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Motahari Z, Lepe JJ, Bautista MR, Hoerig C, Plant-Fox AS, Das B, Fowler CD, Magge SN, Bota DA. Preclinical assessment of MAGMAS inhibitor as a potential therapy for pediatric medulloblastoma. bioRxiv 2024:2024.02.29.582709. [PMID: 38464047 PMCID: PMC10925277 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.29.582709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Medulloblastoma, the most common pediatric brain malignancy, has Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) and non-SHH group3 subtypes. MAGMAS (Mitochondrial Associated Granulocyte Macrophage colony-stimulating factor Signaling molecules) encode for mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit and is responsible for translocation of matrix proteins across the inner membrane. We previously reported that a small molecule MAGMAS inhibitor, BT9, decreases cell proliferation, migration, and oxidative phosphorylation in adult glioblastoma cell lines. The aim of our study was to investigate whether the chemotherapeutic effect of BT9 can be extended to pediatric medulloblastoma. Methods Multiple in vitro assays were performed using human DAOY (SHH activated tp53 mutant) and D425 (non-SHH group 3) cells. The impact of BT9 on cellular growth, death, migration, invasion, and metabolic activity were quantified using MTT assay, TUNEL staining, scratch wound assay, Matrigel invasion chambers, and seahorse assay, respectively. Survival following 50mg/kg BT9 treatment was assessed in vivo in immunodeficient mice intracranially implanted with D425 cells. Results Compared to control, BT9 treatment led to a significant reduction in medulloblastoma cell growth (DAOY, 24hrs IC50: 3.6uM, 48hrs IC50: 2.3uM, 72hrs IC50: 2.1uM; D425 24hrs IC50: 3.4uM, 48hrs IC50: 2.2uM, 72hrs IC50: 2.1uM) and a significant increase in cell death (DAOY, 24hrs p=0.0004, 48hrs p<0.0001; D425, 24hrs p=0.0001, 48hrs p=0.02). In DAOY cells, 3uM BT9 delayed migration, and significantly decreased DAOY and D425 cells invasion (p < 0.0001). Our in vivo study, however, did not extend survival in xenograft mouse model of group3 medulloblastoma compared to vehicle-treated controls. Conclusions Our in vitro data showed BT9 antitumor efficacy in DAOY and D425 cell lines suggesting that BT9 may represent a promising targeted therapeutic in pediatric medulloblastoma. These data, however, need to be further validated in animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Motahari
- CHOC Neuroscience Institute, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Javier J Lepe
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Malia R Bautista
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Clay Hoerig
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ashley S Plant-Fox
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Bhaskar Das
- Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine and Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Christie D Fowler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Suresh N Magge
- CHOC Neuroscience Institute, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Daniela A Bota
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Irvine, CA, USA
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Zafar A, Khan MJ, Abu J, Naeem A. Revolutionizing cancer care strategies: immunotherapy, gene therapy, and molecular targeted therapy. Mol Biol Rep 2024; 51:219. [PMID: 38281269 PMCID: PMC10822809 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-09096-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Despite the availability of technological advances in traditional anti-cancer therapies, there is a need for more precise and targeted cancer treatment strategies. The wide-ranging shortfalls of conventional anticancer therapies such as systematic toxicity, compromised life quality, and limited to severe side effects are major areas of concern of conventional cancer treatment approaches. Owing to the expansion of knowledge and technological advancements in the field of cancer biology, more innovative and safe anti-cancerous approaches such as immune therapy, gene therapy and targeted therapy are rapidly evolving with the aim to address the limitations of conventional therapies. The concept of immunotherapy began with the capability of coley toxins to stimulate toll-like receptors of immune cells to provoke an immune response against cancers. With an in-depth understating of the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and their relationship to disease prognosis, molecular targeted therapy approaches, that inhibit or stimulate specific cancer-promoting or cancer-inhibitory molecules respectively, have offered promising outcomes. In this review, we evaluate the achievement and challenges of these technically advanced therapies with the aim of presenting the overall progress and perspective of each approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aasma Zafar
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, 45550, Pakistan
| | | | - Junaid Abu
- Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, P.O. Box 3050, Doha, Qatar
| | - Aisha Naeem
- Qatar University Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
