Treatment Of Human Lung Cancer Research Articles

Selenium nanoparticles stabilized by Sargassum fusiforme polysaccharides: Synthesis, characterization and bioactivity

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are a potential tumor therapeutic drug and have attracted widespread attention due to their high bioavailability and significant anticancer activity. However, the poor water solubility and degradability of selenium nanoparticles severely limit their application. In this study, spherical selenium nanoparticles with a particle size of approximately 50 nm were prepared by using Sargassum fusiforme polysaccharide (SFPS) as a modifier and Tween-80 as a stabilizer. The results of in vitro experiments showed that Sargassum fusiforme polysaccharide-Tween-80-Selenium nanoparticles (SFPS-Tw-SeNPs) had a significant inhibitory effect on A549 cells, with an IC50 value of 6.14 μg/mL, and showed antitumor cell migration and invasion ability against A549 cells in scratch assays and cell migration and invasion assays (transwell assays). Western blot experiments showed that SFPS-Tw-SeNPs could inhibit the expression of tumor migration- and invasion-related proteins. These results suggest that SFPS-Tw-SeNPs may be potential tumor therapeutic agents, especially for the treatment of human lung cancer.

RhoGDIβ inhibition via miR-200c/AUF1/SOX2/miR-137 axis contributed to lncRNA MEG3 downregulation-mediated malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial cells.

Nickel pollution is a recognized factor contributing to lung cancer. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of its carcinogenic effects is crucial for lung cancer prevention and treatment. Our previous research identified the downregulation of a long noncoding RNA, maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), as a key factor in transforming human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) into malignant cells following nickel exposure. In our study, we found that deletion of MEG3 also reduced the expression of RhoGDIβ. Notably, artificially increasing RhoGDIβ levels counteracted the malignant transformation caused by MEG3 deletion in HBECs. This indicates that the reduction in RhoGDIβ contributes to the transformation of HBECs due to MEG3 deletion. Further exploration revealed that MEG3 downregulation led to enhanced c-Jun activity, which in turn promoted miR-200c transcription. High levels of miR-200c subsequently increased the translation of AUF1 protein, stabilizing SOX2 messenger RNA (mRNA). This stabilization affected the regulation of miR-137, SP-1 protein translation, and the suppression of RhoGDIβ mRNA transcription and protein expression, leading to cell transformation. Our study underscores the co-regulation of RhoGDIβ expression by long noncoding RNAMEG3, multiple microRNAs (miR-200c and miR-137), and RNA-regulated transcription factors (c-Jun, SOX2, and SP1). This intricate network of molecular events sheds light on the nature of lung tumorigenesis. These novel findings pave the way for developing targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of human lung cancer based on the MEG3/RhoGDIβ pathway.

Design, synthesis and antitumor effects of novel benzimidazole derivatives as PI3K inhibitors

Blocking the PI3K/Akt pathway has been widely recognized as an attractive cancer therapeutic strategy because of its crucial role in cell growth and survival. This study presents the synthesis of 24 new 5-Methoxy-6-substituted-1H-benzimidazole derivatives (4a-4x) and the evaluation of their anti-proliferative activities against A549, Siha, MCF-7, HepG2, PC3, and HCT-116 tumor cell lines through MTT assay. Compound 4w exhibited superior anti-tumor activity against the A549 cells with IC50 values of 1.55 ± 0.18 μM, and better than the BKM120 (IC50 = 9.75 ± 1.25 µM). Further studies indicated that 4w could induce G0/G1 phase arrest, cell apoptosis, and down-regulate expression of p-PI3K and p-Akt. These results indicate that 4w could be served as a lead compound of PI3K inhibitor for the treatment of human lung cancers.

Discovery of novel hypoxia-activated, nitroimidazole constructed multi-target kinase inhibitors on the basis of AZD9291 for the treatment of human lung cancer

A group of 4-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine derivatives containing a hypoxia-activated nitroimidazole group were designed as EGFR inhibitors. Among this series, A14 was identified as the optimal compound, exhibiting potent anti-proliferative activities against H1975 and HCC827 cells. Under hypoxic condition, the anti-proliferative activities of A14 improved by 4–6-fold (IC50 < 10 nM), indicating its hypoxia-selectivity. A14′s high potency may be attributed to its inhibition against multiple kinases, including EGFR, JAK2, ROS1, FLT3, FLT4 and PDGFRα, which was confirmed by binding assays on a panel of 30 kinases. Furthermore, A14 exhibited good bio-reductive property and could bind with nucleophilic amino acids after being activated under hypoxic conditions. With its anti-proliferative activities and selectivity for hypoxia and oncogenic kinases, A14 shows promise as a multi-target kinase inhibitor for cancer therapy.

