Iron metabolism is a critical factor in tumorigenesis and development. Although TP53 mutations are prevalent in glioblastoma (GBM), the mechanisms by which TP53 regulates iron metabolism remain elusive. We reveal an imbalance iron homeostasis in GBM via TCGA database analysis. TP53 mutations disrupted iron homeostasis in GBM, characterized by elevated total iron levels and reduced ferritin (FTH). The gain-of-function effect triggered by TP53 mutations upregulates itchy E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (ITCH) protein expression in astrocytes, leading to FTH degradation and an increase in free iron levels. TP53-mut astrocytes were more tolerant to the high iron environment induced by exogenous ferric ammonium citrate (FAC), but the increase in intracellular free iron made them more sensitive to Erastin-induced ferroptosis. Interestingly, we found that Erastin combined with FAC treatment significantly increased ferroptosis. These findings provide new insights for drug development and therapeutic modalities for GBM patients with TP53 mutations from iron metabolism perspectives.
Ferroptosis/drug effects* ; Humans ; Iron/metabolism* ; Glioblastoma/metabolism* ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism* ; Homeostasis/physiology* ; Ferritins/metabolism* ; Brain Neoplasms/genetics* ; Mutation ; Astrocytes/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Piperazines/pharmacology* ; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds/pharmacology* ; Ferric Compounds

OBJECTIVE: Despite the combination of Scutellaria barbata D. Don and Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) R.J. Wang (SB-SD) being a recognized Chinese medicinal herbal pair that is commonly used in the treatment of ovarian cancer, there is a poor understanding of their pharmacological mechanisms. This study examines the antitumor properties and potential mechanisms of SB-SD on human ovarian cancer A2780 cells through a multi-omics approach, establishing a pharmacological basis for clinical utilization. METHODS: A range of mass ratios and reagents were used in the hot reflux extraction of SB-SD. The inhibitory effect of the SB-SD extracts on A2780 cell proliferation was assessed using the cell-counting kit 8 assay. A zebrafish tumor implantation model was used to evaluate the effects of SB-SD extracts on tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Transcriptomics and proteomics were used to investigate alterations in biological pathways in A2780 cells after treatment with different concentrations of SB-SD extract. Cell cycle, cell apoptosis, intracellular free iron concentration, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration, malondialdehyde (MDA), and mitochondrial membrane potential were measured. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were utilized to investigate the effects of heme catabolism and ferritinophagy on ferroptosis induced by SB-SD extract in A2780 cells. RESULTS: The 70% ethanol extract of SB-SD (a mass ratio of 4:1) inhibited A2780 cell proliferation significantly with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 660 μg/mL in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, it effectively suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in a zebrafish tumor implantation model. SB-SD extract induced the accumulation of free iron, ROS, MDA, and mitochondrial damage in A2780 cells. The mechanisms might involve the upregulated expression of ferritinophagy-related genes microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3, autophagy-related gene 5, and nuclear receptor coactivator 4. CONCLUSION SB-SD extract effectively inhibited the development of ovarian cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Its mechanism of action involved inducing ferroptosis by facilitating heme catabolism and ferritinophagy. This herbal pair holds promise as a potential therapeutic option for ovarian cancer treatment and may be utilized in combination with routine treatment to improve the treatment outcomes of ovarian cancer patients. Please cite this article as: Wang Z, Liu M, Li GX, Zhang L, Ding KY, Li SQ, Gao BQ, Chen P, Choe HC, Xia LY, Yang YT, Liu Y, Sui X, Ma JN, Zhang L. A herbal pair of Scutellaria barbata D. Don and Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) R.J. Wang induced ferroptosis in ovarian cancer A2780 cells via inducing heme catabolism and ferritinophagy. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(6): 666-683.
Ferroptosis/drug effects* ; Female ; Humans ; Animals ; Scutellaria/chemistry* ; Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics* ; Zebrafish ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Ferritins/genetics* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Heme/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/pharmacology* ; Autophagy/drug effects* ; Apoptosis/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of oral administration of Buxue Yimu Pills (BYP, ), ferrous sulfate (FS), and the combination of BYP and FS on gynecological anemia, and investigate the mechanisms using network pharmacology. METHODS: A randomized, controlled, multi-center clinical trial was conducted. Totally 150 patients with hemoglobin of 70-110 g/L due to gynecological conditions were recruited and randomized (using the block randomization method) into Buxue Yimu Pills group (24 g/d), oral iron group (FS Tablets, 0.9 g/d), and combined treatment group (BYP, 24 g/d plus FS Tablets, 0.9 g/d), 50 patients in each group. At the enrollment and 4-week treatment, complete blood count, serum iron indexes were evaluated. Adverse events, liver and renal functions, as well as blood coagulation were observed. Network pharmacology was conducted to identify the active ingredients and explore the potential mechanisms of BYP. RESULTS: Ten (20%) and 7 (14%) participants discontinued the therapy due to gastrointestinal symptoms in oral iron and combination treatment groups. All 3 groups showed elevated hemoglobin. The patients in the iron group exhibited typically elevated in serum iron and ferritin and decreased in total iron-binding capacity. No change in iron indexes was observed in BYP group. The patients in the combination treatment group neither showed significant changes in serum ferritin nor total iron-binding capacity. No significant adverse reactions were observed in the BYP group. The network pharmacology identified 27 bioactive compounds and 145 targets of BYP on gynecological anemia. Biological processes and pathways including regulation of inflammation, hormone, angiogenesis and hemostasis, response to decreased oxygen levels, effects on myeloma cell, and response to metal ions were identified. CONCLUSION BYP contributes to the practical improvement on gynecological anemia potentially through multi-target mechanisms and optimized iron re-distribution. (Trial registration: No. NCT03232554).
Humans ; Anemia/drug therapy* ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/drug therapy* ; Ferritins/therapeutic use* ; Hemoglobins ; Iron/therapeutic use* ; Network Pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

