Experimental Oxidative Stress Breaks Down the Barrier Function of the Corneal Endothelium.

Purpose: The fluid pump and barrier functions of the corneal endothelium maintain stromal deturgescence required for corneal transparency. The effect of oxidative stress, a hallmark of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), on the endothelial barrier function has been investigated. Methods: The endothelium of porcine corneas ex vivo was exposed to (1) membrane permeable oxidants (H2O2, 100 µM, 1 h; tert-butyl-hydroperoxide, 100 µM, 1 h), or (2) ultraviolet A (UVA) with photosensitizers for 15 min, riboflavin (50 µM) or tryptophan (Trp) (100 µM). The effects on the apical junction complex were analyzed by (1) immunostaining the perijunctional actomyosin ring (PAMR) and ZO-1 and (2) assessment of paracellular flux of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-avidin across cultured endothelial cells grown on biotinylated-gelatin film. The extent of oxidative stress was quantified by changes in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in addition to lipid peroxidation and release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Results: Both methods of oxidative stress led to the disruption of PAMR and ZO-1 concurrent with changes in ROS levels, depolarization of MMP, increased lipid peroxidation, elevated LDH release, and increased permeability of FITC-avidin. The effects of direct oxidants were opposed by SB-203580 [p38 mitogen-activating protein (MAP) kinase inhibitor; 10 µM]. The damage by UVA+photosensitizers was blocked by extracellular catalase (10,000 U/mL). Conclusions: (1) Acute oxidative stress breaks down the barrier function through destruction of PAMR in a p38 MAP kinase-dependent manner. (2) UVA+photosensitizers elicit the breakdown of PAMR via type I reactions, involving H2O2 release. (3) Blocking the oxidative stress prevents loss of barrier function, which could be helpful in the therapeutics of FECD.

An ultra-stable redox-controlled self-assembling polypeptide nanotube for targeted imaging and therapy in cancer.

We introduce a self-assembling polypeptide-based nanotube system having the ability to specifically target cancer cells. The nanotubes target the cancer cell surface through integrin engagement with the help of multiple RGD units present along their surface. While the nanotubes are non-toxic towards cells in general, they can be loaded with suitable drugs to be released in a sustained manner in cancer cells. In addition, the nanotubes can be utilized for cellular imaging using any covalently tagged fluorescent dye. They are stable over a wide range of temperature due to intermolecular disulphide bonds formed during the self-assembly process. At the same time, presence of disulphide bonds provides a redox molecular switch for their degradation. Taken together this system provides a unique avenue for multimodal formulation in cancer therapy.

Gap junction ß­2 expression is negatively associated with the estrogen receptor status in breast cancer tissues and is a regulator of breast tumorigenesis.

Gap junction ß­2 gene (GJB2, also known as connexin 26) is a member of the connexin family which forms gap junction channels. Many connexin genes have been considered to be tumor suppressor genes. However, the overexpression of GJB2 has been found to be associated with a poor prognosis in several human cancers. In our previous microarray study, we revealed the overexpression of GJB2 in breast cancer tissues. Hence, in this study, we investigated the expression of GJB2 in human breast cancer and its role in breast cancer cell proliferation and migration. The RT­qPCR results revealed the upregulation of the GJB2 gene in invasive ductal carcinoma (P<0.001) of the breast. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed an intense cytoplasmic and membrane staining. We observed that the staining for GJB2 was more intense in the majority of the estrogen receptor (ER)­negative breast cancer tissues compared to the normal breast tissues (P<0.0001). By contrast, the majority of the ER­positive breast cancer samples exhibited weak to moderate staining; however, this difference was not statistically significant compared to the normal tisues. The knockdown of GJB2 in human breast cancer cell lines using shRNA led to a significant decrease in the proliferative ability and an increase in the migratory ability of breast cancer cells. In addition, the knockdown of GJB­2 led to a significant reduction in tumor volume and proliferation (as demonstrated by MIB­1 staining) in orthotopic xenografts in immunocompromised mice. On the whole, the findings of this study indicate that GJB2 may be an important regulator of breast tumorigenesis.

Coordination-driven self-assembly of ruthenium(ii) architectures: synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity studies.