Induction of Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis, and Reducing the Expression of MCM Proteins in Human Lung Carcinoma A549 Cells by Cedrol, Isolated from Juniperus chinensis.

Proteins related to DNA replication have been proposed as cancer biomarkers and targets for anticancer agents. Among them, minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins, often overexpressed in various cancer cells, are recognized both as notable biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and as targets for cancer treatment. Here, we investigated the activity of cedrol, a single compound isolated from Juniperus chinensis, in reducing the expression of MCM proteins in human lung carcinoma A549 cells. Remarkably, cedrol also strongly inhibited the expression of all other MCM protein family members in A549 cells. Moreover, cedrol treatment reduced cell viability in A549 cells, accompanied by cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and enhanced apoptosis. Taken together, this study broadens our understanding of how cedrol executes its anticancer activity while demonstrating that cedrol has potential application in the treatment of human lung cancer as an inhibitor of MCM proteins.

The Evaluation of Anticancer, Antioxidant, Antidiabetic and Anticholinergic Potentials of Endemic Rhabdosciadium microcalycinum Supported by Molecular Docking Study

AbstractLung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer‐related death. Plant‐derived natural products and compounds are an inspiring source of chemotherapeutic agents. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is linked to the decline of acetylcholine (ACh) effects in the brain, so acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are important in the treatment of AD. In this study, the chemical components and bioactivity of ethanolic extract of Rhabdosciadium microcalycinum (RM) was investigated by various methods. The lipophilic components of RM was determined by gas chromagraphy‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Antioxidant activicty tests were evaluated with FCAP (Ferrous chelating antioxidant power assay), FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay), ABTS (2,2′‐Azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) diammonium salt assay) and DPPH (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl assay). The anticancer effect of RM was evaluated by WST‐1 (4‐[3‐(4‐iodophenyl)‐2‐(4‐nitrophenyl)‐2H‐5‐tetrazolio]‐1,3‐benzene disulfonate), colony formation, wound healing and CDDE (cell death detection Elisa) analysis on A549 lung cancer cells. Enzyme inhibition effects of RM was determined against AChE and α‐glycosidase (AG) enzymes. According to the results of molecular docking found in the study; With a docking score of −4.56 for HP5 protein, −6.23 for BXO protein, −5.25 for AFI protein, −3.90 for gly protein and −7.74 for AChE protein, Telecinobufagin molecule was found to have higher activity than other molecules. After docking calculations, Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity (ADME/T) analysis was performed to examine the effects and reactions of molecules on human metabolism. RM inhibited the viability of A549 cells dose‐dependent manner (IC50=117.15±8.58 μg/mL), and it was also observed that RM suppressed colony formation, prevented cell migration and directed the cells to apoptosis. RM has important lipophilic components, and significant antioxidant and enzyme inhibition potential. IC50 values of RM for AChE and AG enzymes were found as 35.86 mg/mL, and 10.14 mg/mL, respectively. In conclusion, the findings of this study reveal that ethanol extract from the aerial part of Rhabdosciadium microcalycinum may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of human lung cancer and Alzheimer's disease, due to its phytochemical components.

WITHDRAWN: Design and evaluation of a novel Kaolin-chitosan/gold nanocomposite for the treatment of human lung cancer

• Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite have antioxidant potentials against free radicals DPPH. • Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite have anti-human lung cancer properties. Kaolin-chitosan (Kaolin-CS) is an interesting bio composite with applications in formulating the anticancer supplements. Thus, the purpose of this study is to prepare Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite by adding gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) to modify Kaolin with chitosan. The significance of this study is the novel initiative to combine the gold nanoparticle with inexpensive kaolin clay and utilization of them as anticancer agent. Through transmission electron microscopy, we found that the presence of CS could effectively prevent the agglomeration of gold nanoparticles on the surface of Kaolin. The Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite were characterized by electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite were assessed by MTT assay for 48h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human lung carcinoma properties on normal (HUVEC) and lung carcinoma cell lines i.e. NCI-H661, NCI-H1563, and NCI-H1299. The IC50 of Kaolin-CS/Au nanocomposite were 138, 144, and 138 µg/mL against NCI-H661, NCI-H1563, and NCI-H1299 cell lines, respectively. The viability of malignant lung cell lines reduced dose-dependently in the presence of Au NPs-Kaolin nanocomposite.

