177Lu Anti-Angiogenic Radioimmunotherapy Targeting ATP Synthase in Gastric Cancer Model

This study investigated a novel radioimmunotherapy strategy for targeting tumor angiogenesis. We developed a radiopharmaceutical complex by labeling an anti-adenosine triphosphate synthase (ATPS) monoclonal antibody (mAb) with the radioisotope 177Lu using DOTA as a chelating agent. 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb demonstrated high labeling efficiency (99.0%) and stability in serum. MKN-45 cancer cells exhibited the highest cellular uptake, which could be specifically blocked by unlabeled ATPS mAb. In mice, 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb accumulated significantly in tumors, with a tumor uptake of 16.0 ± 1.5%ID/g on day 7. 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb treatment significantly reduced the viability of MKN-45 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In a xenograft tumor model, this radioimmunotherapy strategy led to substantial tumor growth inhibition (82.8%). Furthermore, combining 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb with sunitinib, an anti-angiogenic drug, enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of sunitinib in the mouse model. Our study successfully developed 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb, a radioimmunotherapy agent targeting tumor blood vessels. This approach demonstrates significant promise for inhibiting tumor growth, both as a single therapy and in combination with other anti-cancer drugs.

Phytochemicals for the Prevention and Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence and Molecular Mechanisms

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is associated with about 90% of renal malignancies, and its incidence is increasing globally. Plant-derived compounds have gained significant attention in the scientific community for their preventative and therapeutic effects on cancer. To evaluate the anticancer potential of phytocompounds for RCC, we compiled a comprehensive and systematic review of the available literature. Our work was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria. The literature search was performed using scholarly databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect and keywords such as renal cell carcinoma, phytochemicals, cancer, tumor, proliferation, apoptosis, prevention, treatment, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Based on in vitro results, various phytochemicals, such as phenolics, terpenoids, alkaloids, and sulfur-containing compounds, suppressed cell viability, proliferation and growth, showed cytotoxic activity, inhibited invasion and migration, and enhanced the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs in RCC. In various animal tumor models, phytochemicals suppressed renal tumor growth, reduced tumor size, and hindered angiogenesis and metastasis. The relevant antineoplastic mechanisms involved upregulation of caspases, reduction in cyclin activity, induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via modulation of a plethora of cell signaling pathways. Clinical studies demonstrated a reduced risk for the development of kidney cancer and enhancement of the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs. Both preclinical and clinical studies displayed significant promise of utilizing phytochemicals for the prevention and treatment of RCC. Further research, confirming the mechanisms and regulatory pathways, along with randomized controlled trials, are needed to establish the use of phytochemicals in clinical practice.

Gambogic acid: A shining natural compound to nanomedicine for cancer therapeutics

The United States Food and Drug Administration has permitted number of therapeutic agents for cancer treatment. Most of them are expensive and have some degree of systemic toxicity which makes overbearing in clinical settings. Although advanced research continuously applied in cancer therapeutics, but drug resistance, metastasis, and recurrence remain unanswerable. These accounts to an urgent clinical need to discover natural compounds with precisely safe and highly efficient for the cancer prevention and cancer therapy. Gambogic acid (GA) is the principle bioactive and caged xanthone component, a brownish gamboge resin secreted from the of Garcinia hanburyi tree. This molecule showed a spectrum of biological and clinical benefits against various cancers. In this review, we document distinct biological characteristics of GA as a novel anti-cancer agent. This review also delineates specific molecular mechanism(s) of GA that are involved in anti-cancer, anti-metastasis, anti-angiogenesis, and chemo-/radiation sensitizer activities. Furthermore, recent evidence, development, and implementation of various nanoformulations of gambogic acid (nanomedicine) have been described.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma cells growing in 3D on poly‑D‑lysine or laminin present a stem‑like phenotype and drug resistance

3D spheroids are built by heterogeneous cell types in different proliferative and metabolic states and are enriched in cancer stem cells. The main aim of the study was to investigate the usefulness of a novel metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) 3D spheroid culture for in vitro cancer stem cell physiology research and drug toxicity screening. RCC cell lines, Caki-1 (skin metastasis derived) and ACHN (pleural effusion derived), were efficiently cultured in growth-factor/serum deprived, defined, StemXvivo and Nutristem medium on laminin-coated or poly-D-lysine-coated plates. In optimal 3D culture conditions, ACHN cells (StemXVivo/poly-D-lysine) formed small spheroids with remaining adherent cells of an epithelial phenotype, while Caki-1 cells (StemXVivo/laminin) formed large dark spheroids with significantly reduced cell viability in the center. In the 3D structures, expression levels of genes encoding stem transcription factors (OCT4, SOX2, NES) and RCC stem cell markers (CD105, CD133) were deregulated in comparison to these expression levels in traditional 2D culture. Sunitinib, epirubicin and doxycycline were more toxic to cells cultured in monolayers than for cells in 3D spheroids. High numbers of cells arrested in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle were found in spheroids under sunitinib treatment. We showed that metastatic RCC 3D spheroids supported with ECM are a useful model to determine the cancer cell growth characteristics that are not found in adherent 2D cultures. Due to the more complex architecture, spheroids may mimic in vivo micrometastases and may be more appropriate to investigate novel drug candidate responses, including the direct effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitor activity against RCC cells.

