KiSS-1 Modulation by Epigenetic Agents Improves the Cisplatin Sensitivity of Lung Cancer Cells.

Epigenetic alterations my play a role in the aggressive behavior of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA, vorinostat) has been reported to interfere with the proliferative and invasive potential of NSCLC cells. In addition, the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor azacytidine (AZA, vidaza) can modulate the levels of the metastasis suppressor KiSS-1.

Synthesis of -oxyamide analogues of protein kinase B (Akt) targeting anionic glycoglycerolipids and their antiproliferative activity on human ovarian carcinoma cells.

-Oxyamides of bioactive anionic glycoglycerolipids based on 2--β-D-glucosylglycerol were efficiently prepared. However, the oxidation step of the primary hydroxyl group of the glucose moiety in the presence of the -oxyamide function appeared to be a difficult task that was nevertheless conveniently achieved for the first time by employing a chemoenzymatic laccase/TEMPO procedure. The obtained -oxyamides exhibited a higher inhibition of proliferation of ovarian carcinoma IGROV-1 cells in serum-free medium than in complete medium, similarly to the corresponding bioactive esters.

The deubiquitinase USP8 regulates ovarian cancer cell response to cisplatin by suppressing apoptosis.

The identification of therapeutic approaches to improve response to platinum-based therapies is an urgent need for ovarian carcinoma. Deubiquitinases are a large family of ubiquitin proteases implicated in a variety of cellular functions and may contribute to tumor aggressive features through regulation of processes such as proliferation and cell death. Among the subfamily of ubiquitin-specific peptidases, USP8 appears to be involved in modulation of cancer cell survival by still poorly understood mechanisms.

Increased serum levels of KiSS1-derived peptides in non-small cell lung cancer patient liquid biopsies and biological relevance.

Background: The secreted products of the metastasis suppressor gene may represent useful biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but their levels in patients have remained poorly investigated. We previously found that forced expression of decreased the invasive capability of NSCLC drug-resistant cells and a pro-apoptotic role for KiSS1 has been proposed in head and neck cancer. Thus, we designed a translational investigation including a pilot study to analyze KiSS1 levels in liquid biopsies, and experiments to explore the biological relevance of KiSS1 modulation.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester targets ubiquitin-specific protease 8 and synergizes with cisplatin in endometrioid ovarian carcinoma cells.

Deubiquitinases (DUBs) mediate the removal of ubiquitin from diverse proteins that participate in the regulation of cell survival, DNA damage repair, apoptosis and drug resistance. Previous studies have shown an association between activation of cell survival pathways and platinum-drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma cell lines. Among the strategies available to inhibit DUBs, curcumin derivatives appear promising, thus we hypothesized their use to enhance the efficacy of cisplatin in ovarian carcinoma preclinical models.