Kishore Polireddy

High-Dose Parenteral Ascorbate Enhanced Chemosensitivity of Ovarian Cancer and Reduced Toxicity of Chemotherapy

Pharmacological use of ascorbate (vitamin C) enhanced chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer in preclinical models and reduced chemotherapy-associated toxicity in patients. Not-So-Sour Results for Cancer Patients Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, was first proposed as a cancer treatment decades ago. Unfortunately, despite anecdotal evidence for effectiveness of intravenous ascorbate, initial clinical trials used the oral form of the drug. On the basis of the results from these trials, ascorbate was determined to be ineffective, and its use for cancer was largely abandoned outside of alternative medicine. However, accumulating anecdotal evidence once again led scientists to reconsider the therapeutic potential of this compound. Ma and colleagues investigated the use of intravenous ascorbic acid in conjunction with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, starting from preclinical models and culminating in a human trial. The preclinical studies provided evidence of anticancer effects of ascorbate and demonstrated synergy with chemotherapeutic agents. The early-phase human trial was too small to statistically confirm efficacy, but it demonstrated a significant reduction in chemotherapy-induced adverse effects in patients receiving ascorbate. Although larger studies will be needed to confirm a direct anticancer effect of ascorbate, its ability to decrease chemotherapy-induced adverse effects should already make it a very valuable addition to chemotherapeutic regimens, because a reduction in toxicity would allow patients to tolerate higher (and potentially more effective) doses of chemotherapy. Ascorbate (vitamin C) was an early, unorthodox therapy for cancer, with an outstanding safety profile and anecdotal clinical benefit. Because oral ascorbate was ineffective in two cancer clinical trials, ascorbate was abandoned by conventional oncology but continued to be used in complementary and alternative medicine. Recent studies provide rationale for reexamining ascorbate treatment. Because of marked pharmacokinetic differences, intravenous, but not oral, ascorbate produces millimolar concentrations both in blood and in tissues, killing cancer cells without harming normal tissues. In the interstitial fluid surrounding tumor cells, millimolar concentrations of ascorbate exert local pro-oxidant effects by mediating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) formation, which kills cancer cells. We investigated downstream mechanisms of ascorbate-induced cell death. Data show that millimolar ascorbate, acting as a pro-oxidant, induced DNA damage and depleted cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), activated the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)/adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway, and resulted in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition and death in ovarian cancer cells. The combination of parenteral ascorbate with the conventional chemotherapeutic agents carboplatin and paclitaxel synergistically inhibited ovarian cancer in mouse models and reduced chemotherapy-associated toxicity in patients with ovarian cancer. On the basis of its potential benefit and minimal toxicity, examination of intravenous ascorbate in combination with standard chemotherapy is justified in larger clinical trials.

Identification of substituted (3, 2-a) pyrimidines as selective antiviral agents: Molecular modeling study

A series of novel substituted dihydropyrimidine and 5H-thiazolo [3, 2-a] pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesized as a potential target to discover drugs fighting against the viral diseases. The main objective of the present work is to carry out the QSAR studies for all the series of the compounds starting from 4a to 6j to find out their molecular descriptors and predict the biological properties. All of them are showing the best QSAR descriptors, hence chosen for the prediction of anti-viral activity against Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Initially their inhibitory activity was predicted by molecular docking of these compounds against haemaglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein using molecular operating environment (MOE) software. Based on the best affinity and highest docking scores 4b, 5b and 6b were assayed in vivo on NDV infected chicks and it was found that there is significant improvement in the survival of the chicks with the treatment (P<0.05). 4b and 6b showed better curative effect than 5b at the dose concentration of 40 mg/kg body weight of chicks. The results from molecular docking study and biological assays can be inferred to consider these molecules as potential antiviral drugs.

Functional significance of the ATP-binding cassette transporter B6 in hepatocellular carcinoma

ABCB6 is a mitochondrial transporter that regulates porphyrin biosynthesis. ABCB6 expression is upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but the significance of this upregulation to HCC is not known. In the present study, we investigated: 1) ABCB6 expression in 18 resected human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and 3 human hepatoma cell lines; 2) pattern of ABCB6 expression during liver disease progression; and 3) functional significance of ABCB6 expression to HCC using the hepatoma cell line Huh7. ABCB6 expression was determined by real‐time quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. ABCB6 expression was upregulated in all the HCC specimens and the three‐hepatoma cell lines. Increased ABCB6 expression correlated with liver disease progression with the pattern of expression being HCC > cirrhosis > steatosis. Small hairpin RNA (shRNA)‐mediated knockdown of ABCB6 in Huh7 cells lead to decreased cellular proliferation and colony formation. Attenuation of ABCB6 expression did not affect Huh7 apoptosis but lead to a delay in G2/M phase of the cell cycle. In contrast, ABCB6 overexpression resulted in increased growth and proliferation of Huh7 cells. Since ABCB6 expression is induced in multiple tumor types we explored the role of ABCB6 in other cancer cells. ShRNA mediated knockdown of ABCB6 in HEK293 and K562 cells reduced cellular proliferation leading to a delay in G2/M phase, while ABCB6 overexpression promoted cell growth and proliferation. Collectively, these findings, obtained by loss of function and gain of function analysis, suggest that ABCB6 plays a role in cell growth and proliferation by targeting the cell cycle.