Traditional Chinese medicine-combination therapies utilizing nanotechnology-based targeted delivery systems: a new strategy for antitumor treatment

Cancer is a major public health problem, and is now the world’s leading cause of death. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-combination therapy is a new treatment approach and a vital therapeutic strategy for cancer, as it exhibits promising antitumor potential. Nano-targeted drug-delivery systems have remarkable advantages and allow the development of TCM-combination therapies by systematically controlling drug release and delivering drugs to solid tumors. In this review, the anticancer activity of TCM compounds is introduced. The combined use of TCM for antitumor treatment is analyzed and summarized. These combination therapies, using a single nanocarrier system, namely codelivery, are analyzed, issues that require attention are determined, and future perspectives are identified. We carried out a systematic review of >280 studies published in PubMed since 1985 (no patents involved), in order to provide a few basic considerations in terms of the design principles and management of targeted nanotechnology-based TCM-combination therapies.

An overview of anticancer activity of Garcinia and Hypericum

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide (approximately 8.2 million cases/year) and, over the next two decades, a 70% increase in new cancer cases is expected. Through analysis of the available drugs between the years of 1930 and 2014, it was found that 48% were either natural products or their derivatives. This proportion increased to 66% when semi-synthetic products were included. The family Clusiaceae Juss. (Malpighiales) includes approximately 1000 species distributed throughout all tropical and temperate regions. The phytochemical profile of this family includes many chemicals with interesting pharmacological activities, including anticancer activities. This study includes an overview of the in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of secondary metabolites from Garcinia and Hypericum and the mechanisms involved in this activity. Hypericum no longer belong to Clusiaceae family, but was considered in the past by taxonomists, due to similarities with this family. Research in the area has shown that several compounds belonging to different chemical classes exhibit activity in several tumor cell lines in different experimental models. This review shows the significant antineoplasic activity of these compounds, in particular of these two genera and validates the importance of natural products in the search for anticancer drugs.

Recent research on bioactive xanthones from natural medicine: Garcinia hanburyi

Garcinia hanburyi, a tropical plant found in south Asia, has a special long history in the development of both medicine and art. This review mainly focuses on the pharmacy research of the bioactive compounds from the plant in recent years. Preparative and analysis separation methods were introduced. Moreover, the chemical structure of the isolated compounds was included. The studies of biological activities of the caged xanthones from the plant, including antitumor, anti-HIV-1, antibacterial, and neurotrophic activities, were reviewed in detail. Furthermore, the mechanisms of its antitumor activity were also reviewed. As mentioned above, some of the xanthones from G. hanburyi can be promising drug candidates, which is worth studying. However, we still need much evidence to prove their efficacy and safety. So, further research is critical for the future application of xanthones from G. hanburyi.

In vitro and in vivo targeting of bladder carcinoma with metformin in combination with cisplatin

Bladder cancer is the ninth most common carcinoma worldwide, and improving the sensitivity of this cancer to chemotherapy is a current clinical challenge. Metformin is a potentially useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of certain types of cancer. In the present study, metformin and cisplatin (a first-line chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of bladder cancer) were administered to T24 and BIU-87 bladder cancer cells lines alone or in combination, prior to undergoing MTT assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis to determine cell viability and cell cycle distribution, respectively. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of proteins associated with the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways. In addition, a xenograft model was constructed to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of metformin and cisplatin treatment, alone or in combination. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression levels of proteins associated with xenograft growth and angiogenesis. Furthermore, western blotting was performed to observe the expression of proteins associated with the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the xenograft model. The results demonstrated that the treatment of T24 and BIU-87 cells with metformin or cisplatin resulted in decreased tumor cell proliferation. However, the joint application of metformin and cisplatin was significantly more effective than that of each compound alone (P<0.05). Similarly, cells more markedly accumulated in the sub-G1 phase following joint treatment with metformin and cisplatin, compared with metformin or cisplatin treatment alone. In addition, human cell cycle signaling pathway western blotting arrays were performed, which identified the marked downregulation of phosphorylated (p)-mTOR and unchanged expression of p-AMPK, AMPK and mTOR following combined treatment with cisplatin and metformin. Concurrently, combined use of metformin and cisplatin markedly inhibited the growth and angiogenesis of xenografts generated from BIU-87 cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that downregulation of the expression of specific proteins associated with AMPK promoted xenograft growth and angiogenesis, while western blotting revealed inhibition of the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in xenografts treated with metformin in combination with cisplatin. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrated that the concurrent administration of metformin and cisplatin may result in enhanced antitumor efficacy compared with that of one agent alone, thus, providing a potential novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of bladder cell carcinoma.