Fusion of apoptosis-related protein Cytochrome c with anti-HER-2 single-chain antibody targets the suppression of HER-2+ breast cancer

Cancer treatment has gradually developed from toxic chemotherapy to targeted therapy with fewer side effects. Approximately 30% of breast cancer patients overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2). Previous studies have successfully produced single-chain antibodies (scFv) targeting HER-2+ breast cancer; however, scFv have poor stability, easy aggregation and a shorter half-life, which have no significant effect on targeting therapy. Moreover, scFv has been considered as a drug delivery platform that can kill target cells by effector molecules. However, the functional killing domains of immunotoxins are mainly derived from plant or bacterial toxins, which have a large molecular weight, low tissue permeability and severe side effects. To address these concerns, we designed several apoptotic immune molecules to replace exogenous toxins using endogenous apoptosis-related protein DNA fragmentation factor 40 (DFF40) and tandem-repeat Cytochrome c base on caspase-3 responsive peptide (DEVD). Our results suggest that DFF40 or Cytc fusion scFv specifically targets HER-2 overexpressing breast cancer cells (SK-BR-3 and BT-474) rather than HER-2 negative cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). Following cellular internalization, apoptosis-related proteins inhibited tumour activity by initiating endogenous apoptosis pathways, which significantly reduced immunogenicity and toxic side effects. Therefore, we suggest that immunoapoptotic molecules may become potential drugs for targeted immunotherapy of breast cancer.     

曲妥珠单抗在HER-2阳性乳腺癌治疗中的研究进展

乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,中国女性乳腺癌发病率逐年上升。人表皮生长因子受体2(human epidermal growth factor receptor-2,HER-2)在近三分之一的乳腺癌患者中呈现基因扩增或受体蛋白高表达。HER-2阳性的乳腺癌患者预后差,术后复发风险高、生存期短。曲妥珠单抗是人表皮生长因子受体-2的特异性抑制剂[1],在HER-2阳性乳腺癌患者的治疗中得到了广泛的应用,并且曲妥珠单抗分子靶向治疗相比于传统的化疗,具有特异性较强,毒副反应相对较小等优点。它改变了HER-2阳性乳腺癌患者的自然疾病进程,延长了患者的生存时间。本文将从四个方面对曲妥珠单抗在HER-2阳性乳腺癌患者治疗中的研究、应用及进展进行综述。     

不同分子分型乳腺癌患者血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2表达水平及其与骨转移、预后的相关性

摘要 目的：分析不同分子分型乳腺癌患者血清胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白3（IGFBP-3）、生成素养蛋白2（Angptl-2）表达水平及其与骨转移、预后的相关性。方法：选取2018年3月-2021年3月东南大学附属中大医院收治的128例乳腺癌骨转移患者进行研究,其中包括Luminal A型50例、42例Luminal B型（HER-2阴性）42例、HER-2过表达型16例、三阴性乳腺癌（TNBC）20例,并分析4种分子分型乳腺癌的临床病理特征,同时采用酶联免疫吸附法检测其血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2表达水平;随访24个月后记录两组患者的预后情况,并采用多因素Logistic模型分析影响4种分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者预后的独立危险因素,以及血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2与不同分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者预后的相关性。结果：Luminal A型、Luminal B型、HER-2过表达型、TNBC型TNM分期、淋巴结转移比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。与Luminal A型、Luminal B型、TNBC型乳腺癌骨转移患者相比,HER-2过表达型乳腺癌骨转移患者的血清IGFBP-3表达水平较低,Angptl-2表达水平较高（P＜0.05）。Luminal A型、Luminal B型、HER-2过表达型、TNBC型乳腺癌骨转移患者的死亡率分别为13.46%、38.46%、23.08%、25.00%。多因素Logistic结果显示,TNM分期、淋巴结转移、血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2均是影响不同分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者预后的独立危险因素（P＜0.05）。血清IGFBP-3异常高表达提示4种分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者的不良预后,而Angptl-2表达水平与4种分子分型乳腺癌的预后呈正相关性（P＜0.05）。针对不同分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者的预后预测中,血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2、IGFBP-3+Angptl-2均呈现AUC＞0.75。结论：血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2可作为HER-2过表达乳腺癌骨转移患者的潜在生物标志物;同时还可根据血清IGFBP-3、Angptl-2表达水平预测不同分子分型乳腺癌骨转移患者的预后。     

Comparison of in situ hybridization methods for the assessment of HER-2/neu gene amplification status in breast cancer using a tissue microarray

