Hasaya Dokduang

Survey of activated kinase proteins reveals potential targets for cholangiocarcinoma treatment

Improving therapy for patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) presents a significant challenge. This is made more difficult by a lack of a clear understanding of potential molecular targets, such as deregulated kinases. In this work, we profiled the activated kinases in CCA in order to apply them as the targets for CCA therapy. Human phospho-receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and phospho-kinase array analyses revealed that multiple kinases are activated in both CCA cell lines and human CCA tissues that included cell growth, apoptosis, cell to cell interaction, movement, and angiogenesis RTKs. Predominately, the kinases activated downstream were those in the PI3K/Akt, Ras/MAPK, JAK/STAT, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. Western blot analysis confirms that Erk1/2 and Akt activation were increased in CCA tissues when compared with their normal adjacent tissue. The inhibition of kinase activation using multi-targeted kinase inhibitors, sorafenib and sunitinib led to significant cell growth inhibition and apoptosis induction via suppression of Erk1/2 and Akt activation, whereas drugs with specificity to a single kinase showed less potency. In conclusion, our study reveals the involvement of multiple kinase proteins in CCA growth that might serve as therapeutic targets for combined kinase inhibition.

STATs profiling reveals predominantly‐activated STAT3 in cholangiocarcinoma genesis and progression

We investigated the aberrant expression of the STAT family in humans and liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini, Ov)‐induced hamster cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) tissues.

Xanthohumol inhibits STAT3 activation pathway leading to growth suppression and apoptosis induction in human cholangiocarcinoma cells

STAT3 plays a significant role in the development of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) associated with the liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini; Ov). Xanthohumol (XN), a prenylated flavonoid extracted from hops, has known anticancer activity and could potentially target STAT3. The present study determined the effect of XN on STAT3, as well as ascertained its usefulness against CCA. The CCA cell proliferation at 20 µM and 50 µM of XN was shown to inhibited, while 20 µM partially inhibited IL-6-induced STAT3 activation. At 50 µM, the inhibition was complete. The reduction in STAT3 activity at 20 and 50 µM was associated with a significant reduction of CCA cell growth and apoptosis. We also found that the administration of 50 µM XN orally in drinking water to nude mice inoculated with CCA led to a reduction in tumor growth in comparison with controls. In addition, apoptosis of cancer cells increased although there was no visible toxicity. The present study shows that XN can inhibit STAT3 activation both in vivo and in vitro due to suppression of the Akt-NFκB signaling pathway. XN should be considered as a possible therapeutic agent against CCA.

Inhibition of l-type amino acid transporter 1 activity as a new therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma treatment

Unlike normal cells, cancer cells undergo unlimited growth and multiplication, causing them to require massive amounts of amino acid to support their continuous metabolism. Among the amino acid transporters expressed on the plasma membrane, l-type amino acid transporter-1, a Na+-independent neutral amino acid transporter, is highly expressed in many types of human cancer including cholangiocarcinoma. Our previous study reported that l-type amino acid transporter-1 and its co-functional protein CD98 were highly expressed and implicated in cholangiocarcinoma progression and carcinogenesis. Therefore, this study determined the effect of JPH203, a selective inhibitor of l-type amino acid transporter-1 activity, on cholangiocarcinoma cell inhibition both in vitro and in vivo. JPH203 dramatically suppressed [14C]l-leucine uptake as well as cell growth in cholangiocarcinoma cell lines along with altering the expression of l-type amino acid transporter-1 and CD98 in response to amino acid depletion. We also demonstrated that JPH203 induced both G2/M and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, as well as reduced the S phase accompanied by altered expression of the proteins in cell cycle progression: cyclin D1, CDK4, and CDK6. There was also cell cycle arrest of the related proteins, P21 and P27, in KKU-055 and KKU-213 cholangiocarcinoma cells. Apoptosis induction, detected by an increase in trypan blue–stained cells along with a cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 ratio, occurred in JPH203-treated cholangiocarcinoma cells at the highest concentration tested (100 µM). As expected, daily intravenous administration of JPH203 (12.5 and 25 mg/kg) significantly inhibited tumor growth in KKU-213 cholangiocarcinoma cell xenografts in the nude mice model in a dose-dependent manner with no statistically significant change in the animal’s body weight and with no differences in the histology and appearance of the internal organs compared with the control group. Our study demonstrates that suppression of l-type amino acid transporter-1 activity using JPH203 might be used as a new therapeutic strategy for cholangiocarcinoma treatment.

Inhibitory effect of NVP‑BKM120 on cholangiocarcinoma cell growth

Abnormal activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway has been demonstrated in certain types of cancer, including cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This pathway may therefore be a promising target for CCA treatment. The present study assessed the inhibitory effect of NVP-BKM120, a pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, on CCA cell growth. This inhibitory effect was determined using CCA cell lines and in CCA-inoculated mice. The result from sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 treatment inhibited CCA cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, even at the lowest tested concentration. The in vivo study revealed that oral administration of NVP-BKM120 (10 or 30 mg/kg) to CCA-inoculated nude mice led to a reduction in tumor growth when compared with controls, which was indicated by an immunohistochemical assay for Ki67 expression. In addition, the result from TUNEL assay demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 induced cancer cell death without any signs of toxicity, which indicated by the body weight of mice (data not shown). Western blot analysis demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 inhibited CCA cell growth by suppressing RAC serine/threonine protein kinase/mechanistic target of rapamycin activation and inhibiting the phosphorylation of phosphatase and tensin homolog, which is the inactivation form of the negative regulator of this pathway. Therefore, the results of the present study indicated that NVP-BKM120 should be considered as a therapeutic agent against CCA that could be used to improve treatment.