Apoptosis inducing potential of Cyclosporine C in human lung cancer cells (A549)

Cyclotides are a large group of plant based cyclic peptides that have attracted attention in the field of peptide drug design. Cyclic peptides exhibit a more potent biological activity when compared to linear peptides due to their stable cyclic structure. Cyclosporine C is a naturally occurring lipophilic cyclic peptide which is used as an immunosuppressant drug. The objective of this study was to establish Cyclosporine C as a viable novel anticancer drug in the treatment of lung cancer and to find the optimal concentration at which Cyclosporine C results in a significant decrease of viable cancer cells to determine the physiological changes caused by Cyclosporine C and also to find the pathway of apoptosis that is induced by Cyclosporine C. The cytotoxic effect of Cyclosporine C was assessed using techniques such as MTT, Hoechst staining, DNA fragmentation, Flowcytometry and Western blot which were carried out on Lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. The results obtained showed a significant decrease in A549 viable cells at a concentration of 200μg/mL of Cyclosporine C as observed by the MTT assay. The nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation of apoptotic cells were observed using Hoechst 33258 staining and DNA fragmentation assays respectively. Western blot confirms that Cyclosporine C treated cells expressed a significant level of caspase-9 enzyme. From the results obtained, we can conclude that Cyclosporine C induces apoptosis in Lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. The apoptosis is induced by caspace-9 enzyme dependent pathway. The antitumor activity of Cyclosporine C suggests that it has potential as a novel anticancer drug for human lung cancer treatment.

Introducing a modern chemotherapeutic drug formulated by iron nanoparticles for the treatment of human lung cancer

In the present study, iron nanoparticles were green-synthesized using the aqueous extract of Alhagi maurorum leaf aqueous extract. The synthesized FeNPs were characterized by analytical techniques including EDX, FE-SEM, XRD, UV–vis and FT-IR. The anti-human lung cancer activity of FeNPs was evaluated using MTT assay. The nanoparticles were formed in a spherical shape in the average size of 60.11 nm. In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with FeNPs were assessed by MTT assay for 48 h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human lung cancer properties on normal (HUVEC) and lung cancer cell lines i.e. HLC-1 and PC-14. The viability of malignant lung cell line reduced dose-dependently in the presence of FeNPs. The IC50 of FeNPs was 195 and 181 µg/mL against HLC-1 and PC-14 cell lines, respectively. In the antioxidant test, the IC50 of FeNPs and BHT against DPPH free radicals was 214 and 62 µg/mL, respectively. After the clinical study, iron nanoparticles containing A. maurorum leaf aqueous extract may be used to formulate a new chemotherapeutic drug or supplement to treat several types of human lung cancer.

STAT3 contributes to cisplatin resistance, modulating EMT markers, and the mTOR signaling in lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide and is strongly associated with cisplatin resistance. The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is constitutively activated in cancer cells and coordinates critical cellular processes as survival, self-renewal, and inflammation. In several types of cancer, STAT3 controls the development, immunogenicity, and malignant behavior of tumor cells while it dictates the responsiveness to radio- and chemotherapy. It is known that STAT3 phosphorylation at Ser727 by mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is necessary for its maximal activation, but the crosstalk between STAT3 and mTOR signaling in cisplatin resistance remains elusive. In this study, using a proteomic approach, we revealed important targets and signaling pathways altered in cisplatin-resistant A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells. STAT3 had increased expression in a resistance context, which can be associated with a poor prognosis. STAT3 knockout (SKO) resulted in a decreased mesenchymal phenotype in A549 cells, observed by clonogenic potential and by the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers. Importantly, SKO cells did not acquire the mTOR pathway overactivation induced by cisplatin resistance. Consistently, SKO cells were more responsive to mTOR inhibition by rapamycin and presented impairment of the feedback activation loop in Akt. Therefore, rapamycin was even more potent in inhibiting the clonogenic potential in SKO cells and sensitized to cisplatin treatment. Mechanistically, STAT3 partially coordinated the cisplatin resistance phenotype via the mTOR pathway in non-small cell lung cancer. Thus, our findings reveal important targets and highlight the significance of the crosstalk between STAT3 and mTOR signaling in cisplatin resistance. The synergic inhibition of STAT3 and mTOR potentially unveil a potential mechanism of synthetic lethality to be explored for human lung cancer treatment.