A Novel Flow Cytometric HTS Assay Reveals Functional Modulators of ATP Binding Cassette Transporter ABCB6

ABCB6 is a member of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette family of transporter proteins that is increasingly recognized as a relevant physiological and therapeutic target. Evaluation of modulators of ABCB6 activity would pave the way toward a more complete understanding of the significance of this transport process in tumor cell growth, proliferation and therapy-related drug resistance. In addition, this effort would improve our understanding of the function of ABCB6 in normal physiology with respect to heme biosynthesis, and cellular adaptation to metabolic demand and stress responses. To search for modulators of ABCB6, we developed a novel cell-based approach that, in combination with flow cytometric high-throughput screening (HTS), can be used to identify functional modulators of ABCB6. Accumulation of protoporphyrin, a fluorescent molecule, in wild-type ABCB6 expressing K562 cells, forms the basis of the HTS assay. Screening the Prestwick Chemical Library employing the HTS assay identified four compounds, benzethonium chloride, verteporfin, tomatine hydrochloride and piperlongumine, that reduced ABCB6 mediated cellular porphyrin levels. Validation of the identified compounds employing the hemin-agarose affinity chromatography and mitochondrial transport assays demonstrated that three out of the four compounds were capable of inhibiting ABCB6 mediated hemin transport into isolated mitochondria. However, only verteporfin and tomatine hydrochloride inhibited ABCB6’s ability to compete with hemin as an ABCB6 substrate. This assay is therefore sensitive, robust, and suitable for automation in a high-throughput environment as demonstrated by our identification of selective functional modulators of ABCB6. Application of this assay to other libraries of synthetic compounds and natural products is expected to identify novel modulators of ABCB6 activity.

High Dose Parenteral Ascorbate Inhibited Pancreatic Cancer Growth and Metastasis: Mechanisms and a Phase I/IIa study

Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal cancers with poorly tolerated treatments. There is increasing interest in using high-dose intravenous ascorbate (IVC) in treating this disease partially because of its low toxicity. IVC bypasses bioavailability barriers of oral ingestion, provides pharmacological concentrations in tissues, and exhibits selective cytotoxic effects in cancer cells through peroxide formation. Here, we further revealed its anti-pancreatic cancer mechanisms and conducted a phase I/IIa study to investigate pharmacokinetic interaction between IVC and gemcitabine. Pharmacological ascorbate induced cell death in pancreatic cancer cells with diverse mutational backgrounds. Pharmacological ascorbate depleted cellular NAD+ preferentially in cancer cells versus normal cells, leading to depletion of ATP and robustly increased α-tubulin acetylation in cancer cells. While ATP depletion led to cell death, over-acetylated tubulin led to inhibition of motility and mitosis. Collagen was increased, and cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was inhibited, accompanied with inhibition in metastasis. IVC was safe in patients and showed the possibility to prolong patient survival. There was no interference to gemcitabine pharmacokinetics by IVC administration. Taken together, these data revealed a multi-targeting mechanism of pharmacological ascorbate’s anti-cancer action, with minimal toxicity, and provided guidance to design larger definitive trials testing efficacy of IVC in treating advanced pancreatic cancer.

Mechanism of Ascorbate-Induced Cell Death in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells: Role of Bcl-2, Beclin 1 and Autophagy

The present study investigates the anticancer effect of ascorbate in MIA-PaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells using both in vitro and in vivo models, with a focus on assessing the role of oxidative stress and autophagy as important mechanistic elements in its anticancer actions. We showed that ascorbate suppresses the growth of human pancreatic cancer cells via the induction of oxidative stress and caspase-independent cell death. Ascorbate induces the formation of autophagosomes and the presence of autophagy inhibitors suppresses ascorbate-induced cell death. These data suggest that the induction of autophagosome formation contributes to ascorbate-induced pancreatic cancer cell death.

The unpaved journey of vitamin C in cancer treatment.

Effectiveness and low-toxicity to normal tissues are ideal properties for a cancer treatment, and one that numerous research programs are aiming for. Vitamin C has long been used in the field of Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a cancer treatment, with profound safety and anecdotal efficacy. Recent studies revealed the scientific basis for this use, and indicated that vitamin C, at supra-nutritional doses, holds considerable promise as an effective and low-toxic therapeutic strategy to treat cancer. Reviewed here are the early controversies surrounding vitamin C and cancer treatment, the breakthrough discoveries that led to the current advancement, and recent clinical studies, as well as research into its mechanisms of action.

