Purpose: The chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay can provide an alternative versatile, cost-effective, and ethically less controversial in vivo model for reliable screening of drugs. In the presented work, we demonstrate that CAM assay (in ovo and ex ovo) can be simply employed to delineate the effects of cisplatin (CDDP) and ellipticine (Elli) on neuroblastoma (Nbl) cells in terms of their growth and metastatic potential. Methods: The Nbl UKF-NB-4 cell line was established from recurrent bone marrow metastases of high-risk Nbl (stage IV, MYCN amplification, 7q21 gain). Ex ovo and in ovo CAM assays were optimized to evaluate the antimetastatic activity of CDDP and Elli. Immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and DNA isolation were performed. Results: Ex ovo CAM assay was employed to study whether CDDP and Elli exhibit any inhibitory effects on growth of Nbl xenograft in ex ovo CAM assay. Under the optimal conditions, Elli and CDDP exhibited significant inhibition of the size of the primary tumor. To study the efficiency of CDDP and Elli to inhibit primary Nbl tumor growth, intravasation, and extravasation in the organs, we adapted the in ovo CAM assay protocol. In in ovo CAM assay, both studied compounds (CDDP and Elli) exhibited significant (p < 0.001) inhibitory activity against extravasation to all investigated organs including distal CAM. Conclusions: Taken together, CAM assay could be a helpful and highly efficient in vivo approach for high-throughput screening of libraries of compounds with expected anticancer activities.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: Currently, the diagnosis and treatment of neuroblastomas-the most frequent solid tumors in children-exploit the norepinephrine transporter (hNET) via radiolabeled norepinephrine analogs. We aim to develop a nanomedicine-based strategy towards precision therapy by targeting hNET cell-surface protein with hNET-derived homing peptides. RESULTS: The peptides (seq. GASNGINAYL and SLWERLAYGI) were shown to bind high-resolution homology models of hNET in silico. In particular, one unique binding site has marked the sequence and structural similarities of both peptides, while most of the contribution to the interaction was attributed to the electrostatic energy of Asn and Arg (< - 228 kJ/mol). The peptides were comprehensively characterized by computational and spectroscopic methods showing ~ 21% β-sheets/aggregation for GASNGINAYL and ~ 27% α-helix for SLWERLAYGI. After decorating 12-nm ferritin-based nanovehicles with cysteinated peptides, both peptides exhibited high potential for use in actively targeted neuroblastoma nanotherapy with exceptional in vitro biocompatibility and stability, showing minor yet distinct influences of the peptides on the global expression profiles. Upon binding to hNET with fast binding kinetics, GASNGINAYLC peptides enabled rapid endocytosis of ferritins into neuroblastoma cells, leading to apoptosis due to increased selective cytotoxicity of transported payload ellipticine. Peptide-coated nanovehicles significantly showed higher levels of early apoptosis after 6 h than non-coated nanovehicles (11% and 7.3%, respectively). Furthermore, targeting with the GASNGINAYLC peptide led to significantly higher degree of late apoptosis compared to the SLWERLAYGIC peptide (9.3% and 4.4%, respectively). These findings were supported by increased formation of reactive oxygen species, down-regulation of survivin and Bcl-2 and up-regulated p53. CONCLUSION: This novel homing nanovehicle employing GASNGINAYLC peptide was shown to induce rapid endocytosis of ellipticine-loaded ferritins into neuroblastoma cells in selective fashion and with successful payload. Future homing peptide development via lead optimization and functional analysis can pave the way towards efficient peptide-based active delivery of nanomedicines to neuroblastoma cells.
- MeSH
- antitumorózní látky chemie farmakokinetika farmakologie MeSH
- endocytóza genetika MeSH
- ferritin chemie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- nanomedicína MeSH
- nanostruktury chemie MeSH
- neuroblastom metabolismus MeSH
- peptidy chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- proteiny přenášející noradrenalin přes plazmatickou membránu * chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- systémy cílené aplikace léků metody MeSH
- viabilita buněk účinky léků MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Resistance to chemotherapeutics and targeted drugs is one of the main problems in successful cancer therapy. Various mechanisms have been identified to contribute to drug resistance. One of those mechanisms is lysosome-mediated drug resistance. Lysosomes have been shown to trap certain hydrophobic weak base chemotherapeutics, as well as some tyrosine kinase inhibitors, thereby being sequestered away from their intracellular target site. Lysosomal sequestration is in most cases followed by the release of their content from the cell by exocytosis. Lysosomal accumulation of anticancer drugs is caused mainly by ion-trapping, but active transport of certain drugs into lysosomes was also described. Lysosomal low pH, which is necessary for ion-trapping is achieved by the activity of the V-ATPase. This sequestration can be successfully inhibited by lysosomotropic agents and V-ATPase inhibitors in experimental conditions. Clinical trials have been performed only with lysosomotropic drug chloroquine and their results were less successful. The aim of this review is to give an overview of lysosomal sequestration and expression of acidifying enzymes as yet not well known mechanism of cancer cell chemoresistance and about possibilities how to overcome this form of resistance.
