Aspirin inhibits NF-κB activation in a glycolysis-depleted lung epithelial cell line

SIRT6 promotes ferroptosis and attenuates glycolysis in pancreatic cancer through regulation of the NF‑κB pathway

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a malignant tumor with high mortality worldwide. SIRT6 plays versatile roles in human cancers. However, SIRT6 has rarely been studied in PC. The purpose of the present study was to explore the function and potential mechanism of SIRT6 in PC. The expression of SIRT6 in PC tissues and cells was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. The overall survival time was analyzed through the Kaplan Meier method. Cell viability was measured by the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. The Fe²⁺ content, glucose uptake, lactic acid and ATP production were detected through the corresponding kits. ROS was evaluated using the DCFH-DA detection kit. Protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry or western blot analysis. In the present study, SIRT6 was lowly expressed in PC tissues and cells compared with normal tissues and cells. Moreover, the low expression of SIRT6 was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with PC. Upregulation of SIRT6 significantly promoted the ferroptosis and inhibited the glycolysis in PC cells. However, knockdown of SIRT6 resisted ferroptosis and increased glycolysis in PC cells. Further studies found that the activation of NF-κB could reverse the effect of SIRT6 on PC cells. In addition, overexpression of SIRT6 restrained the growth of xenografted tumors and suppressed the nuclear transcription of NF-κB in vivo. Collectively, the present study indicated that SIRT6 promoted ferroptosis and inhibited glycolysis through inactivating the NF-κB signaling pathway in PC. These findings suggested that SIRT6 may become a therapeutic target for PC.

Sulfasalazine as an Immunomodulator of the Inflammatory Process during HIV-1 Infection

Background: HIV-1 induces an uncontrolled inflammatory response of several immune components, such as inflammasomes. These molecular complexes, associated with Toll-like receptor (TLR) activity, induce the maturation and release of IL-1β and IL-18 and eventually induce pyroptosis. It has been previously demonstrated that HIV induces inflammasome activation, which is significantly lower in the gastrointestinal tissue and blood from people living with HIV-1 with spontaneous control of viral replication. Therefore, immunomodulatory agents could be useful in improving HIV prognosis. Objective: To evaluate the potential inhibitory effect of sulfasalazine (SSZ) on inflammasomes and TLRs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from people living with HIV and healthy donors. Methods: PBMCs were obtained from 15 people living with HIV and 15 healthy donors. Cells were stimulated with agonists of TLRs and inflammasomes and subsequently treated with SSZ. The concentration of IL-1β and the relative expression of NLRP3, NLRC4, NLRP1, AIM2, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 were quantified. Results: Cells treated with SSZ exhibited a decreased IL-1β production after inflammasome and TLR stimulation, as well as regulation of inflammasome-related genes, in both people with HIV and healthy individuals. The concentration of IL-1β was positively correlated with the CD4+ T-cell count and negatively with the viral load. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SSZ has an immunomodulatory effect on inflammasome and TLR activation that depends on the clinical HIV status.

Inhibitory Effect of Aspirin on Cholangiocarcinoma Cells

Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the risk of cancer due to their anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects, which are the important mechanisms for their anti-tumor activity. Here, the effect of aspirin on human cholangiocarcinoma cells (KKU-214) and the underlying mechanisms of its action were explored. Cell proliferation was measured by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay, while cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to explore protein expression underlying molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer treatment of aspirin. Aspirin reduced cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and altered the cell cycle phase distribution of KKU-214 cells by increasing the proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase and reducing the proportion in the S and G2/M phases. Consistent with its effect on the cell cycle, aspirin also reduced the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (Cdk-4), which are important for G0/G1 cell cycle progression. Treatment with aspirin led to increased induction of apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Further analysis of the mechanism underlying the effect of this drug showed that aspirin induced the expression of the tumor-suppressor protein p53 while inhibiting the anti-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2). Correspondingly, the activation of caspase-9 and -3 was also increased. These findings suggest that aspirin causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, both of which could contribute to its anti-proliferative effect.

