Kinase PIM1 governs ferroptosis to reduce retinal microvascular endothelial cell dysfunction triggered by high glucose.

Previous studies have implicated targeting Pim-1 proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (PIM1) as a preventive measure against high glucose-induced cellular stress and apoptosis. This study aimed to reveal the potential role and regulatory mechanism of PIM1 in diabetic retinopathy. Human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (hRMECs) underwent high glucose induction, and fluctuations in PIM1 levels were assessed. By overexpressing PIM1, its effects on the levels of inflammatory factors, oxidative stress indicators, migration and tube formation abilities, tight junction protein expression levels, and ferroptosis in hRMECs were identified. Afterwards, hRMECs were treated with the ferroptosis-inducing agent erastin, and the effect of erastin on the above PIM1 regulatory functions was focused on. PIM1 was downregulated upon high glucose, and its overexpression inhibited the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, cell migration, and tube formation potential in hRMECs, whereas elevated tight junction protein levels. Furthermore, PIM1 overexpression reduced intracellular iron ion levels, lipid peroxidation, and levels of proteins actively involved in ferroptosis. Erastin treatment reversed the impacts of PIM1 on hRMECs, suggesting the mediation of ferroptosis in PIM1 regulation. The current study has yielded critical insights into the role of PIM1 in ameliorating high glucose-induced hRMEC dysfunction through the inhibition of ferroptosis.

Discovery of new pyridine-quinoline hybrids as competitive and non-competitive PIM-1 kinase inhibitors with apoptosis induction and caspase 3/7 activation capabilities.

New quinoline-pyridine hybrids were designed and synthesised as PIM-1/2 kinase inhibitors. Compounds 5b, 5c, 6e, 13a, 13c, and 14a showed in-vitro low cytotoxicity against normal human lung fibroblast Wi-38 cell line and potent in-vitro anticancer activity against myeloid leukaemia (NFS-60), liver (HepG-2), prostate (PC-3), and colon (Caco-2) cancer cell lines. In addition, 6e, 13a, and 13c significantly induced apoptosis with percentage more than 66%. Moreover, 6e, 13a, and 13c significantly induced caspase 3/7 activation in HepG-2 cell line. Furthermore, 5c, 6e, and 14a showed potent in-vitro PIM-1 kinase inhibitory activity. While, 5b showed potent in-vitro PIM-2 kinase inhibitory activity. Kinetic studies using Lineweaver-Burk double-reciprocal plot indicated that 5b, 5c, 6e, and 14a behaved as competitive inhibitors while 13a behaved as both competitive and non-competitive inhibitor of PIM-1 kinase enzyme. Molecular docking studies indicated that, in-silico affinity came in coherence with the observed in-vitro inhibitory activities against PIM-1/2 kinases.

Pim-1 kinase is a positive feedback regulator of the senescent lung fibroblast inflammatory secretome.

Cellular senescence is emerging as a driver of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive and fatal disease with limited effective therapies. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), involving the release of inflammatory cytokines and profibrotic growth factors by senescent cells, is thought to be a product of multiple cell types in IPF, including lung fibroblasts. NF-κB is a master regulator of the SASP, and its activity depends on the phosphorylation of p65/RelA. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of Pim-1 kinase as a driver of NF-κB-induced production of inflammatory cytokines from low-passage IPF fibroblast cultures displaying markers of senescence. Our results demonstrate that Pim-1 kinase phosphorylates p65/RelA, activating NF-κB activity and enhancing IL-6 production, which in turn amplifies the expression of PIM1, generating a positive feedback loop. In addition, targeting Pim-1 kinase with a small molecule inhibitor dramatically inhibited the expression of a broad array of cytokines and chemokines in IPF-derived fibroblasts. Furthermore, we provide evidence that Pim-1 overexpression in low-passage human lung fibroblasts is sufficient to drive premature senescence, in vitro. These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting Pim-1 kinase to reprogram the secretome of senescent fibroblasts and halt IPF progression.

Antitumor activity of the protein kinase inhibitor 1-(ß-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrabromo- 1H-benzimidazole in breast cancer cell lines.

