Enhancing the chemosensitivity of HepG2 cells towards cisplatin by organoselenium pseudopeptides

Corrosion mitigation characteristics of some novel organoselenium thiourea derivatives for acid pickling of C1018 steel via experimental and theoretical study

Two organoselenium thiourea derivatives, 1-(4-(methylselanyl)phenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (DS036) and 1-(4-(benzylselanyl)phenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (DS038) were produced and categorized using FTIR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C). The effectiveness of the above two compounds as C-steel corrosion inhibitors in molar HCl was evaluated using the potentiodynamic polarization (PD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. PD findings indicate that DS036 and DS038 have mixed-type features. EIS results show that growing their dose not only changes the polarization resistance of C-steel from 18.53 to 363.64 and 463.15 Ω cm² but also alters the double layer capacitance from 710.9 to 49.7 and 20.5 μF cm^-2 in the occurrence of 1.0 mM of DS036 and DS038, respectively. At a 1.0 mM dose, the organoselenium thiourea derivatives displayed the highest inhibition efficiency of 96.65% and 98.54%. The inhibitory molecule adsorption proceeded along the Langmuir isotherm on the steel substrate. The adsorption-free energy of the adsorption process was also intended and indicated a combined chemical and physical adsorption on the C-steel interface. FE-SEM studies support the adsorption and protective abilities of the OSe-based molecule inhibitor systems. In Silico calculations (DFT and MC simulations) explored the attraction between the studied organoselenium thiourea derivatives and corrosive solution anions on a Fe (110) surface. The obtained results show that these compounds can make a suitable preventing surface and control the corrosion rate.

Puerarin Suppresses Glycolysis and Increases Cisplatin Chemosensitivity in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma via FBXW7/mTOR Signaling

This study aimed to observe the effects of puerarin on glycolysis and cisplatin sensitivity in oral squamous cell carcinoma (oSCC) cells and to explore the underlying mechanisms. CAL27 cells over- or under-expressing FBXW7 were treated with cisplatin or puerarin, and the levels of proteins involved in glycolysis as well as the activity of the respective enzymes were assessed. Glucose uptake and lactate production were also evaluated, and the IC50 value of cisplatin in CAL27 cells was determined. FBXW7 overexpression significantly downregulated HK2, PKM2, and LDH; suppressed the activity of the corresponding enzymes hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase; as well as reduced glucose uptake and lactate production. FBXW7 overexpression was also associated with decreased mTOR phosphorylation and increased cisplatin sensitivity. These effects were partially antagonized by lactate or the mTOR agonist MHY1485. Puerarin suppressed glycolysis by reducing glucose uptake and lactate production, while it promoted cisplatin sensitivity and activated the FBXW7/mTOR signal pathway in a concentration-dependent manner. These effects were antagonized by FBXW7 downregulation or treatment with MHY1485. Our results suggest that FBXW7 improves cisplatin chemosensitivity and suppresses glycolysis in oSCC cells, indicating its promising potential as a target for puerarin to regulate the cisplatin sensitivity of oSCC cells.

Selenium-Modified Chitosan Induces HepG2 Cell Apoptosis and Differential Protein Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Chitosan is the product of the natural polysaccharide chitin removing part of the acetyl group, and exhibits various physiological and bioactive functions. Selenium modification has been proved to further enhance the chitosan bioactivities, and has been a hot topic recently.

METHODS

The present study aimed to investigate the potential inhibitory mechanism of selenium-modified chitosan (SMC) on HepG2 cells through MTT assays, morphological observation, annexin V-FITC/PI double staining, mitochondrial membrane potential determination, cell-cycle detection, Western blotting, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE).

RESULTS

The results indicated that SMC can induce HepG2 cell apoptosis with the cell cycle arrested in the S and G2/M phases and gradual disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, reduce the expression of Bcl2, and improve the expression of Bax, cytochrome C, cleaved caspase 9, and cleaved caspase 3. Also, 2-DE results showed that tubulin α1 B chain, myosin regulatory light chain 12A, calmodulin, UPF0568 protein chromosome 14 open reading frame 166, and the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 5B of HepG2 cells were downregulated in HepG2 cells after SMC treatment.

DISCUSSION

These data suggested that HepG2 cells induced apoptosis after SMC treatment via blocking the cell cycle in the S and G2/M phases, which might be mediated through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. These results could be of benefit to future practical applications of SMC in the food and drug fields.

