Evidence of nuclide migration from high-level radioactive waste glass via geogas.

Characteristics of high-level radioactive waste transport in glass as gases were studied. A transmission electron microscope was used to observe the morphology of the substance after penetrating the high-level radioactive waste glass and the bentonite soil column, and the composition of the substance was analyzed using electron probe energy spectroscopy. The results show that the radionuclides in the high-level radioactive waste glass were transported out of the glass, the bentonite was penetrated by the geogas, and the transported substance occurred as nanometer-size particles and particle aggregates.

The beneficial effects of alpha-tocopherol on intestinal function and the expression of tight junction proteins in differentiated segments of the intestine in piglets.

Alpha (α)-tocopherol is a major component of dietary vitamin E. Despite being one of the most widely used food supplements in both animals and humans, its role in intestinal functions remains unknown. We were able to examine and accurately demonstrate its permeability effect in vitro and its differentiated effect on tight junction expression in different segments of the intestine in vivo using cultured intestinal porcine epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2) and piglets. A cultured IPEC-J2 demonstrated that α-tocopherol upregulated the expression of tight junction proteins and improved their integrity, with a maximum effect at concentrations ranging from 20 to 40 µmol/L. In vivo data from weaned pigs fed different doses of α-tocopherol for 2 weeks revealed that α-tocopherol effectively increases the expression of tight junction proteins in all sections of the intestinal mucosa, with the highest effect on the duodenum at an optimum dose of 20-50 mg/kg. In contrast, α-tocopherol did not affect intestinal inflammation. These findings suggest that α-tocopherol maintains intestinal integrity and increases the expression of tight junction proteins both in vitro and in vivo.

Inhibitory role of proguanil on the growth of bladder cancer via enhancing EGFR degradation and inhibiting its downstream signaling pathway to induce autophagy.

A major reason for the high mortality of patients with bladder cancer (BC) is that chemotherapy and surgery are only effective for very limited patients. Thus, developing novel treatment options becomes an urgent need for improving clinical outcomes and the quality of life for BC patients. Here, we demonstrated that proguanil significantly inhibited the growth of BC in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, our results indicated that the sensitivity of BC cells to proguanil is positively correlated with the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Mechanistically, proguanil specifically targeted EGFR and promoted EGFR binding to Caveolin-1, enhanced its endocytosis in a Clathrin-independent manner, and then recruited c-Cbl to promote EGFR ubiquitination and degradation through the lysosomal pathway. Further studies suggested that proguanil induced autophagy by destabilizing EGFR and inhibiting its downstream signaling pathway. Thus, this study reveals the novel mechanism of proguanil on anticancer activity and implies the potential benefits of this drug in the treatment of BC.

Inhibition of PKM2 Enhances Sensitivity of Olaparib to Ovarian Cancer Cells and Induces DNA Damage.

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have showed clinical benefit as maintenance therapy in advanced ovarian cancer by impairing the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), the significant cancer metabolic biomarker, integrates with DNA damage to directly promote HR. We aimed to investigate the role and molecular mechanism of PKM2 downregulation on sensitization of ovarian cancer cells to PARPi. Inhibitory effects in vitro were assessed by cell viability, clone formation, transwell assay, and flow cytometry. Downregulation of PKM2 by siRNA or small molecular inhibitor shikonin (Sk) enhanced anti-tumour activity of olaparib (Ola) in ovarian cancer cells. Silencing PKM2 or Sk synergized with Ola and reduced cell growth, colony formation and migration, and induced apoptosis. Western blot and immunofluorescence demonstrated that inhibition of PKM2 amplified Ola-induced γH2AX and phospho-ATM (p-ATM) activation and interfered with BRCA1 accumulation in the nucleus. A xenograft animal model demonstrated in vivo antitumor combination effect of Sk and Ola. Furthermore, Western blot and immunofluorenscent analyses of tissue samples revealed that treatment of Sk increased DNA damage, reduced expression of BRCA1 and PKM2. Therefore, this study identified that PKM2 downregulation is a novel therapeutic strategy to enhance Ola effectiveness in treating ovarian cancer.

