Impeding the combination of astrocytic ASCT2 and NLRP3 by talniflumate alleviates neuroinflammation in experimental models of Parkinson's disease

Alanine-serine-cysteine transporter 2 (ASCT2) is reported to participate in the progression of tumors and metabolic diseases. It is also considered to play a crucial role in the glutamate-glutamine shuttle of neuroglial network. However, it remains unclear the involvement of ASCT2 in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we demonstrated that high expression of ASCT2 in the plasma samples of PD patients and the midbrain of MPTP mouse models is positively correlated with dyskinesia. We further illustrated that ASCT2 expressed in astrocytes rather than neurons significantly upregulated in response to either MPP+ or LPS/ATP challenge. Genetic ablation of astrocytic ASCT2 alleviated the neuroinflammation and rescued dopaminergic (DA) neuron damage in PD models in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the binding of ASCT2 to NLRP3 aggravates astrocytic inflammasome-triggered neuroinflammation. Then a panel of 2513 FDA-approved drugs were performed via virtual molecular screening based on the target ASCT2 and we succeed in getting the drug talniflumate. It is validated talniflumate impedes astrocytic inflammation and prevents degeneration of DA neurons in PD models. Collectively, these findings reveal the role of astrocytic ASCT2 in the pathogenesis of PD, broaden the therapeutic strategy and provide a promising candidate drug for PD treatment.

Experimental study of apoptosis induced by Talniflumate in breast cancer cells / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of the mucin modulator Talniflumate (Tal) on breast cancer cells and its synergistic effect after combined with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (PTX).Methods:The breast cancer cells were cultured in vitro. Lymphocyte proliferation activity assay (MTS) was used to detect the effects of different concentrations of Talniflumate alone and paclitaxel on the survival rate of breast cancer cells. The effects of the above drugs on the apoptosis of breast cancer cells were detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect the expression of glucosamine transferase (GCNT3) (the target of Talniflumate) in breast cancer cells before and after the treatment with Talniflumate. Transcriptome sequencing clarified the changes in related signaling pathways after treatment with Talniflumate. Results:Talniflumate promoted the apoptosis of breast cancer cells MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The combination of Talniflumate and paclitaxel had a significant synergistic killing effect in MCF7 cells but not MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blot indicated that GCNT3 was highly expressed in MCF7 cells, while almost no expression in MDA-MB-231 cells; Talniflumate could reduce the expression of GCNT3 in MCF7 cells and after combined with paclitaxel, the expression of GCNT3 was downregulated more significantly. Transcriptome sequencing suggested that Talniflumate can regulate the expression of multiple signaling pathways such as TNF, p53, and SNARE.Conclusions:Talniflumate could induce apoptosis of breast cancer cell. Talniflumate combined with paclitaxel has a significant synergistic effect in killing tumor cells in breast cancer cells with high GCNT3 expression such as MCF7. The mechanism of Talniflumate induce apoptosis of breast cancer cells may be related to multiple signaling pathways such as TNF, p53, and SNARE.

Screening study for genetic polymorphisms affecting pharmacokinetics of talniflumate

Talniflumate is a phthalidyl ester of niflumic acid, which has potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects and is widely used to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis. To screen the possible genetic factors affecting the pharmacokinetics (PK) of talniflumate, 23 male Korean volunteers were enrolled from two separate bioequivalence studies. All subjects received 740 mg (two tablets) talniflumate in a standard 2×2 cross-over model in a randomized order. For the genetic study, PK parameters of the reference drug were used. We used Illumina Human610Quad v1.0 DNA Analysis BeadChip for whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis and whole genome genotyping data were processed by linear regression analysis for PK parameters. Whole genome analysis revealed 1498 significant SNPs (P < 0.0001) for Cmax, 65 significant SNPs (P < 0.0001) for T(max), and 1491 significant SNPs (P < 0.0001) for AUC(inf). For clinical pharmacological purposes, we selected SNPs from drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters, and analyzed the PK parameters of various genotypes. Two SNPs (rs11165069 from ABCA4 (p=0.00002); rs17847036 from CYP2C9 (p=0.000001)) showed significant associations with talniflumate C(max). In the T(max) group, two SNPs (rs3787555 from CYP24A1 (p=0.00035); rs2275034 from ABCA4 (p=0.000587)) showed significant associations with talniflumate T(max). In the AUC(inf) group, two SNPs (rs11165069 from ABCA4 (p=0.00002); rs12461006 from SLC1A6 (p=0.00008)) exhibited significant associations with talniflumate absorption. These results show that genetic factors could affect the PK parameters, and provide information that may be used in the development of personalized talniflumate therapy.