PurposeStudies show that high expression of non-SMC condensin I complex subunit G (NCAPG) is associated with many tumors. In this study, we explore the mechanism by which NCAPG promotes proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Patients and methodsLiver cancer and paracancerous tissue specimens of 90 HCC patients were collected, and expression levels of NCAPG in these tissues and cell lines were evaluated by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. HCC cells were transfected with siRNAs and plasmids, and pathway activators or inhibitors were added. The 5-ethynyl-2ʹ-deoxyuridine (EdU) proliferation assay was used to measure cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate cell apoptosis. Western blot assays were performed as a standard procedure to detect total protein expression. Treated HCC cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice.ResultsAnalysis using the Oncomine database showed that NCAPG was upregulated in HCC and immunohistochemistry and Western blot assays showed it was upregulated in both HCC tissues and HCC cell lines. The overexpression of NCAPG could promote HCC cell proliferation and reduce HCC cell apoptosis. More importantly, RNA-sequencing analysis predicted that NCAPG plays a role in the HCC via PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. The PI3K/AKT/FOXO4 pathway was aberrantly activated, and the expressions of apoptosis-related protein were altered when NCAPG was overexpressed or silenced both in vitro and in vivo. LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, could eliminate the NCAPG role of promoting HCC cell proliferation and reducing HCC cell apoptosis, while 740Y-P, a PI3K activator, contributed to the opposite effect.ConclusionNCAPG functions as an oncogene in HCC and plays a role in promoting cell proliferation and antiapoptosis through activating the PI3K/AKT/FOXO4 pathway.

Structure-activity relationship studies of substituted arylsulfoanilides as antiproliferatives, which are mediated by the partial depletion of intracellular Ca(2+) stores, resulted in the identification of compounds with micromolar activity against lung cancer cells in a growth inhibition assay. Incorporating the substitution pattern of the best arylsulfoanilides onto the 3-phenyloxindole scaffold resulted in a potent arylsulfoanilide-oxindole hybrid, 27. Compound 27 inhibits cancer cell growth by partial depletion of intracellular Ca(2+) stores and phosphorylation of eIF2alpha.

A series of substituted 3,3-diphenyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-ones was synthesized from the corresponding isatins. The compounds were studied for cell growth inhibition mediated by partial depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores that leads to phosphorylation of eIF2alpha. The diphenyloxindole (1) showed mechanism-specific antiproliferative activity that was comparable to known translation initiation inhibitors such as clotrimazole or troglitazone. SAR studies identified m'-tert-butyl and o-hydroxy substituted diphenyloxindole (25) as a lead compound for Ca2+-depletion-mediated inhibition of translation initiation.

The modeling, synthesis, and characterization of oligomers containing 2-aminoquinazolin-5-yl 2'-deoxynucleotide residues are reported. The 2-aminoquinazoline residues sequence specifically bind via Hoogsteen base pairing as a third strand in the center of the major groove at T:A base pair Watson-Crick duplex sequences. Evidence for the formation of a sequence specific three-stranded structure is based on thermal denaturation UV-vis and fluorescence studies. The novel 2-aminoquinazoline C-nucleotide is a component of a system designed to overcome the homopurine requirement for triple helix structures.

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