BACKGROUND: Cancer cells are frequently addicted to deregulated oncogenic protein translation that usually arises as a consequence of increased signaling flux from eIF4F activation. The small molecule 4EG-I, a potent inhibitor of translation initiation through disrupting eIF4E/eIF4G interaction, has been shown to exert anticancer effects in animal models of human cancers. METHODS: Here, we extensively investigated the anticancer activity of 4EGI-1 in human glioma U87 cells. The anti-cancer effects of 4EGI-1 were measured by cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, TUNEL staining, flow cytometry and western blot analysis in vitro, and also examined in a U87 xenograft model in vivo. The potential underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated by measuring mitochondrial function and ER stress. RESULTS: We found that 4EGI-1 impaired the assembly of the eIF4F complex and decreased the expression of the eIF4E regulated proteins. The results of TUNEL staining and flow cytometry showed that 4EGI-1 treatment induced apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 4EGI-1-induced apoptosis in U87 cells was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and activation of the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway, which was dependent on the induction of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. In addition, 4EGI-1 treatment triggered ER stress, which was evidenced by morphological changes of ER lumen and ER calcium release, as well as the dose-dependent increases in the expression of ER stress related proteins. Moreover, knockdown of the ER chaperone GRP-78 through siRNA was shown to partially reverse the 4EGI-1-induced ER stress in U87 cells. In vivo, 4EGI-1 strongly inhibited growth of U87 glioma xenografts without any apparent organ related toxicities. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that the use of inhibitors that directly target the translation initiation complex eIF4F could represent a potential novel approach for human glioma therapy.
BACKGROUND:Cancer cells are frequently addicted to deregulated oncogenic protein translation that usually arises as a consequence of increased signaling flux from eIF4F activation. The small molecule 4EG-I, a potent inhibitor of translation initiation through disrupting eIF4E/eIF4G interaction, has been shown to exert anticancer effects in animal models of humancancers. METHODS: Here, we extensively investigated the anticancer activity of 4EGI-1 in human glioma U87 cells. The anti-cancer effects of 4EGI-1 were measured by cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, TUNEL staining, flow cytometry and western blot analysis in vitro, and also examined in a U87 xenograft model in vivo. The potential underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated by measuring mitochondrial function and ER stress. RESULTS: We found that 4EGI-1 impaired the assembly of the eIF4F complex and decreased the expression of the eIF4E regulated proteins. The results of TUNEL staining and flow cytometry showed that 4EGI-1 treatment induced apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 4EGI-1-induced apoptosis in U87 cells was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and activation of the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway, which was dependent on the induction of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. In addition, 4EGI-1 treatment triggered ER stress, which was evidenced by morphological changes of ER lumen and ER calcium release, as well as the dose-dependent increases in the expression of ER stress related proteins. Moreover, knockdown of the ER chaperone GRP-78 through siRNA was shown to partially reverse the 4EGI-1-induced ER stress in U87 cells. In vivo, 4EGI-1 strongly inhibited growth of U87 glioma xenografts without any apparent organ related toxicities. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that the use of inhibitors that directly target the translation initiation complex eIF4F could represent a potential novel approach for human glioma therapy.
Authors: Patrick D Fischer; Evangelos Papadopoulos; Jon M Dempersmier; Zi-Fu Wang; Radosław P Nowak; Katherine A Donovan; Joann Kalabathula; Christoph Gorgulla; Pierre P M Junghanns; Eihab Kabha; Nikolaos Dimitrakakis; Ognyan I Petrov; Constantine Mitsiades; Christian Ducho; Vladimir Gelev; Eric S Fischer; Gerhard Wagner; Haribabu Arthanari Journal: Eur J Med Chem Date: 2021-04-08 Impact factor: 7.088
Authors: Zeeshan Ahmad; Blake A Jacobson; Mitchell W McDonald; Nicolas Vattendahl Vidal; Gabriel Vattendahl Vidal; Sierra Chen; Maxwell Dillenburg; Aniekan M Okon; Manish R Patel; Carston R Wagner; Robert A Kratzke Journal: Cancer Chemother Pharmacol Date: 2020-01-23 Impact factor: 3.333