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Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023Microbe entry through catheter ports can lead to biofilm accumulation and complications from catheter-related bloodstream infection and ultimately require antimicrobial...
Microbe entry through catheter ports can lead to biofilm accumulation and complications from catheter-related bloodstream infection and ultimately require antimicrobial treatment and catheter replacement. Although strides have been made with microbial prevention by applying standardized antiseptic techniques during catheter implantation, both bacterial and fungal microbes can present health risks to already sick individuals. To reduce microbial adhesion, murine and human catheters were coated with polyurethane and auranofin using a dip coating method and compared to non-coated materials. Upon passage of fluid through the coated material , flow dynamics were not impacted. The unique antimicrobial properties of the coating material auranofin has shown inhibitory activity against bacteria such as and fungi such as . Auranofin coating on catheters at 10mg/mL reduced . accumulation from 2.0 x 10 to 7.8 x 10 CFU for mouse catheters and from 1.6 x 10 to 2.8 x 10 for human catheters, showing an impact to mature biofilms. Assessment of a dual microbe biofilm on auranofin-coated catheters resulted in a 2-log reduction in . and a 3-log reduction in . compared to uncoated catheters. assessment in a murine subcutaneous model demonstrated that catheters coated with 10 mg/mL auranofin reduced independent . and . accumulation by 4-log and 1-log, respectively, compared to non-coated catheters. In conclusion, the auranofin-coated catheters demonstrate proficiency at inhibiting multiple pathogens by decreasing . and . biofilm accumulation.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Mice; Auranofin; Staphylococcus aureus; Bacteria; Biofilms; Candida albicans; Catheters
PubMed: 37313344
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1135942 -
Biomolecules Jan 2022Breast cancers (BCs) may present dramatic diagnoses, both for ineffective therapies and for the limited outcomes in terms of lifespan. For these types of tumors, the... (Review)
Review
Breast cancers (BCs) may present dramatic diagnoses, both for ineffective therapies and for the limited outcomes in terms of lifespan. For these types of tumors, the search for new drugs is a primary necessity. It is widely recognized that gold compounds are highly active and extremely potent as anticancer agents against many cancer cell lines. The presence of the metal plays an essential role in the activation of the cytotoxicity of these coordination compounds, whose activity, if restricted to the ligands alone, would be non-existent. On the other hand, gold exhibits a complex biochemistry, substantially variable depending on the chemical environments around the central metal. In this review, the scientific findings of the last 6-7 years on two classes of gold(I) compounds, containing phosphane or carbene ligands, are reviewed. In addition to this class of Au(I) compounds, the recent developments in the application of Auranofin in regards to BCs are reported. Auranofin is a triethylphosphine-thiosugar compound that, being a drug approved by the FDA-therefore extensively studied-is an interesting lead gold compound and a good comparison to understand the activities of structurally related Au(I) compounds.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Auranofin; Breast Neoplasms; Female; Gold; Humans; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 35053228
DOI: 10.3390/biom12010080 -
Communications Biology Jun 2021Demand for a cure of liver fibrosis is rising with its increasing morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is an urgent issue to investigate its therapeutic candidates....
Demand for a cure of liver fibrosis is rising with its increasing morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is an urgent issue to investigate its therapeutic candidates. Liver fibrosis progresses following 'multi-hit' processes involving hepatic stellate cells, macrophages, and hepatocytes. The NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is emerging as a therapeutic target in liver fibrosis. Previous studies showed that the anti-rheumatic agent auranofin inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome; thus, this study evaluates the antifibrotic effect of auranofin in vivo and explores the underlying molecular mechanism. The antifibrotic effect of auranofin is assessed in thioacetamide- and carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis models. Moreover, hepatic stellate cell (HSC), bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM), kupffer cell, and hepatocyte are used to examine the underlying mechanism of auranofin. Auranofin potently inhibits activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in BMDM and kupffer cell. It also reduces the migration of HSC. The underlying molecular mechanism was inhibition of cystine-glutamate antiporter, system Xc. Auranofin inhibits system Xc activity and instantly induced oxidative burst, which mediated inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages and HSCs. Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, we propose the use of auranofin as an anti-liver fibrotic agent.
Topics: Amino Acid Transport System y+; Animals; Apoptosis; Auranofin; Carbon Tetrachloride; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Inflammasomes; Interleukin-1beta; Kupffer Cells; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis; Macrophages; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; Pyroptosis; Thioacetamide; Mice
PubMed: 34193972
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02345-1 -
Microbiology Spectrum Feb 2024Auranofin, an FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis, has emerged as a promising antiparasitic medication in recent years. The gold(I) ion in auranofin is postulated...
Auranofin, an FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis, has emerged as a promising antiparasitic medication in recent years. The gold(I) ion in auranofin is postulated to be responsible for its antiparasitic activity. Notably aurothiomalate and aurothioglucose also contain gold(I), and, like auranofin, they were previously used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Whether they have antiparasitic activity remains to be elucidated. Herein, we demonstrated that auranofin and similar derivatives, but not aurothiomalate and aurothioglucose, inhibited the growth of . We found that auranofin affected the biological cycle (lytic cycle) by inhibiting invasion and triggering its egress from the host cell. However, auranofin could not prevent parasite replication once resided within the host. Auranofin treatment induced apoptosis in parasites as demonstrated by its reduced size and elevated phosphatidylserine externalization (PS). Notably, the gold from auranofin enters the cytoplasm of as demonstrated by scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).IMPORTANCEToxoplasmosis, caused by , is a devastating disease affecting the brain and the eyes, frequently affecting immunocompromised individuals. Approximately 60 million people in the United States are already infected with , representing a population at-risk of developing toxoplasmosis. Recent advances in treating cancer, autoimmune diseases, and organ transplants have contributed to this at-risk population's exponential growth. Paradoxically, treatments for toxoplasmosis have remained the same for more than 60 years, relying on medications well-known for their bone marrow toxicity and allergic reactions. Discovering new therapies is a priority, and repurposing FDA-approved drugs is an alternative approach to speed up drug discovery. Herein, we report the effect of auranofin, an FDA-approved drug, on the biological cycle of and how both the phosphine ligand and the gold molecule determine the anti-parasitic activity of auranofin and other gold compounds. Our studies would contribute to the pipeline of candidate anti- agents.
Topics: Humans; Auranofin; Gold; Toxoplasma; Ligands; Aurothioglucose; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Gold Sodium Thiomalate; Toxoplasmosis; Antiparasitic Agents; Phosphines
PubMed: 38206030
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02968-23 -
Redox Biology Jun 2022The effects of Auranofin (AF) on protein expression and protein oxidation in A2780 cancer cells were investigated through a strategy based on simultaneous expression...
The effects of Auranofin (AF) on protein expression and protein oxidation in A2780 cancer cells were investigated through a strategy based on simultaneous expression proteomics and redox proteomics determinations. Bioinformatics analysis of the proteomics data supports the view that the most critical cellular changes elicited by AF treatment consist of thioredoxin reductase inhibition, alteration of the cell redox state, impairment of the mitochondrial functions, metabolic changes associated with conversion to a glycolytic phenotype, induction of ER stress. The occurrence of the above cellular changes was extensively validated by performing direct biochemical assays. Our data are consistent with the concept that AF produces its effects through a multitarget mechanism that mainly affects the redox metabolism and the mitochondrial functions and results into severe ER stress. Results are discussed in the context of the current mechanistic knowledge existing on AF.
Topics: Auranofin; Cell Line, Tumor; Female; Humans; Ovarian Neoplasms; Oxidation-Reduction; Proteome; Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase
PubMed: 35358852
DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102294 -
Oncotarget Apr 2013To improve prognosis in recurrent glioblastoma we developed a treatment protocol based on a combination of drugs not traditionally thought of as cytotoxic chemotherapy... (Review)
Review
A conceptually new treatment approach for relapsed glioblastoma: coordinated undermining of survival paths with nine repurposed drugs (CUSP9) by the International Initiative for Accelerated Improvement of Glioblastoma Care.
To improve prognosis in recurrent glioblastoma we developed a treatment protocol based on a combination of drugs not traditionally thought of as cytotoxic chemotherapy agents but that have a robust history of being well-tolerated and are already marketed and used for other non-cancer indications. Focus was on adding drugs which met these criteria: a) were pharmacologically well characterized, b) had low likelihood of adding to patient side effect burden, c) had evidence for interfering with a recognized, well-characterized growth promoting element of glioblastoma, and d) were coordinated, as an ensemble had reasonable likelihood of concerted activity against key biological features of glioblastoma growth. We found nine drugs meeting these criteria and propose adding them to continuous low dose temozolomide, a currently accepted treatment for relapsed glioblastoma, in patients with recurrent disease after primary treatment with the Stupp Protocol. The nine adjuvant drug regimen, Coordinated Undermining of Survival Paths, CUSP9, then are aprepitant, artesunate, auranofin, captopril, copper gluconate, disulfiram, ketoconazole, nelfinavir, sertraline, to be added to continuous low dose temozolomide. We discuss each drug in turn and the specific rationale for use- how each drug is expected to retard glioblastoma growth and undermine glioblastoma's compensatory mechanisms engaged during temozolomide treatment. The risks of pharmacological interactions and why we believe this drug mix will increase both quality of life and overall survival are reviewed.
