Mitogen signal-associated pathways, energy metabolism regulation, and mediation of tumor immunogenicity play essential roles in the cellular response of malignant pleural mesotheliomas to platinum-based treatment: a retrospective study

Background

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare malignant tumor associated with asbestos exposure, with infaust prognosis and overall survival below 20 months in treated patients. Platinum is still the backbone of the chemotherapy protocols, and the reasons for the rather poor efficacy of platinum compounds in MPM remain largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to analyze differences in key signaling pathways and biological mechanisms in therapy-naïve samples and samples after chemotherapy in order to evaluate the effect of platinum-based chemotherapy.

Methods

The study cohort comprised 24 MPM tumor specimens, 12 from therapy-naïve and 12 from patients after platinum-based therapy. Tumor samples were screened using the NanoString nCounter platform for digital gene expression analysis with an appurtenant custom-designed panel comprising a total of 366 mRNAs covering the most important tumor signaling pathways. Significant pathway associations were identified by gene set enrichment analysis using the WEB-based GEne SeT AnaLysis Toolkit (WebGestalt)

Results

We have found reduced activity of TNF (normalized enrichment score: 2.03), IL-17 (normalized enrichment score: 1.93), MAPK (normalized enrichment score: 1.51), and relaxin signaling pathways (normalized enrichment score: 1.42) in the samples obtained after platinum-based therapy. In contrast, AMPK (normalized enrichment score: –1.58), mTOR (normalized enrichment score: –1.50), Wnt (normalized enrichment score: –1.38), and longevity regulating pathway (normalized enrichment score: –1.31) showed significantly elevated expression in the same samples.

Conclusions

We could identify deregulated signaling pathways due to a directed cellular response to platinum-induced cell stress. Our results are paving the ground for a better understanding of cellular responses and escape mechanisms, carrying a high potential for improved clinical management of patients with MPM.

Antitumor activity of tridentate pincer and related metal complexes

Pincer complexes featuring tunable tridentate ligand frameworks are one of the most actively studied classes of metal-based complexes. Currently, growing attention is devoted to the cytotoxicity of pincer and related metal complexes. The antiproliferative activity of numerous pincer complexes has been reported. Pincer tridentate ligand scaffolds show different coordination modes and offer multiple options for directed structural modifications. This review summarizes the significant progress in the research studies of the antitumor activity of pincer and related platinum(ii), gold(iii), palladium(ii), copper(ii), iron(iii), ruthenium(ii), nickel(ii) and some other metal complexes, in order to provide a reference for designing novel metal coordination drug candidates with promising antitumor activity.

Functional Platinum(II) Complexes with Four-Photon Absorption Activity, Lysosome Specificity, and Precise Cancer Therapy

Multiphoton materials are in special demand in the field of photodynamic therapy and multiphoton fluorescence imaging. However, rational design methodology for these brands of materials is still nascent. This is despite transition-metal complexes favoring optimized nonlinear-optical (NLO) activity and heavy-atom-effected phosphorescent emission. Here, three four-photon absorption (4PA) platinum(II) complexes (Pt1-Pt3) are achieved by the incorporation of varied functionalized C^N^C ligands with high yields. Pt1-Pt3 exhibit triplet metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transitions at ∼460 nm, which are verified multiple times by transient absorption spectra, time-dependent density functional theory calculations, and low-temperature emission spectra. Further, Pt1-Pt3 undergo 4PA. Notably, one of the complexes, Pt2, has maximum 4PA cross-sectional values of up to 15.2 × 10^-82 cm⁸ s³ photon^-3 under excitation of a 1600 nm femtosecond laser (near-IR II window). The 4PA cross sections vary when Pt2 is binding to lecithin and when it displays its lysosome-specific targeting behavior. On the basis of the excellent 4PA property of Pt2, we believe that those 4PA platinum(II) complexes have great potential applications in cancer theranostics.

NF-κB hijacking theranostic Pt(ll) complex in cancer therapy

Platinum complexes have been used for anti-cancer propose for decades, however, their high side effects resulting from damage to healthy cells cannot be neglected and prevent further clinical utilisation. Here, we designed a cyclometalated platinum (II) complex that can bind the endogenous nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) protein. Employing detailed colocalization studies in co-culture cell line models, we show that by binding to NF-κB, the platinum (II) complex is capable of upregulated nuclear translocation specifically in cancer but not normal cells, thereby impairing cancer proliferation without disturbing healthy cells. In a murine tumour model, the platinum (II) complex prevents tumour growth to a greater extent than cisplatin and with considerably lower side-effects and kidney damage. Considering its weak damage to normal cells combined with high toxicity to cancer cells, this NF-κB-binding platinum complex is a potential anti-cancer candidate and acts to verify the strategy of hijacking endogenous trans-nuclear proteins to achieve cancer-cell specificity and enhance therapeutic indices.

Anticancer osmium complex inhibitors of the HIF-1α and p300 protein-protein interaction

The hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway has been considered to be an attractive anti-cancer target. One strategy to inhibit HIF activity is through the disruption of the HIF-1α–p300 protein-protein interaction. We report herein the identification of an osmium(II) complex as the first metal-based inhibitor of the HIF-1α–p300 interaction. We evaluated the effect of complex 1 on HIF-1α signaling pathway in vitro and in cellulo by using the dual luciferase reporter assay, co-immunoprecipitation assay, and immunoblot assay. Complex 1 exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of HRE-driven luciferase activity, with an IC₅₀ value of 1.22 μM. Complex 1 interfered with the HIF-1α–p300 interaction as revealed by a dose-dependent reduction of p300 co-precipitated with HIF-1α as the concentration of complex 1 was increased. Complex 1 repressed the phosphorylation of SRC, AKT and STAT3, and had no discernible effect on the activity of NF-κB. We anticipate that complex 1 could be utilized as a promising scaffold for the further development of more potent HIF-1α inhibitors for anti-cancer treatment.

Identification of an iridium(III) complex with anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity

Group 9 transition metal complexes have been widely explored as therapeutic agents due to their unique geometry, their propensity to undergo ligand exchanges with biomolecules and their diverse steric and electronic properties. These metal complexes can offer distinct modes of action in living organisms compared to carbon-based molecules. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial and anti-proliferative abilities of a series of cyclometallated iridium(III) complexes. The iridium(III) complex 1 inhibited the growth of S. aureus with MIC and MBC values of 3.60 and 7.19 μM, respectively, indicating its potent bactericidal activity. Moreover, complex 1 also exhibited cytotoxicity against a number of cancer cell lines, with particular potency against ovarian, cervical and melanoma cells. This cyclometallated iridium(III) complex is the first example of a substitutionally-inert, Group 9 organometallic compound utilized as a direct and selective inhibitor of S. aureus.