Research on antitumor effects of small molecule inhibitors of deubiquitinases: new progress and new ideas / 药学学报

The abnormality of ubiquitin proteasome pathway is an important factor leading to the imbalance of protein homeostasis. In this process, the deubiquitinase responsible for removing the ubiquitin chain of protein substrate is very important. Its abnormal activity or expression can cause the functional changes of key oncogenic/tumor suppressor proteins, which directly or indirectly lead to the occurrence, development and malignant evolution of tumors. Based on this, the discovery and research of small molecule inhibitors targeting deubiquitinases have become a hot field of anti-tumor candidate drugs. This review will focus on the regulatory effect and mechanism of ubiquitin proteasome pathway, especially deubiquitinase on tumor, introduce the application of deubiquitinase small molecule inhibitors in tumor treatment, and discuss the research status and latest progress of small molecule inhibitors, so as to provide ideas for the research of new anti-tumor strategies based on deubiquitinase.

Recent advances in mechanisms of KRASG12C inhibitors anti-tumor resistance and relevant overcoming strategies / 药学学报

KRAS is one of the most frequently mutated human oncogenes. In spite of mounting efforts on the development of direct or indirect inhibition targeting KRAS, little has been achieved because of insurmountable difficulties, titling KRAS "undruggable". Recently, subtype-specific inhibitors have shown great hope. Some KRASG12C inhibitors have entered clinical trials, including adagrasib and sotorasib, and have shown preliminary clinical effectiveness. Experiences from the inhibitors targeting the downstream factors of RAS pathways show that the anticancer activity of these drugs will be limited due to the development of drug resistance. Preclinical studies of KRASG12C inhibitors have revealed that the application of these agents might be hampered by the drug resistance issue. The current review aims to describe the current status of KRASG12C inhibitors, and discuss the mechanisms underlying KRASG12C inhibitor resistance, so as to provide the clues for the combat of drug resistance.

Glycyrrhizic acid: a potential drug against COVID-19 / 药学学报

Pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 has seriously threatened human life and health worldwide and caused a large number of deaths. Viral infection and acute inflammation are important causes of death, so it is particularly important to combine antiviral therapy with anti-inflammatory therapy. Glycyrrhizic acid, the main component of the glycyrrhizic root extract, has a wide range of pharmacological effects as well as high efficiency and low toxicity, its preparation has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis and other diseases. Glycyrrhizic acid can regulate the expression and release of a variety of cytokines and play a significant anti-inflammatory effect. At the same time, glycyrrhizic acid also showed significant inhibition towards a variety types of viruses. Therefore, the potential application of glycyrrhizic acid as COVID-19 treatment should be explored.

The roles of deubiquitinating enzymes in cancer therapy / 药学学报

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination play important roles in the regulation of protein stability and function. Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) are involved in the regulation of survival, migration and proliferation of cancer cells, by participating in a variety of signaling pathways. Most of the DUBs promote the malignant transformation and progression, while the others may function as tumor-suppressors. Given the central roles of DUBs in tumorigenesis and malignant progression, some of these enzymes have been regarded as promising anti-cancer targets. This paper reviews the recent advances in tumor-related DUBs and inhibitors.

Sirtuins in malignant progression of tumor / 药学学报

As a post-translational modification, protein acetylation plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis, mitochondriopoiesis, lipid metabolism and cellular stress response. The imbalance of acetylation and deacetylation has been blamed for the tumorigenesis and malignant progression, which is gradually considered as a promising therapeutic target. Mammalian sirtuins, a NAD+ dependent class Ⅲ HDACs, are closely related to the development of aging, tumor, diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. To provide a theoretical basis for the development of new anti-tumor drugs and the treatment of malignant tumors, this paper is prepared to focus on the irreplaceable role of sirtuins in tumor evolution:maintaining genomic stability, regulating energy metabolism, and facilitating tumor cells stemness. The modulator and pathways of sirtuins family and the research progress of agonists and inhibitors are also reviewed. The functions of SIRT2 in resistance, proliferation and metastasis have been highlighted.

Study on the regulation of autophagy against anticancer drugs' toxicity / 药学学报

Autophagy is a crucial biological process in eukaryotes, which is involved in cell growth, survival and energy metabolism. It has been confirmed that autophagy mediates toxicity of anticancer drugs, especially in heart, liver and neuron. It is important to understand the function and mechanism of autophagy in anticancer drugs-induced toxicity. Given that autophagy is a double-edged sword in the maintenance of the function of heart, liver and neuron, the autophagy-mediated toxicity are very complicated in the body. We provide a review on the concept of autophagy and current status about autophagy-mediated toxicity of anticancer drugs. The knowledge is crucial in the basic study of anticancer drugs-induced toxicity, and provides some strategies for the development of alleviating the toxicity of anticancer drugs.