Coordination-driven self-assembly of organometallic η6-arene ruthenium(ii) supramolecular architectures (MA1-MA4) was carried out by employing dinuclear ruthenium acceptors [Ru2(µ-η4-C2O4)(CH3OH)2(η6-p-cymene)2](CF3SO3)2 (Rua), [Ru2(µ-η4-C6H2O4)(CH3OH)2(η6-p-cymene)2](CF3SO3)2 (Rub), [Ru2(dhnq)(H2O)2(η6-p-cymene)2](CF3SO3)2 (Ruc) and [Ru2(dhtq)(H2O)2(η6-p-cymene)2](CF3SO3)2 (Rud) separately with a new tetratopic donor (TD) in methanol at room temperature [TD = N,N,N',N'-tetra(pyridin-4-yl)-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diamine]. All the coordination architectures were characterized by using spectroscopic techniques. The potency of these self-assembled architectures against human cervical cancer HeLa and human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell lines is explored in vitro using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide), annexin V-FITC/PI and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate assays.

DDX5/p68 associated lncRNA LOC284454 is differentially expressed in human cancers and modulates gene expression.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important players in regulation of gene expression in higher eukaryotes. DDX5/p68 RNA helicase protein which is involved in splicing of precursor mRNAs also interacts with lncRNAs like, SRA and mrhl, to modulate gene expression. We performed RIP-seq analysis in HEK293T cells to identify the complete repertoire of DDX5/p68 interacting transcripts including 73 single exonic (SE) lncRNAs. The LOC284454 lncRNA is the second top hit of the list of SE lncRNAs which we have characterized in detail for its molecular features and cellular functions. The RNA is located in the same primary transcript harboring miR-23a∼27a∼24-2 cluster. LOC284454 is a stable, nuclear restricted and chromatin associated lncRNA. The sequence is conserved only in primates among 26 different species and is expressed in multiple human tissues. Expression of LOC284454 is significantly reduced in breast, prostate, uterus and kidney cancer and also in breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and T47D). Global gene expression studies upon loss and gain of function of LOC284454 revealed perturbation of genes related to cancer-related pathways. Focal adhesion and cell migration pathway genes are downregulated under overexpression condition, and these genes are significantly upregulated in breast cancer cell lines as well as breast cancer tissue samples suggesting a functional role of LOC284454 lncRNA in breast cancer pathobiology.

JMJD6 induces HOTAIR, an oncogenic lincRNA, by physically interacting with its proximal promoter.

Using microarray analysis, we found that HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) is up-regulated by Jumonji domain containing-6 (JMJD6), a bifunctional lysyl hydroxylase and arginine demethylase. In breast cancer, both JMJD6 and HOTAIR RNAs increase tumor growth and associate with poor prognosis but no molecular relationship between them is known. We show that overexpression of JMJD6 increased HOTAIR expression and JMJD6 siRNAs suppressed it in ER+ MCF-7, triple negative MDA-MB-231 and non-breast cancer HEK 293 cells. Therefore, JMJD6 regulates HOTAIR independent of ER status. Using various deletion constructs spanning (-1874 to +50) of the HOTAIR promoter, we identified pHP216 (-216 to +50 bp) as the smallest construct that retained maximal JMJD6 responsiveness. In ChIP assays, JMJD6 bound this region suggesting that JMJD6 may be directly recruited to the HOTAIR promoter. Mutant JMJD6H187A that is devoid of enzymatic activity could bind this site but failed to induce transcription. ChIP and electromobility shift assays identified a JMJD6 interaction region from (-123 to -103 bp) within the HOTAIR promoter. In tumor samples but not normal breast tissue, the expression of JMJD6 linearly correlated with HOTAIR suggesting that JMJD6-mediated up-regulation may occur specifically in tumors. Further, concurrent high expression of both genes correlated with poor survival when individual expression of either gene showed no significant association in TCGA datasets. We propose that high JMJD6 expression may achieve higher levels of HOTAIR in breast tumors. Further, since high levels of HOTAIR promote metastasis and death, blocking JMJD6 may be useful in preventing such events.

