Background: Curcumin is known for its multitude of medicinal properties, including anti-cancer and migrastatic activity. Efforts to overcome poor bioavailability, stability, and side effects associated with the higher dose of curcumin has led to the development of newer derivatives of curcumin. Thus, the focus of this study is to screen novel curcumin derivatives, namely ST03 and ST08, which have not been reported before, for their cytotoxicity and migrastatic property on cancer cells. Methods: Anti-cancer activity of ST03 and ST08 was carried out using standard cytotoxicity assays viz., LDH, MTT, and Trypan blue on both solid and liquid cancer types. Flow cytometric assays and western blotting was used to investigate the cell death mechanisms. Transwell migration assay was carried out to check for migrastatic properties of the compounds. Results: Both the compounds, ST03 and ST08, showed ~ 100 fold higher potency on liquid and solid tumour cell lines compared to its parent compound curcumin. They induced cytotoxicity by activating the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in the breast (MDA-MB-231) and ovarian cancer cell lines (PA-1) bearing metastatic and stem cell properties, respectively. Moreover, ST08 also showed inhibition on breast cancer cell migration by inhibiting MMP1 (matrix metalloproteinase 1). Conclusion: Both ST03 and ST08 exhibit anti-cancer activity at nanomolar concentration. They induce cell death by activating the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Also, they inhibit migration of the cancer cells by inhibiting MMP1 in breast cancer cells.

Purpose: Curcumin is known for its anticancer and migrastatic activity in various cancers, including breast cancer. Newer curcumin derivatives are being explored to overcome limitations of curcumin like low bioavailability, stability, and side effects due to its higher dose. In this study, the synthesis of ST09, a novel curcumin derivative, and its antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and migrastatic properties have been explored both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: After ST09 synthesis, anticancer activity was studied by performing standard cytotoxicity assays namely, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay, 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2–5-diphenyletrazolium bromide (MTT), and trypan blue exclusion assay. Annexin-FITC, cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry, and Western blotting were performed to elucidate cell death mechanisms. The effect on the inhibition of cell migration was studied by transwell migration assay. An EAC (Ehrlich Ascites carcinoma) induced mouse tumor model was used to study the effect of ST09 on tumor regression. Drug toxicity was measured using aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and flow-cytometry based lymphocyte count. Histological analysis was performed for assessment of any tissue injury post ST09 treatment. Results: ST09 shows an approximate 100-fold higher potency than curcumin, its parent compound, on breast tumor cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB231. ST09 arrests the cell cycle in a cell type-specific manner and induces an intrinsic apoptotic pathway both in vitro and in vivo. ST09 inhibits migration by downregulating matrix metalloprotease 1,2 (MMP1,2) and Vimentin. In vivo, ST09 administration led to decreased tumor volume in a mouse allograft model by boosting immunity with no significant drug toxicity. Conclusion: ST09 exhibits antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity at nanomolar concentrations. It induces cell death by activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. It also inhibits migration and invasion. This study provides evidence that ST09 can potentially be developed as a novel antitumor drug candidate for highly metastatic and aggressive breast cancer.

Background: Curcumin is well known for its anticancer properties. Its cytotoxic activity has been documented in several cancer cell lines, including breast cancer. The pleiotropic activity of curcumin as an antioxidant, an antiangiogenic, antiproliferative, and pro‐apoptotic, is due to its diverse targets, such as signaling pathways, protein/enzyme, or noncoding gene.Aim: This study aimed to identify key miRNAs and mRNAs induced by curcumin in breast cancer cells MCF7, T47D (hormone positive), versus MDA‐MB231 (hormone negative) using comparative analysis of global gene expression profiles.Methods: RNA was isolated and subjected to mRNA and miRNA library sequencing to study the global gene expression profile of curcumin‐treated breast cancer cells. The differential expression of gene and miRNA was performed using the DESeq R package. The enriched pathways were studied using cluster profileR, and integrated miRNA–mRNA analysis was carried out using miRtarvis and miRmapper tools.Results: Curcumin treatment led to upregulation of 59% TSGs in MCF7, 21% in MDA‐MB‐231 cells, and 36% TSGs in T47D, and downregulation of 57% oncogenes in MCF7, 76% in MDA‐MB‐231, and 91% in T47D. Similarly, curcumin treatment led to upregulation of 32% TSmiRs in MCF7, 37.5% in MDA‐MB231, and 62.5% in T47D, and downregulation of 77% oncomiRs in MCF7, 50% in MDA‐MB231 and 28.6% in T47D. Integrated analysis of miRNA–mRNA led to the identification of a common NFKB pathway altered by curcumin in all three cell lines. Analysis of uniquely enriched pathway revealed non‐integrin membrane–ECM interactions and laminin interactions in MCF7; extracellular matrix organization and degradation in MDA‐MB‐231 and cell cycle arrest and G2/M transition in T47D.Conclusion: Curcumin regulates miRNA and mRNA in a cell type‐specific manner. The integrative analysis led to the detection of miRNAs and mRNAs pairs, which can be used as biomarkers associated with carcinogenesis, diagnostic, and treatment response in breast cancer.

Https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.27558 Makhan Kumar, Ansie Martin, Snehal Nirgude, Bibha Chaudhary, Sukanta Mondal, Angshuman Sarkar

Background: Wilms tumor (WT) exhibits structural and epigenetic changes at chromosome 11p15, which also cause Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS). Children diagnosed with BWS have increased risk for WT. The aim of this study is to identify the molecular signaling signatures in BWS driving these tumors. Methods: We performed whole exome sequencing, methylation array analysis, and gene expression analysis on BWS-WT samples. Our data were compared to publicly available nonBWS data. We categorized WT from BWS and nonBWS patients by assessment of 11p15 methylation status and defined 5 groups– control kidney, BWS-nontumor kidney, BWS-WT, normal-11p15 nonBWS-WT, altered-11p15 nonBWS-WT. Results: BWS-WT samples showed single nucleotide variants in BCORL1, ASXL1, ATM and AXL but absence of recurrent gene mutations associated with sporadic WT. We defined a narrow methylation range stratifying nonBWS-WT samples. BWS-WT and altered-11p15 nonBWS-WT showed enrichment of common and unique molecular signatures based on global differential methylation and gene expression analysis. CTNNB1 overexpression and broad range of interactions were seen in the BWS-WT interactome study. Conclusion: While WT predisposition in BWS is well-established, as are 11p15 alterations in nonBWS-WT, this study focused on stratifying tumor genomics by 11p15 status. Further investigation of our findings may identify novel therapeutic targets in WT oncogenesis.