Topics: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Aprepitant; Artemisinins; Auranofin; Brain Neoplasms; Captopril; Dacarbazine; Disulfiram; Glioblastoma; Gluconates; Humans; Ketoconazole; Morpholines; Nelfinavir; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Sertraline; Succinates; Temozolomide
PubMed: 23594434
DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.969 -
Cell Death & Disease Aug 2021Pediatric gliomas comprise a broad range of brain tumors derived from glial cells. While high-grade gliomas are often resistant to therapy and associated with a poor...
Pediatric gliomas comprise a broad range of brain tumors derived from glial cells. While high-grade gliomas are often resistant to therapy and associated with a poor outcome, children with low-grade gliomas face a better prognosis. However, the treatment of low-grade gliomas is often associated with severe long-term adverse effects. This shows that there is a strong need for improved treatment approaches. Here, we highlight the potential for repurposing disulfiram to treat pediatric gliomas. Disulfiram is a drug used to support the treatment of chronic alcoholism and was found to be effective against diverse cancer types in preclinical studies. Our results show that disulfiram efficiently kills pediatric glioma cell lines as well as patient-derived glioma stem cells. We propose a novel mechanism of action to explain disulfiram's anti-oncogenic activities by providing evidence that disulfiram induces the degradation of the oncoprotein MLL. Our results further reveal that disulfiram treatment and MLL downregulation induce similar responses at the level of histone modifications and gene expression, further strengthening that MLL is a key target of the drug and explaining its anti-oncogenic properties.
Topics: Alcoholism; Auranofin; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Child; Disulfiram; Down-Regulation; Drug Repositioning; Drug Synergism; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Glioma; Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase; Histones; Humans; Lysine; Methylation; Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein; Neoplasm Grading; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Proteolysis; Transcription, Genetic
PubMed: 34381018
DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-04078-9 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2023Gold compounds form a new class of promising anticancer agents with innovative modes of action. It is generally believed that anticancer gold compounds, at variance with... (Review)
Review
Gold compounds form a new class of promising anticancer agents with innovative modes of action. It is generally believed that anticancer gold compounds, at variance with clinically established platinum drugs, preferentially target proteins rather than nucleic acids. The reactions of several gold compounds with a few model proteins have been systematically explored in recent years through ESI MS measurements to reveal adduct formation and identify the main features of those reactions. Here, we focus our attention on a group of five gold compounds of remarkable medicinal interest, i.e., Auranofin, Au(NHC)Cl, [Au(NHC)]PF, Aubipyc, and Auoxo6, and on their reactions with four different biomolecular targets, i.e., the proteins HEWL, hCA I, HSA and the C-terminal dodecapeptide of the enzyme thioredoxin reductase. Complete ESI MS data are available for those reactions due to previous experimental work conducted in our laboratory. From the comparative analysis of the ESI MS reaction profiles, some characteristic trends in the metallodrug-protein reactivity may be identified as detailed below. The main features are described and analyzed in this review. Overall, all these observations are broadly consistent with the concept that cytotoxic gold drugs preferentially target cancer cell proteins, with a remarkable selectivity for the cysteine and selenocysteine proteome. These interactions typically result in severe damage to cancer cell metabolism and profound alterations in the redox state, leading to eventual cancer cell death.
Topics: Gold Compounds; Gold; Auranofin; Antineoplastic Agents; Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase
PubMed: 37446857
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135196 -
The Lancet. Respiratory Medicine Aug 2021Current tuberculosis treatments leave patients with clinically significant lung injury and increased all-cause mortality post-cure. Adjunctive host-directed therapies... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Current tuberculosis treatments leave patients with clinically significant lung injury and increased all-cause mortality post-cure. Adjunctive host-directed therapies could protect the lungs, improve long-term survival, and shorten treatment duration; however, few have been tested clinically. Therefore, we aimed to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of four host-directed therapies for tuberculosis.