BackgroundThis project compared HER-2/neu gene status in breast cancers, as demonstrated by FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) and CISH (chromogenic in situ hybridization) and using a tissue microarray (TMA). The study also aimed to show whether the TMA technique could be used in clinical diagnostics, rather than remain a scientific tool.Materials and methodsA TMA was constructed using 121 breast cancer specimens, 6 cores from each specimen. Demonstration and assessment of HER-2/neu gene status was by FISH (Vysis Path) and CISH (DAKO Duo CISH).ResultsThe 121 breast cancer specimens were divided into 3 groups by HER-2 status, as determined by immunohistochemistry. In the HER-2 negative group no amplification was observed in 36 out of 40 cases. 3 cases showed amplification by both methods and one by CISH alone. The equivocal HER-2 group showed no amplification in 30 out of 41 cases and amplification in 9 cases. One case was FISH negative CISH positive and one was discarded. In the HER-2 positive group, amplification was confirmed in 37 of the 40 cases by both methods. 3 cases were unsuitable for assessment.ConclusionsThis study indicated that CISH is a sensitive alternative to FISH in detecting HER2 gene amplification and may replace FISH in HER2 testing. Good agreement was observed between methods (98.5% – 119 out of 121 cases).Furthermore, as only 4 out of 121 cases were unsuitable for assessment (no signal or missing TMA cores) – it may be feasible to use TMA in diagnostics.     

Comparison of multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification to immunohistochemistry for assessing HER-2/neu amplification in invasive breast cancer

The HER-2/neu transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor is both a prognostic marker and a therapeutic target for breast cancer. Accurate determination of HER-2/neu status is a prerequisite for selecting breast tumors for HER-2/neu immunotherapy or for taxan based chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there is no consensus concerning how this determination should be reached. We compared assessment of HER-2/neu status using Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The patient group comprised 60 Indonesian breast cancers patients. IHC was performed on paraffin sections using the CB11 antibody from Novocastra. Results were scored according to the Hercept test. For MLPA, DNA was extracted from frozen samples, PCR amplified with a probe set containing three hemi-primer sets for the HER-2 locus and another nine control probes spread over chromosome 17 and other chromosomes, and analyzed on a gene scanner. A ratio above two for at least two HER-2 locus probes compared to the control probes was regarded as amplification. IHC for HER-2/neu was negative in 36 cases, and 24 cases (40%) showed expression. Seven, eight and nine of the latter cases were 1+, 2+ and 3+ positive, respectively. Forty-seven cases showed no amplification by MLPA, and 13 cases (22%) were amplified. Comparison of IHC and MPLA showed that none of the 36 IHC-negative or seven IHC 1+ cases was amplified. Five of the eight (63%) 2+ cases were amplified, and eight of nine (89%) of the IHC 3+ tumors showed gene amplification by MLPA assay. For HER-2/neu, there is a good correlation between gene amplification detected by MLPA and overexpression by IHC in invasive breast cancer. It appears that MLPA can detect the HER-2 amplified cases in the IHC 2+ class. Because MLPA is quick and inexpensive, it is an attractive method for detecting HER-2/neu amplification in daily laboratory practice.     

Discovery,synthesis and molecular corroborations of medicinally important novel pyrazoles; drug efficacy determinations through in silico,in vitro and cytotoxicity validations

As the global need for drugs getting increases, the necessity of novel and effective drugs are the need of the day. Pyrazoles are one of the active molecules in novel drug discovery. The present study deals about the synthesis of precursors 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropyl-2-(methylsulfonyl) pyrimidine-5-carbohydrazides (3a-m) from methyl-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropyl-2-(methyl sulfonyl) pyrimidine-5-carboxylate (2) by treating with substituted acetophenone. Further, Vilsmeier-Haack reaction of compounds 3a-m at 70 °C for 8–10 hrs gave novel pyrazole carbaldehyde derivatives (4a-m) in good yield. Biological properties like antioxidant, anti-breast cancer and anti-inflammatory of newly synthesized compounds (4a-m) were determined. The enzymes Cyclooxygenase-2 and Phosphoinositide-3-Kinase are most responsible for the corresponding diseases such as inflammation and breast cancer respectively. In order to examine the interaction between these two enzymes and our synthesized compounds 4a-m, molecular docking study was carried out. From the results, few compounds of 4a-m were found to have anti-inflammatory properties by showing excellent COX-2 inhibition and HRBC membrane stabilization properties. ADMET prediction results were also valuable to screen the most effective pyrazole derivatives to establish them as future COX-2 inhibitors or anti-inflammatory drugs.     