Expression of tripartite motif-containing protein 28 in primary breast carcinoma predicts metastasis and is involved in the stemness, chemoresistance, and tumor growth.

The prediction of who develops metastasis has been the most difficult aspect in the management of breast cancer patients. The lymph node metastasis has been the most useful predictor of prognosis and patient management. However, a good proportion of patients with lymph node positivity remain disease free for 5 years or more, while about a third of those who were lymph node negative develop distant metastasis within the same period. This warrants a robust biomarker(s), preferably gene expression based. In order to elucidate gene-based biomarkers for prognosis of breast cancers, gene expression profiling of primary tumors and follow-up for over 5 years has been performed. The analysis revealed a network of genes centered around the tripartite motif-containing protein 28 as an important indicator of disease progression. Short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown of tripartite motif-containing protein 28 in breast cancer cells revealed a decreased expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers and increased expression of epithelial markers, decreased migration and invasion, and increased chemosensitivity to doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and methotrexate. Furthermore, knockdown of tripartite motif-containing protein 28 resulted in the decrease of stemness as revealed by sphere formation assay as well as decreased expression of CD44 and Bmi1. Moreover, tripartite motif-containing protein 28 knockdown significantly reduced the tumor size and lung metastasis in orthotopic tumor xenograft assay in immunocompromised mice. The tumor size was further reduced when these mice were treated with doxorubicin. These data provide evidence for tripartite motif-containing protein 28 as a biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Self-Assembly of Discrete RuII8 Molecular Cages and Their in Vitro Anticancer Activity.

Four new octanuclear Ru(II) cages (OC-1-OC-4) were synthesized from dinuclear p-cymene ruthenium(II) acceptors [Ru2(µ-η4-C2O4)(CH3OH)2(η6-p-cymene)2](O3SCF3)2 (A1), [Ru2(µ-η4-C6H2O4)(CH3OH)2(η6-p-cymene)2](O3SCF3)2 (A2), [Ru2(dhnq)(H2O)2(η6-p-cymene)2](O3SCF3)2 (A3), and [Ru2(dhtq)(H2O)2(η6-p-cymene)2](O3SCF3)2 (A4) separately with a tetradentate pyridyl ligand (L1) in methanol using coordination-driven self-assembly [L1= N,N,N',N'-tetra(pyridin-4-yl)benzene-1,4-diamine]. The octanuclear cages are fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques including single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of OC-4. The self-assembled cages show strong in vitro anticancer activity against human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and human cervical cancer HeLa cell lines as observed from the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Of all the octanuclear cages, OC-3 exhibits remarkable anticancer activity against both cancer cell lines and is more active than that reported for cisplatin. The excellent anticancer activity of OC-3 and OC-4 highlights the importance of the synergistic effects of the spacer component of the dinuclear p-cymene Ru(II) acceptor clips.

Photoactive platinum(ii) ß-diketonates as dual action anticancer agents.

Platinum(ii) complexes, viz. [Pt(L)(cur)] (1), [Pt(L)(py-acac)] (2) and [Pt(L)(an-acac)] (3), where HL is 4,4'-bis-dimethoxyazobenzene, Hcur is curcumin, Hpy-acac and Han-acac are pyrenyl and anthracenyl appended acetylacetone, were prepared, characterized and their anticancer activities were studied. Complex [Pt(L)(acac)] (4) was used as a control. Complex 1 showed an absorption band at 430 nm (ε = 8.8 × 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1)). The anthracenyl and pyrenyl complexes displayed bands near 390 nm (ε = 3.7 × 10(4) for 3 and 4.4 × 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1) for 2). Complex 1 showed an emission band at 525 nm (Φ = 0.017) in 10% DMSO-DPBS (pH, 7.2), while 2 and 3 were blue emissive (λem = 440 and 435, Φ = 0.058 and 0.045). There was an enhancement in emission intensity on glutathione (GSH) addition indicating diketonate release. The platinum(ii) species thus formed acted as a transcription inhibitor. The released ß-diketonate base showed photo-chemotherapeutic activity. The complexes photocleaved plasmid DNA under blue light of 457 nm forming ∼75% nicked circular (NC) DNA with hydroxyl radicals and singlet oxygen as the ROS. Complexes 1-3 were photocytotoxic in skin keratinocyte HaCaT cells giving IC50 of 8-14 µM under visible light (400-700 nm, 10 J cm(-2)), while being non-toxic in the dark (IC50: ∼60 µM). Complex 4 was inactive. Complexes 1-3 generating cellular ROS caused apoptotic cell death under visible light as evidenced from DCFDA and annexin-V/FITC-PI assays. This work presents a novel way to deliver an active platinum(ii) species and a phototoxic ß-diketone species to the cancer cells.