- MeSH
- antitumorózní látky farmakologie MeSH
- chemorezistence * účinky léků MeSH
- exocytóza MeSH
- koncentrace vodíkových iontů MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- lyzozomy účinky léků enzymologie MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- nádory farmakoterapie enzymologie MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u nádorů účinky léků MeSH
- vakuolární protonové ATPasy antagonisté a inhibitory MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Metallothioneins (MTs) are small cysteine-rich intracellular proteins with four major isoforms identified in mammals, designated MT-1 through MT-4. The best known biological functions of MTs are their ability to bind and sequester metal ions as well as their active role in redox homeostasis. Despite these protective roles, numerous studies have demonstrated that changes in MT expression could be associated with the process of carcinogenesis and participation in cell differentiation, proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Hence, MTs have the role of double agents, i.e., working with and against cancer. In view of their rich biochemical properties, it is not surprising that MTs participate in the emergence of chemoresistance in tumor cells. Many studies have demonstrated that MT overexpression is involved in the acquisition of resistance to anticancer drugs including cisplatin, anthracyclines, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and mitomycin. The evidence is gradually increasing for a cellular switch in MT functions, showing that they indeed have two faces: protector and saboteur. Initially, MTs display anti-oncogenic and protective roles; however, once the oncogenic process was launched, MTs are utilized by cancer cells for progression, survival, and contribution to chemoresistance. The duality of MTs can serve as a potential prognostic/diagnostic biomarker and can therefore pave the way towards the development of new cancer treatment strategies. Herein, we review and discuss MTs as tumor disease markers and describe their role in chemoresistance to distinct anticancer drugs.
- MeSH
- antitumorózní látky farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- chemorezistence genetika MeSH
- ionty metabolismus MeSH
- karcinogeneze genetika patologie MeSH
- kovy metabolismus MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- metalothionein genetika metabolismus MeSH
- nádorové biomarkery genetika metabolismus MeSH
- nádory diagnóza farmakoterapie genetika patologie MeSH
- prognóza MeSH
- progrese nemoci MeSH
- protein - isoformy genetika metabolismus MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u nádorů MeSH
- staging nádorů MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Recently, the interest is increasing to find alternatives to replace the usage of antibiotics since their massive and improper usage enhance the antibiotic resistance in human pathogens. In this study, for the first time we showed that the soil proteins have very high antibacterial activity (98% of growth inhibition) against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), one of the most threatening human pathogens. We found that the protein extract (C3) from the forest with past intensive management showed higher antibacterial activity than that of unmanaged forest. The MIC and IC50 were found to be 30 and 15.0 μg protein g-1 dry soil respectively. C3 was found to kill the bacteria by cell wall disruption and genotoxicity which was confirmed by optical and fluorescent microscopy and comet assay. According to qPCR study, the mecA (the antibiotic resistant gene) expression in MRSA was found to be down-regulated after C3 treatment. In contrast, C3 showed no hemolytic toxicity on human red blood cells which was confirmed by hemolytic assay. According to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), 144 proteins were identified in C3 among which the majority belonged to Gram negative bacteria (45.8%). Altogether, our results will help to develop novel, cost-effective, non-toxic and highly efficient antibacterial medicines from natural sources against antibiotic resistant infections.
- Publikační typ
- abstrakt z konference MeSH
Nanoparticular form of titanium dioxide (TiO2 NPs) belongs to important industrial material. Despite being widely used, serious contradictions regarding biosafety of TiO2 NPs remain. We anticipate that such discrepancies could be due to a lack of understanding of a linkage between TiO2 NPs phase composition and cytotoxicity. Therefore, we synthesized two types of biphasic TiO2 NPs differing in an anatase-brookite phase composition. The study presents an array of in vitro data suggesting that TiO2 NPs with a prevailing anatase phase composition possess higher cytotoxicity compared to TiO2 NPs with an equal anatase-brookite crystallinity. This phenomenon was evidenced by significantly higher inhibition of metabolic activity and growth of epithelial and neuroblast-like cells. Moreover, anatase-prevailing TiO2 NPs tend to produce higher amount of reactive oxygen species resulting in DNA fragmentation. Further insights into the molecular aspects of cytotoxicity of anatase-prevailing TiO2 NPs were obtained by comparative proteomics delineating that TiO2 NPs deregulate expression of a variety of proteins and associated pathways. This inevitably results in a decreased cellular ability to detoxify reactive oxygen species and respond to various stress conditions. The study provides novel data that add another piece to the jigsaw of the relation between structural features of NPs and biosafety.