The tumor suppressor RECK interferes with HER-2/Neu dimerization and attenuates its oncogenic signaling

Our previous study demonstrates that HER-2/Neu oncogene inhibits a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor and tumor metastasis suppressor RECK to promote metastasis. Conversely, the effect of RECK on the oncogenic function of HER-2/Neu is unknown. Ectopic expression of RECK in 293T cells and HER-2/Neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells shows that RECK and HER-2/Neu are co-localized and these two proteins can be co-immunoprecipitated. RECK inhibits HER-2/Neu receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation, which causes reduction of ERK and AKT kinase activity and down-regulation of HER-2/Neu target genes. RECK expression is reduced in 58.8% of breast cancer tissues and is associated with lymph node invasion supporting its anti-metastatic role. Collectively, we provide the first evidence that RECK can negatively regulate oncogenic activity of HER-2/Neu by inhibiting receptor dimerization.

Structured summary

HER-2/Neuphysically interacts with HER-2/Neu by blue native page (View interaction)HER-2/Neuphysically interacts with RECK by coimmunoprecipitation (View interaction)HER-2/Neu and RECKcolocalize by fluorescence microscopy (View Interaction 1, 2)HER-2/Neuphysically interacts with RECK by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (View interaction)     

低心血管疾病风险选择性环氧合酶-2抑制剂的虚拟筛选

摘要 目的：寻找具有血栓素A2受体（Thromboxane A2 receptor,TP）抑制作用的选择性环氧合酶-2（Cyclooxygenase-2,COX-2）抑制剂,以期降低其心血管疾病风险。方法：本研究从公开数据库中获取了512种TP抑制剂,通过分子对接、分子动力学模拟和ADMET预测,筛选出化合物TP84。结果：分子对接结果显示,与先前获批的选择性COX-2抑制剂罗非昔布相比,TP84对COX-2的亲和力更高,对环氧合酶-1（Cyclooxygenase-1,COX-1）的亲和力更低;分子动力学模拟进一步表明,模拟过程中TP84与COX-1的结合不稳定,而TP84能稳定结合COX-2,与COX-2的结合自由能是COX-1的3倍;此外,根据ADMET预测,TP84的药物化学、吸收、分布、代谢、排泄和毒性处于类药物候选物的可接受范围内。结论：TP84是一种潜在的低心血管疾病风险选择性COX-2抑制剂。     

Sulfonamide phenylalanine (SPA) series of analogues as an antibacterial,antifungal, anticancer agents along with p53 tumor suppressor-DNA complex inhibitor – part 1

Abstract

A series of N-[1-benzyl-2-oxo-2-substituted(ethyl)] benzene/p-toluene sulfonamide (K1–K12) are synthesized. Structure of the synthesized analogues has been confirmed by FT-IR, ¹H & ¹³C NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopic techniques. All the synthesized analogues (K1–K12) have also been examined for their in-vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compounds showed good antibacterial and antifungal activity against standard drug. Anticancer study has been carried out on three cancer cell lines PC-3, MCF-7 and A549 on two different concentrations (mg/mL and μg/mL). The K4 sulfonamide analogue showed better anticancer activity amongst all analogues against PC-3 and A549 cell lines. K4 inhibit G0/G1 phase in cell-cycle analysis experiment. All synthesized molecules (K1–K12) dock at junction p53-DNA and make hydrogen bonded with residues of p53 protein as per docking study. ADMET predictions of synthesized phenylalanine sulfonamide analogues (K1–K12) has been done using ‘Lipinski rule’ and it has been observed that all synthesized analogues did not violate the rule. Electronic, chemical properties and mulliken atomic charges of analogues were calculated using density functional theory (DFT).

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Structure-based virtual screening,molecular docking,ADMET and molecular simulations to develop benzoxaborole analogs as potential inhibitor against Leishmania donovani trypanothione reductase