OBJECTIVETo identify the proteins involved in osteogenic differentiation of beagle dog bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and explore its possible regulation mechanism of osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs.

METHODSCultured beagle dog BMSCs were induced by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) for 7 days. The differentially expressed proteins between cells with osteogenic differentiation and control cells were identified by proteomics analysis based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Q-PCR and Western blotting were used to verify the interested protein of LASP1, ferritin light chain and heavy chain.

RESULTSOsteogenic differentiation was induced successfully in the BMSCs. Twenty differentially expressed proteins were identified by proteomic analysis, including 9 down-regulated and 11 up-regulated ones. Q-PCR and Western blotting demonstrated a significant reduction of LASP1 expression and significant up-regulation of ferritin in the BMSCs after a 7-day induction with rhBMP-2.

CONCLUSIONLASP1, which plays an important role in the regulation of the activity of the cytoskeleton, and ferritin, an important molecule in cellular iron homeostasis, can be critical in the osteogenic differentiation of beagle dog BMSCs induced by rhBMP-2.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; metabolism ; Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; pharmacology ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; metabolism ; Dogs ; Down-Regulation ; Ferritins ; metabolism ; LIM Domain Proteins ; metabolism ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Osteogenesis ; drug effects ; Proteomics ; Recombinant Proteins ; pharmacology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; pharmacology ; Up-Regulation

As an essential metal for sustaining life, iron is involved in a number of metabolic processes, including DNA synthesis, electron transport, oxygen delivery, and so on. Iron metabolism involves the absorption, transport, and use of iron and is strictly regulated. Numerous studies have found a positive correlation between iron storage and the risk of tumors, such as colorectal carcinoma, hepatic cancer, renal carcinoma, lung cancer, and gastric cancer. In tumor cells, iron metabolism changes by several mechanisms, such as regulating the growth of tumor cells by transferrin, accelerating the uptake of iron by the overexpressions of transferrin receptors 1 and 2 (TfR1 and TfR2), synthesizing or secreting ferritin by some malignant tumor cells, and upregulating the level of hepcidin in patients with cancer. Some advances on diagnosis and treatment based on iron metabolism have been achieved, such as increasing the transfection and target efficiency of transferrin-polyethylenimine (PEI), inducing cell apoptosis by beta-guttiferin through interacting with TfR1.
Animals ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Antigens, CD ; genetics ; metabolism ; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Apoptosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Doxorubicin ; pharmacology ; Ferritins ; metabolism ; physiology ; Hepcidins ; Humans ; Interleukin-18 ; pharmacology ; Iron ; metabolism ; physiology ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Receptors, Transferrin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transferrin ; metabolism ; physiology ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of ascorbic acid and citric acid on iron bioavailability using an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture model and evaluate the validity of this cell model.

