Extracellular Citrate is a Trojan Horse for Cancer Cells

The first intermediate in the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is citrate, which is essential and acts as a metabolic regulator for glycolysis, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis, and fatty acid synthesis. Within the cytosol, citrate is cleaved by ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) into oxaloacetate (OAA) and acetyl-CoA; OAA can be used for neoglucogenesis or in the TCA cycle, while acetyl-CoA is the precursor of some biosynthetic processes, including the synthesis of fatty acids. Accumulating evidence suggests that citrate is involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes such as inflammation, insulin secretion, neurological disorders, and cancer. Considering the crucial role of citrate to supply the acetyl-CoA pool for fatty acid synthesis and histone acetylation in tumors, in this study we evaluated the effect of citrate added to the growth medium on lipid deposition and histone H4 acetylation in hepatoma cells (HepG2). At low concentration, citrate increased both histone H4 acetylation and lipid deposition; at high concentration, citrate inhibited both, thus suggesting a crucial role of acetyl-CoA availability, which prompted us to investigate the effect of citrate on ACLY. In HepG2 cells, the expression of ACLY is correlated with histone acetylation, which, in turn, depends on citrate concentration. A decrease in H4 acetylation was also observed when citrate was added at a high concentration to immortalized human hepatic cells, whereas ACLY expression was unaffected, indicating a lack of control by histone acetylation. Considering the strong demand for acetyl-CoA but not for OAA in tumor cells, the exogenous citrate would behave like a trojan horse that carries OAA inside the cells and reduces ACLY expression and cellular metabolism. In addition, this study confirmed the already reported dual role of citrate both as a promoter of cell proliferation (at lower concentrations) and as an anticancer agent (at higher concentrations), providing useful tips on the use of citrate for the treatment of tumors

Structural and Functional Characterization of the ABCC6 Transporter in Hepatic Cells: Role on PXE, Cancer Therapy and Drug Resistance

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a complex autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations of ABCC6 transporter and characterized by ectopic mineralization of soft connective tissues. Compared to the other ABC transporters, very few studies are available to explain the structural components and working of a full ABCC6 transporter, which may provide some idea about its physiological role in humans. Some studies suggest that mutations of ABCC6 in the liver lead to a decrease in some circulating factor and indicate that PXE is a metabolic disease. It has been reported that ABCC6 mediates the efflux of ATP, which is hydrolyzed in PPi and AMP; in the extracellular milieu, PPi gives potent anti-mineralization effect, whereas AMP is hydrolyzed to Pi and adenosine which affects some cellular properties by modulating the purinergic pathway. Structural and functional studies have demonstrated that silencing or inhibition of ABCC6 with probenecid changed the expression of several genes and proteins such as NT5E and TNAP, as well as Lamin, and CDK1, which are involved in cell motility and cell cycle. Furthermore, a change in cytoskeleton rearrangement and decreased motility of HepG2 cells makes ABCC6 a potential target for anti-cancer therapy. Collectively, these findings suggested that ABCC6 transporter performs functions that modify both the external and internal compartments of the cells

Muscari comosum L. Bulb Extracts Modulate Oxidative Stress and Redox Signaling in HepG2 Cells.

Muscari comosum L. bulbs are commonly used as food in South Italy and also in folk medicine. By evaluating in vitro antioxidant activity and biological activities of their aqueous and methanol extracts, we shed light on the potential role, including both the nutraceutical and health benefits, of this plant. Total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and by the aluminum chloride method, respectively. Antioxidant activity was investigated by three in vitro assays and relative antioxidant capacity index (RACI) was calculated to compare results obtained by different tests. The extracts were tested to evaluate their possible involvement in redox homeostasis, using the human hepatoma (HepG2) cell line used as model. The extracts exhibited concentration/solvent dependent radical scavenging activity, as well as dysregulation of some genes involved in redox pathways by promoting Nrf2, SOD-2, GPX1, ABCC6 and ABCG2 expression. NMR metabolomics analysis suggests that HepG2 cells treated with Muscari comosum extracts experience changes in some metabolites involved in various metabolic pathways

Are the Follicular Fluid Characteristics of Recovered Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Different From Those of Vaccinated Women Approaching in vitro Fertilization?