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most fatal form of leishmaniasis and it affects 70 countries worldwide. Increasing drug resistant for antileishmanial drugs such as miltefosine, sodium stibogluconate and pentamidine has been reported in the VL endemic region. Amphotericin B has shown potential antileishmanial activity in different formulations but its cost of treatment and associated nephrotoxicity have limited its use by affected people living in the endemic zone. To control the VL infection in the affected countries, it is necessary to develop new antileishmanial compounds with high efficacy and negligible toxicity. Computer aided programs such as binding free energy estimation; ADMET prediction and molecular dynamics simulation can be used to investigate novel antileishmanial molecules in shorter duration. To develop antileishmanial lead molecule, we performed standard precision (SP) docking for 1160 benzoxaborole analogs along with reference inhibitors against trypanothione reductase of Leishmania parasite. Furthermore, extra precision (XP) docking, ADMET prediction, prime MM-GBSA was conducted over 115 ligands, showing better docking score than reference inhibitors to get potential antileishmanial compounds. Simultaneously, area under the curve (AUC) was estimated using ROC plot to validate the SP and XP docking protocol. Later on, two benzoxaborole analogs with best MM-GBSA ΔG-bind were subjected to molecular simulation and docking confirmation to ensure the ligand interaction with TR. The presented drug discovery based on computational study confirms that BOB27 can be used as a potential drug candidate and warrants further experimental investigation to fight against VL in endemic areas.     

Protein biomarkers for subtyping breast cancer and implications for future research

Introduction: Breast cancer subtypes are currently defined by a combination of morphologic, genomic, and proteomic characteristics. These subtypes provide a molecular portrait of the tumor that aids diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment escalation/de-escalation options. Gene expression signatures describing intrinsic breast cancer subtypes for predicting risk of recurrence have been rapidly adopted in the clinic. Despite the use of subtype classifications, many patients develop drug resistance, breast cancer recurrence, or therapy failure.

Areas covered: This review provides a summary of immunohistochemistry, reverse phase protein array, mass spectrometry, and integrative studies that are revealing differences in biological functions within and between breast cancer subtypes. We conclude with a discussion of rigor and reproducibility for proteomic-based biomarker discovery.

Expert commentary: Innovations in proteomics, including implementation of assay guidelines and standards, are facilitating refinement of breast cancer subtypes. Proteomic and phosphoproteomic information distinguish biologically functional subtypes, are predictive of recurrence, and indicate likelihood of drug resistance. Actionable, activated signal transduction pathways can now be quantified and characterized. Proteomic biomarker validation in large, well-designed studies should become a public health priority to capitalize on the wealth of information gleaned from the proteome.     

Theoretical,in Vitro Antiproliferative,and in Silico Molecular Docking and Pharmacokinetics Studies of Heteroleptic Nickel(II) and Copper(II) Complexes of Thiosemicarbazone-Based Ligands and Pefloxacin

Twelve new heteroleptic nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of the type [M(L^1–6)(Pfx)₂] ( 1 – 12 ), where L^1–6=2-benzylidenehydrazinecarbothioamide (L¹), 2-benzylidene-N-methylhydrazinecarbothioamide (L²), 2-benzylidene-N-phenylhydrazinecarbothioamide (L³), 2-(4-methylbenzylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide (L⁴), 2-(4-methylbenzylidene)-N-methylhydrazinecarbothioamide (L⁵) and 2-(4-methylbenzylidene)-N-phenylhydrazinecarbothioamide (L⁶), Pfx=pefloxacin and M=Ni(II) or Cu(II) have been synthesised, and their structures were confirmed by different spectral techniques. The spectral data and density functional theory (DFT) calculations supported the bonding of pefloxacin drug molecule via one of the carboxylate oxygen atoms and the pyridone oxygen atom, and the thiosemicarbazone ligand via the imine nitrogen and the thione sulfur atoms with the metal(II) ion, forming distorted octahedral geometry. In vitro antiproliferative activity of the synthesized complexes was evaluated against three human breast cancer (T47D, estrogen negative (MDA-MB-231) and estrogen positive (MCF-7)) as well as non-tumorigenic human breast epithelial (MCF-10a) cell lines, which showed the higher activity for the copper(II) complexes. The interaction of the synthesized complexes with an oncogenic protein H-ras (121 p) was explored by in silico molecular docking studies. Further, in silico pharmacokinetics and ADMET parameters were also analysed to predict the drug-likeness as well as non-toxic and non-carcinogenic behavior, and safe oral administration of the complexes.     

