Thiazolides, a new class of antiviral agents effective against rotavirus infection, target viral morphogenesis, inhibiting viroplasm formation.

Rotaviruses, nonenveloped viruses presenting a distinctive triple-layered particle architecture enclosing a segmented double-stranded RNA genome, exhibit a unique morphogenetic pathway requiring the formation of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies called viroplasms in a process involving the nonstructural viral proteins NSP5 and NSP2. In these structures the concerted packaging and replication of the 11 positive-polarity single-stranded RNAs take place to generate the viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) genomic segments. Rotavirus infection is a leading cause of gastroenteritis-associated severe morbidity and mortality in young children, but no effective antiviral therapy exists. Herein we investigate the antirotaviral activity of the thiazolide anti-infective nitazoxanide and reveal a novel mechanism by which thiazolides act against rotaviruses. Nitazoxanide and its active circulating metabolite, tizoxanide, inhibit simian A/SA11-G3P[2] and human Wa-G1P[8] rotavirus replication in different types of cells with 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) ranging from 0.3 to 2 µg/ml and 50% cytotoxic concentrations (CC50s) higher than 50 µg/ml. Thiazolides do not affect virus infectivity, binding, or entry into target cells and do not cause a general inhibition of viral protein expression, whereas they reduce the size and alter the architecture of viroplasms, decreasing rotavirus dsRNA formation. As revealed by protein/protein interaction analysis, confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, and viroplasm-like structure formation analysis, thiazolides act by hindering the interaction between the nonstructural proteins NSP5 and NSP2. Altogether the results indicate that thiazolides inhibit rotavirus replication by interfering with viral morphogenesis and may represent a novel class of antiviral drugs effective against rotavirus gastroenteritis.

Induction of apoptosis in estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cells by natural and synthetic cyclopentenones: role of the IkappaB kinase/nuclear factor-kappaB pathway.

Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), a transcription factor with a critical role in promoting inflammation and cell survival, is constitutively activated in estrogen-receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and is considered a potential therapeutic target for this type of neoplasia. We have previously demonstrated that cyclopentenone prostaglandins are potent inhibitors of NF-kappaB activation by inflammatory cytokines, mitogens, and viral infection, via direct binding and modification of the beta subunit of the IkappaB kinase complex (IKK). Herein, we describe the NF-kappaB-dependent anticancer activity of natural and synthetic cyclopentenone IKK inhibitors. We demonstrate that the natural cyclopentenone 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)) is a potent inhibitor of constitutive IkappaB-kinase and NF-kappaB activities in chemotherapy-resistant ER-negative breast cancer cells. 15d-PGJ(2)-induced inhibition of NF-kappaB function is rapidly followed by down-regulation of NF-kappaB-dependent antiapoptotic proteins cIAPs 1/2, Bcl-X(L), and cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein, leading to caspase activation and induction of apoptosis in breast cancer cells resistant to treatment with paclitaxel and doxorubicin. We then demonstrate that the cyclopentenone ring structure is responsible for these activities, and we identify a new synthetic cyclopentenone derivative, 3-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy-5-(E)-iso-propylmethylenecyclopent-2-enone (CTC-35), as a potent NF-kappaB inhibitor with proapoptotic activity in ER-negative breast cancer cells. The results open new perspectives in the search for novel proapoptotic molecules effective in the treatment of cancers presenting aberrant NF-kappaB regulation.

15-Deoxy-delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2 induces apoptosis in human malignant B cells: an effect associated with inhibition of NF-kappa B activity and down-regulation of antiapoptotic proteins.

Cyclopentenone prostaglandins are potent inhibitors of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B), a transcription factor with a critical role in promoting inflammation and connected with multiple aspects of oncogenesis and cancer cell survival. In the present report, we investigated the role of NF-kappa B in the antineoplastic activity of the cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-PGJ(2) (15d-PGJ(2)) in multiple myeloma (MM) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cells expressing constitutively active NF-kappa B. 15d-PGJ(2) was found to suppress constitutive NF-kappa B activity and potently induce apoptosis in both types of B-cell malignancies. 15d-PGJ(2)-induced apoptosis occurs through multiple caspase activation pathways involving caspase-8 and caspase-9, and is prevented by pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor ZVAD (z-Val-Ala-Asp). NF-kappa B inhibition is accompanied by rapid down-regulation of NF-kappa B-dependent antiapoptotic gene products, including cellular inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein 1 (cIAP-1), cIAP-2, X-chromosome-linked inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein (XIAP), and FLICE-inhibitory protein (cFLIP). These effects were mimicked by the proteasome inhibitor MG-132, but not by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) agonist troglitazone, suggesting that 15d-PGJ(2)-induced apoptosis is independent of PPAR-gamma. Knockdown of the NF-kappa B p65-subunit by lentiviral-mediated shRNA interference also resulted in apoptosis induction in malignant B cells with constitutively active NF-kappa B. The results indicate that inhibition of NF-kappa B plays a major role in the proapoptotic activity of 15d-PGJ(2) in aggressive B-cell malignancies characterized by aberrant regulation of NF-kappa B.