The Synthetic Capsaicin‐analog Arvanil sensitizes Cisplatin‐Resistant Human Lung Cancer Cells to the pro‐apoptotic activity of Irinotecan

Cisplatin-based combination therapy is the standard of care for the treatment of human lung cancer. Initially, cisplatin shows excellent therapeutic response but the tumor inevitably relapses (within a year) and this relapsed tumor is resistant to cisplatin. A few human lung cancers do not respond to cisplatin-based first-line chemotherapy. These patients are said to have platinum-refractory lung tumors. Patients with platinum resistant or refractory disease have very limited options, as the only standard chemotherapy with an FDA-approved drug, irinotecan has an objective response rate of approximately 3% and little or no survival benefit. Therefore, agents which improve the therapeutic response (of human lung cancers) towards irinotecan may be useful for the treatment of cisplatin-resistant human lung cancer. The nutritional compound capsaicin sensitized cisplatin-resistant H69-CPR human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells towards irinotecan-induced apoptosis. Arvanil is a synthetic capsaicin-analog which displays enhanced growth-suppressive activity in human SCLC. The present study aims to investigate the combinatorial apoptotic activity of arvanil and irinotecan in cisplatin-resistant lung cancer. Caspase-3 activity assays reveal that the combination of irinotecan and arvanil displayed greater apoptotic activity in H69-CPR human cisplatin-resistant SCLC cells than the drugs used alone. These experiments were repeated in a second cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cell line PC9-CDDP and similar results were obtained. Chou-Talalay isobologram analysis showed the interaction between irinotecan and arvanil is synergistic in H69-CPR and PC9-CDDP cells. The combination of arvanil/irinotecan showed a greater synergistic pro-apoptotic activity than the combination of capsaicin/irinotecan. in H69-CPR and PC9-CDDP cells. The pro-apoptotic activity of arvanil/irinotecan was mediated elevation of intracellular calcium and required the calpain pathway. Taken together, our findings pave the way for the discovery of novel combination therapies for the therapy of cisplatin-resistant human lung cancer.

Epigenetic modulation of immune synaptic-cytoskeletal networks potentiates \u03b3\u03b4 T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in lung cancer

γδ T cells are a distinct subgroup of T cells that bridge the innate and adaptive immune system and can attack cancer cells in an MHC-unrestricted manner. Trials of adoptive γδ T cell transfer in solid tumors have had limited success. Here, we show that DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate surface molecules on cancer cells related to γδ T cell activation using quantitative surface proteomics. DNMTi treatment of human lung cancer potentiates tumor lysis by ex vivo-expanded Vδ1-enriched γδ T cells. Mechanistically, DNMTi enhances immune synapse formation and mediates cytoskeletal reorganization via coordinated alterations of DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility. Genetic depletion of adhesion molecules or pharmacological inhibition of actin polymerization abolishes the potentiating effect of DNMTi. Clinically, the DNMTi-associated cytoskeleton signature stratifies lung cancer patients prognostically. These results support a combinatorial strategy of DNMTis and γδ T cell-based immunotherapy in lung cancer management.

PRMT5 Enables Robust STAT3 Activation via Arginine Symmetric Dimethylation of SMAD7.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is the type II arginine methyltransferase that catalyzes the mono‐ and symmetrical dimethylation of protein substrates at the arginine residues. Emerging evidence reveals that PRMT5 is involved in the regulation of tumor cell proliferation and cancer development. However, the exact role of PRMT5 in human lung cancer cell proliferation and the underlying molecular mechanism remain largely elusive. Here, it is shown that PRMT5 promotes lung cancer cell proliferation through the Smad7‐STAT3 axis. Depletion or inhibition of PRMT5 dramatically dampens STAT3 activation and thus suppresses the proliferation of human lung cancer cells. Furthermore, depletion of Smad7 blocks PRMT5‐mediated STAT3 activation. Mechanistically, PRMT5 binds to and methylates Smad7 on Arg‐57, enhances Smad7 binding to IL‐6 co‐receptor gp130, and consequently ensures robust STAT3 activation. The findings position PRMT5 as a critical regulator of STAT3 activation, and suggest it as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of human lung cancer.