BACKGROUND: The protein kinases CK2 and PIM-1 are involved in cell proliferation and survival, the cell cycle, and drug resistance, and they are found overexpressed in virtually all types of human cancer, including breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the antitumor activity of a deoxynucleoside derivative, the protein kinase inhibitor compound 1-(ß-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-1H-benzimidazole (K164, also termed TDB), inter alia CK2 and PIM-1, on breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and SK-BR-3). METHODS: An evaluation of the cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and cell cycle progression was performed using an MTT assay, flow cytometry, and microscopic analysis. The Western blotting method was used to analyze the level of proteins important for the survival of breast cancer cells and proteins phosphorylated by the CK2 and PIM-1 kinases. RESULTS: The examined compound demonstrated the inhibition of cell viability in all the tested cell lines and apoptotic activity, especially in the MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 cells. Changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), cell cycle progression, and the level of the proteins studied were also observed. CONCLUSIONS: The investigated CK2 and PIM-1 kinase inhibitor K164 is a promising compound that can be considered a potential agent in targeted therapy in selected types of breast cancer; therefore, further research is necessary.

Quercetin increases mitochondrial proteins (VDAC and SDH) and downmodulates AXL and PIM-1 tyrosine kinase receptors in NRAS melanoma cells.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer with low survival rates after it has metastasized. In order to find molecular differences that could represent targets of quercetin in anti-melanoma activity, we have chosen SKMEL-103 and SKMEL-28 melanoma cells and human melanocytes as models. Firstly, we observed that quercetin was able in reducing SKMEL-103 cell viability, but not in SKMEL-28. Besides that, quercetin treatment caused inhibition of AXL in both cell lines, but upregulation of PIM-1 in SKMEL-28 and downregulation in SKMEL-103. Moreover, HIF-1 alpha expression decreased in both cell lines. Interestingly, quercetin was more effective against SKMEL-103 than kinases inhibitors, such as Imatinib, Temsirolimus, U0126, and Erlotinib. Interestingly, we observed that while the levels of succinate dehydrogenase and voltage-dependent anion channel increased in SKMEL-103, both proteins were downregulated in SKMEL-28 after quercetin's treatment. Furthermore, AKT, AXL, PIM-1, ABL kinases were much more active and chaperones HSP90, HSP70 and GAPDH were highly expressed in SKMEL-103 cells in comparison with melanocytes. Our findings indicate, for the first time, that the efficacy of quercetin to kill melanoma cells depends on its ability in inhibiting tyrosine kinase and upregulating mitochondrial proteins, at least when SKMEL-103 and SKMEL-28 cells response were compared.

Pim-1 as a Therapeutic Target in Lupus Nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: Lupus nephritis (LN) is a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Pim-1 regulates lymphocyte proliferation and activation. The role of Pim-1 in autoimmune disease remains unclear. This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that inhibition of Pim-1 would have therapeutic potential in patients with LN. METHODS: Pim-1 expression was analyzed in lupus-prone (NZB × NZW)F1 mice (n = 6), human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from SLE patients (n = 10), and glomeruli from patients with LN (n = 8). The therapeutic effect of the Pim-1 inhibitor AZD1208 was assessed in the same murine lupus model (n = 10 mice per group). In vitro analysis was conducted to explore the mechanisms of action of Pim-1 in mouse and human podocytes after Pim-1 expression had been induced by anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody-positive serum. Finally, MRL/lpr mice were used to confirm the therapeutic effects of Pim-1 inhibition in vivo (n = 10 mice per group). RESULTS: Up-regulation of Pim-1 was seen in renal lysates from diseased (NZB × NZW)F1 mice and in PBMCs from patients with SLE and renal biopsy tissue from patients with LN, relative to their control counterparts (each P < 0.05). The Pim-1 inhibitor AZD1208 reduced the severity of proteinuria, glomerulonephritis, renal immune complex deposits, and serum anti-dsDNA antibody levels, concomitant with the suppression of NFATc1 expression and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, in diseased (NZB × NZW)F1 mice (each P < 0.05 versus controls). Moreover, in mouse and human podocytes, Pim-1 knockdown with targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppressed NFATc1 and NLRP3 inflammasome signaling in the presence of anti-dsDNA-positive serum (each P < 0.05 versus control siRNA). Mechanistically, Pim-1 modulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation through intracellular Ca2+ (P < 0.05 versus normal controls). The therapeutic effect of Pim-1 blockade was replicated in MRL/lpr mice. CONCLUSION: These data identify Pim-1 as a critical regulator of LN pathogenesis in patients with SLE. Targeting of the Pim-1/NFATc1/NLRP3 pathway might therefore have therapeutic potential in human LN.

