Counteracting Action of Curcumin on High Glucose-Induced Chemoresistance in Hepatic Carcinoma Cells

Discovery of newer 1,3,4-Oxadiazole clubbed Isoindoline-1,3-dione derivatives as potential anticancer agents: Design, machine learning, synthesis, molecular docking, ADMET, DFT and MD simulation

Cancer remains to be the second leading cause of death, since the available drugs and therapies may get failure due to the early-stage drug resistance, metastasis, poor pharmacokinetics, and toxic effects. This gap can be fulfilled by designing potential anticancer agent with the Phthalimide as a prime scaffold. The robust and reliable pharmacophore model was used for the designing of newer Phthalimide derivatives. Additionally, we clubbed 1,3,4-Oxadiazole with Phthalimide to fulfil these features. The predicted IC50 for all the designed compounds are in µM range and DFT study also confirmed the reactive nature of these molecules. The designed compounds were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectroscopy. The in-vitro anticancer evaluation was carried out by performing MTT assay on MCF-7 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines. All compounds showed moderate to potent anticancer activity. The compound B19 was found to be the most potent against both the MCF-7 and HCT-116 with IC50 of 3.468 and 4.508 µM respectively. All the compounds showed good docking score in terms of binding affinity, lib dock score, CDOCKER interaction and binding free energy. MD Simulation study reviled good stability, compactness and rigidity of potent compound throughout the 100 ns run. ADMET results supports the good pharmacokinetics and lower toxicity. In conclusion, we suggest the compound B19 is potential drug-like candidate can be utilized in anticancer treatment on further confirmations. This study is widely useful for the medicinal chemists and scientific community.

Targeting mTOR with curcumin: therapeutic implications for complex diseases

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a crucial enzyme in regulating multiple signaling pathways in the body, including autophagy, proliferation and apoptosis. Disruption of these mTOR signaling pathways can lead to an array of abnormalities and trigger disease processes, examples being neurodegenerative conditions, cancer, obesity and diabetes. Under conditions of oxidative stress, mTOR can regulate apoptosis and autophagy, with tissue repair being favored under such circumstances. Moreover, the correlation between mTOR and other signaling pathways could play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of numerous disorders. mTOR has a tight connection with NF-κB, Akt, PI3K, MAPK, GSK-3β, Nrf2/HO-1, JAK/STAT, CREB/BDNF, and ERK1/2 pathways, which together could play significant roles in the regulation of inflammation, apoptosis, cell survival, and oxidative stress in different body organs. Research suggests that inhibiting mTOR could be beneficial in treating metabolic, neurological and cardiovascular conditions, as well as potentially extending life expectancy. Therefore, identifying new chemicals and agents that can modulate the mTOR signaling pathway holds promise for treating and preventing these disorders. Curcumin is one such agent that has demonstrated regulatory effects on the mTOR pathway, making it an exciting alternative for reducing complications associated with complex diseases by targeting mTOR. This review aims to examine the potential of curcumin in modulating the mTOR signaling pathway and its therapeutic implications.

A novel approach to regulate glucose uptake in an anaplastic thyroid cancer cell line

AIMS AND BACKGROUND

Curcumin's function in affecting cancer metabolic reprogramming remains poorly understood. Herein, we aimed to elucidate a novel link between Curcumin and the glucose uptake metabolism and glucose transporters (GLUTs) status in SW1736 cell line derived from anaplastic thyroid cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

TheMTT test and flow cytometry was employed to test cell viability and cell death. For glucose uptake detection, ''GOD-PAP'' enzymatic colorimetric assay was applied to measure the direct glucose levels inside of the cells. Determination of GLUT1 and GLUT3 mRNA and protein expression in SW1736 cells was performed by qRT-PCR and western blotting. Also, the scratch wound healing assay was conducted for cell migration.

RESULTS

The data indicated that Curcumin-induced cell death is independent of apoptosis in this type of thyroid cancer cell line. Furthermore, significantly reduced GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression was observed after treatment with Curcumin, resulting in the inhibition of glucose uptake (p < 0.05). Scratch assay indicated the inhibition of cell migration in SW1736 cells treated by Curcumin (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that GLUTs as metabolic targets can be blocked specifically by Curcumin for thyroid cancer prevention. Curcumin, as a promising anti-cancer agent, inhibits the growth of SW1736 anaplastic thyroid cancer cell line by regulating glucose uptake pathway and cell death. Altogether, these results suggest that the glucose pathway may be an important target for therapeutic intervention to sensitize tumor cells to cell death process by inhibition of glucose transporters.