Anticancer, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Activities of Organodiselenide-Tethered Methyl Anthranilates

Novel methyl anthranilate-based organodiselenide hybrids were synthesized, and their chemical structures were confirmed by state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques. Their antimicrobial properties were assessed against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans microbial strains. Moreover, the antitumor potential was estimated against liver and breast carcinomas, as well as primary fibroblast cell lines. The Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans strains were more sensitive than Escherichia coli toward the OSe compounds. Interestingly, methyl 2-amino-5-(methylselanyl) benzoate (14) showed similar antifungal activity to the standard drug clotrimazole (IA% = 100%) and manifested promising antibacterial activity against E. coli (IA% = 91.3%) and S. aureus (IA% = 90.5%). Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration experiments confirmed the antimicrobial activity of the OSe 14, which in turn was comparable to clotrimazole and ampicillin drugs. Interestingly, the anticancer properties were more pronounced in the HepG2 cells. The OSe 14 was the most cytotoxic (IC₅₀ = 3.57 ± 0.1 µM), even more than the Adriamycin drug (IC₅₀ = 4.50 ± 0.2 µM), and with therapeutic index (TI) 17 proposing its potential selectivity and safety. Additionally, OSe compounds 14 and dimethyl 5,5'-diselanediylbis(2-aminobenzoate) (5) exhibited promising antioxidants in the 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in vitro assays with 96%, 92%, 91%, and 86% radical scavenging activities compared to 95% by vitamin C in the DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. These results point to promising antimicrobial, anticancer, and antioxidant activities of OSe 14 and 5 and warrant further studies.

Down regulation of fatty acid synthase via inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR in ovarian cancer cell line by novel organoselenium pseudopeptide

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the 7th most common cancer in women world-wide and the 3rd most common female cancer. For the treatment of OC, there is no successful therapeutic. The medications that are currently available have significant side effects and a low therapeutic index. This work aimed to evaluate the anticancer activity of organoselenium pseudopeptide compound against OC cell lines. After treatment with 50 ​μM of compound 4 (CPD 4), the viability was determined. The anticancer activity was further investigated by different methods including cell cycle and apoptosis analysis, colony formation assay, zymography, comet assay and Western blot. In comparison to a positive control, compound 4 showed cytotoxicity toward A2780CP cells rather than A2780 and SKOV-3 ​cells. Compound 4 was more selective to OC cells rather than HSF cells. Moreover, Compound 4 was able to inhibit cell migration and proliferation. The anticancer effect of compound 4 was found to be partially via cell cycle arrest, overexpression of p27 ​cell cycle inhibitor and induction of apoptosis through DNA fragmentation and activated production of ROS. Compound 4 had a differential effect on the modulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the OC treated cell lines, also inhibited lipogenesis process via downregulation of FASN expression. Conclusion: This work highlights the unique role of Compound 4 against OC via modulation of oxidative stress, inhibition of survival PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Compound 4 was found to be a promising alternative therapy for the treatment of OC in this investigation.

C-phycocyanin alleviated cisplatin-induced oxidative stress and inflammation via gut microbiota—metabolites axis in mice

C-phycocyanin is a natural protein extracted from Spirulina platensis. We aim to investigate the preventive effect of C-phycocyanin on cisplatin chemotherapy-induced oxidative damage and inflammation. The result showed that C-phycocyanin treatment reduced cisplatin-induced mortality and inflammation including decreased levels of serum IL6, kidney MCP1, and liver IL1β. Furthermore, C-phycocyanin also exerted antioxidant effects on mice, including increased GSH-Px, GGT, and GSH levels in the liver and increased CAT and SOD levels in the kidney. HepG2 cells experiments showed that C-phycocyanin exhibited none of the prevention effects on cisplatin injury. Faecalibaculum showed the greatest reduction among genera after cisplatin treatment, which was related to the enrichment of Romboutsia and Lactobacillus genera. C-phycocyanin treatment reduced the populations of harmful bacteria of Enterococcus faecalis, which was positively correlated with inflammation induced by cisplatin. C-phycocyanin increased the contents of 23-nordeoxycholic acid and β-muricholic acid. Moreover, C-phycocyanin increased amino acid-related metabolites, Nα-acetyl-arginine and trimethyl-lysine contents, and decreased fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) contents. In conclusion, C-phycocyanin inhibited inflammation via the 23-nordeoxycholic acid-Enterococcus faecalis-inflammation axis, and enhanced the antioxidant capacity of kidney via Lactobacillus-NRF2 pathway. C-phycocyanin alleviated cisplatin injury via the modulation of gut microbiota, especially Lactobacillus and Enterococcus, as well as regulation of metabolites, especially bile acid and FAHFAs, which highlight the effect of C-phycocyanin and provide a new strategy to prevent cisplatin injury.

Novel Organoselenium Redox Modulators with Potential Anticancer, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Activities

Novel organic selenides were developed in good yields (up to 91%), and their chemical entities were confirmed by IR, MS, and ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. Their anticancer and antimicrobial properties were estimated against different human cancer (MCF-7 and HepG2) and healthy (WI-38) cell lines, as well as several microbial strains (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans). Furthermore, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) bioassays were used for the estimation of the antioxidant activities. Generally, cytotoxicity results were more pronounced against the MCF-7 cells than HepG2 cells. Compound 2-((4-((1-hydroxynaphthalen-2-yl)diazenyl)phenyl)selanyl)-N-phenylacetamide (9) was the most cytotoxic, even more than doxorubicin, with IC₅₀ of 3.27 ± 0.2 against 4.17 ± 0.2 µM and twelve-times more selective, respectively. Interestingly, compound 9 exhibited similar antimicrobial potential to reference antibacterial and antifungal drugs and comparable antioxidant activity to vitamin C. These results point to selective cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells and interesting antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of some newly synthesized organic selenides, which in turn needs further in vitro studies.

