Cell Death Induction by the Indirubin Derivative 7BIO and the BH3 Mimetic Drugs ABT-737 and GX15-070 in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Cells

Promising Role of Alkaloids in the Prevention and Treatment of Thyroid Cancer and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease: A Comprehensive Review of the Current Evidence

Thyroid cancer (TC) and thyroid autoimmune disorders (AITD) are among the most common diseases in the general population, with higher incidence in women. Chronic inflammation and autoimmunity play a pivotal role in carcinogenesis. Some studies, indeed, have pointed out the presence of AITD as a risk factor for TC, although this issue remains controversial. Prevention of autoimmune disease and cancer is the ultimate goal for clinicians and scientists, but it is not always feasible. Thus, new treatments, that overcome the current barriers to prevention and treatment of TC and AITD are needed. Alkaloids are secondary plant metabolites endowed with several biological activities including anticancer and immunomodulatory properties. In this perspective, alkaloids may represent a promising source of prophylactic and therapeutic agents for TC and AITD. This review encompasses the current published literature on alkaloids effects on TC and AITD, with a specific focus on the pathways involved in TC and AITD development and progression.

Programmed cell death, redox imbalance, and cancer therapeutics

Cancer cells are disordered by nature and thus featured by higher internal redox level than healthy cells. Redox imbalance could trigger programmed cell death if exceeded a certain threshold, rendering therapeutic strategies relying on redox control a possible cancer management solution. Yet, various programmed cell death events have been consecutively discovered, complicating our understandings on their associations with redox imbalance and clinical implications especially therapeutic design. Thus, it is imperative to understand differences and similarities among programmed cell death events regarding their associations with redox imbalance for improved control over these events in malignant cells as well as appropriate design on therapeutic approaches relying on redox control. This review addresses these issues and concludes by bringing affront cold atmospheric plasma as an emerging redox controller with translational potential in clinics.

Anticancer potential of indirubins in medicinal chemistry: Biological activity, structural modification, and structure-activity relationship

Indirubin is the crucial ingredient of Danggui Longhui Wan and Qing-Dai, traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulas used for the therapy of chronic myelocytic leukemia in China for hundreds of years. Although the monomeric indirubin has been used in China for the treatment human chronic myelocytic leukemia. However, due to low water solubility, poor pharmacokinetic properties and low therapeutic effects are the major obstacle, and had significantly limited its clinical application. Consequently, the attractive anticancer profile of indirubin has enthused numerous researchers to discover novel indirubin derivatives with improved pharmacodynamic activity as well as good pharmacokinetic property. In this paper, we comprehensively review the recent progress of anticancer potential of indirubins, structural modification and structure-activity relationship, which may provide useful direction for the further development of novel indirubins with improved pharmacological profiles for the treatment of various types of cancer.

Ferroptosis is a type of autophagy-dependent cell death

Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) involves an intracellular degradation and recycling system that, in a context-dependent manner, can either promote cell survival or accelerate cellular demise. Ferroptosis was originally defined in 2012 as an iron-dependent form of cancer cell death different from apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. However, this latter assumption came into question because, in response to ferroptosis activators (e.g., erastin and RSL3), autophagosomes accumulate, and because components of the autophagy machinery (e.g., ATG3, ATG5, ATG4B, ATG7, ATG13, and BECN1) contribute to ferroptotic cell death. In particular, NCOA4-facilitated ferritinophagy, RAB7A-dependent lipophagy, BECN1-mediated system x_c^- inhibition, STAT3-induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization, and HSP90-associated chaperone-mediated autophagy can promote ferroptosis. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the signaling pathways involved in ferroptosis, while focusing on the regulation of autophagy-dependent ferroptotic cell death. The molecular comprehension of these phenomena may lead to the development of novel anticancer therapies.