Mammaglobin 1 promotes breast cancer malignancy and confers sensitivity to anticancer drugs.

Mammaglobin 1 (MGB1), a member of the secretoglobin family, is expressed in mammary epithelial tissues and is overexpressed in most mammary carcinomas. Despite the extensive research correlating MGB1 expression profiles to breast cancer pathogenesis and disease outcome, the biological significance of MGB1 in cancer processes is still unclear. We have thus set out to conduct a functional evaluation of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes leading to disease progression. Using a series of breast cancer cell models with conditional MGB1 expression, we demonstrate that MGB1 promotes cancer cell malignant features. More specifically, loss of MGB1 expression resulted in a decrease of cell proliferation, soft agar spheroid formation, migration, and invasion capacities of breast cancer cells. Concomitantly, we also observed that MGB1 expression activates signaling pathways mediated by MAPK members (p38, JNK, and ERK), the focal adhesion kinase (FAK), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and NFκB. Moreover, MGB1 regulates epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) features and modulates Snail, Twist and ZEB1 expression levels. Interestingly, we also observed that expression of MGB1 confers breast cancer cell sensitivity to anticancer drug-induced apoptosis. Together, our results support a role for MGB1 in tumor malignancy in exchange for chemosensitivity. These findings provide one of the first descriptive overview of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes and may offer new insight to the development of therapeutic and prognostic strategies in breast cancer patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anti-mycobacterial natural products from the Canadian medicinal plant Juniperus communis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Common juniper, Juniperus communis, is amongst the plants most frequently used by the indigenous peoples of North America for medicinal purposes. The First Nations of the Canadian Maritimes use infusions of juniper primarily as a tonic and for the treatment of tuberculosis. Previous investigations of extracts derived from the aerial parts of J. communis have shown it to possess anti-mycobacterial activity. The aim of the study is to isolate and identify anti-mycobacterial constituents from the aerial parts of J. communis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methanolic extracts of J. communis needles and branches were subjected to bioassay guided fractionation using the microplate resazurin assay (MRA) to assess inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Ra. The anti-mycobacterial constituents were identified by NMR, MS and polarimetry. RESULTS: The diterpenes isocupressic acid and communic acid and the aryltetralin lignan deoxypodophyllotoxin were isolated from the J. communis extract. Isocupressic acid and communic acid (isolated as an inseparable 3:2 mixture of cis and trans isomers) displayed MICs of 78 µM and 31 µM and IC(50)s of 46 µM and 15 µM against M. tuberculosis H37Ra respectively. Deoxypodophyllotoxin was less active, with a MIC of 1004 µM and an IC(50) of 287 µM. CONCLUSIONS: Isocupressic acid, communic acid and deoxypodophyllotoxin were identified as the principal constituents responsible for the anti-mycobacterial activity of the aerial parts of J. communis. Although further research will be required to evaluate the relative activities of the two communic acid isomers, this work validates an ethnopharmacological use of this plant by Canadian First Nations and Native American communities.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of 1- and 2-substituted-1,2,3-triazole letrozole-based analogues as aromatase inhibitors.

A series of bis- and mono-benzonitrile or phenyl analogues of letrozole 1, bearing (1,2,3 and 1,2,5)-triazole or imidazole, were synthesized and screened for their anti-aromatase activities. The unsubstituted 1,2,3-triazole 10a derivative displayed inhibitory activity comparable with that of the aromatase inhibitor, letrozole 1. Compound 10a, bearing a 1,2,3-triazole, is also 10000-times more tightly binding than the corresponding analogue 25 bearing a 1,2,5-triazole, which confirms the importance of a nitrogen atom at position 3 or 4 of the 5-membered ring needed for high activity. The effect on human epithelial adrenocortical carcinoma cell line (H295R) proliferation was also evaluated. The compound 10j (IC(50) = 4.64 µM), a letrozole 1 analogue bearing para-cyanophenoxymethylene-1,2,3-triazole decreased proliferation rates of H295R cells by 76 and 99% in 24 and 72 h respectively. Computer calculations, using quantum ab initio structures, suggest a possible correlation between anti-aromatase activity and the distance between the nitrogen in position 3 or 4 of triazole nitrogen and the cyano group nitrogen.

Synthesis and 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity of new cinnamoyl and caffeoyl clusters.

Novel cinnamoyl and caffeoyl clusters were synthesized by multiple Cu(I)-catalyzed [1,3]-dipolar cycloadditions and their anti-5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity was tested. Caffeoyl cluster showed an improved 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity compared to caffeic acid, with caffeoyl trimer 16 and tetramer 19 showing the best 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity.