Colorectal cancer(CRC) is a major cause of cancerrelated mortality and morbidity worldwide. While improved treatments have enhanced overall patient outcome, disease burden encompassing quality of life, cost of care, a...Colorectal cancer(CRC) is a major cause of cancerrelated mortality and morbidity worldwide. While improved treatments have enhanced overall patient outcome, disease burden encompassing quality of life, cost of care, and patient survival has seen little benefit. Consequently, additional advances in CRC treatments remain important, with an emphasis on preventative measures. Guanylyl cyclase C(GUCY2C), a transmembrane receptor expressed on intestinal epithelial cells, plays an important role in orchestrating intestinal homeostatic mechanisms. These effects are mediated by the endogenous hormones guanylin(GUCA2A) and uroguanylin(GUCA2B), which bind and activate GUCY2 C to regulate proliferation, metabolism and barrier function in intestine. Recent studies have demonstrated a link between GUCY2 C silencing and intestinal dysfunction, including tumorigenesis. Indeed, GUCY2 C silencing by the near universal loss of its paracrine hormone ligands increases colon cancer susceptibility in animals and humans. GUCY2C's role as a tumor suppressor has opened the door to a new paradigm for CRC prevention by hormone replacement therapy using synthetic hormone analogs, such as the FDA-approved oral GUCY2 C ligand linaclotide(Linzess^(TM)). Here we review the known contributions of the GUCY2 C signaling axis to CRC, and relate them to a novel clinical strategy targeting tumor chemoprevention.展开更多
The natural compound thymoquinone, extracted from Nigella sativa(black cumin), is widely used in humans for its anti-oxidative properties. Thymoquinone is known for its acute endotheliumindependent vasodilator effects...The natural compound thymoquinone, extracted from Nigella sativa(black cumin), is widely used in humans for its anti-oxidative properties. Thymoquinone is known for its acute endotheliumindependent vasodilator effects in isolated rat aortae and pulmonary arteries, depending in part on activation of adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels and inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels. The compound also improves endothelial dysfunction in mesenteric arteries of ageing rodents and in aortae of rabbits treated with pyrogallol, by inhibiting oxidative stress. Serendipitously,thymoquinone was found to augment contractions in isolated arteries with endothelium of both rats and pigs. The endothelium-dependent augmentation it causes counterintuitively depends on biased activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase(sGC) producing inosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate(cyclic IMP) rather than guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. This phenomenon shows a striking mechanistic similarity to the hypoxic augmentation previously observed in porcine coronary arteries. The cyclic IMP preferentially produced under thymoquinone exposure causes an increased contractility of arterial smooth muscle by interfering with calcium homeostasis. This brief review summarizes the vascular pharmacology of thymoquinone, focussing in particular on how the compound causes endothelium-dependent contractions by biasing the activity of sGC.展开更多
AIM To investigate the effects of plecanatide and dolcanatide on maintenance of paracellular permeability, integrity of tight junctions and on suppression of visceral hypersensitivity. METHODS Transport of fluorescein...AIM To investigate the effects of plecanatide and dolcanatide on maintenance of paracellular permeability, integrity of tight junctions and on suppression of visceral hypersensitivity. METHODS Transport of fluorescein isothiocyanate(FITC)-dextran was measured to assess permeability across cell monolayers and rat colon tissues. Effects of plecanatide and dolcanatide on the integrity of tight junctions in Caco-2 and T84 monolayers and on the expression and localization of occludin and zonula occludens-1(ZO-1) were examined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Anti-nociceptive activity of these agonists was evaluated in trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid(TNBS)-induced inflammatory as well as in non-inflammatory partial restraint stress(PRS) rat models. Statistical significance between the treatment groups in the permeability studies were evaluated using unpaired t-tests.RESULTS Treatment of T84 and Caco-2 monolayers with lipopolysaccharide(LPS) rapidly increased permeability, which was effectively suppressed when monolayers were also treated with plecanatide or dolcanatide. Similarly, when T84 and Caco-2 monolayers were treated with LPS, cell surface localization of tight junction proteins