METHODSThis model combined in vitro digestion technique with Fe uptake by Caco-2 cells by utilizing an inserted ring attached to a dialysis membrane to simulate the gastrointestinal environment to allow simultaneous food digestion and uptake processes. Ferritin formation in the Caco-2 cells was measured as the indicator of Fe uptake by exposing Caco-2 cells to the digests containing Fe plus ascorbic acid or citric acid.

RESULTSWhen Fe concentration in the digest was below 100 micromol/L, ferritin formation increased with the Fe concentration in the digest. The iron digest containing ascorbic acid exhibited a significant increase in ferritin formation relative to the iron digest containing citric acid. The model was more sensitive to lower iron concentrations when ascorbic acid was present in the digest, while wider range of iron concentration could be assessed by addition of citric acid.

CONCLUSIONSThe in vitro digestion/ Caco-2 cell culture model is a valuable tool for iron bioavailability assessment. Ascorbic acid has a stronger effect than citric acid in promoting iron bioavailability.

Ascorbic Acid ; pharmacology ; Biological Availability ; Caco-2 Cells ; metabolism ; Citric Acid ; pharmacology ; Ferritins ; biosynthesis ; Ferrous Compounds ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Iron ; pharmacokinetics ; Models, Biological

Mitochondrial ferritin (MtF), a new player in iron metabolism, first identified in 2001, is highly homologous to ferritin both structurally and functionally. Preliminary studies have suggested that MtF might play very important roles in the regulation of mitochondrial iron homeostasis. Leukemic cells, just like other malignant cells, demand more iron for their greater proliferation potential. However, little is known about what roles MtF might play in leukemic cell iron metabolism and cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of MtF, transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) and ferritin (Fn) mRNAs in K562 leukemic cells during TPA-induced cell differentiation and to explore the interrelationship between the expression levels of these iron metabolism-related molecules. K562 cells cultured with or without TPA (16 nmol/L) were collected at 24, 72 and 120 hours respectively. Cell differentiation toward monocyte lineage was confirmed by microscopic study (Wright's staining) and flow cytometry. Semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed to determine mRNA expression, with house-keeping gene beta-actin as control reference. This study revealed that over 95% of K562 cells showed morphological features of monocyte/macrophage, and the expression of CD64 on cell surface increased significantly at day 5 with TPA treatment. K562 cells could express a certain level of MtF before TPA-induced differentiation. With increase of TPA-induced cell differentiation, MtF mRNA expressions were downregulated progressively. After 5 days of induced cell differentiation, expression levels of MtF and TfR1 mRNA were just 50.3% and 68.2% of that before TPA treatment. While Fn mRNA expression increased to 1.97 folds of that before TPA treatment. It is concluded that MtF expression is downregulated during TPA-induced K562 cell differentiation, with concomitant downregulation of TfR1 and upregulation of Fn. The coordinated expression regulation of these key iron metabolism-related molecules during cell differentiation may in turn inhibit TfR1-mediated iron uptake via endocytosis and thus adversely affect cell proliferation potential.
Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; Ferritins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Humans ; Iron-Regulatory Proteins ; metabolism ; K562 Cells ; Mitochondria ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Receptors, Transferrin ; metabolism ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; pharmacology

