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      Anticancer and Differentiation Properties of the Nitric Oxide Derivative of Lopinavir in Human Glioblastoma Cells

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          Abstract

          Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most frequent and deadly form of primary malignant brain tumor among adults. A promising emerging approach for GBM treatment may be offered from HIV protease inhibitors (HIV-PIs). In fact, in addition to their primary pharmacological activity in the treatment of HIV infection, they possess important anti-neoplastic effects. According to previous studies, the addition of a nitric oxide (NO) donating group to parental compounds can reduce their toxicity and enhance the anticancer action of various compounds, including HIV-PIs. In this study we compared the effects of the HIV-PI Lopinavir (Lopi) and of its NO-derivative Lopinavir-NO (Lopi-NO) on the in vitro growth of LN-229 and U-251 human GBM cell lines. Lopi-NO reduced the viability of LN-229 and U-251 cells at significantly lower concentrations than the parental drug. In particular, Lopi-NO inhibited tumor cell proliferation and induced the differentiation of U-251 cells toward an astrocyte-like phenotype without triggering significant cell death in both cell types. The anticancer effect of Lopi-NO was persistent even upon drug removal. Furthermore, Lopi-NO induced strong autophagy that did not appear to be related to its chemotherapeutic action. Overall, our results suggest that Lopi-NO could be a potential effective anticancer drug for GBM treatment.

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          Inhibition of autophagy increases susceptibility of glioblastoma stem cells to temozolomide by igniting ferroptosis

          The role of autophagy in cancer onset and progression appears still controversial. On one hand, autophagy allows cancer cell to survive in unfavorable environmental conditions, on the other hand, once internal energy resources are exhausted, it leads to cell death. In addition, autophagy interpheres with cell cycle progression, de facto exerting a cytostatic activity. Hence, it represents an important target for anticancer therapy. For example, temozolomide (TMZ), of use for glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, appears as capable of inducing autophagy partially inhibiting cancer cell proliferation. However, GBM, a very aggressive brain tumor with poor prognosis even after surgery and radio-chemotherapy, invariably recurs and leads to patient death. Since cancer stem cells have been hypothesized to play a role in refractory/relapsing cancers, in the present work we investigated if autophagy could represent a constitutive cytoprotection mechanism for glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) and if the modulation of autophagic process could affect GBM growth and survival. Thus, in the present study we first evaluated the relevance of autophagy in GBM tumor specimens, then its occurrence in GSCs and, finally, if modulation of autophagy could influence GSC response to TMZ. Our results suggested that, in vitro, the impairing autophagic process with quinacrine, a compound able to cross the blood-brain barrier, increased GSC susceptibility to TMZ. Death of GSCs was apparently due to the iron dependent form of programmed cell death characterized by the accumulation of lipid peroxides called ferroptosis. These results underscore the relevance of the modulation of autophagy in the GSC survival and death and suggest that triggering of ferroptosis in GSCs could represent a novel and important target for the management of glioblastoma.
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            Chimeric antigen receptor T cells: a novel therapy for solid tumors

            The chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy is a newly developed adoptive antitumor treatment. Theoretically, CAR-T cells can specifically localize and eliminate tumor cells by interacting with the tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) expressing on tumor cell surface. Current studies demonstrated that various TAAs could act as target antigens for CAR-T cells, for instance, the type III variant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRvIII) was considered as an ideal target for its aberrant expression on the cell surface of several tumor types. CAR-T cell therapy has achieved gratifying breakthrough in hematological malignancies and promising outcome in solid tumor as showed in various clinical trials. The third generation of CAR-T demonstrates increased antitumor cytotoxicity and persistence through modification of CAR structure. In this review, we summarized the preclinical and clinical progress of CAR-T cells targeting EGFR, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and mesothelin (MSLN), as well as the challenges for CAR-T cell therapy.
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              Glioblastoma.

              Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Defining histopathologic features are necrosis and endothelial proliferation, resulting in the assignment of grade IV, the highest grade in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of brain tumors. The classic clinical term "secondary glioblastoma" refers to a minority of glioblastomas that evolve from previously diagnosed WHO grade II or grade III gliomas. Specific point mutations of the genes encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 or 2 appear to define molecularly these tumors that are associated with younger age and more favorable outcome; the vast majority of glioblastomas are IDH wild-type. Typical molecular changes in glioblastoma include mutations in genes regulating receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)/rat sarcoma (RAS)/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), p53, and retinoblastoma protein (RB) signaling. Standard treatment of glioblastoma includes surgery, radiotherapy, and alkylating chemotherapy. Promoter methylation of the gene encoding the DNA repair protein, O(6)-methylguanyl DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), predicts benefit from alkylating chemotherapy with temozolomide and guides choice of first-line treatment in elderly patients. Current developments focus on targeting the molecular characteristics that drive the malignant phenotype, including altered signal transduction and angiogenesis, and more recently, various approaches of immunotherapy.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Molecules
                Molecules
                molecules
                Molecules : A Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry
                MDPI
                1420-3049
                26 September 2018
                October 2018
                : 23
                : 10
                : 2463
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Immunology, Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, Belgrade University, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia; sofiabasile@ 123456hotmail.it (M.S.B.); tamara_krajnovic@ 123456yahoo.com (T.K.); dracadiana@ 123456gmail.com (D.D.); sanjamama@ 123456ibiss.bg.ac.rs (S.M.); nelamax@ 123456ibiss.bg.ac.rs (D.M.-I.)
                [2 ]Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 89, 95123 Catania, Italy
                [3 ]IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, Strada Statale 113, C.da Casazza, 98124 Messina, Italy; emanuela.mazzon@ 123456irccsme.it (E.M.); eugeniocavalli9@ 123456hotmail.it (E.C.); placido.bramanti@ 123456irccsme.it (P.B.)
                [4 ]Center for Molecular Innovation, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, 350 Community drive, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA; yalabed@ 123456northwell.edu
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: ferdinic@ 123456unict.it ; Tel.: +39-095-478-1270
                Article
                molecules-23-02463
                10.3390/molecules23102463
                6222694
                30261624
                afa473e2-eee5-407c-a518-c5f982946fa8
                © 2018 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 31 August 2018
                : 23 September 2018
                Categories
                Article

                glioblastoma,hiv protease inhibitors,lopinavir,lopinavir-no,nitric oxide

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