METHODS
In this prospective, open-label, phase 2, randomised controlled trial, patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited at three clinical sites in South Africa. Eligible patients were aged 18-65 years, HIV-1-negative, and had rifampicin-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a sputum Xpert cycle threshold of less than 20, and moderately advanced or far advanced disease on chest radiography. By use of numbers generated in blocks of ten and stratification by site, eligible patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1:1) to receive one of the four oral host-directed treatments plus standard tuberculosis treatment or standard treatment alone (the control group). Host-directed treatments were: CC-11050 (200 mg twice daily, taken with food; day 1-112); everolimus (0·5 mg/day; day 1-112); auranofin (3 mg/day for seven doses, then 6 mg/day; day 1-112); and ergocalciferol (5 mg on day 1, then 2·5 mg on day 28 and day 56). All study participants received oral rifabutin-substituted standard tuberculosis treatment for 180 days. Patients and clinicians were not masked to treatment assignment. Spirometry and sputum culture with solid and liquid media were done at baseline and up to 180 days at specified intervals throughout treatment. The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability up to day 210. Secondary preliminary efficacy endpoints were treatment effects on sputum microbiology (culture status at day 56 and the hazard ratio for stable culture conversion up to day 180) and lung function (FEV and forced vital capacity [FVC]) measured by spirometry at day 56, day 180, and day 540. Safety was analysed in the intention-to-treat population and preliminary efficacy primarily in the per-protocol population. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02968927. Post-treatment follow-up was completed in 2020.
FINDINGS
Between Nov 18, 2016, and Sept 27, 2018, 200 patients were screened and randomly assigned to different treatment groups (n=40 per group, apart from n=39 in the everolimus group after one patient withdrew consent). 11 treatment-emergent serious adverse events occurred either during treatment or within 30 days after treatment discontinuation, of which three were attributable to a host-directed treatment. Life-threatening thrombocytopenia occurred in an auranofin recipient; apparent intra-abdominal sepsis leading to death occurred in another auranofin recipient and was classified as a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction. Tuberculous spondylitis occurred as an apparent paradoxical reaction in a patient receiving ergocalciferol. Two patients in the control group had life-threatening, treatment-attributable liver injury. No treatment-emergent, treatment-attributable serious adverse events occurred in patients receiving CC-11050 or everolimus. Mean FEV in the control group was 61·7% of predicted (95% CI 56·3-67·1) at baseline and 69·1% (62·3-75·8) at day 180. Patients treated with CC-11050 and everolimus had increased recovery of FEV at day 180 relative to the control group (mean difference from control group 6·30%, 95% CI 0·06-12·54; p=0·048; and 6·56%, 0·18-12·95; p=0·044, respectively), whereas auranofin and ergocalciferol recipients did not. None of the treatments had an effect on FVC during 180 days of follow-up or on measures of sputum culture status over the course of the study.
INTERPRETATION
CC-11050 and everolimus were safe and reasonably well tolerated as adjunctive therapies for tuberculosis, and analysis of preliminary efficacy suggests they might also enhance the recovery of FEV, a key measure of lung function and predictor of all-cause mortality. Further studies of these candidates are warranted.
FUNDING
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the South African Medical Research Council.
Topics: Adult; Antitubercular Agents; Auranofin; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Ergocalciferols; Everolimus; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Indoles; Male; Middle Aged; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors; Prospective Studies; South Africa; Sputum; Sulfones; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
PubMed: 33740465
DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30448-3 -
Medicinal Research Reviews May 2022Auranofin is an oral gold(I) compound, initially developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Currently, Auranofin is under investigation for oncological... (Review)
Review
Auranofin is an oral gold(I) compound, initially developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Currently, Auranofin is under investigation for oncological application within a drug repurposing plan due to the relevant antineoplastic activity observed both in vitro and in vivo tumor models. In this review, we analysed studies in which Auranofin was used as a single drug or in combination with other molecules to enhance their anticancer activity or to overcome chemoresistance. The analysis of different targets/pathways affected by this drug in different cancer types has allowed us to highlight several interesting targets and effects of Auranofin besides the already well-known inhibition of thioredoxin reductase. Among these targets, inhibitory-κB kinase, deubiquitinates, protein kinase C iota have been frequently suggested. To rationalize the effects of Auranofin by a system biology-like approach, we exploited transcriptomic data obtained from a wide range of cell models, extrapolating the data deposited in the Connectivity Maps website and we attempted to provide a general conclusion and discussed the major points that need further investigation.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Auranofin; Drug Resistance; Humans; Neoplasms; Thioredoxin-Disulfide Reductase
PubMed: 34850406
DOI: 10.1002/med.21872