Biotinylated Platinum(II) Ferrocenylterpyridine Complexes for Targeted Photoinduced Cytotoxicity.

Biotinylated platinum(II) ferrocenylterpyridine (Fc-tpy) complexes [Pt(Fc-tpy)(L(1))]Cl (1) and [Pt(Fc-tpy)(L(2))]Cl (2), where HL(1) and HL(2) are biotin-containing ligands, were prepared, and their targeted photoinduced cytotoxic effect in cancer cells over normal cells was studied. A nonbiotinylated complex, [Pt(Fc-tpy)(L(3))]Cl (3), was prepared as a control to study the role of the biotin moiety in cellular uptake properties of the complexes. Three platinum(II) phenylterpyridine (Ph-tpy) complexes, viz., [Pt(Ph-tpy)(L(1))]Cl (4), [Pt(Ph-tpy)(L(2))]Cl (5), and [Pt(Ph-tpy)(L(3))]Cl (6), were synthesized and explored to understand the role of a metal-bound Fc-tpy ligand over Ph-tpy as a photoinitiator. The Fc-tpy complexes displayed an intense absorption band near 640 nm, which was absent in their Ph-tpy analogues. The Fc-tpy complexes (1 mM in 0.1 M TBAP) showed an irreversible cyclic voltammetric anodic response of the Fc/Fc(+) couple near 0.25 V. The Fc-tpy complexes displayed photodegradation in red light of 647 nm involving the formation of a ferrocenium ion (Fc(+)) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Photoinduced release of the biotinylated ligands was observed from spectral measurements, and this possibly led to the controlled generation of an active platinum(II) species, which binds to the calf-thymus DNA used for this study. The biotinylated photoactive Fc-tpy complexes showed significant photoinduced cytotoxicity, giving a IC50 value of ∼7 µM in visible light of 400-700 nm with selective uptake in BT474 cancer cells over HBL-100 normal cells. Furthermore, ferrocenyl complexes resulted in light-induced ROS-mediated apoptosis, as indicated by DCFDA, annexin V/FITC staining, and sub-G1 DNA content determined by fluorescent activated cell sorting analysis. The phenyl analogues 4 and 5 were photostable, served as DNA intercalators, and demonstrated selective cytotoxicity in the cancer cells, giving IC50 values of ∼4 µM.

Developmental regulation of insulin receptor gene in sciatic nerves and role of insulin on glycoprotein P0 in the Schwann cells.

In view of the observations that Schwann cells contain insulin receptors, in the present study, we have investigated the developmental regulation of insulin receptor gene in the sciatic nerves of different postnatal age group rats. We have also investigated the role of insulin in the expression of the major PNS myelin glycoprotein P zero (P0) in normal as well as high glucose conditions in primary rat Schwann cells. The expression of insulin receptor gene in sciatic nerves appeared to be differentially regulated. The steady-state levels of insulin receptor mRNA increased remarkably during development and after postnatal day 10, when the peak of myelin structural gene (P0) expression occur and slowly increased further until at least postnatal day 90 in parallel with the growth of the myelin sheath. By employing immunofluorescence and RT-PCR, we observed significant increase in the P0 protein and mRNA levels in Schwann cells in response to the insulin than in insulin deprived counterparts. The presence of insulin in the high glucose medium ameliorated the altered protein and mRNA of P0 in Schwann cells compared to the insulin deprived counterparts. These studies demonstrate the importance of insulin and its receptor as possible regulatory factors in the PNS and also emphasizes their novel therapeutic applications in demyelinating diseases, especially in diabetic poly-neuropathy.