PRMT5 Promotes EMT Through Regulating Akt Activity in Human Lung Cancer

The type II protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) has been engaged in various human cancer development and progression types. Nevertheless, few studies uncover the biological functions of PRMT5 in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human lung cancer cells, and the associated molecular mechanisms and signaling cascades are entirely unknown. Here, we show that PRMT5 is the ectopic expression in human lung cancer tissues and cell lines. Further study reveals that silencing PRMT5 by lentivirus-mediated shRNA or blocking of PRMT5 by specific inhibitor GSK591 attenuates the expression levels of EMT-related markers in vivo, using the xenograft mouse model. Moreover, our results show that down-regulation of PRMT5 impairs EGFR/Akt signaling cascades in human lung cancer cells, whereas re-expression of PRMT5 recovers those changes, suggesting that PRMT5 regulates EMT probably through EGFR/Akt signaling axis. Altogether, our results demonstrate that PRMT5 serves as a critical oncogenic regulator and promotes EMT in human lung cancer cells. More importantly, our findings also suggest that PRMT5 may be a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of human lung cancer.

The therapeutic potential of attenuated diphtheria toxin delivered by an adenovirus vector with survivin promoter on human lung cancer cells

ABSTRACT Adenoviral vectors are superior to plasmid vectors in their gene transport efficiency. The A subunit of the diphtheria toxin (DTA) gene is a popular suicide gene in cancer gene therapy. However, DTA is seldom used in adenoviral therapy due to its great toxicity. The toxicity of DTA is so great that even a single molecule of DTA is enough to kill one cell. To avoid this highly toxic effect on normal cells, DTA should be controlled by tumor-specific promoters. The survivin promoter is a widely used tumor-specific promoter. But genes driven by the survivin promoter show a low level of basal gene expression in non-cancer cells. DTA driven by the survivin promoter in adenoviral vectors may be highly toxic not only to cancer cells but also to normal cells. Therefore, DTA should be attenuated when it is used in adenoviral vectors driven by the survivin promoter. In this study, we compared the three kinds of recombinant adenoviruses that carry DTA or its attenuated forms (DTA176 and DTA197) in the treatment of human lung cancer. The results showed that in comparison with both DTA and DTA176, DTA197 is more suitable for adenoviral cancer therapy controlled by the survivin promoter. In addition, Adsur-DTA197 (DTA197 delivered by an adenoviral vector with the survivin promoter) sensitized human lung cancer cells to cisplatin both in vitro and in vivo. These results indicated that Adsur-DTA197 may be a potential chemosensitizer in cancer therapy.

N-Butanol Fraction of Wenxia Formula Extract Inhibits the Growth and Invasion of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Down-Regulating Sp1-Mediated MMP2 Expression

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. It is necessary to develop effective anti-lung cancer therapeutics. Wenxia Formula (WXF), an empirical traditional Chinese herbal formula, has been reported to have significant antitumor activity. In this study, to further clarify the material basis of the anti-tumor effect of WXF, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of the N-butanol fraction of Wenxia Formula extract (NWXF) against two lung cancer and one normal human cell lines. The chemical profile of NWXF was characterized by UPLC/Q-TOF-MS analysis and a total of 201 compounds with mzCloud Best Match of greater than 70 were identified by using the online database mzCloud. To address the functional role of NWXF, we assessed cell proliferation, migration and invasion capabilities. Subcutaneous xenografts were constructed to determine the effect of NWXF in vivo. The results showed that NWXF effectively inhibited the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells with little toxic effects on human bronchial epithelial cells. Meanwhile, orally administered NWXF exhibited prominent dose-dependent anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. Mechanistically, NWXF significantly downregulated MMP9 and Sp1-mediated MMP2 expression. In conclusion, NWXF might be a promising candidate for treatment of human lung cancer.

Immobilized Ag NPs on chitosan-biguanidine coated magnetic nanoparticles for synthesis of propargylamines and treatment of human lung cancer

The magnetically isolable nanobiocomposites have significant impact as the modified new generation catalysts in recent days. This has persuaded us to design and synthesis of a novel Ag NPs decorated biguanidine-chitosan (Bigua-CS) dual biomolecular functionalized core-shell type magnetic nanocomposite (Ag/Bigua-CS@Fe3O4). Bigua-CS could be introducing polysaccharide materials as potential coating agent to immobilizing and stabilizing metal nanoparticles. The material was characterized using several advanced techniques like fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic mapping, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Towards the chemical applications of the material, we headed the multicomponent synthesis of diverse propargylamines by A3 coupling in water, which ended up with excellent yields. Due to strong paramagnetism, the catalyst was easily isolable and reused in 9cycles without any leaching and considerable change in reactivity. In addition, the catalyst was engaged in biological assays like study of anti-oxidant properties by DPPH mediated free radical scavenging test using BHT as a reference molecule. Thereafter, on having a significant IC50 value in radical scavenging assay, we extended the bio-application of the catalyst in anticancer study of adenocarcinoma cells of human lungs. The three different cancer cell lines, PC-14, LC-2/ad and HLC-1 were used in this regard. The best result was achieved in the case of PC-14 cell line with strong IC50 values.

Synthesis and evaluation of the anticancer activity of bischalcone analogs in human lung carcinoma (A549) cell line

Bischalcone has gained much attention because of its wide range of application in pharmaceutical chemistry. This work aims to evaluate the antiproliferation effects and explore the anticancer mechanism of bischalcone analogs on human lung cancer A549 cells. In this study, we synthesized a series of bischalcone analogs via Aldol condensation reaction; MTT method was used to evaluate the antiproliferation effects; the 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein fluorescence assay was used to determine the intracellular reactive oxygen species levels; the glutathione reductase-DTNB recycling assay was used to detect the redox imbalance; determination of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance was used to evaluate the lipid peroxidation; Rhodamine 123 was used to test the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP); the FITC/PI kit was used to detect the apoptosis; Western blotting was used to detect the expression of Bax and Caspase 3. After treatment with curcumin and bischalcone analogs, compounds 1d and 1g, the more stabilities compounds than curcumin, exhibited much higher potency in A549 cells than curcumin and other bischalcone analogs. Further mechanism of action studies revealed that 1d and 1g exhibited more stronger reactive oxygen species production abilities than curcumin and accompanied by the redox imbalance, lipid peroxidation, the loss of MMP, the activition of Bax and Caspase 3, and ultimately resulted in apoptosis of A549 cell. These data suggest that enhancing the reactive oxygen species generation ability of bischalcone analogs may be a promising strategy for the treatment of human lung cancer.

Pd nanoparticles fabricated cyano-functionalized mesoporous SBA-15: A novel heterogeneous catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions and anti-human lung cancer effects

A novel Pd (0) nanoparticles anchored over cyano modified SBA-15 was synthesized and characterized with different physicochemical techniques like Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, X-ray elemental mapping and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Pd content on the catalyst surface was determined to be 0.12 mmol/g by induced coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The composite surface material was described as a novel heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the ligand-free C–C bond formation using Suzuki-Miyaura coupling at room temperature in air without the use of inert atmosphere. It afforded excellent yields in short reaction time. The catalyst was recovered and recycled 12 times without a significant loss of catalytic activity. To survey the cytotoxicity and anti-human lung cancer properties of catalyst, MTT assay was used on the common human lung cancer cell lines i.e., moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of lung (LC-2/ad), poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of lung (PC-14), and well-differentiated bronchogenic adenocarcinoma (HLC-1). The catalyst had high anti-human lung cancer and very low cell viability potentials dose-dependently against LC-2/ad, PC-14, and HLC-1 cell lines. The best result of anti-human lung cancer effects was observed in the case of the PC-14 cell line. After approving the above results in the clinical trial studies, catalyst may be used as a chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of human lung cancer.

Colicin N Mediates Apoptosis and Suppresses Integrin-Modulated Survival in Human Lung Cancer Cells.

The inherent limitations, including serious side-effects and drug resistance, of current chemotherapies necessitate the search for alternative treatments especially for lung cancer. Herein, the anticancer activity of colicin N, bacteria-produced antibiotic peptide, was investigated in various human lung cancer cells. After 24 h of treatment, colicin N at 5–15 µM selectively caused cytotoxicity detected by MTT assay in human lung cancer H460, H292 and H23 cells with no noticeable cell death in human dermal papilla DPCs cells. Flow cytometry analysis of annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide indicated that colicin N primarily induced apoptosis in human lung cancer cells. The activation of extrinsic apoptosis evidenced with the reduction of c-FLIP and caspase-8, as well as the modulation of intrinsic apoptosis signaling proteins including Bax and Mcl-1 were observed via Western blot analysis in lung cancer cells cultured with colicin N (10–15 µM) for 12 h. Moreover, 5–15 µM of colicin N down-regulated the expression of activated Akt (p-Akt) and its upstream survival molecules, integrin β1 and αV in human lung cancer cells. Taken together, colicin N exhibits selective anticancer activity associated with suppression of integrin-modulated survival which potentiate the development of a novel therapy with high safety profile for treatment of human lung cancer.