Carbohydrate polymer-based nanoparticles with cell membrane camouflage for cancer therapy: A review

Recent developments in biomimetic nanoparticles, specifically carbohydrate polymer-coated cell membrane nanoparticles, have demonstrated considerable promise in treating cancer. These systems improve drug delivery by imitating natural cell actions, enhancing biocompatibility, and decreasing immune clearance. Conventional drug delivery methods frequently face challenges with non-specific dispersal and immune detection, which can hinder their efficiency and safety. These biomimetic nanoparticles improve target specificity, retention times, and therapeutic efficiency by using biological components like chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and alginate. Chitosan-based nanoparticles, which come from polysaccharides found in nature, have self-assembly abilities that make them better drug carriers. Hyaluronic acid helps target tissues more effectively, especially in cancer environments where there are high levels of hyaluronic acid receptors. Alginate-based systems also enhance drug delivery by being biocompatible and degradable, making them ideal choices for advanced therapeutic uses. Moreover, these particles hold potential for overcoming resistance to multiple drugs and boosting the body's immune reaction to tumors through precise delivery and decreased side effects of chemotherapy drugs. This review delves into the possibilities of using carbohydrate polymer-functionalized nanoparticles and their impact on enhancing the efficacy of cancer treatment.

Targeting Metabolic-Redox Nexus to Regulate Drug Resistance: From Mechanism to Tumor Therapy

Drug resistance is currently one of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment. With the deepening understanding of drug resistance, various mechanisms have been revealed, including metabolic reprogramming and alterations of redox balance. Notably, metabolic reprogramming mediates the survival of tumor cells in harsh environments, thereby promoting the development of drug resistance. In addition, the changes during metabolic pattern shift trigger reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which in turn regulates cellular metabolism, DNA repair, cell death, and drug metabolism in direct or indirect ways to influence the sensitivity of tumors to therapies. Therefore, the intersection of metabolism and ROS profoundly affects tumor drug resistance, and clarifying the entangled mechanisms may be beneficial for developing drugs and treatment methods to thwart drug resistance. In this review, we will summarize the regulatory mechanism of redox and metabolism on tumor drug resistance and highlight recent therapeutic strategies targeting metabolic-redox circuits, including dietary interventions, novel chemosynthetic drugs, drug combination regimens, and novel drug delivery systems.

Strategies to enhance the response of liver cancer to pharmacological treatments

In contrast to other types of cancers, there is no available efficient pharmacological treatment to improve the outcomes of patients suffering from major primary liver cancers, i.e., hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. This dismal situation is partly due to the existence in these tumors of many different and synergistic mechanisms of resistance, accounting for the lack of response of these patients, not only to classical chemotherapy but also to more modern pharmacological agents based on the inhibition of tyrosine kinase receptors (TKIs) and the stimulation of the immune response against the tumor using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This review summarizes the efforts to develop strategies to overcome this severe limitation, including searching for novel drugs derived from synthetic, semisynthetic, or natural products with vectorial properties against therapeutic targets to increase drug uptake or reduce drug export from cancer cells. Besides, immunotherapy is a promising line of research that is already starting to be implemented in clinical practice. Although less successful than in other cancers, the foreseen future for this strategy in treating liver cancers is considerable. Similarly, the pharmacological inhibition of epigenetic targets is highly promising. Many novel "epidrugs," able to act on "writer," "reader," and "eraser" epigenetic players, are currently being evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies. Finally, gene therapy is a broad field of research in the fight against liver cancer chemoresistance, based on the impressive advances recently achieved in gene manipulation. In sum, although the present is still dismal, there is reason for hope in the non-too-distant future.

Disulfidptosis, A Novel Cell Death Pathway: Molecular Landscape and Therapeutic Implications

Programmed cell death is pivotal for several physiological processes, including immune defense. Further, it has been implicated in the pathogenesis of developmental disorders and the onset of numerous diseases. Multiple modes of programmed cell death, including apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis, have been identified, each with their own unique characteristics and biological implications. In February 2023, Liu Xiaoguang and his team discovered "disulfidptosis," a novel pathway of programmed cell death. Their findings demonstrated that disulfidptosis is triggered in glucose-starved cells exhibiting high expression of a protein called SLC7A11. Furthermore, disulfidptosis is marked by a drastic imbalance in the NADPH/NADP+ ratio and the abnormal accumulation of disulfides like cystine. These changes ultimately lead to the destabilization of the F-actin network, causing cell death. Given that high SLC7A11 expression is a key feature of certain cancers, these findings indicate that disulfidptosis could serve as the basis of innovative anti-cancer therapies. Hence, this review delves into the discovery of disulfidptosis, its underlying molecular mechanisms and metabolic regulation, and its prospective applications in disease treatment.