- MeSH
- buněčné linie MeSH
- epitelové buňky účinky léků metabolismus MeSH
- kovové nanočástice chemie toxicita ultrastruktura MeSH
- krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- oxidační stres * MeSH
- reaktivní formy kyslíku metabolismus MeSH
- titan chemie toxicita MeSH
- transmisní elektronová mikroskopie MeSH
- viabilita buněk účinky léků MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Cisplatin (CDDP) is a widely used agent in the treatment of neuroblastoma. Unfortunately, the development of acquired chemoresistance limits its clinical use. To gain a detailed understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of such chemoresistance, we comparatively analyzed established cisplatin-resistant neuroblastoma cell line (UKF-NB-4CDDP) and its sensitive counterpart (UKF-NB-4). First, using viability screenings, we confirmed the decreased sensitivity of tested cells to cisplatin and identified a cross-resistance to carboplatin and oxaliplatin. Then, the proteomic signatures were analyzed using nano liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Among the proteins responsible for UKF-NB-4CDDP chemoresistance, ion channels transport family proteins, ATP-binding cassette superfamily proteins (ATP = adenosine triphosphate), solute carrier-mediated trans-membrane transporters, proteasome complex subunits, and V-ATPases were identified. Moreover, we detected markedly higher proteasome activity in UKF-NB-4CDDP cells and a remarkable lysosomal enrichment that can be inhibited by bafilomycin A to sensitize UKF-NB-4CDDP to CDDP. Our results indicate that lysosomal sequestration and proteasome activity may be one of the key mechanisms responsible for intrinsic chemoresistance of neuroblastoma to CDDP.
- MeSH
- apoptóza účinky léků MeSH
- chemorezistence genetika MeSH
- cisplatina škodlivé účinky farmakologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- lyzozomy genetika MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- neuroblastom farmakoterapie genetika patologie MeSH
- proliferace buněk účinky léků MeSH
- proteasomový endopeptidasový komplex genetika MeSH
- proteomika * MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u nádorů genetika MeSH
- transkriptom genetika MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Human metallothionein-3 (hMT-3), also known as growth inhibitory factor, is predominantly expressed in the central nervous system. hMT-3 is presumed to participate in the processes of heavy metal detoxification, regulation of metabolism and protection against oxidative damage of free radicals in the central nervous system; thus, it could play important neuromodulatory and neuroprotective roles. However, the primary functions of hMT-3 and the mechanism underlying its multiple functions in neuroblastoma have not been elucidated so far. First, we confirmed relatively high expression of hMT-3 encoding mRNA in biopsies (n= 23) from high-risk neuroblastoma subjects. Therefore, we focused on investigation of the impact of hMT-3 up-regulation inN-Mycamplifying neuroblastoma cells. The differentially up-regulated genes involved in biological pathways related to cellular senescence and cell cycle were identified using electrochemical microarray with consequent bioinformatic processing. Further, as experimental verification of microarray data, the cytotoxicity of the cisplatin (CDDP) was examined in hMT-3 and mock cells by MTT and clonogenic assays. Overall, our data strongly suggest that up-regulation of hMT-3 positively correlates with the genes involved in oncogene-induced senescence (CDKN2BandANAPC5) or apoptosis (CASP4). Moreover, we identified a significant increase in chemoresistance to cisplatin (CDDP) due to hMT-3 up-regulation (24IC50: 7.5vs. 19.8 μg/ml), indicating its multipurpose biological significance.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
The translation of metallothioneins (MTs) is one of the defense strategies by which organisms protect themselves from metal-induced toxicity. MTs belong to a family of proteins comprising MT-1, MT-2, MT-3, and MT-4 classes, with multiple isoforms within each class. The main aim of this study was to determine the behavior of MT in dependence on various externally modelled environments, using electrochemistry. In our study, the mass distribution of MTs was characterized using MALDI-TOF. After that, adsorptive transfer stripping technique with differential pulse voltammetry was selected for optimization of electrochemical detection of MTs with regard to accumulation time and pH effects. Our results show that utilization of 0.5 M NaCl, pH 6.4, as the supporting electrolyte provides a highly complicated fingerprint, showing a number of non-resolved voltammograms. Hence, we further resolved the voltammograms exhibiting the broad and overlapping signals using curve fitting. The separated signals were assigned to the electrochemical responses of several MT complexes with zinc(II), cadmium(II), and copper(II), respectively. Our results show that electrochemistry could serve as a great tool for metalloproteomic applications to determine the ratio of metal ion bonds within the target protein structure, however, it provides highly complicated signals, which require further resolution using a proper statistical method, such as curve fitting.
- MeSH
- chlorid sodný chemie MeSH
- elektrochemie MeSH
- elektrolyty MeSH
- komplexní sloučeniny chemie metabolismus MeSH
- kovy chemie metabolismus MeSH
- metalothionein chemie metabolismus MeSH
- protein - isoformy MeSH
- spektrometrie hmotnostní - ionizace laserem za účasti matrice MeSH
- vazba proteinů MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH