Search Results (23)

Background: The optimal timing of adjuvant chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery in epithelial ovarian cancer remains uncertain, and perioperative wound-healing responses may transiently create a pro-tumorigenic and drug-resistant microenvironment. This study aimed to characterize time-dependent wound-induced transcriptomic alterations and to identify pharmacologic agents capable of reversing these responses. Methods: An ID8 murine ovarian cancer model was used to compare no treatment, anesthesia alone, and anesthesia plus surgical wounding mimicking futile laparotomy. Tumors were collected at baseline, 1 day (T1), 1 week (T2), and 2 weeks (T3) after intervention. RNA sequencing was performed, and wound-specific differentially expressed genes (WsDEGs) were defined by excluding anesthesia- and progression-related signatures. Functional enrichment analyses were conducted, followed by transcriptome-based drug repurposing using the REMEDY platform to identify compounds predicted to reverse wound-induced gene expression profiles. Results: Surgical wounding significantly increased tumor burden at T1. Transcriptomic analyses revealed distinct, time-dependent wound-associated programs. At T1, WsDEGs were enriched in inflammatory signaling, coagulation, angiogenesis, and immune cell migration, with Vorinostat and Homoharringtonine identified as top candidates to counteract these signatures. At T2, pathways related to cell survival, adhesion, and morphogenesis predominated, with LY-2090314, Artesunate, and Birinapant emerging as potential modulators. At T3, cell-cycle regulation and lipid metabolic pathways were dominant, and Fulvestrant, Atorvastatin, Imatinib, and ABT-737 were predicted to inhibit these processes. Conclusions: Perioperative surgical wounding induces dynamic, stage-specific transcriptomic programs that may promote ovarian cancer progression and alter drug responsiveness. These findings support time-adapted perioperative pharmacologic strategies to optimize postoperative cancer therapy. Full article

Background: The FLT3-ITD mutation is associated with a poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), particularly in relapsed or refractory (R/R) cases. Although Gilteritinib has been approved for the treatment of R/R AML with FLT3-ITD mutation, the emergence of resistance in clinical settings remains a major challenge. Homoharringtonine (HHT), a plant-derived alkaloid with antitumor properties, has also been used in AML treatment. However, the combination effects of HHT and gilteritinib have not been investigated. Methods: The cell viability and apoptosis of MV4-11 and MOLM-13 cells in the treatment of HHT, gilteritinib and the combination were assessed by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Combination index (CI) values were calculated using CompuSyn 1.0. Western blotting was used to investigate the molecule mechanisms of HHT and gilteritinib mediated anti-leukemia effects in time- and dose-dependent experiments. To investigate the role of p53 status in drug responses, MV4-11-p53R248W and MV4-11-p53WT subclones were isolated and MV4-11-p53knockout cells was established through CRISPR/Cas9 system. The cell viability and apoptosis of MV4-11 cells with various p53 status were compared. Moreover, RNA-seq analysis was performed in MV4-11 cells treated with or without HHT. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were conducted to verify the mechanism underlying HHT-induced p53 upregulation. Results: HHT and gilteritinib exerted a significant synergistic effect on cell viability and apoptosis in MV4-11 and MOLM-13 cells, which was markedly diminished in the cells with the p53-R248W muta-tion or without p53. Mechanistically, HHT and gilteritinib both suppressed FLT3 signaling. Interestingly, HHT mediated the upregulation of p53 through HSPA8 downregulation, while gilteritinib downregulated the p53 level. The combination enhanced the p53 expression. Conclusions: Our findings elucidate the mechanism underlying this synergistic interaction and underscore the potential of p53 status as a predictive biomarker for identifying patients most likely to benefit from HHT and gilteritinib combination therapy. Full article

