Sheng Li^*1, Guoren Zhou^*1, Wei Liu^†, Jinjun Ye^†, Fangliang Yuan^‡, Zhi Zhang^‡

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.7-8, pp. 685-700, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504020X15917007265498

Abstract Curcumol (Cur), isolated from the Traditional Chinese Medical plant Rhizoma Curcumae, is the bioactive component of sesquiterpene reported to possess antitumor activity. However, its bioactivity and mechanisms against lung adenocarcinoma are still unclear. We investigated its effect on lung adenocarcinoma and elucidated its underlying molecular mechanisms. In vitro, Cur effectively suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells A549 and H460, which were associated with the altered expressions of signaling molecules, including p-AKT, p-PI3K, p-LRP5/6, AXIN, APC, GSK3 and p- -catenin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9. Furthermore, Cur significantly induced cell apoptosis of A549 and H460 by promoting the… More >

Xiangbin Tan^*1, Zefei Liao^†1, Shuangyou Zou^*, Liangyun Ma^†, Aimin Wang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.1, pp. 3-11, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504019X15509383469698

Abstract Vasohibin2 (VASH2), a proangiogenic factor, has been demonstrated to play an oncogenic role in some common human cancers. However, the detailed function of VASH2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not previously been studied. In this study, we found that VASH2 was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and its increased expression was associated with NSCLC progression and poor prognosis of patients. Knockdown of VASH2 markedly inhibited cell proliferation and P-glycoprotein expression in NSCLC cells. Overexpression of VASH2 enhanced cell proliferation, P-glycoprotein expression, as well as doxorubicin resistance in NSCLC cells. Moreover, the expression levels of VASH2… More >

PENG YANG^1,*, ZHIYING ZOU¹, XULING GAO²

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.1, pp. 207-218, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014728

Abstract Recent studies have shown that the microtubule disrupting protein Stathmin 1 (STMN1) is differentially expressed in AML patients and healthy control. The aim of this study was to explore the effects and molecular mechanism of STMN1 in AML. Here, the expression of STMN1 in peripheral blood cells (PBMCs) and bone marrow of AML patients and healthy volunteers was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. STMN1 expression was regulated by transfected with STMN1 overexpressed plasmid or shRNA in two human leukemia cell lines K562 and HL60. Cell proliferation was examined by CCK8 and Edu staining. Annexin V and TUNEL assays were… More >

GASTÓN AMABLE^#, EDUARDO MARTÍNEZ-LEÓN^#, MARÍA E. PICCO, OSVALDO REY

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.1, pp. 51-59, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017565

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the main causes of cancer-related mortality in the developed world despite recent developments in detection and treatment. Several epidemiological studies indicate that metformin, a widely prescribed antidiabetic drug, exerts a protective effect on different cancers including CRC. Furthermore, a recent double-blind placebo-controlled, randomized trial showed that metformin significantly decreased colorectal adenoma recurrence. Studies exploring the mechanism of action of metformin in cells derived from different types of cancers reported many effects including respiratory chain complex 1 inhibition, Akt phosphorylation inhibition, ATP depletion, PKA activation and Wnt signaling inhibition. However, many of these results were… More >

RONGXUE WEI¹, CHUNCHUN HAN^1,*, FENGJIANG YE¹, SHOUHAI WEI², FANG HE¹, HEHE LIU¹, LIANG LI¹, HONGYONG XU¹, SHENQIANG HU¹, XIANYIN ZENG²

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.1, pp. 171-183, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.015409

Abstract In order to explore the role of forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) in the lipid metabolism and cell proliferation, goose primary hepatocytes were isolated and incubated with insulin or PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway dual inhibitor NVP-BEZ235, and then transfected with FoxO1 interference plasmid. The related parameters of lipid metabolism and cell proliferation were measured. The results firstly showed that FoxO1 interference increased the intracellular TG and lipids concentration (P < 0.05); and increased the proliferative index (PI), cell DNA synthesis, protein expression of Cyclin D1 in goose primary hepatocytes (P < 0.05). Secondly, the co-treatment of insulin and FoxO1 interference increased the… More >

DAN ZHANG¹, HAIJING LIU¹, ZHENNAN YI², YUANYUAN LU³, YANYAN CHEN⁴, WEIQIANG SU², HUIBING LIN², ZHIHUI ZHANG^5,*, WEI LEI^6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.3, pp. 617-625, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.012504

Abstract Chemotherapy drug resistance is the main cause leading to the relapse and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism of pemetrexed resistance in NSCLC. Firstly, the pemetrexed (PEM)-resistant PC-9 and A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (PC-9/PEM and A549/PEM) were established. The expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) in PC-9/PEM, A549/PEM, A549, and PC-9 cells were analyzed by qRT-PCR and western blot. Then, cell viability, colony formation, migration, and invasion were performed on PEM-resistant cells transfected with TS siRNA. The role of EGFR in PEM resistance of PEM-resistant cells was investigated using EGFR siRNA.… More >

ATTALLA EL-KOTT^1,2, EMAN ELBEALY³, FAHMY ELSAID^1,4, HAITHAM EL-MEKKAWY¹, ABD-EL-KARIM ABD-LATEIF⁵, ABDULALI TAWEEL⁶, HEBA KHALIFA², AHMAD KANDEEL⁵, KAREEM MORSY^1,7, ESSAM IBRAHIM^1,8,9, MASHAEL MOHAMMED BIN-MEFERIJ^10,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.1, pp. 89-101, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.012516

Abstract This study investigates if the anti-tumor effect of Pterostilbene in the SKOV3 ovarian cancer (OC) cell line involves inhibition of cell metabolism and tested in this effect involves modulating AMPK and Akt-induced regulation of mTORC1. Initially, SKOV3 cells were cultured in the humidified conditions in DMEM media for 24 h with or without increasing concentration of Pterostilbene. Then, the cells were incubated with Pterostilbene (IC₅₀ = 50 µM) under similar conditions with or without pre-incubation with Dorsomorphin, an AMPK inhibitor. In a dose-dependent manner, Pterostilbene inhibited SKOV3 cell survival and increased their lysate levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and single-stranded… More >

XUHE GONG¹, GUANGPU FAN², HUI LIU¹, SIJIA WANG³, RONGCHONG HUANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.3, pp. 329-336, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.09639

Abstract This work aimed to study the beneficial role of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cellconditioned medium (MSC-CM) in hypoxia-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts, in which the serine/heroine kinases (Akt) pathway would be involved. For this, CM was collected by culturing MSCs in serum-free DMEM medium for 24 h, and paracrine factors were analyzed by protein chip. H9c2 cells were divided into the following groups: control group, hypoxia group, MSC-CM intervention group (CM group), MSC-CM + Akt phosphorylation inhibitor (LY294002) group (LY group). Apoptosis of the H9c2 cells was tested with chromatin dye Hoechst 33342 and FITC-conjugated Annexin V apoptosis… More >

MI HEON RYU^1,a, JEONG HEE PARK^1,a, JI EUN PARK¹, JIN CHUNG², CHANG HUN LEE³AND HAE RYOUN PARK^1*

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 15-22, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.015

Abstract Tumor cells are often found under hypoxic conditions due to the rapid outgrowth of their vascular supply, and, in order to survive hypoxia, these cells induce numerous signaling factors. Akt is an important kinase in cell survival, and its activity is regulated by the upstream phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In this study, we examined Akt activation and RTKs/PI3K/Akt signaling using the hypoxia-mimetic cobalt chloride in oral squamous carcinoma cells. Cobalt chloride increases Akt phosphorylation in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. Blocking the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway using LY294002 abolished Akt activation in response to… More >

Xiaoning Qin¹, Liqing Yuan², Hongxun Ruan¹, Lin Lin¹

BIOCELL, Vol.43, No.2, pp. 89-98, 2019, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2019.06352

Abstract Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is a member of IL-10 cytokine family which is expressed in activated T cells predominantly and in activated natural killer cells at lower levels. Previous studies have demonstrated the link between elevated levels of IL-22 and disease severity of psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung diseases. However, the function of IL-22 in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains elusive. In this study, we first evaluated the IL-22/IL-22R1 level in CRC patients, and found that tumor tissues have more active expression of IL-22 and IL-22R1 than normal tissues, presenting correlation with the degree of… More >