Targeting Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition for Identification of Inhibitors for Pancreatic Cancer Cell Invasion and Tumor Spheres Formation

Background Pancreatic cancer has an enrichment of stem-like cancer cells (CSCs) that contribute to chemoresistant tumors prone to metastasis and recurrence. Drug screening assays based on cytotoxicity cannot identify specific CSC inhibitors, because CSCs comprise only a small portion of cancer cell population, and it is difficult to propagate stable CSC populations in vitro for high-throughput screening (HTS) assays. Based on the important role of cancer cell epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in promoting CSCs, we hypothesized that inhibition of EMT can be a useful strategy for inhibiting CSCs, and therefore a feasible approach for HTS can be built for identification of CSC inhibitors, based on assays detecting EMT inhibition. Methods An immunofluorescent assay was established and optimized for HTS to identify compounds that enhance E-cadherin expression, as a hallmark of inhibition of EMT. Four chemical libraries containing 41,472 compounds were screened in PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cell line. Positive hits were validated for EMT and CSC inhibition in vitro using sphere formation assay, western blotting, immune fluorescence, and scratch assay. Results Initial hits were refined to 73 compounds with a secondary screening, among which 17 exhibited concentration dependent induction of E-cadherin expression. Six compounds were selected for further study which belonged to 2 different chemical structural clusters. A novel compound 1-(benzylsulfonyl) indoline (BSI, Compound #38) significantly inhibited pancreatic cancer cell migration and invasion. BSI inhibited histone deacetylase, increased histone 4 acetylation preferably, resulting in E-cadherin up-regulation. BSI effectively inhibited tumor spheres formation. Six more analogues of BSI were tested for anti-migration and anti-CSC activities. Conclusion This study demonstrated a feasible approach for discovery of agents targeting EMT and CSCs using HTS, and identified a class of novel chemicals that could be developed as anti-EMT and anti-CSC drug leads.

The tumor-suppressing activity of the prenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 gene in lung cancer cells.

The prenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 (PDSS2) gene has recently been proposed as a novel tumor suppressor in several types of solid tumors. However, the mechanism of its tumor-suppressing activity is not known. Our previous study found a decreased expression of PDSS2 in clinical samples of non-small-cell lung cancer, and an inverse correlation between PDSS2 levels and stages of tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis. In this study, we further investigated the tumor-suppressing activity of PDSS2 in lung cancer cells using cellular and molecular tools. The PDSS2 gene has low levels of expression in human lung cancer cell lines. We transfected and overexpressed PDSS2 in the NCI-H1299 lung cancer cell line. The forced overexpression caused massive cell death (∼70%) through apoptotic pathways and significantly inhibited colony formation. At the same time, repression of PDSS2 expression by siRNA enhanced the growth of a noncancerous lung epithelial cell line MRC-5. There was an inverse correlation (Pearson’s test, r=−0.9373) between PDSS2 expression and gelsolin expression, which is known to inhibit apoptosis and enhance cell invasion and metastasis. The ability of PDSS2 to repress gelsolin might contribute to its tumor-suppressing activity. However, PDSS2 did not influence the sensitivity of the lung cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. Taken together, PDSS2 has tumor-suppressing activity in human lung cancer cells by enhancing apoptosis and inhibiting tumorigenic capacity.

Synthesis and Spectral Characterization of New Bis(2-(pyrimidin-2-yl)ethoxy)alkanes and Their Pharmacological Activity

The pyrimidine nucleus is an important component of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and vitamins (B2 and folic acid). It is evident from the literature that pyrimidine derivatives possess a wide spectrum of biological activities such as antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, and anti‐inflammatory activities. On the basis of diverse biological activities, we attempted to synthesize a series of novel bis(2‐(pyrimidin‐2‐yl)ethoxy)alkanes 5a–j in four steps with good yields. 2‐Chloropyrimidine (1) was reacted with diethyl malonate in the presence of sodium hydride in dry dimethyl formamide to yield the intermediate diethyl 2‐(pyrimidin‐2‐yl)malonate (2), which on further reaction with sodium chloride and dimethyl sulfoxide yielded ethyl 2‐(pyrimidin‐2‐yl)ethanoate (3). Reduction with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) resulted in the formation of 2‐(pyrimidin‐2‐yl)ethanol (4). This was further reacted with various dibromoalkanes to obtain the title compounds 5a–j. In this current study, we evaluated the antioxidant properties of the title compounds using four in vitro test systems: the 2,2‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical‐, superoxide radical‐, and hydroxyl radical‐scavenging assays, and the anti‐lipid peroxidation activity test. The title compounds showed promising antioxidant activity when compared to butylated hydroxytoluene. The potency of their antioxidant activity was mainly influenced by the alkyl fragment attached to 2‐(pyrimidin‐2‐yl)ethanol. The ethyl and butyl fragments linked to oxygen led to increased antioxidant activity of the title compounds (i.e., 5b and 5d) in all our in vitro assays.