An abnormality in hedgehog (Hh) signaling has been implicated in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa) to a more aggressive and therapy-resistant disease. Our assessments of human PCa tissues have shown an overexpression of the Hh pathway molecules, glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI-1), and sonic hedgehog (SHH). The effect of the natural compound thymoquinone (TQ) in controlling the expression of Hh signaling molecules in PCa was investigated in this study. We generated planetary ball-milled nanoparticles (PBM-NPs) made with a natural polysaccharide, containing TQ, and coated with an RNA aptamer, A10, which binds to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). We prepared docetaxel-resistant C4-2B-R and LNCaP-R cells with a high expression of Hh, showing the integration of drug resistance and Hh signaling. Compared to free TQ, A10-TQ-PBM-NPs were more effective in controlling the Hh pathway. Our findings reveal an effective treatment strategy to inhibit the Hh signaling pathway, thereby suppressing PCa progression.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells9091976 | DOI Listing |
Mol Med
January 2025
Department of Urology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510920, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is a highly common type of malignancy and affects millions of men in the world since it is easy to recur or emerge therapy resistance. Therefore, it is urgent to find novel treatments for PCa patients. In the current study, we found that tegaserod maleate (TM), an FDA-approved agent, inhibited proliferation, colony formation, migration as well as invasion, caused the arrest of the cell cycle, and promoted apoptosis of PCa cells in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biol Chem
January 2025
Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India, 741235. Electronic address:
Aberrant activation of the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway positively correlates with progression, invasion and metastasis of several cancers, including breast cancer. Although numerous inhibitors of the Hh signaling pathway are available, several oncogenic mutations of key components of the pathway, including Smoothened (Smo), have limited their capability to be developed as putative anti-cancer drugs. In this study, we have modulated the Hh signaling pathway in breast cancer using a specific FDA-approved phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor rolipram.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTheriogenology
January 2025
Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:
Follicular fluid-derived meiosis-activating sterol (FF-MAS), an intermediate in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, plays a crucial role in the meiotic resumption of mammalian oocytes. Maintaining a high concentration of FF-MAS in vitro is challenging; therefore, AY9944 A-7, an inhibitor of Δ14-reductase [which converts FF-MAS to testis meiosis-activating sterol (T-MAS)] and Δ7-reductase (which converts T-MAS to cholesterol), has been used to enhance oocyte maturation. This study examined the effects of various concentrations (0, 10, 20, and 40 μM) of AY9944 A-7 on porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurns Trauma
January 2025
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China.
Background: Non-thyroidal illness syndrome is commonly observed in critically ill patients, characterized by the inactivation of systemic thyroid hormones (TH), which aggravates metabolic dysfunction. Recent evidence indicates that enhanced TH inactivation is mediated by the reactivation of type 3 deiodinase (Dio3) at the tissue level, culminating in a perturbed local metabolic equilibrium. This study assessed whether targeted inhibition of Dio3 can maintain tissue metabolic homeostasis under septic conditions and explored the mechanism behind Dio3 reactivation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2025
Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, United Kingdom.
Mutations in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) and PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) are associated with familial Parkinson's disease (PD). LRRK2 phosphorylates Rab guanosine triphosphatase (GTPases) within the Switch II domain while PINK1 directly phosphorylates Parkin and ubiquitin (Ub) and indirectly induces phosphorylation of a subset of Rab GTPases. Herein we have crossed LRRK2 [R1441C] mutant knock-in mice with PINK1 knock-out (KO) mice and report that loss of PINK1 does not impact endogenous LRRK2-mediated Rab phosphorylation nor do we see significant effect of mutant LRRK2 on PINK1-mediated Rab and Ub phosphorylation.
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