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Tan X, Gong L, Li X, Zhang X, Sun J, Luo X, Wang Q, Chen J, Xie L, Han S. Promethazine inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells by suppressing the PI3K/AKT pathway. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 143:112174. [PMID: 34560542 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To elucidate the potential effect of promethazine on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and the underlying mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS Targets of the drug promethazine (PMTZ) were identified by DrugBank and comparative toxicogenomic databases (CTD), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was performed with STRING software. The effects of PMTZ were predicted to be associated with the PI3K/AKT pathway. Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8) assays were used to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of PMTZ on the proliferation of various types of CRC cells. Flow cytometry and Western blotting analyses were used to detect the degree of CRC cell apoptosis and the expression of the apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 after PMTZ treatment. The expression levels of PI3K/AKT pathway-related proteins [PI3K, AKT, phosphorylated (P)-PI3K and p-AKT] in CRC cells treated with PMTZ were analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS PMTZ inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of CRC cells and suppressed the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS PMTZ may suppress the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of CRC cells by inhibiting the PI3K/ AKT signaling pathway. This study reported, for the first time, the function of PMTZ in CRC cells and the underlying mechanism and further confirmed the potential antitumor effects of phenothiazine. The combination of bioinformatics analyses and experiments provides informative evidence for the reuse of drugs and the development of new drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Tan
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Liuyun Gong
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Xinyue Li
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Xinyue Zhang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Jiahao Sun
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Xuehui Luo
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Lina Xie
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China
| | - Suxia Han
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, PR China.
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Medeiros HCD, Colturato-Kido C, Ferraz LS, Costa CA, Moraes VWR, Paredes-Gamero EJ, Tersariol ILS, Rodrigues T. AMPK activation induced by promethazine increases NOXA expression and Beclin-1 phosphorylation and drives autophagy-associated apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia. Chem Biol Interact 2019; 315:108888. [PMID: 31682805 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2019.108888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Relapse and drug resistance is still major challenges in the treatment of leukemia. Promethazine, an antihistaminic phenothiazine derivative, has been used to prevent chemotherapy-induced emesis, although there is no report about its antitumor potential. Thus, we evaluated the promethazine cytotoxicity against several leukemia cells and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Promethazine exhibited potent and selective cytotoxicity against all leukemia cell types in vitro at clinically relevant concentrations. Philadelphia positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cells were the most sensitive cell line. The cytotoxicity of promethazine in these cells was triggered by the activation of AMPK and inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The subsequent downstream effects were NOXA increase, MCL-1 decrease, and Beclin-1 activation, resulting in autophagy-associated apoptosis. These data highlight targeting autophagy may represent an interesting strategy in CML therapy, and also the antitumor potential of promethazine by acting in AMPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways. Since this drug is currently used with relative low side effects, its repurposing may represent a new therapeutic opportunity for leukemia treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyllana C D Medeiros
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil
| | - Carina Colturato-Kido
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil
| | - Letícia S Ferraz
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil
| | - Claudia A Costa
- Interdisciplinary Center of Biochemistry Investigation (CIIB), University of Mogi das Cruzes (UMC), Mogi das Cruzes, SP, Brazil
| | - Vivian W R Moraes
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Edgar Julian Paredes-Gamero
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Ivarne L S Tersariol
- Department of Biochemistry, São Paulo School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Tiago Rodrigues
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences (CCNH), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, SP, Brazil.
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