Phytochemicals Target Multiple Metabolic Pathways in Cancer

Cancer metabolic reprogramming is a complex process that provides malignant cells with selective advantages to grow and propagate in the hostile environment created by the immune surveillance of the human organism. This process underpins cancer proliferation, invasion, antioxidant defense, and resistance to anticancer immunity and therapeutics. Perhaps not surprisingly, metabolic rewiring is considered to be one of the "Hallmarks of cancer". Notably, this process often comprises various complementary and overlapping pathways. Today, it is well known that highly selective inhibition of only one of the pathways in a tumor cell often leads to a limited response and, subsequently, to the emergence of resistance. Therefore, to increase the overall effectiveness of antitumor drugs, it is advisable to use multitarget agents that can simultaneously suppress several key processes in the tumor cell. This review is focused on a group of plant-derived natural compounds that simultaneously target different pathways of cancer-associated metabolism, including aerobic glycolysis, respiration, glutaminolysis, one-carbon metabolism, de novo lipogenesis, and β-oxidation of fatty acids. We discuss only those compounds that display inhibitory activity against several metabolic pathways as well as a number of important signaling pathways in cancer. Information about their pharmacokinetics in animals and humans is also presented. Taken together, a number of known plant-derived compounds may target multiple metabolic and signaling pathways in various malignancies, something that bears great potential for the further improvement of antineoplastic therapy.

Curcumin and analogues against head and neck cancer: From drug delivery to molecular mechanisms

BACKGROUND

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most life-threatening diseases which also causes economic burden worldwide. To overcome the limitations of traditional therapies, investigation into alternative adjuvant treatments is crucial.

PURPOSE

Curcumin, a turmeric-derived compound, demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in diverse diseases, including cancer. Furthermore, research focuses on curcumin analogues and novel drug delivery systems, offering approaches for improved efficacy. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of curcumin's current findings, emphasizing its mechanisms of anti-HNSCC effects and potential for clinical application.

METHOD

An electronic search of Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Embase was conducted to identify literature about the application of curcumin or analogues in HNSCC. Titles and abstracts were screened to identify potentially eligible studies. Full-text articles will be obtained and independently evaluated by two authors to make the decision of inclusion in the review.

RESULTS

Curcumin's clinical application is hindered by poor bioavailability, prompting the exploration of methods to enhance it, such as curcumin analogues and novel drug delivery systems. Curcumin could exhibit anti-cancer effects by targeting cancer cells and modulating the tumor microenvironment in HNSCC. Mechanisms of action include cell cycle arrest, apoptosis promotion, reactive oxygen species induction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, attenuation of extracellular matrix degradation, and modulation of tumor metabolism in HNSCC cells. Curcumin also targets various components of the tumor microenvironment, including cancer-associated fibroblasts, innate and adaptive immunity, and lymphovascular niches. Furthermore, curcumin enhances the anti-cancer effects of other drugs as adjunctive therapy. Two clinical trials report its potential clinical applications in treating HNSCC.

CONCLUSION

Curcumin has demonstrated therapeutic potential in HNSCC through in vitro and in vivo studies. Its effectiveness is attributed to its ability to modulate cancer cells and interact with the intricate tumor microenvironment. The development of curcumin analogues and novel drug delivery systems has shown promise in improving its bioavailability, thereby expanding its clinical applications. Further research and exploration in this area hold great potential for harnessing the full therapeutic benefits of curcumin in HNSCC treatment.

Correlations between class I glucose transporter expression patterns and clinical outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Glucose transporters (GLUTs) are highly expressed in various cancers. However, the implications of these variable expression patterns are unclear. This study aimed to clarify the correlation between class I GLUT expression patterns and clinical outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including their potential role in inflammatory signaling.

METHODS

Biopsy tissues from 132 patients with NSCLC (92 adenocarcinomas [ADC] and 40 squamous cell carcinomas [SQCC]) were analyzed. mRNA expression levels of class I GLUTs (solute carrier 2A [SLC2A]1, SLC2A2, SLC2A3, and SLC2A4) and inflammation-related molecules (toll-like receptors TLR4, RelA/p65, and interleukins IL8 and IL6) were measured. Cellular localization of GLUT3 and GLUT4 was investigated using immunofluorescence.