The study was aimed to establish a new method of preparation of human placenta factor (PF) and to determine its physic-chemical properties, as well as effects on lymphocytes in vitro. PF was prepared by ultrafiltration. The contents and molecular weight of all constitutions were determined by Bradford method and SDS-PAGE, respectively. Cyclosporin A (CsA) was served as positive control, normal saline (NS) was used as negative control. PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation and mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) were detected with MTT assay. The expression of CD69 on T cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells against K562 tumor cells was examined with LDH release assay. The results indicated that PF was determined to be a group of low molecular weight polypeptides, consisting of two major components whose molecular weight were 9.187 and 4.794 kD respectively. The contents of PF were 5.7 - 6.9 mg/g fresh placenta. PF had similar suppressive effects on PHA-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation and MLR in vitro as compared with CsA (P > 0.05). Both PF and CsA could downregulate the expression of CD69 on T cells which had been stimulated by PMA plus ionomycin (PF vs CsA, P > 0.05). The cytotoxicity of NK cells against K562 cells in PF group was slightly higher or equivalent as compared with that in NS group (P > 0.05), but the cytotoxicity in CsA group was much lower than that in NS group (P < 0.05). It is concluded that a new method of preparation of PF has been established. This study first demonstrates that PF has strong immunosuppressive effects on T cell in vitro, and suppresses T cell proliferation and activation induced by mitogen and alloantigen. This study indicats that PF has no any inhibitory effects, but even enhances the cytotoxicity of NK cells against K562 tumor cells. These results suggest that PF may have suppressive effects on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) without diminishing graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects. Therefore, PF may probably be an ideal and promising agent against GVHD.
Cyclosporine ; pharmacology ; Ferritins ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Graft vs Host Disease ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; immunology ; K562 Cells ; Killer Cells, Natural ; immunology ; Lymphocytes ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology

To investigate the effect of placental isoferritin (PLF) on mouse embryo development in vitro, mice 2-cell embryos were co-cultured with human first trimester decidual cells at different concentrations of PLF in vitro. The following changes of the above system were observed under an invert microscope and the number of embryos were recorded and the embryos were classified. The results showed there was no significant difference in the percentage of embryos development to 4-cell, 8-cell and morula (P>0.05). PLF at the doses of 10 and 100 U/mL significantly enhanced more embryos development to the blastocyst and hatching blastocyst (P<0.05). PLF at the dose of 1000 U/mL depressed more embryos development from 2-cell to hatching blastocyst, meanwhile such phenomena as cell degeneration and irregular cleavage were observed in part of embryos, but there was no significant difference in statistics (P>0.05). It was concluded that PLF at the concentration of 10-100 U/mL had no significant effects on the early development of mice embryos, however, PLF could promote the growth, differentiation, and hatching of preimplantation blastocysts.
Coculture Techniques ; Decidua/*cytology ; Embryo, Mammalian/*cytology ; Embryo, Mammalian/drug effects ; Embryo, Mammalian/embryology ; Embryonic Development/*drug effects ; Ferritins/isolation & purification ; Ferritins/*pharmacology ; Placenta/*chemistry ; Tissue Culture Techniques

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of T(3) on the expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) and ferritin (Fn) in K562 cells and its possible mechanism.

METHODSFlow cytometry was used for the detection of TfR expression, radioimmunoassay for Fn expression, RNA/protein band shift assay for the binding activity of iron regulatory protein (IRP) and iron responsive elements (IRE), and RT-PCR for TfR and Fn mRNA levels.

RESULTSDifferent concentration of T(3) significantly increased Fn expression of K562 cells, especially at 100 nmol/L and 200 nmol/L (p < 0.05). However, T(3) had no effect on TfR expression. T(3) decreased the binding activity between IRP and IRE, particularly at concentration of 50 nmol/L. Different concentration of T(3) increased Fn-H mRNA level at different time point while it had no effect on TfR mRNA level.

CONCLUSIONT(3) increased Fn expression of K562 cells through the possible mechanisms of either the post-transcriptional regulation or transcriptional modulation.

Ferritins ; biosynthesis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic ; drug effects ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Radioimmunoassay ; Receptors, Transferrin ; biosynthesis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Triiodothyronine ; pharmacology