occludin and ZO-1 was severely disrupted. When cell monolayers were treated with LPS in the presence of plecanatide or dolcanatide, occludin and ZO-1 were localized at the cell surface of adjoining cells, similar to that observed for vehicle treated cells. Treatment of cell monolayers with plecanatide or dolcanatide without LPS did not alter permeability, integrity of tight junctions and cell surface localization of either of the tight junction proteins. In rat visceral hypersensitivity models, both agonists suppressed the TNBS-induced increase in abdominal contractions in response to colorectal distension without affecting the colonic wall elasticity, and both agonists also reduced colonic hypersensitivity in the PRS model. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that activation of GC-C signaling might be involved in maintenance of barrier function, possibly through regulating normal localization of tight junction proteins. Consistent with these findings, plecanatide and dolcanatide showed potent antinociceptive activity in rat visceral hypersensitivity models. These results imply that activation of GC-C signaling may be an attractive therapeutic approach to treat functional constipation disorders and inflammatory gastrointestinal conditions.展开更多
The levels of the second messenger cyclic nucleotides,cAMP and cGMP are carefully regulated in all cells by the activity of a series of adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases(PDEs).Mos...The levels of the second messenger cyclic nucleotides,cAMP and cGMP are carefully regulated in all cells by the activity of a series of adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases(PDEs).Most of the functions of these second messengers are mediated by activation of cyclic nucleotide dependent kinases or other discrete cyclic nucleotide binding proteins.Furthermore,the regulation and function of all of these enzymes are greatly influenced by the cellular and subcellular compartments in which they are localized.In this talk I will discuss several examples of cAMP-regulated cellular function that depend on the simultaneous,coordinated phosphorylation of multiple control points as determined by phosphoproteomic analysis of cells treated with and without selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors.The data strongly suggest that multiple PDEs work in a synergistic manner to coordinate different functional pools of cAMP.These different pools in turn coordinate not one,but many different steps to yield the final control of cellular function.The data imply that we likely therefore will need to consider a number of new and revised ways to think about cAMP regulation of cellular functions and also about drug design.For example,several different PDEs may need to be inhibited in order to produce meaningful pharmacological effects.The data also imply that the much of this cAMP regulation occurs as stochastic processes in different compartments in the cell.展开更多
基金Supported by NIH,No.R01CA170533,No.R01CA206026 and No.P30CA56036Targeted Diagnostic and Therapeutics,Inc.+2 种基金a Ruth L.Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows from the NIH,No.CA180500(To Blomain ES)a Ruth L.Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows from the NIH,No.F30 DK103492(To Merlino DJ)a Predoctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology/Toxicology from the PhR MA Foundation
文摘Colorectal cancer(CRC) is a major cause of cancerrelated mortality and morbidity worldwide. While improved treatments have enhanced overall patient outcome, disease burden encompassing quality of life, cost of care, and patient survival has seen little benefit. Consequently, additional advances in CRC treatments remain important, with an emphasis on preventative measures. Guanylyl cyclase C(GUCY2C), a transmembrane receptor expressed on intestinal epithelial cells, plays an important role in orchestrating intestinal homeostatic mechanisms. These effects are mediated by the endogenous hormones guanylin(GUCA2A) and uroguanylin(GUCA2B), which bind and activate GUCY2 C to regulate proliferation, metabolism and barrier function in intestine. Recent studies have demonstrated a link between GUCY2 C silencing and intestinal dysfunction, including tumorigenesis. Indeed, GUCY2 C silencing by the near universal loss of its paracrine hormone ligands increases colon cancer susceptibility in animals and humans. GUCY2C's role as a tumor suppressor has opened the door to a new paradigm for CRC prevention by hormone replacement therapy using synthetic hormone analogs, such as the FDA-approved oral GUCY2 C ligand linaclotide(Linzess^(TM)). Here we review the known contributions of the GUCY2 C signaling axis to CRC, and relate them to a novel clinical strategy targeting tumor chemoprevention.