RESULTS

Single, combined, and negative GLUT (SLC2A) expression were observed in 27/92 (29.3%), 27/92 (29.3%), and 38/92 (41.3%, p < 0.001) of ADC and 8/40 (20.0%), 29/40 (72.5%, p < 0.001), and 3/40 (7.5%) of SQCC, respectively. In ADC, the single SLC2A3-expressed group had a significantly poorer prognosis, whereas the single SLC2A4-expressed group had a significantly better prognosis. The combined expression groups showed no significant difference. SLC2A expression was not correlated with SQCC prognosis. SLC2A4 expression correlated with lower IL8 expression. GLUT3 and GLUT4 expressions were localized in the tumor cytoplasm.

CONCLUSIONS

In lung ADC, single SLC2A3 expression correlated with poor prognosis, whereas single SLC2A4 expression correlated with better prognosis and lower IL8 expression. GLUT3 expression, which is increased by IL8 overexpression, may be suppressed by increasing the expression of GLUT4 through decreased IL8 expression.

Curcuminoids as Anticancer Drugs: Pleiotropic Effects, Potential for Metabolic Reprogramming and Prospects for the Future

The number of published studies on curcuminoids in cancer research, including its lead molecule curcumin and synthetic analogs, has been increasing substantially during the past two decades. Insights on the diversity of inhibitory effects they have produced on a multitude of pathways involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression have been provided. As this wealth of data was obtained in settings of various experimental and clinical data, this review first aimed at presenting a chronology of discoveries and an update on their complex in vivo effects. Secondly, there are many interesting questions linked to their pleiotropic effects. One of them, a growing research topic, relates to their ability to modulate metabolic reprogramming. This review will also cover the use of curcuminoids as chemosensitizing molecules that can be combined with several anticancer drugs to reverse the phenomenon of multidrug resistance. Finally, current investigations in these three complementary research fields raise several important questions that will be put among the prospects for the future research related to the importance of these molecules in cancer research.

Orchestral role of lipid metabolic reprogramming in T-cell malignancy

The immune function of normal T cells partially depends on the maneuvering of lipid metabolism through various stages and subsets. Interestingly, T-cell malignancies also reprogram their lipid metabolism to fulfill bioenergetic demand for rapid division. The rewiring of lipid metabolism in T-cell malignancies not only provides survival benefits but also contributes to their stemness, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Owing to distinctive lipid metabolic programming in T-cell cancer, quantitative, qualitative, and spatial enrichment of specific lipid molecules occur. The formation of lipid rafts rich in cholesterol confers physical strength and sustains survival signals. The accumulation of lipids through de novo synthesis and uptake of free lipids contribute to the bioenergetic reserve required for robust demand during migration and metastasis. Lipid storage in cells leads to the formation of specialized structures known as lipid droplets. The inimitable changes in fatty acid synthesis (FAS) and fatty acid oxidation (FAO) are in dynamic balance in T-cell malignancies. FAO fuels the molecular pumps causing chemoresistance, while FAS offers structural and signaling lipids for rapid division. Lipid metabolism in T-cell cancer provides molecules having immunosuppressive abilities. Moreover, the distinctive composition of membrane lipids has implications for immune evasion by malignant cells of T-cell origin. Lipid droplets and lipid rafts are contributors to maintaining hallmarks of cancer in malignancies of T cells. In preclinical settings, molecular targeting of lipid metabolism in T-cell cancer potentiates the antitumor immunity and chemotherapeutic response. Thus, the direct and adjunct benefit of lipid metabolic targeting is expected to improve the clinical management of T-cell malignancies.

Metabolic reprogramming in cancer: Mechanisms and therapeutics

Cancer cells characterized by uncontrolled growth and proliferation require altered metabolic processes to maintain this characteristic. Metabolic reprogramming is a process mediated by various factors, including oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, changes in growth factors, and tumor-host cell interactions, which help to meet the needs of cancer cell anabolism and promote tumor development. Metabolic reprogramming in tumor cells is dynamically variable, depending on the tumor type and microenvironment, and reprogramming involves multiple metabolic pathways. These metabolic pathways have complex mechanisms and involve the coordination of various signaling molecules, proteins, and enzymes, which increases the resistance of tumor cells to traditional antitumor therapies. With the development of cancer therapies, metabolic reprogramming has been recognized as a new therapeutic target for metabolic changes in tumor cells. Therefore, understanding how multiple metabolic pathways in cancer cells change can provide a reference for the development of new therapies for tumor treatment. Here, we systemically reviewed the metabolic changes and their alteration factors, together with the current tumor regulation treatments and other possible treatments that are still under investigation. Continuous efforts are needed to further explore the mechanism of cancer metabolism reprogramming and corresponding metabolic treatments.

