Acetylenic Synthetic Betulin Derivatives Inhibit Akt and Erk Kinases Activity, Trigger Apoptosis and Suppress Proliferation of Neuroblastoma and Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Lines

Neuroblastoma (NB) and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common pediatric extracranial solid tumors, still represent an important clinical challenge since no effective treatment is available for metastatic and recurrent disease. Hence, there is an urgent need for the development of new chemotherapeutics to improve the outcome of patients. Betulin (Bet), a triterpenoid from the bark of birches, demonstrated interesting anti-cancer potential. The modification of natural phytochemicals with evidenced anti-tumor activity, including Bet, is one of the methods of receiving new compounds for potential implementation in oncological treatment. Here, we showed that two acetylenic synthetic Bet derivatives (ASBDs), EB5 and EB25/1, reduced the viability and proliferation of SK-N-AS and TE671 cells, as measured by MTT and BrdU tests, respectively. Moreover, ASBDs were also more cytotoxic than temozolomide (TMZ) and cisplatin (cis-diaminedichloroplatinum [II], CDDP) in vitro, and the combination of EB5 with CDDP enhanced anti-cancer effects. We also showed the slowdown of cell cycle progression at S/G2 phases mediated by EB5 using FACS flow cytometry. The decreased viability and proliferation of pediatric cancers cells after treatment with ASBDs was linked to the reduced activity of kinases Akt, Erk1/2 and p38 and the induction of apoptosis, as investigated using Western blotting and FACS. In addition, in silico analyses of the ADMET profile found EB5 to be a promising anti-cancer drug candidate that would benefit from further investigation.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:22

Enthalten in:

International journal of molecular sciences - 22(2021), 22 vom: 14. Nov.

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Król, Sylwia K [VerfasserIn]
Bębenek, Ewa [VerfasserIn]
Dmoszyńska-Graniczka, Magdalena [VerfasserIn]
Sławińska-Brych, Adrianna [VerfasserIn]
Boryczka, Stanisław [VerfasserIn]
Stepulak, Andrzej [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

6W70HN7X7O
ADMET
Acetylene
Acetylenic synthetic betulin derivatives
Antineoplastic Agents
Betulin
Chemotherapy
Cisplatin
Druglikeness
EC 2.7.11.1
EC 2.7.11.24
Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases
Journal Article
Neuroblastoma
OC7TV75O83
Pediatric cancers
Protein Kinase Inhibitors
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
Q20Q21Q62J
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Temozolomide
Triterpenes
YF1K15M17Y

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 20.12.2021

Date Revised 04.04.2024

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.3390/ijms222212299

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM333673026