基金support from the General Research Fund(17112914)of the Hong Kong Research Grant Councilthe Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research by University Research Committee of the University of Hong Kong(201511159163)
文摘The natural compound thymoquinone, extracted from Nigella sativa(black cumin), is widely used in humans for its anti-oxidative properties. Thymoquinone is known for its acute endotheliumindependent vasodilator effects in isolated rat aortae and pulmonary arteries, depending in part on activation of adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels and inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels. The compound also improves endothelial dysfunction in mesenteric arteries of ageing rodents and in aortae of rabbits treated with pyrogallol, by inhibiting oxidative stress. Serendipitously,thymoquinone was found to augment contractions in isolated arteries with endothelium of both rats and pigs. The endothelium-dependent augmentation it causes counterintuitively depends on biased activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase(sGC) producing inosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate(cyclic IMP) rather than guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. This phenomenon shows a striking mechanistic similarity to the hypoxic augmentation previously observed in porcine coronary arteries. The cyclic IMP preferentially produced under thymoquinone exposure causes an increased contractility of arterial smooth muscle by interfering with calcium homeostasis. This brief review summarizes the vascular pharmacology of thymoquinone, focussing in particular on how the compound causes endothelium-dependent contractions by biasing the activity of sGC.
基金Supported by Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc.,which provided the funding and the plecanatide,dolcanatide and placebo used for these studies
文摘AIM To investigate the effects of plecanatide and dolcanatide on maintenance of paracellular permeability, integrity of tight junctions and on suppression of visceral hypersensitivity. METHODS Transport of fluorescein isothiocyanate(FITC)-dextran was measured to assess permeability across cell monolayers and rat colon tissues. Effects of plecanatide and dolcanatide on the integrity of tight junctions in Caco-2 and T84 monolayers and on the expression and localization of occludin and zonula occludens-1(ZO-1) were examined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Anti-nociceptive activity of these agonists was evaluated in trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid(TNBS)-induced inflammatory as well as in non-inflammatory partial restraint stress(PRS) rat models. Statistical significance between the treatment groups in the permeability studies were evaluated using unpaired t-tests.RESULTS Treatment of T84 and Caco-2 monolayers with lipopolysaccharide(LPS) rapidly increased permeability, which was effectively suppressed when monolayers were also treated with plecanatide or dolcanatide. Similarly, when T84 and Caco-2 monolayers were treated with LPS, cell surface localization of tight junction proteins occludin and ZO-1 was severely disrupted. When cell monolayers were treated with LPS in the presence of plecanatide or dolcanatide, occludin and ZO-1 were localized at the cell surface of adjoining cells, similar to that observed for vehicle treated cells. Treatment of cell monolayers with plecanatide or dolcanatide without LPS did not alter permeability, integrity of tight junctions and cell surface localization of either of the tight junction proteins. In rat visceral hypersensitivity models, both agonists suppressed the TNBS-induced increase in abdominal contractions in response to colorectal distension without affecting the colonic wall elasticity, and both agonists also reduced colonic hypersensitivity in the PRS model. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that activation of GC-C signaling might be involved in maintenance of barrier function, possibly through regulating normal localization of tight junction proteins. Consistent with these findings, plecanatide and dolcanatide showed potent antinociceptive activity in rat visceral hypersensitivity models. These results imply that activation of GC-C signaling may be an attractive therapeutic approach to treat functional constipation disorders and inflammatory gastrointestinal conditions.
文摘The levels of the second messenger cyclic nucleotides,cAMP and cGMP are carefully regulated in all cells by the activity of a series of adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases(PDEs).Most of the functions of these second messengers are mediated by activation of cyclic nucleotide dependent kinases or other discrete cyclic nucleotide binding proteins.Furthermore,the regulation and function of all of these enzymes are greatly influenced by the cellular and subcellular compartments in which they are localized.In this talk I will discuss several examples of cAMP-regulated cellular function that depend on the simultaneous,coordinated phosphorylation of multiple control points as determined by phosphoproteomic analysis of cells treated with and without selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors.The data strongly suggest that multiple PDEs work in a synergistic manner to coordinate different functional pools of cAMP.These different pools in turn coordinate not one,but many different steps to yield the final control of cellular function.The data imply that we likely therefore will need to consider a number of new and revised ways to think about cAMP regulation of cellular functions and also about drug design.For example,several different PDEs may need to be inhibited in order to produce meaningful pharmacological effects.The data also imply that the much of this cAMP regulation occurs as stochastic processes in different compartments in the cell.