Background: Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RPF) remains a major burden of successful lung cancer radiotherapy. Clinically validated drugs targeting RPF remains scarce. Methods: We employed a transcriptome-based drug repurposing approach using REMEDY, a computational platform built on the Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures (LINCS). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) derived from radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) models were used as a query to identify compounds capable of reversing pro-fibrotic expression profile. Among top-ranked candidates, homoharringtonine (HHT), an FDA-approved protein synthesis inhibitor, was selected for experimental validation. Anti-fibrotic effects of HHT were assessed using an optimized in vitro fibrotic model based on activation of MRC-5 human lung fibroblasts. Complementary in silico molecular docking analyses were also conducted to explore the mechanistic basis of HHT’s actions. This represents the first transcriptome-guided, LINCS-based drug repurposing study applied specifically to radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis, utilizing RPF-derived molecular signatures rather than general fibrosis-related datasets. Results: HHT significantly attenuated key fibrotic phenotypes, including fibroblast proliferation, myofibroblast differentiation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) production. Notably, HHT suppressed expression of cyclin D1 and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and reduced collagen deposition. Mechanistic investigations revealed that HHT modulates two pro-fibrotic pathways: RhoA/ROCK and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Molecular docking further suggested that HHT may directly interact with fibrosis-related receptors such as integrins and Frizzled, providing structural insight into its anti-fibrotic potential. These findings underscore the novelty of reassigning HHT to a radiation-specific fibrotic context using a signature-reversal strategy uniquely tailored to RPF biology. Conclusions: Our findings identify HHT as a promising treatment of RPF, offering a dual mechanism of action—interruption of protein synthesis and targeted inhibition of fibrotic signaling pathways. This study highlights the value of computational drug repurposing platforms for accelerating therapeutic discovery. Further preclinical investigations are warranted to evaluate HHT’s in vivo efficacy and clinical applicability in RPF. Full article

Apoptosis induction in tumor cells is a fundamental therapeutic approach in cancer treatment, with growing interest in plant-derived compounds that offer potent efficacy and reduced toxicity. Cephalotaxus harringtonia, traditionally used in East Asian medicine, contains several bioactive constituents, including homoharringtonine (HHT) and quercetin 3-β-D-glucoside (Q3G), which are known for their anticancer properties. This study investigated the anticancer effects of C. harringtonia leaf extract (CHLE) and its two major compounds, quercetin 3-β-D-glucoside (Q3G) and HHT, against human liver cancer cell lines (HepG2). CHLE exhibited selective cytotoxicity and apoptosis specifically in HepG2 cells while showing minimal toxicity toward normal kidney cells (HK-2). Mechanistic analyses revealed that CHLE induced apoptosis through a mitochondria-mediated intrinsic pathway, characterized by increased reactive oxygen species production, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and BAX upregulation. These findings demonstrate that C. harringtonia leaf extract possesses potent, selective anticancer activity and may serve as a promising natural candidate for the prevention and therapeutic management of liver cancer. Full article

Rabies, a viral encephalitis caused by rabies virus (RABV), is 100% fatal upon the onset of symptoms. Effective post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) measures are available, but they are often difficult to access in low-income countries. WHO estimates about 59,000 deaths due to rabies globally, and the majority are contributed by developing countries. Hence, developing drugs for the treatment of post-symptomatic rabies is an urgent and unmet demand. It is worth noting that previous efforts regarding antiviral strategies, such as small-interfering RNA, antibodies and small-molecule inhibitors, against the rabies virus have failed to show efficacy in pre-clinical studies, especially when the virus has reached the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, drug repurposing seems to be an alternative tool for the development of new anti-rabies drugs. We validated and used a high-throughput, FITC-conjugated antibody-based flow cytometry assay to expedite the identification of repurposable new drug candidates against the RABV. The assay was validated using ribavirin and salinomycin as reference compounds, which showed EC50 values of 10.08 µM and 0.07 µM, respectively. We screened a SelleckChem library comprising 3035 FDA-approved compounds against RABV (CVS-11) at 10 µM concentration. Five compounds (clofazimine, tiamulin, difloxacin, harringtonine and homoharringtonine) were active against RABV, with greater than 90% inhibition. Homoharringtonine (HHT) identified in the present study is active against laboratory-adapted RABV (CVS-11) and clinical isolates of RABV, with an average EC50 of 0.3 µM in both BHK-21 and Neuro-2a cell lines and exhibits post-entry inhibition. Full article

Cephalotaxus harringtonia has garnered recent attention for its promising medicinal properties attributed to its alkaloid composition, including harringtonine and homoharringtonine known for their radical scavenging activities. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to assess the distribution of harringtonine, homoharringtonine, and ginkgetin in different plant parts of C. harringtonia. Additionally, DPPH and ABTS⁺ assays were conducted to evaluate the radical scavenging activity of C. harringtonia extracts. These results revealed that bud extracts from C. harringtonia exhibited the highest levels of polyphenols, along with elevated concentrations of harringtonine and homoharringtonine; nevertheless, this phenomenon only marginally influenced their antioxidant potential. These results suggest that, although a high concentration of compounds was detected in the buds of C. harringtonia, the detected compounds and their correlationwith radical scavenging activity appears to be weak. While harringtonine and homoharringtonine are synthesized and maintained at elevated levels within buds to fulfill various physiological functions, including modulation of signal transduction pathways and reinforcement of defense mechanisms, the involvement of other constituents and the potential synergistic interactions among compounds cannot be overlooked in mediating the observed radical scavenging activity. Moreover, the significant concentrations of harringtonine and homoharringtonine in bud extracts highlight the potential applications of C. harringtonia in the pharmaceutical industry and other similar fields. This study emphasizes the imperativeness of further exploring the medicinal applications of C. harringtonia and underscores its prospective implications in pharmaceutical and functional materials development. Full article

Cancer is a disorder that rigorously affects the human population worldwide. There is a steady demand for new remedies to both treat and prevent this life-threatening sickness due to toxicities, drug resistance and therapeutic failures in current conventional therapies. Researchers around the world are drawing their attention towards compounds of natural origin. For decades, human beings have been using the flora of the world as a source of cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Currently, clinically approved anticancer compounds are vincristine, vinblastine, taxanes, and podophyllotoxin, all of which come from natural sources. With the triumph of these compounds that have been developed into staple drug products for most cancer therapies, new technologies are now appearing to search for novel biomolecules with anticancer activities. Ellipticine, camptothecin, combretastatin, curcumin, homoharringtonine and others are plant derived bioactive phytocompounds with potential anticancer properties. Researchers have improved the field further through the use of advanced analytical chemistry and computational tools of analysis. The investigation of new strategies for administration such as nanotechnology may enable the development of the phytocompounds as drug products. These technologies have enhanced the anticancer potential of plant-derived drugs with the aim of site-directed drug delivery, enhanced bioavailability, and reduced toxicity. This review discusses mechanistic insights into anticancer compounds of natural origins and their structural activity relationships that make them targets for anticancer treatments. Full article

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is the intraperitoneal accumulation of mucus due to a mucinous tumor. PMP predominantly occurs in low-grade carcinomas. The incidence rate of PMP is one to two cases per million people per year. The standard therapy of PMP comprises complete cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. PMP recurs in about 50% of patients, and 30–40% are unable to receive the standard treatment because of its invasiveness. Therefore, novel therapies are of the utmost necessity. For basic and pre-clinical research, patient-derived cell lines are essential resources. However, only two PMP cell lines have been reported. Thus, we established a novel PMP cell line from resected metastatic PMP tissue. The cell line, named NCC-PMP1-C1, was maintained for more than 5 months and was passaged 25 times. NCC-PMP1-C1 cells demonstrated multiple amplifications and deletions, slow growth, tumorigenic ability, and dissemination of tumor cells in nude mice. We also used NCC-PMP1-C1 cells to screen drugs, which demonstrated a significant response to daunorubicin HCl, homoharringtonine, mitomycin C, and ponatinib. The NCC-PMP1-C1 cell line is the first PMP cell line derived from metastasized tissue and will be a potential resource for basic and pre-clinical research of metastasized PMP. Full article

Lung cancer has the highest rate of incidence and mortality among all cancers. Most chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat lung cancer cause serious side effects and are susceptible to drug resistance. Therefore, exploring novel therapeutic targets for lung cancer is important. In this study, we evaluated the potential of TMEM16A as a drug target for lung cancer. Homoharringtonine (HHT) was identified as a novel natural product inhibitor of TMEM16A. Patch-clamp experiments showed that HHT inhibited TMEM16A activity in a concentration-dependent manner. HHT significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells with high TMEM16A expression but did not affect the growth of normal lung cells in the absence of TMEM16A expression. In vivo experiments showed that HHT inhibited the growth of lung tumors in mice and did not reduce their body weight. Finally, the molecular mechanism through which HHT inhibits lung cancer was explored by western blotting. The findings showed that HHT has the potential to regulate TMEM16A activity both in vitro and in vivo and could be a new lead compound for the development of anti-lung-cancer drugs. Full article

Combination therapies have become a standard for the treatment for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. They are advantageous over monotherapies due to better efficacy, reduced toxicity, as well as the ability to prevent the development of resistant viral strains and to treat viral co-infections. Here, we identify new synergistic combinations against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), echovirus 1 (EV1), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) in vitro. We observed synergistic activity of nelfinavir with convalescent serum and with purified neutralizing antibody 23G7 against SARS-CoV-2 in human lung epithelial Calu-3 cells. We also demonstrated synergistic activity of nelfinavir with EIDD-2801 or remdesivir in Calu-3 cells. In addition, we showed synergistic activity of vemurafenib with emetine, homoharringtonine, anisomycin, or cycloheximide against EV1 infection in human lung epithelial A549 cells. We also found that combinations of sofosbuvir with brequinar or niclosamide are synergistic against HCV infection in hepatocyte-derived Huh-7.5 cells, and that combinations of monensin with lamivudine or tenofovir are synergistic against HIV-1 infection in human cervical TZM-bl cells. These results indicate that synergy is achieved when a virus-directed antiviral is combined with another virus- or host-directed agent. Finally, we present an online resource that summarizes novel and known antiviral drug combinations and their developmental status. Full article

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To date, there have been more than 10 million reported cases, more than 517,000 deaths in 215 countries, areas or territories. There is no effective antiviral medicine to prevent or treat COVID-19. Natural products and traditional medicine products with known safety profiles are a promising source for the discovery of new drug leads. There is increasing number of publications reporting the effect of natural products and traditional medicine products on COVID-19. In our review, we provide an overview of natural products and their derivatives or mimics, as well as traditional medicine products, which were reported to exhibit potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro, and to manage COVID-19 in vivo, or in clinical reports or trials. These natural products and traditional medicine products are categorized in several classes: (1) anti-malaria drugs including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, (2) antivirals including nucleoside analogs (remdesivir, favipiravir, β-D-N4-hydroxycytidine, ribavirin and among others), lopinavir/ritonavir and arbidol, (3) antibiotics including azithromycin, ivermectin and teicoplanin, (4) anti-protozoal drug, emetine, anti-cancer drug, homoharringtonine, and others, as well as (5) traditional medicine (Lian Hua Qing Wen Capsule, Shuang Huang Lian Oral Liquid, Qingfei Paidu Decoction and Scutellariae Radix). Randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled large clinical trials are needed to provide solid evidence for the potential effective treatment. Currently, drug repurposing is a promising strategy to quickly find an effective treatment for COVID-19. In addition, carefully combined cocktails need to be examined for preventing a COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global health concerns. Full article

