The stilbene and dibenzo[b,f]oxepine derivatives as anticancer compounds

In the present study, the synthesis and cytotoxic effect of six stilbenes and three oxepine derivatives against twocancerous–HeLa and U87, and two normal–EUFA30 and HEK293 cell lines has been reported. The results ofcytotoxic assay andflow cytometry analysis revealed that compounds 9-nitrobenzo[b]naphtho[1,2-f]oxepine(4), (E)-3,3′,4,4′,5,5′-hexamethoxystilbene (6) and 4-hydroxy-2′,4′-dinitrostilbene (8) were the most active andtheir interaction with tubulin (crystal structure from PDB) has been analyzed by computer molecular modeling.Molecular docking of these compounds on colchicine binding site of the tubulin indicates the interaction of (4),(6) and (8) with tubulin. The compound (4) could interact stronger with tubulin, relative to colchicine, however,with no selectivity of action against cancer and normal cells. Conversely, compounds (6) and (8) interact moreweakly with tubulin, relative to colchicine but they act more selectively towards cancerous versus normal celllines. Obtained results proved that the compounds that are the most active against cancerous cells operatethrough tubulin binding

The expression of MMP-14 and microRNA-410 in FFPE tissues of human endometrial adenocarcinoma

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecological malignancy in Europe and North America. It is classified into two types exhibiting different characteristics and prognosis. Type I is an estrogen-dependent tumor, histologically classified as low grade and low stage, usually with an excellent prognosis. Type II EC is unrelated to estrogen stimulation and is characterized by a poor prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are small non-coding RNA polynucleotides that regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally. Various dysregulations in microRNA expression are often considered to have an impact on the diagnosis, prognosis and overall survival in patients diagnosed with different types of cancers. Recent data suggest that microRNAs play an important role in the pathogenesis of EC. The aim of the study was to evaluate the involvement of matrix metaloprotease 14 (MMP-14) and microRNA-410 in formation of the EC tumor. To this end expression of MMP-14 and microRNA-410 was assessed within the cancer, transient and healthy zones in the histological sections of tumours using immunohistochemical staining and laser capture microdissection (LCM) followed by a quantitative real-time PCR. The results revealed significantly higher expression of MMP14 in the cancer tissue zone in comparison to the healthy tissue zone, as well as a lower expression of microRNA410 in the cancer zone compared with the healthy zone. This reverse correlation may suggest a regulatory role of miRNA-410 in modulating levels of MMP-14 in EC. This is the first report on such regulation in human endometrial cancer

Multi-omics analyses of early liver injury reveals cell-type-specific transcriptional and epigenomic shift

Abstract Background Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing response to tissue injury and inflammation hallmarked by the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein deposition in the liver parenchyma and tissue remodelling. Different cell types of the liver are known to play distinct roles in liver injury response. Hepatocytes and liver endothelial cells receive molecular signals indicating tissue injury and activate hepatic stellate cells which produce ECM proteins upon their activation. Despite the growing knowledge on the molecular mechanism underlying hepatic fibrosis in general, the cell-type-specific gene regulatory network associated with the initial response to hepatotoxic injury is still poorly characterized. Results In this study, we used thioacetamide (TAA) to induce hepatic injury in adult zebrafish. We isolated three major liver cell types - hepatocytes, endothelial cells and hepatic stellate cells - and identified cell-type-specific chromatin accessibility and transcriptional changes in an early stage of liver injury. We found that TAA induced transcriptional shifts in all three cell types hallmarked by significant alterations in the expression of genes related to fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism, as well as immune response-associated and vascular-specific genes. Interestingly, liver endothelial cells exhibit the most pronounced response to liver injury at the transcriptome and chromatin level, hallmarked by the loss of their angiogenic phenotype. Conclusion Our results uncovered cell-type-specific transcriptome and epigenome responses to early stage liver injury, which provide valuable insights into understanding the molecular mechanism implicated in the early response of the liver to pro-fibrotic signals

Epigenetic and Transcriptional Consequences of PIM Kinase Activity and Inhibition in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