丙戊酸协同顺铂抑制乳腺癌和结直肠癌细胞生长

摘要 目的：探究丙戊酸（Valproic acid, VPA）协同顺铂抑制乳腺癌和结直肠癌细胞增殖。方法：首先使用Western blot 检测 VPA 对Acetyl-Histone H3蛋白水平的影响,使用Cell Counting Kit-8（CCK-8）法检测 VPA 对乳腺癌和结直肠癌细胞的细胞活力的影响。其次单药顺铂、VPA 和联合用药处理乳腺癌细胞 MDA-MB-231 和结直肠癌细胞 HCT-15,使用 IncuCyte 动态检测细胞生长过程和生长终点。结果：发现VPA 可抑制组蛋白去乙酰化酶的功能,升高Acetyl-Histone H3的蛋白水平,VPA 可抑制乳腺癌细胞和结直肠癌细胞增殖,且对 VPA 的药物敏感性相似;顺铂和 VPA 连用后可显著抑制乳腺癌和结直肠癌细胞增殖和活力。结论：本文发现 VPA 抑制组蛋白去乙酰化酶发挥抑制乳腺癌和结直肠癌细胞生长的新机制,并可以与顺铂连用提高抗肿瘤效果和药物敏感性,为同时患有癫痫和肿瘤的人群提供新的治疗思路。     

2D- and 3D-QSAR modelling,molecular docking and in vitro evaluation studies on 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives against triple-negative breast cancer cell line

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are one of the most aggressive and complex forms of cancers in women. TNBCs are commonly known for their complex heterogeneity and poor prognosis. The present work aimed to develop a predictive 2D and 3D quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models against metastatic TNBC cell line. The 2D-QSAR was based on multiple linear regression analysis and validated by Leave-One-Out (LOO) and external test set prediction approach. QSAR model presented regression coefficient values for training set (r²), LOO-based internal regression (q²) and external test set regression (pred_r²) which are 0.84, 0.82 and 0.75, respectively. Five properties, Epsilon4 (electronegativity), ChiV3cluster (valence molecular connectivity index), chi3chain (retention index for three-membered ring), TNN5 (nitrogen atoms separated through 5 bond distance) and nitrogen counts, were identified as important structural features responsible for anticancer activity of MDA-MB-231 inhibitors. Five novel derivatives of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) named GA-1, GA-2, GA-3, GA-4 and GA-5 were semi-synthesised and screened through the QSAR model. Further, in vitro activities of the derivatives were analysed against human TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231. The result showed that GA-1 exhibits improved cytotoxic activity to that of parent compound (GA). Further, atomic property field (APF)-based 3D-QSAR and scoring recognise C-30 carboxylic group of GA-1 as major influential factor for its anticancer activity. The significance of C-30 carboxylic group in GA derivatives was also confirmed by molecular docking study against cancer target glyoxalase-I. Finally, the oral bioavailability and toxicity of GA-1 were assessed by computational ADMET studies.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Identification of Novel Aldose Reductase Inhibitors from Spices: A Molecular Docking and Simulation Study

Hyperglycemia in diabetic patients results in a diverse range of complications such as diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular diseases. The role of aldose reductase (AR), the key enzyme in the polyol pathway, in these complications is well established. Due to notable side-effects of several drugs, phytochemicals as an alternative has gained considerable importance for the treatment of several ailments. In order to evaluate the inhibitory effects of dietary spices on AR, a collection of phytochemicals were identified from Zingiber officinale (ginger), Curcuma longa (turmeric) Allium sativum (garlic) and Trigonella foenum graecum (fenugreek). Molecular docking was performed for lead identification and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the dynamic behaviour of these protein-ligand interactions. Gingerenones A, B and C, lariciresinol, quercetin and calebin A from these spices exhibited high docking score, binding affinity and sustained protein-ligand interactions. Rescoring of protein ligand interactions at the end of MD simulations produced binding scores that were better than the initially docked conformations. Docking results, ligand interactions and ADMET properties of these molecules were significantly better than commercially available AR inhibitors like epalrestat, sorbinil and ranirestat. Thus, these natural molecules could be potent AR inhibitors.     

Topoisomerase IIalpha gene (TOP2A) amplification and deletion in cancer--more common than anticipated.

In solid tumours the predominant genetic mechanism for oncogene activation is through amplification of genes. The HER-2 (also known as ErbB2/c-erbB2/HER-2/neu) oncogene is the most frequently amplified oncogene in breast cancer and is also commonly amplified in other forms of cancer. The HER-2 amplicon also contains other biologically relevant genes with altered copy numbers, among these genes is the topoisomerase IIalpha (TOP2A). TOP2A gene is located adjacent to the HER-2 oncogene at the chromosome location 17q12-q21 and is either amplified or deleted, with equal frequency, in almost 90% of HER-2 amplified primary breast tumours. Recent data suggest that amplification and deletion of TOP2A may account for both sensitivity and resistance to topoII-inhibitor-chemotherapy, depending on the specific genetic defect at the TOP2A locus. In this issue of the Cytopathology, Bofin et al. present preliminary evidence for high prevalance of TOP2A amplification and deletion not only in the HER-2 amplified breast tumours, but also in the primary breast tumours without the HER-2 amplification. This finding together with the concept that TOP2A gene amplification and deletion seem to account for both relative chemosensitivity and resistance to topoII-inhibitor therapy further highlights the importance of screening for TOP2A gene copy number aberrations when topoII-inhibitors are considered either alone or in combination of other chemotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of cancer patients.     