Synthesis, Anticancer Activities, and Mechanism of N-heptyl-containing Biguanide Derivatives.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the anticancer effects of biguanide drugs have received considerable attention. However, the effective concentration of biguanide drugs to kill cancer cells is relatively high. Thus, we focus on structural modification of biguanides to obtain better antitumor candidates. A previous study in our laboratory has found that a biguanide compound containing the n-heptyl group has potent anticancer activity. However, the effect of different substituents on the benzene ringside of the biguanides on the anti-proliferative activity is unknown. OBJECTIVE: A series of n-heptyl-containing biguanide derivatives whose benzene rings were modified by halogen substitution based on the intermediate derivatization method were further synthesized to find new compounds with improved antiproliferative activities. METHODS: Ten n-heptyl-containing biguanide derivatives were synthesized via established chemical procedures. The activities of these derivatives were explored by MTT assay, clonogenic assay, and scratch assay. The protein levels were detected via Western blotting to explore the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: The optimal biguanide derivatives 10a-10c, 11d exhibited IC50 values of 2.21-9.59 µΜ for five human cancer cell lines, significantly better than the control drug proguanil. The results of clonogenic and scratch wound healing assays also confirmed the inhibitory effects of derivatives 10a- 10c, 11d on the proliferation and migration of human cancer cell lines. Western blot results demonstrated that one representative derivative, 10c upregulates the AMPK signal pathway and downregulates mTOR/4EBP1/p70S6K. CONCLUSION: All biguanide derivatives containing n-heptyl groups are more active than proguanil, indicating that the modification of n-heptyl-containing biguanide derivatives provides a novel approach for the development of novel high efficient antitumor drugs.

Phenformin and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated inhibitors synergistically co-suppress liver cancer cell growth by damaging mitochondria.

Inhibitors of ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), such as KU-55933 (Ku), represent a promising class of novel anticancer drugs. In addition, the biguanide derivative phenformin exhibits antitumor activity superior to that of the AMPK activator metformin. Herein, we assessed the potential combinatorial therapeutic efficacy of phenformin and Ku when used to inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells, and we assessed the mechanisms underlying such efficacy. The Hep-G2 and SMMC-7721 liver cancer cell lines were treated with phenformin and Ku either alone or in combination, after which the impact of these drugs on cellular proliferation was assessed via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol) 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium and colony formation assays, whereas Transwell assays were used to gauge cell migratory activity. The potential synergy between these two drugs was assessed using the CompuSyn software, while flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cellular apoptosis. In addition, western blotting was utilized to measure p-ATM, p-AMPK, p-mTOR, and p-p70s6k expression, while mitochondrial functionality was monitored via morphological analyses, JC-1 staining, and measurements of ATP levels. Phenformin and Ku synergistically impacted the proliferation, migration, and apoptotic death of liver cancer cells. Together, these compounds were able to enhance AMPK phosphorylation while inhibiting the phosphorylation of mTOR and p70s6k. These data also revealed that phenformin and Ku induced mitochondrial dysfunction as evidenced by impaired ATP synthesis, mitochondrial membrane potential, and abnormal mitochondrial morphology. These findings suggest that combination treatment with phenformin and Ku may be an effective approach to treating liver cancer via damaging mitochondria within these tumor cells.

Vitamin A prevents lipopolysaccharide-induced injury on tight junctions in mice.

Vitamin A (VA) is one of the most widely used food supplements, but its molecular mechanisms largely remain elusive. Previously, we have demonstrated that VA inhibits the action of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on intestinal epithelial barrier function and tight junction proteins using IPEC-J2 cells, one of representative intestinal cell lines as a cellular model. These exciting findings stimulated us continue to determine the effects of VA on LPS-induced damage of intestinal integrity in mice. Our results demonstrated that LPS treatment caused reductions of the mRNA levels of tight junction proteins including Zo-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1, well-known biomarkers of intestinal integrity, and these reductions were reversed by VA pretreatment. Intestinal immunofluorescent results of Claudin-1 revealed that LPS disrupted the structure of tight junction and reduced the expression of Claudin-1 at protein level, which was reversed by VA pretreatment. These results suggest that VA may exert a profound role on preventing intestinal inflammation in vivo.

