No abstract

Background and purpose: Growing evidence implicates NF-kB as an important contributor to metastasis and increased chemoresistance of melanoma. Here, we report the effects of parthenolide on either untreated, cisplatin-or TNFa-treated melanoma cell lines A375, 1205Lu and WM793, exhibiting different levels of constitutive NF-kB activity. Experimental approach: Electrophoretic mobility shift assay was used to assess changes in NF-kB activity, and real-time PCR to evaluate expression of NF-kB-regulated genes. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. Cell death was also visualized by fluorescence microscopy. Migration was determined by scratch assay and invasiveness by Matrigel assay. Key results: Parthenolide suppressed both constitutive and induced NF-kB activity in melanoma cells. This was accompanied by down-regulation of cancer-related genes, with NF-kB-binding sites in their promoters, including: Bcl-XL, survivin, cyclin D1, interleukin 8 and matrix metalloproteinase 9. When the various effects of 6 mM parthenolide were compared, apoptosis associated with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential was most efficiently induced in 1205Lu cells, cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase was observed in WM793 cells, and high metastatic potential was markedly reduced in A375 cells. These findings not only reflected differences between melanoma cell lines in basal expression of NF-kB-regulated genes, but also suggested other parthenolide targets involved in cell cycle progression, migration, invasiveness and survival. Conclusions: Inhibition of constitutive and therapeutically induced NF-kB pathway by parthenolide might be useful in the treatment of melanoma, although the diversity of changes induced in melanoma cells with different genetic backgrounds indicate context-dependent poly-pharmacological properties of this compound.

The synthesis of new bischromone derivatives (4a-c and 5a-c) as potential anticancer drugs is described. The difference in the reactivity between 4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carboxylic acid 2 (or its methyl ester 3) and 4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbonyl chloride 1 with three different polyamines: 3,3'-diamino-N-methyldipropylamine (a), 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine (b), 4,9-dioxa-1,12-dodecanediamine (c) resulted in the formation of two different groups of products, compounds 4a-c and 5a-c, designed in agreement with the bisintercalators' structural requirements. The transformation of 4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carboxylic acid into 2H-chromene-2,4(3H)-diones (5) was confirmed by the NMR and XRD experiments. Compounds 4a and 5a were evaluated in vitro in the highly aggressive melanoma cell line A375. An enhanced induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest clearly revealed that compound 5a was more potent than 4a. Compound 5a was also more active in diminishing the adhesive potential of melanoma cells. Current studies support the notion that small changes in the three-dimensional structure of molecules might have a substantial impact on their biological activity.

Clofarabine (2-chloro-2′-fluoro-2′-deoxyarabinosyladenine, CIF), a second-generation 2′-deoxyadenosine analog, possesses a variety of anti-cancer activities, including the capacity to modulate DNA methylation marks. Bioactive nutrients, including resveratrol (RSV) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) have been indicated to regulate epigenetic machinery in malignant cells. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate whether the tested phytochemicals, RSV or ATRA, can improve the therapeutic epigenetic effects of CIF in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells. The present study investigates, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time, the influence of CIF in combination with RSV or ATRA on the expression of relevant modifiers of DNA methylation machinery, including DNA Methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and Cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A) in CML cells. Subsequently, the combinatorial effects on promoter methylation and transcript levels of methylation-silenced tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), including phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) and retinoic acid receptor beta (RARB), were estimated using MSRA and qPCR, respectively. The tested TSGs were chosen according to bioinformatical analysis of publicly available clinical data of human DNA methylation and gene expression arrays in leukemia patients. The K562 cell line was used as an experimental CML in vitro model. Following a period of 72 h exposure of K562 cells, the tested combinations led to significant cell growth inhibition and induction of caspase-3-dependent apoptosis. These observations were accompanied by DNMT1 downregulation and CDKN1A upregulation, with a concomitant enhanced decrease in DNMT1 protein level, especially after ATRA treatment with CIF. Concurrent methylation-mediated RARB and PTEN reactivation was detected. The results of the current study demonstrated that CIF that was used in combination with the tested phytochemicals, RSV or ATRA, exhibited a greater ability to remodel DNA methylation marks and promote cell death in CML cells. These results may support the application of CIF combinations with natural bioactive agents in anti-leukemic epigenetic therapy.