The PIM kinase family consists of 3 proto-oncogenic proteins: PIM1, PIM2 and PIM3, expressed in numerous malignancies, including DLBCL. PIM kinases regulate crucial processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, or migration, therefore their inhibition is of great interest as a potential therapeutic strategy. Although recent studies have shed new light on the biological role of PIMs in lymphoid cancers, the details and mechanisms of PIM's oncogenic effects and the consequences of their inhibition in DLBCL remain insufficiently understood. Earlier studies have demonstrated a potential epigenetic role of PIM through histone H3S10 phosphorylation, however, described only at a single locus. The broad genomic role of PIM in modulating transcription in lymphoma cells remains unclear. We confirmed the effect of PIM inhibition on histone modifications using small molecule inhibitors as well as genetic silencing of PIM kinases in DLBCL cell lines. PIM kinase inhibition changed the global amounts of histone modifications (including histone H4 pan-acetylation), accompanied by lower phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II, suggesting an involvement of PIMs in the RNA polymerase II pause release/elongation phase of transcription. Local histone acetylation changes in the enhancer (H3K27ac) and promoter (H3K9ac) regions in response to treatment with the pan-PIM inhibitor were also identified, coupled with gene expression profiling in DLBCL cell lines. PIM inhibition decreased the expression of genes controlled by super-enhancers (SE), i.e. wide regulatory regions responsible for the high level of expression of the most important genes for the cell, including oncogenes. The integrated results of epigenomic and transcriptomic analyses explain the changes in expression of genes associated with many pathways, including transcription, inflammatory response, apoptosis, epigenetic mechanisms or DNA damage. The induction of the latter was further experimentally confirmed by the examination of DNA breaks using γH2AX, the activating phosphorylation of CHK2 or comet assays following PIM inhibition. The conducted studies document an epigenetic function of PIM kinases, and suggest that inhibition of PIM activity leads to alterations in the DLBCL epigenetic landscape and associated changes in transcription. They also indicate that PIM inhibitors can be a therapeutic option in DLBCL. Study supported aby Foundation For Polish Science TEAM Grant # POIR.04.04.00-00-5C84/17 and Polish National Science Centre Grant # 2018/29/B/NZ5/01471

The CRBN, CUL4A and DDB1 Expression Predicts the Response to Immunomodulatory Drugs and Survival of Multiple Myeloma Patients

Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) are effective in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), myelodysplastic syndrome with deletion of chromosome 5q and other haematological malignancies. Recent studies showed that IMiDs bind to cereblon (CRBN), a substrate receptor of the CRL4–CRBN complex, to induce the ubiquitination and degradation of IKZF1 and IKZF3 in MM cells, contributing to their anti-myeloma activity. We aimed to determine whether the CRL4–CRBN complex proteins’ expression predicts the prognosis of MM patients treated with IMiDs. Here, we evaluated the expression of CRL4–CRBN complex proteins and their downstream targets with immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining in 130 bone marrow samples from MM patients treated with thalidomide or lenalidomide-based regimens. We found that the expression of CRBN and CUL4A was associated with the superior IMiD-based treatment response (p = 0.007 and p = 0.007, respectively). Moreover, the CUL4A expression was associated with improved PFS (HR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.44–0.99; p = 0.046) and DDB1 expression showed a negative impact on OS both in the univariate (HR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.65–4.61; p = 0.001) and the multivariate (HR 3.67; 95% CI 1.79–7.49; p < 0.001) analysis. Overall, our data suggest that the expression of DDB1, CUL4A and CRBN assessed by IHC predicts the clinical course of MM patients and identifies patients with a high probability of responding to IMiD-based therapy

Epithelial Cells of Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis Harbor Mutations in Cancer Driver Genes

Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition manifested by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterine cavity. The most common clinical presentations of endometriosis are dysmenorrhea, infertility, and severe pelvic pain. Few hypotheses attempt to explain the pathogenesis of endometriosis; however, none of the theories have been fully confirmed or considered universal. We examined somatic mutations in eutopic endometrium samples, deep endometriotic nodules and peripheral blood from 13 women with deep endometriosis of the rectovaginal space. Somatic variants were identified in laser microdissected samples using next-generation sequencing. A custom panel of 1296 cancer-related genes was employed, and selected genes representing cancer drivers and non-drivers for endometrial and ovarian cancer were thoroughly investigated. All 59 detected somatic variants were of low mutated allele frequency (<10%). In deep ectopic lesions, detected variants were significantly more often located in cancer driver genes, whereas in eutopic endometrium, there was no such distribution. Our results converge with other reports, where cancer-related mutations were found in endometriosis without cancer, particularly recurrent KRAS mutations. Genetic alterations located in ectopic endometriotic nodules could contribute to their formation; nevertheless, to better understand the pathogenesis of this disease, more research in this area must be performed