Study on the regulation of autophagy against anticancer drugs' toxicity / 药学学报

Autophagy is a crucial biological process in eukaryotes, which is involved in cell growth, survival and energy metabolism. It has been confirmed that autophagy mediates toxicity of anticancer drugs, especially in heart, liver and neuron. It is important to understand the function and mechanism of autophagy in anticancer drugs-induced toxicity. Given that autophagy is a double-edged sword in the maintenance of the function of heart, liver and neuron, the autophagy-mediated toxicity are very complicated in the body. We provide a review on the concept of autophagy and current status about autophagy-mediated toxicity of anticancer drugs. The knowledge is crucial in the basic study of anticancer drugs-induced toxicity, and provides some strategies for the development of alleviating the toxicity of anticancer drugs.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and insulin-like growth factor-1 in gastric carcinoma and their clinicopathological significance / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in gastric carcinoma and their clinicopathological significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Expressions of MMP-2 and IGF-1 were examined by using immunohistochemical SP staining and cross-compared with clinicopathological features of gastric carcinoma.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>High expression of MMP-2 and IGF-1 were observed in 70.4% (307/436) and 49.5% (216/436) of gastric carcinoma tissues respectively, significantly higher than those in non-tumor gastric mucosa (3.3% and 5.4%, respectively; all P < 0.05). The high expression rate of MMP-2 and IGF-1 were significantly associated with the patient age, tumor size, tumor location, Lauren classification, TNM staging, depth of tumor infiltration, presence of vessel invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis (all P < 0.05). In addition, the expression of MMP-2 was positively linked with the expression level of IGF-1 (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that high expression of MMP-2, was significantly associated with poor prognosis of tumor of TNM stage I and II (all P < 0.05), high expression of IGF-1 was significantly correlated with poor prognosis of patients with TNM stage I, II and III tumor (all P < 0.05). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that the high expressions of MMP-2 and IGF-1 could be independent prognostic indices for gastric carcinoma.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>High expression of MMP-2 and IGF-1 proteins are significantly correlated with the invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma, it is helpful to simultaneously detect the expressions of MMP-2 and IGF-1 proteins in predicting prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma.</p>

Effects of Maidang Rutong granule on l-dopa-induced galactozemia in rats / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study galactagogue effect of Maidang Rutong granule on the lactation rats.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The experiments were designed to observe the efficiency of Maidang Rutong granule on lactescence, serum prolactin, and morphology of mammary gland with rat galactozemia model established by injecting l-dopa.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Maidang Rutong granule showed significant enhancement for lactescence and the offspring's body weight. It could antagonize the decrease of serum prolactin and the atrophy of mammary gland induced by l-dopa.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Maidang Rutong granule exhibited significant galactagogue effect on the l-dopa-induced galactozemia in rats.</p>

Contragestazol (DL111-IT) inhibits proliferation of human androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC3 in vitro and in vivo / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To evaluate the antiproliferative activity of contragestazol (DL111-IT) on the human prostate cancer cell line PC3 in vitro and in vivo and to elucidate its potential molecular mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The cell killing ability of DL111-IT was measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthia-zol,2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reagent assay method and the tumor xenograft model. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry and protein expression, including retinoblastoma (pRb), cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and cyclin D1, was detected by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>DL111-IT exhibited high efficiency on cell growth inhibition of the human androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC3. The drug concentration that yielded 50% cell inhibition (IC50 value) was 9.9 mg/mL. In the PC3 tumor xenograft study, DL111-IT (1.25 mg/kg-20.0 mg/kg) given once a day for 10 days significantly inhibited tumor growth, with the inhibition rate ranging from 21% to 50%. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that DL111-IT could cause G1 arrest in the PC3 cell line, but not apoptosis. DL111-IT enhanced pRb expression and down-regulated CDK4 and cyclin D1 expression, suggesting that cell cycle regulation might contribute to the anticancer property of DL111-IT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>DL111-IT inhibits the proliferation of human androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC3 in vitro and in vivo by a cell cycle regulation pathway.</p>

Synthesis and antitumor activity of arylsubstituted imidazolin-2-one derivatives / 药学学报

<p><b>AIM</b>To design and synthesize new arylsubstituted imidazolin-2-one analogues as antitumor compounds.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Arylsubstituted imidazolin-2-ones were prepared by condensation the appropriate omega-amino-acetophenone hydrochloride with arylisocyanate in toluene. The target compounds prepared in this study were tested for cytotoxicity against PC-3, A549, HO-8910, Hela, HL60, K562 and HL60R cancer cell lines, and mechanism of one of the products 4y was further evaluated with its mechanium.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Thirty-six new compounds were synthesized and confirmed by 1H NMR, MS and elemental analysis. One of the synthesized products, compound 4y, displayed an encouraging selective activity against HL60 cells, and it was partlydue to the cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compound 4y is worthy to be intensively studied.</p>