Species of the genus Simarouba have been studied because of their antimalarial and antileukemic activities. A group of oxygenated terpenes called quassinoids have been isolated from species of the Simarouba genus, and are responsible for its therapeutic properties. We hypothesized that Simarouba tulae, an endemic plant from Puerto Rico, is a natural source rich in quassinoid compounds with anticancer activity. The leaves were processed and extracted with solvents of different polarities. The extracts were screened for their antiproliferative activity, and it was shown that the chloroform extract was the most active extract. This extract was purified using different chromatographic techniques to afford the quassinoid simalikalactone D (SKD). This compound was further characterized using NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis. A reassessment of original structural assignments for SKD is proposed. SKD showed high cytotoxicity activity, with an IC50 of 55, 58, and 65 nM in A2780CP20 (ovarian), MDA-MB-435 (breast), and MDA-MB-231 (breast) cell lines, respectively. Exposure to SKD led to 15% inhibition of the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells.
Cisplatin has been the most accepted drug for the treatment of ovarian cancer for almost 40 years. Although the majority of patients with ovarian cancer respond to front-line platinum combination chemotherapy, many patients will develop cisplatin-resistance disease, which is extremely rapid and fatal. Although various mechanisms of cisplatin resistance have been postulated, the key molecules involved in such resistance have not been identified. MiRNAs are endogenously expressed small non-coding RNAs, which are evolutionarily conserved and function as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Dysregulation of miRNAs have been associated with cancer initiation, progression and drug resistance. The oncogenic miRNA-21, one of the best-studied miRNAs, is upregulated in almost all human cancers. However, the regulation of miR-21 in cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cells has not been assessed. In this study, we measured the miR-21 expression by real-time PCR and found upregulation of miR-21 in cisplatin resistant compared with cisplatin sensitive ovarian cancer cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated the association of the c-Jun transcription factor to the mir-21 DNA promoter regions. Blocking the JNK-1, the major activator of c-Jun phosphorylation, reduced the expression of miR-21 and increased the expression of its well-known target gene, PDCD4. Overexpression of miR-21 in cisplatin sensitive cells decreased PDCD4 levels and increased cell proliferation. Finally, targeting miR-21 reduced cell growth, proliferation and invasion of cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cells. These results suggest that the JNK-1/c-Jun/miR-21 pathway contributes to the cisplatin resistance of ovarian cancer cells and demonstrated that miR-21 is a plausible target to overcome cisplatin resistance. Citation Format: Ileabett M. Echevarria, Joel Encarnacion, Fatma Valiyeva, Pablo Vivas. Upregulation of miR-21 in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer via JNK-1/c-Jun pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4376. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4376
The purpose of this study is to assess the biological role of the microRNA-143 (miR-143) in Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most common and lethal of all brain tumors. In the United States, the incidence of GBM is about 17% of all primary brain tumors and about 60-75% of all Astrocytomas (American Brain Tumor Association, 2014). The standard therapy is surgical tumor removal followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, many patients recur after treatment and the median survival rate for GBM has remained 15 months for the past 20 years. Thus, novel therapies for GBM treatment are urgently necessary. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs (18-22 nucleotides in length) that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. MiRNAs bind to the 3’-untranslate region (UTR) of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and regulate protein synthesis. Several deregulated miRNAs have been identified in all cancer types including GBM. In this study we aim to thoroughly uncover the role of miR-143 by using GBM cell lines, mouse models and patient samples. Total RNA was isolated from FFPE samples from brain tumor patients. TaqMan-based Real-time PCR showed that the relative expression of miR-143 was higher in GBM patients compared to control individuals, and with paired surrounding non-cancerous tissue. Furthermore, GBM cells transiently transfected with a miR-143 oligonucleotide inhibitor showed reduced cell proliferation (68.5%) (clonogenicity assay), increased apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of GBM cells in the S phase (Flow cytometry and Western blots). In vivo studies using primary GBM cells injected in the flank of nude mice showed that repeated doses of miR-143-inhibitor liposomal formulation increased the tumor size compared with control mice. These contradictory results could be due to effects of the microenvironment where the tumor is growing. Further studies will be made using intracranial injections in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model to confirm this hypothesis. Western blot analysis and luciferase reporter assays are also underway to identify novel miR-143 target genes in GBM cells. This research project is being supported by: PRCTRC: NCRR (U54 RR 026139-01A1), NIMHD (8U54 MD 007587-03), and RCMI: MBRS-RISE, NCRR (2G12-RR003051) and NIMHD (8G12-MD007600) from the NIH. Citation Format: Eunice Lozada-Delgado, Fatma Valiyeva, Maria Marcos, Pablo Vivas. Targeting microRNA-143 in glioblastoma in vivo increases tumor growth [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3437. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3437
Survivin, a protein highly expressed in human cancers is involved in both control of cell cycle progression and inhibition of apoptosis. Transcription of the survivin gene locus (BIRC-5) yields at least 5 alternative splice variants that have been designed survivn-WT, survivin-ΔEx3, survivin-2β, surivivn-3β, and survivin 2α. It has been shown that the survivin splice variants have different expression levels and subcellular localization patterns that could be associated with unique functional properties. Whereas the effects of survivin on apoptosis and mitosis have been extensively studied and explored therapeutically, the role of specific survivin splice variants in ovarian cancer has not been investigated. Our compelling studies indicate that, compared with their taxane-sensitive counterparts, taxane-resistant ovarian cancer cells express higher survivin mRNA (particularly the WT, ΔEx3 and 2β isoforms) levels. Studies have shown that survivin-2β has proapoptotic properties: whereas, forced expression of survivin-2β sensitized cells to taxane-induced apoptosis, small-interference RNA (siRNA)-based silencing of survivin-2β protected cells from cells from apoptotic cell death. We have observed opposite results: siRNA-based silencing of survivin-2β induced cell growth arrest and apoptosis of taxane-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, liposomes-encapsulated siRNA targeting survivin-2β inhibited tumor growth in orthotopic murine models of ovarian cancer. The anti-tumor effect was further increased by combination with docetaxel. Finally, we found a significant association of survivin-2β expression with progression free survival in the 117 epithelial ovarian cancers obtained at primary debulking therapy. Further studies are necessary to clarify the role of survivin-2β in ovarian cancer. The key finding from our study is that survive-2β is present in a substantial proportion of ovarian cancers, and is predictive of decreased progression-free survival (PFS) of ovarian cancer patients. These studies also show the feasibility of survivin-2β-targeting siRNA liposomal as a clinically applicable therapeutic modality for taxane-resistant ovarian cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 677.
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