Using insights into Pim1 structure to design new anticancer drugs.

Human Pim1 (proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus) kinase is a 313-amino acid serine-threonine kinase that possesses several biological functions in cell survival, proliferation and differentiation, and its overexpression has been observed in a number of human cancers. Indeed, this kinase is a proto-oncogene that has been implicated in early transformation and tumor progression, especially in hematopoietic malignancies and prostate carcinoma where it is a marker of a poor prognosis. For these reasons, Pim1 is emerging as an important target in drug discovery, and many Pim1 inhibitors have been reported in the last three years. The challenge of this research is to obtain compounds that specifically inhibit only Pim1 and not Pim2 and Pim3, the other members of the Pim family, with the aim of providing selective inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents and also of studying the different roles of the three enzymes. In this review Pim1 functions and Pim1 role in human cancer are summarized, but the primary focus of the article is on the Pim1 three-dimensional structure that was deeply analyzed by a detailed inspection of the available crystallographic data and all complexes of small molecule inhibitors reported in the literature to this point. Finally, the use of molecular modeling techniques for the identification and optimization of Pim1 inhibitors is extensively discussed. This data collection, which to the best of our knowledge was not previously reviewed in such detail, could offer a useful tool for medicinal chemists working in the field of small molecule kinase inhibitors.

Recent insights on the medicinal chemistry of metal-based compounds: hints for the successful drug design.

Although more complex than usually described, the anticancer action mechanism of cisplatin is based on binding to DNA. Following this line of reasoning, most the metal-based compounds discovered soon after cisplatin were designed to acting as DNA-binding agents and their pharmacological properties were thought to be correlated with this mechanism. Apart from the DNA structure, a significant number of proteins and biochemical pathways have been described as drug targets for metal-based compounds. This paper is therefore aimed at discussing the most recent findings on the medicinal chemistry of metal-based drugs. It starts illustrating the design concept behind the bioinorganic chemistry of anticancer complexes. Anticancer metallic compounds that inhibit the protein kinases are concisely discussed as a case study. The accuracy and limitations of molecular docking programs currently available to predict the binding mode of metallic complexes in molecular targets are further discussed. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of different in vitro screenings are briefly commented.

Chromosomal instability induced by Pim-1 is passage-dependent and associated with dysregulation of cyclin B1.

Overexpression of the oncogenic serine/threonine kinase Pim-1 has been shown to induce chromosomal missegregation and polyploidy in prostate epithelial cell lines (1). Here we demonstrated that Pim-1-induced polyploidy develops in a passage-dependent manner in culture consistent with a stochastic mode of progression. Induction of chromosomal instability by Pim-1 was not restricted to prostate cells as it was also observed in telomerase-immortalized normal human mammary epithelial cells. Elevated levels of cyclin B1 protein, but not its messenger RNA, were evident in early passage Pim-1 overexpressing cells, suggesting that increased cyclin B1 levels contribute to the development of polyploidy. Furthermore, regulation of cyclin B1 protein and cyclin B1/CDK1 activity after treatment with anti-microtubule agents was impaired. Small interfering RNA targeting cyclin B1 reversed the cytokinesis delay but not the mitotic checkpoint defect in Pim-1 overexpressing cells. These results indicated that chronic Pim-1 overexpression dysregulates cyclin B1 protein expression, which contributes to the development of polyploidy by delaying cytokinesis.