• Molecules and Cells
• /
• 제46권3호
• /
• pp.142-152
• /
• 2023

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mediates the cellular antioxidant response, allowing adaptation and survival under conditions of oxidative, electrophilic and inflammatory stress, and has a role in metabolism, inflammation and immunity. Activation of Nrf2 provides broad and long-lasting cytoprotection, and is often hijacked by cancer cells, allowing their survival under unfavorable conditions. Moreover, Nrf2 activation in established human tumors is associated with resistance to chemo-, radio-, and immunotherapies. In addition to cancer cells, Nrf2 activation can also occur in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and facilitate an anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). Several cancer cell-derived metabolites, such as itaconate, L-kynurenine, lactic acid and hyaluronic acid, play an important role in modulating the TIME and tumor-TAMs crosstalk, and have been shown to activate Nrf2. The effects of Nrf2 in TIME are context-depended, and involve multiple mechanisms, including suppression of proinflammatory cytokines, increased expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and kynureninase, accelerated catabolism of cytotoxic labile heme, and facilitating the metabolic adaptation of TAMs. This understanding presents both challenges and opportunities for strategic targeting of Nrf2 in cancer.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제52권7호
• /
• pp.415-423
• /
• 2019

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a cytoplasmic transcription factor that regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation and immune responses. Aberrant STAT3 activation triggers tumor progression through oncogenic gene expression in numerous human cancers, leading to promote tumor malignancy. On the contrary, STAT3 activation in immune cells cause elevation of immunosuppressive factors. Accumulating evidence suggests that the tumor microenvironment closely interacts with the STAT3 signaling pathway. So, targeting STAT3 may improve tumor progression, and anti-cancer immune response. In this review, we summarized the role of STAT3 in cancer and the tumor microenvironment, and present inhibitors of STAT3 signaling cascades.

• 한국환경보건학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국환경보건학회 2004년도 International Conference Global Environmental Problems and their Health Consequences
• /
• pp.182-184
• /
• 2004

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally. The effects of several extracts from soybeans and Korean soybean paste (doen-jang) on the growth of human oral carcinoma cells in vitro were assessed. We prepared petroleum ether extract, ethyl acetate extract, chloroform extract, methanol extract, and water extract from soybeans and soybean paste. We used KB cell, which is an oral epidermoid carcinoma cell, and investigated proliferation of the tumor cells using MTT method. Each extract of soybean paste suppressed the KB cell proliferation. A dose-response relationship was observed between the level of ethyl acetate extract of soybean paste and its suppression of the cell proliferation. The effects of soybean extracts were lower than those of soybean paste extracts. The effects might be enhanced by the fermentation of soybeans. The results of this work indicate that extracts from soybeans and Korean soybean paste could have potential as anti-tumor substances.

• 대한한방내과학회지
• /
• 제36권1호
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2015

Objectives : In Korea, Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) has been used in traditional medicine for various diseases such as back pain, syndromes of the blood system in women, gastrointestinal disease, and cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity have not been clearly elucidated yet. Methods : This study investigated the possible mechanisms by which RVS extract (RVE) exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells. Results : Treatment with RVE in MCF-7 cells resulted in inhibition of cell viability through G1 arrest of the cell cycle and induction of apoptosis in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, as determined by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. The induction of G1 arrest by RVE treatment was associated with the inhibition of cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 2, retinoblastoma protein (pRB), and mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) expression. Moreover, RVE treatment concentration dependently increased the levels of tumor suppressor p53, which was associated with the marked induction of Cdk inhibitors such as p21 (Waf1/Cip1) and p27 (Kip1). However, the inhibition of p53 function by the wild-type p53-specific inhibitor, pifithrin-α, abolished the above-mentioned effects of RVE, showing that p53 was responsible for the cytotoxicity of RVE Conclusions : These data indicate that a molecular pathway involving p53-dependent G1 cell cycle arrest plays a pivotal role in the cellular response to RVE, and demonstrate the potential applications of RVE as an anti-cancer drug for breast cancer treatment.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제14권1호
• /
• pp.30-35
• /
• 2006

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a multidomain serine protease containing two kringle domains, TK1-2. Previously, Pichia-derived recombinant human TK1-2 has been reported as an angiogenesis inhibitor although t-PA plays an important role in endothelial and tumor cell invasion. In this work, in order to improve in vivo efficacy of TK1-2 through elimination of immune reactivity, we mutated wild type TK1-2 into non-glycosylated form (NE-TK1-2) and examined whether it retains anti-angiogenic activity. The plasmid expressing NE-TK1-2 was constructed by replacing $Asn^{l17}\;and\;Asn^{184}$ with glutamic acid residues. After expression in Pichia pastoris, the secreted protein was purified from the culture broth using S-sepharose and UNO S1-FPLC column. The mass spectrum of NE-TK1-2 showed closely neighboring two peaks, 19631.87 and 19,835.44 Da, and it migrated as one band in SDS-PAGE. The patterns of CD-spectra of these two proteins were almost identical. Functionally, purified NE-TK1-2 was shown to inhibit endothelial cell migration in response to bFGF stimulation at the almost same level as wild type TK1-2. Therefore, the results suggest that non-glycosylated NETK1-2 can be developed as an effective anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor agent devoid of immune reactivity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권9호
• /
• pp.3951-3954
• /
• 2014

