氧的浓度诱导细胞凋亡;抑制蛋白酶体活性,积累大量废弃蛋白质诱导细胞凋亡;通过抑制NF-κB下调来抑制上皮间质转化等。此外双硫仑与抗癌药物联合使用可提升抗癌药物药效。由于具有低毒、低成本且对肿瘤组织有趋向性等特点,双硫仑重新应用于临床作为抗癌药物具有广阔前景。简要回顾了双硫仑最新研究中阐明的双硫仑抗癌作用分子机制,展望了未来双硫仑用作新临床抗癌药物的前景,以期为双硫仑在抗癌药物中的应用研究提供参考。     

胃癌干细胞研究进展

胃癌是仅次于肺癌的第二大致死率癌症,尽管近年来对胃癌研究有了很大进展,但由于缺乏良好的动物模型,对胃癌的发病机理仍然不是很清楚.近年的研究表明,肿瘤组织不是由均一细胞构成的,其中存在一些少量细胞可以自我更新并可以分化为肿瘤组织的其他细胞,这类细胞具有类似成体组织干细胞（tissue stem cells）的特性称之为肿瘤干细胞（cancer stem cells）.肿瘤干细胞被认为在肿瘤的生长、转移、复发中发挥着重要作用.有证据表明在胃癌组织中存在胃癌干细胞（gastric cancer stem cells）,但是对胃癌干细胞的来源仍然不是十分明确.对肿瘤干细胞的研究有助于癌症的治疗,改变目前药物针对所有癌细胞的治疗策略.     

Comparative investigation of Salinomycin and flavophospholipol in sheep fed different composed diets

The effects of salinomycin and flavophospholipol, and their relationship with the diet, were studied in nine ruminally and duodenally cannulated wethers. Within the composition of the ration, the levels of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and non‐structural carbohydrates (NSC) were changed (diet H: 74% RDP and 38% NSC; diet M: 57% RDP and 32% NSC; diet L: 48% RDP and 23% NSC). There was no clear treatment effect of flavophospholipol on propionate concentration. Salinomycin supplementation appeared to be more effective than flavophospholipol in the increase of propionate concentration at the expense of acetic acid. Salinomycin significantly reduced the ammonia concentration of the rumen fluid. Microbial N content of the duodenal digesta was significantly lower when salinomycin was used. Salinomycin inhibited proteolysis and reduced the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis. The effect of salinomycin on ruminai N metabolism was independent of the composition of substrate. Unlike salinomycin, flavophospholipol tended to increase proteolysis in the rumen and did not inhibit protein synthesis. The effect of salinomycin on ruminai fermentation and (he duodenal flow of nutrients were independent of substrate composition.     

Therapies targeting cancer stem cells: Current trends and future challenges

Traditional therapies against cancer, chemo- and radiotherapy, have multiple limitations that lead to treatment failure and cancer recurrence. These limitations are related to systemic and local toxicity, while treatment failure and cancer relapse are due to drug resistance and self-renewal, properties of a small population of tumor cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells are involved in cancer initiation, maintenance, metastasis and recurrence. Therefore, in order to develop efficient treatments that can induce a long-lasting clinical response preventing tumor relapse it is important to develop drugs that can specifically target and eliminate CSCs. Recent identification of surface markers and understanding of molecular feature associated with CSC phenotype helped with the design of effective treatments. In this review we discuss targeting surface biomarkers, signaling pathways that regulate CSCs self-renewal and differentiation, drug-efflux pumps involved in apoptosis resistance, microenvironmental signals that sustain CSCs growth, manipulation of miRNA expression, and induction of CSCs apoptosis and differentiation, with specific aim to hamper CSCs regeneration and cancer relapse. Some of these agents are under evaluation in preclinical and clinical studies, most of them for using in combination with traditional therapies. The combined therapy using conventional anticancer drugs with CSCs-targeting agents, may offer a promising strategy for management and eradication of different types of cancers.     

Targeting chemotherapy-resistant tumour sub-populations using inorganic chemistry: Anti-cancer stem cell metal complexes

Cancer stem cells (CSC) are a sub-population of tumours linked to metastasis and relapse. Current chemotherapeutic drug options are ineffective against CSCs at their administered doses. New families of cytotoxic agents, and new, highly specific ways of delivering them to CSCs, are needed to provide durable clinical outcomes. Inorganic compounds have recently emerged as a promising class of anti-CSC agents with clinically relevant potencies. In this short review, we present the very latest efforts (post-2020) on the development of anti-CSC metal complexes. The activities of the metal complexes in monolayer and three-dimensional CSC cultures and animal models is documented. The mechanism of action of the metal complexes with respect to their chemical structures is also highlighted.     

Cancer stem cell hypothesis: a brief summary and two proposals

The investigation and development of the cancer stem cell (CSC) model has received much focus during these years. CSC is characterized as a small fraction of cancer cells that have an indefinite ability for self-renewal and pluripotency and are responsible for initiating and sustaining of the bulk of cancer. So, whether current treatment strategies, most of which target the rapid division of cancer cells, could interfere with the slow-cycling CSCs is broadly questioned. Meanwhile, however, the new understanding of tumorigenesis has led to the development of new drug screening strategies. Both stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells have been vigorously used in pre-clinical studies of their anti-tumor potential, mainly due to their inherent tumoritropic migratory properties and their ability to carry anti-tumor transgenes. Here, based on the tumorigenic and tumoritropic characteristics of CSCs, we proposed two hypotheses exploring possible usage of CSCs as novel anti-tumor agents and potential sources for tissue regeneration. Further experimental validation of these hypotheses may unravel some new research topics.