BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
·
2024
·
IF 6.9
Xin Shen,Yiqun Xia,Hui Lu,Peisen Zheng,Junqi Wang,Yinghua Chen,Chenxin Xu,Chenyu Qiu,Yafei Zhang,Zhongxiang Xiao,Peng Zou,Ri Cui,Daoyong Ni
Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) has emerged as a promising target for cancer therapy. In our previous research, we discovered several new TrxR1 inhibitors and found that they all have excellent anti-tumor activity. At the same time, we found these TrxR1 inhibitors all lead to an increase in AKT phosphorylation in cancer cells, but the detailed role of AKT phosphorylation in TrxR1 inhibitor-mediated cell death remains unclear. In this study, we identified the combination of AKT and TrxR1 inhibitor displayed a strong synergistic effect in colon cancer cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the synergistic effect of auranofin (TrxR1 inhibitor) and MK-2206 (AKT inhibitor) was caused by ROS accumulation. Importantly, we found that ATM inhibitor KU-55933 can block the increase of AKT phosphorylation caused by auranofin, and exhibited a synergistic effect with auranofin. Taken together, our study demonstrated that the activation of ATM/AKT pathway is a compensatory mechanism to cope with ROS accumulation induced by TrxR1 inhibitor, and synergistic targeting of TrxR1 and ATM/AKT pathway is a promising strategy for treating colon cancer.
研究领域:
肿瘤学
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药理学
·
细胞生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
FEBS Open Bio
·
2021
·Vol. 11
·期 5
·1440-1451
·
IF 2.693
Tianyu Wu,Sichun Zhou,Mei Qin,Jing Tang,Xinjian Yan,Lingli Huang,Meiyuan Huang,Jun Deng,Di Xiao,Xin Hu,Jingtao Wu,Xiaoping Yang,Gaofeng Li
Inhibitors of ataxia – telangiectasia mutated (ATM), such as KU-55933 (Ku), represent a promising class of novel anticancer drugs. In addition, the biguanide derivative phenformin exhibits antitumor activity superior to that of the AMPK activator metformin. Herein, we assessed the potential combinatorial therapeutic efficacy of phenformin and Ku when used to inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells, and we assessed the mechanisms underlying such efficacy. The Hep-G2 and SMMC-7721 liver cancer cell lines were treated with phenformin and Ku either alone or in combination, after which the impact of these drugs on cellular proliferation was assessed via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol) 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium and colony formation assays, whereas Transwell assays were used to gauge cell migratory activity. The potential synergy between these two drugs was assessed using the CompuSyn software, while flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cellular apoptosis. In addition, western blotting was utilized to measure p-ATM, p-AMPK, p-mTOR, and p-p70s6k expression, while mitochondrial functionality was monitored via morphological analyses, JC-1 staining, and measurements of ATP levels. Phenformin and Ku synergistically impacted the proliferation, migration, and apoptotic death of liver cancer cells. Together, these compounds were able to enhance AMPK phosphorylation while inhibiting the phosphorylation of mTOR and p70s6k. These data also revealed that phenformin and Ku induced mitochondrial dysfunction as evidenced by impaired ATP synthesis, mitochondrial membrane potential, and abnormal mitochondrial morphology. These findings suggest that combination treatment with phenformin and Ku may be an effective approach to treating liver cancer via damaging mitochondria within these tumor cells.
研究领域:
肿瘤学
·
药理学
·
细胞生物学
·
癌症研究
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子