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Quagliata M, Papini AM, Rovero P. Therapeutic applications of thymosin peptides: a patent landscape 2018-present. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2023; 33:865-873. [PMID: 38131310 DOI: 10.1080/13543776.2023.2298833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Thymosins are small proteins found mainly in the thymus. They are involved in several biological processes, including immunoregulation, angiogenesis, and anti-inflammatory activity. Due to these multiple activities, thymosins are widely used as therapeutics. In fact, these peptides have shown interesting results in the treatment of eye disorders, anticancer therapy, and dysregulated immune disorders. AREA COVERED We analyzed the thymosins therapeutic patent landscape describing the most significant patents published after 2018 and originally written in English, classified according to the different type of functions and diseases. We searched 'Thymosin' on Patentscope and Espacenet. EXPERT OPINION Thymalfasin (Zadaxin) is the only FDA-approved thymosine-based drug used to treat chronic hepatitis B and C and as a chemotherapy inducer. This outcome demonstrates how thymosins can be exploited as therapeutics, especially in immunological and anti-cancer therapies. However, the development of modified thymosins could expand their therapeutic interest and application in different diseases. In fact, by chemical modifications, it is possible to increase proteolytic stability in the biological environment, enhance cell permeability, and stabilize the secondary structure of the peptide. Finally, the development of shorter sequences could reduce the cost and production time of these thymosin-based drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Quagliata
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Papini
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Paolo Rovero
- Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of NeuroFarBa, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
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Liu W, Fu Y, Wang M, Zhao J, Chen J, Wang Y, Qin H. A preliminary study on the mechanism of VASH2 in childhood medulloblastoma. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17153. [PMID: 37821528 PMCID: PMC10567924 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42869-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
To study the differences in VASH2 expression in pediatric medulloblastoma (MB) tumor tissues of different molecular subtypes, to analyze the correlation between VASH2 and the molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma, clinicopathological data, and prognosis, and to explore the specific mechanism of VASH2's role in SHH medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY. We analyzed 47 pediatric medulloblastoma cases admitted to the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2011 to December 2019, and the expression levels of YAP1 and GAB1 in these tumor tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and molecularly typed (WNT-type, SHH-type, and non-WNT/SHH-type). The correlation between VASH2 and molecular typing of medulloblastoma was analyzed. We also analyzed the medulloblastoma dataset in the GEO database (GSE30074 and GSE202043) to explore the correlation between VASH2 and the prognosis of medulloblastoma patients, as well as performed a comprehensive GO enrichment analysis specifically for the VASH2 gene to reveal the underlying biological pathways of its complex molecular profile. We used vasopressin 2 (VASH2) as a research target and overexpressed and knocked down VASH2 in SHH medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY by lentiviral vectors in vitro, respectively, to investigate its role in SHH medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and biological roles in the cell cycle. (1) Among 47 pediatric medulloblastoma cases, 8 were WNT type, 29 were SHH type, and 10 were non-WNT/SHH type. the positive rate of VASH2 was highest in the SHH type with a 68.97% positive rate, followed by non-WNT/SHH and lowest in the WNT type. The results of the multifactorial analysis showed that positive expression of VASH2 was associated with medulloblastoma molecular subtype (SHH type), site of tumor development (four ventricles), and gender (male), P < 0.05. (2) The results of cellular experiments showed that overexpression of VASH2 increased the invasion and migration ability of medulloblast Daoy, while knockdown of VASH2 inhibited the invasion and Overexpression of VASH2 upregulated the expression of Smad2 + 3, Smad4, Mmp2 and the apoptotic indicators Bcl-2 and Caspase3, while knockdown of VASH2 suppressed the expression of Smad2 + 3 and Mmp2, and silenced the expression of Smad4 and the apoptotic indicators Bcl2, Caspase3 expression. Flow cytometric cycle analysis showed that VASH2 overexpression increased the S phase in the Daoy cell cycle, while VASH2 knockdown decreased the S phase in the SHH medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY cell cycle. Bioinformatics analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the expression of VASH2 genes in the GSE30074 and GSE202043 datasets and the prognosis of the patients, but the results of this dataset analysis suggested that we need to continue to expand the sample size of the study in the future. The results of the GO enrichment analysis showed that the angiogenic pathway was the most significantly enriched, and the PPI interactions network of VASH2 was obtained from the STRING database. Using the STRING database, we obtained the PPI interaction network of VASH2, and the KEGG enrichment analysis of VASH2-related genes showed that VASH2-related genes were related to the apoptosis pathway, and therefore it was inferred that VASH2 also affects the development of tumors through apoptosis. We found for the first time that the positive expression rate of VASH2 was closely associated with SHH-type pediatric medulloblastoma and that VASH2 was involved in the invasion, migration, cell cycle, and apoptotic capacity of SHH medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY by affecting downstream indicators of the TGF-β pathway. This suggests that it is involved in the progression of pediatric medulloblastoma, and VASH2 is expected to be a diagnostic and therapeutic target for SHH-type pediatric medulloblastoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Yinan Fu
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Meng Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Junhong Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Julin Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Yongxin Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
- Xinjiang Institute of Neurosurgery, Urumqi, China.
| | - Hu Qin
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
- Xinjiang Institute of Neurosurgery, Urumqi, China.
