Lu Huiai, Mei Chunlei, Yang Luhao, Zheng Junyan, Tong Junwei, Duan Fengsen, Liang Huageng, Hong Ling
Department of Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jul 9;12:684915. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.684915. eCollection 2021.
PPM-18, identified as a novel analog of vitamin K, has been reported to play a critical role in the suppression of seizures. However, the concerns that whether PPM-18, like vitamin K, exerts anticancer activity remain to be further investigated. Here, we found that PPM-18 remarkably suppressed the proliferation and induced apoptosis in bladder cancer cells. Furthermore, a significant autophagic effect of PPM-18 on bladder cancer cells was also demonstrated, which profoundly promoted apoptotic cell death. Mechanistically, PPM-18 activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), whereas it repressed PI3K/AKT and mTORC1 pathways in bladder cancer cells. Inhibition of AMPK markedly relieved PPM-18-induced autophagy and apoptosis, indicating that PPM-18 is able to induce autophagy and apoptosis in bladder cancer cells AMPK activation. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were notably accumulated in PPM-18-treated bladder cancer cells, and treatment with ROS scavengers not only eliminated ROS production but also abrogated AMPK activation, which eventually rescued bladder cancer cells from PPM-18-triggered autophagy and apoptotic cell death. In bladder cancer xenografts, the anticancer activities of PPM-18, including suppressing the growth of tumors and inducing autophagy and apoptosis in tumor cells, were also established. Collectively, this study was the first to demonstrate the anticancer effect of PPM-18 on bladder cancer cells and through eliciting autophagy and apoptosis ROS and AMPK pathways, which might provide new insights into the potential utilization of PPM-18 for future bladder cancer treatment.
PPM - 18被鉴定为维生素K的一种新型类似物,据报道在抑制癫痫发作中起关键作用。然而,PPM - 18是否像维生素K一样具有抗癌活性仍有待进一步研究。在此,我们发现PPM - 18显著抑制膀胱癌细胞的增殖并诱导其凋亡。此外,还证实了PPM - 18对膀胱癌细胞具有显著的自噬作用,这深刻地促进了凋亡性细胞死亡。机制上,PPM - 18激活了AMP活化蛋白激酶(AMPK),而在膀胱癌细胞中抑制了PI3K/AKT和mTORC1信号通路。抑制AMPK可显著减轻PPM - 18诱导的自噬和凋亡,表明PPM - 18能够通过激活AMPK诱导膀胱癌细胞发生自噬和凋亡。此外,在经PPM - 18处理的膀胱癌细胞中活性氧(ROS)显著积累,用ROS清除剂处理不仅消除了ROS的产生,还消除了AMPK的激活,最终使膀胱癌细胞从PPM - 18引发的自噬和凋亡性细胞死亡中得以挽救。在膀胱癌异种移植模型中,也证实了PPM - 18的抗癌活性,包括抑制肿瘤生长以及诱导肿瘤细胞自噬和凋亡。总体而言,本研究首次证明了PPM - 18通过引发自噬和凋亡以及ROS和AMPK信号通路对膀胱癌细胞具有抗癌作用,这可能为未来将PPM - 18用于膀胱癌治疗的潜在应用提供新的见解。