Methylation of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated gene (ATM) promoter as a radiotherapy outcome biomarker in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the contribution of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene promoter methylation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the predictive value of radiotherapy outcome. ATM promoter methylation status was detected using methylation-specific PCR in 118 HCC, 50 adjacent liver, and 20 normal liver samples. PCR products were verified by bisulfite sequencing PCR. ATM expression was detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 50 paired HCC and adjacent normal tissues and 68 locally advanced HCC biopsy tissues. Furthermore, radiotherapy outcomes in 68 locally advanced HCC patients were determined using European Association for the Study of Liver criteria and survival analysis. The results revealed that the methylation frequency of the ATM promoter was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in normal liver tissues (χ = 16.830, P < .001). Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and IHC results showed a significant association between ATM promoter methylation and ATM expression in HCC (χ = 10.510, P < .001), and methylated ATM was correlated with lower ATM expression compared with unmethylated ATM (r = 0.356, P < .001). Furthermore, methylation of the ATM promoter was significantly associated with superior outcomes in patients with locally advanced HCC who initially received radiotherapy. Together, these results indicate that ATM promoter methylation might increase the risk of HCC by regulating ATM expression, and thus may function as a potential biomarker for predicting radiotherapy outcomes in HCC patients.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and anti-proliferative mechanism of fluorine-containing proguanil derivatives.

Proguanil, a member of biguanide family, has excellent anti-proliferative activities. Fluorine-containing compounds have been demonstrated to have super biological activities including enhanced binding interactions, metabolic stability, and reduced toxicity. In this study, based on the intermediate derivatization methods, we synthesized 13 new fluorine-containing proguanil derivatives, and found that 7a,7d and 8e had much lower IC50 than proguanil in 5 human cancerous cell lines. The results of clonogenic and scratch wound healing assays revealed that the inhibitory effects of derivatives 7a,7d and 8e on proliferation and migration of human cancer cell lines were much better than proguanil as well. Mechanistic study based on representative derivative 7a indicated that this compound up-regulates AMPK signal pathway and downregulates mTOR/4EBP1/p70S6K. In conclusion, these new fluorine-containing derivatives show potential for the development of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs.

The role of pyruvate kinase M2 in anticancer therapeutic treatments.

Cancer cells are characterized by a high glycolytic rate, which leads to energy regeneration and anabolic metabolism; a consequence of this is the abnormal expression of pyruvate kinase isoenzyme M2 (PKM2). Multiple studies have demonstrated that the expression levels of PKM2 are upregulated in numerous cancer types. Consequently, the mechanism of action of certain anticancer drugs is to downregulate PKM2 expression, indicating the significance of PKM2 in a chemotherapeutic setting. Furthermore, it has previously been highlighted that the downregulation of PKM2 expression, using either inhibitors or short interfering RNA, enhances the anticancer effect exerted by THP treatment on bladder cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The present review summarizes the detailed mechanisms and therapeutic relevance of anticancer drugs that inhibit PKM2 expression. In addition, the relationship between PKM2 expression levels and drug resistance were explored. Finally, future directions, such as the targeting of PKM2 as a strategy to explore novel anticancer agents, were suggested. The current review explored and highlighted the important role of PKM2 in anticancer treatments.

Dual Inhibition of Pirarubicin-Induced AKT and ERK Activations by Phenformin Sensitively Suppresses Bladder Cancer Growth.

Activations of Akt or ERK pathway induced by clinical drugs promote therapeutic failure due to decrease of drug response, and no available strategies have been developed to solve these problems. In this study, we found that pirarubicin (THP), one important chemotherapeutic drug for treating bladder cancer intravesically, dramatically elevated phosphorylations of both Akt and Erk1/2 in addition to inducing DNA damage. MK2206 or AZD6244, representative Akt and Erk1/2 inhibitors, respectively, profoundly sensitized bladder cancer cells to THP treatment. Interestingly, we found that inhibition of a single arm of either Akt or Erk1/2 pathway would induce the increase of another arm, indicating the existence of the crosstalk between these two pathways. Thus, simultaneous suppression of both signals may be needed for increasing the sensitivity of THP. On the other hand, we revealed that phenformin efficiently inhibited both Akt and Erk1/2 phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we demonstrated that phenformin, mimicking dual inhibitors, plays dramatically synergistic action with THP both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that combination therapy of THP with dual inhibitors may constitute a successful strategy for improving chemotherapy response.

The molecular mechanisms of LncRNA-correlated PKM2 in cancer metabolism.

Reprogrammed metabolism is an important hallmark of cancer cells. Pyruvate kinase (PK) is one of the major rate-limiting enzymes in glucose metabolism. The M2 isoform of PK (PKM2), is considered to be an important marker of metabolic reprogramming and one of the key enzymes. Recently, through the continuous development of genome-wide analysis and functional studies, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) play vital regulatory roles in cancer progression by acting as either potential oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Furthermore, several studies have shown that up-regulation of PKM2 in cancer tissues is associated with LncRNAs expression and patient survival. Thus, scientists have begun to unveil the mechanism of LncRNA-associated PKM2 in cancer metabolic progression. Based on these novel findings, in this mini-review, we summarize the detailed molecular mechanisms of LncRNA related to PKM2 in cancer metabolism. We expect that this work will promote a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of PKM2, and provide a profound potential for targeting PKM2 to treat tumors.