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate if SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection induce observable metabolic effects in follicular fluid of women who are following in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The possible impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on fertility and IVF outcome is considered. We have selected for this study: six women vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection, five recovered COVID-19 patients, and we used nine healthy women as the control group. At the time of oocytes retrieval from participants in the study, follicular fluids were collected and metabolomic analysis was performed by 1H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis to interpret the spectral data. The search for antibody positivity in the follicular fluid aspirates was also carried out, together with the western blotting analysis of some inflammatory proteins, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and the free radical scavenger superoxide dismutase 2. Higher levels of Ala and Pro together with lower levels of lipids and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were found in follicular fluids (FFs) of vaccinated women while lower levels of many metabolites were detected in FFs of recovered COVID patients. Expression level of TNF-α was significantly lower both in recovered COVID-19 patients and vaccinated women in comparison to healthy controls

Relationships between Seminal Plasma Metabolites, Semen Characteristics and Sperm Kinetics in Donkey (Equus asinus)

This study aimed to evaluate donkey seminal plasma metabolites and relate this information to the main characteristics of sperm quality. Sperm kinetics from 10 donkey stallions were analyzed with a computerized system at the time of collection (T0) and after 24 h storage at 4 °C (T24). Seminal plasma was frozen at -80 °C for subsequent proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. On three stallions, semen collection was repeated monthly for three times and sperm analysis also included mitochondrial activity and oxidative status. One stallion was azoospermic and a second semen collection was performed after one month. In the seminal plasma, 17 metabolites were identified; their levels showed numerous significant variations between the azoospermic and the normospermic individuals and grouped in well-defined clusters in a multivariate analysis. Comparing individuals with high and low sperm motility, the only discriminating metabolite was phenylalanine, whose levels were lower in the latter, as in the azoospermic individual. Phenylalanine was also the only metabolite highly correlated with all sperm kinematic parameters at T24. In conclusion, the present study has provided relevant information on the chemical characteristics of donkey semen, identified relationships between seminal metabolites, semen parameters, and sperm kinetics, and offered insights for future technological applications

Live-cell topology assessment of URG7, MRP6₁₀₂ and SP-C using glycosylatable green fluorescent protein in mammalian cells.

Experimental tools to determine membrane topology of a protein are rather limited in higher eukaryotic organisms. Here, we report the use of glycosylatable GFP (gGFP) as a sensitive and versatile membranetopology reporter in mammalian cells. gGFP selectively loses its fluorescence upon N-linked glycosylationin the ER lumen. Thus, positive fluorescence signal assigns location of gGFP to the cytosol whereas nofluorescence signal and a glycosylated status of gGFP map the location of gGFP to the ER lumen. By usingmammalian gGFP, the membrane topology of disease-associated membrane proteins, URG7, MRP6102,SP-C(Val) and SP-C(Leu) was confirmed. URG7 is partially targeted to the ER, and inserted in Cinform.MRP6102and SP-C(Leu/Val) are inserted into the membrane in Coutform. A minor population of untarget-ed SP-C is removed by proteasome dependent quality control system

The Expression Level of ABCC6 Transporter in Colon Cancer Cells Correlates with the Activation of Different Intracellular Signaling Pathways

The ATP-binding cassette sub-family C member 6 transporter (ABCC6) is mainly found in the basolateral plasma membrane of hepatic and kidney cells. In hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, ABCC6 was involved in cell migration. In the present study, we investigated the role of ABCC6 in colon cancer evaluating the effect of Quercetin and Probenecid, inhibitors of the ectonucleotidase NT5E and ABCC6, respectively, on migration rate of Caco2 and HT29 cell lines. Both drugs reduced cell migration analyzed by scratch test. Gene and protein expression were evaluated by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. In Caco2 cells, in which ABCC6 is significantly expressed, the addition of ATP restored motility, suggesting the involvement of P2 receptors. Contrary to HT29 cells, where the expression of ABCC6 is negligible but remarkable to the level of NT5E, no effect of ATP addition was detected, suggesting a main role on their migration by the phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3K)/Akt system. Therefore, in some colon cancers in which ABCC6 is overexpressed, it may have a primary role in controlling the extracellular purinergic system by feeding it with ATP, thus representing a potential target for a therapy aimed at mitigating invasiveness of those type of cancers

