Peng Zou

Auranofin induces apoptosis by ROS-mediated ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction and displayed synergistic lethality with piperlongumine in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the world. In addressing the need of treatments for relapsed disease, we report the identification of an existing U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved small-molecule drug to repurpose for GC treatment. Auranofin (AF), clinically used to treat rheumatic arthritis, but it exhibited preclinical efficacy in GC cells. By increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, AF induces a lethal endoplasmic reticulum stress response and mitochondrial dysfunction in cultured GC cells. Blockage of ROS production reversed AF-induced ER stress and mitochondrial pathways activation as well as apoptosis. In addition, AF displays synergistic lethality with an ROS-generating agent piperlongumine, which is a natural product isolated from the long pepper Piper longum L. Taken together, this work provides a novel anticancer candidate for the treatment of gastric cancer. More importantly, it reveals that increased ROS generation might be an effective strategy in treating human gastric cancer.

Anti-inflammatory effects of novel curcumin analogs in experimental acute lung injury

BackgroundAcute lung injury (ALI) and its most severe form acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units (ICU). Currently, there is no effective pharmacological treatment for acute lung injury. Curcumin, extracted from turmeric, exhibits broad anti-inflammatory properties through down-regulating inflammatory cytokines. However, the instability of curcumin limits its clinical application.MethodsA series of new curcumin analogs were synthesized and screened for their inhibitory effects on the production of TNF-α and IL-6 in mouse peritoneal macrophages by ELISA. The evaluation of stability and mechanism of active compounds was determined using UV-assay and Western Blot, respectively. In vivo, SD rats were pretreatment with c26 for seven days and then intratracheally injected with LPS to induce ALI. Pulmonary edema, protein concentration in BALF, injury of lung tissue, inflammatory cytokines in serum and BALF, inflammatory cell infiltration, inflammatory cytokines mRNA expression, and MAPKs phosphorylation were analyzed. We also measured the inflammatory gene expression in human pulmonary epithelial cells.ResultsIn the study, we synthesized 30 curcumin analogs. The bioscreeening assay showed that most compounds inhibited LPS-induced production of TNF-α and IL-6. The active compounds, a17, a18, c9 and c26, exhibited their anti-inflammatory activity in a dose-dependent manner and exhibited greater stability than curcumin in vitro. Furthermore, the active compound c26 dose-dependently inhibited ERK phosphorylation. In vivo, LPS significantly increased protein concentration and number of inflammatory cells in BALF, pulmonary edema, pathological changes of lung tissue, inflammatory cytokines in serum and BALF, macrophage infiltration, inflammatory gene expression, and MAPKs phosphorylation. However, pretreatment with c26 attenuated the LPS induced increase through ERK pathway in vivo. Meanwhile, compound c26 reduced the LPS-induced inflammatory gene expression in human pulmonary epithelial cells.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the novel curcumin analog c26 has remarkable protective effects on LPS-induced ALI in rat. These effects may be related to its ability to suppress production of inflammatory cytokines through ERK pathway. Compound c26, with improved chemical stability and bioactivity, may have the potential to be further developed into an anti-inflammatory candidate for the prevention and treatment of ALI.

EF24 induces ROS-mediated apoptosis via targeting thioredoxin reductase 1 in gastric cancer cells

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the world, and finding novel agents for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer is of urgent need. Diphenyl difluoroketone (EF24), a molecule having structural similarity to curcumin, exhibits potent anti-tumor activities by arresting cell cycle and inducing apoptosis. Although EF24 demonstrates potent anticancer efficacy in numerous types of human cancer cells, the cellular targets of EF24 have not been fully defined. We report here that EF24 may interact with the thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), an important selenocysteine (Sec)-containing antioxidant enzyme, to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. By inhibiting TrxR1 activity and increasing intracellular ROS levels, EF24 induces a lethal endoplasmic reticulum stress in human gastric cancer cells. Importantly, knockdown of TrxR1 sensitizes cells to EF24 treatment. In vivo, EF24 treatment markedly reduces the TrxR1 activity and tumor cell burden, and displays synergistic lethality with 5-FU against gastric cancer cells. Targeting TrxR1 with EF24 thus discloses a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying the biological activity of EF24, and reveals that TrxR1 is a good target for gastric cancer therapy.

Piperlongumine as a direct TrxR1 inhibitor with suppressive activity against gastric cancer

Piperlongumine (PL), a natural alkaloid isolated from the fruit of long pepper, is known to selectively kill tumor cells while sparing their normal counterparts. However, the cellular target and potent anticancer efficacy of PL in numerous types of human cancer cells have not been fully defined. We report here that PL may interact with the thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), an important selenocysteine (Sec)-containing antioxidant enzyme, to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. By inhibiting TrxR1 activity and increasing intracellular ROS levels, PL induces a lethal endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in human gastric cancer cells. Importantly, knockdown of TrxR1 sensitizes cells to PL treatment, and PL displays synergistic lethality with GSH inhibitors (BSO and Erastin) against gastric cancer cells. In vivo, PL treatment markedly reduces the TrxR1 activity and tumor cell burden. Remarkably, TrxR1 was significantly overexpressed in gastric cancer cell lines and human gastric cancer tissues. Targeting TrxR1 with PL thus discloses a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying the biological activity of PL and provides an in-depth insight into the action of PL in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Selective killing of gastric cancer cells by a small molecule via targeting TrxR1 and ROS-mediated ER stress activation

The thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) 1 is often overexpressed in numerous cancer cells. Targeting TrxR1 leads to a reduction in tumor progression and metastasis, making the enzyme an attractive target for cancer treatment. Our previous research revealed that the curcumin derivative B19 could induce cancer cell apoptosis via activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, the upstream mechanism and molecular target of B19 is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that B19 directly inhibits TrxR1 enzyme activity to elevate oxidative stress and then induce ROS-mediated ER Stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, subsequently resulting in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. A computer-assistant docking showed that B19 may bind TrxR1 protein via formation of a covalent bond with the residue Cys-498. Blockage of ROS production totally reversed B19-induced anti-cancer actions. In addition, the results of xenograft experiments in mice were highly consistent with in vitro studies. Taken together, targeting TrxR1 with B19 provides deep insight into the understanding of how B19 exerts its anticancer effects. More importantly, this work indicates that targeting TrxR1 and manipulating ROS levels are effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) induces ferroptosis and causes cell cycle arrest in head and neck carcinoma cells.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, exhibits a wide range of biological roles including a highly efficient and specific anti-tumor activity. Here, we aimed to examine the effect of DHA on head and neck carcinoma cells and elucidate the potential mechanisms. We used five head and neck carcinoma cell lines and two non-tumorigenic normal epithelial cell lines to achieve our goals. Cells were exposed to DHA and subjected to cellular activity assays including viability, cell cycle analysis, cell death, and angiogenic phenotype. Our results show that DHA causes cell cycle arrest which is mediated through Forkhead box protein M1 (FOXM1). We also demonstrate that DHA induces ferroptosis and apoptosis in head and neck carcinoma cells. Lastly, our results show that DHA alters the angiogenic phenotype of cancer cells by reducing the expression of angiogenic factors and the ability of cancer cells to support endothelial cell tubule formation. Our study suggests that DHA specifically causes head and neck cancer cell death through contribution from both ferroptosis and apoptosis. DHA may represent an effective strategy in head and neck cancer treatment.

Synthesis and evaluation of a series of novel asymmetrical curcumin analogs for the treatment of inflammation.

Curcumin has been reported to possess multiple bioactivities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties, however the clinical application of curcumin has been significantly limited by its instability and poor metabolism. Modification of curcumin has led to discovery and development of lots of novel therapeutic candidates. In recent years acute and chronic inflammation has been the focus of numerous studies in various diseases. Here, we synthesized a series of asymmetrical curcumin analogs with high in vitro chemical stability, and their anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in LPS-stimulated macrophages. According to the bio-screening results and QSAR analysis, these analogs exhibited potent activities against LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 release. Among the analogs of the potent anti-inflammatory activity, compounds 3b8 and 3b9 exhibited significant protection and possess enhanced anti-inflammatory activity thereby attenuated the LPS-induced septic death in mice.

Selective killing of gastric cancer cells by a small molecule targeting ROS-mediated ER stress activation

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the world. Curcumin is a natural product with multiple pharmacological activities, while its clinical application has been limited by the poor chemical stability. We have previously designed a series of curcumin derivatives with high stability and anticancer potentials. The present study aims to identify the anti‐cancer effects and mechanisms of WZ26, an analog of curcumin, in gastric cancer cells. In vitro, WZ26 showed higher chemical stability and much stronger anti‐proliferative effects than curcumin, accompanied by dose‐dependent induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, the novel compound WZ26 induced ROS production, resulting in the activation of JNK‐mitochondrial and ER stress apoptotic pathways. Blockage of ROS production totally reversed WZ26‐induced JNK activation, Bcl‐2/Bax decrease, ER stress activation, and final cell apoptosis in SGC‐7901 cells. WZ26 also exhibited potent anti‐tumor effects in human gastric cancer cell xenograft models. WZ26 could be considered as a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. In addition, this study also demonstrated that ROS production could be act as a vital candidate pathway for inducing tumor cell apoptosis by targeting mitochondrial and ER stress‐related death pathway.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel class of curcumin analogs as anti-inflammatory agents for prevention and treatment of sepsis in mouse model

A novel class of asymmetric mono-carbonyl analogs of curcumin (AMACs) were synthesized and screened for anti-inflammatory activity. These analogs are chemically stable as characterized by UV absorption spectra. In vitro, compounds 3f, 3m, 4b, and 4d markedly inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 values in low micromolar range. In vivo, compound 3f demonstrated potent preventive and therapeutic effects on LPS-induced sepsis in mouse model. Compound 3f downregulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 MAPK and suppressed IκBα degradation, which suggests that the possible anti-inflammatory mechanism of compound 3f may be through downregulating nuclear factor kappa binding (NF-κB) and ERK pathways. Also, we solved the crystal structure of compound 3e to confirm the asymmetrical structure. The quantitative structure–activity relationship analysis reveals that the electron-withdrawing substituents on aromatic ring of lead structures could improve activity. These active AMACs represent a new class of anti-inflammatory agents with improved stability, bioavailability, and potency compared to curcumin. Our results suggest that 3f may be further developed as a potential agent for prevention and treatment of sepsis or other inflammation-related diseases.

(1E,4E)-1-(Thio-phen-2-yl)-5-(2,6,6-trimethyl-cyclo-hex-1-en-1-yl)penta-1,4-dien-3-one.

In the title curcumin–ionone derivative, C18H22OS, the dihedral angle between the thiazole ring and the mean plane through the cyclohexene ring is 5.16 (10)°. The molecule has an E conformation for each of the olefinic bonds.