Anticancer properties of novel pyrazole-containing biguanide derivatives with activating the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase signaling pathway.

Biguanides, including metformin and phenformin, have emerged as promising anticancer agents. However, the high dose needed for their efficient anticancer properties restricts their clinical application. In an attempt to obtain higher active compounds than these parent compounds, pyrazole-containing biguanide derivatives were synthesized and screened for in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines. Clonogenic assays and scratch wound healing assays demonstrated that these new derivatives profoundly inhibit cell proliferation and migration. Compounds 10b and 10d exhibited strong potency with low IC50 values in the range of 6.9-28.3 µM, far superior to phenformin and metformin. Moreover, 20 µM 10b and 10d resulted in 72.3-88.2% (p < 0.001) inhibition of colony formation and 29.3-60.7% (p < 0.05) inhibition of cell migration. Mechanistically, 10b and 10d activated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, leading to inactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway with the regulation of 4EBP1 and p70S6K. These results suggest the value of these novel biguanide derivatives as candidates with therapeutic potential for the treatment of bladder and ovarian cancer.

The role of Clusterin in cancer metastasis.

Clusterin is a conserved glycoprotein that has been characterized from almost all human tissues and fluids and plays a key role in cellular stress response and survival. Recently, research efforts have been contributed to explore the function of Clusterin in cancer metastasis, which is particularly important to design the strategies for treating metastatic patients. Evidence collected has demonstrated that Clusterin is overexpressed in tumor metastatic patients and experimental metastasis models. Specifically, Clusterin has been shown to have the role in anti-apoptotic capacities, development of therapy resistance and induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, all associated with cancer metastasis. Inhibition of Clusterin is known to increase the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents and improves advanced cancer patients survival in clinical trials. Our unpublished data have demonstrated that Clusterin is overexpressed in bladder cancer and metformin, a well-known metabolism modulator specifically targets Clusterin by inhibiting migration of bladder cancer cells. In this review, we provide a general view of how Clusterin modulates cancer metastasis and update current understanding of detailed molecular mechanisms underlying of Clusterin for developing cancer management in future.

Glycyrrhizic acid ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury by regulating autophagy through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a major pathological issue characterized by serious inflammatory response, and a major clinically critical illness with high morbidity and mortality. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is a major bioactive constituent isolated from traditional Chinese herb licorice, which has been reported to have positive effects on inflammation. Nevertheless, the effects of GA on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated ALI in mice have not been reported. The purpose of our study is to investigate the inhibitory effects of GA on ALI treated by LPS and to elucidate its possible mechanisms. We found that GA significantly attenuated lung injury and decreased the production of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1ß, and HMGB1 with LPS treatment. GA induced autophagy which was showed by enhanced number of autophagosomes through upregulating the protein levels of LC3-II/I and Beclin-1 and downregulating SQSTM1/P62. Moreover, pre-treatment of 3-Methyladenine (3-MA), an autophagy inhibitor, reversed the inhibiting effects of GA on the secretion of inflammatory factors in ALI. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was associated with GA-induced autophagy under ALI induced by LPS. In conclusion, this study indicated that GA inhibited the production of inflammatory factors in LPS-induced ALI by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway related autophagy, which may provide a novel therapeutic perspective of GA in ameliorating ALI.

Vitamin A inhibits the action of LPS on the intestinal epithelial barrier function and tight junction proteins.