One-Pot Multicomponent Polymerization, Metal-, and Non-Metal-Catalyzed Synthesis of Organoselenium Compounds

The one-pot multicomponent synthetic strategy of organoselenium compounds represents an alternative and robust protocol to the conventional multistep methods. During the last decade, a potential advance has been made in this domain. This review discusses the latest advances in the polymerization, metal, and metal-free one-pot multicomponent synthesis of organoselenium compounds.

A Competition between Hydrogen, Stacking, and Halogen Bonding in N-(4-((3-Methyl-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)selanyl)phenyl)acetamide: Structure, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, 3D Energy Framework Approach, and DFT Calculation

N-(4-((3-Methyl-1,4-dioxo-1,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)selanyl)phenyl)acetamide (5), C₁₉H₁₅NO₃Se, was prepared in two steps from 4,4'-diselanediyldianiline (3) via reduction and subsequent nucleophilic reaction with 2-methyl-3-bromo-1,4-naphthalenedione, followed by acetylation with acetic anhydride. The cytotoxicity was estimated against 158N and 158JP oligodendrocytes and the redox profile was also evaluated using different in vitro assays. The technique of single-crystal X-ray diffraction is used to confirm the structure of compound 5. The enantiopure 5 crystallizes in space group P21 with Flack parameter 0.017 (8), exhibiting a chiral layered absolute structure. Molecular structural studies showed that the crystal structure is foremost stabilized by N-H···O and relatively weak C-H···O contacts between molecules, and additionally stabilized by weak C-H···π and Se···N interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis is used to quantitatively investigate the noncovalent interactions that stabilize crystal packing. Framework energy diagrams were used to graphically represent the stabilizing interaction energies for crystal packing. The analysis of the energy framework shows that the interactions energies of and C-H···π and C-O···π are primarily dispersive and are the crystal's main important forces. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to determine the compound's stability, chemical reactivity, and other parameters by determining the HOMO-LUMO energy differences. The determination of its optimized surface of the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) was also carried out. This study was conducted to demonstrate both the electron-rich and electron-poor sites.

Urea-functionalized organoselenium compounds as promising anti-HepG2 and apoptosis-inducing agents

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a highly aggressive and difficult-to-treat type of cancer. Incorporating urea functionality into the backbone of organoselenium compounds is expected to develop promising chemotherapeutic leads against liver cancer. Methods: Urea-functionalized organoselenium compounds were synthesized in good yields, and their cytotoxicity was evaluated against HepG2 cells. Results: 1,1'-(Diselanediylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(3-phenylurea) (14) exhibited efficient anti-HepG2 activity in sub-micromolar concentrations, with no toxicity to normal human skin fibroblasts. The molecular mechanisms of the diselenide-based urea 14 were evaluated using colony formation, wound healing, 3D spheroid invasion assays, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis induction. Its redox properties were also assessed by using different bioassays. Conclusion: Our study revealed promising anticancer, antimigratory and anti-invasiveness properties of 1,1'-(diselanediylbis(4,1-phenylene))bis(3-phenylurea) (14) against HepG2.

Elucidating Role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Cisplatin Chemotherapy: A Focus on Molecular Pathways and Possible Therapeutic Strategies

The failure of chemotherapy is a major challenge nowadays, and in order to ensure effective treatment of cancer patients, it is of great importance to reveal the molecular pathways and mechanisms involved in chemoresistance. Cisplatin (CP) is a platinum-containing drug with anti-tumor activity against different cancers in both pre-clinical and clinical studies. However, drug resistance has restricted its potential in the treatment of cancer patients. CP can promote levels of free radicals, particularly reactive oxygen species (ROS) to induce cell death. Due to the double-edged sword role of ROS in cancer as a pro-survival or pro-death mechanism, ROS can result in CP resistance. In the present review, association of ROS with CP sensitivity/resistance is discussed, and in particular, how molecular pathways, both upstream and downstream targets, can affect the response of cancer cells to CP chemotherapy. Furthermore, anti-tumor compounds, such as curcumin, emodin, chloroquine that regulate ROS and related molecular pathways in increasing CP sensitivity are described. Nanoparticles can provide co-delivery of CP with anti-tumor agents and by mediating photodynamic therapy, and induce ROS overgeneration to trigger CP sensitivity. Genetic tools, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) can down-regulate molecular pathways such as HIF-1α and Nrf2 to promote ROS levels, leading to CP sensitivity. Considering the relationship between ROS and CP chemotherapy, and translating these findings to clinic can pave the way for effective treatment of cancer patients.