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Zafar A, Khan MJ, Naeem A. MDM2- an indispensable player in tumorigenesis. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:6871-6883. [PMID: 37314603 PMCID: PMC10374471 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08512-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is a well-recognized molecule for its oncogenic potential. Since its identification, various cancer-promoting roles of MDM2 such as growth stimulation, sustained angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming, apoptosis evasion, metastasis, and immunosuppression have been established. Alterations in the expression levels of MDM2 occur in multiple types of cancers resulting in uncontrolled proliferation. The cellular processes are modulated by MDM2 through transcription, post-translational modifications, protein degradation, binding to cofactors, and subcellular localization. In this review, we discuss the precise role of deregulated MDM2 levels in modulating cellular functions to promote cancer growth. Moreover, we also briefly discuss the role of MDM2 in inducing resistance against anti-cancerous therapies thus limiting the benefits of cancerous treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aasma Zafar
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, 45550 Pakistan
| | | | - Aisha Naeem
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 20057 Washington, DC U.S
- Qatar University Health, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar
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Naeem A, Knoer G, Avantaggiati ML, Rodriguez O, Albanese C. Provocative non-canonical roles of p53 and AKT signaling: A role for Thymosin β4 in medulloblastoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 116:109785. [PMID: 36720193 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.109785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The PI3K/AKT and p53 pathways are key regulators of cancer cell survival and death, respectively. Contrary to their generally accepted roles, several lines of evidence, including ours in medulloblastoma, the most common childhood brain cancer, highlight non-canonical functions for both proteins and show a complex context-dependent dynamic behavior in determining cell fate. Interestingly, p53-mediated cell survival and AKT-mediated cell death can dominate in certain conditions, and these interchangeable physiological functions may potentially be manipulated for better clinical outcomes. This review article presents studies in which p53 and AKT behave contrary to their well-established functions. We discuss the factors and circumstances that may be involved in mediating these changes and the implications of these unique roles of p53 and AKT in devising therapeutic strategies. Lastly, based on our recent finding of Thymosin beta 4-mediated chemosensitivity via an AKT-p53 interaction in medulloblastoma cells, we also discuss the possible implications of Thymosin beta-4 in enhancing drug sensitivity in this deadly childhood disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha Naeem
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Health Research Governance Department, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar.
| | - Grace Knoer
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Maria Laura Avantaggiati
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Olga Rodriguez
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Center for Translational Imaging, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Chris Albanese
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Department of Radiology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA; Center for Translational Imaging, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
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Naeem A, Choudhry MU, Kroemer A, Wahnschafft S, Cui W, Albanese C. Expansion of human amniotic epithelial cells using condition cell reprogramming technology. Hum Cell 2023; 36:602-11. [PMID: 36586053 DOI: 10.1007/s13577-022-00849-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) are non-immunogenic epithelial cells that can develop into cells of all three germline lineages. However, a refined clinically reliable method is required to optimize the preparation and banking procedures of hAECs for their successful translation into clinical studies. With the goal of establishing standardized clinically applicable hAECs cultured cells, we described the use of a powerful epithelial cell culture technique, termed Conditionally Reprogrammed Cells (CRC) for ex vivo expansion of hAECs. The well-established CRC culture method uses a Rho kinase inhibitor (Y-27632) and J2 mouse fibroblast feeder cells to drive the indefinite proliferation of all known epithelial cell types. In this study, we used an optimized CRC protocol to successfully culture hAECs in a CRC medium supplemented with xenogen-free human serum. We established that hAECs thrive under the CRC conditions for over 5 passages while still expressing pluripotent stem markers (OCT-4, SOX-2 and NANOG) and non-immunogenic markers (CD80, CD86 and HLA-G) suggesting that even late-passage hAECs retain their privileged phenotype. The hAECs-CRC cells were infected with a puromycin-selectable lentivirus expressing luciferase and GFP (green fluorescent protein) and stably selected with puromycin. The hAECs expressing GFP were injected subcutaneously into the flanks of Athymic and C57BL6 mice to check the tolerability and stability of cells against the immune system. Chemiluminescence imaging confirmed the presence and viability of cells at days 2, 5, and 42 without acute inflammation or any tumor formation. Collectively, these data indicate that the CRC approach offers a novel solution to expanding hAECs in humanized conditions for future clinical uses, while retaining their primary phenotype.
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Lunin SM, Novoselova EG, Glushkova OV, Parfenyuk SB, Novoselova TV, Khrenov MO. Cell Senescence and Central Regulators of Immune Response. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084109. [PMID: 35456927 PMCID: PMC9028919 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathways regulating cell senescence and cell cycle underlie many processes associated with ageing and age-related pathologies, and they also mediate cellular responses to exposure to stressors. Meanwhile, there are central mechanisms of the regulation of stress responses that induce/enhance or weaken the response of the whole organism, such as hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, thymic hormones, and the pineal hormone melatonin. Although there are many analyses considering relationships between the HPA axis and organism ageing, we found no systematic analyses of relationships between the neuroendocrine regulators of stress and inflammation and intracellular mechanisms controlling cell cycle, senescence, and apoptosis. Here, we provide a review of the effects of neuroendocrine regulators on these mechanisms. Our analysis allowed us to postulate a multilevel system of central regulators involving neurotransmitters, glucocorticoids, melatonin, and the thymic hormones. This system finely regulates the cell cycle and metabolic/catabolic processes depending on the level of systemic stress, stage of stress response, and energy capabilities of the body, shifting the balance between cell cycle progression, cell cycle stopping, senescence, and apoptosis. These processes and levels of regulation should be considered when studying the mechanisms of ageing and the proliferation on the level of the whole organism.
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