Identification of a New Splice Variant of the Human ABCC6 Transporter

ABCC6 is a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) gene subfamily C that encodes a protein (MRP6) involved in active transport of intracellular compounds to the extracellular environment. Mutations in ABCC6 cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), an autosomal recessive disorder of the connective tissue characterized by progressive calcification of elastic structures in the skin, the eyes, and the cardiovascular system. MRP6 is codified by 31 exons and contains 1503 amino acids. In addition to a full-length transcript of ABCC6, we have identified an alternatively spliced variant of ABCC6 from a cDNA of human liver that lacks exons 19 and 24. The novel isoform was named ABCC6 Δ19Δ24. PCR analysis from cDNA of cell cultures of primary human hepatocites and embryonic kidney confirms the presence of the ABCC6Δ19Δ24 isoform. Western blot analysis of the embryonic kidney cells shows a band corresponding to the molecular weight of the truncated protein

Effect of Quercetin on ABCC6 Transporter: Implication in HepG2 Migration.

Quercetin is a member of the flavonoid group of compounds, which is abundantly present in various dietary sources. It has excellent antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activity and is very effective as an anti-cancer agent against various types of tumors, both in vivo and in vitro. Quercetin has been also reported to modulate the activity of some members of the multidrug-resistance transporters family, such as P-gp, ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCG2, and the activity of ecto-5'-nucleotidase (NT5E/CD73), a key regulator in some tumor processes such as invasion, migration, and metastasis. In this study, we investigated the effect of Quercetin on ABCC6 expression in HepG2 cells. ABCC6 is a member of the superfamily of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, poorly involved in drug resistance, whose mutations cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum, an inherited disease characterized by ectopic calcification of soft connective tissues. Recently, it has been reported that ABCC6 contributes to cytoskeleton rearrangements and HepG2 cell motility through purinergic signaling. Gene and protein expression were evaluated by quantitative Reverse-Transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blot, respectively. Actin cytoskeleton dynamics was evaluated by laser confocal microscopy using fluorophore-conjugated phalloidin. Cell motility was analyzed by an in vitro wound-healing migration assay. We propose that ABCC6 expression may be controlled by the AKT pathway as part of an adaptative response to oxidative stress, which can be mitigated by the use of Quercetin-like flavonoids

Legal Cannabis sativa L. Dried Inflorescences: Cannabinoids Content and Cytotoxic Activity against Human HepG2 Cell Line

Cannabis sativa L. has health benefits, principally due to the levels and ratios of two impor- tant cannabinoids, ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC:CBD ratio affects their pharmacological interaction for the treatment of different diseases as well as its modulation allows for a custom-made product that utilizes the distinguishing effects of CBD, THC, or both, for a peculiar patient or clinical effect. This study aims to investigate the total content of THC, CBD, and their ratio in 34 dried inflorescence legally sold in physical and online stores, by using a validated liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) method, after cannabinoids identification performed through MSn studies. Cannabinol (CBN) content was also monitored to evaluate hemp age or con- servation status. CBN content always resulted lower than limit of quantification, thus confirming well-stored fresh hemp. All investigated samples showed a total THC amount below 0.59% w/w, thus responding to legal requirements.. The total CBD amount ranged from 2.62 to 20.27% w/w and it was not related to THC level. THC:CBD ranged among 1:3 and 1:26, thus ascertaining their suitability for different target pharmacological uses. In vitro studies using human hepatoblastoma cell line HepG2 suggested that hemp extracts with THC:CBD ratios of 1:9 exhibited higher toxicity than pure cannabinoids