Urtica dioica inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis by targeting Ornithine decarboxylase and Adenosine deaminase as key regulatory enzymes in adenosine and polyamines homeostasis in human breast cancer cell lines.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous and multifactorial disease with variable disease progression risk, and treatment response. Urtica dioica is a traditional herb used as an adjuvant therapeutic agent in cancer. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of the aqueous extract of Urtica dioica on Adenosine deaminase (ADA) and Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1) gene expression in MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, two breast cancer cell lines being estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative, respectively.  Cell lines were cultured in suitable media. After 24 h, different concentrations of the extract were added and after 72 h, ADA and ODC1 gene expression as well as BCL2 and BAX apoptotic genes were assessed by Taqman real time PCR assay. Cells viability was assessed by MTT assay, and apoptosis was also evaluated at cellular level. The intra and extracellular levels of ODC1 and ADA enzymes were evaluated by ELISA. Results showed differential expression of ADA and ODC1 genes in cancer cell lines. In MCF-7 cell line, the expression level of ADA was upregulated in a dose-dependent manner but its expression did not change in MDA-MB cell line. ODC1 expression was increased in both examined cell lines. Also, increased level of the apoptotic BAX/BCL-2 ratio was detected in MCF-7 cells. These results demonstrated that Urtica dioica induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells by influencing ODC1 and ADA genes expression, and estrogen receptors. The different responses observed with these cell lines could be due to the interaction of Urtica dioica as a phytoestrogen with the estrogen receptor.

A Label-Free Continuous Fluorescence-Based Assay for Monitoring Ornithine Decarboxylase Activity with a Synthetic Putrescine Receptor.

Polyamines play an important role in cell growth, differentiation, and cancer development, and the biosynthetic pathway of polyamines is established as a drug target for the treatment of parasitic diseases, neoplasia, and cancer chemoprevention. The key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis is ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). We report herein an analytical method for the continuous fluorescence monitoring of ODC activity based on the supramolecular receptor cucurbit[6]uril (CB6) and the fluorescent dye trans-4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide (DSMI). CB6 has a significantly higher binding constant to the ODC product putrescine (>107 M-1) than to the substrate L-ornithine (340 M-1). This enables real-time monitoring of the enzymatic reaction through a continuous fluorescence change caused by dye displacement from the macrocycle by the formed product, which allowed a straightforward determination of enzyme kinetic parameters ( kcat = 0.12 s-1 and KM = 24 µM) and inhibition constants of the two ODC inhibitors α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The potential for high-throughput screening (HTS) was demonstrated by excellent Z' factors (>0.9) in a microplate reader format, and the sensitivity of the assay is comparable to or better than most established complementary methods, which invariably have the disadvantage of not being compatible with direct implementation and upscaling to HTS format in the drug discovery process.

Difluoromethylornithine in cancer: new advances.

Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO; eflornithine) is an irreversible suicide inhibitor of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase which is involved in polyamine synthesis. Polyamines are important for cell survival, thus DFMO was studied as an anticancer agent and as a chemoprevention agent. DFMO exhibited mainly cytostatic activity and had single agent efficacy as well as activity in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs for some cancers and leukemias. Herewith, we summarize the current knowledge of the anticancer and chemopreventive properties of DFMO and assess the status of clinical trials.

Simultaneous biosynthesis of putrebactin, avaroferrin and bisucaberin by Shewanella putrefaciens and characterisation of complexes with iron(III), molybdenum(VI) or chromium(V).

Cultures of Shewanella putrefaciens grown in medium containing 10mM 1,4-diamino-2-butanone (DBO) as an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase and 10mM 1,5-diaminopentane (cadaverine) showed the simultaneous biosynthesis of the macrocyclic dihydroxamic acids: putrebactin (pbH2), avaroferrin (avH2) and bisucaberin (bsH2). The level of DBO did not completely repress the production of endogenous 1,4-diaminobutane (putrescine) as the native diamine substrate of pbH2. The relative concentration of pbH2:avH2:bsH2 was 1:2:1, which correlated with the substrate selection of putrescine:cadaverine in a ratio of 1:1. The macrocycles were characterised using LC-MS as free ligands and as 1:1 complexes with Fe(III) of the form [Fe(pb)]+, [Fe(av)]+ or [Fe(bs)]+, with labile ancillary ligands in six-coordinate complexes displaced during ESI-MS acquisition; or with Mo(VI) of the form [Mo(O)2(pb)], [Mo(O)2(av)] or [Mo(O)2(bs)]. Chromium(V) complexes of the form [CrO(pb)]+ were detected from solutions of Cr(VI) and pbH2 in DMF using X-band EPR spectroscopy. Supplementation of S. putrefaciens medium with DBO and 1,3-diaminopropane, 1,6-diaminohexane or 1,4-diamino-2(Z)-butene (Z-DBE) resulted only in the biosynthesis of pbH2. The work has identified a native system for the simultaneous biosynthesis of a suite of three macrocyclic dihydroxamic acid siderophores and highlights both the utility of precursor-directed biosynthesis for expanding the structural diversity of siderophores, and the breadth of their coordination chemistry.

Catalase therapy corrects oxidative stress-induced pathophysiology in incipient diabetic retinopathy.

PURPOSE: Preclinical studies have highlighted retinal oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. We evaluated whether a treatment designed to enhance cellular catalase reduces oxidative stress in retinal cells cultured in high glucose and in diabetic mice corrects an imaging biomarker responsive to antioxidant therapy (manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging [MEMRI]). METHODS: Human retinal Müller and pigment epithelial cells were chronically exposed to normal or high glucose levels and treated with a cell-penetrating derivative of the peroxisomal enzyme catalase (called CAT-SKL). Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels were measured using a quantitative fluorescence-based assay. For in vivo studies, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic C57Bl/6 mice were treated subcutaneously once a week for 3 to 4 months with CAT-SKL; untreated age-matched nondiabetic controls and untreated diabetic mice also were studied. MEMRI was used to analytically assess the efficacy of CAT-SKL treatment on diabetes-evoked oxidative stress-related pathophysiology in vivo. Similar analyses were performed with difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase. RESULTS: After catalase transduction, high glucose-induced peroxide production was significantly lowered in both human retinal cell lines. In diabetic mice in vivo, subnormal intraretinal uptake of manganese was significantly improved by catalase supplementation. In addition, in the peroxisome-rich liver of treated mice catalase enzyme activity increased and oxidative damage (as measured by lipid peroxidation) declined. On the other hand, DFMO was largely without effect in these in vitro or in vivo assays. CONCLUSIONS: This proof-of-concept study raises the possibility that augmentation of catalase is a therapy for treating the retinal oxidative stress associated with diabetic retinopathy.