紫丁香苷调控PI3K/Akt/mTOR信号通路诱导乳腺癌细胞凋亡的研究

目的 研究紫丁香苷的抗乳腺癌作用及分子机制，为紫丁香苷的临床应用提供理论依据。方法 MTT检测紫丁香苷对乳腺癌细胞增殖的抑制作用；台盼蓝、TUNEL和Annexin V-FITC/PI染色检测细胞的凋亡状况，Western bolt检测Caspase-3的活化情况，判断细胞凋亡是否发生；检测凋亡相关蛋白B淋巴细胞瘤2（Bcl-2）的表达，结合JC-1染色探讨紫丁香苷对线粒体凋亡途径的影响；运用PI3K激动剂Recilisib做对比，qRT-PCR和Western bolt检测紫丁香苷调控PI3K/Akt/mTOR通路诱导癌细胞凋亡的作用。结果 紫丁香苷对乳腺癌细胞的增殖具有时间和剂量依赖的抑制作用，能诱导癌细胞发生凋亡。进一步研究发现，紫丁香苷处理后，细胞内Caspase-3被激活，Bcl-2表达下降，线粒体膜电位明显丧失，PI3K、Akt和mTOR的mRNA与蛋白质水平表达无明显变化，但蛋白质磷酸化水平明显下降；Recilisib处理后部分抵消了紫丁香苷对乳腺癌细胞凋亡的作用。结论 紫丁香苷对乳腺癌细胞MDA-MB-231和MCF-7具有良好的抑制作用，其通过抑制PI3K/Akt/mTOR信号通路的活化来抑制细胞增殖并诱导细胞发生线粒体途径的凋亡。紫丁香苷是具有开发潜力的抗乳腺癌药物。     

CD44+ fibroblasts increases breast cancer cell survival and drug resistance via IGF2BP3‐CD44‐IGF2 signalling

CD44, a cell adhesion protein, involves in various process in cancer such as cell survival and metastasis. Most researches on CD44 in cancer focus on cancer cells. Recently, it is found that CD44 expression is high in fibroblasts of tumour microenvironment. However, its role in communication between fibroblasts and breast cancer cells is seldom known. In this study, CD44‐positive (CD44⁺Fbs) and CD44‐negative carcinoma‐associated fibroblasts (CD44^?Fbs) were isolated and cocultured with breast cancer cells for analysis of cell survival and drug resistance. We found that CD44⁺Fbs promoted breast cancer cell survival and paclitaxel resistance and inhibited paclitaxel‐induced apoptosis. Our further research for the molecular mechanism showed that IGF2BP3 bound to CD44 mRNA and enhanced CD44 expression, which increased IGF2 levels of fibroblasts and then stimulated breast cancer cell proliferation and drug resistance. IGF2 was found to activate Hedgehog signal pathway in breast cancer cells. In conclusion, the results illustrated that in CD44⁺Fbs, binding of IGF2BP3 and CD44 promotes IGF2 expression and then accelerates breast cancer cell proliferation, survival and induced chemotherapy resistance likely by activating Hedgehog signal pathways.     

ADMET Properties,Database Screening,Molecular Dynamics,Density Functional,and Docking Studies Of Novel Potential Anti-Cancer Compounds

Abstract

Database screening was performed in a large database (hundreds of thousands of molecules which we optimized at the AM1 level) yielding a set of potential bioactive ligands. One new ligand was selected among the top solutions and optimized at the B3LYP/6–31G* level, yielding also NBO (Natural Bond Order) charges. A flexible docking program was used to investigate the interactions between the receptor and the new ligand. The stability as well as the main protein-ligand contacts of our proposed novel ligand as well as the crystallographic RAR ligand was investigated by molecular dynamics. The ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity) properties as well as the parameters of the Rule of Five were investigated. The result of this work is compared with a crystallographic ligand of RAR. Our novel proposed anti-cancer ligand indicates hydrophobic interactions and strong polar interactions with the receptor.