A novel fluorescent dye selectively images and kills cancer stem cells by targeting mitochondria: Evidence from a cell line­based zebrafish xenograft model.

Numerous agents such as near-infrared dyes that are characterized by specialized cancer imaging and cytotoxicity effects have key roles in cancer diagnosis and therapy via molecularly targeting special biological tissues, organelles and processes. In the present study, a novel fluorescent compound was demonstrated to inhibit cancer cell proliferation in a zebrafish model with slight in vivo toxicity. Further studies demonstrated selective staining of cancer cells and even putative cancer stem cells via accumulation of the dye in the mitochondria of cancer cells, compared with normal cells. Moreover, this compound was also used to image cancer cells in vivo using a zebrafish model. The compound displayed no apparent toxicity to the host animal. Overall, the data indicated that this compound was worthy of further evaluation due to its low toxicity and selective cancer cell imaging and killing effects. It could be a useful tool in cancer research.

Gambogic acid suppresses nasopharyngeal carcinoma via rewiring molecular network of cancer malignancy and immunosurveillance.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor highly prevalent in Southeast Asia. The distant metastasis and disease recurrence are still unsolved clinical problems. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) monomers have become significantly attractive due to their advantages. Using high throughput drug sensitivity screening, we identified gambogic acid (GA) as a common TCM monomer displaying multiple anti-NPC effects. GA could effectively inhibit the proliferation of low differentiated cells and highly metastatic cells in NPC via inducing apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest. In addition, GA obviously repressed the abilities of cell clone, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and represented satisfied synergistic effects combined with chemotherapy. Importantly, we found the elevated immune checkpoint CD47 stimulated after chemotherapy was dramatically impaired by GA treatment. Mechanically, the network pharmacology analyses unraveled that the oncogenic signaling pathways including STATs were rewired by GA treatment. Taken together, our study reveals a molecular basis and provides a rationale for GA application as the treatment regime in NPC therapy in future.