Long-term Treatment with Anti-platelet Agents for Collagen-induced Arthritis Improves Radiological Findings

Objectives

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the long-term effect of anti-platelet treatment on the radiological progression of collagen-induced arthritis in rats.

Methods

Female Lewis rats with collagen-induced arthritis were divided into three experimental groups: saline, aspirin monotherapy (n = 12), and aspirin–clopidogrel dual therapy (n = 12). Drugs were administered daily and continued up to 70 days after the induction of arthritis. The clinical arthritis index (weight, morphology score, and paw thickness) and radiological scores were evaluated.

Results

The clinical arthritis index peaked on day 20, while the radiological scores peaked on day 35. No intergroup difference was observed in the clinical arthritis index throughout the experiment. The aspirin–clopidogrel dual therapy group had a significantly higher mean radiological score than the other groups (p = 0.045) on day 35. Further treatments resulted in significantly improved radiological findings in the aspirin monotherapy and aspirin–clopidogrel dual therapy groups on day 70 but no significant improvement in the saline group.

Conclusion

Anti-platelet agent treatment improved radiological findings on day 70. These observations emphasize the importance of a future long-term study of the effects of anti-platelet agent treatment on arthritis.

New 3'-O-aromatic acyl-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine derivatives as potential anticancer agents

New aromatic and aliphatic 3'-O-acyl-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as candidates for prodrugs against various cancer cell lines. As the most promising candidate for antimalignant therapeutics was found a dual-acting acyl derivative 7h, which apparently released not only the known anticancer nucleoside, 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdU), but also an additional active metabolite, acetylsalicylic acid, reinforcing thus therapeutic effect of FdU. Promising therapeutic indices showed also some aromatic dicarboxylic acids derivatives decorated with FdU esters (11 and 12).

Aspirin induces lytic cytotoxicity in Epstein-Barr virus-positive cells

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in tumor cells is generally restricted to the latent forms of viral infection. Switching the latent form of viral infection into the lytic form may induce tumor cell death. High levels of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB can inhibit EBV lytic replication, and aspirin has the ability to inhibit NF-kappaB activity. The aims of the current study were to determine the effects of aspirin on inducing EBV lytic infection, and thus to reveal the possibility of targeting EBV-positive cancer cells by aspirin. Our results showed that aspirin depleted NF-kappaB (p65) in the nucleus and reactivated EBV into lytic replication. Cells exhibited decreased viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner when incubated with aspirin. When ganciclovir was used in combination with aspirin to treat EBV-positive B95.8 cells and Raji cells, the cytotoxic effect of aspirin was amplified. We demonstrated that aspirin reduced the viability of EBV-positive B lymphocytes due to its ability to induce EBV lytic replication.

Clinical trials with bephenium hydroxy naphthoate in intestinal parasitism

Glycolysis is critical for cancer stem cell reprogramming; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we show that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) is enriched in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), whereas depletion of PDK1 remarkably diminishes ALDH⁺ subpopulations, decreases stemness-related transcriptional factor expression, and inhibits sphere-formation ability and tumor growth. Conversely, high levels of PDK1 enhance BCSC properties and are correlated with poor overall survival. In mouse xenograft tumor, PDK1 is accumulated in hypoxic regions and activates glycolysis to promote stem-like traits. Moreover, through screening hypoxia-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in PDK1-positive tissue, we find that lncRNA H19 is responsible for glycolysis and BCSC maintenance. Furthermore, H19 knockdown decreases PDK1 expression in hypoxia, and ablation of PDK1 counteracts H19-mediated glycolysis and self-renewal ability in vitro and in vivo. Accordingly, H19 and PDK1 expression exhibits strong correlations in primary breast carcinomas. H19 acting as a competitive endogenous RNA sequesters miRNA let-7 to release Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, leading to an increase in PDK1 expression. Lastly, aspirin markedly attenuates glycolysis and cancer stem-like characteristics by suppressing both H19 and PDK1. Thus, these novel findings demonstrate that the glycolysis gatekeeper PDK1 has a critical role in BCSC reprogramming and provides a potential therapeutic strategy for breast malignancy.