Cytotoxic effects induced by interferon-ω gene lipofection through ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane potential disruption in feline mammary carcinoma cells

Cross-Species Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Molecular and Functional Diversity of the Unconventional Interferon-ω Subtype

Innate immune interferons (IFNs), particularly type I IFNs, are primary mediators regulating animal antiviral, antitumor, and cell-proliferative activity. These antiviral cytokines have evolved remarkable molecular and functional diversity to confront ever-evolving viral threats and physiological regulation. We have annotated IFN gene families across 110 animal genomes, and showed that IFN genes, after originating in jawed fishes, had several significant evolutionary surges in vertebrate species of amphibians, bats and ungulates, particularly pigs and cattle. For example, pigs have the largest but still expanding type I IFN family consisting of nearly 60 IFN-coding genes that encode seven IFN subtypes including multigene subtypes of IFN-α, -δ, and -ω. Whereas, subtypes such as IFN-α and -β have been widely studied in many species, the unconventional subtypes such as IFN-ω have barely been investigated. We have cross-species defined the IFN evolution, and shown that unconventional IFN subtypes particularly the IFN-ω subtype have evolved several novel features including: (1) being a signature multi-gene subtype expanding primarily in mammals such as bats and ungulates, (2) emerging isoforms that have superior antiviral potency than typical IFN-α, (3) highly cross-species antiviral (but little anti-proliferative) activity exerted in cells of humans and other mammalian species, and (4) demonstrating potential novel molecular and functional properties. This study focused on IFN-ω to investigate the immunogenetic evolution and functional diversity of unconventional IFN subtypes, which may further IFN-based novel antiviral design pertinent to their cross-species high antiviral and novel activities.

Iso-pencillixanthone A from a marine-derived fungus reverses multidrug resistance in cervical cancer cells through down-regulating P-gp and re-activating apoptosis

The occurrence of multidrug resistance (MDR) is highly associated with the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, among which, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) plays one of the most important roles. Iso-pencillixanthone A (iso-PXA) is a compound isolated from the marine-derived fungus Penicillium oxalicum. No studies on the anti-tumor effect of this compound have been reported, except for a few focusing on its bactericidal properties. In this study, we found iso-PXA could stimulate P-gp ATPase activity and attenuate P-gp expression to increase the intracellular drug concentration in the cervical vincristine (VCR)-resistant cell line HeLa/VCR. Then, it increased ROS generation, depolarized MMP, promoted the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and further activated caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP to induce cell apoptosis effectively through the intrinsic pathway. Caspase-8 medicated cleavage of Bid into the truncated form tBid partially initiated the mitochondrial apoptotic events. The elevation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, the accumulation of FBW7 and the degradation of Mcl-1 accelerated the iso-PXA induced apoptotic process. The HeLa/VCR cell xenograft model again confirmed that iso-PXA had much better efficacy than vincristine in vivo. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that iso-PXA elicited remarkable anti-tumor and anti-MDR activity through inhibiting P-gp expression and function and re-activating the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in vitro and in vivo, suggesting it as a potential chemotherapeutic lead compound in the treatment of cervical MDR cancers.

Production of biologically active feline interferon beta in insect larvae using a recombinant baculovirus

Feline interferon beta is a cytokine that belongs to the type I IFN family, with antitumor, antiviral and immunomodulatory functions. In this work, recombinant feline interferon beta (rFeIFNβ) was expressed in insect larvae that constitute important agronomic plagues. rFeIFNβ accumulated in the hemolymph of Spodoptera frugiperda larvae infected with recombinant baculovirus and was purified by Blue-Sepharose chromatography directly from larval homogenates on day 4 post-infection. rFeIFNβ was recovered after purification with a specific activity of 1 × 10⁶ IU mg^-1. By this method, we obtained 8.9 × 10⁴ IU of purified rFeIFNβ per larva. The product was biologically active in vitro, with an antiviral activity of 9.5 × 10⁴ IU mL^-1, as well as a potent antitumor activity comparable to that of the commercial FeIFNω. The glycosylation of rFeIFNβ was confirmed by peptide-N-glycosidase F digestion. Our findings provide a cost-effective platform for large-scale rFeIFNβ production in laboratory research or veterinary medicine applications.

Shikonin induces ROS-based mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in colon cancer

Colon cancer is the third most common malignancy worldwide, and chemotherapy is a widely used strategy in clinical therapy. Chemotherapy-resistant of colon cancer is the main cause of recurrence and progression. Novel drugs with efficacy and safety in treating colon cancer are urgently needed. Shikonin, a naphthoquinone derived from the roots of the herbal plant Lithospermum erythrorhizon, has been determined to be a potent anti-tumor agent. The aim of the present study was to detect the underlying anti-tumor mechanism of shikonin in colon cancer. We found that shikonin suppressed the growth of colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. Shikonin induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, which was regulated by Bcl-2 family proteins. Shikonin increased the generation of intracellular ROS, which played an upstream role in shikonin-induced apoptosis. Our data indicated that generation of ROS, down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of the caspase cascade were components of the programmed event of shikonin-induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells. In addition, shikonin presented minimal toxicity to non-neoplastic colon cells and no liver injury in xenograft models, showing safety in the control of colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings suggest that shikonin might serve as a potential novel therapeutic drug in the treatment of human colon cancer.

Inhibition of bioenergetic metabolism by the combination of metformin and 2-deoxyglucose highly decreases viability of feline mammary carcinoma cells

Feline mammary carcinoma (FMC) is a highly aggressive pathology that has been proposed as an interesting model of breast cancer disease, especially for the hormone refractory subgroup. Recently, cancer cell metabolism has been described as a hallmark of cancer cells. Here, we investigate the effects and mechanism of metabolic modulation by metformin (MET, anti-diabetic drug), 2-deoxyglucose (2DG, hexokinase inhibitor) or a combination of both drugs, MET/2DG on two established FMC cells lines: AlRB (HER2 (3+) and Ki67<5%) and AlRATN (HER2 (-) and Ki67>15%). We found that treatments significantly decreased both FMC cells viability by up to 80%. AlRB resulted more sensitive to 2DG than AlRATN (IC50: 3.15 vs 6.32mM, respectively). The combination of MET/2DG potentiated the effects of the individually added drugs on FMC cells. In addition, MET/2DG caused an increased in intracellular oxidants, autophagic vesicles and completely inhibited colony formation. Conversely, only MET significantly altered plasma membrane integrity, presented late apoptotic/necrotic cells and increased both glucose consumption and lactate concentration. Our results support further studies to investigate the potential use of this metabolic modulation approach in a clinical veterinary setting.

Shikonin induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and enhances chemotherapeutic sensitivity of gastric cancer through reactive oxygen species

The prognosis of gastric cancer remains poor due to clinical drug resistance. Novel drugs are urgently needed. Shikonin (SHK), a natural naphthoquinone, has been reported to trigger cell death and overcome drug resistance in anti-tumour therapy. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness and molecular mechanisms of SHK in treatment with gastric cancer. In vitro, SHK suppresses proliferation and triggers cell death of gastric cancer cells but leads minor damage to gastric epithelial cells. SHK induces the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), depolarizes the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ultimately triggers mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. We confirmed that SHK induces apoptosis of gastric cancer cells not only in a caspase-dependent manner which releases Cytochrome C and triggers the caspase cascade, but also in a caspase-independent manner which mediates the nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor and Endonuclease G. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SHK enhanced the chemotherapeutic sensitivity of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our data show that SHK may be a novel therapeutic agent in the clinical treatment of gastric cancer.