Inflammation caused by either intrinsic or extrinsic toxins results in intestinal barrier dysfunction, contributing to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other diseases. Vitamin A is a widely used food supplement although its mechanistic effect on intestinal structures is largely unknown. The goal of this study was to explore the mechanism by investigating the influence of vitamin A on the intestinal barrier function, represented by tight junctions. IPEC-J2 cells were differentiated on transwell inserts and used as a model of intestinal barrier permeability. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was used as an indicator of monolayer integrity and paracellular permeability. Western blot and the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were used to assess the protein and mRNA expression of tight junction proteins. Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to evaluate the localization and expression of tight junctions. Differentiated cells were treated with a vehicle control (Ctrl), inflammatory stimulus (1 µg mL-1 LPS), LPS co-treatment with 0.1 µmol L-1 Vitamin A (1 µg mL-1 LPS + 0.1 µmol L-1 VA) and 0.1 µmol L-1 Vitamin A. LPS significantly decreased TEER by 24 hours, continuing this effect to 48 hours after application. Vitamin A alleviated the LPS-induced decrease of TEER from 12 hours to 48 hours, while Vitamin A alone enhanced TEER, indicating that Vitamin A attenuated LPS-induced intestinal epithelium permeability. Mechanistically, different concentrations of Vitamin A (0-20 µmol L-1) enhanced tight junction protein markers including Zo-1, Occludin and Claudin-1 both at protein and mRNA levels with an optimized dose of 0.1 µmol L-1. Immunofluorescence results demonstrated that majority of Zo-1 and Claudin-1 is located at the tight junctions, as we expected. LPS reduced the expression of these proteins and Vitamin A reversed LPS-reduced expression of these proteins, consistent with the results of western blot. In conclusion, Vitamin A improves the intestinal barrier function and reverses LPS-induced intestinal barrier damage via enhancing the expression of tight junction proteins.

Novel application of metformin combined with targeted drugs on anticancer treatment.

The success of targeted drug therapies for treating cancer patients has attracted broad attention both in the academic community and social society. However, rapidly developed acquired resistance is becoming a newly recognized major challenge to the continuing efficiency of these therapies. Metformin is a well-known natural compound with low toxicity derived from the plant French lilac. Our previous work has highlighted research progress of the combination of clinically applied chemotherapies and metformin by different mechanisms. We have also launched a study to combine metformin with the small molecule targeted drug gefitinib to treat bladder cancer using intravesical administration. Thus, in this minireview, we summarize recent achievements combining metformin with various targeted therapies. This work directs the potential clinical future by selecting available cancer patients and providing precise medicine by the combination of metformin and targeted drugs to overcome resistance and enhance therapeutic efficacies.

Down-regulation of PKM2 decreases FASN expression in bladder cancer cells through AKT/mTOR/SREBP-1c axis.

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) catalyzing the terminal steps in the de novo biogenesis of fatty acids is correlated with low survival and high disease recurrence in patients with bladder cancer. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) regulates the final step of glycolysis levels and provides a growth advantage to tumors. However, it is unclear whether the change of PKM2 has an effect on FASN and what is the mechanisms underlying. Here we describe a novel function of PKM2 in control of lipid metabolism by mediating transcriptional activation of FASN, showing the reduced expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c). We first discovered that PKM2 physically interacts with the SREBP-1c using biochemical approaches, and downregulation of PKM2 reduced the expression of SREBP-1c by inactivating the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, which in turn directly suppressed the transcription of major lipogenic genes FASN to reduce tumor growths. Furthermore, either PKM2 inhibitor-Shikonin or FASN inhibitor-TVB-3166 alone induced a strong antiproliferative and anticolony forming effect in bladder cancer cell line. The combination of both inhibitors exhibits a super synergistic effect on blocking the bladder cancer cells growth. It provides a new target and scientific basis for the treatment of bladder cancer.

Phenformin alone or combined with gefitinib inhibits bladder cancer via AMPK and EGFR pathways.

BACKGROUND: In previous studies, we have shown that the combination of metformin and gefitinib inhibits the growth of bladder cancer cells. Here we examined whether the metformin analogue phenformin, either used alone or in combination with gefitinib, could inhibit growth of bladder cancer cells. METHODS: The growth-inhibitory effects of phenformin and gefitinib were tested in one murine and two human bladder cancer cell lines using MTT and clonogenic assays. Effects on cell migration were assessed in a wound healing assay. Synergistic action between the two drugs was assessed using CompuSyn software. The potential involvement of AMPK and EGFR pathways in the effects of phenformin and gefitinib was explored using Western blotting. RESULTS: In MTT and clonogenic assays, phenformin was > 10-fold more potent than metformin in inhibiting bladder cancer cell growth. Phenformin also potently inhibited cell migration in wound healing assays, and promoted apoptosis. AMPK signaling was activated; EGFR signaling was inhibited. Phenformin was synergistic with gefitinib, with the combination of drugs showing much stronger anticancer activity and apoptotic activation than phenformin alone. CONCLUSIONS: Phenformin shows potential as an effective drug against bladder cancer, either alone or in combination with gefitinib.