RESUMO
Formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, a process known as angiogenesis, is one of the limiting steps for success in treatment of ischemic disorders. Therefore, efforts to understanding and characterize new agents capable to stimulate neovascularization are a worldwide need. Crataeva tapia bark lectin (CrataBL) has been shown to have chemoattractant properties for endothelial cells through the stimulation of migration and invasiveness of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) because it is a positively charged protein with high affinity to glycosaminoglycan. In addition, CrataBL increased the production of chondroitin and heparan sulfate in endothelial cells. These findings orchestrated specific adhesion on collagen I and phosphorylation of tyrosine kinase receptors, represented by vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), whose downstream pathways trigger the angiogenic cascade increasing cell viability, cytoskeleton rearrangement, cell motility, and tube formation. Moreover, CrataBL inhibited the activity of matrix metalloproteases type 2 (MMP-2), a protein related to tissue remodeling. Likewise, CrataBL improved wound healing and increased the number of follicular structures in lesioned areas produced in the dorsum-cervical region of C57BL/6 mice. These outcomes altogether indicate that CrataBL is a pro-angiogenic and healing agent.
Assuntos
Indutores da Angiogênese/farmacologia , Condroitina/metabolismo , Heparitina Sulfato/metabolismo , Neovascularização Fisiológica/efeitos dos fármacos , Lectinas de Plantas/farmacologia , Animais , Capparaceae/metabolismo , Movimento Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Fatores Quimiotáticos/farmacologia , Células Endoteliais da Veia Umbilical Humana , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Cicatrização/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Proteinase inhibitors have been associated with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and may represent a potential therapeutic treatment for emphysema. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of a plant Kunitz proteinase inhibitor, Enterolobium contortisiliquum trypsin inhibitor (EcTI), on several aspects of experimental elastase-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice. C57/Bl6 mice were intratracheally administered elastase (ELA) or saline (SAL) and were treated intraperitoneally with EcTI (ELA-EcTI, SAL-EcTI) on days 1, 14 and 21. On day 28, pulmonary mechanics, exhaled nitric oxide (ENO) and number leucocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were evaluated. Subsequently, lung immunohistochemical staining was submitted to morphometry. EcTI treatment reduced responses of the mechanical respiratory system, number of cells in the BALF, and reduced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP-1), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-positive cells and volume proportion of isoprostane, collagen and elastic fibers in the airways and alveolar walls compared with the ELA group. EcTI treatment reduced elastase induced pulmonary inflammation, remodeling, oxidative stress and mechanical alterations, suggesting that this inhibitor may be a potential therapeutic tool for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management.
Assuntos
Remodelação das Vias Aéreas/efeitos dos fármacos , Fabaceae/química , Elastase Pancreática/metabolismo , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Pneumonia/metabolismo , Pneumonia/fisiopatologia , Inibidores de Proteases/farmacologia , Animais , Biomarcadores , Líquido da Lavagem Broncoalveolar , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Matriz Extracelular/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos , Mucinas/biossíntese , Estresse Oxidativo , Pneumonia/tratamento farmacológico , Pneumonia/patologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Kallikreins play a pivotal role in establishing prostate cancer. RESULTS: In contrast to the classical Kunitz plant inhibitor SbTI, the recombinant kallikrein inhibitor (rBbKIm) led to prostate cancer cell death, whereas fibroblast viability was not affected. CONCLUSION: rBbKIm shows selective cytotoxic effect and angiogenesis inhibition against prostate cancer cells. SIGNIFICANCE: New actions of rBbKIm may contribute to understanding the mechanisms of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer, and kallikreins play an important role in the establishment of this disease. rBbKIm is the recombinant Bauhinia bauhinioides kallikreins inhibitor that was modified to include the RGD/RGE motifs of the inhibitor BrTI from Bauhinia rufa. This work reports the effects of rBbKIm on DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cell lines. rBbKIm inhibited the cell viability of DU145 and PC3 cells but did not affect the viability of fibroblasts. rBbKIm caused an arrest of the PC3 cell cycle at the G0/G1 and G2/M phases but did not affect the DU145 cell cycle, although rBbKIm triggers apoptosis and cytochrome c release into the cytosol of both cell types. The differences in caspase activation were observed because rBbKIm treatment promoted activation of caspase-3 in DU145 cells, whereas caspase-9 but not caspase-3 was activated in PC3 cells. Because angiogenesis is important to the development of a tumor, the effect of rBbKIm in this process was also analyzed, and an inhibition of 49% was observed in in vitro endothelial cell capillary-like tube network formation. In summary, we demonstrated that different properties of the protease inhibitor rBbKIm may be explored for investigating the androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145.