As of June 2020, the number of people infected with severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to skyrocket, with more than 6.7 million cases worldwide. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) has highlighted the need for better control of SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, developing novel virus-specific vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2 can be time-consuming and costly. Convalescent sera and safe-in-man broad-spectrum antivirals (BSAAs) are readily available treatment options. Here, we developed a neutralization assay using SARS-CoV-2 strain and Vero-E6 cells. We identified the most potent sera from recovered patients for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. We also screened 136 safe-in-man broad-spectrum antivirals against the SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero-E6 cells and identified nelfinavir, salinomycin, amodiaquine, obatoclax, emetine and homoharringtonine. We found that a combination of orally available virus-directed nelfinavir and host-directed amodiaquine exhibited the highest synergy. Finally, we developed a website to disseminate the knowledge on available and emerging treatments of COVID-19. Full article

The human 80S ribosome is the cellular nucleoprotein nanomachine in charge of protein synthesis that is profoundly affected during cancer transformation by oncogenic proteins and provides cancerous proliferating cells with proteins and therefore biomass. Indeed, cancer is associated with an increase in ribosome biogenesis and mutations in several ribosomal proteins genes are found in ribosomopathies, which are congenital diseases that display an elevated risk of cancer. Ribosomes and their biogenesis therefore represent attractive anti-cancer targets and several strategies are being developed to identify efficient and specific drugs. Homoharringtonine (HHT) is the only direct ribosome inhibitor currently used in clinics for cancer treatments, although many classical chemotherapeutic drugs also appear to impact on protein synthesis. Here we review the role of the human ribosome as a medical target in cancer, and how functional and structural analysis combined with chemical synthesis of new inhibitors can synergize. The possible existence of oncoribosomes is also discussed. The emerging idea is that targeting the human ribosome could not only allow the interference with cancer cell addiction towards protein synthesis and possibly induce their death but may also be highly valuable to decrease the levels of oncogenic proteins that display a high turnover rate (MYC, MCL1). Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is an advanced method that allows the visualization of human ribosome complexes with factors and bound inhibitors to improve our understanding of their functioning mechanisms mode. Cryo-EM structures could greatly assist the foundation phase of a novel drug-design strategy. One goal would be to identify new specific and active molecules targeting the ribosome in cancer such as derivatives of cycloheximide, a well-known ribosome inhibitor. Full article

Viruses are the major causes of acute and chronic infectious diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization, there is an urgent need for better control of viral diseases. Repurposing existing antiviral agents from one viral disease to another could play a pivotal role in this process. Here, we identified novel activities of obatoclax and emetine against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), echovirus 1 (EV1), human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in cell cultures. Moreover, we demonstrated novel activities of emetine against influenza A virus (FLUAV), niclosamide against HSV-2, brequinar against human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), and homoharringtonine against EV1. Our findings may expand the spectrum of indications of these safe-in-man agents and reinforce the arsenal of available antiviral therapeutics pending the results of further in vitro and in vivo tests. Full article

The increasing prevalence of drug resistant and/or high-risk cancers indicate further drug discovery research is required to improve patient outcome. This study outlines a simplified approach to identify lead compounds from natural products against several cancer cell lines, and provides the basis to better understand structure activity relationship of the natural product cephalotaxine. Using high-throughput screening, a natural product library containing fractions and pure compounds was interrogated for proliferation inhibition in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cellular models (SUP-B15 and KOPN-8). Initial hits were verified in control and counter screens, and those with EC₅₀ values ranging from nanomolar to low micromolar were further characterized via mass spectrometry, NMR, and cytotoxicity measurements. Most of the active compounds were alkaloid natural products including cephalotaxine and homoharringtonine, which were validated as protein synthesis inhibitors with significant potency against several cancer cell lines. A generated BODIPY-cephalotaxine probe provides insight into the mode of action of cephalotaxine and further rationale for its weaker potency when compared to homoharringtonine. The steroidal natural products (ecdysone and muristerone A) also showed modest biological activity and protein synthesis inhibition. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that natural products continue to provide insight into structure and function of molecules with therapeutic potential against drug resistant cancer cell models. Full article