Objective: To investigate the electronic anti-nausea instrument (EANI) combined with hydrochloride palonosetron for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting following highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Methods: Patients who received highly emetogenic chemotherapy were randomly assigned to a treatment group (60 patients) treated with EANI combined with hydrochloride palonosetron, and control group (also 60 patients) given only hydrochloride palonosetron. Chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting were observed and recorded in both groups of patients from the start till the end of chemotherapy. Results: Complete control rates of vomiting in treatment and control group were 40%, and 35%, respectively, without any statistical ly significant difference (p>0.05); however the response rates are 95.0%, 78.3%, respectively, with statistical difference (p<0.05). Complete control rates of nausea in treatment and control group were 36.7%, 30%, respectively, without statistical difference (p>0.05); but the response rates are 90.0%, 76.7%, respectively, with statistical difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: EANI combined with hydrochloride palonosetron for prevention of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy could be more effective than hydrochloride palonosetron alone, and can be recommended for use in prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting following highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

• 대한약침학회지
• /
• 제22권1호
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 2019

Portulaca oleracea L. (PO) or Purslane is an annual grassy plant that is distributed in many parts of the world, especially the tropical and subtropical areas. PO has some pharmacological properties such as analgesic, antibacterial, skeletal muscle-relaxant, wound-healing, anti- inflammatory and a radical scavenger. This review article is focused on the anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory, anti-oxidant and anti-tumor activities of the PO. Anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory, anti-oxidant and Anti-tumor effects of PO were searched using various databases until the end of August 2018. The online literature was searched using PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science. Our review showed that PO exerts its effects through anti-inflammatory properties and balancing the adaptive and innate immune system depending on situations. PO acts as immune-modulator and anti-oxidant agent in both inflammatory states by the dominance of Th2 response such as asthma, cancer and atopic dermatitis and evoked Th1 disorders including hepatitis and multiple sclerosis.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• 제19권1호
• /
• pp.10.1-10.7
• /
• 2021

Although many models have been proposed to accurately predict the response of drugs in cell lines recent years, understanding the genome related to drug response is also the key for completing oncology precision medicine. In this paper, based on the cancer cell line gene expression and the drug response data, we established a reliable and accurate drug response prediction model and found predictor genes for some drugs of interest. To this end, we first performed pre-selection of genes based on the Pearson correlation coefficient and then used ElasticNet regression model for drug response prediction and fine gene selection. To find more reliable set of predictor genes, we performed regression twice for each drug, one with IC₅₀ and the other with area under the curve (AUC) (or activity area). For the 12 drugs we tested, the predictive performance in terms of Pearson correlation coefficient exceeded 0.6 and the highest one was 17-AAG for which Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.811 for IC₅₀ and 0.81 for AUC. We identify common predictor genes for IC₅₀ and AUC, with which the performance was similar to those with genes separately found for IC₅₀ and AUC, but with much smaller number of predictor genes. By using only common predictor genes, the highest performance was AZD6244 (0.8016 for IC₅₀, 0.7945 for AUC) with 321 predictor genes.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• 제19권4호
• /
• pp.375-392
• /
• 2019

Preoperative chemo- and radiotherapeutic strategies followed by surgery are currently a standard approach for treating locally advanced gastric and esophagogastric junction cancer in Western countries. However, in a large number of cases, the tumor is extremely resistant to these treatments and the patients are exposed to unnecessary toxicity and delayed surgical therapy. The current clinical trials evaluating the combination of preoperative systemic therapies with modern targeted and immunotherapeutic agents represent a unique opportunity for identifying predictive biomarkers of response to select patients that would benefit the most from these treatments. However, it is of utmost importance that these potential biomarkers are corroborated by extensive preclinical and translational research. The aim of this review article is to present the most promising biomarkers of response to classic chemotherapeutic, anti-HER2, antiangiogenic, and immunotherapeutic agents that can be potentially useful for personalized preoperative systemic therapies in gastric cancer patients.

• 생명과학회지
• /
• 제25권8호
• /
• pp.849-860
• /
• 2015

본 연구에서는 한약재로 널리 사용되는 건칠, 유근피 및 신석 추출물의 항암 활성을 조사하였다. 생쥐 유래 정상세포(RAW 264.7 대식세포 및 C2C12 근아세포)에서는 건칠, 유근피 및 신석 단독 및 복합 처리에 의하여 유의적인 세포생존율의 억제 현상은 관찰 할 수 없었다. 그리고 건칠, 유근피 및 신석의 복합 처리는 단독 처리군에 비하여 AGS 위암세포의 생존력을 유의적으로 억제하였으나, 폐암(A549), 대장암(HCT116), 간암(Hep3B) 및 방광암(T24) 세포에서는 그 효과가 미비하였다. 아울러 이러한 AGS 위암세포 선택적 생존 억제력은 apoptosis 유도와 밀접한 연관성이 있음을 염색질의 응축 현상, DNA 단편화 및 annexin-V 염색에 의한 flow cytometry 분석을 통하여 확인하였다. 건칠, 유근피 및 신석의 복합 처리는 Fas 및 Fas legand의 발현을 증가시켰으며, XIAP, cIAP-1 및 survivin과 같은 IAP family 단백질과 anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL의 발현은 저하시켰다. 복합 처리는 또한 mitochondrial membrane potential의 손실과 caspases (-3, -8 및 -9)의 활성에 PARP 단백질의 분절화를 유도하였다. 그러나 이러한 복합 처리에 의한 AGS 세포에서 관찰된 세포독성 및 apoptosis 유도 효과는 pan-caspases inhibitor인 z-VAD-fmk의 선처리에 의하여 차단되었다. 이상의 결과는 건칠, 유근피 및 신석의 복합 처리에 의한 AGS 위암세포 선택적 apoptosis 유도가 caspase 의존적으로 일어나고 있음을 보여주는 결과이며, in vivo 모델을 이용한 후속 연구가 진행되어야 할 것이다.