Curcumin-Loaded Platelet Membrane Bioinspired Chitosan-Modified Liposome for Effective Cancer Therapy

Cancer is a serious threat to human health, and chemotherapy for cancer is limited by severe side effects. Curcumin (CUR) is a commonly used natural product for antitumor treatment without safety concerns. However, low bioavailability and poor tumor accumulation are great obstacles for its clinical application. Our previous research has demonstrated that platelet membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles can efficiently ameliorate the in vivo kinetic characteristics and enhance the tumor affinity of payloads. Nevertheless, the antitumor efficiency of this formulation still needs to be thoroughly investigated, and its drug release behavior is limited. Herein, CUR-loaded platelet membrane bioinspired chitosan-modified liposome (PCLP-CUR) was constructed to improve CUR release. PCLP-CUR was shown to have long retention time, improved bioavailability, strong tumor targeting capacity and effective cellular uptake. The incorporation of chitosan enabled PCLP-CUR to release cargoes quickly under mild acidic tumor conditions, leading to more complete drug release and favoring subsequent treatment. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations showed that PCLP-CUR could significantly enhance the anticancer efficacy of CUR with minimal side effects through biomimetic membrane and chitosan modification. In summary, this developed delivery system can provide a promising strategy for tumor-targeting therapy and phytochemical delivery.

An appraisal of the current status of inhibition of glucose transporters as an emerging antineoplastic approach: Promising potential of new pan-GLUT inhibitors

Neoplastic cells displayed altered metabolism with accelerated glycolysis. Therefore, these cells need a mammoth supply of glucose for which they display an upregulated expression of various glucose transporters (GLUT). Thus, novel antineoplastic strategies focus on inhibiting GLUT to intersect the glycolytic lifeline of cancer cells. This review focuses on the current status of various GLUT inhibition scenarios. The GLUT inhibitors belong to both natural and synthetic small inhibitory molecules category. As neoplastic cells express multiple GLUT isoforms, it is necessary to use pan-GLUT inhibitors. Nevertheless, it is also necessary that such pan-GLUT inhibitors exert their action at a low concentration so that normal healthy cells are left unharmed and minimal injury is caused to the other vital organs and systems of the body. Moreover, approaches are also emerging from combining GLUT inhibitors with other chemotherapeutic agents to potentiate the antineoplastic action. A new pan-GLUT inhibitor named glutor, a piperazine-one derivative, has shown a potent antineoplastic action owing to its inhibitory action exerted at nanomolar concentrations. The review discusses the merits and limitations of the existing GLUT inhibitory approach with possible future outcomes.

Bioinformatics screening the novel and promising targets of curcumin in hepatocellular carcinoma chemotherapy and prognosis

BACKGROUND

The aim of present study was to screen the novel and promising targets of curcumin in hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and chemotherapy.

METHODS

Potential targets of curcumin were screened from SwissTargetPrediction, ParmMapper and drugbank databases. Potential aberrant genes of hepatocellular carcinoma were screened from Genecards databases. Fifty paired hepatocellular carcinoma patients' gene expression profiles from the GEO database were used to test potential targets of curcumin. Besides, GO analysis, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis and PPI network construction were used to explore the underlying mechanism of candidate hub genes. ROC analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of candidate hub genes, respectively. Real-time PCR was used to verify the results of bioinformatics analysis.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics analysis results suggested that AURKA, CDK1, CCNB1, TOP2A, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 genes served as candidate hub genes. AURKA, CDK1, CCNB1 and TOP2A were significantly upregulated and correlated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, AUC values of which were 95.7, 96.9, 98.1 and 96.1% respectively. There was not significant correlation between the expression of CYP2B6 and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma, while CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 genes were significantly downregulated and correlated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. AUC values of CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 were 96.0, 97.0 and 88.0% respectively. In vitro, we further confirmed that curcumin significantly downregulated the expression of AURKA, CDK1, and TOP2A genes, while significantly upregulated the expression of CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 genes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provided a novel panel of AURKA, CDK1, TOP2A, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4 candidate genes for curcumin related chemotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.